Specialty Restaurants and Unlimited Beverage Package are ruining traditional cruising

Item: Celebrity Solstice
Rating: 3.9
Author: mmoore84601386

Celebrity Solstice Cruise Review to Mexico

mmoore84601386

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 29

Overall rating:

3.9 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Mexican Riviera Holiday (Los Angeles Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 26, 2022

Ship: Celebrity Solstice

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6107

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Overall, the cruise was great, but the service in the common areas needs improvement. Also, the main dinning room needs improvement.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

The quality of the food in the main dining room has deteriorated significantly. The wait staff, sommelier were wonderful and provided excellent service, but the food was not what it used to be. It seems that since cruise ships started having specialty restaurants at an additional cost (which is now higher than when they started the concept with a nominal fee) the main dinning room food quality has gone down. It is a shame that to eat well or -high- quality food you have to spend extra money. We did eat at he sushi restaurant on board and it was okay and the prices were a la carte. I spend almost 200 on 6 people and we shared two appetizers and had a roll each. It was not worth it at all. The rolls were small and not of high quality. The Spa Cafe was awful as well. The "fresh pressed juices" and smoothies are absolutely awful and you should get rid of them or have them made properly. They are the most "watery" smoothies I have ever had. Food and beverage on the ship needs to visit a real juice bar and make quality juices and smoothies, as these are not difficult to make and your passengers would love them.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

I loved the wine tasting at Master Cellars. I also loved the dance classes.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Our waiters, sommelier and room steward were excellent. However, the bar service at the pool and bars is not good and you need more staff. It seems that since you started selling drink packages, the overall beverage service on the ship has deterioted and it is difficult at times to get a drink. Lines and not finding any waiters providing table service is common. It is bad business to sell us an unlimited drink package and then we have to wait in line for a drink or we can't find waiters to bring us drinks at our pool lounger.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Our cabin steward, Gilmore, was excellent.

Ports of call

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

5 out of 5

Mazatlan, Mexico

3 out of 5

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

7 Comments

willwork4cruz 1 year ago

For how cheap a cruise can be, you can't expect first class food.

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javawoody 1 year ago

Appreciate the feedback

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WhippetMum 1 year ago

Thanks for your feedback

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grayghost 1 year ago

Another reviewer with Zero cruises badmouthing a cruise line.

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jallaway 1 year ago

My experience is for all lines things were definitely better before the pandemic, and things are definitely much better now since the restart. I don't think any Cruise line is going to tell you that they're still not dealing with staffing or supply chain issues. I heard the same from a RC food services manager just the last month. I guess another question is how far do you have to go back in years to say the main dining room food was first class? I don't think on any of the ships I've been on, whether they be mainstream or premium lines, where I could say the meals were consistently at that level.

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Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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RetiredRay 1 year ago

Wonder what happened since October?

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