This was our 3rd cruise with celebrity and our longest. Most of the passengers were geriatric, which was o.k. with us as things remained sedate throughout the two week cruise, no loud parties and no unsupervised kids screaming through the halls. I'm writing this because of the marked decline in service standards as opposed to our last cruise with Celebrity in the eastern Mediterranean on the Millenium (?). The Soltice is a magnificent ship, masterfully designed, and a pleasure in all respects. However, the crew this time was a big disappointment. Their English seems to be limited to "Have a good day, Sir!" or "How are you?", which they annoyingly spout at every single encounter, sometimes three of them in a row, when a smile and a nod would be enough. The service on the ship was poor on most days. Some examples:

1. breakfast in dining room, deck 3: ask waiter for cottage cheese, get a blank stare, repeat it and show it to him on the menu. He walks away and never comes back. After 25 minutes, I call the headwaiter to say I haven't been served any breakfast at all, when people coming after me have. He comes back with a tablespoon of cottage cheese in a bowl...

2. Out waitress at dinner, deck 3. We explain that we're vegetarians and only order fish or veggie dishes. Day after day she gives her spiel about the special of the day and what she "recommends". Always pushing the pork, beef, lamb or chicken. After two weeks, no change. We gave up and would patiently wait for her to finish her recommendations before giving our order. She always looked disappointed that we didn't order the Beef Wellington. Read more