Alaska with Celebrity Cruises

Alaska Cruise – Celebrity Solstice, July 2024

Our first cruise was back in 2000 to the Caribbean, and I remember my husband saying, “We should go to Alaska!” We were with two other couples, and the response was, “Alaska is for OLD people!”

That may have been true back then, but it is certainly no longer true. This was our first visit to Alaska (only took me 60 years), but I know it will NOT be our last!

We sailed round trip from Vancouver for seven nights on the Celebrity Solstice in mid-July 2024. Our itinerary: sailing from Vancouver, day at sea, Icy Strait Point (Hoonah), Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Ketchikan, day at sea, Vancouver. I had researched a few different lines, but this itinerary and the dates worked best for the two couples (my brother and sister-in-law joined us). It was Sunday to Sunday, so we were able to fly in a day early and spend a bit of time in the beautiful city of Vancouver. And yes, we ALWAYS recommend flying in at least one day early and two to three if you can make it work, especially if you are sailing in Europe, Asia or beyond.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon and checked into our hotel, the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre which is downtown. Jon and Angela were already there so we took an Uber over to Granville Island, which was not far. There are lots of restaurants and shops and we spent a few hours walking around and had drinks and appetizers at a restaurant. We then went back to an Italian place near our hotel called Italian Kitchen and had a fabulous dinner.

We had requested the last boarding group on Sunday, so we had a leisurely morning at the hotel and then headed over to the cruise terminal to board our home for the next week, the lovely Celebrity Solstice. It was about a 10-minute ride to the cruise terminal from our hotel. Our Uber from the hotel cost us CAD $16.00. Boarding was very easy and quick – less than 15 minutes. This is most likely because most passengers like to board early and get their party started.

After checking in at our muster station, we were able to access our stateroom. We had staterooms next door to one another, and we were in Prime AquaClass staterooms on deck 15. It was a decent size stateroom, and our bed was near the sliding glass door that led out to our balcony. We liked that, especially on sea days. It was nice to lie on our bed, reading or napping, and looking out at the gorgeous scenery. This was mostly after Monday, as it was overcast and very foggy. Not much to see that day.

There is a lot of storage in this stateroom, which is good because I, of course, overpacked. Because we were in Alaska, we had to bring coats, gloves, hats and warm clothes. Fortunately, there was adequate drawer and closet space and we stored our suitcases under our bed. Our bed and bedding were exceptional. I slept like a baby every night and I

do not sleep as well at home. It may have also been that we left our sliding glass door open a bit each night, so we enjoyed the cool air and the lovely sound of the sea as we slept.

I did buy a package of those metal hooks on Amazon (Neosmuk Magnetic Hooks – package of 10 for $6.99). These attach to the stateroom walls, and we hung our coats, sweatshirts and hats on them and that freed up more closet and drawer space. I also bought a travel power strip with a five-foot cord on Amazon (One Beat) for $9.50. The Solstice is an older ship and there were no outlets next to our bed on either side, so this came in handy.

The bathroom was small with okay storage, but I wish there had been more. The shower was very, very small. That is probably my only complaint regarding our stateroom.

We had a lovely cabin steward who took care of us all week. We did not request much, but my husband likes to have a full ice bucket in the room later in the day. After requesting this on our first day, our cabin steward brought one by each day, later in the afternoon, without ever being asked again. Great service! Our room was cleaned each day in a timely manner.

Being in an AquaClass stateroom, we had access to a restaurant called Blu which was only for AquaClass guests. It was a lovely restaurant with very good service. We were able to order off their menu and also the menu from the Main Dining Room. We had dinner there two nights and one night in the Main Dining Room. Blu was also open for breakfast. This restaurant does not require a reservation.

On our second night on the ship (first full day at sea), we had dinner in one of the specialty restaurants – Murano (French cuisine). We had purchased a package of two specialty dining restaurants a couple of months before our cruise and made reservations. We were not able to get the same time as Jon and Ang but once onboard, we were able to correct this immediately, so we had a table for four at the same time in both specialty restaurants. If you need help with shore excursions, you can go to their shore excursion desk once onboard, and they can help you with anything that needs to be adjusted. All done quite efficiently and with smiles on the crew’s faces.

Murano was quite impressive. I ordered the lobster, and it was prepared tableside, flambeed in cognac and served in a Dijon cream sauce. It was fun to watch this tableside preparation by our waiter and his assistant. We ordered the potato-laced French Turbot for the table which was melt in your mouth delicious. We also had dinner at the Italian specialty restaurant called Tuscan Grill. We enjoyed it so much that we booked it again for our last night of our cruise. Just like at Murano, the food was delicious, and our waiter was fantastic. We requested him for our second dinner there and had another night of exceptional service.

I was quite impressed with the buffet on the Solstice. It is called the Oceanview Café. We typically had breakfast there and lunch on our days at sea. The amount of food was incredible – there was something for everyone and it would be impossible to leave hungry.

The desserts on the last day were a work of art. During lunch, the entire culinary crew walked through the restaurant as all the guests stood up and clapped and cheered for them. I will admit it brought a tear (or two) to my eye.

John and I did not go to any big shows on the ship. Jon and Ang went to one and we met them for dinner afterwards. The four of us did go to see the stand-up comedian one night before dinner and that was entertaining. I would highly recommend Silent Disco – so much fun!

Hubbard Glacier: all I can say is WOW WOW WOW! We visited Hubbard Glacier on our third full day on the cruise. We were there for four hours. All AquaClass stateroom guests were invited to the spa to view the glacier. We went there as we were sailing towards the glacier. The crew was serving mimosas and Bailey’s hot chocolate! We quickly realized it would be a while before we got close so we went to the Oceanview Café for breakfast. When we returned about 30 minutes later, our Captain had gotten the ship very close to Hubbard Glacier. The four of us, and everyone else at the spa, stood there in awe of this magnificent glacier. Hubbard Glacier is the largest tidewater glacier in North America. I had never seen anything like it in my life. We spent the next four hours there and were treated to calving many times. Calving is when large chunks of ice break off and fall into the sea. It is an amazing sight that I will never forget. We began the morning in layers (it’s all about the layers when in Alaska): I wore a long sleeve shirt, a t-shirt over that, a sweatshirt over that and my coat over that, along with a hat and gloves. As the morning turned into early afternoon and the sun came out, the temperatures really warmed up. As we sailed away from Hubbard Glacier, we were now sitting on the top deck of the ship, and I was in cropped work-out pants and my t-shirt. Don’t forget your sunscreen when you go to Alaska. When the sun is out, it is very strong!

We did a shore excursion in every port; two through Celebrity and one I booked myself through an outside company. In Icy Strait Point, we had lunch at a rustic place called The Cookhouse that had one of the best fish and chips meals I have had in my life! I had their specialty, Halibut and Chips. The fish was very fresh and fried to perfection.

After lunch we met up with the group for our shore excursion: Wildlife in Spasski River Valley and Bear Search. We rode in a school bus to this area with about 25 other people and our guide. This was a very informative tour, although our guide had everyone scared of the bears and the sink holes before we even got off the bus! We only saw one bear very far off in the distance. It had rained all morning, so the forest was beautiful and smelled incredibly fresh.

Juneau was our second port, and I booked an e-bike tour for John and I through iRide Alaska. This company hosts electric bike and segway tours. We did their Rainforest E-Bike Adventure. We had two college girls as our guides. Both of them come back to Juneau each summer to work for this company and they were fun and so informative. It was a 3-hour tour and designed for any fitness level (but you must know how to ride a bike!) We saw Mendenhall Glacier, old growth forest and the world’s most northern rainforest. I have never seen trees like this in my life. This was a very special tour – everyone in our group loved it!

Our last shore excursion was through Celebrity: Wilderness Exploration and Crab Feast. We boarded a sightseeing vessel with catch and return Dungeness crab pots. Our guide showed us

how this was done and then some people lent a hand. He showed us these crabs, and we got to hold one if we wanted to. Who knew crabs have fur?!? It is true. Then we released them gently back into the water. We then arrived at the historic Geroge Inlet Lodge for an authentic Alaskan crab feast. This included crab legs, salad and a delicious cheesecake drenched in Alaskan blueberries. There was a shell stacking contest which was lots of fun.

Our last day (Saturday) was a day at sea, sailing back to beautiful Vancouver. We relaxed and enjoyed the ship. I had read some reviews that the ship was dated but I found her quite charming and well cared for. The crew on this ship was top notch. Each and every one of them went out of their way to make sure we had the very best time. The Solstice is going into dry dock in early 2026 and will undergo an extensive renovation. This is happening from January to March of 2026, and I imagine she will then be ready to shine for another season in Alaska.

I would highly recommend an Alaska cruise with Celebrity! It is one of the best trips John and I have taken in our 33 years together. I can’t wait to go back!