In April 2014, we had the pleasure of sailing on the Celebrity Solstice. This mini-city at sea is the lead ship of the Solstice-class with 16 decks in total. What’s not to love about cruising along the Pacific Ocean.
There are so many cruises to choose both within Australia or Internationally including trips from Sydney to Bora Bora, Tahiti, New Zealand or Singapore.
Accommodation
Our Stateroom was Concierge Class which gives you added daily perks delivered to your room like fresh fruit and afternoon canapes, priority check-in and disembarkment, a welcoming bottle of wine and first pick at the main and specialty restaurant reservations. When it is time to leave, you also have access to the pre-departure lounge.
Booking a room with a balcony is definitely the best option. Why not open the balcony doors when going to bed and listen to the ocean waves as you fall asleep. We did.
Dining
Where we dined:
Grand Epernay – The main dining room on both Deck 3 and 4 is spacious and features a two-story wine tower. Our 3-course daily dinners at 8 pm were impeccable and found our seating time was perfect unless you want to see a show then I would suggest an earlier seating for that day. The restaurant places you at assigned seats and I found the wait was never long for a table or the meals. Everything worked like clockwork.
If you feel like something different there are alternate casual dining options included in the cruise or you can book a chargeable restaurant where the bill is charged to your shipboard account. Please refer to the Celebrity Cruise link at the end of this blog for more information.
Oceanview Cafe – This large cafe on Deck 14 has a multi-station buffet for breakfast and lunch with open seating and is also an alternative for casual dinners. I enjoyed dining here for breakfast and lunch whilst peering out at sea.
Mast Grill – Located on Deck 14 by the main swimming pool, you can not avoid having a burger, hot dog or fries between 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Have a burger for lunch, they are great.
Cafe al Bacio – Located on Deck 5, this is the best place to get coffee if you don’t feel like dining in the Oceanview cafe, however, it is chargeable. Cakes and sandwiches are also sold here. Coffees were nice here.
Bistro on Five – Here you can enjoy a casual setting with a salad, sandwich, and sweet and savory crepes on Deck 5 with a per person surcharge. Opened 20 hours a day (6 a.m. to 2 a.m.), it offered a great alternative for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Not sure if Bistro on Five is currently on the ship, it could be replaced by Sushi on Five. Enjoyed my Savoury ham and cheese crepe. Vive la France! (Long live France)
Room Service – Available 24 hours a day with a choice of sandwiches, pizza, salads and desserts.
Entertainment
- A large theater with a 1,400 seating capacity
- Glass blowing classes/demonstrations – Passengers can watch and learn
- 54 Below – Dinner and cabaret with some of the Broadways well-known talents
- Sin City – Comedic performances
- Main Stage Production – Broadway/West End tribute shows, European-style circus shows, and song and dance shows
- “Concert on the Green” located on the Lawn Club grass
- Guest Entertainers – Comedians, singers, magicians, jugglers and instrumentalists.
- DJ and/or live performances at Quasar Club
Bars and Clubs
Happy hour is daily and noted on the daily itinerary in your room. There are numerous bars and a club on board.
The Lawn Club – The Lawn Club is a live grass lawn between the ship’s funnels on the upper deck.
Martini Bar & Crush – I loved this bar and enjoyed the Martini sampler where 6 different Martinis were offered. I went from not liking Martini to really enjoying flavoured Martinis like Apple Martini.
Cellar Masters – A great relaxing wine bar atmosphere where you are able to enjoy a variety of wine and cheese from around the world. If you are a wine connoisseur or not, I suggest paying for this experience it is an enjoyable hour and you never know you could just find that perfect wine. On a returned visit, we enjoyed a private wine tasting of the Tour de France regional wines: Moulin-a-Vent, Chablis Premier Cru and Chateau Mont-Reddon.
Galleria Tastings – After an Art show, we enjoyed delicious cocktails and listen to live music here.
Sky Observation Lounge – A great view of the ocean from this lounge both day and night. Enjoy a cocktail or two here and in the evening, put on those dancing shoes for live music.
Ocean View Bar – A nice place to come and watch the sunset and listen to music, unfortunately, it’s a tad overcrowded.
Pool & Sunset Bar – A great bar to take in the view of the Pool Deck and gaze at the spectacular sunsets. Live bands also play here.
Quasar Bar and Club – An electric nightclub on Deck 4, unfortunately, no pictures to show you as we just passed through it one evening. We preferred to enjoy dancing in our own balcony room with my great selection of HOUSE music.
Pools and Spas
The Pool Deck has the following:
1 x Large Outdoor Pool – length 10.8m
1 x Small Outdoor Pool – length 9.2m
4 x Outdoor Hot Tubs
The Solarium has the following:
1 x Indoor Pool – length 12.7m
1 x Indoor Hot Tub
Shore Excursions
To avoid the disappointment of shore excursions being sold out, I highly recommend booking your shore excursions through your Celebrity Cruises cruise account before you depart. The excursions offered are fun, adventurous and include all sorts of activities for all age groups. e.g Snorkelling or diving tours, 4WD tours, cataraman tours, hiking, helicopter rides, waterfall visits and bike tours.
I also think it is safer to book a tour through the ship then you don’t run the risk of missing the tender back to the ship.
Kids Club
Took a steaky beak at the kids club, it seems to cater quite well for kids and gives parents an opportunity for free time.
Duty-Free Shopping
Make sure to pay a visit to the Duty-Free store. It is always nice paying a tad cheaper for expensive makeup brands like Dior or paying less for a bottle of vodka.
Photography
Each day photographers offer to take pictures of you throughout the day, now bear in mind if you say yes you will more likely be tempted to purchase them. I say why not, look at it as a souvenir of your amazing cruise. Take note that you can save money by pre-purchasing a photography package before you sail but I recommend to wait whilst onboard and choose the best packages after you see all the photographs. Be prepared to spend a lot of money on professional photography.
Other Activities
- Solstice Theatre
- Casino
- Special Trunk Shows
- Hot Glass Shows
- Art Shows
- Golf Put Putt
- Spa and Fitness
Sunrises and Sunsets Onboard – A highlight of sailing along the ocean is seeing the magnificent sunrises and sunsets every day. This breathtaking experience will definitely entice you to rebook another amazing journey.
If you haven’t experienced a cruise ship please book, you won’t regret it.
Follow the link for more information on Celebrity Cruises –https://www.celebritycruises.com/au
christinetravels 
Love this, Christine. I will have to try this cruise ship next.🌹
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Thank you. You would love this cruise liner. Perhaps 2021 we could go on it 😘
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