Celebrity Solstice Renovation Review: What's New, What's Changed, and Is It Still Great for Families?
Before our cruise, I read everything I could find about the Celebrity Solstice renovation. Celebrity Cruises invested in a major transformation of the ship, introducing eight new experiences designed to modernize the onboard experience while bringing many of the features guests love on its newer ships to the Solstice Class.
Celebrity Solstice docked in Icy Strait, Alaska
Before returning to service in March 2026, Celebrity Solstice spent 46 days in dry dock in Singapore as the first ship in Celebrity Cruises' more than $250 million Solstice Class modernization program. This wasn't simply a cosmetic refresh. The renovation included redesigned public spaces, refreshed staterooms, new restaurants and lounges, upgraded entertainment venues, an expanded Retreat experience for suite guests, and the addition of more than 50 new staterooms. Celebrity described the project as giving guests "more ways to restore and explore" while preserving everything that has made Solstice one of the most beloved ships in the fleet.
After completing the extensive refurbishment, Celebrity Solstice returned to service in Singapore before repositioning to Alaska for the summer season—the very sailing where my family had the opportunity to experience all of these changes firsthand.
Before we dive in: My family paid for this cruise ourselves, and Celebrity Cruises had no idea I'd be writing about it. We received no discounts, complimentary perks, or compensation of any kind. Every opinion in this review is based solely on our own experience.
Celebrity Solstice at the Hubbard Glacier in Alaska
After spending a week onboard with our multi-generational family of eight, I can confidently say Celebrity succeeded in many ways. The ship feels fresh, modern, and full of energy, and several of the new venues quickly became our favorite places onboard. However, while the Celebrity press releases did an excellent job highlighting everything that was added, they said very little about what was removed. Some of those changes weren't obvious until we were already onboard, and I think they're important for families and longtime Celebrity cruisers to understand before booking. My goal is to give you an honest look at how the renovation has changed the overall experience so you can decide whether it's the right fit for your next cruise.
What's New on Celebrity Solstice
Sunset Park is a new spot on the Celebrity Solstice.
Celebrity's renovation wasn't simply a refresh with new carpet and furniture. It was a thoughtful redesign of several public spaces that has noticeably changed the atmosphere onboard.
Some of the biggest additions include:
The Parlor, an inviting social space filled with hundreds of board games, retro arcade games, skee-ball, darts, foosball, and plenty of comfortable seating.
Boulevard Lounge, a new entertainment venue hosting trivia, interactive game shows, live performances, and incredibly popular dueling piano shows in the evenings.
Trattoria Rossa, a brand-new Italian specialty restaurant offering handmade pasta and regional Italian dishes in an elegant setting.
Sunset Park, which replaces the former Lawn Club and glass blowing studio with expanded outdoor seating, a casual café, cabanas, and panoramic ocean views.
An expanded Retreat experience, giving suite guests additional private lounges, outdoor areas, and exclusive amenities.
Refreshed staterooms and new accommodations, including more than 50 additional cabins added during the renovation.
A quick chart to give you an overview of the updates on the Celebrity Solstice
Many of these updates give Celebrity Solstice a more contemporary feel. Throughout our sailing, it was clear that guests were embracing the new gathering spaces. The Parlor and Boulevard Lounge were consistently busy, creating lively social hubs from morning until late at night.
What Changed for Families on Celebrity Solstice
The Kids Club has a Different Feel
We made our way to Camp at Sea shortly after boarding so we could be among the first families to register. If you've read my previous cruise posts, you know I'm a big believer in visiting the kids club on embarkation day. It's a chance for kids to see the space, meet the counselors, and get excited about the week ahead.
When the doors opened, I was immediately surprised.
I asked which age group used the room behind the check-in desk, and the staff member smiled and replied, "All of them."
At first, I thought I had misunderstood.
On previous Solstice Class ships, the different age groups had their own dedicated spaces. The renovated Celebrity Solstice now combines the younger age groups into one larger room that was created from a former conference center. The room is divided into sections, but from the entrance you can see the entire space.
I asked if we could step inside for a quick tour, as we've always done on past cruises, but the room was being cleaned and wasn't open for walkthroughs that afternoon. We picked up the activity schedule, which I was happy to see was still available in printed form, and headed out.
My daughter attended Camp at Sea on the first evening and made a few new friends, which was wonderful. But after that first night, none of them wanted to go back.
Instead, they spent much of the cruise exploring the ship together. One evening I saw a group of 10–12-year-old girls riding the elevators and inventing games to entertain themselves. They were having fun, but it also made me realize they were looking for a place to call their own.
My daughter with her new friends playing trivia at the Sky Lounge.
Younger children will likely still have a fantastic time in Camp at Sea. Celebrity has always had excellent youth counselors, and I have no doubt they continue to provide engaging activities throughout the cruise.
For older kids in that 9- to 12-year-old range, however, the experience felt different to me. At that age, the kids club is often as much about making friends and having a place to gather as it is about the scheduled activities themselves.
When I returned home, I compared the current deck plan with older Solstice Class layouts and realized why the space felt different. The original design featured separate areas for each age group, while the renovation repurposed those spaces as part of the addition of new staterooms and other public venues.
Our family had sailed Royal Princess earlier this year, where the youth and teen spaces are expansive, bright, and thoughtfully designed for each age group. That recent experience naturally influenced our expectations, so the changes on Celebrity Solstice stood out to us. If you are trying to figure out the best cruise line for your upcoming family trip, you should consider reading my complete Adventure Ocean Photo Tour on Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas.
Every family values different things when choosing a cruise, and that's really the point of this review. If your children are younger, they may never notice these changes. But if you're traveling with tweens or teens who love spending evenings in the kids club, it's something I think is worth knowing before you book. Like many of the updates made during the renovation, it reflects a shift in how the ship uses its public spaces, and whether that's a positive change will depend on the type of vacation you're looking for.
The Teen Program Has a Different Home
The biggest surprise of our cruise came on embarkation day.
My son and niece wanted to check out the teen club, so we asked where the X Club lounge was located. The crew member smiled and explained that the Teen Club lounge was no longer part of the ship. During the renovations it was removed to add stateroom cabins.
Instead of having a dedicated space, teens now meet in different locations around the ship throughout the day. Activities are listed in the Celebrity app and the Daily program, with the first meetup on our sailing taking place in the Sky Lounge.
At first, I assumed there must be another room somewhere. There wasn't.
Sky Lounge where many teen club activities were held.
I had read everything I could find about the Celebrity Solstice renovation before booking this cruise, but I never came across any mention that the X Club lounge had been removed. Considering how much time many teens spend there during a cruise, I was genuinely surprised this wasn't highlighted as part of the refurbishment. As of writing this article, there is no mention of the Celebrity Solstice not having a teen lounge on the ship. It is still mentioned as a space fleet-wide.
Because the teen meetups were held in shared public spaces, they sometimes overlapped with other onboard activities. One afternoon the meetup was in the Sky Lounge while other guests were quietly reading. At one point someone even shushed the teens. It wasn't anyone's fault, however, it just reinforced that this wasn't really a space designed for teenagers to gather.
My niece only attended the first few meetups because only a handful of teens showed up.. The teen program is still offered throughout the cruise, but instead of gathering in a dedicated XClub lounge, teens now meet in different locations around the ship. in the Sky Lounge, because only a handful of teens showed up. On previous cruises, she's met a group of friends on the very first night, and after that we'd barely see her except for meals. This sailing was different.
Looking on the bright side, I ended up spending much more quality time with her throughout the week, which I truly loved. But I couldn't help wondering if the lack of a dedicated teen space made it more difficult for teens to connect with one another early in the cruise.
As a parent, this was probably the biggest change I noticed. Every other youth program onboard has a place that feels like it's theirs. Younger kids have dedicated clubs where friendships naturally form between activities. Without a similar space for teens, it felt like they had fewer opportunities to simply hang out, meet new friends, and make the ship feel like their own. If you're comparing cruise lines for families, you may enjoy my complete Royal Princess Youth & Teen Club Review, which shows photos of the Youth and Teen spaces for kids onboard.
This doesn't mean teens won't have fun onboard, they absolutely can. However, I do think families with teenagers should know that the experience is different than it has been on previous Celebrity cruises.
The Sports Court Is Gone
Another surprise was discovering that the sports court had been removed.
On previous Celebrity cruises, this was one of my kids' favorite places onboard. My son and nephew are seven years apart in age, but somehow the sports court was always where they naturally ended up together. Whether it was basketball or simply tossing a ball around, it was one of those spaces that worked for every generation. Other cruise lines, there were times for pickleball, dodgeball games and basketball tournaments at the sport’s court.
This was actually the first cruise ship I've sailed that didn't have a sports court.
For active families, especially on sea days, it's a noticeable difference.
More Cabins, Less Shared Public Space
Many of these changes were made to create additional accommodations.
Celebrity added approximately 50 new staterooms, expanded The Retreat experience for suite guests, and created new premium spaces throughout the ship.
If you're sailing in a suite, these updates are fantastic. The expanded Retreat area offers additional private outdoor space and exclusive amenities that make the experience feel even more luxurious.
For everyone else, though, some of that public deck space has disappeared.
None of these changes are necessarily bad. They simply reflect a different direction for the brand. Celebrity seems to be investing more heavily in premium experiences while reducing some of the shared recreational spaces that families have traditionally enjoyed.
What I Loved About the Renovation
While there were a few things I missed, there were also several new additions that completely won me over.
Sunset Park Won Me Over
I'll admit it, I was disappointed when I heard the famous Lawn Club was losing its real grass.
I still remember sailing on Celebrity Equinox years ago and slipping off my shoes to stand barefoot on real grass in the middle of the ocean. It felt like one of those uniquely Celebrity experiences that made Solstice Class ships so memorable.
But after spending a week enjoying Sunset Park, my opinion completely changed.
Sunset Park on Deck 15 adds a lot of new space to enjoy the view.
Celebrity transformed the space into one of my favorite areas on the entire ship.
There's a small café serving light bites, along with a daily warm cookie hour that quickly became my kids favorite time of day. Every afternoon from 3:30pm to 4:30pm, people gathered for fresh cookies before finding a comfortable chair to enjoy the scenery.
Sunset Park Cafe offers a variety of different options, including chia pudding and overnight oats for breakfast.
The café now occupies the space where Celebrity's glass-blowing studio once stood. For years, guests could watch talented glass artists at work or even sign up to create their own hand-blown glass keepsake, a truly unique experience that helped set the Solstice Class apart. As part of the 2026 renovation, the studio was removed to make room for the Sunset Park Café.
While I know some longtime Celebrity cruisers will miss that one-of-a-kind experience, I have to admit the new café feels like a natural fit for the space. During our Alaska sailing, it became a destination throughout the day, drawing guests outside to enjoy the views, relax with family, and, of course, stop by for the warm cookie hour.
The new outdoor furniture creates several different places to relax, whether you want to read a book, watch the ocean, or simply spend time with family. In addition, there are cabanas to rent that offer different seating options with ocean views.
There are still lawn games, including bocce ball and cornhole, and the artificial turf provides plenty of room to play.
On our Alaska sailing, this space was perfect.
Unlike Caribbean cruises where everyone is looking for lounge chairs around the pool, Alaska is all about being outside while staying comfortable. Sunset Park gave us incredible views of the Inside Passage, even if we needed to bundle up a little. If you're planning an Alaska cruise, don't forget to pack layers. We spent a lot of time enjoying Sunset Park, and having the right clothing made all the difference. You can find everything we packed in my Alaska Cruise Packing List for Families.
For me, this renovation was an unexpected success.
The Parlor Became Our Family Headquarters
The Parlor is a welcoming spot for all ages.
If I had to choose one favorite addition to Celebrity Solstice, it would easily be The Parlor. Previously it was a night club called, Quasar. It became lively at night but otherwise was mostly an empty space.
The first time I walked into the Parlor, I honestly looked around and thought, "Is this real?"
Shelves were lined with hundreds of board games, many of which I'd never even heard of and I LOVE board games. Everything was in pristine condition.
As a family that loves playing games together, we immediately felt at home.
Throughout the cruise, I watched families pull games off the shelves, learn new favorites together, and spend hours laughing over drinks.
The space also includes electronic dartboards, three skee-ball machines, foosball, retro arcade games, and plenty of televisions showing live sports.
It was lively all day long.
If I could make one suggestion, I think acoustic musicians in the evenings would make this space even more special and pull guests in guests in after leaving the theater.
Even without those additions, The Parlor was one of the biggest surprises of the entire renovation and quickly became one of our favorite places onboard.
Boulevard Lounge Brought the Ship to Life
Directly across from The Parlor is another fantastic new venue: Boulevard Lounge.
The Boulevard Lounge became the entertainment hub for so much of our cruise.
Celebrity Solstice’s Deck 4 was transformed into a new entertainment space.
We found ourselves here for trivia and interactive game shows like Say It, and the always hilarious Marriage Show.
At night, the dueling pianos were standing-room only almost every evening, creating one of the most energetic atmospheres anywhere on the ship. More often than not, if someone in our family wasn't at The Parlor or at dinner, this is where you could find them.
It's easy to see why these new venues have become some of the most popular spaces onboard.
My Overall Thoughts
Celebrity Solstice in Alaska
Celebrity Solstice feels like a different ship after its renovation.
Some of the changes, like losing the dedicated teen club and sports court, will absolutely be noticed by families traveling with older kids and multi-generational groups.
At the same time, Celebrity added spaces that encourage people to gather in new ways. Sunset Park, The Parlor, and Boulevard Lounge were some of the busiest and happiest places we visited all week.
To me, the renovation signals a shift in Celebrity's direction. The ship now feels more focused on adult travelers, premium experiences, and social gathering spaces than active family recreation.
To me, the renovation signals a shift in Celebrity's direction. The ship now feels more focused on adult travelers, premium experiences, and social gathering spaces than active family recreation.
Would I sail Celebrity Solstice again?
My daughter relaxing in the Sky Lounge on the Celebrity Solstice.
Without hesitation, yes.
It's still a beautiful ship with outstanding service, excellent food, and one of my favorite Alaska itineraries.
I just think it's important for returning Celebrity guests to know not only what's been added, but also what has changed. Depending on how you like to cruise, those differences may shape your experience just as much as the exciting new venues.
If you're traveling as a couple or with a group of adults, you'll likely love these updates. If you're cruising with kids, teenagers or an active multi-generational family like ours, it's simply worth knowing what to expect before you step onboard
As I looked around throughout the week, I realized the renovation wasn't simply about updating an older ship. It was about redefining how guests spend their time onboard. Celebrity has created more venues centered around dining, entertainment, games, and premium experiences. Whether that's an improvement will depend on how you like to cruise, but it's certainly a different Celebrity Solstice than the one many returning guests remember.
What's Next for the Solstice Class?
Celebrity Solstice is just the beginning. The ship is the first to complete Celebrity Cruises' more than $250 million Solstice Series modernization program, with the remaining Solstice Class ships expected to receive similar renovations in the coming years. Celebrity has already announced that these updates will eventually roll out across the fleet, bringing many of the same new venues, refreshed accommodations, and redesigned public spaces to the sister ships. After experiencing these changes firsthand, I'll definitely be watching to see how the rest of the Solstice Class evolves.
Continue Planning Your Cruise
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Disclosure: My family paid for this Celebrity Solstice cruise in full. I received no complimentary cruise, onboard credit, discounts, upgrades, or compensation from Celebrity Cruises or any other company in connection with this review. As always, the opinions shared on FreshCruiser are entirely my own and are based on my family's personal experience.
FreshCruiser Tip: If you’re cruising to Alaska, stop by Sunset Park around 3:30 PM for warm cookies and incredible views of the Inside Passage.