Anyone Back From 5/15 Solstice Alaska Sailing?

Just curious as the 1st Seattle-Seattle cruise just got back yesterday. (5/15-5/22)

Any words of advice? How was it ? Many of us here are eager to know.

We board Solstice this coming Friday.

Surely one of you just got back from either a marvelous or mediocre trip to Alaska on the Solstice. Please share your thought when you get the chance.

Us CC addicts want to know how it was. Thanks!!

By CC addict, I mean C & C Cola of course. http://www.longisland70skid.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/CC-Cola.jpg

On a smartphone here at the airport so will be brief - generally great, make sure you get up early for the Tracy Arm bit ... but stay out of the MDR on the night in Victoria (would be a great night for a specialty restaurant) as there's only one seating at 5 and it works about as well as you'd think.

...stay out of the MDR on the night in Victoria (would be a great night for a specialty restaurant) as there's only one seating at 5 and it works about as well as you'd think.

That evening for Victoria, we were pleasantly surprised that the buffet remained open and fully functioning long after 9 pm when we returned from port. The printed schedule said the dinner buffet would close at a certain time but would offer snacks, and as I said we were pleasantly surprised to find everything open and available. It was a lovely evening in Victoria, and great back on the ship too. :)

We were on the May 8 sailing and had a blast. I will try and post a few pictures of the ports and ship.

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Ketchikan

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Skagway

Victoria

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Cabin 1560

Grand Entry

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Whale watching tour

Saw lots of Eagles

Went crabbing and had all you can eat crab. Yum!

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Those were great pictures! And we will avoid the MDR on Victoria night. Thanks for the advice.

Just curious as the 1st Seattle-Seattle cruise just got back yesterday. (5/15-5/22)

 

Any words of advice? How was it ? Many of us here are eager to know.

 

We board Solstice this coming Friday.

Try and go to a couple of Brent Nixons talks during the cruise, does various subjects, each on a different day, whales, seals, etc. Guy really knows his stuff. Going into Tracey Arm he will give a running description as your heading up the passage, try and get on a high spot where you can see both sides.

We did the excursion last year from the ship at Tracey Arm, it was fabulous, we went to the second Sawyer Glacier which the ship can't get to and saw whales, seals and other wildlife as we headed into Juneau. You also get a lot closer to the Glacier's.

Try and go to a couple of Brent Nixons talks during the cruise, does various subjects, each on a different day, whales, seals, etc. Guy really knows his stuff. Going into Tracey Arm he will give a running description as your heading up the passage, try and get on a high spot where you can see both sides.

 

We did the excursion last year from the ship at Tracey Arm, it was fabulous, we went to the second Sawyer Glacier which the ship can't get to and saw whales, seals and other wildlife as we headed into Juneau. You also get a lot closer to the Glacier's.

Thanks for the info!

I remember seeing Brent Nixon years ago on the Infinity. He's the one that mimics a seal in quite graphic fashion, as I recall. Sharp guy way back then as well, and a great asset to the Celebrity community. I'm glad he is on the trip.

I would love to do the Tracey Arm extension tour, if only I cab convince my wife to get up that early. She's not a morning person. :eek:

Thanks for the info!

 

I remember seeing Brent Nixon years ago on the Infinity. He's the one that mimics a seal in quite graphic fashion, as I recall. Sharp guy way back then as well, and a great asset to the Celebrity community. I'm glad he is on the trip.

 

I would love to do the Tracey Arm extension tour, if only I cab convince my wife to get up that early. She's not a morning person. :eek:

He now has his wife with him who gives some lectures also.

Embarkation, we left our Hotel, The Quality Inn (-4 Stars, but cheap) by the Space Needle on their shuttle at 11am. We were in the Ocean View buffet at 11:45. Rooms open about 1:30 or so. Luggage arrived about 3:30pm. MDR We had Select dining and it was great, always had the same waiter (Joseph was great) and the same Sommelier. If we were both drinking the same wine he always left the bottle on our table. We had the basic drink package (thanks Celebrity!!) and were never denied anything although we are pretty basic drinkers. Always had great wine, Alaskan Amber beer, daiquiris, Pina Coladas. and Margaritas. The frozen drinks always had a floater shot on top. Probably the best bar for us was the Casino Bar. Speaking of the casino, craps was VERY VERY lucrative 1st sea day. After that nothing seemed lucky, but I still came out way ahead.

Disembarkation, was easy peasy. We had an 11:35 am flight on Southwest. We did the luggage valet which Southwest wasn't listed. I filled it out and turned it in. About 4pm Thursday MY boarding pass and 2 luggage tags showed up. I called guest relations about my DW's boarding pass. I found out that it is $20 a person for 1 boarding pass. Hope this helps . Ask fr more

Embarkation, we left our Hotel, The Quality Inn (-4 Stars, but cheap) by the Space Needle on their shuttle at 11am. We were in the Ocean View buffet at 11:45. Rooms open about 1:30 or so. Luggage arrived about 3:30pm. MDR We had Select dining and it was great, always had the same waiter (Joseph was great) and the same Sommelier. If we were both drinking the same wine he always left the bottle on our table. We had the basic drink package (thanks Celebrity!!) and were never denied anything although we are pretty basic drinkers. Always had great wine, Alaskan Amber beer, daiquiris, Pina Coladas. and Margaritas. The frozen drinks always had a floater shot on top. Probably the best bar for us was the Casino Bar. Speaking of the casino, craps was VERY VERY lucrative 1st sea day. After that nothing seemed lucky, but I still came out way ahead.

Disembarkation, was easy peasy. We had an 11:35 am flight on Southwest. We did the luggage valet which Southwest wasn't listed. I filled it out and turned it in. About 4pm Thursday MY boarding pass and 2 luggage tags showed up. I called guest relations about my DW's boarding pass. I found out that it is $20 a person for 1 boarding pass. Hope this helps . Ask fr more

Sounds like a great trip. Did you see any whales or eagles? How was the weather?

Sounds like a great trip. Did you see any whales or eagles? How was the weather?

Weather was 70 to 72 degrees and totally clear, everywhere we went. We saw 1 whale off the ship. Several Eagles and 1 eagle nest. We didn't take any wildlife tours, we learned a lot, and will do some next time.:mad:

Just curious as the 1st Seattle-Seattle cruise just got back yesterday. (5/15-5/22)

 

Any words of advice? How was it ? Many of us here are eager to know.

 

We board Solstice this coming Friday.

We enjoyed it so much we booked another on board

The weather was great High 60's-70's.

In Tracy arm we did the boat trip

In Juneau we shopped and took the 5:30 to Taku lodge.

In Skagway we took the White pass train and had the car to ourselves.

We chose not to get off the ship in Victoria

Naturalist Brett Nixon? and his wife were very entertaining and the production shows were good.

We ate in Silk Harvest one night and had great dinner companions the rest.

MDR food was just ok.

We enjoyed it so much we booked another on board

The weather was great High 60's-70's.

In Tracy arm we did the boat trip

In Juneau we shopped and took the 5:30 to Taku lodge.

In Skagway we took the White pass train and had the car to ourselves.

We chose not to get off the ship in Victoria

Naturalist Brett Nixon? and his wife were very entertaining and the production shows were good.

We ate in Silk Harvest one night and had great dinner companions the rest.

MDR food was just ok.

Thanks for the review.

It's a shame that MDR food is just okay. 10 years ago, no one could top Celebrity's MDR. We may bite the bullet and do some specialty restaurants.

Thanks for the review.

 

It's a shame that MDR food is just okay. 10 years ago, no one could top Celebrity's MDR. We may bite the bullet and do some specialty restaurants.

Remember, food is totally subjective. I thought my meals were

really, really good in the main dining room:)

Remember, food is totally subjective. I thought my meals were

really, really good in the main dining room:)

I did too, we ate in The Tuscan Grill the 1st formal night, was a wasted $90.

The Strip Steak in the MDR was a lot better then the Tuscan. The Tuscan was more intimate and romantic. The braised beef ravioli appetizer was excellent, but the rest was pretty bad.

We never had a bad meal in the MDR.

I'm sure we will have a great cruise. Thanks for the input.

I'm sure we will have a great cruise. Thanks for the input.

Don't discount the buffet at night, it is much better than it used to be. They have steaks now and some other cooked to order items.

I did too, we ate in The Tuscan Grill the 1st formal night, was a wasted $90.

The Strip Steak in the MDR was a lot better then the Tuscan. The Tuscan was more intimate and romantic. The braised beef ravioli appetizer was excellent, but the rest was pretty bad.

We never had a bad meal in the MDR.

Ahhhh..sorry you had such a poor experience in Tuscan and felt you

had wasted your money:(

I had the opposite.....I ordered the filet and it was one of the best

steaks I have ever eaten:D......cut like butta;)...totally worth the

price (in my opinion) and my entire meal was excellent.

Again, I agree the main dining room was very good too but I so

enjoyed my meal in Tuscan:)

Don't discount the buffet at night, it is much better than it used to be. They have steaks now and some other cooked to order items.

Sometimes the wife an I just want to eat... not dress up and converse for a couple hours. this is good to know!

I remember they had some Indian Food for Lunch sometimes, that was quite good. Did you come across any of that?

Don't discount the buffet at night, it is much better than it used to be. They have steaks now and some other cooked to order items.

We have late dining and sometimes go to the buffet early for a snack.