Mrs_Tiki

@mac_tlc, I suspect that folks on upcoming sailings might be interested to know if the Endicott Arms and Dawes Glacier Explorer excursions ran this trip. I don’t see the smaller excursion vessels in your photos of the glacier.

7 hours ago, curry767 said:

Thank you for posting the Celebrity Today photos, as someone who has never cruised Celebrity before it really helps for our upcoming Alaska cruise next July.

Out of interest I noticed that it is stated you need photo ID to reboard the ship. As non-US resident I am not very keen on constantly having to take our passports with me on shore excursions, especially the wet ones. Has this been enforced?

 

I seem to recall other cruise lines just checking the photo they have on file when you scan in.

We were on Edge’s 8/2 sailing with this same itinerary. Our passports stayed in the safe the entire cruise. We carried our drivers licenses and cruise card ashore with us, and only had to show our DL at one port to get back into the secured area before reboarding the ship. (Sorry, can’t remember which.) You are correct - the ship’s security officers only scanned our cruise card.

I was expecting to go through immigration upon our return to Seattle, and asked the port staff if it would be facial recognition or passport control. It was neither! We walked through and out of the terminal without stopping. (We had used the port’s luggage valet service, so we didn’t even have to claim our luggage.Highly recommend!)

@mac_tlc, your photos are breathtaking! So glad that you are having good weather so far. It is great fun to be reliving our trip through your review. Thank you for taking the time to post from your vacation.

Hooray, looking forward to following along! 

2 hours ago, Maggie 1008 said:

Did they hold the Captains club happy hour in the club a few nights on your cruise? 
Also, was the Elite morning breakfast held in Tuscan ? 🥂🛳️

I did not pay any attention to the Captain Club event schedule, sorry. But I believe that the Elite breakfast is held in Le Grand Bistro on Edge-class ships.

I think that I have covered all that I set out to in my review. Did I miss anything that you all were interested in?

We didn't indulge in specialty dining nor attend any of the production shows, so I don't have anything to share there. The only entertainment we experienced was the DJ in the Grand Foyer and acoustic music in Eden. The DJ was fun, but listening to the mellow tunes with a glass of wine and view of the wake is much more our vibe.

As you can see in my signature, we are booked on a cruise to the Med on the Equinox in May. And we met a really nice couple from Atlanta who will be on that sailing as well. This was their second X cruise, and they arrived on the first day very excited to be back. By the end of the cruise, they had pretty much decided the May cruise would be their last for a while, and DH and I are questioning whether to shift ours to a Caribbean cruise next winter instead. All because of our experiences with the crowds on this trip. Maybe it was a one-off, but we can't imagine taking the chance of investing the money that we had planned to book excursions only to have to struggle to meet them.

@singleflyer, so glad you loved your first Celebrity cruise! Your website is awesome - I had never seen such a comprehensive review or photos of a single infinite balcony room.

And I’m really not a kid-hater, just think there’s a big difference between kids being kids and feral children gone wild with inadequate parental supervision!

And I totally forgot about the Blue Angels! That was really neat. DH and I were napping at our hotel downtown on Thursday afternoon when they flew right overhead. Very disconcerting at first, but fun when we figured out that we were not under air attack!

Just now, Cruise till you drop said:

In our part of the country, school starts by mid August (next week) and in some states not until after Labor Day.

 

We booked next year for Aug 30th

That sounds like a good plan! 

Shore Excursions (cont'd):

White Pass Railway (Celebrity):

I had to really talk @Tiki_Man into booking this excursion, and I think he relented because I had agreed to the double-feature the day before. We were initially disappointed that the VIP car(s) were sold out but were later grateful. Interestingly, it was less expensive to book the ship tour for this excursion than to purchase the tickets directly from the railway.

Edge's docking position required a short shuttle ride (like 1 1/2 - 2 minutes) to the end of the pier. We surmised that it was for safety reasons. The train pulled up right to the end of the pier, so Shore Excursion staff lined us up there. We were careful to let others go ahead of us to create some space between us and a family who had behaved badly on the glacier boat, as we did not want to be trapped in a rail car with them!

Our plan worked, and we ended up a few cars away from them (and passengers are not allowed to transit between cars, so hooray for us!) As we began our journey from sea level to 2,880 feet, we were delighted to learn that, in addition to the main guide who provided narration on the PA throughout the trip, there was a guide who walked between cars to answer questions as we went along. He was very knowledgeable and engaging and even provided local craft beer recommendations for DH!

The weather made this an extra-special trip. They left the doors at the front and rear of the cars open, which not only provided a wonderful breeze but also made it easy to step outside onto the platforms for an unobstructed view. I thought that we might get bored on the almost 3-hour trip, especially because the train turns around and retraces its path going back down, but there was so much to see that my head was on a swivel the whole time!

In the end, DH was glad that we had made the decision to take this excursion. And after chatting with another couple who had gotten tickets in the VIP car, we were glad that we had not. Another family from Edge who let their small children scream and run amok had caused their enjoyment of the ride to be much less than ours.

And again, I am not saying that families should not take children on cruises. It is my opinion that they should choose experiences that are developmentally appropriate for their child. Reading @GenerationX's accounts of her cruises with her mini-me makes me hope that we might sail with the two of them (and Jeremy would be an extra bonus!)

Shore Excursions (cont'd):

After rejoining the ship after the Dawes Glacier adventure, we had just enough time to grab a burger at the Mast Grill and collect our tickets for our next excursion. Since all-aboard in Juneau was not until 9:30 pm, we felt comfortable booking an independent excursion.

Edge docked at AJ Dock, which was a 20-minute walk from downtown. Shuttles ran continuously and dropped at the Tram Ticket Office, which seemed to be a meeting place for many excursions.

Whale Watching (Independent):

We did the 3-hour Juneau Whale Watch Tour with Juneau Tours and Whale Watch (Juneau Whale Watch | Top Whale Watching Tours in Juneau Alaska). There are many tour companies with similar names, so I wanted to provide the exact name and website. We checked in with representatives near the Tram Ticket Office at 3:30 as directed. After waiting for all to show up, loading and unloading from a 20-minute shuttle to the marina (in a full-size coach bus), and organizing 2 busloads of people into 3 boats, it was 4:30 before we go onto our boat. It was a jet boat with 26 passengers. (Pro Tip: There is only inside seating for 22 or 24. A family with 3 young boys were adventurous and took the uncovered bench seats on the aft of the vessel and they got SOAKED! Mom moved to an empty seat inside for the trip back to the pier!)

Our naturalist with a South African gal who totally gave me Aesha (from Below Deck) vibes.. at first. She was very enthusiastic and obviously loved her job. By the time we got to the first whale site, it felt like she was just constantly screeching into the mic - "THERE!!! Just look at that peduncle!" (Yes, that it a real thing!) Our captain liked to drive the boat fast but stayed very far away from the whales we spotted, so it was difficult to see them and even more difficult to get a photo or video. The rule is 100 yards distance, which most of the other boats appeared to be adhering to, but we must have been several times that.

We did see lots of tail flaps and experienced the uncommon occurrence of several humpbacks grouped together but from very far away. It was frustrating to see all of the other boats so much closer to the whales, and we compared photos/videos with a couple of young men on the ship the next day. Interestingly, they were on the water at the same time as we were and stayed at our initial site the entire time. There was really no comparison - their photos were amazing, and ours were barely recognizable as whales. Oh well, we were lucky to have had the opportunity to swim with them in French Polynesia, so that will remain our treasured whale memory!

We did see salmon jumping in a creek on the way back, and DH spotted a bear (not me again!) So we did see some wildlife close up!

By the time we transferred to the shuttle back to the Edge and dragged ourselves onto the ship, it was 7:30. While we were glad that we made the most of the day, we are too old for a 13-hour day and literally staggered into the Retreat Lounge. Happily, the kind server was very happy to deliver our drinks to us!

30 minutes ago, Maggie 1008 said:

We leave for the Edge Alaska cruise August 23rd. I was hoping most of the kids would be back in school by then. So sorry you had low class guests on board. 
Do you know who will replace Brent when he goes on holiday break?

 

Really enjoying your review. This will be our 8th cruise to Alaska. We enjoy getting away to a cool weather destination when our temperature is over 100 degrees all summer long. 
cheers 🥂 

Hopefully @Ferry_Watcher might have that answer….

35 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

@Mrs_Tiki, were these fellow Retreat guest that you encountered acting badly, or just guests overall? 

 

I would love to see some photos of the Retreat area.  When I sailed in May to Alaska I was in a regular Sunset Balcony, which I really enjoyed.  I am very curious about the Retreat Deck and what the Retreat Lounge looks like.  (Maybe some day...)      ;  ) 

Thanks!

I would say the bad behavior among Retreat guests was in the simply annoying category, and the more egregious displays occurred when we were in other areas of the ship.

I am not a photographer and didn’t take many photos anywhere, but here are a few on the Retreat Sundeck. I was tickled that the towel station was transformed into a towel/blanket station - we used both! The Sundeck affords great forward-facing views. And we love the bathroom design in most Sky Suites. It is nice to have an ocean view from the shower, although you have to be aware when you are in port next to another ship. (The mirror does slide closed when needed.)

Do you know who will replace Brent and Mary Amanda while they are on break?

31 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

Yes indeed, we are in a Sky Suite for that one. 
 

mac_tlc

Just put a hold on the last Sunset Sky Suite - 4/4/26 Silhouette 8-day ABC itinerary, right?

42 minutes ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

Wow.  On ours, I heard a rumor there were 48 under the age of 18, but I believe that was inaccurate…seemed to be much higher.  We avoided the buffet and honestly rarely encountered many kids.  We did hear them bowling in the rooms adjacent to us as well as doing whale calls late into the night… 

I’m pretty sure that there were close to that many in the Retreat alone….

Update to my post about the Endicott Arms and Dawes Glacier Explorer excursion:

Deckhand Mandy was a stitch, but it was deckhand Juneau who was working toward her Captain’s License.

Also, one of the last calvings we saw last week was gigantic and put a lot of new ice in the water. I am reading on Facebook that Ovation of the Seas’ similar excursion this week and two weeks from now have been cancelled due to “operational difficulties.” Speculation is that there is now too much ice in the water for excursion boats to operate safely. I hope this does not impact you, @mac_tlc!

13 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

Look forward to sailing with you and @Mrs_Tiki again soon ! You need to take a look at that 4/4/26 Silhouette cruise ! @Stem to Stern and @GenerationX will be on board! 
 

All the best!

 

mac_tlc

Glad that you mentioned this - remind me if you are in the Retreat for that one?

4 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

Just curious why you would think there wouldn’t be any kids in early August?

School had already started in most counties in Georgia by our cruise date. It was just naive of me to think that would be similar elsewhere. Regardless, there were more kids on this particular cruise than any Celebrity cruise we had been on, even during March/April during spring break season.

6 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

Can’t wait to hear more! We sail on 8/16, with our son and DIL in a pair of sunset veranda. 
 

Hope the weather holds for us !
 

mac_tlc

So sorry we missed you and hope you have the same lovely weather!

Shore Excursions (cont'd):

Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier Viewing (Celebrity): During Edge's passage up Endicott Arms fjord, Brent Nixon narrates, and the captain positions the ship as close as possible to Dawes Glacier. However, this is still pretty far away due to ice in the water. The excursion that we booked through the ship included a transfer to a smaller boat that was able to get closer to the glacier. The ship stops to allow the excursion boat to pull aside to take on its passengers, which is really cool. 

When we received all of our shore excursion tickets, we also received a letter that indicated that if a ticket had a meeting location of Theatre, deck 4 Aft, Retreat guests should instead meet at Eden on deck 5, where there would be refreshments and a personal escort to join the tour. That sounded great to us, so we headed to Eden at 6:15 am to make sure that we did not miss the 6:30 am meeting time. There were the lovely pastries and coffee, but no Retreat or Shore Excursion staff, just an empty table. No one at 6:20, or 6:25, or 6:30... By then, Rules Girl (me) was sure that we would miss the excursion, so we high-tailed it to the Theatre and braved a giant line to check-in. When we asked about the Retreat meeting place they said, "Oh, not today, sorry." We later learned that there were three groups: two groups on boats that had a capacity of approximately 150 and a much pricier VIP excursion (for 8-10, I think) on a much smaller boat.

No big deal, right? We have our "Blue 27" stickers - IYKYK - we'll just sit here in the comfortable theatre seats until they call our number. But that was not to be. In an amazingly well-intentioned gesture that led to a debacle, Shore Ex staff led us up the spiral stairs at the theatre entrance to the specialty dining areas on deck 5, where they had set up rows of small chairs way too close together (hip to hip again!) facing the windows so that we could hear Brent's commentary without missing the view while we wait.

Again, seemed like a good idea, but it turned into an adult (mostly) version of musical chairs, as there were far more people than chairs, the tour groups were intermingled, and nerves were running high. We witnessed some really deplorable behavior - there was one way in and one way out, and the folks sitting in that row became annoyed at the traffic and intentionally blocked the path so that no one could get in or out. Luckily, a lady sitting in the row behind with us figured out how we could move some furniture to create a clear path.

Finally, around 7:15 am, our group was called to descend the stairs to deck 2 to board the excursion vessel through a side door (opposite side of the ship from the Magic Carpet). The boat had three levels:

• First level had many rows of seats, a galley area with complimentary coffee, hot cocoa and donut holes and other drinks and snacks available for purchase, and three nice bathrooms (for marine heads, at least).
• Second level had more rows of seats, as well as exterior viewing areas aft and along the sides. (Pro tip: people on the exterior side viewing areas block the view of those inside, so sit on the first level if you don't intend to go outside.)
• Third level is an observation deck only open when the vessel is at idling speed or stopped. (Pro tip: most passengers will flock to the side initially facing the glacier. The captain will spin the boat numerous times, so if you choose the other side, you will be in the catbird seat by yourself if you are a little patient.)

The crew on our excursion was amazing. Captain Chris had eagle eyes for wildlife, naturalist Trevor shared great information and inspiration, and Deckhand Maddy kept us in stitches with her antics and had us rooting for her to get her Captain's License in the spring. I won't give away all the fun that they provided, but I will say that seeing the calving glacier was another highlight of the cruise and that we saw some amazing wildlife on this excursion (Harbor seals and Orcas!)

That said, this is a LONG trip. We left the glacier around 9:30 and didn't rejoin the ship until 1:30. Yep, we got on the boat around 7:30 am and off 6 hours later. Would you subject a small child to that? Enough said.

It was interesting to find out that we actually rejoined the ship shortly after it had docked in Juneau. Although it made for a long day - this was #1 of 2 excursions for the day - we were happy to have had the chance to see the glacier up close!

Shore Excursions:

We were committed to making the most of this trip, and we booked excursions for every port except Victoria Island, since it was such a short stop, and we had been to Butchart Gardens last fall.

Ketchikan: Best of Ketchikan by Land & Sea (Celebrity)

After meandering around the town of Ketchikan and confirming that there were untold quantities of t-shirts available for purchase, we met our tour on the pier as directed on our tickets. The group split into two 20-ish passenger buses for the ride to Saxman Village Totem Park to view 25 totem pole replicas. Mary Amanda had provided great background on the symbolism, and this stop was just the right length - around 30 minutes. Tour guide Milly provided the company (Tlingit tribe) explanation for the Lincoln pole, which was very different than Mary Amanda's. Funny how history is open to interpretation. 

We had a 15-20 minute drive to the next stop on the tour, George Inlet Cannery, which operated from 1914 - 1959. During the drive, we passed a wildlife area, and others (not me) spotted a bear feeding by the creek. It was a combo tour: education and tasting. We learned a lot about the fishing and cannery industry while walking through different areas of the canner and enjoyed food and beverages along the way, including local craft beers and wine, local cheese and wild game sausage, salmon dip (another popular theme!), and salmon chowder. Oh, I almost forgot the sea kelp salsa! Our guide Wendy's grandmother actually worked in the cannery, which was a neat connection.

Then we boarded a two-level boat for the ride back to the pier. Did I mention that the weather was incredible? I was in Alaska, on a boat, in a short-sleeved t-shirt and shorts. How cool is that? We looked for wildlife and did see some sea otters and seals. It was a nice way to spend the day. 

Next up: Endicott Arms & Dawes Glacier (fasten your seat belt - it is a long one - the tour and the review!)

Beyond the Podium Speakers: As I mentioned, DH and I most frequently cruise in the Caribbean, and the presentations on the ports being visited are mostly a shopping talk. (Spoiler Alert - there is a Diamonds International store wherever you go in the Caribbean!) On our only other "destination" cruises, to French Polynesia on Paul Gauguin and a West Coast repositioning cruise on Seabourne Odyssey, we loved the speakers and naturalists that came on board to provide context and information on the locale you are about to visit.

So, we were so happy to learn that naturalist Brent Nixon and destination historian (and his wife) Mary Amanda Fairchild would be on board to give presentations. Although our busy excursion schedule prevented us from attending them all, we loved the ones that we were able to take in. In particular, Brent's first talk (in the morning of the first sea day for us) was a wonderful introduction to all things Alaska. They were both excellent speakers and offered fascinating information that helped us to better appreciate the things we would see on our excursions. I loved the fact that Brent repeatedly implored stay-on-the-ship folks like us to get out and see all that we could. 

THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE CRUISE: During his lecture on Saturday morning, Brent shared that the University of Alaska had issued a Code Six warning about the Northern Lights that evening. Sounds scary, right? In this case, a Code Six meant that it was very likely that Northern Lights would be visible between 11:00 pm and 2:00 am in the region where Edge would be sailing. 

Now, those of y'all that have cruised with me before (@mac_tlc@Stem to Stern@Irishredhead21 @GenerationX @Host Anne) know that I am an early to rise, early to wine, early to bed kind of a girl. So, @Tiki_Man had the daunting task of waking me in the middle of the night to see these alleged Northern Lights. We thought it might be a good idea to just power through at the Martini Bar. Or not. After a Lavender Lemon Drop and Cosmo, I was ready to call it a night at 11:00. But here is where being hitched to an Eagle Scout comes in handy - DH stood watch until he was sure there was something to see and bravely roused me from my slumber. (I do take credit for laying out my clothes before retiring.)

We thought we saw something from our balcony and raced to the Retreat Sundeck to be sure. Not as good, too much light, so we ran back to the balcony. Just looked like white smoke or fog at that point. Happily, we had remembered that others had posted about using your iPhone to see the colors, and it worked! I am not a photographer but wanted to share these photos that DH took after Googling the appropriate settings for his iPhone. They speak for themselves:

Wow, as I reread my prior posts, it may seem that we did not have a good cruise. That is not at all the case; I was getting the bad stuff out of the way first!

Ship Condition: Although Edge has now been in service five years, I could not find fault with anything about the condition of the ship. One of the officers mentioned that they had recently had their five-year dry dock to refresh the ship, but I did not get more details from him. A few things that I did notice:

• Addition of large umbrellas on the Retreat Sundeck that provide some additional shade. 
• What appeared to be brand-new upholstery on white chairs in Blu. (I remember these being dingy on our last Edge cruise.)
• A partial re-brand of Casino Bar to Craft Social. The sign still says Casino Bar and it is still open to the Casino, but the bar area has been redecorated in the style of Craft Social on the Beyond and Ascent (shelves with bourbon bottles, chalkboards, etc.) I did not notice the multiple televisions that give the newer Craft Socials the feel of a sports bar, but I really did not spend any time there.

Our Sky Suite was in great shape, with only minimal signs of wear and tear on the light-colored couch. The balcony looked to be in great shape but did have significant puddled water after they cleaned the glass. Not a big deal.

Stateroom Attendant/Butler: The butlers are back! Our butler Phillip was fantastic, noting our request to have a small cheese plate each afternoon. We really don't have any other special requests or needs.

Unfortunately, we did have to call on him a few times to intervene when our stateroom attendant let us down. Nothing earthshattering, just what DD would call "first world problems." One day I was getting into the shower after a swim (yay weather!) and realized that I had nothing larger than a washcloth in our suite - he had taken all of the towels and forgotten to replace. And when our bag of laundry that was promised next day had not shown up two days hence when we needed to pack and our stateroom didn't seem concerned, Phillip was able to convince him to go look for it. I hated to go over his head but felt like we would still be waiting for it if we hadn't.

Dining: We loved Luminae for breakfast and lunch and enjoyed great service from Dev's team, as well as sommelier Melvin. The hostess consistently seated us in his section and always apologized if we were not right next to the window, in spite of the fact that we told her it didn't matter to us. However, the dinner menus in Luminae just didn't appeal to us, so we dined in Blu most nights.

Also, there were several large family groups dining in Luminae, so the evenings were not as relaxed and elegant as we had experienced in the past. Again, I know to cut kids some slack and don't expect them to be perfect, but I do expect a parent to remove a toddler having a meltdown at 8:30 pm or to admonish siblings against playing catch at the table. On the other hand, I really loved watching a couple of teenage boys traveling with their grandparents. They were so respectful to all adults and showed great care for their grandparents. It made me imagine what it might be like to cruise with our grandson years from now. 🤭

We asked the Retreat Concierge if he needed to check with the manager/Maitre'd in Blu to ensure that they had the capacity to seat us. He said no, just check in at the hostess stand, and we would be seated. From the very first time, we were greeted and seated cheerfully, with apologies if they did not have a primo table available. (Truly, I think that it was just the please and thank you and smiles that did it!)

Next up - our cruise highlight - the destinations! 

Happily, I have no symptoms and tested negative for COVID for now. And the laundry is all done and put away, so that is good. But our planned visit to see our new grandson next weekend is looking unlikely. 😞

Fellow Passengers: I'm just going to bite the bullet and get this out of the way now, as it affected every aspect of our cruise. Tiki_Man and I met some very lovely people, as we always do on our cruises. However, I have never experienced so many rude and unpleasant fellow passengers as we did on this trip. And they were equal opportunity offenders - they were equally insufferable to crew members and other guests. 

And then there were the many large family groups, some among the lovely people and some among the rude. I incorrectly assumed that because school had started in our part of the country, that would be the case elsewhere and was totally wrong. I have never seen so many kids on a Celebrity Cruise. Don't get me wrong, DH and I like kids and took our DD on Celebrity as soon as she was old enough to behave appropriately. Let's just say that was not the case last week. We witnessed a lot of bad behavior stemming from lack of proper parental supervision, ranging from the simply annoying (pushing all of the elevator buttons and running) to the positively gross (young man purposefully drooling/spitting onto the floor in the elevator - saw that one twice!) We did not step into OceanView Cafe, so I can only imagine what may have been going on in there.

Did it ruin my cruise? No, but it sure did make for some unpleasant moments. On the other hand, I began to feel that DH and I were getting even better-than-usual service just by saying please and thank you and being kind and pleasant to the crew members.

OK, that rant is over but is likely to resurface as I relive other portions of the trip. 

Sorry to leave you all hanging. So much laundry!

Pre-Cruise: We were grateful that Delta had overcome its IT issues, and our non-stop flight ATL-SEA ran right on time. I have finally worn Tiki_Man down, and we always fly in the day before. We chose to stay at Hotel 1000, which offered the benefit of being an AmEx Fine Hotels & Resorts property, which affords a noon check-in. Our room category was not available when we arrived around 2:00, and after a short wait, we were upgraded to a corner suite. This might have also been because of the kerfuffle we had to navigate at the airport when the concierge had arranged for two different car services to pick us up, but it was a nice surprise to be upgraded to such a lovely room. (I would wholeheartedly recommend Amy's Limousine - they took care of all of our transportation this trip.)

Because of food and beverage credits included in the Fine Hotels & Resorts Program, we decided to stay on property for dinner and breakfast and had a couple of lovely meal at All Waters Oyster Bar. Amy's picked us up at 10:00 on August 2, and we headed to Pier 91.

Embarkation: Thanks to great information provided by @Ferry_Watcher on the West Coast Departures board, we had some idea of the lay of the land at Pier 91, which is shared by Edge and Ovation of the Seas on Fridays. The attached map is a helpful resource. As you enter the terminal drop-off area, Edge docks on the right and utilizes the right side of the terminal. If you are in Retreat, stay to the far right to be guided to Retreat check-in.

If you are used to the Retreat lounge at Terminal 25 in FLL, you will be disappointed. The lounge is area in the general terminal is constructed from movable partitions with small chairs lined up so that you are hip to hip with your neighbor. It was well above its capacity on our embarkation day, leaving many to stand shoulder to shoulder with their neighbor. (Are you sensing a theme here? I have not felt so crowded on a ship since my last trip through MSC's non-Yacht Club areas. And spoiler alert - Tiki_Man woke up with the sniffles and just took a COVID test, which is positive. So, I will be off to do my own test next.)

Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled programming... we were escorted onto the ship shortly after 10:45, dropped our bags in our Sky Suite on Deck 10, and headed to the Retreat Lounge for some embarkation libations. The lobster roll in Luminae did not disappoint, and after visiting our muster station, we enjoyed the rest of the unseasonable sunny Seattle afternoon on the Retreat Sundeck and our balcony.

Terminal 91 Map.pdf

DH and I just returned from our first Alaska cruise on Celebrity Edge. We sailed in a Sky Suite, so we had access to Retreat amenities. We are avid cruisers, mostly on Celebrity, but have typically cruised in the Caribbean during the winter months. So much that we typically don’t get off the ship except to get some exercise walking the pier instead of the jogging track on the ship. As a result, my comments will include how this differed from our usual X experience.

The short story: it was a fantastic cruise! We loved seeing places that were new to us and immersed ourselves in the onboard enrichment talks about our destinations and made the most of our time in each port. Although I can’t give X credit for this, the best part may have been the weather - not one drop of rain during the days we were in port, and temps in the 60’s and 70’s that allowed us to enjoy the Retreat Sundeck most days.

More to come in between loads of laundry…