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Celebrity Cruises is a happy medium between a floating Six Flags and a Waldorf-Astoria at sea.
Not too young, not too old. Not too wild, not too calm. And in terms of price, it’s not too flashy, not extravagant. Put another way, if cruise lines were department stores, Celebrity would be Nordstrom compared to Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean’s flagship Macy’s, or Azamara, Oceania and Windstar’s luxury department Saks Fifth Avenue, or Seabourn, Silversea and Regent Seven Seas. The most luxurious-class Le Bon Marché. (I’ve never been there either.)
Celebrity, a member of the Royal Caribbean group, is in the premium cruise category that includes Holland America, Princess and Cunard. Each of these lines has a unique personality, and the few things that set Popularity apart from most of its classmates include onboard sweat and fun, spicy late-night comedians and a main dining room with equal service and food. Paid specialty restaurants. Depending on the year and itinerary, celebrity cruises also seem to have the desired ratio. Long. Mexican Riviera cruises tend to be cheaper than cruises to Alaska.
Speaking of mostly seven-night cruises starting in late September, celebrities are offering itineraries to the Mexican Riviera for the first time in 15 years, a fun and sunny destination. The upcoming season will also mark the first time the famous Solstice will be homeported in Southern California, where it will take up to 2,852 fully booked cruises to destinations such as Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, Ensenada and Catalina Island from the San Pedro World Cruise Center. .
Before Solstice’s arrival in Los Angeles on September 24, marking the first celebrity cruise there since the pandemic, we embarked on an epic week-long tour of the five-ship Alaskan Sail out of Seattle. Much to my delight, the German-built luxury line appears to have high mileage and is still operational after 14 years. A dry-dock renovation scheduled for last October has been postponed, but one of the 15 flagships is the ship Beauty. The cruise line promises that Solstice will look even bigger over the next several months. A “full soft furnishings renovation” is underway, with new carpets, curtains and furniture fitted.
What are you cooking?
Since a tasteful journey is what most passengers want from a cruise, let’s start with the food. What’s most pleasing and delicious is the consistent quality of meals coming out of the main dining galley – the best of the 11 cruises I’ve taken post-Covid-19. There is no supply chain or labor issue under the watchful eye of Executive Chef Manish Naik. Plates were brought to the table as ordered, at the right temperature and, with a few exceptions, compared to those that often cost more in specialty restaurants. Sublime was the prime rib on the fourth night at the Grand Epernay restaurant, the main dining room for those not booked in the Retreat or Aqua class cabins; These big spenders have the option of being served in the exclusive Luminae and Blu dining rooms respectively.
With a buffet lunch and dinner at the spacious Ocean View Cafe, most of what was tried was on the mediocrity side. Hamburgers, pizza, and ice cream weren’t worth the calories all week, which isn’t a bad thing. Positive variations on the buffet are the daily Indian dishes, cold salads and the Wenderbar German sausage station near the end of the cruise.
Also on the plus side were the four unique restaurants of the ship. No disrespect to the a la carte sushi at Five, which makes for an average sunset roll and barbecue pork ramen bowl, but it’s a French-accented Murano, a southern Italian-influenced Tuscan grill and a LePetite chef to choose from. Reality meets luxury food.
The Murano is an exquisite dining experience with impeccable service to match the ride. Yet even with all the fancy-schmancy touches of three entrées being prepared tableside – all winners are lobster, Chateaubriand and Dover sole – the elegant bistro has zero pretense. Delicious scallop wellington and lobster bisque starters and some amazing desserts are priced at $60 per person plus 18% tip. If you really want to splurge, opt for a five-course gastronomic and wine tour for $107.
After suffering through dozens of specialty Italian restaurants that are no better than Olive Garden, how about recommending the Tuscan Grille ($55 per person plus 18 percent gratuity). Like other viable dining options on Deck 5, the Oregano Dusted Steakhouse has killer beef and veal meatballs, lobster rigatoni alfredo, tiramisu and its sister restaurants, with an unparalleled romantic view. Feeding in the rear usually comes with an annoying noise and the humming vibration of the motors, but not on the Solstice. That’s impressive for an old ship.
Next door, Le Petit Chef proves that gimmicky restaurants don’t always sacrifice on food. A concept with a small chef serving each course directly to your table, after the real thing, it’s cute and Tiki Tok worthy. The double menus, which change every two days, have aspects that bring joy, laughter and a tear or two. The two-hour, 4-D experience can be enjoyed at the best restaurants in the world, but it’s most famous at sea. $60 per person plus an 18% tip is a steal.
Putting away the knife and fork
On a ship that prepares 13,000 meals a day and cooks 1,700 tails on lobster night alone, it’s hard to imagine anything else to do on Celebrity Solstice but eat. In fact, each day offers more than 60 activities, and that doesn’t include those planned for the youth participating in the Camp at Sea program. Each morning starts with a fitness class and each evening is celebrated with a dance party hosted by a DJ. In between there are casual games, shopping events, casino tournaments, dance and origami classes, wine and martini tastings, spa treatments – and that’s what’s happening at home. Outdoors, on the ship’s first lawn club with half an acre of real grass, there are bocce ball tournaments, movies under the stars, and very quiet sunbathing on the deck.
Outside is the ships first hot glass studio. What looks like snoring at prime real estate on the upper deck is really a hit with crafty passengers; Individual lessons at 20 minute intervals are regularly sold out. Mary Lawson, a former Irvine resident and current Texan who, like her husband and 16-year-old son, spent $120 and braved a 2,100-degree furnace to make a unique and impressive keepsake from molten glass.
“It’s the healthiest thing we can do as a family,” said the mom, no doubt proudly displaying her jellyfish at home next to hubby’s pumpkin and an equally adorable heart with her son.
A variety of artists are featured in the bars, lounges and foyer, with classical, pop, rock, disco, country, R&B and other genres heard around the clock. There are often productions featuring a live orchestra in the grand 1,113-seat Solstice Theater. The current line-up of singers, dancers and aerialists is excellent, and the shows are excellent, as is the ongoing Solstice Season in the Mexican Riviera. “Amade” is a sophisticated and provocative musical journey from classical to modern; “Rock City” explodes with power ballads; And “Broadway Cabaret” will give singers a platform to perform their favorite shows on the last night.
At press time, Celebrity (www.celebritycruises.com) was offering deep discounts for sailings on Solstice with onboard credit. Fares for seven-night cruises to the Mexican Riviera start at less than $500 per person, taxes and fees included.
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