Overall the solstice delivered a very nice cruise experience. Highly recommend this ship and all she has to offer.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Ok. Very confusing outside giving luggage to porters. Lots of porters standing around while others worked their butts off. Would’ve been much better had everyone been working to ease the congestion.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Very good
Le Petit Chef at Silk Harvest
5 out of 5
Loved that this was offered. Had checked prior to going and it showed it was not offered on the solstice. Signed up right away when we found out it was not onboard. What an absolutely wonderful experience. Highly recommend.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Enjoyed trivia (always).
The Spa
5 out of 5
Mimi is the bomb. I get a massage twice a month at home and Mimi takes the cake. The care and attention she gave to me (IT band and hip tightness issues) was amazing. Would like to bring her home with me. Treat yourself.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Enjoyed the musician that played 78 different instruments. All the rest were just ok.
Children's Programs
No children
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
At the beginning of cruise I saw our cabin steward at least once, if not 2-3 times a day. Towards the end, didn’t see him for the last 3-4 days. He did an excellent job just missed seeing him.
Dining room staff was about the same as cabin Stewart. Very attentive at first and then tappered off the last couple of days. They also spent a fair amount of time the last few days telling us to make sure to rate them 9 or 10 otherwise they would not get promoted and possibly demoted. Didn’t like this part because then it made being totally truthful an issue.
Ocean cafe staff were on the ball from beginning to end. They work long hours and they always are very personable and friendly.
Cruise activities were ok. The cruise activities staff were fun and friendly.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Very nice. Although 2 of the elevators were out of service the whole time. Not good.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
I was concerned about the connecting rooms and when we arrived at our cabin I was pleasantly surprised at the layout. We each had our own door and another larger outside door that would allow families to keep their cabin doors open and the bigger door closes/locked. This way you can go back and forth from cabins without having a door in the middle of your cabin. Very nice, cleaver design.
Room was spacious. Liked the rounded bed which made a little more walking space.
Tried to, it hailed while we disembarked they ship to get on shuttles to town. Very windy, rainy and cold (and we are from Seattle!). When we got off bus to walk to museum there was no way because I was already drenched. We got back on shuttle and stayed onboard. Unfortunately around 2:30 the sun came out and the weather was beautiful. Had to be back onboard by 4pm so opted not to go out. Too bad. We’ve heard many good things about Wellington’s museum and city.
Took the train excursion. Lovely. Thoroughly enjoyed our train car volunteers who made sure we ate, drank and gave us lots of information about the areas.
Loved the bonorong wildlife night time tour. This place takes very good care of their guests (the ones that live there) and visitors. Our bus driver and helper were hysterical
I love SYDNEY!!! Spent an extra 3 days after disembarking The solstice. Lots to do, see, eat and buy there. Luckily we stayed at four seasons which was right across the street from hop on/off bus and ferries as well as the rocks district. One day we walked to Chinatown took us all day. Luckily we came back to the hotel and then it started to rain. Good timing. Sad part was the fires and the loss of koalas and other wildlife.
I agree the 1st elevator went out right away and didn’t work after that.
The second one worked off and on.
I’m glad there were plenty of other elevators.
But for those who only took the elevators it could be a disappointing.
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