LIVE - Solstice - R/T Seattle to ALASKA

[aring75]

We are flying out tomorrow from Tampa to Seattle and boarding the Solstice on Friday for a 7-night Alaska Dawes Glacier cruise. 
 

This will be our 4th cruise to Alaska and I am SO excited. 
 

 

 

We booked this one as a Blue Chip Club promotion kind of last-minute and are in one the forward facing Spacious Oceanview cabins on Deck 8. We’ve never stayed in one of these cabins before, so we’ll see. 

 

 

 

I love the idea of going back to Alaska, and I am truly looking forward to the breathtaking scenery, the great seafood, and being back onboard the Solstice. 
 

But, let’s be honest. The real kicker is not experiencing 95+ degree heat and sweltering humidity for an ENTIRE week!!!

[aring75]

We have the premium beverage package and upgraded wi-fi for this cruise, so we’ll have to see how much the wi-fi signal cooperates. 
 

We will be staying at the Thompson Seattle, a Hyatt hotel the night before the cruise. 

 

 

[aring75]

We’ve made dinner reservations for Tuscan Grille and Le Petit Chef (we’ve never done this before).

 

We will be doing the close-up Endicott Arm and Glacier Explorer expedition cruise. Also, a wildlife and bear viewing in Skagway (Haines), and a food tour in Victoria. 

[AnnaNicole]

Have a great trip!

[aring75]

Emed COVID test results came back negative. Yay!

 

 

ArriveCAN info uploaded and confirmed.  

 

 

 

And all checked in with Delta for our flight at 11:06 am tomorrow!

 

It’s getting close!!

[aring75]

3 minutes ago, AnnaNicole said:

Have a great trip!

Thank you! I’m looking forward to it for sure. 😁

[TraderSam]

Following along!

 

We did this cruise back in 2018 and loved it so much, that we’ve booked to sail from Vancouver next year. Looking forward to sailing along with you. Safe travels to Seattle.

[Shimsdan]

Looking forward to following along with you!  Safe travels.

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, aring75 said:

are in one the forward facing Spacious Oceanview cabins on Deck 8. We’ve never stayed in one of these cabins before, so we’ll see. 

We have. The are spacious. A warning, the forward facing window is on a slant so be careful not to bump your forehead when looking out the window. Speaking from personal experiences. Took me a few times of bumping my forehead to remember that. 😁 Bon Voyage. 🥂

Edited August 17, 2022 by davekathy

[KellyCz]

Following, as we're looking at this same itinerary for 2023.

Did you get the all-included fare and then upgrade to the premium drinks package? If so, can you tell us the cost of the upgrade?

[aring75]

41 minutes ago, TraderSam said:

Following along!

 

We did this cruise back in 2018 and loved it so much, that we’ve booked to sail from Vancouver next year. Looking forward to sailing along with you. Safe travels to Seattle.

 

31 minutes ago, Shimsdan said:

Looking forward to following along with you!  Safe travels.

Thank you! Almost everything is packed. The mail is on hold. And the last of the laundry is in the dryer. 
 

I’m starting the countdown! 😊

[aring75]

31 minutes ago, davekathy said:

We have. The are spacious. A warning, the forward facing window is on a slant so be careful not to bump your forehead when looking out the window. Speaking from personal experiences. Took me a few times of bumping my forehead to remember that. 😁 Bon Voyage. 🥂

I think we sailed in a similar cabin on Allure in December. We loved the extra space, but you’re right! It took a few bumps in the head to get used to that slant. 
 

And you’ve just reminded me to make sure my towel clips are packed. They are perfect for holding the curtains closed!

[SFOflyguy]

Hello aring75,

I'll be following along as well.  Looking forward to hearing about your impressions of the condition of the ship, especially the cabin.  I had a Mexico Millenium sailing booked, that has since been replaced with the Solstice.   Safe travels and have a great cruise!

 

[aring75]

27 minutes ago, KellyCz said:

Following, as we're looking at this same itinerary for 2023.

Did you get the all-included fare and then upgrade to the premium drinks package? If so, can you tell us the cost of the upgrade?

This was a casino comp cruise so we didn’t receive any perks with it. But I had a large OBC certificate from a previous cancelled cruise (long story), and used quite a bit of it on pre-cruise purchases. 
 

Before receiving the casino offer I had priced out the cruise and I seem to recall it was around $800 to upgrade to the “Indulge” package. That was premium drinks, premium wi-fi, $600 OBC, prepaid gratuities, etc. But that wouldn’t include any discount for Elite or anything. 

[aring75]

4 minutes ago, SFOflyguy said:

Hello aring75,

I'll be following along as well.  Looking forward to hearing about your impressions of the condition of the ship, especially the cabin.  I had a Mexico Millenium sailing booked, that has since been replaced with the Solstice.   Safe travels and have a great cruise!

 

We’ve sailed Solstice twice before, but the last time was (I think) about 5 years ago. I’ll let you know how it compares now. The Solstice class has always been some of my favorite ships, so fingers crossed that she’s still in great shape!

[aring75]

As I said, we’ve been to Alaska three times before. Twice on Solstice for a quick 7-night from Seattle, and once on the Celebrity Century, a 12-night R/T San Francisco - her final Alaska cruise before she was sold.

 

Living in Florida, visiting Alaska really feels like a departure from the ordinary. We love the scenery, the wildlife, the seafood(!).

 

We have eagles in Florida, but it seems like they grow them bigger in Alaska. 
 

 

 

And, sure, we have bears too, but it’s pretty rare to see them. In fact, I’ve only ever seen a bear in Florida once, and that was probably 20 years ago. 
 

We’ve always had multiple sightings every visit to Alaska. In fact, once, a bear crossed right in front of the path our tour group was hiking on. He came within about 15 feet of us. Our guide was just as surprised as we were! But he just looked over at us and kept wandering down to the nearby river for salmon 😂

 

[MCazer]

Husband and I are booked on the Solstice for next March (with the Casino deal) in an Aqua Suite. Can't wait to see this ship, as we have only sailed on the Constellation (twice).  Would love to see any pictures of the ship and info!  Makes the wait that much more exciting!

[aring75]

We’ve done whale watching in Juneau. The sheer size of the humpbacks never ceases to amaze me!

 

 

 

I mean, just look at that tail compared to the boat in the background!

 

[aring75]

2 minutes ago, MCazer said:

Husband and I are booked on the Solstice for next March (with the Casino deal) in an Aqua Suite. Can't wait to see this ship, as we have only sailed on the Constellation (twice).  Would love to see any pictures of the ship and info!  Makes the wait that much more exciting!

I take LOTS of pictures! I’ll definitely share everything I find. And congrats on the Aqua Suite deal. That’s great!

[aring75]

We’ve taken the White Pass Railway in Skagway. 
 

 

 

And we’ve helicoptered to the top of Taku glacier. 
 

 

 

 

We are looking forward to trying out new things this visit!

[postnobills]

We are leaving from TPA exactly two weeks behind you on the same itinerary, so definitely looking forward to following this!  

[jwlane]

2 hours ago, KellyCz said:

tell us the cost of the upgrade?

Upgraded earlier this week---$17.10/day, incl. CC discount and gratuity.

[techteach]

@aring75 I, and 9 year grandson, will be on the cruise with you. Just finished emed, that was easy, and all docs are printed out. We live 1.4 miles from the pier, so DH will drop us off Friday and then listen for horn blasts at 4:00, actually more like 4:10 - 4:15, signaling our departure. I hope we meet in Quasar on Saturday. Have safe travels getting to Seattle. See you soon!

[aring75]

19 minutes ago, techteach said:

@aring75 I, and 9 year grandson, will be on the cruise with you. Just finished emed, that was easy, and all docs are printed out. We live 1.4 miles from the pier, so DH will drop us off Friday and then listen for horn blasts at 4:00, actually more like 4:10 - 4:15, signaling our departure. I hope we meet in Quasar on Saturday. Have safe travels getting to Seattle. See you soon!

How fun! Traveling with your grandson. And I’m jealous you’re so close! We are pretty close to the Port of Tampa, so we love sailing from “home” too.

[sbcs5390]

Will enjoy following along with you.There's not a whole lot of recent reports from Solstice since it's not been back at it too long. I am on for 10/15 and 10/22 Mexican Riviera which is quickly approaching.