Celebrity Solstice Day 1 Embarkation and 2 Sea day

Day 1 Embarkation 

We booked a Concierge stateroom but managed to get an Aqua sky suite room via moveup for another 2k. I was very excited as this means I will enjoy the perks from both suites and Aqua class. With a suite, I will have a bigger room and access to Luminae restaurant and the retreat lounge. With Aqua class I will have access to Persian Garden and Blu restaurant. I have booked Concierge originally for priority embarkation , tender and disembarkation which came with the suite as well. 

This will be my 30th wedding anniversary celebration so we decided to splurge a little more! This is our longest cruise at 12 nights!

Downloaded the celebrity app and check in via the app 45 days before cruise. Selected the earliest check-in at 11 am. We wanted to carry on the luggage but the luggage were too big and had to check-in. 

After we checked-in, there was a signboard indicating retreat guests. A lady with the name list marked our attendance and there was a separate queue for us to register. The system was down and there is a delay in embarkation. Luckily they have an area with light refreshments for suite guests.

Walking up the gangway. Our passports were collected when we entered the ship.

A real tree in the ship!

We checked out our room which was so spacious. The sea pass which was our room key was placed in an envelope outside our room. A memo was also placed in the holder to remind us of our dinner at Murano.

The room is spacious.  Aqua sky suite deck 12 2119.

Complimentary sparkling wine. Did not see flowers and fruits as it was still early. I was told the room would be ready around 1pm.

Went down to have lunch at Luminae, a restaurant for the suite guests. The pea soup is nice. Hubby like his steak a lot. I ordered lobster roll initially but didn't quite like it so I asked for their burger. Hubby had Bordeaux red wine and I took the Burbon and peach cocktail. Had dark chocolate and Dulce de Luche with mango marmalade for dessert. Hubby had pear and Yogurt Clafortis with vanilla ice cream.

Love the soup. It was very hot as they poured the soup from a jug.

I don't quite like the lobster roll as it didn't taste fresh.

Hubby's steak was good.

Budi was so nice to bring me a burger. Didn't quite like it either.

I love the dessert though hubby found them too sweet.

Diana, Mar and Milo are so warm and friendly.

Checked out the pools.

Beautiful and comfortable hammock.

Went for a tour of the spa area as we have access to the Persian garden as Aqua suite guests.

Game for a IV drip?

Relaxing but the seats are pretty hot. Would be therapeutic. Used the Persian Garden twice during the cruise. Love it. To enter, we had to swap for another key card at the reception counter of the spa to open the door leading to the room.

Rain shower

Steam room

The gym inside the spa area.

The food at the buffet in Ocean view looked good too. However, it was so crowded and all the tables seemed occupied. I think this is the only place for lunch other than the dining room for concierge guests and Luminae for suite guests.

Lawn on deck 14 was pretty empty as it rained

We went for our mandatory safety briefing which was just outside the Michael's club.

It was just outside Michael's club for suite guests so we went in to Michael's club check it out.

Complimentary snacks and Cappuccino at Michael's club.

We also checked out the casino which is only opened at sea. 

One thing I look forward to cruise is the shows in the theatre. The Solstice theatre is big with two decks of seats but I think RC stage is bigger.

Beautiful sky observation lounge. The cocktails here are unique too as they named them after the stars.

We went back to our room. Hubby watched his shows from the hard disk. Luckily he brought the Samsung remote control. I have also unpacked and hang up my clothes. I used up one container of wrinkles removal spray but it was not as effective though the smell was great!

Good that there are many hangers in the wardrobe. 

A binoculars, umbrella and yoga mat were also available in the room. The tote bag was a gift for the guests. Our retreat host brought us the kettle and extra pillows which we requested.

Nice view from the balcony. The rain has stopped.

Beautiful performance by the Cardinals at the Grand foyer.

Dinner at Luminae, the restaurant for the suite guests. Before the moveup to the suite, I booked Concierge stateroom so I was able to book the dinner at the main dining room but all were cancelled after I gotten the suite.   

We were served a ham and cheese ball first. I ordered the Daniel Boulud Signatures. A cold soup chilled carrot and ginger, prawns, lime and cilantro. Entree Morrocan chicken tagine with saffron. Hubby ordered smoked tomato soup, roasted Turbot with fennel croquettes .

The crispy bread is nice. Not so for the ham and cheese ball. 

I liked my cold soup.

Hubby's smoked tomato soup.

The signature chicken tangine which I didn't like as it was strongly spiced.

Hubby liked his Turbot. 

The staff at Luminae were so sweet to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary with a cake. As we were pretty full, they said they would send it to our room.

We went for the 7pm show West End's greatest showmen by The Other Guys. Awesome performance. 

On our way to Murano, we saw Golden Groove's performance at Grand foyer. What touched me was seeing an old couple dancing away. It's heartening to see a couple cherishing life together till old age.

The ship was really bustling with activities! Saw another activity True or false.

Guess the weight of the sculpture! Love the cat sculpture. There were many artwork around at the gallery.

At Murano for our round 2 dinner. We paid S$134.02 pre-cruise (first night discount) for 2 of us. Love the strawberry cold soup followed by mushroom Cappuccino. Hubby love his lobster bisque. We shared the crab and smoked salmon with Avacado and cavier parfait. We had the lobster on flame and it was cooked table side. The lobster was so fresh and juicy. Best meal onboard.

Awesome dessert. Crepe with vanilla gelato and strawberry in red wine.

I went to Effy to collect the free charm for the locket. Collected all 10 by the end of our cruise!

Chocolates and newsletter with the next day programme were left on the bed when we returned to our room.

The wine I ordered was sent to the room together with the anniversary cake.

Decided to have breakfast in the room the following day so I hung the selected menu outside the room. Actually room service for suite is complimentary too between 11 am to 5am for non-alcoholic drinks and food. 

Day 2 Sea Day

Woke up 8 plus and realised the clock was pushed back an hour so I woke up an hour early. Beautiful balcony and sea view.

I might have over ordered breakfast. The waves are really strong and you can really feel the movement.

9am breakfast (Singapore time 10am)

We went up to deck 14 to see the hot glass class, a unique feature of the ship.

The ship movement was so strong. Firstly the ship is moving forward fast and the sea is rough as it is more opened.

I went to collect the second charm from Effy. All the shops are opened. Didn't feel good and threw up. Luckily I brought a small plastic bag. Went through 13 cruises and this is the very first time I was sea sick.

Lunch at the ocean view cafe. A great variety of food. Just that I was still feeling sea sick as it was raining and the sea was really rough. I even encountered a lady who tripped. Many were trying to keep their balance. As mentioned it was the first time I gotten sea sick on a cruise.

I went to the paracord keychain making class. The instructor, Erin, was very friendly and patient. 

Enjoying the Persian garden heated bed and steam room. Very soothing and relaxing. I had to swap my seapass for another card to access the Persian garden and steam room.

Hubby went into the steam room.

The hot tub was so good soaking in it while hubby took a swim. But less than 20 mins it rained 😥

Still feeling sea sick so decided to call the restaurant and postponed my dinner at Le petite to the day after. We paid pre-cruise for it at S$175.48 for the 2 of us. It will be a fun dinner with animations.

We also decided to try out Blu restaurant which is complimentary for Aqua guests.

Finally passed Malaysia and going into Gulf of Thailand. We would be at Ko Samui the day after. As I had been to Ko Samui, I did not book any excursion. I have booked a massage session and planned to just walk around the pier as it is by tender and time given on the island was pretty short.

Chic night on the 2nd day and we had our dinner at Blue, the restaurant for Aqua class guests. Thanks to Celebrity, we were getting the best of Aqua (Blue) and Suite (Luminae) as we were in the Aqua Sky suite. As Blu was quite packed, they were not able to cater to sky suite guests and luckily ours is Aqua Sky suite.

Hubby looked so good in his suit.

Bread with grind beet, pea and butter. Rey said the beet is good for the heart. Really love Blu for this.

I took the cocktail Garden breeze.

Macadamia nuts crusted scallop. The scallop is not as juicy and sweet as what I preferred.

Crab bisque with cavier which tasted like lobster bisque. I don't like it as it was too salty.

Hubby's herb crusted lamb rack was superb. My grilled octopus paled. Maybe cos I was still feeling sea sick.

I love the creme Brulee. It relieved my sea sickness.

What I was looking forward to - Production show Rock city. Awesome performance by the acrobats.

The ocean view cafe is just directly above us so I went to grab some pizza and fruits after the show. A lot of nice food.

Our butler is so nice to send us a red wine as we told him we prefer that to sparkling wine which is complimentary to suite guests. Drank it with the pizza. Nice. There was also complimentary ice-cream available at the cafe. I tried the cherry brandy. Excellent!

We turned in early though there were still so many performances around the ship as we would be reaching ko Samui 7am the following morning. Trying to get to the tender as early as possible. No need for us to get the tender ticket as suite guests has priority to tender. We were told to meet at Michael's club for suite guests and the concierge would bring us to the tender. Would be posting that in the next post.

Day 1 Embarkation and Day 2 Sea Day

Day 3 Ko Samui (Tender)

Day 4 & 5 Pattaya

Day 6 sea day & Day 7 Vung Tau

Day 8 Nha Trang & Day 9 Hue

Day 10 and 11 Halong Bay

Day 12 sea day & 13 HK