Celebrity Solstice - Glass Blowing

Celebrity Cruises and The Corning Musuem of Glass is proud to present another innovation at sea on Celebrity Solstice and the other Solstice Class ships. When they are done, there will be five cruise ships with live glass blowing demonstrations onboard. That takes traveling glass blowing to a new level.

After strolling through the lawn, rest your feet at the Hot Glass Show. There are several demonstrations throughout the day, so don't worry about having the show conflict with some other activity you want to do.

Besides the live show, there is a small museum onboard where you can read about the art of glass blowing. However, nothing beats seeing the hot glass show live. It is really a treat to see the show at night since the furnace really stands out with the dark sky.

There are also display cases showing the fruits of their labor from previous glass blowing demonstrations. If you are lucky enough, you might even be able to take one of these glass creations home with you. The only way you'll be able to do so is to have your raffle ticket number called in one of the drawings. There is no gift shop onboard that sells the glass creations. It's actually a shame because the artwork is fabulous.

We saw several demonstrations, but the most amazing one was at the 11 PM show. The glass blower starts with some molten glass from the furnace and rolls the hot glass over small bits of colored glass that has been put on the table. After that, it's back to the furnace to melt the glass that was added. This process continues layer after layer until a large amount of glass has been built up. The glass is shaped using various instruments and eventually scored so that it can be removed from the rod that has been holding it. It is hard to explain what happens next, so I've attached a video clip showing the finale.

We've seen glass blowing before, but never at this scale or under a unique setting like on a cruise ship. Celebrity and CMOG have certainly brought a new level of entertainment to the cruising public. Everyone really enjoyed the show - especially the children. On our cruise, there was one child that must have seen every show, because they even called him by name.

Also see my previous post From Grass to Glass.

From Grass to Glass

Your sea day onboard Celebrity Solstice is off to a good start. You've just completed a round of lawn bowling at The Lawn Club and are looking for some other activity to keep you occupied. How about watching a glassblowing demonstration? I can safely assume that you've never seen a demonstration while at sea before, since Celebrity is the first cruise line to introduce this feature.

Celebrity Cruises, in collaboration with Corning Museum of Glass, is introducing a very unique enrichment experience on Celebrity Solstice. The captivating art of glassblowing moves to sea when the Museum’s “Hot Glass Show sm” debuts on Celebrity Solstice in December 2008.

The Hot Glass Show will provide live demonstrations and a narrated performance of glassblowing, designed to entertain while enriching cruisers about the art, history, and science of glass. Since 2001, the Musuem has traveled the Hot Glass Show to musuems, art fairs and public festivals around the world, extending the glassblowing experience beyone the walls of the Museum. Commenting on the alliance, the Museum said “This collaboration with Celebrity Cruises allows our Museum to dramatically expand our outreach across the world.”

A custom-designed, outdoor glassmaking studio is the setting for the Hot Glass Show which will present the history and craft of glassblowing, from its ancient origins to its current countless uses. Three resident “gaffers”—highly skilled glassblowing artists—will educate and entertain cruisers with live glassmaking shows, lectures and workshops.

Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International (parent company) have a history of raising the bar and bringing innovation to their modern cruise ships. Once again, they have enhanced the cruising experience for those fortunate enough to sail on the Solstice. I can't wait to see this new show when I sail on the Solstice this fall. It is always exciting sailing on a ship during it's inaugural year. I suggest adding an inaugural year sailing to your list of must-do cruise vacations.