How about one more "LIVE" from Edge in Alaska? August 16 - 23. 2024

[hcat]

15 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

Help this Alaska noob understand.  
Edge’s route is NOT via the Inside Passage, correct?  

Why?  Edge too large?

How are the seas?

Meanwhile Summit is taking the Inside route.

Would you agree with my presumption that a first-timer would want to experience the Inside Passage.

 

 

Thanks for all the pics so far.  

The balcony dividers seem to allow the adjoining sunset verandahs to remain nicely semi-private.

I love the onion soup.😋

Do I spy another non-Retreat Bourbon and Peaches at the dinner table?🧐😋

great map.. We did a 5 night cruise on Mercury some yrs ago..rt Seattle. Memory fades but I recall,  ship basically went around Vancouver Isl..rough  water on the outside going north and very scenic on the inside.  Ports included Astoria Oregon ( ugh),  Nanaimo & Victoria..last 2 were great.

[BeachTunes]

17 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

Thanks for setting me on the correct course.

I think it would be nice to go out of Vancouver now knowing what I have learned.

 

Hi Paul!

 

We chose Vancouver R/T because of its routing through scenic British Columbia and the fact that it's supposed to be smoother sailing. I was really curious to try the Edge out of Seattle but Solstice's pricing, timing and route won. We embark in exactly 3 weeks so I'll be sure to share our thoughts when we return! 🙂

 

Please say hello to Tim for us! And thanks to @mac_tlc for sharing your journey!

 

*Back to regular scheduled programming...*

Edited August 18 by BeachTunes

[mac_tlc]

Good Morning from Ketchikan!

 

 

 

Our sister has joined us …

 

 

 

As well as four other ships! Carnival Spirt, Ruby Princess, Seven Seas Explorer and Oceania Regatta.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 18 by mac_tlc

[hcat]

Beautiful photgraphy, as always!

Lots of ships..hope port is not ovetwhelmed!

[mac_tlc]

Sun rising over the mountain:

 

 

[mac_tlc]

19 minutes ago, hcat said:

Beautiful photgraphy, as always!

Lots of ships..hope port is not ovetwhelmed!

I am expecting wall to wall people downtown. All aboard for us is 3:30, I think we are the first out.

[mac_tlc]

A shorts and tee shirt Alaskan kind of day !

 

 

 

The long pants, long shirts and rain gear will come out tomorrow😞.

 

mac_tlc

Edited August 18 by mac_tlc

[KKB]

On 8/14/2024 at 4:41 PM, mac_tlc said:

My my there have been a lot of "LIVES" from the Edge this summer in Alaska. Do we have room for one more? 

 

We will be on board the 8/16 sailing from Seattle. Who are we? Well, this time it's me and my DW along with our son and his wife. It will be our 10th sailing on an E-class ship but it is the first for our son and DDIL. No Retreat this time -- too pricy in Alaska when two cabins are involved. So, we have two sunset verandas and hopefully we can open the balcony partition. According to the deck plans, there is a divider, hopefully it can be opened. 

 

Travel plans to Seattle? Certainly not flying in the "day of" from the east coast so we will be departing CT tomorrow, with a connection in Chicago. I had a lot of Southwest points so I used most of them for three of us (plus an extra seat) and paid for one. Pretty good flight times with a noonish departure and a 5pm local time arrival in Seattle. We will be staying at a hotel near the airport given the arrival time and probably UBER to the port Friday morning. We have a 10:30 arrival time and from reading the other reports, it sounds like a zoo on departure day at Pier 91.

 

Still some packing to do and one more look at "the list" to make sure I don't forget something that I think I need.  

 

 

mac_tlc

Whoopee! I'm aboard for the ride...skimmed right over this thread the last few days & today realized it was 2 of my fav cruisers!!!

Great ship, great itineary & great company--should be a GREAT trip! 

Mom & I sailed SV on Edge in '21 & loved it!!

[KKB]

21 hours ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

I sailed once out of Vancouver and then Seattle both times late July. I don’t know if it was the route or if 8 years made a big difference environmentally (onboard naturalist said in 10 yrs the changes equal 1000yrs) but I felt the Seattle round trip was  less Alaska-like than my Vancouver round trip (fewer snow capped mountains, fewer icy waterfalls, etc.) I’d be curious what others think.  Loved Edge and because we flew on Southwest points, Vancouver would’ve been pricier. 

We sailed SEA-VAN in '22. 

We nearly always fly SWA (usually companion pass, points, discounted gift cards) BUT the flights from OMA to SEA had crappy flight times & weren't that cheap. 

Did Air Alaska to SEA for like $125 each, direct.

VAN-OMA via United was remarkably reasonable as well.

Made me realize I might have blinders on a bit when I book (when we have companion pass that isn't surprising)

NOW--we did carryon only for 10 nights total to not pay luggage fees. 

DH said JUST PAY THE FEES.

NOPE--it became more about the challenge than the $. 

We did it & realized how it simplifies things!

We don't ALWAYS fly COO (free baggage, thx SWA)...but we know we can, no big deal.

 

And yes, VAN is a WONDERFUL city...would like to spend more time than the 2 nights we spent there.

 

Edited August 18 by KKB

[cruisetonowhere10]

3 minutes ago, KKB said:

We sailed SEA-VAN in '22. 

We nearly always fly SWA (usually companion pass, points, discounted gift cards) BUT the flights from OMA to SEA had crappy flight times & weren't that cheap. 

Did Air Alaska to SEA for like $125 each, direct.

VAN-OMA via United was remarkably reasonable as well.

Made me realize I might have blinders on a bit when I book (when we have companion pass that isn't surprising)

NOW--we did carryon only for 10 nights total to not pay luggage fees. 

DH said JUST PAY THE FEES.

NOPE--it became more about the challenge than the $. 

We did it & realized how it simplifies things!

We don't ALWAYS fly COO (free baggage, thx SWA)...but we know we can, no big deal.

 

And yes, VAN is a WONDERFUL city...would like to spend more time than the 2 nights we spent there.

 

We packed for 8 nights on edge out of Seattle in carryons and backpacks only.  I had fun with the challenge too!

[KKB]

Just now, cruisetonowhere10 said:

We packed for 8 nights on edge out of Seattle in carryons and backpacks only.  I had fun with the challenge too!

I did a month in Europe last year COO & backpack, 20 days at sea. 

I was solo & had 3 trains each way from Amsterdam to Hamburg, so I knew another bag would be too much.

It was plenty! 

[doghog]

57 minutes ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

We packed for 8 nights on edge out of Seattle in carryons and backpacks only.  I had fun with the challenge too!

We'll be packing for our upcoming 7 night September Edge Alaska cruise plus a one night pre cruise hotel stay with three checked luggage (26" soft side). 🤣 

[OrtonPark]

Thank you for this - we will be on the Edge in September. Can you please comment on how crowded the ship feels? Is it difficult to find a seat, are there long lines at the coffee shop or a long wait for a drink? 
 

Im trying to set my expectations accordingly. Thank you! 

[doghog]

On 8/17/2024 at 12:56 PM, Stem to Stern said:

Help this Alaska noob understand.  
Edge’s route is NOT via the Inside Passage, correct?  

Why?  Edge too large?

How are the seas?

Meanwhile Summit is taking the Inside route.

Would you agree with my presumption that a first-timer would want to experience the Inside Passage.

 

Our itinerary for our September Alaska cruise on the Edge. Inside passage according to Celerity.  Our Juneau arrival time got changed from 9:AM to 1:30 PM. Bummer!! 

 

Edited August 18 by doghog

[hcat]

poster on another thread said no hot water for shower today on EDGE...

 

How was hot water in ur cabin?

[mac_tlc]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

poster on another thread said no hot water for shower today on EDGE...

 

How was hot water in ur cabin?

I guess we have it all here. Very hot. Haven’t had any issues.

 

mac_tlc

[mac_tlc]

3 hours ago, OrtonPark said:

Thank you for this - we will be on the Edge in September. Can you please comment on how crowded the ship feels? Is it difficult to find a seat, are there long lines at the coffee shop or a long wait for a drink? 
 

Im trying to set my expectations accordingly. Thank you! 

At certain times. Everyone seems to want to be in the same place. 10am at Cafe alBacio, noon at Oceanview Cafe.

 

Other than that, it’s not bad. The bars we have stopped at have been fine, maybe a couple minute wait. 
 

Pool deck has not been an issue — maybe this afternoon it’s crowded since it’s over 80 degrees. Rest of trip will be 50s/60s. 
 

The Beyond in February felt much more crowded. 

mac_tlc

[mauimary]

6 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

I guess we have it all here. Very hot. Haven’t had any issues.

 

mac_tlc

Hope if stats that way as the NW has turned to funky rain and cool this week. 

[mac_tlc]

It has been a beautiful day in Ketchikan! High temps in the low 80s and glorious sunshine. 
 

We did the lumberjack show, which was a lot of fun, and a short city tour and trip to Saxman and the Totem Park.

 

Some photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 18 by mac_tlc

[hcat]

great pics.. does it feel touristy?

[curry767]

I think you must be in a different part of the Matrix. There is no way that is Ketchikan, there is nothing white or grey in the sky!!!

[Georgia_Peaches]

Keep washing your hands. DH and I both came down with Covid after our AK cruise. Didn’t last long…just pesky. 

[mac_tlc]

4 hours ago, hcat said:

great pics.. does it feel touristy?

There were six ships in town today so it was pretty crowded, especially if you wanted to eat on one of the restaurants in town . 
 

We had tickets to the 9:30am lumberjack

show and it was quite the mass of people around the show venue. 
 

Downtown does feel touristy but a few blocks away it did not.

 

mac_tlc

[mac_tlc]

4 hours ago, curry767 said:

I think you must be in a different part of the Matrix. There is no way that is Ketchikan, there is nothing white or grey in the sky!!!

Here you go, some white in the sky as we left and passed our sister the Summit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 19 by mac_tlc

[mac_tlc]

Your Celebrity Today for Day 3:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 19 by mac_tlc