Celebrity Solstice - Dining Options and Cuisine

By Linda Garrison, About.com Guide

The Celebrity Solstice is a beautiful contemporary ship, carrying about 3,000 passengers. The ship has ten diverse dining options, and I managed to try all but one during a seven-day western Caribbean cruise on the Celebrity Solstice. Celebrity has long been well-known for its excellent cuisine, and I enjoyed every meal on the ship (as well as a few dozen snacks).

The Celebrity Solstice has 170 chefs working 24/7 to provide about 12,000 dishes per day for the passengers and crew. Celebrity Cruises reports the following supplies are consumed on a seven-day cruise. No wonder most of us gain weight!

• Tenderloin - 4000 pounds
• Whole chicken - 15000 pounds
• Chicken breast - 2600 pounds
• Rack of lamb - 4000 pounds
• Pork loin - 2500 pounds
• Lobster - 1300 pounds
• Salmon - 2500 pounds
• Tuna - 4000 pounds
• Heavy cream - 2000 liters
• Fresh eggs - 3500 dozen
• Butter - 3800 pounds
• Potatoes - 20000 pounds
• Onions - 2600 pounds
• Carrots - 2000 pounds
• Romaine lettuce - 1500 pounds
• Cookies - 3000 pounds
• Ice cream - 1000 gallons
• Fresh fruit - 75000 pounds

The Bars and Lounges team distributes a nice one-page flyer with all of the bars and lounges events, and the daily newsletter lists all of the culinary events. On our Celebrity Solstice cruise, the "CelebrityLife Savor Program" included several interesting special events revolving around food and drink. Some were complimentary; others had an extra fee. The complimentary special food/drink events included:

• Cooking demonstrations like cake decorating, sushi-making, and "clean" cuisine
• Galley tours
• Star chef's cooking competition
• Taste of Solstice - tasting demonstration of some of the dishes on the Celebrity Solstice
• Molecular and martini mixology

The events with an extra fee included:

• Jameson Whiskey tasting
• Scotch tasting
• Bourbon tasting
• Tequila tasting
• Riedel Crystal Comparative Wine Workshop
• Several different wine tastings

Our cruise also featured Celebrity's first "Wine Harvest Celebration", which included several special wine events such as food and wine pairings, a winemaker dinner, introduction to wine making, introduction to sparkling wines, and a Cellar Masters tour of French wine regions. Although these all had a fee ranging from $20 to $95 per person, I received some excellent reports from passengers who attended.

The Celebrity Solstice offers several different beverage packages available for purchase in the bars and lounges. The most extensive package is the "premium package", which includes unlimited sodas, juices, specialty teas and coffees, smoothies, bottled water, beer, wine by the glass, and many cocktails, spirits, and frozen drinks. Other packages include those for fountain sodas or bottled water. Those who like a more all-inclusive cruise should consider purchasing one of these packages, especially if you enjoy many liquid libations per day.

The next ten pages provide more information on the design and cuisine of the Celebrity Solstice dining venues.

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