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Art on the High Seas: Celebrity Solstice by Marilyn Green -- Celebrity Cruises' Solstice
Sailing on Celebrity Cruises' new 2,850-passenger Solstice is like visiting a very wealthy and successful artist who has poured out his genius on every detail of living, a person with a strong environmental bent and a delightful sense of humor.
Passenger capacity:
2,850
Crew:
1,246 – 1,255
Guest Decks:
13
Staterooms:
1,426, 30 accessible in various categories
Tonnage:
122,000
Beam:
121 feet
Draught:
27 feet
Cruising Speed:
24 knots
Electric Current:
110 and 220 AC
The ship's light, open spaces are punctuated with paintings and sculpture that could star in any major gallery, and the care taken with the details is astonishing. Every dish and glass, every chair and table is worth taking time to examine. Executives sat in every chair and sent many back before making their choices, and the comfort equals the beauty of each one, which is saying a great deal. Even the beautifully shaped wooden benches on the top deck, which could easily be exhibited as sculpture, are supremely comfortable, and the rest of the top deck has to be seen to be believed.
Celebrity has placed a half-acre lawn of real grass with its own greenskeeper on top of the ship, where it attracts croquet and bocce players and people who just want to kick off their shoes and enjoy. Periodically, there is a Hot Glass show, a demonstration of glass blowing and gorgeous glass sculpting by the Corning Museum of Glass.
"Solstice is first cruise ship to use solar energy, with 216 solar panels that generate enough power to operate more than 7,000 LED lights."
Another innovation for the line is the group of 130 AquaSpa staterooms on Deck 11, near the spa. Guests who book these receive a welcome kit with a teeth-whitening sample, slippers, a spa-oriented amenities kit and shower gel, plush European-style bedding, complemented by a choice of pillows from the pillow menu, plush Frette robes and slippers, sound and aromatic elements to enhance the soothing power of the sea and foster relaxation, complimentary bottled water, flavor-infused iced tea (caffeinated or decaffeinated), special room service menu with organic grains and well-balanced diet recommendations, daily canapés, five-head Hansgrohe shower towers and a dedicated television channel with special programming, plus their own health oriented restaurant, Blu.
The public spaces drew gasps on the ship's inaugural cruise, from the adults-only solarium, with its hooded cabanas, dancing fountains and enormous Jacuzzi to the Quasar Disco's spherical DJ station and clear hanging chairs with cream leather cushions. The Solstice Theater has a proscenium that thrusts into the audience and a structure that enables aerial acrobatics.
The Grand Epernay Restaurant, the main dining room, has a dramatic, two-story glass wine tower. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, evening entrée options include dishes such as peppered bison filet with red onion preserve; smoked filet with lentil stew, sultana caper and beef jus; and taro-crusted salmon filet with glazed Brussels sprouts, turnip hash and apple cider sauce. A champagne collection from the region inspiring the venue's name includes Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut, Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon, Heidsieck and Monopole, Champagne Pol Roger, and Louis Roederer Cristal.
The other nine restaurants on board include the Tuscan Grille, which combines Italian flair with a steakhouse menu; Asian fusion Silk Harvest; beautiful Murano, serving classic and modern Continental cuisine; and the Bistro on Five with specialty crepes, sandwiches, soups, salads, desserts and entrees including quiche, fish and chips, baked ziti and chicken pot pie.
The spacious sea of food stations in the Oceanview Café and Grill could make you crazy; it offers more cuisines than anyone could possibly manage, from pastas and Indian dishes to grilled everything and a salad bar that would take a full week to explore fully. Nobody in our party could even think about the fabulous desserts, so we had to visit the gelateria later in the day.
The spa is truly spectacular, with its 24 treatment rooms, breathtaking waiting and relaxation areas, one with spectacular molded mahogany loungers. It introduces many new services including medispa Botox, acupuncture, etc. In addition to an abundance of resistance equipment, Pilates resources and weights, there are full body gravity machines in the gym and brows and lashes added to salon services. For men, there is a very sophisticated separate barbershop.
Celebrity could have made a fortune selling large extra suitcases on our cruise, since the shops were stuffed with the cream of designer clothing, accessories and jewelry, with artisan crafts and fine wines. The shop windows were as stylish and beautiful as the merchandise inside; a display of glass ornaments pulled in dozens of people like a magnet.
On Deck 7 there is a beautiful and moving lounge dedicated to Team Earth, which was launched on board in November by Conservation International. The international effort, described as a rallying cry for individuals and corporations worldwide, will be supported by celebrities from Harrison Ford to Jack Black. Suspended in the atrium next to the space, where passengers can see rich images of life on earth, a live tree in an inverted colorful pyramid planter holds the light.
Celebrity and its sister brand Royal Caribbean have donated nearly $10 million to environmental initiatives since 1996 through their Ocean Fund, and the company has spent more than $100 million on advanced wastewater treatment to protect the seas. Solstice is first cruise ship to use solar energy, with 216 solar panels that generate enough power to operate more than 7,000 LED lights. The hull design, hull coating and glass on the ship have been designed for maximum energy efficiency and its godmother is
Professor Sharon Smith, dean of undergraduate studies at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science; she also co-directs the university's Oceans and Human Health Center. Smith, a two-time cancer survivor and an ardent advocate of early diagnosis, was clearly deeply moved as she announced that Celebrity Solstice, in partnership with United Way, would raise $100,000 to enable lower income women to be tested through breast cancer programs.
Solstice will sail alternating weeklong Eastern Caribbean itineraries from Fort Lauderdale before crossing to the Eastern Mediterranean out of Rome next year.
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