PAPENBURG, Germany -- The Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Cruises' first new ship delivery since 2002, left the Meyer Werft shipyard here last week, taking its first foray into the open sea to complete its sea trials.
The 122,000-ton ship, which was 97% complete, was slated to spend the next few weeks in Eemshaven, Netherlands, for final outfitting ahead of its November debut in Fort Lauderdale.
The 2,850-passenger Solstice is Celebrity's largest ship and also the biggest Meyer Werft has ever built.
Richard Fain, CEO of Celebrity's parent company, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, was eager to show off the many "firsts" on the Solstice, both for Celebrity and for the industry.
The much-ballyhooed half-acre of real grass is already growing on the ship's top deck Lawn Club, which boasts a putting green and bocce court.
The grass, only a week old, is being carefully tended to by a full-time, onboard groundskeeper, the first time a cruise ship has needed such a caretaker. The grass also introduces other ship firsts, such as irrigation and drainage systems. With so much trouble, why not just use artificial turf?
"We believe in doing things real, not artificial," Fain said during a ship tour he led.
In front of the grass are the ovens set up for the glassblowing studio to be run via a partnership with the Corning Museum of Glass. Although passengers will be able to try to make, and certainly buy, blown-glass creations, it sounds like watching might be more satisfying.
"Two things about making glass," said Fain. "When you watch it being done (by glassblowers), it's simple. When you try to do it yourself, it's impossible."
Other less exciting but important new concepts in play on the Solstice are the individual islands in the lido deck restaurant, Oceanview.
Rather than have long lines of food stations on either side, as traditional lido deck buffets do, the Solstice has several individual islands in the middle of the restaurant that will serve different kinds of food.
"It's more contemporary and more practical," said Fain. "The individual islands will speed up the process."
The Celebrity Solstice is nearing completion and Travel Weekly visited the ship before its official debut. View our slideshow to see a sneak peak at what the ship has to offer.