Great cruise

The Solstice is a great choice.  The Captain of the Solstice does two announcements per day, very informative and a very funny guy.  The ship is exceptionally clean and service is terrific.  The Alaskan scenery is absolutely worth every penny paid for this cruise.  

From a dining standpoint, the only real downside is the 24 hour "buffet" or Cafe as it is referred to aboard the Solstice is not great.  The selection was wonderful, but every meal there was cold, the only exception being the cooked to order items such as pizza, omelets, or stir fry.  And the experience of the Cafe was like a bad cafeteria in terms of crowds and rude passengers. Don't stand in the way of the mobs, they'll run you over. 

The Main Dining was fabulous.  Service and food were excellent, menu choice was more limited than the buffet, but always very good choices, meals were hot and delicious.

The itinerary was a very good one.  Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and of course the Tracy Arm Fjord were spectacular.  The cruise out of Skagway is awe-inspiring!  The captain made sure we spent quality time at the glacier in the Fjord and even did 360's to make sure everyone got a great view. We had sunshine in each port, so we were lucky in that aspect as we saw mountain tops and fjords that are typically cloud covered.  All three ports were fantastic, very clean small towns, albeit with way too many jewelry stores per capita (found out the cruise lines own the jewelry stores, no wonder!). 

The only downside to the itinerary was that both the cruise-line and Marriott showed the itinerary map as leaving Seattle then traveling north through Vancouver BC area and the Queen Charlotte Strait, but we went through the Strait of Juan de Fuca and out to sea instead.  No explanation, just went to sea.  We booked this itinerary specifically for the opportunity to travel next to Vancouver BC and the Queen Charlotte Strait as this was our first cruise and we wanted to get our "sea-legs" before hitting the open ocean, and we wanted to pass through that area for the scenery.  

We would recommend both Celebrity an/or Marriott for booking cruises. Other than the points earned from Marriott, there really is no reason to book through them rather than through Celebrity as the prices are the same.

Overall the cruise was fantastic.