Live from Solstice - May 13th 2016

[scrapcreator]

Happy anniversary! Looking forward to your posts and reviews. We sail on July 15th.

[SetU2]

Thanks for the kind wishes on our anniversary. This is our 30th and we've celebrated each half decade with a cruise. As we near retirement we've found our desires have changed. We've done a few NCL, the Big Red Boat, and one Carnival. So far I like the pace and atmosphere here on Celebrity. Part of this is, of course, influenced by it being in mid-May while school is still in session and also by being an Alaskan cruise. I guess I had actually expected an even older crowd than we have. My wife and I are both mid-50's and fit right into about the middle. I thought the average age might be a lot more like 65-70.

 

A little note about Xcelerate since I know many are curious about it. I've now got a full day and have run about a dozen speed tests. The WiFi itself is very good, not losing connection and staying strong in most places. The Internet connection has ranged a bit but mostly stays around 3.5mbps download speed. I've seen as low as 35kbps like right now as I suspect many are online and it is a shared resource. The latency has ranged from 850 to 1400 milliseconds. Perfectly understandable and expected for satellite Internet. The upload speed has been really flaky. As low as 25kbps to as high as 10.5mbps. I own a tech services business and have decent equipment and understand how to maximize my connection so your experience may vary. The cost for a 7-day cruise unlimited plan is $140 with no Captains Club discount discount as we are on our 1st Celebrity cruise. Those discounts do apply.

 

I mentioned we will likely book a cruise. Below is the current future cruise offer good through May 31st.

 

 

 

Now I'm off to our Cruise Critic Connections get hearing in Wine Cellars.

 

 

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[SetU2]

Casino rules on the table games heavily favor the house. Dealer hits soft 17 always at blackjack, large rakes etc. We played penny slots a bit and I caught a $300 payout on a 30-cent bet. Just finishing up lunch at Oceanview. Wanted to do Mast Grill bit closed due to inclement weather. Not really sure why, but I'm guessing cold since so many are dressed in huge parkas and we, being from a cold weather area (Minnesota), are in short sleeves.

 

Think I'm getting recruited into trivia but want to get up to Persian Gardens for some sauna and reading.

 

 

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[number one eagles fan]

Thank you so much for posting. It really builds our excitement for our June 24th sailing on the Solstice. We are considering doing the cruise excursion in Tracy Arm Fjord where you board a catamaran from the Solstice and are returned directly to Juneau after viewing the glaciers.

 

If you hear of anyone taking this excursion I would love to hear their opinions. I did read somewhere that the excursion is sometimes not offered in early May depending on the conditions.

 

Thanks again and make some wonderful memories this week.

 

-Heather

[FlorenceItaly]

Happy Anniversary! I am enjoying your review very much. Thank you.

 

 

 

 

Marie

[Montana]

Thank you so much for posting. It really builds our excitement for our June 24th sailing on the Solstice. We are considering doing the cruise excursion in Tracy Arm Fjord where you board a catamaran from the Solstice and are returned directly to Juneau after viewing the glaciers.

 

If you hear of anyone taking this excursion I would love to hear their opinions. I did read somewhere that the excursion is sometimes not offered in early May depending on the conditions.

 

Thanks again and make some wonderful memories this week.

 

-Heather

 

We were on Solstice last June and there were positive reviews of this excursion. Boat had an inside cabin if I remember and I am considering this year.

[rdaco]

We took the Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer on the Solstice in 2013. It is a great excursion. Seeing the glaciers up close , waterfalls and whales. Well worth the money! We are doing it again on August 26 , the Solstice again.

[SetU2]

Thank you so much for posting. It really builds our excitement for our June 24th sailing on the Solstice. We are considering doing the cruise excursion in Tracy Arm Fjord where you board a catamaran from the Solstice and are returned directly to Juneau after viewing the glaciers.

 

 

 

If you hear of anyone taking this excursion I would love to hear their opinions. I did read somewhere that the excursion is sometimes not offered in early May depending on the conditions.

 

 

 

Thanks again and make some wonderful memories this week.

 

 

 

-Heather

 

 

 

We have this scheduled and I will certainly review it. Weather looks promising.

[Charliedog1121]

Happy Anniversary!!! Love hearing about your adventure!!! I'll keep checking in and building the excitement for our cruise next month!!!

[Zoey1]

Casino rules on the table games heavily favor the house. Dealer hits soft 17 always at blackjack, large rakes etc. We played penny slots a bit and I caught a $300 payout on a 30-cent bet. Just finishing up lunch at Oceanview. Wanted to do Mast Grill bit closed due to inclement weather. Not really sure why, but I'm guessing cold since so many are dressed in huge parkas and we, being from a cold weather area (Minnesota), are in short sleeves.

 

Think I'm getting recruited into trivia but want to get up to Persian Gardens for some sauna and reading.

 

 

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Chuck,

I had to chuckle as when I went up to the gym I had to cut across the pool deck and solarium, I was wearing a tank top and while a bit cool, was surprised to see how bundled up people outside and even in the solarium were. We are from PA , so while not as cold as Minnesota we are not strangers to cold weather either.

[Zoey1]

Thank you so much for posting. It really builds our excitement for our June 24th sailing on the Solstice. We are considering doing the cruise excursion in Tracy Arm Fjord where you board a catamaran from the Solstice and are returned directly to Juneau after viewing the glaciers.

 

If you hear of anyone taking this excursion I would love to hear their opinions. I did read somewhere that the excursion is sometimes not offered in early May depending on the conditions.

 

Thanks again and make some wonderful memories this week.

 

-Heather

 

Heather,

We are booked on this excursion and come back to the ship for an independent excursion ( helicopter and dog sled) I will let you know when we get back if Chuck is not doing this.

[h20cruzer]

I loved the Solstice, did a trans Atlantic on her.

Would you be able to find out the bartenders names in the Martini Bar for me?

Norma

[SetU2]

I loved the Solstice, did a trans Atlantic on her.

 

Would you be able to find out the bartenders names in the Martini Bar for me?

 

Norma

 

 

 

We did get this note with our tickets

 

 

I'm hopeful because it was a record warm winter in the area, but you never know.

[SetU2]

So most of the other amenities are here:

 

 

 

 

And here is the Blu breakfast menu.

 

 

 

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Edited May 14, 2016 by SetU2

[Boxerlover2]

We did get this note with our tickets

 

 

I'm hopeful because it was a record warm winter in the area, but you never know.

 

 

Please do report back on how you enjoyed this excursion. We are signed up for it for our our August sailing. Would you also mind finding out if/when the Molecular Bar will be switched to the World Class Bar?

 

I'm enjoying your review. Thank you!

[Boxerlover2]

We took the Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer on the Solstice in 2013. It is a great excursion. Seeing the glaciers up close , waterfalls and whales. Well worth the money! We are doing it again on August 26 , the Solstice again.

 

 

My DH and I are on the same sailing as you and signed up for this excursion too! :)

[SetU2]

First Evening Chic night. I haven't seen any tuxes at all. I wore slacks and dress shirt with a blue blazer. Maybe half were in slacks and nice shirt and most of the rest with a blazer. About half each had a tie on. Seemed to be a step up but only moderately so. Below is the menu and tomorrow's daily front page.

 

 

 

 

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[SetU2]

Ok, saw one tux now and another without the jacket.

 

 

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[TeaBag]

SetU2, I am so enjoying your review. Having sailed on Millennium for 45 days before she went into refit Apr 26, I am really missing her and all that great Celebrity service. I am very interested in your Blu menus. There are several things on the menu you just posted that we did not see, eating in there for 29 days. We love Blu. Sounds like it might be slightly different on Solstice.

 

Have a great time on your anniversary cruise.

[Montana]

Selections for this night were not as appealing to me, but what did you think?

[SetU2]

I had the Lamb and it was good, not great. Might have been a good night to go with the New York Strip. MDR wasn't much better tonight, we had checked. I also got a smaller portion of the Risotto. The waiter was very careful to let me know the Crab in this was really more of a garnish so not to expect much crab flavor.

 

Overall thus far, I like Blu. The food is good but I'm relatively easy to please in any event. The ambience is much better than the clatter of the MDR. We did book a 9-day Ultimate Caribbean for next Feb and decided to go with 2A Deluxe Veranda. This will allow us some comparison and the difference in cost, about $500, will cover some Specialty dining. This will be on the Summit. We probably would have gone with Aqua for the larger cabin if there were some decent locations but nothing stunning jumped out at us.

 

The shows thus far haven't impressed. They are basically not as good as I can see at a Native American casino only 10 miles from me. And I've just seen too many aerialists over the past several years. Hey, if you like them, great. I guess they just aren't my cup of tea. To be honest, Brent Nixon's talks are better than the entertainment.

 

Clocks go back an hour tonight and we arrive in Ketchikan at 7am. Our excursion is the Misty Fjords Boat and Floatplane Wilderness Adventure. Celebrity excursion number KE07B. (It could be KEO7B) This gathers on the pier at 9:45 so we will have breakfast in Blu. They've changed their hours a little, to 7:30 to 9am versus 8am to 9:30am. It looks like it will be mostly sunny and about 60F until around 2-3 pm with some chance of rain after. I'll post a few pictures and a review tomorrow afternoon

 

 

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[FlorenceItaly]

I had the Lamb and it was good, not great. Might have been a good night to go with the New York Strip. MDR wasn't much better tonight, we had checked. I also got a smaller portion of the Risotto. The waiter was very careful to let me know the Crab in this was really more of a garnish so not to expect much crab flavor.

 

Overall thus far, I like Blu. The food is good but I'm relatively easy to please in any event. The ambience is much better than the clatter of the MDR. We did book a 9-day Ultimate Caribbean for next Feb and decided to go with 2A Deluxe Veranda. This will allow us some comparison and the difference in cost, about $500, will cover some Specialty dining. This will be on the Summit. We probably would have gone with Aqua for the larger cabin if there were some decent locations but nothing stunning jumped out at us.

 

The shows thus far haven't impressed. They are basically not as good as I can see at a Native American casino only 10 miles from me. And I've just seen too many aerialists over the past several years. Hey, if you like them, great. I guess they just aren't my cup of tea. To be honest, Brent Nixon's talks are better than the entertainment.

 

Clocks go back an hour tonight and we arrive in Ketchikan at 7am. Our excursion is the Misty Fjords Boat and Floatplane Wilderness Adventure. Celebrity excursion number KE07B. (It could be KEO7B) This gathers on the pier at 9:45 so we will have breakfast in Blu. They've changed their hours a little, to 7:30 to 9am versus 8am to 9:30am. It looks like it will be mostly sunny and about 60F until around 2-3 pm with some chance of rain after. I'll post a few pictures and a review tomorrow afternoon

 

 

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Enjoying your review! Thank you. We are on the same Summit sailing you just booked. It's a very friendly Roll Call.

 

 

 

 

Marie

[BecciBoo]

We were on Solstice last June and there were positive reviews of this excursion. Boat had an inside cabin if I remember and I am considering this year.

 

We will also be on the catamaran tour, but on last cruise of the season. Hoping we will really get close since most of the ice has left by then. We were at Hubbard 2 yrs ago same time and we had wonderful views...so hoping the small boat will give us even more.

[BecciBoo]

 

I mentioned we will likely book a cruise. Below is the current future cruise offer good through May 31st.

 

 

 

 

 

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Our upcoming was booked on Reflection 2 yrs ago with almost the same deal...we got Classic Pkg and $250 on Reflection $300 on upcoming with gratuities. Deal was called 123Go at that time and you had to book Concierge or above to get 4. Just may have to do it again!

Edited May 15, 2016 by BecciBoo

[mick70]

SetU2 Thanks for you posts. Will be getting on when you get here on Friday.

How busy are the Bars with most having the drink pkg?;)