Nice first cruise

Celebrity Solstice Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 54

Overall rating:

5 out of 5
Verified Review
Celebrity Solstice

7 Night Alaska Tracy Arm Fjord (Seattle Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 17, 2016

Ship: Celebrity Solstice

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8255

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

This was our first cruise, and we did not know what to expect. The ship itself was great, just the right size for beginners with really polite and attentive crew.

We had a veranda cabin on Deck 8, and our cabin was adequate for 3 of us. It was not huge, but well appointed with lots of storage. The bed was comfortable,  and everything was kept very clean. The carpet was a bit worn, but who cares when you are in Alaska. Loved our cabin attendants.

 

The food was ok, but nothing super to write home about. We had 5 dinners in Grand Epernay, tried Tuscan Grill once, and Ocean View once for dinner. We had most of our breakfasts and lunches in Ocean View too. The food quality was good, with a lot of variety to choose from, but the taste was hit and miss. Some dishes were too salty, but most dishes were too bland. Most desserts had great eye appeal, yet lacked taste - which was really disappointing.

 

Service was a bit slow in the MDR. A lunch should not last 2 hrs. And finding seating during peak times was a bit painful in Ocean View. Room service for breakfast was convenient on shore days.

 

Beverage package was very handy too. Bottled water to take to our cabin and on shore was much appreciated. Wine selection during dinner was ok, but cocktails had only a trace amount of alcohol in them.

 

We took few excursions with the cruise line to utilize our on board credit. Maybe we did not pick the right ones, but we were not too impressed, especially in Ketchikan. Our guide kept pointing out things like the library or bank in the " highlights" tour. Nothing substantial about the town was mentioned, which was dissapointing. And in Juneau for Mt. Roberts Tramway: the tram up runs until 9 pm, but everything other than the gift shop closes about 6:30 pm. We had saved that for the last, which turned out to be another disappointment to go up there and find stuff closed. I wish that it was mentioned on the tickets.

 

The highlight of our trip were the wonderful Nature Talks given by Brent Nixon. Very educating, entertaining and thought provoking.

 

 

 

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Clean cabin, well appointed with great attendants.

Ship tip

If there are 3 or more people in your party, during peak times find a table first, and take turns getting your food. We have seen masses of people circulating around with plates in their hands. Especially during peak lunch hours it takes some time to find seating.

Ports of call

Seattle, Washington

5 out of 5

Ketchikan, Alaska

3 out of 5
Ketchikan looks very run down. We took a city highlights tour that took us to Saman village, drove us around a bit and took us to the Lumberjack show. It really wasn't anything noteworthy. Our tour guide was friendly, but didn't appear too much in the know.

Cruise Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska

5 out of 5
I really wanted to go into Tracy Arm, but the captain decided to go into Endicott arm for safety reasons. We took an excursion with Allen Marine tours that took us up close to the glacier, and we could see parts of the glacier broke and fall - which was awe-inspiring, but also a bit sad. The catamaran was comfortable and clean with friendly crew and an enthusiastic naturalist. The cruise ship left before the catamaran to dock in Juneau, and the ride back from the glacier back to our cruise ship in Juneau was rather long, but we saw a bear and a few whales (nothing special though, just backs and tails).

Juneau, Alaska

3 out of 5

Skagway, Alaska

5 out of 5
We took a private excursion to Yukon. Had a great time.

Cruise Inside Passage, Alaska

3 out of 5

Victoria, British Columbia

3 out of 5
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