Celebrity Solstice?

[WDWFANCBIIIME]

Sorry- I meant Infinity. Yes we are planning a 2015 cruise and it is the Infinity that I read such poor reviews on.

I see how a smaller ship would be better for Alaska. Very torn about booking a cruise on Solstice vs Infinity vs another cruise line.

I agree I think I am going to go with the Solstice we are obviously a little while away so things can change but if we go we will do the Solstice

For me the ship is a HUGE part of the experience even in Alaska for ME the ship is the destination just as much as the Alaska please don't get me wrong I'm sure Alaska is phenomenal if it was just the ship I'd go to the Caribbean but I hope you know what I mean

I think if we fall in love with Alaska we may go back - I'm pretty young so I hope to have more vacations lol with my future wife and kids...

My parents have really left the planning to me seeing as it may be my last real "family vacation" (except when I graduate) so I think the Solstice is a great way to get my feet wet with Alaska as well as guaranteeing a fun trip on a world class ship!

 

[WDWFANCBIIIME]

Sorry, I've been setting up a new computer and finishing Spring Break with the kids this weekend and just saw this.

But, if you're a photographer you'll find plenty of photo opportunities to fill up your day.

No trouble at all!

It looks just incredibly beautiful so I am soooo excited to hopefully see Alaska in person!

My thought is to do one really big excursion like helicopter tour or plane ride something really big then the rest of the ports really explore and photograph (and maybe check out a local brewery or two !

 

[gumbypee]

My advice. If there is something u really want to do and it is at multiple ports-do it ASAP. One of the reasons I went to Alaska was to do a dog sled excursion. A couple ports did it but I chose other things to see and saved it for last port. Turns out that day it was too cloudy for copter to land on glacier so I didn't get to go. I just sat down and bawled like a baby!

 

[NancyIL]

I take ship reviews with a grain of salt. I think some people are WAY too fussy, and complain about the littlest things. However, you should choose the cruise that you think you'll enjoy the most, and the Solstice is certainly a lovely ship.

 

[WDWFANCBIIIME]

I take ship reviews with a grain of salt. I think some people are WAY too fussy, and complain about the littlest things. However, you should choose the cruise that you think you'll enjoy the most, and the Solstice is certainly a lovely ship.

Thank you I agree with reviews in general haha people are funny about so many things - I guess there are a million different things that can affect the trip...

I really appreciate all of your help! Thank you for your support about the Solstice I understand it may not be "the most Alaska" but the S class just looks beautiful!

My advice. If there is something u really want to do and it is at multiple ports-do it ASAP. One of the reasons I went to Alaska was to do a dog sled excursion. A couple ports did it but I chose other things to see and saved it for last port. Turns out that day it was too cloudy for copter to land on glacier so I didn't get to go. I just sat down and bawled like a baby!

Thank you for this advice I will defiantly remember this! That would be really disappointing

 

[HappyTogether]

I have done Alaska twice, once on Celebrity Infinity out of Vancouver and once on Celebrity Millennium out of Seward down to Vancouver after five days on land. You really won't go wrong with the M-Class ships. Sailing under the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver is really something special but Solstice is just too tall for it. I love the S-class ships honestly, but sailing out of Seattle just takes away from the reason you are going so far to begin with. You are there to see and experience Alaska, not sail to it.

Whatever you decide, have an amazing trip! PM me if you want ideas about excursions.

 

[ilovetexas]

I've been on an S class and an M class and while the S class had more bells and whistles, I preferred the M class for Alaska. It was smaller and more intimate. Plus, when I'm in the Caribbean I'll go on a shore excursion or to the beach for a few hours then have plenty of time/energy to prowl around the ship in the evenings. I found that in Alaska, I was out longer, walked more and generally had less energy/interest in staying out all night on the ship.

Then again, I'm a couple of decades older than you are.

 

[WDWFANCBIIIME]

I have done Alaska twice, once on Celebrity Infinity out of Vancouver and once on Celebrity Millennium out of Seward down to Vancouver after five days on land. You really won't go wrong with the M-Class ships. Sailing under the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver is really something special but Solstice is just too tall for it. I love the S-class ships honestly, but sailing out of Seattle just takes away from the reason you are going so far to begin with. You are there to see and experience Alaska, not sail to it.

Whatever you decide, have an amazing trip! PM me if you want ideas about excursions.

Thanks for your input I will defiantly PM you if I have questions (And I'm sure I will lol)

 

[WDWFANCBIIIME]

I've been on an S class and an M class and while the S class had more bells and whistles, I preferred the M class for Alaska. It was smaller and more intimate. Plus, when I'm in the Caribbean I'll go on a shore excursion or to the beach for a few hours then have plenty of time/energy to prowl around the ship in the evenings. I found that in Alaska, I was out longer, walked more and generally had less energy/interest in staying out all night on the ship.

Then again, I'm a couple of decades older than you are.

Haha I think the couple of decades thing is leaning me towards the bells and whistles lol

However trust me I'm almost 21 and want my big vacation to be Alaska so I am older myself maybe not in years but still older

 

[Livismom]

We are looking at the same cruise- same decision. Our kids will be 15 and 18 and have done 5 DCL cruises. But for Alaska, Disney just didn't seem appealing- plus Celebrity was cheaper. My TA assures me that the whole family will love the Solstice and that if we are accustomed to DCL then celebrity will be more our style thsn Royal Caribbean. . I am worried about it being an older crowd. But unlike a caribbean cruise, we want a quite ship this time. My kids did not use the kids clubs or pools on DCL last year because of the crowds of kids. Dressing up, eating new and delicious food, shows and a peaceful place to relax and read are some of things we are looking for this time. However, I am worried about how dressed up Celebrity requires us to be. We don't want to pack suits and evening gowns for Alaska. We may skip the MDR on formal nights.

Also conflicted about the itenarary- Dh really thinks the ease and cost of round trip from Seattle is important. But on I keep reading that going from Vancouver and seeing Hubbard glacier is the best choice.

Finally, my Travel agent suggested we wait till January to book. My DCL state of mind thinks this is crazy! Book early to get the best price. But TA says more 'perks' and credits will come later but I won't be able to rebook just to get the perks because the actual stateroom price won't be lower. (perks -tips included, drink packages, upgrades are things she mentioned that I could miss out on by booking now)

Would love to hear more...

My husband and I did the Inner Passage Alaska cruise on Solstice in May. It was our first time with Celebrity and, though the cruise was wonderful (I don't don't see how an Alaska cruise could be anything else!!!!!), we were not too impressed with Celebrity. The food wasn't great, the service was pretty poor and there really wasn't much going on, particularly during the days at sea. The shows weren't very exciting and we didn't like that you couldn't book them in advance. We had tried to persuade our "children" and their spouses (they're all in their 20s and 30s) to accompany us, but was soooo glad they didn't, as they would all have been totally bored while onboard. We had the late sitting for dinner and was amazed to find that, when we came out of the dining room at around 10pm, the ship was almost deserted....it seemed like everyone had gone to bed!!!! There didn't seem to be any late night dancing going on and the only place with people was the coffee bar and the martini bar. I would be very concerned about what teenagers could find for entertainment!! As far as dressing for dinner goes....don't worry about it!! Although there were a few people kitted out in full formal gear on formal nights, they were in the minority and in general everyone dressed up a lot less that on Caribbean cruises. Long pants and a shirt (with or without tie) is quite in order for the men and jackets are definitely not required, even in the MDR. Ladies can get away with pretty much anything!! We weren't too impressed with the classic beverage package either, we found it usually didn't cover the drink of the day and the martini bar was quite rude to us when we tried to order martinis (during "Happy Hour" when the drinks we ordered were $4.50 each) This was soon sorted out after a visit to the Customer Relations desk, but it left a bad taste!!!! On saying that, the wine selection included in the classic package was very good......we found we had to ask them at the bars which wines were actually covered (most of the ones on the wine menu were too expensive) and they always came up with something good!! We also loved that speciality coffees (even the alcoholic ones) were covered. All in all, it was a great cruise but, in future, we'll stick with Royal Caribbean!!!!

 

[bokolo]

We were on the Solstice to Alaska in June/July 2013. We are a family of 5, kids were 13, 11, 8 at the time of sailing. We were part of a group of 18 to celebrate a big anniversary. Left from Seattle because one of the families traveling with us lives in Seattle and it made it easier for all of us. We have been on DCL once about 5 years ago and RCL Allure about 3 years ago.

We stayed in the family oceanview room (deck 8, I think) and it was HUGE! It's located at the very front of the ship and we did hear some noise and felt a lot of vibration when docking but we were usually awake at those times. It had a large balcony, a separate bedroom with bunkbeds, and the master bedroom could be closed to separate it from the main sitting area. It was the best family cabin we have had yet.

My kids did miss some of the on-board activities that they liked from previous cruises (mini golf, Flowrider, rock wall), but did find ways to entertain themselves. Went to the kids club a couple of times but weren't really interested in what was going on. Many of the pools were practically empty (they are heated) and our weather was gorgeous every day with the exception of Juneau, so they swam a lot or found other ways to entertain themselves. They also really enjoyed the naturalist who was on board and went to a lot of his presentations. We were busy on every port day and got off just after docking and returned just before leaving port.

I thought the glass blowing demo was boring and felt that the lawn area could've been used for a better purpose. The entertainment is lacking in comparison to the other ships we have been on.

Service was great. Our steward and waiters were excellent. Dress code was comparable to other cruises. The kids wore khakis and polo shirts except on the formal nights. Then they wore a shirt and tie. Other cruisers had on a variety of clothes on formal night-some with tuxes and gowns and others with shirts/ties with or without sport coats and nice dresses.

We loved Alaska and want to return again. The scenery and wildlife were so so beautiful. Next time, if possible we would leave from Vancouver or do a land package before or after, but for our first trip this was great. The kids had a blast and are begging us to go back---partly because our helicopter/dogsled tour was cancelled in Juneau due to bad weather and no visibility.

It is completely different than the Caribbean cruises we have been on. Seeing that you have been on other cruises you need to go into it saying that it is going to be a different experience than in the past, and then sit back and enjoy it. Each ship is different and each has positives and negatives. We felt this ship was geared more toward the adult crowd but the kids still loved the trip. There were many extended families on board (families with grandparents) and others were variety of ages from young to old.

Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[mmbl]

We were on Solstice 3/13 , Australia & New Zealand. Beautiful ship but boring as all get-out after 10 pm! Service was good; food better on the RCCL ships. Not really a good ship for kids who will likely want more activities.

 

[NancyIL]

We were on Solstice 3/13 , Australia & New Zealand. Beautiful ship but boring as all get-out after 10 pm! Service was good; food better on the RCCL ships. Not really a good ship for kids who will likely want more activities.

I was on the Solstice to NZ in January 2014. I am usually in bed by 10, so I didn't find the ship boring. I just got off a Royal Caribbean ship 3 days ago (Legend of the Seas), and I think Celebrity's food is definitely better.

I went to the glass blowing show with the intention of only staying a few minutes. Instead, I stayed for the whole 2 hours. I even won one of the glass objects from a previous day in the drawing. Now... what to do with a big glass turtle?!

 

[mom_rules]

We're doing Solstice to Hawaii next year. Please tell me everything!

 

[NancyIL]

We're doing Solstice to Hawaii next year. Please tell me everything!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=28

http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=381

 

[mom_rules]

Thank you!

 

[gumbypee]

I posted early in this thread. Worst cruise ever was celebrity solstice to hawaii. Food horrible. I lost weight. Glass show a bore. Boring and huge lines. Pick a different line

 

[gumbypee]

Also I know a few people love it, but majority were very disappointed in celb solstice to hawaii

 

[NancyIL]

Thank you!

You're welcome!