Celebrity Solstice Review - First Glimpse
The 122,000-ton, 2,850-passenger Celebrity Solstice represents the first of five upcoming ships in the brand-new Solstice class from Celebrity. The vessel is set to debut this December with a season of weeklong Eastern Caribbean cruises. In anticipation of the launch, Celebrity has been releasing a steady stream of information about onboard features. So what will guests find onboard? Dining OptionsThe spots to consume onboard (with the exception of room service) include:Grand Epernay, one of the venues designed by Tihany, is Solstice's main dining room, with traditional set seating. The visual centerpiece is a dramatic two-story glass wine tower. The menus may include such offerings as peppered bison filet with red onion preserve; and smoked filet with lentil stew, sultan caper and beef jus. Food will be served on square plates.Bistro on Five is a casual venue offering crepes, sandwiches, soups, quiche, fish and chips, baked ziti, chicken pot pie, sweets and specialty coffees, all available either dine-in or take out. Open nearly 24 hours, the oceanview spot will take care of the late-night munchies.Oceanview Cafe and Bar (another Tihany design) is Solstice's newer take on Lido dining, with the focus moving away from buffet lines toward a variety of stations and more individually plated portions rather than self-serve hotel pans. The design is inspired by a traditional indoor/outdoor European marketplace, and there will be plenty of alfresco seating available.Blu is the venue connected with Solstice's new AquaClass cabin category. Note: Celebrity has said, unequivocally, that this isn't a spa restaurant (the spa cuisine will be left to the AquaSpa Cafe, mentioned below). For Blu, Celebrity's used to word "clean" to describe the fare, defined as a mix of Mediterranean and nouveau Californian. The clean feel will be achieved by avoiding cream sauces -- using reductions and vinaigrettes instead -- and through a general focus on lightness and freshness. Thus: pan-seared filet; blackened ahi tuna; herb-crusted rack of lamb; roasted beet salad with goat cheese.AquaClass guests will have right of seating in this 130-seat venue, but Jaques Van Staden, Vice President of Food & Beverage, was confident that other guests who wanted to sample the food would be able to do so -- perhaps not on the first or second night, but at some point in the cruise (when AquaClass passengers would want to venture out and sample the other dining options).Introduced on Celebrity's Millennium-class vessels, the AquaSpa Cafe, positioned for maximum effect in the ship's Solarium, will offer the healthiest fare -- salads, grilled chicken breast, fresh fruit and vegetables -- available onboard.The Mast Grill & Bar is Solstice's straightforward poolside venue serving, burgers, dogs, tacos, gyros, reubens, and fries and onion rings.Murano, a specialty restaurant that's already a favorite on Millennium-class ships, is coming to Solstice. Solstice's Murano will be similar to the Murano of older ships, with tableside service and elegant French cuisine -- but with an all-new menu, designed for Solstice, sans Michel Roux. Choices may include warm goat cheese pancakes with sweet bell pepper nage; or spice-roasted duck with raisin-apple compote.Tuscan Grille is an "Old World"-style Italian grill designed by Tihany to look like a Napa Valley wine cellar. Menu options include Kobe beef, antipasti, homemade gnocchi and ravioli and tableside Caesar salad preparation. Each meal is complimented by an extensive wine selection.One of the more intriguing venues is Silk Harvest, a pan-Asian venue which will feature a blend of Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese and Indian cuisines, including sushi, hot curries and stir fries. In line with the general theme, the restaurant will serve a variety of sakes, Asian beers and cocktails (such as a drink created with ginger root and acai berry).Cafe al Bacio & Gelateria is an authentic Italian cafe serving gelato and Italian ices, fresh-baked pastries, chocolate truffles, and of course, cappuccinos, espresso, coffee and tea.NightlifeIf you love the nightlife (and love to boogie), you'll find no shortage of evening options onboard Celebrity Solstice. The ship will feature entirely new nighttime venues -- in addition to old favorites like Fortunes Casino and England-inspired Michael's Club.Take a peek: Cellar Masters. This new wine bar will offer sommelier service and serve as a space for enrichment opportunities such as wine tasting that features Riedel, Austria's renowned crystal glass company (that program was introduced fleetwide this year). A company statement describes the decor as having the "deep tones of a winery during a summer sunset." Ensemble Lounge. Celebrity is forecasting this lounge to be the place for pre-dinner cocktails. Expect musical-themed design elements that hark back to the heyday of jazz greats Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Passport Bar. This drink spot in the Grand Foyer on the ground level of Celebrity Solstice will be designed with a Mediterranean color palette in mind. Quasar. This is Celebrity's answer to high-tech discos at sea. Quasar will feature "futuristic designs of the 60's and 70's" -- and some classical elements, too, such as leather banquettes featuring details developed from vintage cars. State-of-the-art lighting and four LED screens will provide a light show in time with the beat of the music. Sky Observation Lounge. This new top-of-the-ship observation lounge is all about the dancing -- each night will feature different themes from tango to ballroom dance. An infinity dome will hang over the dance floor for a view to the night sky. During the day, the venue should be a nice, quiet place to snag a panoramic sea view. Crush. Part of Celebrity's signature Martini Bar, Crush is an alcove featuring an ice-filled table where guests can participate in caviar and vodka tastings. Private events can also be held here.InnovationsOne of the most talked about new feature on Solstice is the 1/2-acre lawn for sports and relaxation. "The Lawn Club," on the top-most deck, aft, will feature live growing grass (not artificial turf) and a full-time groundskeeper. It will be the central element of the ship's outdoor experience. The area is three times larger than Rockefeller Center's ice skating rink (and more than two times the size of Centre Court at Wimbledon's All England Lawn Tennis Club). Among its features are: Cruising's first bocce at sea. There will be two courts for bocce ball, a game of skill imported from Italy. It's similar to lawn bowling and very popular in places like Napa Valley. A putting green, with areas of slight unevenness for more challenging play. The Patio on the Lawn, next to the glassblowing studio where the Hot Glass Show will be held, will serve snacks and coffee al fresco. Passengers can also use The Lawn Club for simply soaking up sun or reading a book. There will be no charge to utilize the putting green or any other area of The Lawn Club, though there will of course be a limited number of putters available for borrowing. On hand for the big reveal were Dan Hanrahan, President and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, and Richard Fain, Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. (Celebrity's parent company). Both spoke from a podium lined with grass -- Fain removed his shoes and socks to stand on it barefoot. It's not as easy to build a lawn onboard a cruise ship as you might think. First of all, the grass and the water and irrigation systems used to sustain it weigh a ton -- 150 metric tons in total to be precise. To support the extra weight, the ship was widened slightly during the architectural phase.Also, the rigors of cruise travel (saltwater, sun, wind and foot traffic) necessitated the search for a particularly hearty type of grass. To that end, Celebrity brought in "grass experts" -- landscape architects, irrigation specialists, and turf and soil scientists from the University of Florida -- to help select the specific variety that could best withstand day-to-day cruising. Other uses for the lawn are yet to be determined; the dramatic night lighting seen in the rendering above, for example, could be the backdrop for outdoor concerts. We'll keep you posted as more details are revealed.
The cruise line has teamed up with the world-renowned Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York, to introduce cruisers to its traveling exhibit, the "Hot Glass Show." Since 2001, the show has traveled to museums, art fairs and public festivals around the world, but this will be its first foray at sea. What exactly is the Hot Glass Show? On Celebrity Solstice, three resident "gaffers" -- glassblowing artists -- will conduct live glassmaking demonstrations, lectures and workshops in a custom-designed outdoor studio, located on the ship's upper deck. The gaffers will create items such as vases and bowls as a narrator explains each step in the process and answers guests' questions. The show will be free and offered several times per voyage, on all itineraries. Though there are no concrete plans at this point for hands-on passenger participation, a spokeswoman for Celebrity tells us that Celebrity and The Corning Museum of Glass are exploring ways to allow some guests to experience the art of glassblowing for themselves. Celebrity is also in the process of developing products that will be available for purchase that will complement the type of artistry the Hot Glass Show will bring to the ship. The Corning Museum of Glass' Hot Glass Show has been seen at such venues as the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and America's 400th Anniversary Celebration at Jamestown. AccommodationsCelebrity has also unveiled details about the accommodations. Cabin decor gives a hint about overall design of all spaces, including public rooms and recreation areas, onboard. In this case staterooms are very sleek, contemporary, minimalist ... the very antithesis of fussy or busy. There's a tantalizing peak of a handful of the ship's public areas -- and they do mirror the style of the cabins. Check out the renderings of Blu, a boutique restaurant, and the ship's solarium. Brand-new to Celebrity is a category of AquaClass cabins. These 192-square-ft. staterooms, with 53-square-ft. balconies, are aimed at passengers who want a spa-oriented cruise.Folks who reside in these cabins located on the Penthouse Deck, which we can only presume is in the AquaSpa neighborhood, get unlimited access to the AquaSpa relaxation room, the Persian Garden and Blu. Suites onboard -- in this case in traditional Celebrity categories such as Penthouse, Royal, Celebrity and Sky -- naturally feature enhanced amenities and services. They'll all have a long list of butler-style extras, such as packing and unpacking; full menu meal service for breakfast, lunch and dinner; and free espresso and cappuccino. The Family Veranda stateroom is another "new" twist that will debut on Celebrity Solstice, measuring a pretty generous 753 square ft. (balconies range in size, from 53 to 105 square ft.). The bedroom is separate from the living room, which will be equipped with fold-out couches; there's also an extra alcove, just big enough for twin bunks. Conceivably, six people could manage easily here. However, what's a puzzle to us considering the current industry trend in family accommodations is that they're designing bathrooms with showers only. Younger kids especially prefer bathtubs. As well (and as Disney has discovered), a half bath is a particularly good idea in a family scenario. There's no half bath here.One of the boasts Celebrity had made when it originally announced the design of its Solstice-class ships was the fact that cabins would be larger than usual. Well, they definitely are a bit larger than those on Celebrity's Millennium class when comparing standard balcony staterooms (which at 170 square ft. are frankly pretty teeny-tiny for a cruise line at this level). But anyone expecting something bigger than industry standard will be disappointed; these standard staterooms are no bigger than those offered on new ships in fleets for Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean and Carnival.
