LIVE from the Edge - Alaska Dawes Glacier B2Bs May 24-June 7

[Reel Love]

Fabulous review SerraG!  Really appreciating your pics and comments as we are looking to book Alaska in early 2026, and possibly for the first time in a suite so this is very helpful (as are comments from others who have been to Alaska and are chiming in!)  Gathering some great info here. 🙂  

[SerraG]

15 hours ago, hcat said:

Did that  crab leg really cost $ 79 as I think I saw listed on the Crab Place menu?  A bit pricey if it was..even for such a nice size..  Your salad  looked great...sorry the crab soup was  disappointing.

 

15 hours ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

$79 for one crab leg…I guess it’s for the novelty of it, but still….

 

11 hours ago, hcat said:

t looks big  but prices are high!

we get  med size in the supermarket in NY and Fla for much less...very sweet! 

 

Yes, my crab leg was $79 and Ross's was actually an upcharge over that, but they were full legs that were over 1lb+ each.  They were very sweet.  I usually prefer snow crab because I think it tends to be sweeter, but these particular legs were probably the best crab I've ever eaten.  

 

I think clusters from supermarkets / Costco are $40-50 per pound in Kansas City, but again that isn't for jumbo legs and usually includes quite a few pieces that have less meat.  (Similar to how larger lobsters cost more per pound because of the difference in the shell to meat ratio.)

 

[SerraG]

Celebrity Today And Schedule - Day 6 - Sea Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SerraG]

We slept in and had a lazy morning, which was a nice change from the early glacier viewing and train rides in previous days.  We hung out in the Retreat Lounge and had a latte for breakfast.  This is such a nice quiet space. 

 

 

We decided we wanted to try The Bistro for lunch so I tried to make reservations on the Celebrity App.   It was almost noon, and the only time left was for 1:30pm, so that's what I reserved.  

 

When we showed up to the host's stand a little before 1:30pm, the host told us that they were already closed.  I said, "Oh, we have a reservation!"  The host did not seem pleased.  He looked at his screen for a while and then said, "Oh...I see.  Well, I can seat you, but it's going to be a bit."   I thanked him for seating us, but it was strange.  I had a reservation (!), and even if I hadn't, their posted hours were from 12pm-1:30pm. 

 

Here is a view of the inside of the restaurant.  In the evening they transform this space into the Le Petite Restaurant show.

 

Menus:

 

 

 

 

The waitress brought around bread.  The focaccia was especially tasty, but Ross requested an almond croissant from the display case. 

 

 

Holy Moly! That was a good croissant.  Better even than the ones in Luminae.

 

I tried to order a Lemonade Provencal, but of course they didn't have all the ingredients.  Floral flavors seem to be in short supply on this cruise. 🤷‍♀️  

 

Ross ordered a French Martini. 

 

 

We liked this pretty well and it had a mild raspberry flavor.  Ross said he'd order it again.  [Cocktail Rating: 7/10]  

 

For my starter, I ordered the Moules-Frites - Mussels steamed with garlic, white wine, thyme, braised tomatoes and served with french fries.

 

 

The mussels themselves were great.  Tender meat and all the shells were open.  The sauce had a lovely white wine and tomato flavor, but I found it a little too thick for the mussels.  I like it when muscles come with more of a broth, I think.  I know mussels and fries are common pairing in France, but the fries were a rather robust addition to a "starter" menu item.  

 

Ross ordered the Escargot (snails) with Basil, Garlic, Lemon, Butter and Sea Salt.

 

 

As you can see, the (very few) Escargot were served on a puff pastry with arugula and tomato.  This was tasty, but a strange presentation that really overwhelmed the escargot.  I think you could have eaten the whole thing without noticing it actually had any escargot on it. 

 

I ordered Soupe à l'oignon (French Onion Soup).

 

French onion soup is one of my favorite soups.  This was was good, but there were no actual onions in it... just an onion broth.   The cheese was especially good, appropriately melty and stringy and not too strongly flavored.  There is an amazing French restaurant called Café Provence in a suburb of Kansas City which does it better, but I realize that is a very high bar.

 

Ross got the Frisée Lardon Salad with bacon and a poached egg.

 

 

The poached egg was overcooked.  Maybe they are intentionally cooking them to a food safe temperature, but a frisée salad should have a runny yolked egg on it.  Otherwise, the salad was fine. 

 

For my main course, I got the Wild Mushroom Tart.

 

 

Excellent!  You can't really see the mushroom filling, but it was luscious.  The tart shell was shatteringly crisp.  I think they must blind bake it, then sauté the filling and pour it in before serving.  By far, one of my favorite things I've eaten on the Edge.  I may have to go back and get another one next week.  🙂

 

Ross ordered the special of the day, Bouillabaisse, which is a seafood stew in a saffron broth.

 

 

Also Excellent!  All of the seafood was cooked well and the broth was amazing.  The saffron flavor was subtle but perfect.  

 

Of course we had to order dessert!

 

 

 

I ordered the Crème Brûlée.

 

 

I generally love crème brûlée, but this was not great.  The custard was too firmly set and rubbery.  The flavor was okay, but nothing special.  The sugar topping melted correctly and crispy, though.

 

Ross ordered the Profiteroles, which are little pastry puffs.  These were stuffed with chocolate ice cream.

 

 

They were okay.  The puffs seemed a little stale, maybe?  The chocolate ice cream was great though.

 

I loved this wall of copper pans that separates a section of the restaurant. 

 

 

 

[SerraG]

 

After lunch and a quick walk around the ship to try to digest everything, we headed to a special music trivia event.  

 

 

Dominic the cruise director staged a "Live Action Movie Music Trivia", which was a blast.  For almost all of the movie theme songs that played, he acted out scenes, sometimes with help from various audience members.  Can you guess the movie from the scene below?  It's a fairly accurate representation.  The audience was rolling.  Such a fun activity!  

 

 

We stayed for general trivia.  I have a habit of answering a question and then at the last minute, changing my answer from what would have been the correct answer  to an incorrect one.  Below is an example  Incorrect answer is "Columbia".  Why don't I just leave well enough alone? lol. 

 

 

Oh look, it's tea time again!  🙂

 

 

Ross ordered a Rosemary Pimm's made from gin, pima's, lemon and soda.  We did not love it. [Cocktail rating: 4/10]

 

 

Tonight's show was Color's of Life.  It was a (very loose) story about a man who is blue (ha!) and learns to appreciate the colors of life. 

 

 

There were some nice arial moves.  The girl in green floating along on sheets of green fabric was particularly fabulous. 

 

 

The songs in this show were much more recognizable.  We liked it quite a bit better than the Feel the Funk show. 

 

 

After Colors of Life, we went to The Club for the game show of the evening, The Whisper Challenge. 

 

You may know a version of this game called "telephone".  A team of passengers competed against a team of officers  Everyone from a team would wear headphones so they couldn't hear what was being said to the person in front of them and then each person in turn would try to tell the person next to them what they thought a certain phrase was.

 

The show was okay, but it was run too slowly.  Each person was given numerous chances until they were able to correctly explain, including using charades, what the phrase was.  I always felt the charm of "telephone" is to hear what mangled phrase comes out the end.  In this version, the phrase always ended up eventually making its way through the line correctly.  

 

 

Edited June 2 by SerraG

[SerraG]

We had a nice window seat in Luminae again tonight.  

 

 

It was chic night, which generally means a better selection of items in the dining rooms.  

 

 

The amuse bouche was a small bite of cod fish on a tomato puree and a focaccia crouton.  This was one of my least favorite amuse bouches partly because the sauce tasted like cold spaghetti sauce from a jar.  

 

 

For my starter, I ordered Pigs Foot Carpaccio.  It probably goes without saying that I am an adventurous eater.

 

 

Even for me, this did not look very appetizing.  It also tasted sort of boring.  It was oily and needed more seasoning.

 

Ross ordered the Creamy Tuscan Kale Soup.

 

 

This was a winner and about as close as one can get to Olive Garden's Zuppa Tuscan in the middle of the ocean.  We loved it. 

 

I ordered the Seared Scallops with Salsify Puree, Black Truffles and Brussel Sprouts.  

 

 

This was good.  The scallops would have been better with a nice sear, but they were not over-cooked.  The brussel sprouts were possibly roasted and were actually crisp on the outside.  

 

Ross got the Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb with sunchokes, potato puree and salsa verde.

 

 

We like lamb chops a lot and these were fine. 

 

Ross also got a side of Poached Cold Water Lobster with Quinoa and Edamame. 

 

 

The lobster itself was great, but the quinoa was a terrible accompaniment.  Quinoa is sort of a dry mealy grain and it clung to the lobster, adding a rough texture to the soft meat.  Such a strange, strange choice to put these things together.  We used a fork to scrape off the quinoa and just ate the lobster by itself. 

 

 

 

I ordered the coconut tapioca with exotic sorbet.

 

 

I adored this.  The tapioca was fairly large.  Not boba sized, but bigger than normal pearl tapioca.  And it had a soft chew to it.  The coconut flavor was very pronounced and the slightly sour sorbet added a perfect balance.  

 

Ross _hated_ it. 

 

 

He doesn't like the texture of tapioca, but tried it anyway. He's a good sport!  I tell my daughter you have to try a food 15 times before you know if you really don't like it, but I think Ross may be getting close to his 15 exposures for tapioca.  lol.

 

He ordered Baked Alaska.

 

 

This was good as usual.  I love the Italian meringue on the outside, but it was very sweet.  

 

Oh, and we got a scoop of peanut gelato, just because it sounded so interesting.  It was very, very good!  So peanutty! 

 

 

After dinner, we went to see "The Naughty List" game show. 

 

It is like the Category game that was run poorly earlier (because the scorer couldn't speak English well enough).  This time, Dominic ran the game and it went much smoother.  It is an adults only 18+ game, so there were some really raunchy answers.  Here are the categories so you can tell if it is something that you would find fun or inappropriate.  

 

 

The audience had a good time and I learned a few things!  lol. 

Edited June 2 by SerraG

[Canuckjammer]

Fantastic detailed reviews and great pics!  Thanks for doing this review!

[SerraG]

Celebrity Today and Schedule - Day 7 - Victoria, British Columbia 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SerraG]

The Edge was not even scheduled to dock in Victoria today until 5:30pm so it was almost counted as a sea day.  We slept in, had lattes for breakfast as usual and spent some time reading and blogging.  

 

For lunch we went to Luminae. It was a beautiful day out and we had a nice window seat.

 

 

 

 

Coconut Lemongrass Soup with Chicken, Cilantro Mint and Beansprouts:

 

 

This soup had a thin but rich and coconutty broth lightly flavored with lemongrass.  I enjoyed it a lot, although there were only a couple of small pieces of chicken floating in it.  

 

Smoked Salmon Salad with Crisp Potato Galette, Crème Fraiche and Baby Lettuce.

 

 

Not a salad?  It was a (tasty) piece of smoked salmon with a giant piece of lettuce sticking out of it.  lol.  We liked it, but was an odd construction. 

 

For the main course, I ordered Grilled Lamb Chops with Middle east Rice and Baby Vegetables.

 

 

We often order the lamb because it is flavorful and cooked well.  This was very good, although it contained chopped up pieces of adult vegetables.  No baby vegetables in sight.  

 

Ross ordered the Catalonian Flatbread with sausage, truffle burrito, mushrooms and arugula.

 

 

This was a very puffy piece of flatbread.  The burrata was creamy but did not have a truffle flavor.  Ross said he would probably try something else next time.  

 

For dessert, Ross ordered the Chocolate Lava Cake with Vanilla Gelato.

 

 

This was really great.  One of the best chocolate desserts we've been served.  It had a deep chocolate flavor and was cooked perfectly with a very molten filling.  The gelato was an important component to temper the rich chocolate.

 

I ordered the Homemade Yogurt with Raspberry Marmalade.

 

 

Surprisingly delicious.  The yogurt was creamy and tangy and the marmalade was fruity and sweet.  An excellent combination.  If you want a nice lighter dessert, choose this one. 

 

[SerraG]

We did not eat at the Ocean View Buffet, but I took a quick set of photos so you could see what it looked like, and I'm glad I did.  It seemed to be an extra special lunch buffet, with a tower of shrimp and special cakes.  I think they often do this on the last day. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SerraG]

After our big lunch at Luminae, we decided to take a walk around the ship.  

 

 

The weather was finally warm enough that we were able to go outside.  Some people were even sunbathing and even in the pool. 

 

 

Eventually we made our way to the retreat sundeck for some more relaxing.  lol.   This retreat sundeck seemed much less windy than the one on the Equinox, which we found intolerable when the ship was moving.

 

 

Some gorgeous mountain views:

 

 

Eventually we changed our lounging location to the Solarium.  lol.

 

 

When we docked in Victoria, Ross and I headed to the Ocean View Buffet for a quick snack before our excursion because we were going to be out during dinner.

 

Pro Tip:  The ocean view buffet offers a pretty nice afternoon snack selection that probably contains the same food as The Retreat Lounge.  

 

 

On the way back to our room, we passed this seagull who was having a grand time with someone's leftovers.  

 

 

[SerraG]

Our excursion in Victoria, was to the Butchart Gardens and Butterfly Gardens.

 

A few days before this port, we had to fill out a declaration form since it was in a foreign country.  I thought we might have to go through customs, but the cruise passengers only needed to show their Seapass Cards and a Photo ID (our driver's licenses were fine) to exit the ship.

 

 

Immediately after we exited the port, several busses were waiting to take passengers to their excursions.  We boarded a double decker bus and sat on the bottom floor.  Rumor has it that the top deck was uncomfortable without much head room. 

 

 

The ride was about 30-45 minutes, but our bus driver kept up a delightful patter.  He seemed extremely knowledgeable about the area and made the time go by quickly.

 

Our first stop was Butchart Gardens.

 

 

In the information center, they had a lovely arrangement of small cuttings of flowers with identification labels from the gardens. 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite spot in the gardens was The Sunken Garden, which was converted from an old limestone quarry.

[SerraG]

Some photos of the beautiful flowers from the gardens:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SerraG]

The gardens are really spectacular and I recommend them for an excursion if you are in Victoria.  When we went, the entire place was mostly deserted because it was so late in the evening.  

 

Don't forget to rub the pig's nose for good luck!

 

 

 

Just for fun, here is a photo of Ross rubbing the pig's nose in 2011 on our first visit.  🙂

 

 

 

We boarded the bus and drove a few minutes to the Butterfly Gardens.

 

 

There is a short educational section at the beginning and then the main attraction is a "jungle room".  (It's hot in the jungle room, so use the coat rack at the entrance to hang up your coat.)

 

The enclosure is really fun.  I think kids would especialy get a kick out of it.  One of the workers brought out a tray of butterflies to show us.

 

 

This is a gorgeous Blue Morpho:

 

There are many butterflies flying around, darting here and there.  A few people were lucky enough to have butterflies land on them.  Ross and I each carried one around for the entire visit.

 

 

There were also several birds, a poisonous frog exhibit, along with a few other animals.

 

 

 

It was a small space, but worth the visit.  We enjoyed it a lot. 

 

On the way back to the ship, our bus driver drove us by Chinatown, The Empress Hotel and a few other landmarks.  On the walk back to the ship, Victoria had set up this fun giant sign that made for a great photo opportunity.

 

 

We got back on board at nearly 10pm and hustled up to the buffet for dinner.  We were thrilled to see that they had left open several stations so we were able to get something other than just the late night pizza offerings.  Also, it was packed with many cruisers just returning from their late excursions.

 

I got a minute steak and some Indian Food.  Soo good!

 

 

I also picked up a salad.

 

Then we headed to Eden for nightcap since we were't disembarking in the morning.  Whoo-hoo!  Ross ordered a "Fig".

 

 

It was okay, but would have been better if it would have had the pretty figs shown in the picture.  🙂

 

Many passengers were partying in Eden and in the Grand Plaza, trying to eek out the very last bit of fun from their cruise.

 

We headed to bed very late and watched them close down the Martini 

Bar for this last time this cruise.

 

 

Edited June 3 by SerraG

[hcat]

looks like a great time..esp the gardens.. they are very welll done...great photos!

[snohorules]

@SerraG Did your garden & butterfly excursion stop at Tim Hortons too? In the app for my cruise in August it's listed as "Buchart Gardens and Taste of Tim Hortons".

[Georgia_Peaches]

6 hours ago, SerraG said:

Our first stop was Butchart

We looked into going to the gardens but I thought I read that they closed at 5. Have the hours been extended or was this exclusive to your excursion?

 

Love all your pics!

[SerraG]

2 hours ago, snohorules said:

Did your garden & butterfly excursion stop at Tim Hortons too? In the app for my cruise in August it's listed as "Buchart Gardens and Taste of Tim Hortons

No, we did not stop at Tim Hortons.  I think there are several variations on the Butchart Gardens excursion. Not all of them stop at the Butterfly Gardens, which was a separate (but close by) location . Some of the excursions spend the whole time at the Butchsrt Gardens, some include tea, and apparently others include Tim Horton’s. 🙂

[SerraG]

23 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

We looked into going to the gardens but I thought I read that they closed at 5. Have the hours been extended or was this exclusive to your excursion?

I am not sure, but the parking lot was completely empty when our bus arrived.  Several other busses (from our ship) arrived after us, so it makes sense that Butchart Gardens was open exclusively for ship tours.  I do know that our group got a special after-hours visit to the Butterfly Garden.  

You might still be able to buy an excursion there if you talk to a Retreat Concierge. 

 

[peanut head]

On 6/2/2024 at 12:53 AM, SerraG said:

We slept in and had a lazy morning, which was a nice change from the early glacier viewing and train rides in previous days.  We hung out in the Retreat Lounge and had a latte for breakfast.  This is such a nice quiet space. 

 

 

We decided we wanted to try The Bistro for lunch so I tried to make reservations on the Celebrity App.   It was almost noon, and the only time left was for 1:30pm, so that's what I reserved.  

 

When we showed up to the host's stand a little before 1:30pm, the host told us that they were already closed.  I said, "Oh, we have a reservation!"  The host did not seem pleased.  He looked at his screen for a while and then said, "Oh...I see.  Well, I can seat you, but it's going to be a bit."   I thanked him for seating us, but it was strange.  I had a reservation (!), and even if I hadn't, their posted hours were from 12pm-1:30pm. 

 

Here is a view of the inside of the restaurant.  In the evening they transform this space into the Le Petite Restaurant show.

 

Menus:

 

 

 

 

The waitress brought around bread.  The focaccia was especially tasty, but Ross requested an almond croissant from the display case. 

 

 

Holy Moly! That was a good croissant.  Better even than the ones in Luminae.

 

I tried to order a Lemonade Provencal, but of course they didn't have all the ingredients.  Floral flavors seem to be in short supply on this cruise. 🤷‍♀️  

 

Ross ordered a French Martini. 

 

 

We liked this pretty well and it had a mild raspberry flavor.  Ross said he'd order it again.  [Cocktail Rating: 7/10]  

 

For my starter, I ordered the Moules-Frites - Mussels steamed with garlic, white wine, thyme, braised tomatoes and served with french fries.

 

 

The mussels themselves were great.  Tender meat and all the shells were open.  The sauce had a lovely white wine and tomato flavor, but I found it a little too thick for the mussels.  I like it when muscles come with more of a broth, I think.  I know mussels and fries are common pairing in France, but the fries were a rather robust addition to a "starter" menu item.  

 

Ross ordered the Escargot (snails) with Basil, Garlic, Lemon, Butter and Sea Salt.

 

 

As you can see, the (very few) Escargot were served on a puff pastry with arugula and tomato.  This was tasty, but a strange presentation that really overwhelmed the escargot.  I think you could have eaten the whole thing without noticing it actually had any escargot on it. 

 

I ordered Soupe à l'oignon (French Onion Soup).

 

French onion soup is one of my favorite soups.  This was was good, but there were no actual onions in it... just an onion broth.   The cheese was especially good, appropriately melty and stringy and not too strongly flavored.  There is an amazing French restaurant called Café Provence in a suburb of Kansas City which does it better, but I realize that is a very high bar.

 

Ross got the Frisée Lardon Salad with bacon and a poached egg.

 

 

The poached egg was overcooked.  Maybe they are intentionally cooking them to a food safe temperature, but a frisée salad should have a runny yolked egg on it.  Otherwise, the salad was fine. 

 

For my main course, I got the Wild Mushroom Tart.

 

 

Excellent!  You can't really see the mushroom filling, but it was luscious.  The tart shell was shatteringly crisp.  I think they must blind bake it, then sauté the filling and pour it in before serving.  By far, one of my favorite things I've eaten on the Edge.  I may have to go back and get another one next week.  🙂

 

Ross ordered the special of the day, Bouillabaisse, which is a seafood stew in a saffron broth.

 

 

Also Excellent!  All of the seafood was cooked well and the broth was amazing.  The saffron flavor was subtle but perfect.  

 

Of course we had to order dessert!

 

 

 

I ordered the Crème Brûlée.

 

 

I generally love crème brûlée, but this was not great.  The custard was too firmly set and rubbery.  The flavor was okay, but nothing special.  The sugar topping melted correctly and crispy, though.

 

Ross ordered the Profiteroles, which are little pastry puffs.  These were stuffed with chocolate ice cream.

 

 

They were okay.  The puffs seemed a little stale, maybe?  The chocolate ice cream was great though.

 

I loved this wall of copper pans that separates a section of the restaurant. 

 

 

 

Your post is excellent.  Thank you for sharing with us.

 

I did not know that The Bistro was a reservation only venue.  Are you not able to just walk up and ask to be seated, if available?  How far in advance can you make reservations?

[snohorules]

2 hours ago, SerraG said:

No, we did not stop at Tim Hortons.

 

The butterfly garden is definitely the better of the two 😂

[SerraG]

1 hour ago, peanut head said:

I did not know that The Bistro was a reservation only venue.  Are you not able to just walk up and ask to be seated, if available?  How far in advance can you make reservations?

 

The Bistro is only available for lunch from 12-1:30pm when the ship is not in port.  We made reservations around 11:30 (on the Celebrity app) for the 1:30pm spot.  I don’t know what we would have been told if we just walked up.  I suspect that you could walk up and be seated most days especially if you were willing to wait a bit.  
 

I don’t think you can make a reservation before your cruise embarks, but I am not sure.  

[hcat]

6 hours ago, snohorules said:

@SerraG Did your garden & butterfly excursion stop at Tim Hortons too? In the app for my cruise in August it's listed as "Buchart Gardens and Taste of Tim Hortons".

we had a daytime excursion.. butchart gardens, and  second stop at winery/ chocolate.. it was a great combo

[Blackduck59]

Butchart Gardens is open until 2200 hrs on Thursday which I believe is when you will be here. Be aware it is a long 45 minute bus ride there and back. Do not be distressed if you miss Tim Horton's it's not that special. 

[Blackduck59]

I thought perhaps some on this cruise may find these interesting. They are your approach to Victoria. Our friend @relay for life was on the cruise so I was at Macaulay Point to get these shots to give her and share with whoever might like them