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

[jimbri]

Wonderful review and photos!

[ktbsb]

I loved your review!!:D:D We have this exact cruise and exact cabin booked for May 2015, I was so excited to see the pictures of the room/balcony. Your review really put my mind at ease as I was wondering if we made a good choice on the cabin!! Would love any additional advise you have for me!!

 

Thank you again,

Kim

[flyingv4me]

Excellent review and pictures! Thank you so much for sharing!!!!

[TeaBag]

I loved your review especially the pictures. Makes me want to go to Seattle for a weekend! We loved the Solstice too. I hope you didn't experience the cruise withdrawal I did, after getting off the Solstice May 8! Have to wait a whole year for another cruise. It is addicting isn't it?

[lettrich]

Great review! So excited for our upcoming trip in July on the same ship. Did you do a private excursion in Ketchikan? We just booked the hike and totem park with WildWolf tours. I am not sure if we will do anything in Victoria. Did you hear of any other tours in Victoria? The Gardens might not be good to see with the kids. Usually at night we just like to chill on the boat and our dining time is at 6 pm so in order to experience Victoria we would have to miss dinner. Thanks!

[Lois R]

Hi Melinda:), wonderful review and your pictures are awesome:D

Glad you had such a great cruise:) and you and your husband are

a great looking couple too:)

[Lois R]

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!!

 

Hi Yvette:) hope you and Bill are doing well and enjoy Solstice:D

Oh..and have fun in Alaska next month too;)

[nativetexan]

Thanks so much for your detailed review! What a great trip!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[frawnsay]

I loved your review!!:D:D We have this exact cruise and exact cabin booked for May 2015, I was so excited to see the pictures of the room/balcony. Your review really put my mind at ease as I was wondering if we made a good choice on the cabin!! Would love any additional advise you have for me!!

 

Thank you again,

Kim

 

Kim, that's so cool! :D Small world, eh?

 

The starboard hall that leads from the mid ship elevators to the back of the ship...you're the first door at the end of the long hall...super easy!

 

And thanks for reminding me of our room, as I noted that there were NO notes on it on the S-class sticky--I need to review the cabin there, too!

[frawnsay]

I loved your review especially the pictures. Makes me want to go to Seattle for a weekend! We loved the Solstice too. I hope you didn't experience the cruise withdrawal I did, after getting off the Solstice May 8! Have to wait a whole year for another cruise. It is addicting isn't it?

 

Thanks! In regards to withdrawal, I had read on CC (crazy, right?) that the best way to handle the sadness of stepping off the ship on debarkation day is to have your next cruise already booked. Boy, did that make it easier!

 

I'm wondering if I'll take a break for CC for a few months.

 

Doubt it. ;)

[frawnsay]

Great review! So excited for our upcoming trip in July on the same ship. Did you do a private excursion in Ketchikan? We just booked the hike and totem park with WildWolf tours. I am not sure if we will do anything in Victoria. Did you hear of any other tours in Victoria? The Gardens might not be good to see with the kids. Usually at night we just like to chill on the boat and our dining time is at 6 pm so in order to experience Victoria we would have to miss dinner. Thanks!

 

Thanks for the compliment!

 

Our Tongass National Forest hike was booked through X. As this was our first cruise, I was willing to pay a little more to have peace of mind. So, no private excursions for us...this time. ;)

 

In Victoria, the staff in Blu was very aware of the evening port excursions, and it tailored its service to accommodate those of us early diners. Though the MDR has specific times for dining (as I understand--don't know about select dining), I would suggest dinner in the Ocean View Cafe buffet, Mast Grill, or Bistro on 5. Or, we met people that simply dined in Victoria. They skipped the excursions and just roamed the downtown area. Walking will take you a good 20-30 minutes, or you can catch a cab (if you find one).

 

If roaming is not your cup of tea (thinking that a plan might be better with kiddos), there were some other X excursions that we knew of through fellow pax. We didn't stop at the independent tours as we were heading to our coach. There wasn't the overwhelming presence of independent vendors present on the dock upon our arrival; I don't know if this is because it's such a short visit or if we just didn't see any. Therefore, if planning something independent/private, I would suggest pre-booking with arranged transportation provided.

 

Some of the other cruise line excursions that we heard about (and all positively) were the butterfly gardens, the castle tour, and the downtown tour (both via motor coach and carriage). The downtown tour via carriage was actually taken by a family (kids about 8-12 years old), and they enjoyed it.

[frawnsay]

Hi Melinda:), wonderful review and your pictures are awesome:D

Glad you had such a great cruise:) and you and your husband are

a great looking couple too:)

 

Thank you, ma'am. Must give credit to the hubs for the camera and the photos. He is pretty rockin'--I must agree! :)

[theopup]

That was a wonderful review with incredible pictures, thanks

[Loubelou]

Loved your review! We will be on the Aug. 1 Solstice sailing & we are also in Aqua. It's my second cruise & my husband's first. We are kayaking in Ketchikan, but now I'm interested in the hike you took as well. It looked amazing!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[BrusselsGirl07]

Hi Yvette:) hope you and Bill are doing well and enjoy Solstice:D

Oh..and have fun in Alaska next month too;)

 

Hi Lois!! We are doing well, really excited to be heading off to Alaska soon. Really looking forward to trying Solstice, I think all of our cruises have been on the older ships so far!

[Cruise Raider]

Wow....this was such an excellent review. thanks for sharing.
We sailed to Alaska on the Solstice last year in the AQ and booked another for this year....alas, the AQ is too costly this year. I still waiting for some reductions in price so I can upgrade....but if not, we have a perfectly lovely cabin booked right now.
Anyhow, this brought back such great memories and is enticing me ... cannot wait for our next adventure on such a gorgeous ship. While I agree with you on almost every point, we didn't find our room steward in the AQ was quite up to par. That's ok, so many other great features on the Solstice, we really cannot complain.

PS -- yes, we discovered the forward elevators are really the way to go after struggling with our luggage on a Princess ship once. Going up on an empty elevator also is a good option...if you can find one.

[nilesmom22]

Thanks for a wonderful review. We're on the same cruise July 18th and I can hardly wait. :)

[frawnsay]

[quote name='Cruise Raider']Wow....this was such an excellent review. thanks for sharing.
We sailed to Alaska on the Solstice last year in the AQ and booked another for this year....alas, the AQ is too costly this year. I still waiting for some reductions in price so I can upgrade....but if not, we have a perfectly lovely cabin booked right now.
Anyhow, this brought back such great memories and is enticing me ... cannot wait for our next adventure on such a gorgeous ship. While I agree with you on almost every point, we didn't find our room steward in the AQ was quite up to par. That's ok, so many other great features on the Solstice, we really cannot complain.

PS -- yes, we discovered the forward elevators are really the way to go after struggling with our luggage on a Princess ship once. Going up on an empty elevator also is a good option...if you can find one.[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="2"][COLOR="Navy"]Good luck on watching for AQ price drops--hope you get one!

We did try going up to go down, but still couldn't even get IN an elevator. On our next cruise, we're right by the forward elevators, so hopefully this little trick works on other ships as well!

Thanks for the nice words :)[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[frawnsay]

[quote name='MISSYLOU']I am enjoying your review and looking forward to the next installment.[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="2"][COLOR="Navy"]Karen & Paul-

We live just down the road from you in Belton! We're practically neighbors! :D[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[poolwife]

Loved your review and pictures. Thank you for taking the time to post them all. I am wondering what glacier you got to see since you didn't get to see Sawyer glacier?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[my3cees]

I absolutely loved your review!!!! OMG, the details.... We're planning to go in September, if not then next year for sure. What type of camera did you use? Your pictures were amazing.

[frawnsay]

[quote name='my3cees']I absolutely loved your review!!!! OMG, the details.... We're planning to go in September, if not then next year for sure. What type of camera did you use? Your pictures were amazing.[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="2"][COLOR="Navy"]Thank you so much! I read many reviews on CC before sailing, and I really appreciated those with details and all of the little things. :)

My husband reports that he uses a Canon Rebel. He gave me some letter-number code after that, but I can't recall now :confused: If you need further info, just let me know, and I'll stand right next to him with my phone and update! He also used a few different lenses throughout the trip.

I've heard that September is great for Alaska! Happy travels to you and yours![/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[frawnsay]

[quote name='poolwife']Loved your review and pictures. Thank you for taking the time to post them all. I am wondering what glacier you got to see since you didn't get to see Sawyer glacier?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="2"][COLOR="Navy"]I never saw this! I'm so sorry that I never responded!

We sailed in the Tracy Arm Fjord to view Sawyer Glacier as it travels from land and into water. We never actually were able to travel into the fjord enough to see this spectacular sight, but we saw bits and pieces of ice from this glacier.

Later that same day, we traveled to Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. There, we saw the glacier running from land and into water.

I hope that I answered your inquiry. :)[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[frawnsay]

[quote name='nilesmom22']Thanks for a wonderful review. We're on the same cruise July 18th and I can hardly wait. :)[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="2"][COLOR="Navy"]Thanks for the compliment! I hope that your cruise in the summer was just as wonderful as ours! If you did a review, let me know! I would love to see read/see it! :)[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[frawnsay]

[quote name='Loubelou']Loved your review! We will be on the Aug. 1 Solstice sailing & we are also in Aqua. It's my second cruise & my husband's first. We are kayaking in Ketchikan, but now I'm interested in the hike you took as well. It looked amazing!


Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="2"][COLOR="Navy"]Thanks for the kind words! I thought it would be so cold in Alaska, but Ketchikan was very mild--kayaking would be such a memory! I would like to know about that experience, or if you ventured into the rain forest!

Were you just as blown away with Blu as we were? We're trying RC next, and my DH is nervous that the MDR will be not as special as Blu. I'm just excited to set sail once again![/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]