I sailed on the last Vietnam and Thailand cruise on Solstice before it went into dry dock, and honestly Celebrity made a mistake not canceling this one too.
The ship was clearly overdue for refurbishment. Missing picture on my cabin wall, beat up furniture, lumpy rug you could trip on, veranda badly needing paint. Then the main water pipe broke and we had no water for over two hours. After that, cruise crud spread through the ship. I ended up with food poisoning and was given a voucher for a future cruise, which feels pretty weak when you’re sick onboard.
Public bathrooms overflowed. Food everywhere we tried was dry and tasteless. The drink package alcohol felt bottom shelf. The ship was absolutely packed, Ocean Cafe was so crowded we often had to take food back to the room because there were no seats. It felt like they rebooked tons of people from the canceled sailings onto this one.
Internet went down right as people were trying to get off in Koh Samui. The line to disembark wrapped like a Disney ride and tours were delayed an hour or more. When Wi-Fi did work, images often wouldn’t load and I was told that wasn’t included in browsing.
Most ports also required long drives, around two hours, to reach actual sights, except Singapore.
Four days after getting off the ship I still have cruise crud, probably turned into a sinus infection. More than anything, it feels like Celebrity put passengers, especially elderly ones, at risk by not canceling this sailing.
This cruise seriously damaged my trust in the Celebrity brand.
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