Alaska - First Cruise & Pictures - 5/30/14

I wanted to try a cruise. My husband wanted to try Alaska. Alaskan cruise…why not?

I plan to post a daily recap with pictures of our trip (Seattle, Ketchikan, Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier, Juneau, Skagway, Victoria, and Seattle again) on the Celebrity Solstice. Patience, please, as this is my first attempt to post pictures.

Short review: WE LOVED IT! What did we love? Alaska? Cruising? Celebrity/the Solstice? Yes! Yes! Yes!

Long review: see posts below

After researching online (and yes, finding this little gem of a website we fondly call Cruise Critic), we decided that X was our first choice. We wanted something nice, on the quieter side, a foodie happy place, and just a little nicer than Carnival. We have family on both sides that have sailed with Carnival, and we wanted something a bit more upscale.

My DH has a long-time family friend who is a TA who works with both RCI and X a lot. When we found that our TA specializes in X, we saw it as a sign and decided to book.

After researching online and the brochure, the Solstice was our choice. It was a beautiful ship. Also, we choice the RT Seattle itinerary, because of airfare. It was less expensive to fly to Seattle from Kansas City, Missouri than Vancouver or Seward, or any of the other ports. It also kept us on the Solstice.

We knew we wanted a balcony, because we wanted the private view. In addition, if we could find and afford an aft balcony, that would be awesome (again, based on reviews from CC). In a dream world, I wanted AQ, and wouldn’t you know…there was a promotion (AQ for the cost of CC—just a small promotion, but still). So, we booked AQ. From 123Go!, we selected the $200 OBC, as we are not big drinkers. Our TA also had a promotion where we received an additional $200 OBC.

We were booked in AQ 1672 aft on deck 11 in September 2013. Didn’t do much for the next few months. My DH and I decided that 3-in-1 windproof and waterproof jackets from The North Face would be our Christmas gift to each other. I booked our excursions in March 2014 online via the cruise line. (I know, I know…I could have received better deals had I booked independently. This was our first cruise and all of the prep and planning was on me; I didn’t want that type of pressure! Believe me, now I would book independently with having some cruise experience under my belt if the deal was right for us.) And then, I joined my roll call (go NUTZ!) and CC in March, and I really started to delve into the particulars, advice, and no-no-no’s of cruising, Celebrity, and Alaska.

Long story short (too late), thank you to CC! So much advise about airlines, car service, hotels, secrets, dining, tipping, excursions, shopping, shows, packing, and so on. My anxiety was non-existent, and I feel that we enjoyed our first cruise due to in some part to the dialogue here. Again, thank you.

You started with a fantastic voyage. Glad you had a great time.:)

We flew non-stop on Alaska Airlines from Kansas City to Seattle. I can see why this airline is ranked #1 on customer satisfaction. With clean aircraft and amenities, friendly crew, and easy upgrades from snacks and entertainment to first class for major discounts, I would fly Alaska Airlines again, if the situation presented itself. Here is Mount Rainier and we flew into Seattle.

We had pre-booked Already There town car service (thank you CC), and were pleased to wait less than five minutes upon arrival for our driver. The car was clean (no smell of smoke, which I find common in taxis or car service, or the overwhelming car scent tag), and our driver was friendly. Our drive from Sea-Tac Airport to our hotel downtown was $50 including tip.

We stayed at Inn at the Market (thank you CC), which is wonderful! Literally seconds from Pike Place Market and just five minutes from a Target, in case you forgot to pack anything for your cruise (like, say, swim trunks). ;) We stayed in a newly renovated 7th floor city view room. It was spacious and luxurious. There is also a 5th floor terrace overlooking the bay (more on that later). The front desk staff was accommodating and knowledgeable. When in Seattle in the future, I will not hesitate to book and stay at the Inn at the Market again.

We had dinner at a local favorite…The Pink Door (thank you roll call buds on CC). It is known for Italian and seafood. There’s live entertainment nightly, and we had the pleasure of a French folk music band. There was both indoor and outdoor seating, but we chose indoor for the unique ambiance of the restaurant. You must try the house dessert…boobie cake. Chocolate, rich, and fun to order.

Being only seconds from Pike Place Market, we enjoyed walked around as the vendors were still setting up their market fronts.

We purchased some flowers to take to our stateroom (thank you CC)…

and some breakfast items, which we ate on the rooftop terrace at our hotel.

We took a cab (Flat Rate for Hire) from our hotel to Pier 91. This trip was $12 + tip. We arrived just a little after 12noon.

EMBARKATION

There is a large covered sidewalk that hosts all arrivals for both X and RC pax. There were two tables with each cruise line marked (a X table and a RC table). We checked two roller carry-on bags (which we had previously tagged in our hotel room), so we just placed them among the other bags. No need to wait in the line to get luggage tags (thank you CC).

We were booked in Aqua Class, so we had priority check-in. We zipped past the first snake line and up the escalator. Didn’t have to “snake” through the security check either. Next, there's the actual check-in with the ship. Again, two entrances to this process: priority and other. While both lines snake, the priority line is far shorter; I would guess the other check-in line is at least four times larger. My DH had been ill recently, so we were adverted to a waiting area to check his temperature by the ship nurse. With priority check-in, we would have been on the ship in 15 minutes (stepping out of the taxi and then onto the ship). The nurse check delayed us only 30 minutes.

Here’s our first up close and personal view of our first cruise ship!

After receiving our complimentary champagne/juice, we headed to our room. It looked just like the online photos. And there has been talk about missing amenities; we did not encounter this. Upon arrival to our stateroom, there was sparkling wine sitting on ice, infused water/tea, fresh fruit, applicable menus, spa towels, draw string back pack, tote bag, robe, slippers, and other items as well. There was ample storage; I was glad that I didn’t bring extra storage items as advised (over-the-door shoe organizer, packing cubes, etc.). We both had packed carry-on bags only, so perhaps our limited packing allowed for adequate storage. We had enough hangers (just enough, actually), as I’ve seen this question often. Left a note for our room steward about our pillow requests from the pillow menu and a request about emptying the mini-fridge.

The TV & vanity area…(the plug-in located in the bathroom did not allow for uniquely sized male parts, so I claimed the vanity area for my hair accessories)

The sitting area and balcony…

The bed with our Captain’s Club letter, CC invite, specialty restaurant discount, daily, and excursion tickets…

So glad you had a great cruise and I'm looking forward to the rest of your review and photos!

It was a little after 1pm, and we were getting hungry. Let the exploration begin! I had looked at photos, diagrams, and had read many review on CC. I kept forgetting that my DH had no idea where we were going and what was located where. But, he liked it that way; as he told me, “I don’t want to have to think—I’ve on vacation.”

We decided to head to the top of the ship and work our way down. We went up one flight of stairs to deck 12 to view the pool. The Ocean View Café buffet looked insane. My DH did not want to embark on *that* much of an adventure. ;) From CC, I knew that the Mast Grill would be open, so we opted for burgers and sodas overlooking the bay. No line, no one there…but then once we sat down, here they came! A line near 20 people long! We quickly finished and continued walking around each deck. I would tell my DH what we were walking by and what happens there. That’s a lounge and they have a bar. That’s the Solarium and it’s for adults only.

We returned to our room prior to our roll call meeting at the Martini Bar. We met our steward, Seby. He was nice, helpful, and accommodating. He had already delivered our pillows, emptied our mini-fridge, and alerted us that he was on the hunt for a vase for my flowers from the market. He also showed us our canapé menu. We did see him throughout the rest of our trip, though he usually beat us to our request. He was on the ball and organized with information and reminders. We also had our luggage (this was before 3pm).

Fun getting to meet the people behind the screen from our roll call on CC. A silly and experienced group of travelers on their fifth cruise as a group, they were welcoming and full of advise, like “relax” and “ahh, you’ll figure it out”. Good folks. Proceeded to the muster drill, where we reported to Tuscan Grille. This reminded me of our discount specialty restaurant on embarkation night. After muster, we previewed the menus and decided to go with Murano. This late in the day, the first available reservation slot was 8:30pm, which was fine with us as we usually eat dinner later in the evening anyway (though 8:30pm in Seattle was 6:30pm our time, but who’s counting).

Sail away…cheers!

Thanks for the report!

Stepping off the elevators and onto deck 5, we were facing starboard looking at the Gelato Café and into the sea at sunset. It was a little disorienting to see the water racing by and I felt a little dizzy. Happy to report that this sensation went away by the next day. This was the only type of sea sickness we encountered. Very smooth sailing.

As with other locales, Murano looked just like the pictures that I had seen. There were large windows, but the drapes were covering them. Later, I realized that this was due in part to the poor view of life boats of the port side of the deck.

Our server was Putu, and he was fabulous. Mild conversation, allowed us time to think, but would recommend items if we couldn’t decide, and offered to always bring us both or more of anything and everything. Here’s a list of what we enjoyed, including a picture of our main dish:

Amuse bouche: chilled manadarin soup

Appetizer: goat cheese soufflé, scallops, pear Roquefort, pork belly

Main Course: lamb

Cheese Course: hard and soft cheeses from regions of France

Dessert: chocolate cocoa cake (mousse, very rich with side of espresso gelato on caramel brûlée)

This was our first time to really sit and people watch. I’ll just leave it at this: the included drink package provides quite the entertainment.

Started to feel a little, very little, movement late night around midnight. Checked the navigation channel and map and saw that we were nearing 20N and hitting open waters off Washington. Surprisingly, not as cold as expected at night. We stood on the balcony for a bit under the stars, which were visible. There was a soft light on the water’s edge where the ship waves are created--it was like our nightlight. Very quiet even though Sunset bar was above us a few decks (us 11; cabins 12; bar 14/15). We left the balcony door open all night for the soft sound of the water. Again, surprisingly not cold.

Each night, I would ask my DH what his favorite thing or moment was of the day; it was a nice recap. So, I”ll share our daily recap with you as well!

-DH: priority check-in

-Me: Pike Place Market with rooftop breakfast

-DH: said his favorite moment will be all the times we laughed together...which was mostly throughout the day (love this man)

I woke up at my normal time. However, my three and one year old boys were back home in the Midwest, so 6:00am was an unnecessary wake up time. And with the time change on the west coast, it was actually 4:00am. Tried to go back to sleep, but couldn’t.

I decided to head to the Relaxation Room, a part of the Aqua Spa, and a benefit of booking AQ, to watch the sunrise. Located on deck 11 with our room, it was just a walk to the front end of the ship where the entrance to the lower level of the Aqua Spa is located. It was deserted, as you may have guessed. A couple peaked in for about five minutes after 6:00am, but then I was alone again. Realized that the sun was behind me, but the dark blue sky changing to light blue was still pretty. I wrote in my journal and enjoyed my morning Diet Coke.

We headed to breakfast around 8am…in Blu. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. If X took every perk away from booking AQ, but left merely Blu, we’d book it…Every. Single. Time. I know that there are fans and there are haters, but we are fans through and through!

The restaurant looks just like the pictures. When you enter the room, the white flower wall is to your left, the circle art wall is in the center of the room, and the floor-to-ceiling windows are straight ahead. We noticed that seating filled in the windowed area first. Blu knows what its customers want…views! However, there were some that chose to sit far from the windows and tables that accommodated larger groups near both the flower and circle walls.

My DH had pancakes, eggs, sausage, and fruit while I enjoyed some deli meats and a smoked Salmon plate. We felt satisfied, but not stuffed. This is a reoccurring feeling after dining in Blu each time.

We had our CC meeting in the morning in Cellar Masters, where we met our cruise director Patti and our captain, Captain Yannis Berdos. There were hors d’oeuvres, pastries, and drinks that were complimentary. We really didn’t have any questions for the officers, except for the upcoming nightly show schedule. After a bit of a rundown from Patti, we were left to socialize.

Our first “show” was by naturalist Brent Nixon on Alaska. He was a great speaker, which was what I had expected (thank you CC). He spoke for about an hour with pictures projected behind him on Alaskan history, science, wildlife, and our cruise projection. It was a great start to our cruise as we felt we had a brief understanding of what was coming our way from an expert. Highly recommend this short talk as it provides a good frame of reference for your travels both on board and in port.

It was about noon, so we decided to give the buffet another try. It was busy, that’s for sure. But it was a sea day…what would you expect? I never had to look for clean dish or wait in a line that took longer than a couple of minutes. Drink stations were stocked and not crowded (that was the only section not crowded). My DH finally find a dirty table that was unoccupied. We started to bus the table and some staff members immediately began assisting us. The place was packed, and everyone was working to maintain a happy eating environment.

A couple from our roll call saw us and joined us for lunch. Again, this was nice, because they could provide some answers to our questions and some advice as to what to do first. There was some sort of tropical fruit juice that had guava in it that my DH fell in love with and had with lunch every day. I became a fan of the Indian cuisine—flavorful and pretty much no line ever. Heads up that the salad bar was the craziest line; every time we went to the buffet, one would see this long line for salad. Salad! Who would have thought it? Healthy eaters…good for them.

Our next venture was the Hot Glass Show. It’s located on deck 14 and outdoors. You’re blocked from much of the wind, but everyone was wrapping up in blankets. We had our coats, so we were fine. Also, we had stopped by the Café al Bacio for warm drinks and cookies (thank you CC). Our show was pretty neat and unique in that one of the kids from the day camp on board designed a monster whale and the show was creating the animal for him to take home—how cool is that?! Entertaining and educational about glass.

Here, you can see the half-finished project…

Started what became a part of our daily routine, and perhaps our first cruise tradition: pool time. We tried the hot tubs that were located outside and in the sunshine. Mind blowing to be in a hot tub on a sailing city on our way to Alaska. Also spent some time in the Solarium. This was our thing each day in the late afternoon/early evening. The family hour in the Solarium was from 4-5pm, so we always did our pool time after 5pm as to avoid any potential kid overload. Nothing against children, as I have two of my own, but this was our vacation and it was kid-free. On a side note, we never noticed any misbehaving children throughout the week.

Upon returning to our room to get ready for formal night, we had our first whale sighting! It was skimming the waves from our ship. Honestly, we weren’t for sure what we saw; I mean, we were up pretty high. With later sealife sightings, I can confirm that it was indeed a whale. Exciting!

We enjoyed formal night in Blu. To save on space while packing only carry-ons, my DH didn’t pack a suit or tux. We were aware that Blu was always “smart casual”, but we did feel that he was underdressed on formal night as compared to the other men. No one said a word to us, but he said that next time he would pack a jacket. We saw lots of jackets, but only a handful of tuxes. Women were dressed in what I would describe as cocktail attire; I didn’t see any formal gowns in Blu. Now, in the common areas after dinner, yes, there were some gowns.

This was our first dinner service in Blu. As I previously stated, breakfast was simple. After Murano the night before, I feared that we were spoiled and that Blu wouldn’t live up to both the food and the service in Murano. Well, it did! We always had to ask our waiter, Rosebud, what he would recommend, because we simply couldn’t decide! Here’s a list of our dinner:

DH: DC/scallops/bisque/lamb/coffee/chocolate and dulce leche layered cake & apple crumble a la mode

Me: DC/scallops/bisque/pheasant/coffee/apple crumble a la mode

We tried to go to the Sin City comedy show at 10:15pm, but at 9:45pm, it was full. Wow! There was another show later that night, but I had been up since 6:00am, so we didn’t think I would make it. Went to Observation Sky Lounge but there was loud music. Now, don’t make this into yet another “loud music” thread. The performer and band were good with good jams, but we wanted something a bit more subdue for our sunset view. That’s right, I said “sunset”. It was 10pm and we were going to watch the sunset. Welcome to Alaska! So, we went to Relaxation Room. Again, not a soul to be found.

Rosebud notified us of the time switch; Alaskan time gains an hour. We filled out our room service breakfast request since we have an early excursion in Ketchikan in the morning.

Favorite thing/moment:

DH: read on balcony (this was what he wanted to do the most—he’s a simple guy)

M: hot tub in Alaska/Brent Nixon

Room service arrived with our breakfast at 7:00am. We enjoyed bagels, pancakes, French toast, bacon, and fruit. We ate on our balcony and enjoyed viewing our first port, Ketchikan.

Our morning excursion was the Tongass National Rainforest hike. This was our first disembarkation process. There were signs everywhere directing guests to the gangway, which today was on deck 2. We grabbed some soda at Café al Bacio prior to leaving (this was our daily thing). They were always nice and speedy. This port is very excursion friendly. You disembark and walk about 50 feet and there’s your guide or driver! Easy!

We checked-in and had time to peruse the tourist shops and grab a coupon book (than you CC). A van carried us, along with a generational family of 8 adults, to our stop in the rainforest, but first we drove through Ketchikan. Our driver was born and raised in Ketchikan, so she talked about life while living in Alaska and how things are different from the lower 48 states.

Our guide was Rob, who is a scientist, author, and documentarian featured on a Netflix documentary film on Alaska. Minor celeb, right? ;) My DH picked this excursion, and as an eagle scout, he was in heaven. And as a city girl, I found it interesting and educational as well. My favorite part was the muskeg, which is a floating piece of land created from glacier activity.

This is a shot with 3 of the 5 varieties of trees found in the area…

On a muskeg with the forest behind us…

We were done before noon, so we decided to shop before heading back to the ship. I tried to talk my DH into a float plane, but we ran out of time. I’m also sure that they were probably booked. We found the typical tourist shops, but also some great local places. We got our Ketchikan salmon, shirts for the nieces and nephews, and learned about jewelry made in Alaska.

Boarding the ship was a piece of cake. No lines—just show your SeaPass card, pass through a metal detector, and you’re back on the ship.

From researching (thank you CC), I had wanted to try the Aqua Spa Café. My DH did not want to go to the buffet again, so he happily obliged. We loved it! It was light, healthy, and quick. A warm and quiet venue in the Solarium with a pretty view of the island. We walked around deck 5 upon sail away from Ketchikan in the afternoon. We saw Ketchikan International Airport (because a few flights from Canada show up every once in awhile), and saw not only an Alaska Airlines flight take off, but three small propeller planes take off quickly thereafter. The straight was narrow, so we felt very close to the aircraft. Pool time in the Solarium before dinner, of course.

Blu did not disappoint. Again, delicious dishes and so many great choices! The list is below. One of my very minor concerns about Blu versus the MDR is the interaction with fellow pax. Blu mainly has tables for two (as it reflects its AQ guests—max of two per room), while the MDR may have group dining and meeting people. Why was I concerned? Everyone is so nice and outgoing. People are quick to begin a conversation and are very inclusive. This night we met a lovely couple from Pennsylvania, who we met up with daily.

-DH: baked Brie with pepper jelly, parsnip soup; braised short rib & squab; chocolate lava cake with coffee

-Me: crab salad; parsnip soup; fish (sorry, I don’t remember which kind) roulade; cheese cake with caramel

Tonight, we made it to the Sin City comedy show! Other than the obvious comedy, there is a burlesque side show. It is tasteful. I didn’t feel uncomfortable sitting next to husband or any of the men in the room and watching it. It’s burlesque, folks, so costuming covers all the delicate areas. We enjoyed the headliner, comedian Greg Vaccariello. He was hilarious! Be prepared to get called out—each show is unique in that he plays with the audience, which I love.

Received our debarkation questionnaire and chose self-disembark in order to make the most of our day in Seattle.

Favorite Thing:

DH: rain forest

Me: sin city comedy

We were up at 4:30am with room service breakfast arriving at 5am. It was the morning of Tracy Arm Fjord and the Sawyer Glacier! My DH had selected his optimal viewing spot and for picture taking. We headed to deck 15 on the bow and claimed our spot. We made a bet prior to leaving our room. He thought that we’d be all alone, and I assured him that there would be lots of people—maybe not this early, but there would be people out and about. I guessed that there would be at least 20 people outside already. He laughed, but guess who got $20? #baller (thank you CC)

We were in our spot from 5:30-9:00am. Seriously. And it was NOT boring. It was beautiful. Gorgeous! And I can see why people place “Alaska” on their bucket list. Brent Nixon, our on-board naturalist, used the intercom system to guide us on our journey through the fjord. He would go silent sometimes when we were very close to land as to not upset the wildlife. If we had gone indoors, we could have heard im without interruption, but liked our spot.

Around 7am more and more people began to show up. And at 8am, it started to get crowded. Only encountered one pushy lady, but she left nearly seconds after she almost spilled her coffee on me while taking just one…two…seventeen photographs. It wasn’t *that* cold, but the wind will get to you. I didn’t start doing the cold dance (it’s a clever little jig) until the 8 o’clock hour. Props to The North Face and their jackets.

We didn't actually get to see Sawyer Glacier due to too much ice. But, we were headed to another glacier that afternoon, so I wasn’t too bummed. Besides, all of the beauty that we had seen along the way was worth it. We noticed many people on the helipad; we found out later that it was an elite passenger perk to view the sites from there. How cool!

A right turn around this bend, and we were told we’d see Sawyer Glacier; we were *that* close!

The captain did a 360, and from our balcony, we said, “Au revoir,” to the fjord…

We decided to get our hobbit on and enjoy second breakfast. We decided to brave the morning buffet, and it was civil. Lots of people, but very quiet (so we could hear Brent Nixon). And everyone was encouraging and helping one another spot things. From bald eagles nesting to sea lions floating on small icebergs, it was a fun morning trip.

After a refreshing 3.5 hour nap (yeah, really), we headed to the Aqua Spa Café for lunch before hitting Juneau.

Tendering. Another minor concern of mine heading into this trip. I was prepped. I was ready. I was warned of the time-consuming tendering process. And then, it was so easy. Booked through the cruise line? Oh, you don’t have to wait in lines to get tender tickets. Simply show up at the designated time (2:30pm) at the theater, go on stage to retrieve your tender/excursion sticker, and then head to your boat when summoned. We were tender #4, but that doesn’t mean that we were boat #4—it’s just an organizational piece. Also, by tendering in groups with your excursion, you are able to meet the people (or note who to keep clear from) with whom you will be spending the next 4 hours.

MENDENHALL GLACIER & SALMON BAKE

Our coach driver was Peggi, who is an Alaskan spliter. She splits her year half in Alaska (tourist season) and half in California. She had little tidbits about Juneau, Alaskan life, and cute, humorous quips. She was nervous about how long the line was to get into the park, so she actually parked illegally and let us all out. The rangers were getting on to her, but she seemed to remain collected and was apologetic.

We didn't have enough time to do falls trail, per Peggi’s advice. I think that we could have done it, but we would have been rushed. We did take a couple of 1/3 mile loops and visited the visitor center. The visitor center has some easy to follow and understand interactive educational tools. I think school-aged children could have utilized the center and learned about glaciers easily. A modest gift shop is right at the main entrance and can become a bit congested. But, it’s a tourist stop and there were five cruise ships in town today; we were expecting crowds. There were helicopters dropping off people and kayaks heading right towards the glacier. If and when we return to Alaska, I would like to view the glacier in one of these different ways.

The falls…

Mendenhall Glacier

Next, we headed to a salmon bake. What a difference from the hustle and bustle at the visitor center! The attitude was as relaxing as the ambiance. We had a selection of salmon (duh), chicken, clam chowder, cheese potatoes, rice, black eye pea salad, Caesar salad with salmon (Alaskan Caesar salad), regular green salad, corn bread, baked beans, blue berry bread, hot cider, hot chocolate, water, lemonade and roast your own marshmallow—delicious! Also, for purchase there was soda, beer, and wine (I had a Diet Coke for $2.10). It felt very homey. There was also a short trail that led to a pretty waterfall.

Before heading back to our lovely vessel, we shopped at the Wharf Merchant Shopping Center. I was on the lookout for an Ulu knife set, and here is where we purchased it, at Alaskan Knifeworks (thank you CC). We also purchased some local jam from a local merchant. We stood in line for about 10 minutes to tender back to the ship, where we road on top! There were float planes taking off and landing all around us. And when I saw around us, I mean, driving around us to hit their “runway” and then pass us on take-off. Exhilarating!

The Celebrity Solstice tendered in Juneau…

Looking back at Juneau from atop our tender…

I tried searching for this prior to sailing, but was unable to find detailed info in regards to returning to the ship with illicit materials, so here you go…

-ulu knife and board/bowl set

-you may alert of the item, but it will pass through the scanner regardless

-allow the security personnel to handle the item (they will alert staff, they will verify verbally with the passenger of the item, they will take the item to a side table and speak to the passenger at the table; passenger should collect all items and then proceed to table

-the security official at the table will again verify the contents (he did not open the package, but inspected it to ensure it was unopened; I can only assume that if the package hand been opened that he would have opened and investigated further)

-the security official will then write a receipt of sorts, including the passenger name, stateroom number, and description of the item.

-it was also recommended by the store clerk from whom we purchased the product to keep your purchase receipt as additional proof of the item; the clerk assured is that he had never received notification from his customers of a missing product via a cruise vessel, but keep the receipt just in case

-the security officially explained briefly that upon debarkation, a table will be set up with all illicit purchases for pick up on the pier/in the terminal; present your X receipt and it's in our hands once again

Someone told my DH about the White Pass Yukon Railroad excursion, and he was very interested. We were yet to book anything in Skagway, and with lots of OBC, we decided to go for it. We went to Shore Excursions (deck 3) to sign up for White Pass train ride and chose the morning excursion.

Since we had eaten so much at the salmon bake, we skipped dinner in Blu. Around 9pm, I headed to the buffet to try the sushi, and it was okay. Yes, the Missouri gal is not impressed with the sushi—laugh if you will. They did have eel, but that was as exotic as it got, if you even think eel is exotic. Kind of plain Jane, but it was okay. There was hardly anyone there, so I was able to observe my options with ease and not wait in any line to try some other items, too.

Upon returning to our room, my DH decided to get himself room service and start a movie. He had not been on his computer once today. Finally, he was truly on vacation!

Received Canadian customs form for Victoria and returned to guest relations deck 3

I had wanted to go to Pulse, the evening show which was music, dancing, and costumes representative throughout the decades, or so I was told. DH was tired and into his movie, so we skipped it. :(

Favorite things: Mendenhall Glacier

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We awoke to what we had been told was typical Alaskan weather: raining and misty. We, again, had breakfast via room service as we had an early excursion. There was a slight, five-minute delay to disembark, and the line looked intense. However, it disappeared within seconds, and we were off the ship.

And now for the White Pass Yukon Railway notes…

-rear car (nice because you could hear you narrator/guides description and THEN see it; also time to prepare for photographs)

-sat on right side (way up, not best views of sights, but pretty streams/falls and may step onto platform between the cars (but not on the bridge and no passing between cars)

-obvious hints at tipping the last 30 minutes—we were planning on tipping, but they laid it on really thick

-you don't get off the train, so no need for passport as you never step foot into Canada

-we were train #1 of 3, so for turning around to go down the mountain, we had an extra 7mi trip to the next turnaround loop at a lake on the map (bonus mileage and sights!)

-never saw goats or any other wildlife, but the elevation climb was extraordinary; the difference in vegetation and landscape between the climb and the peak was noted and both views allowed for appreciation of beauty

-highly recommend on ascension standing on the platform prior to entering the first of two tunnels; you're on a bridge that horseshoes around a crevasse--if heights don't bother you, it is a magnificent and exhilarating stance (and the tunnel is short--about 5-10 seconds--so just wait on the platform until you exit the tunnel to return to the train car

Skagway has a variety of shops (the most knife shops that we saw of our cruise ports). It's a very concentrated avenue of shops, so easy to walk up on one side and down the other. We purchased some shirts for our boys, jewelry from myself and our mothers, and a cool alphabet train puzzle featuring Alaska animals.

Walk to and from the ship is about 10 minutes from town; there is a shuttle (elongated golf cart) for about $2pp from the train depot (first thing you come to downtown/shopping area) and the pier. Rained on us on the walk back to the ship; we were wet, but not soaked.

We went to the early evening show (7pm) with Illusionist Jason Bishop. At first, he came off a little sheepish (it may have been his shtick), but clever and funny as well as a talented magician. He had great hand work and card tricks along with some jaw dropping disappearing tricks.

Tonight’s dinner in Blu will be remembered for one thing and one thing only…Sightings! Whales, orcas, dolphins all within 20-30 minutes. The restaurant emptied and headed towards the windows. We were ooh-ing and ahh-ing, and then with a whale tale flip, we would cheer. The waiters were twirling their napkins or towels and one animated server announced, "Only in Blu, ladies and gentlemen...only in Blu!", which was met by laughter and applause. It was such a fun sense of community and comradery!

Here’s what we enjoyed this evening:

DH: trout; white bean and ham soup; halibut wrapped phyllo

Me: frog legs; duck ravioli ratatouille; cheesecake with caramel

We received our US customs form for final debarkation in Seattle.

Favorite thing: Blu sightings

I am enjoying your review and looking forward to the next installment.

We headed to Blu for breakfast around 8am. According to my research (thank you CC), I wanted to try something that I had never heard of before…Muelsi. Love! Love! Love this! Shout out to Flor and Vasilica, the two lovely ladies who prepared our Muelsi table side for the remainder of the cruise.

It’s a mélange of granola, oats, yogurt with your choice of fruit topping (berries, dried fruits), sweet toppings (honey, brown sugar), and mixing agent (milk, skim, soy). Even put a little fruit and cinnamon topping to make a smiley face! Delicious! Disappointed that I didn't try it sooner! We have been making this at home!

We picked up some soda at Café al Bacio and decided to walk around the upper decks just for kicks before our first stop of the day…the Celebrity Chef Cook-Off. It’s set up similarly to Iron Chef on the Food Network, where you select your proteins and condiments to prepare a dish for judges. Our two Celebrity chefs were the executive chef from the specialty restaurants, including Blu, and the sous chef from the MDR. I was selected from the audience to participate as a guest chef! I chose to work with Neils from the specialty restaurants (go team Blu!). We made Melinda's Seafood platter (I know, I know--horrible name!): beef tenderloin steak on a bed of a vegetable ragu with a seared scallop beneath a broiled lobster tail topped with a steamed mussel. Our competitors made a Thai dish with coconut milk (sounds yummy), and I guess it was as they won by one point! While we cooked, the executive chef for the ship (didn’t catch his name as I was broiling lobster tails) answered questions from the audience.

Lunch followed (worked up an appetite, eh?) at…that’s right…Aqua Spa Café. We had planned to attend the matinee magic show with Jason Bishop, but ran into our new friends from Pennsylvania and chatted for a while instead. Finished our deck walk and then headed to…

Bingo! There were three games with a final game having a $10k jackpot. It was $59 for 6 cards per game, a bonus 3 cards for the jackpot round, and some instant scratchers. We only won $2 on our scratchers, but a lady ahead of us in line won $2k! She ran to the casino just a few feet away and cashed in her card immediately. DH was only 1 away (a "stander" as we now know to call it) from the final post-jackpot bingo (a blackout for $450+), but a gentleman beat him...so close! All in all, we lost $57, but had fun. Told my DH that my $20 score from the Tracy Arm bet could just roll into our bingo pot. ;)

After our daily pool time, we got ready for our final formal night in Blu. We tried all the appetizers (baked goat cheese with caramelized apples, crab cake, croquettes). Here’s what else we enjoyed:

-DH: pea soup, stuffed pasta, baked Alaska, roasted pear

-Me: Caesar salad, lobster, baked Alaska, cheesecake

We stopped by Cellar Masters for some evening drinks before heading to Solstice the Show. It’s a cirque-like show with jaw-dropping performances. I had to remind myself throughout the show to close my mouth…literally jaw-dropping! We sat in the third row, which was amazing! The performers were racing off the stage and flying over our heads!

Needless to say, our favorite thing today: Solstice the Show

This is what we woke up to…

Yes, this was going to be a good day! Though it was a port day, we wouldn’t arrive in Victoria until the evening. It felt like another sea day, which I appreciated as there were things I was yet do and try!

After enjoying breakfast in Blu (Meulsi!), we grabbed our Diet Cokes at Café al Bacio. We did this often. They were also so nice to us. We weren’t ordering coffee drinks, and I know soda is easy. I just felt a guilty always standing in line or walking up and just asking for a soda. I don’t know, I guess it may be silly. But the attendants never made us feel silly or annoying. Also greeted with a smile and served quickly.

And this was the case with staff everywhere. Whether in common areas, bars, or walking down the hall to our room, we ran into staff and crew. They were always friendly. We were met with a smile, a greeting, or an inquiry to our day.

We were just walking around the ship when we happened upon Miss Amanda’s Titanic talk in the theater. It was a different look at the story of the doomed ship. I had a bit of a morbid thought as we joined the show already in motion…I’m learning about the Titanic on a cruise ship. Miss Amanda joked about it, though; she said we had to do it on our final morning, so guests wouldn’t have much time to sit and think about it and freak out. We were able to catch what we had missed on the Celebrity Life channel on our TV back in our room. It was a good production on then and now.

We went to have lunch at Aqua Spa Café, but there was no available seating. Apparently, our little secret had gotten out on our quiet, yummy destination. So, we headed to the Sunset Bar. There was a bit too much smoke for my DH (one of the only smoking areas on the ship), so we went down a deck to the open air seating of the buffet. It was nearly empty on such a sunny day! There were many freight ships traveling in the opposite direction as our ship, which was cool to see.

The one thing I was yet to do and had not, and was especially determined being in Aqua Class, was to experience the Aqua Spa, or Canyon Ranch Club. Though we did not book a treatment, we did enjoy the Persian Gardens with the heated loungers and pretty view of Canada as we sailed by. I left my DH for a trip to the sauna, which was smaller than I thought it would be, but nice. After some pool time in the Solarium, we went to clean up for an early dinner in Blu before disembarking in Victoria.

Rosebud and the rest of the staff in Blu were very aware of the timing of the evening: Blu opens at 5pm, disembarking begins at 6pm in Victoria, and most excursions began at 6:15pm. He was on it! We still enjoyed the spectacular food from Blu, but at a quickened pace. Okay, here’s the last dinner in Blu:

-all apps: prosciutto, seafood ceviche , mozzarella & pepper empanadas

-DH: tortilla soup, lamb shank, chocolate torte

-Me: avocado salad, salmon, chocolate torte

In Victoria, we had purchased an excursion to the Butchart Gardens. My DH had been there before on a high school trip and wanted to see it again. We rode a coach for about 20-30 minutes to the gardens. We only had the gardens, while others had the Butterfly House in addition. Those that had double-booked were allowed an hour in the gardens; our friends from Pennsylvania felt rushed. Where we had just the gardens for over 2.5 hours, we were fine. We took a leisurely pace and enjoyed the beauty and history of the gardens. We also enjoyed a mini-tour of Victoria upon our return to the ship.

Final stop at Café al Bacio for drinks and snacks while we stayed up to pack. We were in bed in the midnight hour and set for self-disembarkation.

Our favorite things:

T: Butchart Gardens

M: Aqua Spa

We awoke at 5:30am to get ready and pack our carry-on/morning use items. We were going to try to sneak one more meal in at Blu, and succeeded with some Meulsi.

Okay, so we left our luggage in our room during breakfast. I thought that we would bring it down with us to Blu, but DH didn’t want to do so. Here comes our only issue with the entire trip: getting our luggage to get off the ship. The bank of 8 elevators mid-ship was packed going both up and down. Apparently, many people thought as I and brought their luggage with them to breakfast in the buffet. We took the stairs up after waiting about 10 minutes. We got our bags and headed back to the elevators. Why did we think we would not encounter the same issue experienced only seconds ago? And then, right before we were supposed to disembark, we realized that we had never checked the forward bank of elevators. Folks, no line whatsoever. Hit the down button, and an elevator popped open immediately…an empty elevator. We rode down from deck 11 to deck 5 with no interruptions.

Disembarking from this point on was painless. Picked up our illicit material (Ulu knife), rolled right past the checked package, through US customs, and into the taxi line. After the elevator trouble shooting, we were in the taxi line in 15 minutes. There, we waited for about 10-15 minutes in line for a taxi. Soo, we were on our way to enjoy our last hours in Seattle at the Space Needle.

Arrived at the Space Needle at 830 ($11.50+tip)

-used kiosks to purchase 9am tickets ($18pp)

-security held bags for us prior to going up

-picture taken prior to ride up included in ticket price

-two levels of observation (outdoor lower level & indoor upper level)

-lower/outdoor level: free scopes to view distances close up

-upper/indoor level: snack area, restrooms, stair access to rotating restaurant; interactive cameras, touch screens on sights and history if needle; kiosks available to view previously taken photo and email/share/purchase (email and sharing is free of charge)--choose your preferred background

Downtown Seattle with Mount Rainier peaking through the smog…

Good-bye Solstice!

Off to the airport for Frontier flights to Denver and Kansas City. Home safe and sound after a minor one-hour delay in Denver. Picked up our boys the next morning at Grandma’s house. Together again.

Excellent review and pictures!! thanks for sharing your cruise with us!:)

...we loved our cruise. Seattle, Alaska, and Victoria were all gorgeous and worth seeing again and again. We hope to return and with family (our kids, our parents, our friends) as this trip is great for all ages.

Celebrity

We loved the cruise line as well as the ship. There were many activities to choose from and places to eat and drink. Our room was nice and clean. Service was impeccable. We will recommend Celebrity to all those who inquire.

Thank you Cruise Critic

-for recommending to arrive the day before, which extends your vacation, because we very much enjoyed Seattle

-for recommending to try carry-on bags only, which can be done!

-for all of the recommendations about where to eat, what to see, and secret freebies

-and the best advise ever...relax, you're on vacation!

Our next cruise is in one year...three different countries...with Royal Carribean. Already looking forward to it!:D

Great report and photos.

Keith

Thanks for sharing your review and pictures.

What a fun review! Thanks for sharing the story of your first cruise. We are off to Alaska for the first time next month (can't wait!) and will be on Solstice for the first time at Christmas and can't wait for that either!!