Celebrity Solstice Review
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We just returned from the Inside Passage Alaska cruise departing/returning to Seattle. First let me say that I would go on Celebrity again. The destination of Alaska was wonderful and it was our first time to go there. We had fabulous weather - we packed for cold and wet and didn't need any of it! We were blessed with blue sky and sunshine every day, every port! The locals told us many times how unusual the weather was. I think average temp was 65 degrees in every port.
We took an excursion in every port and they were all just OK. Lot's of $$ for these and I'm not sure worth it. One example was a 3 hour tour in Ketchikan to Misty Fjord National Monument. It was a 55 mile boat trip each way to the destination and the overall tour was geared to natural beauty sight seeing. The cost was $210 each and it was indeed beautiful surroundings. The only thing is - all of the Alaska sight seeing from my balcony was beautiful! I didn't need to pay for this side trip - of course this is just my opinion. The ship going into Tracy Arm Fjord was breath taking. It's real early in the morning like 5:30am when you get into the area and later the ship turns around and heads back out again - so DON"T sleep in and miss some of the icebergs and grandiose beauty!
The things I didn't like regarding the ship was the entertainment. In my opinion it was weak. The first night was a comedian, who was entertaining. Short show maybe 40 minutes. Then 2 nights of cheesy broadway type musical/dance. Then the worst of all (again just my view) was a piano guy singing. Yes, this was THE big entertainment for the night in the huge theatre. Just like you might see in any bar in any town in America. I couldn't believe it. Then the grand show a Cirque Solei type show with acrobats, action, etc. Very good. Then the last night was a so-so comedian again. On past cruises I remembered being pleased and entertained with each evenings choice of shows. In line with my entertainment dissapointment was the fact that the earliest you could reserve dinner time was 5:30pm when the restaurant opened. It was always a 2+ hour meal from start to finish. The entertainment several nights started at 7pm. You could NOT eat and get into the theatre by 7:00 let alone earlier to select a seat. The nights the show(s) started at 8:30 was perfectly doable.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Veranda 2C
The cabin was the best we have had compared to 4 other cruise the last being 10 years ago. We were pleasantly surprised by the size and delighted with the appearance. I couldn't have asked for more for a "standard" cabin. It was our first time to have a "verandah" and was delightful and pretty much a must have for an Alaskan cruise. Too much beautiful scenery to see and it is much better off your own private balcony than vying for railing view on the public viewing decks.