In fall, many new cruise liners come out of the shipyards; others that launched earlier in the year in Europe make their South Florida debuts.
This autumn, five ships new to South Florida will move in for the winter season. The one getting the most buzz -- at least so far -- is Celebrity's Solstice, first in a series of five ships that will have the same layout but varying design.
This morning I came off a two-night introductory voyage. My own view -- and one widely held by other cruise writers and travel agents on board: The hype is justified.
Solstice is, simply, one of the most comfortably stylish ships on the seas. It's a premium ship -- that's to say, it aims at upscale ambiance, dining and service, but without the super-high price of true luxury cruising. And it hits the mark. The spaces are light, comtemporary without being torturous, cheerful. Many of my fellow cruisers used the word "elegant'' to describe the ship...but that's definitely elegant-chic-comfy, not elegant-stodgy-run change your clothes for a designer outfit.
When you consider the typical Celebrity voyager -- 50-plus, upscale, with a household income of $85-$125 -- the ship is a good match. It's the way many of Celebrity's clients live -- or can see themselves living in the near future (the current economic crisis not withstanding.)
Much of the buzz is about what Celebrity is calling "the Lawn Club.'' This is, honest-to-goodness, a big patch of grass, where you can play croquet or bocce, have a picnic or just wander with your shoes off. At my table of journalists last night, we discussed whether this was a gimmick or something people would really use. I think it's real...a tangible symbol of the value of a simple pleasure in a ceaseless urban world that allows too few moments to feel the grass between your toes. (Hey, it worked for Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in Pretty Woman.)
Less interesting, I thought, was the hot glass show, which takes place on the lawn's edge. Don't get me wrong; the glass show -- in which experts from the Corning School of Glass fashion vases and other glassworks at hot ovens permanently installed right there on deck -- is great to watch. But it's a bit like visiting the glass studios in Murano, Italy -- seen it once, you've seen it enough.
Other areas on board I could visit a dozen times. Here are some highlights:
- The $6 million art collection. Photographs and other original works are stationed throughout the ship. Two that will surely catch your attention are the live tree in a Carlos Betancourt art vessel suspended in the atrium (a late addition just days before the ship opened for business), and a Nancy Friedemann "foyer'' installion -- a black room painted with flowers, birds and lizards on walls and bees inlaid in the marble floor, complete with sound effects.
- The Martini Bar. Real frost forms on the bar, custom-designed for etching doodles as you sip a flight of martinis. If the bar is boisterous you can retreat to one of the semi-private rooms just to the side that are curtained off with sheers.
- Grand Epernay dining room. Created by restaurant uber-designer Adam Tihany, the impressive two-story space appears to float on flying buttresses, a kind of moderne Deco oval (when in reality it's rectagular just as you'd expect.) The entire room is an incredibly clever slight of design, with a two-story wine tower and a decor that makes you think it's white...but isn't.
- Four spectacularly designed "specialty'' restaurants (yes, you'll pay extra to eat in them): A modernist "wine barrel'' -styled Tuscan Grill designed by Tihany, the blue-on-white Blu featuring healthy cuising, traditionally elegant Murano with French fare and the smart Asian-inspired Silk Harvest.
- The crepe-and-panini Bistro on 5 restaurant, where $5 buys you crisp, made-to-order crepes or sandwiches (that's $5 per person, regardless of how many creps or paninis you want in a sitting).
- A Cirque-du-Soleil-style acrobatic show that arguably is the most sophisticated entertainment on any large cruise ship.
- Long beige leather couches in every stateroom that can covert to a comfortable bed (if you must bring the kids).
In two days, I had barely enough time to check out all the spaces. And testing functions like food and service is simply impossible in that length of time. But if Celebrity stays true to its reputation, both should be good.
The basics: Solstice carries 2,850 passengers; fares this fall start at $700 per person, double, for an inside cabin for a seven-night cruise (though only 10 percent of the cabins are inside.)
We'll have more details on the Solstice and other ships sailing in South Florida in the Miami Herald's Travel section on Sunday, Dec. 7. And check back here in the days to come for my review of Carnival's new ship, the Splendor. I'll be sailing tomorrow...just as soon repack my suitcase.
