The Ultimate Celebrity Solstice Dining & Food Review 2023
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 ก.ค. 2024
- The ultimate dining and food review from onboard the fantastic Celebrity Cruises ship Celebrity Solstice. In my brutal and honest review, I tell you about Murano, Le Petite Chef & Family, Tuscan Grille, Blu, Oceanview Cafe, Room Service, Captain's Club Breakfast, Cafe al Bacio, and Luminae onboard Celebrity Solstice.
Celebrity Solstice is the first in the Solstice Class of ships. I previously sailed on Celebrity Equinox, a sister ship to the Solstice, and have been on multiple Edge series ships. Celebrity Cruises is one of my favorite cruise lines, but where will Celebrity Solstice rank in the list of my favorite cruise ships across all of the cruise lines?
This is the final video from my cruise experience onboard Celebrity Solstice. Other videos already on my channel from my time on Celebrity Solstice include a full ship tour, cruise review, specialty dining, food review, shore excursions, and more! This cruise visited Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán, and Puerto Vallarta.
Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE for more Celebrity Cruises and solo cruise content. Also, make sure to FOLLOW me on Instagram. I extensively cover cruise ship travel - including Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Virgin Voyages, and Norwegian Cruise Line. From the latest cruise news to cruise ship reviews, dining guides and reviews, best excursions, and more!
Make sure to visit my website for more cruise content, including my FREE Cruise Port Travel Guide, which is available as a FREE digital download: zachthetravelingman.com/
#celebritycruises #celebritysolstice #cruise
--------------------------
00:00 Introduction
02:50 Le Petit Chef
07:12 Blu
09:14 Captain's Club Breakfast
11:39 Murano
14:15 Luminae
14:58 New Lobster Charges
17:39 Cafe al Bacio
18:34 Oceanview Cafe
21:00 Room Service Fees
Just was on the Solstice for an Alaska cruise. The food in the main dining room was hit or miss. The food was either too bland, over seasoned and in small portions (2 Brussels sprouts with the steak). The “NY sirloin steak” was a small skinny steak that was more grisly and fat than meat. You could tell it was not fresh. The haddock on Lobster Night was ice cold and mushy. When I got a lobster, it was overcooked, rubbery and very small.
On the other hand, the food in the buffet was excellent, we ate there more often because of the choices and the quality was great. There was a croissant with chocolate in the middle coupled with coffee was excellent way to start the day. In the buffet, I noted a lady cough into her hand and then grabbed a tong with the same hand. Within seconds, the person behind the station took that tong away and replaced with another one and then changed his gloves.
Hello there. Thank you for this wonderful tour on all of the meals. They all looked great. Amen
Thank you for watching!
Murano is the nuts ❤
Hi. Love the show. I have family in Juneau and go visit often. I recommend you walk over to DECKHAND DAVE’S and get Halibut and Chips. From your ship, walk down Main Street to the end. On the right is the outdoor restaurant. Be sure you go for the Halibut and not the Rockfish. At the bar, you can also try a famous “Alaskan” beer - founded in Juneau and very good.
Great suggestion. I’ll have to check that out. Thanks!
Great and informative video.
Glad you liked it!
Enjoyed your review as always. Very thorough and interesting. I did want to mention that we sailed on Solstice within a short time of your cruise and the one thing I will point out with regard to the Oceanview Café for dinner is the dinner selection for those on special diets was very restrictive but agree in general the offering for dinner was sufficient.
Thanks for watching! And for raising the point about Oceanview Cafe.
Just finished a cruise on Celebrity Solstice to Alaska (19 May to 26 May 2023) and we stayed in Aqua Class. We ate all our breakfasts and dinners at Blu and it was really good. For us, the service was on point. They were very attentive to all of our needs and were extremely accommodating. For lunch we ate sometimes at the Ocean View Cafe but also ate a lot at the main sit down restaurant for lunch. I felt the food was a lot better there than in the buffet for lunch. I also had a snack at the Mast Grill which was a hamburger that wasn't very good. I was kind of surprised at that as everything else was superb!
Cafe al Bacio is really great even if you're not a coffee drinker. They have a full line of different types of pastries which are done very well. My biggest complaint? No sports bar. They really need a bar with a lot of TV's to show the major sporting events that are occurring. Fortunes casino has a bar with four small TVs and very limited seating only at the bar itself for the whole ship! If I were to cruise again with them I would definitely go Aqua class again.
Hi Zach. Great overview of the food on the Solstice. We just sailed on her in May 2023 on the first Alaska cruise of the year. I do have to admit we were lucky enough to sail in a suite and ate mostly at Luminae. It was because the food and service at Luminae was head-and-shoulders above the other restaurants. In fact, the service we received in Luminae on the Solstice was probably the best we’ve had in our 15 cruises. We did do the buffet which was ok (as with any buffet with hits and misses although I do find Celebrity buffets tend to be above other cruise lines). We were very disappointed with the Tuscan Grille, but chalking that up to a bad night. I agree that Le Petit Chef is more about the “show” than the food, but the food was quite good. Thanks again for the in-depth review.
Thank you for watching and sharing your recent experience. I’m glad you had a great cruise. Can’t wait to go to Alaska soon myself.
Hi Zach, Love your videos about the Solstice. I have been wanting to do this ship since it was built and I'm finally doing it next summer....... What is your opinion on paying for the "all inclusive" upgrade when I book? It includes Wifi, Drinks and Tips. It's an extra $1800 for 3 of us and my son is under 21 so he can't drink, my husband and I aren't big drinkers, but we do use a lot of wifi..... They would not just do the upgrade for me and my husband, it has to be everyone in the cabin which I feel is a waste for my son. Most other cruise lines give you some specialty dining credits with this upgrade but not with Celebrity. Do you think it's better for us to just do Cruise Only and pay as we go? I am worried it can add up..... What is your opinion?
My first experience of celebrity cruise line ships was this January 2024 on board the celebrity Apex which I found to be a most wonderfully designed ship and the food and service great, better than anything I had in Beverly Hills in the five years I went to restaurants for breakfast lunch or dinner. The chilli was better than that at Chasen’s Restaurant. Next January I’ve booked a cruise on the Celebrity Reflection, I know it won’t be like Apex but I hope I won’t be disappointed.
We sailed on Celebrity Solstice in mid December and unfortunately did not experience Blu. We had the best meals in the specialty venues but were extremely disappointed in the main dining room for its quality and service. The Ocean View Cafe generally looked better than it tasted and was a disappointment with some of the food inedible. I am glad you have had such a good experience and it seems you get what you pay for on Celebrity now.
Thanks for sharing this, Richard.
Very much enjoyed this video… Will be going on the equinox and staying in aqua class in August to celebrate our 50th anniversary… I sure hope we can get multiple lobster tails when dining in Blu!! we have never stayed in aqua class before and we are very much looking forward to it...thank you!!
You will love it! I hope you have a great time. :)
@@ZachtheTravelingMan we have cruised on the equinox a couple of times already, but never in aqua class, and we do like that ship… I think our experience will be even more wonderful, staying in aqua class… I love all your honest videos… Thank you come🚢
Get some food earlier in the day and keep it in the fridge for late night snacks
On embarkation day what restaurant do you try first ? I always recommend your videos for info. Keep up the great work .
Thank you! Usually I just do the buffet for lunch because the restaurants aren’t open. But for dinner Tuscan or Murano would be nice on the first night.
Another great video, Zach! Too bad that instance of service at Blu was dodgy. Maybe due to new / inexperienced staff? Good on you for trying to raise various issues to Celebrity. Keep up the great work! Our next Celebrity cruise is a year way... We're "land-cruising" to the East Coast of Canada in August...
Thanks for watching as always!
Agree with a few of the other comments. We sailed the Solstice in December as suite guests and then concierge class in April. The food and service between Luminae and MDR, is a stark difference. The staff are always so wonderful everywhere and work so hard but were overwhelmed in MDR, especially for dinner. Food was hit and miss in MDR with desserts being the standout. Agree that with the with the specialty dining you can’t go wrong, though would be lovely to see some “tasters” from specialty restaurants in MDR. Le Petit chef’s animation and show seems to always surpass the food. A bit of fun nonetheless 😊🇦🇺 as always a great video Zach with some great insights
Thanks for watching!
We were on the Celebrity Solstice end of April 2023. Agreed most of the food is great. Tuscan Grille was just okay. In combination with my husband we got the lamb (just okay), filet (pretty tasty but cooked to well done even though I asked for a little pink), eggplant parmigiana (didn't like it), sauteed spinach (didn't like it), polenta fries (delicious), Heirloom Beet Salad (order 2, it's small but tasty), Burrata (tomatoes not ripe but burrata was delicious), and the Cannellini Fagioli (delicious).
We really liked the buffet and the main dining room. I'd list everything we ate but it would take a while. If we do go again, we're going to be sticking to the included dining because it was really good.
Celebrity is also really good with my husband's no sugar dietary restrictions. They will even walk you around the buffet and show you how to use the labels.
Glad you had a great experience on the Solstice. Thanks for sharing!
There is absolutely no charge in Blu for an additional Lobster tail...
I am not sure if the Canapés have stopped in Aqua Class.
I have seen so many amenities dissappear from Aqua when it was first introduced...If Canapés also have been eliminated, one must think what else can they possible eliminate in Aqua Class.
Zach, enjoy your videos! Are you retired-if not, how do you get so much time off? Keep up the great VLOGS!!
Thank you so much!
Just an FYI, Murano is no longer on the Millennium class ships. At least not that I can find. We were on Millennium in 2014 when we were headed to Alaska and experienced Murano and I couldn’t wait to go back and when we finally back on Millennium in 2022, Murano was no longer there. 😢
But I’m booked on solstice class ships twice this summer and we will be going to Murano at least 3 times between the 2 ships. I know it will be so worth it.❤ Thank you for another great review. 👍🏻👏🏻
You are right! I was mistaken. For some reason, I could have sworn that Summit had a Murano when I sailed her back in November 2022. I guess I was making things up. Thanks for sharing!
@@ZachtheTravelingMan no problem. I wish this restaurant was on every Celebrity ship. I am a bit of a French food fanatic. 🤣
I like your hair grown out.
Zach what did you think of Sushi on 5? Looks like value for money to me with a nice menu.
It has always been very good!
Hi Zach does the main oceanview cafe have water, tea and cordial available for free? My husband and I do not want to pay $300 a day just for some water and tea and coffee?
Yes they do!
Thank you. I will travel on the Solstice this week and worried about the food choices. I feel better now!
I hope you have a great time.
Ocean view had lots of food but most of it was bland, it reminded me of school dinner at times. That said I'm not sure I would want to pay that much more when, from your report, the service in the specialty dinning wasn't as advertised. My biggest turn off with Solstice was the up-selling, I got the feeling Celebrity constantly had a hand in my pocket. For example, I couldn't buy a cable to charge my phone but I could buy a LV hand bag.
Room service is free for those who pay for Premium Access Wifi package
Just got off Beyond. Food is obviously more expensive than help. Service was awesome. Food, not so much. Even in Luminae, it was hit or miss.
Yikes. Sorry to hear that!
It’s too bad Celebrity Solstice doesn’t have the multiple “main dining rooms” with their own themes and (some) menu items matching those themes, like the Edge class ships. I really like that concept.
I agree. I love the Edge series main dining rooms as well.
The Solstice class ships are not big enough to have multiple MDR's...Also there are negatives on the Edge class as well namely the Horrible infinite Veranda which is only a sunroom with a window that opens...The Soltice class have the traditional Verandas which can't be beat.
Eating Pizza at 1:00am = baaaad idea.
We were on Silhouette April 10-19. The food in Luminae was very disappointing. I much prefer Coastal Kitchen on Oasis class ships. Also the service was just so-so.
Oh no, so sorry to hear that! I would be so upset if Luminae was disappointing.
Problem with Luminae is the menu is limited. But on the Solstice class you can order from the main restaurant.
it's obvious that Blu, Laminae, Tuscan Grill will all have better service and food vs the MDR since it carries a premium $$$$. However, I rather see what the MDR has instead. Please review that on your next Celebrity cruise for us poor folks!
I have plenty of other Celebrity food reviews where I do just that.
@@ZachtheTravelingMan I personally appreciate these reviews. Seeing reviews like yours that highlight Blu and Luminae and the quality of them was one of the deciding factors in us finally booking a suite on our next this December on Apex. Almost all the reviews focus on buffet and MDR so its nice when the speciality dining is spotlighted.
Ok…the cauliflower entree looked like brain on a plate😂. Not appetizing
Not for everyone I guess haha. It was tasty though!
Honestly I dont think the Aqua Class is worth it at all.