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The Celebrity Solstice is the lead ship of the Solstice-class of cruise ships operated by Celebrity Cruises. Built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, she was floated out on August 10, 2008, and christened by ocean scientist Professor Sharon L. Smith at a ceremony in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, on November 14, 2008. The first post-Panamax vessel in the Celebrity fleet, she features innovative interior design and onboard amenities,... Read more
The Celebrity Solstice is the lead ship of the Solstice-class of cruise ships operated by Celebrity Cruises. Built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, she was floated out on August 10, 2008, and christened by ocean scientist Professor Sharon L. Smith at a ceremony in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, on November 14, 2008. The first post-Panamax vessel in the Celebrity fleet, she features innovative interior design and onboard amenities, including an ocean-going live grass lawn, a glassblowing studio, and a 12 deck-high atrium.
Externally, Celebrity Solstice looks very different from previous Celebrity Cruises ships. Martin Francis of Francis Design was hired to design her exterior profile. In original exterior renderings, the hull was shown as all-white with powder blue funnels and blue glass upper decks. In a more recent update, the light blue color had been changed to Celebrity's normal dark blue color and the hull was shown having a resemblance to the current fleet's livery, with the promenade deck painted dark blue. Similarly, the large dark blue funnel with a white X that had been the trademark of Celebrity thus far has been replaced by two thin funnels, and it was planned to have the X logo of the company visible in the glass balcony railings on the ship's "hump" (The area of superstructure which extends outward farther than the rest of the balconies). Throughout her fitting out, sea trials, and launch, it was noted that the glass X, unless seen from certain angles, was not visible. Shortly after, the X was refinished to be darker, but still can be hard to see. An afterthought during the sea trials saw the addition of a white X onto the forward funnel, thus bringing Celebrity Solstice more closely related to her fleetmates.
Her facilities include a theater with a 1,400+ seating capacity and a live grass lawn between the ship's funnels on the upper deck and even a workout room, sauna, indoor pool, and more than four hot tubs. On May 30, 2010 Celebrity Solstice launched the iLounge.
Celebrity Solstice left Meyer Werft on September 28, 2008, and arrived in Fort Lauderdale on November 3, 2008. Subsequently, she embarked on a series of short preview cruises for travel agents and dignitaries. On November 14, 2008, at Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, she was officially named by Sharon L. Smith. She began commercial service on November 23, 2008.
Celebrity Solstice was scheduled to be put in dry dock in October 2021.
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The food served at the round-the-clock buffet was excellent and takes up a whole dining hall on the 14th floor, and offers a gorgeous view of the ocean. There is a lot of variety in terms of menu items depending on the time of day: There are dozens of restaurants onboard... |
Onboard the Celebrity Solstice
.
Joggers on the
upper deck
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'Cheese Blintzs' for breakfast:
The morning news on CNN in the stateroom:
Maps are hung around the ship. Below is a map of the route taken through the Caribbean:
It's called 'Tempest in the pool'... |
And now the fun begins as the cruise liners depart from the port. It was a real show. Slowly, smoothly and gracefully the ships begin to move away from the mooring lines one by one. '
Zuiderdam
' was the first to leave.
Ships from the Dutch company belong to the ships of the old type.... |
In spite of our expectations, the day of departure appeared no less interesting than the follow-up visit of the tropical Islands. In a huge '
Everglades
' port there were five cruise liners beginning to leave the port at the same time. We went last which was a big advantage... |