Long Cruise Review: May 30th Solstice to Alaska

Just a little background:

My DH and I are from Orlando and we have been on a number of cruises on both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. Living in Florida provides a nice luxury of the ability to drive to the port the day of with little hassle of travel. We are both in our late 30's (well actually my DH turned 40 on this cruise). I have also been diagnosed with a gluten free allergy so I will be commenting on that as well throughout this review.

I wrote this on the plane and hope to write as much as I can on this long trip home back to Florida. I wanted to do this because there were not a lot of new reviews when we left for our cruise so hopefully this will answer some of the questions I had before going and I will be glad to answer any others. I hope to post all of the Celebrity daily planners as soon as I can get them scanned and I will post some pictures of things around the ship and some of the menus as well as anything I might think you may be interested in for the cruise.

Pre-cruise

Packing

To get ready for our trip, we bought waterproof jackets and rain boots. We had baseball caps for the rain and snow caps for the cold if we needed them. Then we just brought layers: long sleeve shirts, sweaters, long underwear for under my jeans and thick thermal socks. We also bought binoculars for the trip and were so glad that we did for the whale and eagle spotting.

Drink package

We received the free classic package as part of the 1,2,3 go promotion. Because we love martinis, we upgraded for $21 a day to the premium package. This investment was totally worth it and nice not to have to worry about costs on the cruise.

Trip to Seattle

We left the Wednesday before our cruise on Friday, May 30th and got into Seattle late that night. Upon our arrival, we learned that Southwest had lost one of our suitcases and of course, it was the one with our toiletries!! Fortunately, I had divided up our clothing so we still had something to wear the next day. Southwest promised us that we would get our luggage within 24 hrs.

We took a town car for the same price of a cab at the airport and headed to the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. I am a Presidents’ Club member of the Fairmont (it is a free membership) and this allowed us early check in, the ability to retrieve our keys from the doorman, the ease of heading directly to room and free wifi. Thank goodness because it was already one o’clock in the morning, which was really three in the morning our time. For some reason, we had no hot water in the shower! What a lovely day!

However, the service and the room was extremely nice and we had no other problems during our stay. The hotel is also in a really good location to everything. We would book the Fairmont again for a decent rate.

The next morning, not holding our breath on Southwest's promise of luggage, we decided to go ahead and purchase a bunch of necessities from Target, Old Navy and the Gap. Then we figured if we didn’t need it, we can always return the items at home. After our shopping, we walked over to Pike Place Market to have a leisurely stroll. We have been to Seattle numerous times and this is always a favorite for us. We had dinner at Sazeracs down the street in the Hotel Monaco. The restaurant has a gluten free menu online but not in the restaurant for some reason. The server went through the menu as to what items I could eat and the restaurant provided quite a number of items for me to order. I had the roast chicken and DH had a hamburger, both of which were yummy and made with fresh ingredients. The restaurant also has a really good cocktail menu of different drinks that you normally can't get in other places.

At 3:30 am the day of the cruise, we received our suitcase. Praise The Lord! We finally could have a peaceful sleep.

Day One, Embarkation in Seattle

We left the hotel around 11:30 in a taxi to Pier 91. The cab fare was around $20 with tip and we headed into the port to get checked in and receive our sea passes.

We had booked Aquaclass cabin 1664. Priority check in as Aquaclass did not seem to matter. Check in was a disorganized mess and slow moving. When we got our keys, we were never told where to go so we just looked around and saw signs to the ship so we headed that way. This experience was very different from the Florida ports check in that seemed quick and efficient. The check ins that we have experienced in Florida always had you moving from one area to the next. In Seattle, this was one big room that was a chaotic mess. Lines were everywhere with cruise passengers not knowing where to go.

We finally got on the ship and we were handed our option of a welcome mimosa or champagne. This is always a nice touch by Celebrity. This was our first S class ship. It had a very modern appearance with dark woods and clean lines. The ship did not seem crowded for the duration of the trip. Even though the ship is the oldest of the S class, we did not see any wear and tear on her. The consistent critique that we had was the elevators and the inability to get one.

For lunch, we ate at Bistro on Five. It is $7 a person for whatever items you request. I had the steak crepe with a blue cheese sauce (really good) and the steak was thinly sliced, which made it easy to eat. DH liked his French crepe but said it was a tad too sweet for his taste. Service was good and I appreciate that they accommodated my gluten free allergy with gluten free crepes. The server said that it would take 20 minutes for them to create the batter. I stated that I did not mind; I was on vacation!

The cabins were available at 1 pm and so after lunch we headed to the room. The cabins are bright and roomy. Our cabin was 1664 and it was located towards the back of the ship. We had plenty of storage space and the bathroom seemed to be the biggest that we have had of any of the ships. Our balcony was angled and a little bigger than the normal ones. The shower head was the special one for the aquaclass guests and it was really fabulous! It was a spa-shower with multiple nozzles.

The bed and linens were comfortable and we had no problems sleeping throughout the cruise. The tv was interactive allowing for you to watch free movies on demand (good selection too), order room service (except for breakfast for some reason) and see your onboard account. We also had a wonderful stateroom attendant throughout our stay. We received our daily canapés that started out as a nice cheese plate with some fruit and by the end of the cruise was a cheese plate consisting of sandwich sliced cheese with no fruit, a little disappointing for us.

We were then able to unpack our clothes in time for the muster drill. Our drill location was in Silk Harvest and was quick and efficient. A video was shown and the location was comfortable because we were inside and there were tables and chairs.

The sail away out of Seattle was beautiful with sunny skies and clear. Everyone was out on deck to see it. The view was amazing as we have only ever been out of Florida ports.

We then went to dinner in Blu at 7:45. We had no problems getting a table for two. Ask for Zeus, he is by far one of the best servers in the restaurant. Food was light but really good. We did not ever feel over stuffed. That night, we both had the seafood napoleon which came with: scallops, mussels and shrimp over raw cucumbers in a light citrus sauce. The dish had a nice fresh flavor and the citrus sauce worked well with the seafood and the crunch of the cucumber. I had the corn soup; it was creamy and smooth with hints of bacon, corn, and chorizo. DH had the avocado soup. He did not like because it had cilantro which was not listed in ingredients and he has an allergy to it. We both had ahi tuna with forbidden rice with bok choy. All of it was cooked to perfection. There were two huge pieces of tuna on the plate seared on the outside and rare on the inside (per our request). For dessert, I ordered the dulce de leche creme brûlée which was good but creme brûlée is creme brûlée. DH had the trifle. For him, the trifle was not super sweet and loved the big chunks of morello cherries. The service was accommodating to my gluten allergy and each night, Zeus let me pick my food from the menu for the next day so I could eat whatever I wanted gluten free.

We then walked around checking everything out. We always like to explore floor by floor looking for any nooks and crannies as well as any unusual art around the ship. After a coffee drink at Cafe al Bacio, we headed to the 10:30 evening opening show. Cafe al Bacio does carry occasionally gluten free snacks. It really depended upon the time of day and the desserts were kept separately to avoid any cross contamination. The ones that I did have were all extremely good.

Opening night show consisted of songs throughout the decades with the by introducing the different ship musicians on the Solstice. Brent Nixon also came out and talked briefly about the Beyond The Podium series.

By the end of the show at 11:30, the ship was pretty much quiet so we headed to the room.

I have attached the dailies for the first day. Hope to get more uploaded tonight after work!

Early Edition of Celebrity Today.pdf

Celebrity Life Activities.pdf

Celebrity Today, 5.30.14 Page 1.pdf

Celebrity Today, 5.30.14 Page 2.pdf

Celebrity Today, 5.30.14 Page 3.pdf

Celebrity Today, 5.30.14 Page 4.pdf

Features of the Day 5.30.14 Page 1.pdf

Features of the Day 5.30.14 Page 2.pdf

Looking at this for next summer and am loving your detailed review. Thank you!

Subscribing...thanks for taking the time to post.

Sailing Aqua on Solstice Sept. 5 - also gluten free. Thanks for your detailed review. It's very helpful. GF has improved significantly since I last sailed Aqua in 2012.

Hi,

We plan to do Alaska in 2015 with Celebrity as well! I think your review will be a great help!

Looking forward to pictures. :)

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Thanks for posting your review. Would you be able to post the In The Spotlight page of senior officers on board?

Thanks for posting your review. Would you be able to post the In The Spotlight page of senior officers on board?

Of course. I almost included it this morning but was not sure if anyone is interested. I will get that added tonight when I get home :)

Thanks for the report! Solstice was our first X ship.

This is great! Can't wait to read more. We are on the July 4th sailing to Alaska on solstice.

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Day Two, Sea Day

Today was our first sea day. With hopes to sleep in, we of course woke up at 6:30 am!

We wanted to order room service but it was not available through the tv so we just decided to head up to the buffet. We could have ordered through the phone but decided against it. The breakfast buffet had the normal items plus smoked salmon and an Asian breakfast area with congee, noodles and some kind of stir fry. It was extremely congested with lots of lines everywhere. I don't know why but it just seemed small to us. The food was good and the buffet had fresh to order omelets and a waffle and pancake station.

After breakfast, we attended the Heart of the Operation galley tour. The event included a Q&A session with the executive chef who introduced all of the F&B managers and chefs. Then the staff divided us in smaller groups to give us a 10 minute tour in the kitchen. The tour was too short but it was a nice free way to see some of the inner workings of the kitchen. Free mimosas and champagne were also given out.

We then went to see Brent Nixon's Beyond the Podium Series on Alaska. We also later in the day watched his presentation on humpback whales. He is very entertaining but informative. You can tell he really loves his work. He gave tips on how to see whales from the ship and the best date/times to see them. As the cruise went on, I did not miss one of his lectures. Every single one, I enjoyed and I learned so much. He alone is worth going on the Solstice in Alaska especially as first timers for us.

We had lunch in the MDR. The menu notated some of the food allergies. My only gluten free option was to order the steak frites and DH had the duck. Both were good but our server was extremely slow. Tables after us got seated and finished probably 15 minutes before us.

We tried to watch Miss Amanda and could not get into it. She was informative and not bad but just not suitable for our taste. So we then took a nap for a brief bit.

We woke up and headed to the Molecular Bar for some specialty cocktails. We attempted to order drinks but no one came to our table. No servers were working other than the two bartenders. One was cutting fruit and the other was making a drink. After waiting 10 minutes with no recognition of our presence there we decided to leave. It was a very strange experience and we noticed throughout the cruise that the serving staff was never enough for the crowd. Then we headed to the Martini Bar and it had a 10x better atmosphere and the drinks were strong but delicious. I had the French martini and DH had the Blue Wave martini. This became our new favorite bar along with the Ensemble bar. The band was playing and everyone was abuzz in their formal attire for dinner.

We had another top notch meal in Blu. We kept our server Zeus who had attended to us last night and tonight's formal night. The chef accommodated my gluten allergy. I had fried scallops (used almond flour) as my starter, carrot cumin soup and the lamb for entree. For dessert, I had a gluten free mango guava cake and DH: had the cheesecake. Each night, the staff would always bring me my gluten free bread. It was two slices of bread toasted. I was just happy to have anything!

We then went to the main theatre for the Captain’s Toast and then left. The remainder of the show was musical acts of Broadway. We went to bed after another wonderful day on the Solstice.

In the Spotlight.pdf

Culinary Events.pdf

Celebrity Today, 5.31.14 Page 1.pdf

Celebrity Today, 5.31.14 Page 2.pdf

Celebrity Today, 5.31.14 Page 3.pdf

Celebrity Today, 5.31.14 Page 4.pdf

Features of the Day 5.31.14 Page 1.pdf

Features of the Day 5.31.14 Page 2.pdf

Packages Available on the Ship.pdf

Thanks for the Spotlight. Amazing how much difference a week makes.

Tom Brady will be the HD

Miguel the GRM

and Stephan from the US, is the new exec chef.

Day Three, Ketchikan

I woke up early at 4:15 am to watch our ride into port with the sunrise. It was so amazing. DH slept but I was so excited to be here. Also, the time change is not letting me sleep in late.

We went to Blu for breakfast. I had an English breakfast of eggs, baked beans, grilled tomatoes and gluten free toast. You could pretty much have anything you want in Blu for breakfast without the craziness of the buffet. I also felt safer eating at Blu with my gluten free allergy and any cross contamination that might occur in the buffet.

We got off the ship and did the self guided walking tour. It took us a couple of hours with us stopping in the different museums and shops. There was no salmon in the salmon ladder because it is not season time for them yet. Here is the link for the walking tour. You can also get them at the visitor’s information center.

http://www.experienceketchikan.com/support-files/ketchikan_maps_downtown.pdf

Because it was a Sunday, a lot of the lunch options that I was interested in were closed. We returned to the ship and ate at Bistro on Five again. Then we just hung out at Café al Bacio for awhile until sail away.

We decided to have an early dinner in Blu so we could go to the front of the ship in the Sky Observation Lounge to look for whales and other wildlife. This was the best place for viewing. It is indoors but has a whole view of the water in front of you. We staked out our claim in the chairs with binoculars in hand along with a bunch of other nature enthusiasts. It was really fun looking out in front of the ship with such an expansive view for all the different animals. Someone from the Celebrity staff would also make announcements to let us know about whales or bald eagle sightings.

We did not go to the show and were not interested in seeing David Meyer's musical act. We spent the time looking at the beauty outside. We headed to bed around 10:30 because we knew we wanted to be up early for the cruise into Tracy Arm.

Celebrity Today, 6.1.14 Page 1.pdf

Celebrity Today, 6.1.14 Page 2.pdf

Celebrity Today, 6.1.14 Page 3.pdf

Celebrity Today, 6.1.14 Page 4.pdf

Features of the Day 6.1.14.pdf

Thanks for the Spotlight. Amazing how much difference a week makes.

 

Tom Brady will be the HD

Miguel the GRM

and Stephan from the US, is the new exec chef.

Yes. As we were getting on the tender boats in Juneau, a bunch of them were leaving with their suitcases to go on their vacations.

Bump

This is the chocolate & banana crepe.

This is the French crepe.

Sky Observation Lounge

Outside & Pool Area (some wear & tear on around it). For some reason, I did not get any photos of the solarium .:(

Also as an FYI, they have little buttons that you can push so you don't have to open the door with your hands. I am assuming for sanitary purposes. Most were always extremely clean and the staff was always around ensuring of this.

Really enjoying this review and especially all the pictures! An Alaska cruise is on my bucket list of cruise itineraries yet to book. :D

Lawn on the Sunset Deck

Relaxation Area

Here is a photo of the martini bar with the ice and some pics of the menu. The martinis were all really yummy and covered by the premium package.

Best chocolates ever!