Celebrity Cruises’ modern-luxury ship Celebrity Solstice expanded its South Pacific repertoire this week with maiden calls to the incredible island archipelagos of Samoa and Tonga.
The Australian-based 2850-passenger ship made its debut to Samoan capital Apia at 8am on Saturday 23 March, allowing guests eight sun-filled hours to explore the vibrant harbourside capital and its surrounding regions.
On arrival, guests were welcomed with warm smiles from the famously hospitable locals. A range of immersive shore excursions that showcased the unspoiled beauty of Samoa were on offer, including guided visits to the local food and handicraft markets, adventures to the lush Falefa Falls and Falefa Village as well as a road trip along the northeastern coast of the island.
Solstice made its next inaugural visit to the Tongan island group Vava’u at 10.30am on Monday 25 March, with guests and crew receiving an equally warm welcome from the Kingdom’s friendly locals. Guests were treated to a traditional performance by local dancers on the pier as they disembarked the ship.
The ship departed at 7.30pm, allowing guests ample time to experience the island’s natural wonders, with shore excursions including a scenic boat cruise to the nearby island of Kapa and a trip across the island to Ene’io Beach, accompanied by an oceanside lunch of local delicacies.
Tongan capital of Nuku’Alofa was the next port of call with Solstice pulling into the deep-water harbour at 8am on Tuesday 26 March.
Many guests ventured to the sublime Houma Blowholes on the island’s south coast and took ferries to the deserted island of Pangaimotu, with snorkelling safaris to the local reef and a sunken shipwreck on offer.
Solstice’s maiden visits were part of a thirteen-night South Pacific, Fiji and Tonga cruise that departed Auckland on 16 March 2019, also visiting Bay of Islands (New Zealand), Lautoka, Suva (Fiji), and Pago Pago (American Samoa.)
The cruise line is scheduled to make a second visit to Apia on 8 April 2020, Vavau on 10 April 2020 and Nuku’Alofa on 11 April 2020.
Matt Hochberg
Matt loves to cruise, and started Cruise.Blog as a place to share different cruise experiences, advice, and what to know before going on a cruise.
He lives in Florida with his wife and two daughters, where he can be found on any given day trying to convince his wife they "need" to book another cruise.
