Preparing for your Trip! Anticipation and planning is half the fun....

We all have very busy lives and even planning a trip, whether big or small, requires our best organisational and time management skills. We all dread going on a trip and having one of our family members say "why didn't we bring X, or why aren't we going to Y". It is so easy for our families, those who are lucky to have us trip planners do all the work. But no one wants to spoil their trip with a discontent family through lack of planning and dare I say it....lack of consultation!


If your experience is like mine, when I ask "what should we do when we go to XX" or "where would you like to stay in YY?", I get the usual "I don't know, you do whatever you think is right" answer. Our families mean well but they are people who don't want to get involved in the detail but will be counting on us to have done just that and thought of all the possibilities to plan a fantastic trip!


I have to say, as much as a I say that my family likes to leave it all to me......I wouldn't have it any other way. I like to plan our trips. It is a little escapism for me from my very stressful life. My family has input where I ask for it and that works well for us.


So what tools are essential in my travel planning?

1. TripAdvisor - www.tripadvisor.com.au (or equivalent in your country)
2. CruiseCritic - www.cruisecritic.com booking.com - www.booking.com
3. PackingPro App - https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/packing-pro/id312266675?mt=8
4. TripIt - www.tripit.com
5. Viator - www.viator.com

I really enjoy the planning aspect of our trips. It helps to build the anticipation about the adventure ahead.


Research
Start researching the destinations of your trip early. The internet is a wonderful thing for this! I tend to bookmark pages to create a "shortlist" of key pages and then go back to them and then narrow it down later. I would include individual reviews in this but just be mindful that people's reviews of locations/attractions etc are subjective. Don't be heartbroken if your intended destination or location has a poor review, for every poor review there are probably just as many positive ones. Keep it in perspective. Take out of these what is relevant to you and keep researching.


TripIt - track your itinerary as you book things
Tripit is a great application that allows you to forward all your bookings and they automatically get added to your TripIt account to build your itinerary. Most email based booking confirmations (airline, viator, booking.com) will work with TripIt. Those that don't you can add manually.
What this allows you to do is slowly build your trip itinerary. When you travel you will be able to access this from the TripIt app on your smartphone or via the internet. You can also download the information to your smartphone calendar in case you are caught without internet access when you are away. It is very good and includes contact numbers and even directions on how to get to the various places in your itinerary from your previous location. It is exciting to see how your itinerary is building up as you plan your trip. It is also helpful to see where you having nothing planned on any given day and you can decide whether you want to plan something or make it a free time day.
Check it out. There is a free version you can get to try it out.

Viator

This is a great website and they also have an app. I have booked tours and transfers through Viator. They also allow you to book and pay in your own currency which is handy especially when the tour is overseas.

You get an email confirmation and most have an evoucher. They are very responsive if you email them.

Cruise research through CruiseCritic

For those of us who go on cruises as part of our travels, CruiseCritic is a great resource. Our cruises have been better thanks to the retrace I have condiucfed on CruiseCritiic. I have read countless reviews, good and bad and asked countless questions of my fellow cruisers who hbe been very obliging with their assistance. 

PackingPro App

I love this app. I originally bought the lite version to try it out and liked it so much that I bought the pro version. This app allows you to create your own packing lists. It includes a master list of times to chose from and you can also create your own.

I used this for work and leisure travel, short and long trips and have lists for each type of trip also customised for hot and cold weather or both. I also create packing lists for each family member.

When we are packing for a trip, which I generally start to do a week or two early, the app is really helpful to mark off what I pack as I pack it. I also create to do lists for each trip so that I can mark off items as I complete them. I used to write lists out for packing for our trips and had to do this every time with the risk of forgetting things, once I converted to using this app I have never looked back. I definitely recommend this for anyone who wants to be super organised.

I hope this information is useful....

The Lawn Club

One very unique feature about this ship is the Lawn Club. There is actual real lawn up on the deck and people have picnics, play bocce and various other things.

Check it out

Hot Glass Show

Celebrity Solstice has a unique show called the hot glass show where they do live demonstrations of working with hot glass. This is held up on the deck where the lawn club is. 

We went to a show at night time and it was really good. They do daytime shows too but I think the effects are better at night.

Definitely worth a look at this show.

Deluxe Balcony Stateroom on the Hump Deck 9 - 9155

For this cruise we were not able to get a small suite so we thought we would try a Deluxe Balcony Stateroom. We got one on the forward hump. This was just by chance the stateroom we were assigned. 

Anyway there are three of us, myself, DH and our 10 year old son.

It was a challenge to fit all our belongings in the various storage places but then again we bring far too much!

The beds are comfy and the sofa is the third bed, not a pull out so much more comfortable.

The large TV is cool with free and pay per view movies on demand. No kids TV channels though, not a bad thing as it forces our son to do something else. 

The TV has built in Internet access and comes with a keyboard for this purpose, we did not use this.

The TV swivels out to suit also.

The balcony is extra deep because it is on the hump. Quite nice.

The stateroom has European and American power outlets. Don't bother bringing a powerboard as mine was confiscated as a prohibited item. We had two outlet converters so we managed fine, maybe the powerboard is overkill now.

Here are some photos.

Eateries on Celebrity Solstice

This ship is full of options when it comes to dining. I liken it a little to Radiance of the Seas as it also has many dining options.

The Grand Epernay dining room is the main dining room and has options for traditional seating, 6.00 pm and 8.30 pm and Select Dining which is their anytime dining option.   We were not able to get Select Dining so we chose the early dinner option of 6.00pm.  The food has been good and we have always found something we have liked. They also offer a children's menu.

There are many alternative dining venues available for a cover charge.

Murano, is a French restaurant, very fancy and we hear it is really good although we have not been. Strange having a French restaurant with the name  of an Italian Island! 

Here is the menu......

I hear that this restaurant was booked out for the whole cruise within the first few days. 

Bistro on Five is a casual eatery on deck five that serves savoury and sweet crepes, toasted panini and soups. You can have all three if you wish all for the $5 cover charge. Really good food and a great alternative for  a snack or light meal. They do breakfast lunch and dinner. We absolutely recommend the Italian Nutella banana and pistachio crepe......yum!

There is an Asian restaurant on board called Silk Harvest, their menu looks nice although we have not eaten there.

Then there is Blu, a restaurant for those travelling in aqua class. This restaurant is supposed to be for the health conscious offering nice meals but low in fat, sodium etc. I hope that is correct, that is my understanding of it....

Tuscan Grille is an Italian restaurant and steakhouse. We have dined there once and are going again we liked it so much. The cover charge is $35 per person for a three course meal, very nice and a lovely ambience.

The Oceanview cafe is the buffet on the Solstice.  Really good layout with islands that are easy to get around. Lots of selection. 

I really like the bread station where they have lots of rolls that they will make up for you and even toast them on the spot in the flat iron toaster. 

On the pool deck you can find the Mast Grill where they have fries, burgers and hot dogs.

The public areas onboard.....

We really enjoyed exploring this ship. The public areas are well designed...we hardly ever felt crowded.

Here is the Solstice theatre...., 

My favourite store....,,

The Molecular bar....

Bistro on Five.... A lovely eatery.....more on this later

Cafe al Bacio....deck 5...,great coffee etc and table service...,,we have been spending a bit of time here....

The Martini and Cocktail bar.....

Another bar on deck 3 near the Guest Relations desk

A night venue

The Sky lounge ..... A great venue on the upper deck where you have great sea views 

The pool deck

There are two pools here open for families...,,

The solarium pool is an adults only area.....very serene...

 

Celebrity Solstice - modern luxury?

Just walking around this ship I can see how different Celebrity's style is. I can't put my finger on it......even the lounger I am sitting on as I write this is different to any other I have seem in a pool deck on the P&O, Princess and Royal Caribbean ships I have been on.

I site here in a lounger with a canopy and plush pillows as I look out over the ocean.

All over the ship the decor and furniture show the little touches that make this ship extra comfortable. Apparently the ship was decorated and furnished by women.....I can see that.

Here are some examples 

Check out this cool private hammock on the pool deck. It seats two and is super comfy......you have to get there early to get this one!

 

We are on board the Celebrity Solstice!

We boarded in record time today! 

Our deluxe balcony cabin on the hump is not to shabby at all!

We didn't book a suite this time and whilst the cabin is a little smaller, I am sure it will do fine for this cruise. The balcony is quite large and deep.

I will be reviewing this ship on this blog in the coming days.....hope it is of use to some of you.