Wonderful itinerary, mediocre ship

Celebrity Solstice Cruise Review to South Pacific - Australia

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 146

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Celebrity Solstice

14 Night New Zealand (Auckland To Sydney)

Sail date: January 19, 2016

Ship: Celebrity Solstice

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 1676

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

We have traveled Celebrity for many years. I have watched this cruise line go from being high above the other mainstream cruise lines to being like all the rest.  As the onboard crew will always say "tell Miami" when you have a complaint. Some passengers were joking about this group of spoiled greedy young MBA's sitting in the Miami corporate office and trying to outdo each other with who can cut service in the least obvious way to save the most money.  Celebrity has always been a nickel and dime cruise line, but now it's not ashamed to show it....at every turn. 

All complaints aside, the itinerary was superb, the food and service in Blu was very good, and the ship is very pretty. Just dont look too close though, because Solstice is definitely showing its age. Rust, worn carpets with holes, dirty pool chair cushions, and so on are becoming noticeable if you look closely. "No one will notice" I'm sure "Miami" is thinking. After many years of loyalty to Celebrity, we have been sailing with other higher end lines and have been much happier. However, if Celebrity presents an itinerary that we love, we would sail them again with mediocre expectations. 

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
Great location....in the back facing aft. The cabin needs refreshing. It's looking tired.

Ports of call

Bay Of Islands, New Zealand

5 out of 5

Tauranga, New Zealand

5 out of 5

Akaroa, New Zealand

5 out of 5

Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand

5 out of 5

Cruise Dusky Sound

5 out of 5

Cruise Doubtful Sound

5 out of 5

Cruise Milford Sound

5 out of 5

Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

5 out of 5

Melbourne, Australia

5 out of 5

Sydney, Australia

5 out of 5
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