The Best Stress-free Cruise for Your Health and Wellness: Celebrity Solstice Class Ships
by Ricki Linksman
Stressed out and its affecting your health? Looking for a relaxing vacation to reduce the stress hormones coursing through your body so you can feel healthy and well? Tired of vacation experiences gone bad that increase your stress?
Always in search of a vacation retreat where you can truly relax, I discovered an idyllic stress-free retreat paradise for health and wellness. Celebrity’s Solstice class luxury cruise ships– Equinox, Silhouette, Eclipse, Reflections, and Solstice, the largest of its fleet—are consistent in offering a pampered, relaxing and stress-free vacation.
There are many cruise lines and spa resort hotels, but the significant difference can be found in a company’s philosophy where customer service is supreme. It’s not just the appointed beauty of a ship or the ports of call. Stress can be either raised or lowered by the quality of the experience based on several key factors: 1) customer service of the staff; 2) relaxing venues; and 3) focusing on passengers’ health and wellness such as spas, exercises, and healthy eating.
Customer Service that Pampers You with a Smile and a “Yes”
There are certain hotel chains, airlines, restaurants, and cruises that do not know the word “No,” to a customer request. They live by the word “Yes,” with a smile, to find a way to make the wishes of customers become a reality. Celebrity Solstice class ships are among them.
Life is stressful. To have a multi-day cruise in which you are tended to by people who love what they do, who aim to please their guests and find a way to fulfill your wishes is a dream come true. From check-in, to the whole cruise experience, to departure the consistent theme is to make the guests feel welcomed and cared for.
What makes the staff happiest is not so much getting tips for appreciation but being written up in a cruise guest evaluation for their great service. Celebrity has proven consistently that they actually read the customer comments and make improvements. But I also learned that they share the feedback with the staff. For example, I wrote a positive comment on the cards they provided during the cruise about great service provided by the manager of the Aqua Spa, Dragan, and Asst. Maitre D’ Marlon for daily having eggless blueberry, banana, or zucchini muffins prepared for me each morning, and for Dragan bringing soy milk to add to my chai each morning. The next morning, Dragan came to me with a big smile and thanked me. I asked why and he said he received a phone call from hotel manager Ralf Strub commending him for getting a rave review from a guest and even read my comment to him. It was fulfilling for me to know my comment reached him and the hotel manager was so responsive as to let staff know when their customer service was recognized. On top of it I received a warm thank you note from Ralf Strub thanking me for my comments! In the note, he expressed how much he and Celebrity values the appreciation we show for their excellent customer service as that is their main goal for which they strive!
Time and again one leaves a Celebrity cruise feeling that the vacation was perfect. No staff member intruded on your sacred vacation space but were there whenever you needed something.
This level of pampering is not just for those who are travelling at an elite level in suites, but for every guest as they treat all equally with the same attention of care. They truly make each guest feel like a “celebrity.”
Relaxing in a Tranquil Environment:
Celebrity has many spaces where one can enjoy tranquility.
An adults-only solarium which has an enclosed glass domed area is the perfect tranquil setting to read, relax, meditation, and stretch out on its chaise lounges, chairs, or canopied round beds. Soft spa music from an international selection of artists is perfectly calibrated to the right volume as to not be intrusive but audible enough to provide a tranquil backdrop to your day. A heated pool for gentle swimming or soaking provides a center piece along with a dancing fountain with its changing color displays. Two hot tubs positioned to be overlooking the ocean gives on a true “infinity pool” experience. Just hang and look out over the ocean and float away.
There are many other areas of the ship for quiet time. The solstice deck has cushiony beds and chaises to soak up the sun.
The Lawn Club is a completely grassed area on a top deck where one can enjoy the greenery or take a meditation class each morning.
The Sky Lounge used for special events or entertainment is a great enclosed area with floor to ceiling windows facing the front of the ship to watch the ocean in fully reclining settees. Lounge in the many comfy seats to read or relax.
A two-story library with beautiful natural wood shelves offers another place to read in a quiet space.
Between meals, just relaxing in the open-air setting at the aft section of the ship outside the Oceanview café offers a soothing view of the ocean and lots of fresh air and sunlight.
Or just lounge on your own veranda to enjoy a sunrise, sunset, or the clear starry night sky.
The gentle, tranquil atmosphere in many venues on the ship melts stress away.
Health and Wellness Experiences
Celebrity is a leader in health and wellness.
Its Canyon Ranch Spa has a full schedule of free lectures and demonstrations to boost your health and wellness. There is a menu of paid spa services in its peaceful treatment rooms.
The Persian Garden is a special area with heated thermal beds to rest in while looking at the ocean through a panoramic window. Jump into alternative hot and cold rainforest showers for a lymphatic workout. It also has a dry sauna with aromatherapy and a steamed sauna to top off the experience.
Among the free services for guests are a men’s and women’s changing room with separate lockers, bathrooms, showers, and dry saunas. A well-equipped gym provides an expansive view of the ocean. A regular schedule of free classes offers yoga and free lectures to promote health. One can even hire a personal trainer to help you develop your own routine.
Laughter has proven to be a stress-reducer. Celebrity provides plenty opportunities for laughing. For example, one of its premier cruise directors, Richard Spacey, who is now on Equinox provides amazing entertainment in world-class shows each night in the Equinox Theater, with the most professional orchestra, theater productions with Cirque-du Soleil style acrobatics, dancers, and professional singers. Some nights there are musical performers and comedians. Laughter and enjoyment are a thread that flows through all performances as well as the many activities and entertainment daily and nightly throughout the cruise.
Healthy Vegetarian, Vegan, and Gluten-Free Cuisine
On this current February 2018 sailing, Celebrity for the past six months had been offering a new vegan menu in the dining room and Aqua Spa Café.
The Aqua Spa café now serves vegan breakfast offerings such as their own three types of chef-made energy bars: Pumpkin granola bar made with pumpkin seeds, chia seeds (really!) white raisins, and cashews; Apricot energy bar made with coconut, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and honey; and Honey Almond Bar, made of dates, almonds, figs, apricot, and honey. So sweet yet no refined sugar!
Another new offering was their banana bagel, featuring a whole wheat bagel half topped with peanut butter, apple banana, blueberries, garnished with orchids.
Daily breads include honey oat bread, whole wheat bread, and multigrain bread.
Gluten free hot oatmeal with apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, and apples were served daily along with choices of cold cereals.
With delight the Aqua Spa chef made special eggless muffins—moist, rich, and light blueberry, banana, or quinoa options.
Daily fruit platters include melon and berries.
They even now serve healthy fresh juices and smoothies. Choose from combinations where you can mix and match carrot, beet, kale, apple, banana, pineapple, and more as fresh juices, or a variety of smoothie combos.
Daily lunches at the Aqua Spa include vegetarian options such as a vegetarian soup, bow-tie pasta with pesto sauce, udon noodles with Asian flavors, vegetable wraps, and fresh salads.
In the Oceanview Café, there is now gluten free pizza with choose your own toppings. Among the vegetarian sauces is a delicious marinara tomato sauce, to which you can add onions, mushrooms, zucchini, tomato, among other toppings. The gluten free egg-free pasta includes spaghetti or penne.
There are daily vegetarian offerings from their international food stations. Indian vegetarian includes puri and vegetable curry and yogurt for breakfast and papadum, dhals, and vegetable curries for lunches and dinners. The Mexican food station offers corn tacos, wheat tortillas, beans, rice, and guacamole and chips. There is always a rotating variety of vegetables from sautéed, to steamed, to fresh in their salad bar. There are roasted and mashed potatoes, potato cheese croquettes, hash brown cakes, and French fries. Vegetable dishes include carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, green beans, eggplant, corn, peas, etc. either steamed, sautéed, or grilled. On some days one could find vegetable lasagna.
The main dining room, which had a vegetarian menu for several years, now has a new vegan menu. In the seven-day cruise we enjoyed a culinary feast. Under the hotel direction of Hotel Manager Ralf Strub, Celebrity’s executive chef, Alexander Capello, Food and Beverage Manager, Safar, Shane Straika, Executive Sous Chef, and many others in their amazing staff they delivered gourmet quality, artistically presented and delicious vegan meals each night.
Chef Alex described his attention to finding new sources of vegetarian and vegan products that could be certified for use on the ship. Food and Beverage Manager, Safar, is excited in expanding the vegan options. He says, “A vegan diet is growing in popularity and we are looking forward to testing and rolling out new menu options for those who are vegetarian who do not eat eggs, and vegans who eat no dairy at all. I know a friend who felt ill even though the doctors could find no sign of any health issues. But after going on a vegan diet for a few months, he lost ten pounds and felt great.”
Executive Sous Chef, Shane Straika described how hard they work to expand their vegetarian, eggless, and vegan options. Time and again his pastry staff produced the most amazing desserts, from vanilla panna cotta topped with strawberry sauce, to lemon eggless cake, strawberry shortcake, and even chocolate lava cake with a rich chocolate moist filling. Where else does one find such delicacies so delicious and artistically presented, even in land-based restaurants and hotel?
Vegan soups included tomato, smoky tomato, broccoli soup, corn soup and cold soups such as strawberry, blueberry, and pumpkin soups.
Memorable appetizers made vegan were spring rolls made with rice noodles; mushroom tarts, creamy polenta with mushroom; lightly fried crispy mushroom caps, farrota with butternut squash, among many more. For vegetarians who eat dairy but no eggs the above were also offered with cheeses, such as goat cheese or buffalo mozzarella, or parmesan cheese, etc.
For entrees, there was grilled tofu, penne with marinara and vegetables, stuffed peppers with either wild rice or quinoa and vegetables, mushroom risotto, vegetable korma, empanada with tofu or cheese, Israeli couscous cakes, and more.
There were always choices of breads, bread sticks, and house-made eggless gluten free breads. Toppings for the bread ranged from butter, to hummus, to baba ghanoush, or flavored butters such as with chive, pepper or garlic.
For the eggless desserts Celebrity chefs are extremely creative and we have enjoyed eggless chocolate cakes, lemon cakes, strawberry cakes, panna cotta (from chocolate, to vanilla, to white chocolate with raspberries, tapioca pudding, rice pudding, and fruits such as papaya and berries. Imagine a surprise to even enjoy a chocolate lava cake made without eggs. They even serve eggless ice cream, sorbet, and soft-serve. Whatever you need, whether vegetarian with dairy and no eggs, or vegan, or gluten-free, they make something to please the palette.
Even in their elite Captain’s Club members-only special events, for the first time there were hors d’oevres for vegetarians! Potato croquette balls and skewers of tomatoes and olives for vegans and added slices of buffalo mozzarella for vegetarians who ate dairy but no eggs. Eggless crackers with cheese and strawberry slices were served for egg-free vegetarians. To top it off, they served chocolate covered strawberries.
Yearning for a vege-burger? The Mast Grill serves vege-burgers with choices of toppings from sautéed onion to cheese for those who are not vegan. When no one is looking, sneak in a side of amazing French Fries. I won’t tell.
These descriptions are just for the all-inclusive meals that come with the price of the sailing. There are still specialty restaurants with their own menus at an additional cost and offer some vegetarian and vegan offerings.
The best part is that the attention to keeping the meals using healthy, nutritional organic ingredients, with reduced fat, salt, sugar, and carbs and reasonable portion sizes, one can complete the cruise at the same weight or only a few extra pounds.
Enjoying a healthy, yet delicious cuisine is a stress-buster.
Having tried cruising on each of the Celebrity Solstice class ships, they consistently deliver a stress-free vacation to boost health and wellness. The combination of great customer service, relaxing venues, attention to health and wellness, and delicious vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free cuisine provides one of the best relaxing stress-free vacation at an amazing cost one can have.