A semi-live trip report on 8/10/18 Solstice to Alaska that was almost a golf trip to

[villageneighbor]

For Seattle - second the vote for Chihuly Gardens by the space needle.

 

Having recently gotten back from Alaska Millenium southbound ideas for packing:

Tevas or Sports sandals (if doing any water sports)

Hiking Boots (if you will hike)

Sneakers

Layers (water proof jacket, fleece, winter coat, long sleeve moisture wicking shirt).

Also - evening chic means - more casual than other trips - mostly no fleece or t-shirts

[carlsbadguy]

Are sneakers okay for dinner in the dining room?

[Kteacher]

Travel day!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[riclop]

Thanks for sharing.

[JMorris271]

24 hours to go! Some more pre-cruise planning info- I received not one, not two, but three MoveUp emails from Celebrity. They came to my email but were addressed to my mom, who has never sailed on Celebrity. After the third one I figured, why not. I submitted a bid a week ago to MoveUp from a RS to a PH. The confirmation of my MoveUp bid came immediately, but I haven’t heard yet whether the bid was rejected or accepted. Still waiting Celebrity...

I use a TA who let me know that we’re eligible for a complimentary excursion through Distinctive Voyages. The only problem is our excursions were booked months ago. There is also a complimentary cocktail party onboard, which we’ll attend if we can.

So, for any Seattle natives, our plans for the next two days are to

1) Recover from an early wake up and long day of flying

2) Walk to the Purple Cafe and enjoy some wine

3) Enjoy a guided tour of Pike Market early Thursday

4) Aquarium, Space Needle, anything else?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

A hike up Mt. Rainer.;)

[Kteacher]

So bad travel karma continues...

I rarely book hotels through the cruise line, but this was a special trip. The Fairmont Olympic is a nice hotel, it’s my mom’s birthday...

After a cancelled flight and a long travel day we get to the hotel, and even though I have an invoice from Celebrity that shows I paid beaucoup bucks for two rooms for two nights, the hotel only has us in one room. And they are oversold. And Celebrity is closed for the night. So Celebrity has over 1700.00 of our money, and it’s for one room. Hoping for a better day tomorrow.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Azulann]

So bad travel karma continues...

I rarely book hotels through the cruise line, but this was a special trip. The Fairmont Olympic is a nice hotel, it’s my mom’s birthday...

After a cancelled flight and a long travel day we get to the hotel, and even though I have an invoice from Celebrity that shows I paid beaucoup bucks for two rooms for two nights, the hotel only has us in one room. And they are oversold. And Celebrity is closed for the night. So Celebrity has over 1700.00 of our money, and it’s for one room. Hoping for a better day tomorrow.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Oh, i hope in the light of this day, Celebrity made you whole regarding the messed up hotel bookings.

Enjoy your day in Seattle .

[PBGVLover]

Sorry about your first day travels, but can't wait to hear your review! We are in RS 31aug. :)

[PBGVLover]

Oh and Happy Birthday Mom!!!!!!

[Kteacher]

There are a lot of threads out there about the reasons why anyone would need to use a TA vs. doing everything yourself. My story will explain why I will continue to stick with my excellent TA.

After a very long travel day we arrived at our hotel, booked as a pre-cruise package with Celebrity. I don’t usually do this, but wanted to make everything special for my mom as well as easier for me due to my crazy work schedule. Despite having a copy of the invoice that showed the amount I paid for two rooms, as well as a voucher from Celebrity that clearly stated two rooms, the hotel only had one room on our reservation. I contacted my TA, who went above and beyond and took care of everything, and I mean everything. She asked that the hotel get us some food and something to drink last night, spoke with the hotel manager, and was in contact with me the entire time. This morning she was on the phone with Celebrity first thing. Celebrity admitted that they had made an error, and took care of it. We are very happy with the response from Celebrity, but it was due to the work of my TA. We were able to go ahead with a tour I had pre-booked for this morning instead of me having to take the time to spend on the phone.

Celebrity owned up to the mistake and fixed it. We had a great morning touring Pike Market doing a food tour- highly recommend because we beat the crowds and did not have to wait in any lines. We finished the afternoon at the Purple Cafe, a nice wine bar walking distance from our hotel, which I also highly recommend.

A little more about the pre-cruise hotel packages- it’s apparent that Celebrity needs to do a better job with their communication between the hotels. We received conflicting information about the luggage transfers from the hotel to the pier. I’ll update after we go through embarkation.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Azulann]

Glad your TA stepped in fix what could be fixed. Celebrity admitting their part and fixing it for you is good news too.

I loved Pike's Market many years ago.

Hope your mom is having a wonderful time with you and your husband.

Look forward to reading your review of the actual cruise and your great suite.

[clskinsfan]

Sorry about your issues to start your vacation. Hopefully it gets much better for you from here.

[Kteacher]

Current situation, on the balcony as we sail away from Seattle, with a glass of champagne. Embarkation was extremely fast, but there was no sign for expedited luggage as we were instructed by the shoreside concierge. We were instructed to send our checked luggage along from the hotel and it would be expedited from there. I think they are still working out the bugs on this program.

Michael’s Club was very busy when we arrived, which was around noon. We had lunch in Luminae, great service, but their signature burger recipe appears to have changed since the last time we sailed, and not for the better. Everything else we had was wonderful.

On to the cabin: as some have mentioned, there’s a design flaw in the walk-in closet off the master bedroom. In order to access the drawer space you need to enter the closet and close the door behind you. Our TA ordered some amenities for the cabin, which are nowhere to be found, hopefully we can get that straightened out later. The other thing that struck me as a little off was that we had to ask who our butler was as there was nothing in our cabin. We eventually asked someone who it was, and he knocked on our cabin door a little after that.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Kteacher]

 

View from the balcony as we sail away, weather is absolutely beautiful!

[PBGVLover]

Thanks so much for the update. What extra amenities did your TA get for you? Who is your butler? More pictures please. Enjoy your day at sea!

[billslowsky]

Just a quick "anything else". We'll be in Seattle for a couple of days also. Told that the Chihuly Gardens are fabulous. Located right near the Space Needle. The Purple Cafe was also recommended as a thing to do in Seattle by our local paper. Also, found this http://seattlefreewalkingtours.org/

 

We did the Chihuly Gardens the night before our cruise in July. You can see a lot in the outdoor (free) gardens. The verdict on our visit to the museum was divided by sex. We went right after 6pm when the admission was reduced by $10 (I think we paid $19 each instead of $29). The indoor part isn't that big and it doesn't take very long (I bet you can guess which side I voted on).

 

Since it wasn't my first trip to Seattle, I did the Seattle Underground tour which was more weird than anything but requires walking and a lot of stairs. The rest of our group did the Duck tour and came back with those stinking quackers.

[Kteacher]

So amenities from the TA showed up last night when we returned from dinner, a nice bottle of wine, beautiful flowers, chocolate covered strawberries, and two very nice Alaska themed tote bags.

Breakfast in Luminae was great- I love their huevos rancheros. The ship is spotless, and the crew are all really friendly. No real plans for the day other than shipboard talks about Alaska.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[krmnc]

Glad things have settled down positively for you. Question...last year we did a Mediterranean cruise on the Silhouette and although not suit and tie, people dressed up a bit for dinner as if going to a nicer restaurant. I've heard that Alaska is more casual...how are people dressing for the MDR? Thanks

[Kteacher]

Glad things have settled down positively for you. Question...last year we did a Mediterranean cruise on the Silhouette and although not suit and tie, people dressed up a bit for dinner as if going to a nicer restaurant. I've heard that Alaska is more casual...how are people dressing for the MDR? Thanks

 

 

 

My mom is having the time of her life ❤️. We’re in Luminae, and tonight, which is the first evening chic night, we dined in Murano. I saw exactly one tux tonight. My husband wore a white dinner jacket. I do think this is a much more casual cruise as far as dress is concerned.

A few things of note about today- the talks by Brent Nixon and Miss Amanda were amazing, Murano was one of the best meals we have had on a cruise ship, the staff continue to be friendly and very accommodating.

We did the food and wine pairing seminar this afternoon, which was just so-so. The glasses at our table were filthy, and when we pointed this out staff just kind of shrugged their shoulders. Water spots on glasses I can maybe overlook. Lipstick stains on wine glasses during a wine tasting seminar, not so much.

Our suite is perfect for three adults, but we would not bother to pay more if it were just the two of us. The CS is perfectly fine, and so far we haven’t seen much difference in the level of service. Having a stocked mini-bar is not a deal breaker as we haven’t really used it that much. The expedited luggage program on embarkation did not turn out to be expedited at all. Having an additional bathroom is convenient, but not really necessary if there are only two people. We haven’t used the dining area at all.

Tomorrow is Ketchikan, and we have no tour planned, so just walking around Creek Street.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Kteacher]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Kteacher]

Good morning from Ketchikan!

It’s a beautiful sunny day, and we’re just pulling into the pier. RCI Radiance as well as a Carnival ship are with us in port. Fashion report as follows: despite a number of people we know telling us there’s no need to bring sweaters and jackets, I’m glad we did. For you fellow New Englanders, I’d compare it to an early spring day.

We received this form last night:

We’ve used the luggage valet on other ships and will be using it this sailing as well.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[carlsbadguy]

Thanks for the copy of the Port Valet. I was planning on using this and have a Southwest flight at 4:40 PM so have to figure out what to do now.

[PBGVLover]

Thanks for the copy of the port valet and the stunning pic! Hope you guys had a great day in Ketchikan! Can't wait for your next post.

[Kteacher]

Current situation, in the jacuzzi on the balcony sipping a drink, and listening to the Allman Brothers as we sail away from Ketchikan. Ketchikan was perfect. We toured on our own, walking along Creek Street as well as the Ketchikan Discovery Center. There were a ton of salmon as well as seals feeding on them. Most of the shops sell the same things, but I was able to find a book by a local author/artist to donate to my school library. The weather is gorgeous. Tonight we’ll be back to Luminae and will probably skip late night activities due to early wake up.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[smmountaingal]

"

We had a great morning touring Pike Market doing a food tour- highly recommend because we beat the crowds and did not have to wait in any lines. We finished the afternoon at the Purple Cafe, a nice wine bar walking distance from our hotel, which I also highly recommend.

 

 

Could you share the company you booked the Pike Market food tour with?

Thanks