- Celebrity Solstice
- Celebrity Cruises
- 28 May 2019
Ship excellent and well managed. Captain Tassos charasmatic and very entertaining. Cruise to Alaska first class with great ports of call. Would certainly recommend.
Since debuting in 2008, Celebrity Solstice has been an ever-popular part of Celebrity Cruise’s fleet of luxury cruise ships. Not only boasting 1,216 outward-facing cabins, but also a unique half acre lawn on the topmost deck, allowing guests to make the most of the Australian sun or the Norwegian Fjords.
Previously having an $11-million renovation in 2016, Celebrity Solstice was scheduled to be refurbished soon after from 10th January 2021. Branded ‘Celebrity Revolution’, this ambitious project sees the whole fleet ‘edgified’ between 2019 and 2023 as the whole Celebrity fleet is brought to the standards of their newest class of cruise ships starting with Celebrity Edge. The end result is added onboard features including new furniture and fittings, an outdoor cinema, touch-screen kiosks and additions to the art gallery.
As with the rest of the Celebrity fleet, Solstice boasts a ratio of almost 2 to 1 in terms of staff to guests. This results in an extremely high and attentive level of service including poolside butlers and even wine experts on hand in every dining venue to advise you on a selection of over 500 different options. A selection of these are available with the classic and premium beverage packages and your meals.
Celebrity Solstice has 10 dining venues to choose from depending on your tastes and class options. The Grand Epernay is a two-storey main dining room with impressive chandelier serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Guests can pre-book a table or just turn up, although there may be a short wait to be seated. Meanwhile, the Oceanview Café is self service for all meals and 24-hour coffee, tea and juice, serving a variety of food to suit all tastes.
During the day, Cafe Al Bacio and Gelateria provide Italian ice cream and coffee for those with a sweet tooth looking to start the day right, while Bistro on Five specialises in sweet and savoury crêpes freshly prepared just for you. Alternatively, if you’d like to indulge in some classic comfort food, Mast Grill is a popular burger bar for those looking for a tasty snack during the day.
If you are looking for an even more luxurious mealtime, several specialty restaurants are available in the evenings. Murano is the contemporary French speciality restaurant serving either an à la carte option or Five Senses tasting menu. Silk Harvest is an Asian fusion of Chinese, Thai and Japanese-inspired dishes, only available by reservation. Tuscan Grille serves as an Italian seafood and wine and American steakhouse combo, available to book for $30.
If staying in AquaClass, AquaSpa Café is free for quick and healthy snacks and smoothies you can enjoy in your swimming trunks for breakfast or lunch in the spa. In addition, the famous Blu restaurant serves exclusively AquaClass guests in the intimate, clean-eating Blu restaurant. Suite guests can book one of the hotly sought-after 32 seats for a $5 fee.
For those wanting to enjoy the delicious cuisine without leaving the comfort of their cabin, there is also room service available all day and night.
A walk around Celebrity Solstice will show you the great variety of what’s on offer, with regular entertainment acts popping up in the Aatrium or one of the bars and lounges, including the resident pianist in the Sky Observation lounge or cocktail trickery in the bar. If you go out onto the lawn club, you’ll be able to catch an exhibition of Corning Glass Company’s famous glass blowing artistry.
Meanwhile, in the evenings guests can enjoy a variety of Broadway-style shows in the Solstice theatre before dancing the night away at a silent disco or DJ night in the Qasar nightclub. If you’d prefer to sit back and take it easy, the Cellar Master Wine Bar is perfect for wine lovers. Those who like a flutter can head to the Fortunes Casino or retreat to one of the intimate card rooms. Finally, members of the Captains Club Loyalty Scheme can get exclusive access with an invite to the senior officers’ party.
One of the great things about a Celebrity cruise is you can cruise at your own pace. With the daily program delivered the night before, you can pick and choose what you do with your day onboard. Celebrity are famous for their cultural enrichment programs from art exhibitions to talks about your next destination.
For those wanting some souvenirs and retail therapy there are plenty of boutique shops such as Tiffany and Co where you can browse anything from designer watches to clothes and accessories- all tax free. There is also a multimillion dollar art gallery onboard to peruse, boasting contributions from 90 artists from 26 different nationalities. One of the largest contemporary art collections at sea, guest can explore at their own pace with a hand-held audio or iPad guide.
For those wanting to make the most of the sun there’s the pool and four Jacuzzis, with volleyball games and the kids splash park extremely popular among passengers. Meanwhile at the rear of Solstice, you can enjoy the Lawn Club with a game of boules or croquette.
If you’re looking to truly rejuvenate on a cruise, Celebrity Solstice is for you. As an AquaClass passenger, you get unlimited access to the Canyon Ranch Spa club and relaxation room as well as the Persian Garden steam room. All 130 Aqua Class guests also have exclusive dining at Blu, serving a menu of delicious clean-eating dishes. In addition, Celebrity Solstice has fully modern gym facilities and even various health and fitness sessions such as yoga or spa treatments for you to keep energised between destinations.
Ship excellent and well managed. Captain Tassos charasmatic and very entertaining. Cruise to Alaska first class with great ports of call. Would certainly recommend.
Went on this fabulous cruise to New Zealand and Australia with my husband and friends as a celebration for my retirement, 60th birthday and Ruby wedding anniversary. As ever, with Celebrity, the staff went out of their way to make sure we were happy. The food was great and the buffet always had a huge and varied selection on offer. The entertainment was excellent both in the theatre and around the ship. Ports of call were all fabulous and our excellent captain ensured we were able to visit each scheduled stop. Celebrity is my favourite cruise line and this was no disappointment We have booked with Iglu cruises on several occasions and they have always been helpful do efficient. On this occasion we added a number of additional destinations at the start and end of the cruise. Our Iglu advisors were able to book excellent hotels and organise our flights and transfers for us. All these worked out fantastically. However, whilst trying to communicate with Iglu to organise our flights I found them difficult to contact. I could not get through on the phone for a number of days as they had an answer phone message saying they could not take calls as they were extremely busy. I was concerned, even checked to see if they had gone out of business. Once we were able to get through again on the phone our advisor ensured the whole package was put together and our holiday of a lifetime was brilliant.
Show moreVery good holiday overall, hotels at Auckland & Sydney could have been better but in truth for all the time spent in them, they were adequate. Embarkation at Auckland was easy, the best we’ve had. Solstice is showing a few understandable signs of her age but overall is excellent. Celebrity do the whole cruise experience pretty well. Definitely a cruise to do, saw lots & met lots of different & interesting folks.