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Trip Report - Solstice to Alaska 8/21/15 – 8/28/15


frawls
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We flew into Seattle the night before the cruise and stayed at the Hilton Downtown. It was about $40 taxi ride from the airport. We went to dinner in Altura in the Capital Hill neighborhood. Altura is an incredible restaurant and a must visit for foodies going to Seattle (go for the tasting menu).

 

The next day we got to the pier around 1:00pm. AquaClass guest have a priority check in line, which ended up being great, we were third in line. As we walked towards the gangway, the regular check in was very long and we were already happy we choose an higher room category.

 

State Room

Our last two cruises we were in suites so we were concerned going in that the room may be a little small but it was perfectly fine with enough storage room for all our stuff. Loved the spa-type shower in the bathroom. Balcony was big enough to sit out on and relax and whale watch.

 

Beverage Package

We had the classic package and we decided we would try it out for a few days and see if we wanted to upgrade. We never upgraded. DW usually drinks Grey Goose (premium package) but she enjoyed Tito’s vodka that was included with the classic package. I typically drink Blue Moon (premium package) but really enjoyed Alaskan White (classic package). At dinner in Blu, there was a decent Pinot Noir that was included in the classic package and the sommelier would just leave the bottle at the table for us. We did not try the Martini Bar or Molecular Bar.

 

Food

Oceanview Café: We were on the ship by 1:30 and the room was ready so we dropped off our carryon bag at the room and headed to the Oceanview Cafe for lunch. We had lunch one other time and breakfast one morning at Oceanview. Overall we thought the food choices were plenty and the quality was that of a buffet, nothing special but nothing wrong with it either. I was surprised that the morning we had breakfast there was blood pudding, English bacon, baked beans and roasted tomato.

 

Blu: We ate the majority of our meals here. We really enjoyed the muesli for breakfast. Dinners for the most part were enjoyable except one night the quail fell short. Our previous cruise was on a competitor line and the suite guests restaurant on that cruise was not as good as Blu was on the Solstice.

 

Murano: We feel that this is the best restaurant we have experience at sea and the service was spot on.

 

We ate at Murano on our first night and we were talking to the waiter and he was telling us about a cooking class that was being offered the next day. We did not see it advertised anywhere. We told the waiter we would think about it and then asked him if there was a chef’s table at all during the cruise and he said there was. Again we did not see this advertised anywhere. We decided to do both. The cooking class was OK but I do not know if we would do it again. DW and I are both pretty good home cooks so we knew most of the tips being taught. The chef’s table was a great experience and the meal was one of the best, if not the best, we have had at sea.

 

Entertainment

We only went to one of the big shows in the theater; it was the Cirque show – having seen a number of Cirque du Soleil shows we weren’t really impressed with this. Most nights we went to listen to Sean (acoustic guitar and vocals) and Peter (piano and vocals). Both were phenomenal.

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Ketchikan – We decided we would just walk around the town. In hindsight we wish we did an excursion the town is very small and it did not take that long to explore Creek Street, etc. I would recommend the Alaska Fish House for lunch – the salmon and halibut tacos were great as was the smoked salmon chowder. Prepare to wait in line as this is a very popular place. Also the fish and chips and Alavas, across from the pier was really good. The batter on the fish was some of the best I have ever had.

 

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Sailing Tracy Arm – unfortunately during the middle of the night before there was a medical emergency and someone had to be airlifted off the ship. We were forced to back track two hours and because of this delay we did not sail up the Fjord.

 

Juneau – This was a busy day for us. We went up the Mount Roberts Tram and then hiked up the trails at the top. The views are amazing and it is not a challenging hike either. After our hike we went back down and had lunch at Tracy’s Crab Shack. King Crab is not cheap but if you don’t want to splurge on crab legs then get the crab cakes and/or the bisque both were very very good. After lunch it was time for our 5 glacier floatplane excursion over the Juneau ice field. This was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced in my life. Words and pictures cannot do an experience like this any justice. We were on the fence about doing this excursion because of the price but we are so happy we did. It was a once in a lifetime experience.

 

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Skagway – We booked the White Pass Scenic Railway with Chilkoot tours. We did the bus up and the train back down. Our tour guide, Stanley, was phenomenal. She lives in the area year round and had some great stories. We stopped at waterfall which was a glacier run off and we filled up our water bottles with some fresh clean water. The further up we went you could just smell how clean the air was. The train back down was beautiful. You can stand at the ends of the train car and take pictures but you cannot hear the tour guide out there. After the train ride, a representative from Chilkoot picked us up and offered to drop us off wherever we wanted. She recommended the Skagway Fish house. More crab legs which were good. The fish and chips was just ok. Service was very good and overall a good place to grab a bite and close to the pier.

 

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Victoria, B.C. – We opted just to walk around town on our own. It is a decent walk from the pier but nothing too bad, we wandered around for a little while and then ended up at the Irish Times – a great Irish pub that had live Irish music playing. We enjoyed the tunes and a couple of Guinness and then it was back to the ship for our last night.

 

Overall this was a wonderful trip. My wife was not sure she would enjoy Alaska but she went so I would stop bugging her about going there. We already decided that we will definitely return to Alaska and the next time either do a land trip or take one of the cruises that go further into Alaska.

 

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At Sea

 

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Thank you everybody. Alaska is beautiful and the pictures don't really do it justice. Since we returned, I have been telling everyone they should go at least once.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

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Hi Paul, It is a Cannon digital SLR and the lenses that came with it. I bought a package a couple years ago. I can get you specifics this weekend if you would like them.

 

Disclaimer: Some of the photos have been edited.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

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Hi Paul, It is a Cannon digital SLR and the lenses that came with it. I bought a package a couple years ago. I can get you specifics this weekend if you would like them.

 

Disclaimer: Some of the photos have been edited.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

 

 

Thank you. I have a Cannon rebel T3i with 2 lenses but I was wondering if I should rent a telephoto lens for those far away shots. Did you use a telephoto lens for some of the shots?

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What float plane company did you use in Juneau? We are going on Alaska cruise May, 2016 and this is the only port we haven't decided what to do.

 

Beautiful pictures!! Thank you!

 

Hi Sunlover, we booked directly with Celebrity - 5 Glacier Excursion. The company was Wings Airways. They are located right by the pier where we the tender drops you off.

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Thank you. I have a Cannon rebel T3i with 2 lenses but I was wondering if I should rent a telephoto lens for those far away shots. Did you use a telephoto lens for some of the shots?

 

I have to double check what the exact lens was but it was either a 55-250mm or 75-300mm. Nothing too big. You may want to rent a telephoto lens for the sea life, I have some pictures of whale and porpoise but it is not as close as I would have hoped.

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Great pictures! We were there in August on a cruise and loved Alaska! Did the train and floatplane too. Well worth it!

 

See that you will be on the Summit in Feb on your list of cruises. So will we! What cruise are you on? Aren't we lucky we have another cruise in the near future to look forward to?!

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Great pictures! We were there in August on a cruise and loved Alaska! Did the train and floatplane too. Well worth it!

 

See that you will be on the Summit in Feb on your list of cruises. So will we! What cruise are you on? Aren't we lucky we have another cruise in the near future to look forward to?!

 

Hi micruiser12, we are going on the Feb 20th sailing out of San Juan, PR. You? We are lucky, I can't wait and I am very much looking forward to it.

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We are on the Summit out of San Juan Nov. 7, 2015. Do you remember what the cost of the Chef's Table was?

Hi Jimmanknows, sorry but I do not remember what the price was. The Murano maitre d' gave us a package price for the cooking class, chef's table and lunch in Murano.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

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