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We had not planned on going at to the Solarium since the offering was for the buffet only and other reviews we have seen is the food is the same as offered in the Windjammer, just a smaller selection. I will see what I can find out about whether it will be open next week or not. Have not seen/heard anything about it being closed.

I think I have solved the table on the balcony question. Here is a picture of the starboard side. We are on deck 9 and have two small sized tables. you can see larger tables on the balcony of higher decks.

The Celebrity Millennium is docked in front of us here in Ketchikan. Pointed her out to the wife and reminded her our next cruise is on the Millennium. Her only comment was that it looked small.

We are Diamond + and sailing in a Grand Suite on Quantum. Our ‘Happy Hour’ drinks in the Suite Lounge are not charged against our five free drinks. Drinks in the Diamond Club and Coastal Kitchen are charged against our vouchers.

Received this in our room this morning. Not sure if we are going to do this instead of CK for dinner tonight.

For those that are interested, there are 4,040 passengers on this cruise with about 250 kids. The number of cruisers is starting to go down now that kids are back in school.

We took a walk through the Windjammer after our breakfast in CK this morning. It was crowded as can be expected. None of our meals in CK thus far have been crowded. I would say that lunch on embarkation day was the busiest we’ve experienced in CK thus far. Service has been wonderful and the staff is very eager to please. We arrived in Ketchikan this morning and the weather is gloomy, although it is supposed to clear up this afternoon. We have the North Star scheduled for 1100 and the Lumberjack Show at 1300, otherwise we are just hanging out and staying dry.

Last night was “dress to impress” night and we saw everything from shorts and t-shirts to suits and tie’s. We did not notice anyone in a tuxedo but there were a few women in very nice gowns/dresses. In Coastal Kitchen dress pants and long sleeve collared shirts were what most wore, with a few of us in a tie and sports coat. i would simply suggest you bring what you are comfortable wearing within the dress code and not worry about others.

It has not been for me but we are onlybon the second day. The only ‘problem’ I have had is I had to disable my VPN to get the App working correctly. since I do not use the App when on my laptop, enabling the VPN after logging into and getting connected via ship’s WiFi has not been an issue.

Same.

We are having a wonderful time on Quantum this week and will be staying next week as well. @Tree_skier 0post have given us a lot of wonderful ideas on what to do and see.

Tonight’s dinner food porn lobster salad Prime rib - I ordered medium rare but it came medium. It was a little drier than I like but tasted very good. The horseradish was very good and not the normal watery sauce we have seen in the past. Crab & shrimp crusted pollock - my wife loved it. Apple Pie Ala Mode - delicious

Yes, there are quite a few children, school age and younger. We were surprised as well.

Today’s pre- dinner snacks in the suite lounge

Something I neglect d to comment on earlier was that I had ordered the bottle water service pre-cruise. When we arrived in our stateroom there were 15 one liter bottles of water and a letter explaining that due to supply chain issues, they were unable to provide the 12 bottles of Evian and to compensate they included three additional bottles and a $15 shipboard credit.

or perform maintenance on pistons and valves.

Check your phone settings and make sure it shows cellular off in the individual setting, not just airplane mode. Even with airplane mode WiFI and or cellular can be turned on in their individual setting areas.

Now for the food porn from today’s Coastal Kitchen lunch. Seafood Veloute Lasagna (my wife started eating before I could get a picture) Steak Frits Carrot Cake all were well prepared and flavorful. The steak was not as tender as last night’s gilet but that was to be expected. Tonight is prime rib, but as many have pointed out - it is listed as ribeye on the menu.

We walked through the pool deck, outdoor, indoor, and the Solarium after lunch today. The outdoor area had a number of guest relaxing but the majority of the people were in the indoor areas. The kids were very prevalent in the indoor pool and the Solarium was full of adults. Both were close to standing room only. We did not go by the Solarium Bistro but may make an effort to do that tomorrow. My wife wears something long sleeved all the time so her wearing a jacket is not uncommon even in summer.

We have toyed with the idea of moving it agaist the wall under the TV. Then I find myself using it as a footstool and decided to leave it where it is.

The temperature in Seattle was warmer than we expected and during the inport period I felt being in jeans and a long sleeve polo shirt was warm. Once the ship pulled out of port I became more comfortable. Today I am wearing long pants and a long sleeve t-shirt and am comfortable inside. There are people in shorts and t-shirts about the ship so take that for what you will. If you are normally use to wearing shorts and t-shirt type clothes in 70 degree weather then you may want to bring some to wear inside. Outside is a different story. we have not been to the Solarium area yet but will make an effort to go there after lunch today. I do not know about a dining table on the balcony. There are two small end tables on our balcony. I’ll ask our room steward the next time I see him and see if he knows anything. we do not go for the theater productions and usually attend on a hit and miss basis, depending on what is being offered and how we feel. we do have one reservation for the show in TWO70 tonight, Starwater. Making a reservation was highly recommended by the onboard concierge.

Thought I would try and make some comments regarding our Grand Suite before I try and answer any specific questions. we ar finding space in the suite a little tight. There is a large glass coffee table between the couch and the TV so it’s tight in that area. while there is a considerable amount of closet space, drawers are at a premium. My wife does not like storing clothes in open shelves so she’s not a fan of the room layout. Our biggest disappointment is the bathroom. While there are twi individual sinks, there is very little space on either side for storage. We really miss the storage area that we were use to finding on either side of the mirrors in the bathrooms on other ships. There is a drawer under each sink but it’s very low and constantly bending over to retrieve things is tiring. Considering that this is only the second day and the layout is new to us, we may change our minds and find ways to adopt to the latout but initial impression is not favorable.

We had a wonderful time in the Schooner Bar, Peter Ritz came on T 8:45 PM and was scheduled for 3 hors. We made it to his first break when all of the days events caught up with us. He is scheduled for 10 PM tomorrow and rest assured we plan to be there. The Schooner Bar on Quantum and Oasis is not as intimate as the Schooner Bar on smaller ships and tends to be noisier. We had a small group that was not there for the entertainment and talked over the performer. However, we did not let them ruin the performances for us. Just be aware that this is a possibility.

Relaxing to the piano music at the Schooner Bar. They have a Rum Old Fashioned on the menu, but I asked for it wit Bacardi 8 instead of Barcardi Reserve Ocho.

Dinner in Coastal Kitchen was wonderful. my wife had the french onion soup and the filet, medium well. i had a caesar’s salad, the escargot, and the filet Rare to medium. my wife had the hazelnet cake and a cappuccino. I went with coffee, black. Food porn follows