There were many things I loved about my inside cabin (#9142 on deck 9 forward) on the Celebrity Solstice which I’ll get to shortly, but there’s one thing I loved above all others: having it all to myself! Also the garbage can. Allow me to explain. Just prior to this solo cruise on the Solstice, I sailed on a 4 night cruise with my husband and 10 year-old onboard the Discovery Princess. Actually, it was a 5 night cruise, but I spent one of those nights trying to catch barf, shooting down at me from the top bunk, in a garbage can like some sort of warped carnival game. So that night doesn’t count as vacation. And having a cabin all to myself on the Solstice with a garbage can used only for its intended purpose – to immediately throw away ads from the spa, shops, casino, and art gallery while dramatically pronouncing, “not today Satan!” – was heaven.
Before I mention the many other things I loved about my inside cabin on the Solstice plus a handful of things I didn’t love and a few tips for those booked, here’s a complete cabin tour (be sure you’re subscribed to my free YouTube channel as I’ll be posting additional Solstice tours):
Here are the other things I loved about my inside cabin on the Solstice…
There are certain things I prefer small, like cars (if you saw the size of my parking spot in downtown Seattle, you’d understand) and pills (does anyone else gag on a low-dose aspirin?). But some things are better bigger, like dessert portions, buffet pants, and cruise ship cabins. And I don’t know if this cabin felt so huge because I’d just spent the prior 5 nights bunking in a slightly smaller cabin with a human so tall I have to climb a beanstalk to kiss him and a barfing kid, but it felt huge. Upon first entering I did angels on the bed. Then I did angels on the floor. Then I called to check on my kid because I felt a small twinge of guilt. And then I did another angel on the bed while singing Freedom by George Michael!
As much as you’ll appreciate this size of this cabin if you’re sailing with more than one person or on a longer itinerary (or for doing angels if you’re sailing solo), you’ll also love the storage space. Between the huge closet, large storage piece adjoining the desk, concealed storage above the bed, under the bed space (for your suitcases), and drawers and cabinets in the bathroom (we’ll get to those shortly), this will not be the final straw for your partner when it comes to your over-packing habit: “See honey, there’s plenty of space for me to select the perfect 2 formal gowns from the 13 I packed because I wasn’t sure of the lighting situation in the MDR!”
While some (most) would argue that writing a cruise blog isn’t real work, I do require a space for my computer to sit and taunt me every few days like, “if you don’t turn me on and write something, you won’t be able to pay for all these cruises and you’ll have to go back to fielding calls from parents inquiring as to what they can do to assist their college-aged spawn in bringing up their grade just slightly from a D- to a solid A in under a week.” And this desk area was the perfect spot. It was right across from the bed which meant that I couldn’t go for too long without seeing it. That was until I figured out that the $9.95 it cost me to cover it up with a giant tray of room service dessert was totally worth it.
There were so many chairs in this cabin and so much space, I invited 3 friends over for a rousing game of Musical Chairs after a few too many martinis at the bar (at which point adults playing Musical Chairs in a cruise cabin seemed like a perfectly natural next step). Originally I’d proposed that the loser buy the next round of drinks until I lost and then I changed it to “the loser treats everyone to dinner in the MDR.”
Anyway, there were two comfortable white chairs (one across from the bathroom and one in a corner near the bed) and a desk chair. Honestly it was a little stressful for a solo, like, “where should I sit to eat my buffet cupcakes and watch a movie on the TV?” So many options!
I have a problem (I know what you’re thinking, “which one!?”); I’m a dessert hoarder. No seriously, this is a real thing. And it was bad on the Solstice. BAD. Because every day the lunch desserts at the buffet were SO GOOD (seriously, Celebrity has the best buffet at sea, IMO) I took a plate of them back to my cabin to stick in the mini fridge for later. But later I found the desserts at the MDR so good, I ordered several for myself plus several more for those like my mom who, in pre-cruise phone conversations issued the instruction: “eat some tasty desserts for me.” Then I stopped at Cafe Bacio around 8:30pm for a few post-show desserts on my way to bed. Despite being fuller than a $90 rainbow ballerina unicorn bear facing a lifetime struggle with obesity because an overzealous toddler at Build-a-Bear Workshop was put in charge of the stuffing machine, I managed to eat half of those leftover lunch desserts between 8:30pm and breakfast the next day. Then the cycle repeated until debarkation morning when I still had, like, 20 desserts in the fridge to finish before I waddled down the gangway.
I blame the mini fridge. For note, it stayed much colder than many I’ve had on other ships and I cleared out the mini bar items until the last day to make more room for desserts.
While I avoided all news like anything green on the buffet, I enjoyed leaving the ship cam up on my television to delude myself into believing I had a window. There were also a handful of good, free on demand movies.
Due to the unseasonably cold, wet weather on our sailing, it wasn’t uncommon to see people walking around port with a Celebrity umbrella sheltering their Celebrity cloth shopping bag and Celebrity robe “coat.” In fact, a headline in the LA Times from the day of our embarkation read, “Robe Saves Underdressed Cruiser Bound for Mexico from Freezing to Death While he Smoked on an Outside Deck Onboard the Celebrity Solstice.” It was appreciated (and somewhat rare) to have these amenities included in an inside cabin. I also appreciated the wide safe, large enough for my laptop (not that anyone would be interested in stealing the intellectual property of a mediocre cruise blogger).
While this magnetic door sign says “deep sleep,” it’s an indicator to your cabin steward that you’d appreciate privacy for any of a number of things you might be doing in your cabin besides sleeping. For me it was usually making out with baked goods. Shrug.
While the bedding reminded me I was sailing in a cheap inside cabin, the nightly turndown service, bed chocolates, and “Celebrity Today” ready for me to read with my feet up while enjoying my late-night fridge desserts made me feel like a VIP. Several other lines have done away with twice daily cabin service, a paper copy of the schedule, and chocolates. But they live to see another sailing (for now) on Celebrity!
I loved the roominess, finishes, and the massive amount of storage (much of it in drawers or behind a solid cabinet door allowing for discretion – I was worried my Costco-sized bottle of Pepto would scare my room steward and he’d refuse to clean my toilet) in my bathroom on the Solstice.
A bit more on the finishes, though. The last time I renovated a bathroom (more than a decade ago…sheesh, time flies when you’re cruising) I picked out almost the exact same sink, faucet, backsplash, cabinet pulls, and cabinets as those featured in my inside cabin on the Solstice, except for espresso-colored cabinets and tiny tiles in varying shades of gray instead of brown. So be careful what you say publicly about the designer of this bathroom, because I’m bound to take it personally!
But even I can admit that a small patch of that tiny tile goes a long way. Imagine how long it took me to grout this tub/shower surround and how long it now takes the poor soul who bought my former row house on the south side of Pittsburgh to clean it:
So my advice, skip tile altogether and go for something like this instead (Or better yet, skip the house altogether and live on a cruise ship!):
Which brings me to the thing I loved most about my bathroom on the Solstice…
These shower doors were the best designed of any cabin I’ve sailed in. The two doors glided together and sealed tightly in the middle, meaning no water escaped onto the floor. Plus they were glass, so I could keep watch for intruders (or the Captain finally acknowledging my advances and stopping by for an early morning rendezvous before navigating us into port).
I also appreciated the shape of the doors, rounded to make the shower slightly bigger. I had to laugh when one of my favorite online cruise buddies commented on how she actually prefers the cloth shower curtains featured on many cruise ship showers because for larger people the glass enclosed showers feel like upright coffins. Well this one felt more like a rocket about to launch me into space, a giant leap for mankind when it comes to cruise ship showers (although when I die, I hope it’s on a cruise ship…in a shower coffin)!
While the “conditioning shampoo,” body wash, and liquid soap on many cruise lines are of objectively poor quality, they aren’t much worse than what I use at home (Mr. Cruise and I share a bottle of Head and Shoulders), so the higher quality products on the Solstice were like a free trip to the spa. Separate shampoo and conditioner were provided as well as body wash, bar soap (good for shaving), nice smelling lotion, makeup remover, and two shower caps.
Here are a few things I didn’t love about my inside cabin on the Solstice…
This sailing on the Solstice marked my “return to Celebrity” following Covid and I noticed quite a few cuts and changes since the glorious days of conspicuous consumption: plates piled 10 high with lobster shells in the MDR and complimentary chocolate cake delivered right to your bed! Don’t get me wrong, I was also reminded of all the things I love about Celebrity and wondered why it had taken me so long to return to the line. Still, I missed that free bed cake which now comes with a delivery fee of $9.95 + automatic18% gratuity (you can see the current room service menu and read my review HERE).
For context, it took me roughly 20 years following a neck injury I sustained in graduate school (not due to too much studying, you’ll be surprised to learn) to find a suitable pillow (I even tried My Pillow, although not without some guilt and Mike Lindell’s mustache haunting my dreams). I also purchased a second set of the fleece sheets I have adorning my bed and made myself an adult onesie so I’d never have to leave them. All that is to say, I’m pickier about bedding than most things and I found the bedding in my inside cabin on the Solstice less than satisfactory. The pillows were old and lumpy and I’ve draped nicer sheets over my legs at the gynecologist’s office (sorry for that visual, tonight it will be Prof. Cruise in stirrups haunting your dreams). No huge biggie though, it was only 7 nights and I made do. I’ll just have to pack my own bedding when I move onto a cruise ship full-time after my kid goes off to college.
Only two 3-prong outlets (located near the desk) and NO USB outlets? What, was this ship built way back in 2008? Yes, in fact, she was. But could we please have her join us in modern times during her next refurbishment?
Honestly, does Celebrity have a secret partnership with a group of orthopedic hand surgeons specializing in carpal tunnel syndrome surgery? Why else would the line provide hair dryers that require a button constantly be pushed, creating hand strain and pain, in order to operate? While these are common on cruise ships, I have sailed on ships with regular hair dryers, so I know it’s not a safety requirement. On the plus side, the power was pretty good (might want to fix that to gin up more business for your scrubby doctor friends, Celebrity).
When I first discovered the dimmer switch in my cabin (the circular knob pictured above), I was like, “perfect, the Captain might not notice my 4 million freckles, gray hair, and butt craters in this light!” But 7 days later I still hadn’t received a visit from the Captain AND I was still trying to figure out how to use the confusing light switches. I dunno, maybe it had something to do with my own bulb being so dim.
Retractable clothes lines are to cruise ship showers as fleas are to Henry (my shaggy rescue dog) in the late summer (seriously, EVERY YEAR no matter what I do to prevent them): anticipated. But this cabin on the Solstice didn’t have one! Maybe other people don’t use these (do you?), but I always hang my rinsed out gym clothes and swimsuit on them to dry. I ended up having to hang dripping clothes on the back of the bathroom door, on a hook in the shower, hooked to a pants hanger in the closet, and on the bathroom doorknob. No huge deal, but I did miss having the clothes line.
While I’m a minimalist when it comes to packing and I’d revise the average cruise “packing list” by crossing off 90% of it, I would consider packing extra outlets, a travel hair dryer and magnetic hooks if you’re sailing in an inside cabin on the Solstice. You may not need any of these things depending on your individual situation, but one or two or all three may make your stay more comfortable.
Also, if you’re local to the Solstice embarkation port and not worried about packing too much OR if you’re on the Solstice for a long sailing, bring your own pillow. If I end up hopping on the Solstice again this summer from my home port of Seattle, I’ll definitely do that. Which brings us to…
Yes! I loved the Solstice! And, despite not being perfect, I loved my spacious, quiet (another thing I loved and forgot to mention earlier), mostly well appointed inside cabin on the Solstice and wouldn’t hesitate to book it again. I may even do so this summer when we welcome her to Seattle! And with that…
Class Dismissed.
Homework (10 points): Check out the bar menus and 7 night MDR menus from my Solstice sailing and then share to the comments your favorite thing about Celebrity.
Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog (scroll up to the top right if on a computer or keep scrolling down if on a mobile device) and follow Prof. Cruise on your favorite social media sites:
Twitter (@cruiseprof)
Instagram (@profcruise)
TikTok (profcruise)
*I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you when you purchase products or services through affiliate links on my site. All funds to toward maintaining the blog. Thanks for your support!
The best Black Friday deals for cruisers in 2024!
Five things I'm looking forward to on my Holland America holiday cruise.
Carnival announced the return of midnight buffets to all ships. See the late night buffet…
Booked on or considering a cruise on NCL's Jewel? Read my full trip report and…
Looking for the December 2024 Carnival Dive-In movies? See all the movies coming to Carnival…