Celebrity Solstice - Almost Great

Today I’m onboard the Celebrity Solstice, a cruise ship born from the 2008 recession, and in many ways, looks like it. I’m taking a unique, repositioning cruise up America’s West Coast to see if the ship is any good and if Celebrity Cruises is worth your money!

Main Channel - @BrightSunFilms

Emmi’s Channel - @emmi_lancaster

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Bright Sun Travels 2023

Presented in 4k

[angeladelia]

As someone who has never been on a cruise, I do enjoy your rating the ships

[lizhill]

I have just finished a cruise on this ship. Someone has taken notice as the maintenance has improved. The railings are newly varnished, the balcomy was clean and workmen scraped and painted during the trip. The music you hated was gone. So good work.

[InventorZahran]

The big issue with annoying sounds is that you can never fully ignore them. With ugly visual art, you can at least look away without closing your eyes, but there's no way to "listen away" without wearing earplugs (which are often uncomfortable and should not be necessary in a space that's meant to be relaxing).

[seanharding]

As someone who absolutely loves a good spa, I completely concur with your assessment of cruise spas. It feels like walking into a used car dealership.

[xsroyalsx]

Just got off the Celebrity Ascent. We were part of her inaugural season and were her first spring break cruise. I absolutely loved every aspect of the ship and it shows that Celebrity puts tremendous care into its ships. We had a behind the scenes tour and got to see how environmentally friendly Celebrity is, which is a plus. I also toured the Equinox and Silhouette (both post-refurb) and they look almost brand new and beautiful. It's almost disheartening to see the condition that the Solstice is in. I know Celebrity has a schedule for designated renovations, but it's painful that this video reflects the cruise lines priority over other ships in the fleet. I'm a huge Celebrity fan and supporter, but the condition of the amenities on the Solstice is borderline disgraceful. Needless to say, love you Celebrity Cruises! 💙

[CNHFTC]

I'm a travel agent. Last month I took the opportunity to visit and take a ship tour of Celebrity Solstice while it was docked at the Port of Los Angeles. We visited all the public areas (not the Sky Lounge unfortunately, I definitely missed out 🥲) and got to have lunch in the main dining room on our *escorted* ship tour. I thought the ship was absolutely gorgeous inside, and I enjoyed the food and wine I had onboard.

However, we were not taken to see any cabins and we did not linger too long in any public area. I can clearly see why after watching this video.

[markfromlodz]

Solstice was due to be refurbished but then Covid happened. I was on Silhouette last year, which was refurbished in Feb 2020, just before Covid, and it was amazing. It looked brand new. The layout of the rooms was the same, but the beds were new and comfortable, and the colour scheme had been updated. Everything else was in excellent condition. Agree about the burgers, though.

[CarolMortensen-eb]

Other cruise bloggers don't really show so much of the wear, tear, and mold here and there on the ships. Thanks for revealing that it's not always so glamorous on the more premium ships.

[taylorhancock]

I actually got to travel on the Solstice, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If I'm recalling, on that trip the captain actually gave an engineering talk on the ship's design, as he had been one of the design leads when it was being constructed (it remains to this day one of the single funniest, most in depth, and easiest to follow engineering talks I've heard to date), so it will always be looked upon fondly in my eyes

[spcx]

There are plenty of good travel and cruise channels on YouTube, but your style of travel reviews is reflected in this video; honest, thorough, a little humor, and filled with hope for what could and/or should be an excellent experience. Thank you

[samwolf]

You have no idea how genuinely useful these reviews have been for a person who is just getting into cruising. I’ve only gone on the Norwegian Encore so far and really liked it, so I hope you get to review them sometime. Really love your perspective and honesty, keep up the great work

[Rampala]

"But God, please! Anything but 'Blurred Lines!'"

Same, friend, same.

[BrianLagerstrom]

Very thoughtful review and expertly Pitt oftener Vid! My wife and I went on this ship in February and felt just about the same on every level. I HATE the high pressure spa sales and seminars.

Your cruise ship review videos are by far the best on YT! Please make more. Would love to see an Edge Class review or a luxury brand like Silver Sea or Viking.

[slimcourage]

I sailed on her sister ship Reflection in January in a concierge veranda. The cabin looked basically the same as yours, if anything a bit better maintained from what I can see. Otherwise my experience matched yours. Loved the Solarium.

One thing worth pointing out is that COVID put Celebrity’s “revolutionize” refurbishment program on indefinite hold and ships like Solstice have missed out (for now, at least).

As for food, I enjoyed Le Petit Chef, but Murano was amazing. If you get back on this class of ships sometime I can’t recommend it more.

[JimZim]

This is a brilliantly-done video! You really didn't hold back on your comments!
I was on this ship in January. The lack of maintenance was shocking to me. One thing you didn't mention, perhaps because it has been resolved... When I was aboard, the lawn was in horrible shape.

Thankfully, I never heard Gangham Style while aboard. In fact, I don't recall any problem with the background music when I was aboard. It's probably a completely different person selecting the mix now than it was during my cruise.

I couldn't agree with you more about the spa! One of the things I really liked about sailing with Viking Ocean Cruises is that their spa experience is actually relaxing and they're not trying to sell you additional services.

You're right that the atrium has a very cozy feel to it, and that the food in the buffet was actually pretty good. At a time when a lot of cruise lines are skimping on their buffet, Celebrity Solstice still offers a fairly nice one... especially at breakfast and lunch time. The dinner buffet is less extensive.

I really appreciated your video and laughed out loud several different times when your comments cut especially deep!

[Rex_Crackerz]

I really like ambient music on cruises when it's done well. There's nothing like sitting and watching the ocean while some calm R&B music plays over the radio

[ianlayton]

Having just come off of the Celebrity Millennium (built in 2000) last week doing an Alaskan cruise and having been on the Solstice for a Caribbean cruise back in 2017...there's a huge difference on ships that have gone through the full conversion and retrofits that the Solstice missed out on because of the pandemic. The new stateroom schemes are much lighter and feel a lot more modern...there are a lot more electrical plugs in the rooms and the railings on deck have been replaced. I had previously been on the Millennium back in 2011 and 2013, so there was a huge improvement on the ship felts between then and now. It's unfortunate that the Solstice missed out on that, because it would have presented a better picture to you what their refreshed ships really feel like.

It's funny thing you mentioned about the cakes in the buffet...because I had the exact same feeling about them...they almost were like the cakes you get a cheap Chinese buffets. Although, from what I heard from our party, our deck bar burgers were better.

We also did the Millennium's version of La Pettie Chef while on the cruise. While the food was good and the animations were fun and whimsical, definitely a one time thing.

I still have the glass bowl I made on the 2017 Solstice cruise :)

[Lady_Flashheart]

The music commentary made me laugh. My grandfather, who was so particular about his musical tastes that he wouldn't eat at a restaurant if he didn't like the background music, would've jumped ship within seconds of hearing "Blurred Lines", and I have to say I'd be tempted to join him. It's not just cruises, many businesses need to think about their musical choices. Loud, thumping club music and autotuned belting is fine in a club, do we need to hear it while grocery shopping? Get off my lawn! 😆 Time and a place is what I say.

[skycaptain]

The Solstice-class and Royal’s Radiance-class are my favorite ship designs in terms of spaces to truly enjoy the ocean. I recently got off a brand new Princess ship, and was disappointed how inward facing it all felt.

[mckennaxnewroman]

it may help that i’ve been watching your content for at least 7+ years now but it is truly a talent that you’ve managed to keep me, someone who both has a fear of cruises and just an overall dislike of the industry, so engaged. i genuinely enjoy your storytelling and commentary style. thanks jake!