On our 13th cruise we chose Celebrity for the 1st time. We are diamond on Royal Caribbean. They gave us Emerald status which only got us a fast embarkation process. There were 4 of us all in the 60+ age range. We don't party down all night long but we do stay up late and frequent clubs, bars, and the casino. We went into the lounge on the 14th (?) deck of the Solstice about 10:00 p.m. one evening. There was one couple in the whole place and a 3 piece band playing The Tennessee Waltz. Since two of us are from Tennessee we appreciated that for about 30 seconds and left the "hot spot" on the ship. We found service excellent except for the main dining room which had the rudest waiters we had encountered on any cruise except for Charlie and Jesus. We did the anytime dining and we felt rushed and an intrusion of their day. The food was mediocre at best and we have had some lousy food on other cruises so this ship would get a 5 out of 10.

Alaska was cool, dreary, and the ports definitely were not what we had anticipated. Maybe we expected too much as this was the most expensive cruise we had ever taken. We did enjoy whale watching from the balcony one evening and a shore excursion that cost over $400 for two to the Sawyer Glaciers. It was well worth the $400. It was the only thing we saw that made us think we had left home. We took the White Pass Railroad excursion and while it was fun the scenery was a lot of trees and brush. We saw a bit of snow capped mountains in the distance. The ride up on the bus was much more scenic.

All in all we will never sail Celebrity again nor will we cruise to Alaska. Alaska should be seen inland from what I am told. The ship is very beautiful, but extremely quiet and dull. If that is what you like, sail the Solstice. As for us, we need a bit more excitement.