New Cruise Questions

[KyCruiser]

Hello All,
We will be departing Feb. 1, 2009 on the Solstice for my first cruise ever. My wife has been on one cruise and has assured me I will love it. I have a few questions. First we are trying to decide between two different excursions in Tortola, B.V.I.; sail boating or kayaking. What would be your recommendations? Also, has anyone dined in the Murano restaurant on the Solstice? If so, how was it and what is on the menu? Any recommendations for excursions in Labadee, Haiti? For those who have sailed on the Solstice, what do we absolutely have to do on this cruise or what do we not want to miss?

Thanks for the info!!

[penny3333]

Hi KyCruiser, welcome to Cruise-Chat. There are 2 members on our board that sailed on her inaugural cruise. She sounds fantastic! You'll be sailing before we will, lucky The one thing from their revues that stood out to me, was the ice bar. Their review are in this section. Your wife is right, you're going to be hooked on cruising-guaranteed! The two times we were in Tortola, we did sail/snorkels. Both the sailing and kayaking excursions sound fantastic. I, personally, would opt for the sailing because that's something I love doing. Labadee is a private island, so save that for a beach day. Can't help you on Murano, but maybe Jan or Sandy can. Best wishes for a fantastic cruise, and once again, welcome aboard!

[janfred]

KYcruiser,

MY TA just got back from the Inaugural cruise and said the ship is so beautiful, her 2 favorite places to dine were Murano and Bistro on 5. She made Travel Agent of the year and won a free cruise on any cruise line and ship, she picked the Soltice going to Europe...so that tells me something, I can't wait till Feb 8th. She told me if I wasn't excited I need to get excited now !!

[jack2007]

Originally posted by KyCruiser:
Any recommendations for excursions in Labadee, Haiti?

If you use the search function you will see a post by Dave Beers in the Royal Caribbean section ( dec 2006 ) that gives you a map showing where everything is in Labadee.
One of the moderators might be able to provide a link.
This might help you to plan things in advance.

[Dave]

Here is the thread Jack is referring to. There have been a couple changes since the photo was taken, most notably the addition of a zip-line.

[Sandy]

Welcome, KyCruiser. The Solstice is beautiful. Just think of it as a floating resort with lots to see, do, eat and drink.

Just last week I did an eco-kayaking tour in Tortola and enjoyed it a lot. We spent about 3 hours in and out of the boats, learned a lot about mangrove forests and the ecology of the area. Our tour guide was a marine biologist.

Sandy