Live from Alaska Celebrity Solstice 6/7/13 cruise...hopefully

[H2OH!]

I am hoping to do a live review while we cruise Alaska. Of course, that is dependent upon the internet connection. So if I suddenly disappear…you will know why. I have not attempted a live report before so who knows how this will go. Will post pictures if internet cooperates.

 

Pre-cruise

 

Well, today is the day Jim and I leave for our Alaskan cruise on the Celebrity Solstice (departs Friday 6/7/13) from Seattle. This is our first time to Alaska so we are super excited. A big thanks to our cruise critic family for sharing pictures, dailies and information from this season’s first few cruises. Really helped us!

 

Being so excited, I, of course, could not sleep so out of bed at 4:25 am for an 11:15 am flight. We live closer to O’Hare but chose Midway and Southwest airlines due to their luggage policy. Going to Alaska I knew we would take 4 pieces of luggage for 2 people…and we did. Sigh. I tend to overpack and this cruise once again rang true. The heaviest suitcase is only 45 lbs so we have room for souvenirs…thank goodness. During the packing process I found 2 drink coupons that were still good so in my purse they went. Little did I know how much I would need those little coupons. More on that later.

 

At 7:45 am we left for the airport from our house. We were worried about traffic (always an issue in Chicago) as well as additional delays due to construction. Luck would have it traffic moved quite well and we were at the airport parking our car around 9:00 am. Jim dropped me off at the Southwest airlines arrivals with our luggage (our usual practice) and then parked the car at the extended lot for $ 13 or 14 a day versus the $31 per day at the day lot. He was back in jiffy after taking the bus back to the airport from the garage. He text messaged the location of our car to me. We usually text the location or take a photo. Coming home with vacation brain, we like to be sure we can find our vehicle.

 

Since summer vacations have started, I was worried about security lines being long. We literally stood in line for 10 minutes. We were seated at the gate by 9:45 am. Flight took off on time around 11:15 am. Lots of kids on the flight so wonder how may will be on the cruise. The screaming child seated next to us is finally napping…phew. Thank goodness for our BOSE headphones…muffled the noise quite well. Poor guy is in his terrible two’s…good thing we have those drink coupons! After ordering our drinks to calm our nerves (now that I think of it, I should buy those parents a drink-lol) we went to pay with our coupons when the flight attendant said she had extra coupons and to keep ours, first drink on house…yippee! Maybe it was compensation for the screaming…just kidding. The Wi-Fi on the plane is working great. For $ 8.00 you can’t beat it. I did a few work e-mails while Jim did Sudoku and a crossword puzzle. Plane has lots of empty seats so we have a seat between which is nice. Makes the flight so much more enjoyable.

 

We did book with Century care service so am hopeful all works out when we land. Initially we were just going to take a cab but decided (while sitting in airport) I wanted a car service. They were able to “squeeze” us in so not sure how this is going to work. They quoted us $ 45.00 from the airport to Homewood Suites Pikes Place. Tonight we are having dinner at The Metropolitan Grille. Ate there several years ago so am hoping their steaks are still as fabulous! Off to nap or play a card game with Jim. CIAO for now.

[h20cruzer]

Oh I am excited to follow your review. I just returned from Alaska on the Millie, would love to hear someone elses thoughts.

Norma

[elisemburton]

Can't wait to read more. We will be on the solstice for our first Alaska trip next May :)

 

 

~Elise

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[H2OH!]

double post issue...

[H2OH!]

6/7 Seattle, WA Embarkation

6/8 Sea day and formal night

6/9 Ketchikan, AK, docked

6/10 Tracy Arm Fjord-cruising

6/10 Juneau, AK, docked (hopefully)

6/11 Skagway , AK, docked

6/11 Cruise Inside Passage

6/12 sea day- formal night

6/13 Victoria, BC-docked

6/14 Seattle, WA

[Lady Arwen]

Looking forward to your review! This is our cruise for next summer and it's our first Alaska. Please provide lots of information and pictures! Thanks in advance.

 

Have a wondrful cruise!

[grnidlad8]

H2OH...we just booked this same Alaskan cruise for next year, and, like you, are from the burbs of Chicago. I did sail on Solstice three years ago in the Caribbean and loved the Solstice class ships.

Please keep me posted about the whole experience since it will be our first time to Alaska, too.

Bon Voyage!

[Italy52]

I had to laugh at your reference to traffic --- we used to live in Bolingbrook and we would always stay prior to our flight at the Hilton Chicago O'Hare Airport if we were flying out of O'Hare or the Chicago Marriott Midway if we were flying out of Midway as I was always worried about traffic delays in getting to the airport.

 

Loving your review, looking forward to reading more.

[drarill]

Great start!!! loving your review and looking forward to your live reports!:):)

[H2OH!]

H2OH...we just booked this same Alaskan cruise for next year, and, like you, are from the burbs of Chicago. I did sail on Solstice three years ago in the Caribbean and loved the Solstice class ships.

Please keep me posted about the whole experience since it will be our first time to Alaska, too.

Bon Voyage!

 

so fuuny. yeah, always worried about the darn traffic!!

[H2OH!]

The descent into Sea-Tac was beautiful . We were able to see Mt. Rainier with its snow capped peaks…absolutely stunning. As I was taking pictures my memory crapped out. So bummed out. I am afraid to try and download the pictures because I just don’t want to know if I lost all the pictures on the card which include my niece’s graduation from nursing school this past May and her wedding dress fitting….sigh. The good news is I was able to just enjoy the moment and cuddle up next to my husband.

 

Century Care Service was great. Our plane was 20 minutes late so by the time we got off the plane and turned our phones on, they had called to make sure we knew they were waiting for us. It was a pleasant voicemail…nice touch. Once we retrieved our luggage, we called Century and within 2-3 minutes (literally) they were at door 14 to pick us up. The Lincoln Town car was very clean. They had small bottles of water waiting for us. Only complaint is they were warm. The ride was approx 25 minutes or so to our hotel. Edgar pointed out a few of the local sites which was appreciated. The ride was $ 45.00 plus tip. We would use them again in a minute. We may use them to go to Pier 91 but all depends if they have an opening as they mostly do airport runs. We will talk with Edgar tomorrow to see if they can take us.

 

Now, on to the Homewood Suites Pike Street. On entering the hotel, the lobby was clean and quite modern. It looked just like the pictures on their website. Unfortunately, that is where the resemblance ends (more on this shortly). The front desk staff did a great job orienting us to the hotel. They serve a hot breakfast daily from Monday through Friday from 6:30 am to 9:30 am (their hotel service book says breakfast is from 6:30 am to 9:30 pm…made me laugh). Weekends also have hot breakfast from 7-10 am. During the week they serve a hot meal for dinner as well as beer and wine. Right now we don’t plan on having “dinner” here but is a nice fallback plan. They also have a small pantry area just like any short stay hotel. The WI-Fi is free for guests . So far reception is ok. To get to your floor, you have to insert your hotel card into a card reader and then hit your floor. Number. Nice security feature for a hotel in the city.

 

I wanted to surprise my husband with a nice room. I booked the 800 SF suite which looked fabulous online. Tripadvisor had positive reviews about this hotel so I booked. I must admit I was and am quite disappointed in the condition of the room. It is large with a kitchenette, balcony, living room and separate bedroom but condition is rough. The room appears clean but rug is quite worn …everything looks a little dated. It’s ok but not what I was expecting. The pictures online were very deceiving. The good news is we got a great rate from AAA so all is good. Could have been great but is just ok. There have been reports of an odd smell in the hallways and I have to agree that the hallway has a musty type smell. Fortunately our room does not have an odor.

 

The hotel is next door to Pike Grocery which is a small grocery store with a lot of variety. We picked up some beer, wine and Perrier. It is literally 100 feet from front door of hotel. Perfect. Although maps show this hotel approx 1-1.25 miles from Pikes Market and water front, what we did not know is it is up a hill…some streets have steep hills, think San Francisco…really steep. If you are out of shape and want to walk around Pike’s market, waterfront etc, this is NOT the hotel for you. DH and I will walk down the hill tomorrow to visit Pike’s Market and do some general sightseeing but will taxi it back up the hill. Lol. The restaurant Tango is across the street which also received positive reviews on Tripadvisor.

The Pros

· Free breakfast and dinner (with free wine and beer)

· Price is right

· Car rental service onsite

· Grocer next store

· Free Wi-fi

· Cab rides to Space Needle, waterfront etc have been $8- $ 10 one way which is not bad

The Cons

· Slightly dated, odd smell in hall on second floor, carpet and some soft goods are really rough, worn

· Only a mile or so from waterfront but is literally uphill (one way)…

[H2OH!]

our luggage strewn across the room as I was crazily looking for my new memory cards...

 

[H2OH!]

[H2OH!]

Hallway and kitchenette

 

 

[H2OH!]

After we checked in we immediately caught a cab to the Space Needle. The weather is absolutely beautiful, especially by Seattle standards. Sunny, warm, absolutely stunning. The Space Needle did not disappoint. The views were breathtaking. After we walked around the space needle we both needed a snack. They have food kiosks at the top of the needle that serve a variety of foods/snack as well as beer, and wine. Jim and I had a cup of clam chowder and it was wonderful…so good, really! We could not decide if it was so delicious because we were starving or if it was actually that good. It will remain one of life’s mysteries for now as we do not have plans to go back this trip.

[H2OH!]

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[H2OH!]

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[H2OH!]

The chowder we ordered was only $ 4.00 a cup and was sooooo good.

 

 

[Spurs Fans]

What awesome photos!! Thanks for the review!

[H2OH!]

Here is the Chowder in all her glory....

 

[H2OH!]

What awesome photos!! Thanks for the review!

 

 

Thanks!

[H2OH!]

Last night went to Metropolitan Grill on 2nd street for dinner. We called the front desk and asked them to call a cab. About 5 minutes later we wandered downstairs to see our cab waiting for us. As we emerged from the front doors the cab driver speed off.. he did a u-turn in the middle of the street.:eek: Jim and I started laughing as we felt the cabbie took one look at us and took off…really made us laugh. It was so odd a couple standing there laughed too. :D My husband went to the front desk and asked if that was our cab…and yep, sure was. The front desk staff said the cabbie was a little crazy. Apparently as soon as he arrived he got out of his cab and was yelling at the front desk staff because we were not downstairs. I guess I am glad he sped off. Unfortunately we were 15 minutes late for dinner as we had to wait for another cab. Dinner was fantastic. I had the filet and garlic mashed and Jim had the prime rib with baked potato. Jim had a couple micro-brewed beers and my apple martinis (even thought $ 13 a piece) were wonderful. Luckily, we had better luck with hailing a cab on our return trip to our hotel. Since I was up at crack of dawn (4:30 am), I was fast asleep…thanks to a comfortable bed and those martini’s.