May 2015 Celebrity Solstice-Alaska

Celebrity Solstice Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 15

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Celebrity Solstice

7 Night Alaska Tracy Arm Fjord (Seattle Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 08, 2015

Ship: Celebrity Solstice

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 1001

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

Beautiful ship, incredible scenery, wonderful weather, attentive service, very good food (in main dining room/specialty restaurants).  Ship passengers predominantly rural, middle Americans with casual disregard for manners and social graces. Ports were strictly geared to 'kitch' souvenir shops and tourist trap restaurants.   Shore excursions were offensively over-priced and seemed designed to process as many tourists as possible in any given time frame.

 

 

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
First-time on a cruise so, seemed like a small cabin. Definitely okay for one person but would be hard-pressed to occupy with another. Good selection of free on-demand movies, nicely appointed but compact bathroom. Thanks to the veranda, didn't feel claustrophobic.

Ship tip

The full buffet had a nice selection of breads, salads, main dishes as well as specialty foods -- Asian stir-fry/Indian (India), etc. -- as well as plenty of fruits & beverages. Try not to call it the "Sneeze-Guard" Cafe or converse with your mouth packed with food.

Ports of call

Ketchikan, Alaska

3 out of 5
If you like souvenir shops, you'll love 'Kitch-i-kan'

Cruise Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska

5 out of 5
Breath-taking beauty. Incredibly memorable.

Juneau, Alaska

3 out of 5
Souvenirs + Mt Roberts Tram -- You can see Russia from the crest..!

Skagway, Alaska

3 out of 5
Don't forget to visit a souvenir shop...

Cruise Inside Passage, Alaska

5 out of 5
Awe-inspiring beauty. Magnificent.

Victoria, British Columbia

3 out of 5
Practice speaking Canadian with locals, eh?
Was this review helpful? 15

5 Comments

Bubba54    9 years ago

Thanks for writing the review. I agree with you that the ports are a shopping mega. But outside the ports is just beautiful. We get out of town. Most of the time we just find a hike to go on. 

shadow8800    9 years ago

I was also on the same cruise the Solstice on May 8th and it was my first cruise as well. I agree with you on a few things, the staff was friendly and the food was good. The room we had, a balcony room on deck 10 was perfectly ok for us and had plenty of space. I did think the buffet was a bit chaotic but over all we were happy with our first cruise. Most of the folks we met on board were very nice people. I am sorry your experience was not what you thought it should be. Maybe next time will be better if you choose to cruise again. Best wishes

JusMe    9 years ago

If you felt the bath and cabin were small on the Solstice good thing you did not go on some of the old ships that had 119 sq ft interior cabins.  Yes Alaska is expensive to do excursions and most of the close in shopping is tourist traps for t-shirts,  but that is true of just about every major port.

I can suggest on your next cruise to book a suite if you need more room.  The booking sight I use shows the ship floor plans and tells you how large the different cabin types are.

Best wishes that your next cruise will be all you want it to be. 

glomarrone    9 years ago

Sorry to read that the cruise did not live up to your expectations. I hope that your next cruise goes smoother for you.

noname111    9 years ago

Thank you for posting your review.  I about spit out my coffee with your comment "you can see Russia...." very cute.

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