This was our second cruise, the first having been some years ago on Carnival to the Bahamas. Everyone had recommended we cruise the inland passage, so we flew from Florida to Seattle in early June to board Celebrity Solstice. We got there a couple of days early because we had not visited Seattle before, and found the La Quinta on 8th Avenue centrally located, and at a good rate. They arranged transport to the dock.

The ship is gorgeous. We were in 7151, which is port side, right off the forward elevators. I had worried that the noise from the elevators would be audible, but we never heard anything. Furthermore, the forward elevators were rarely crowded, so it turned out to be a perfect room location. Packing for an Alaskan cruise, when you live in Florida and are flying cross country to board the ship, is complicated. If you pack a heavy coat, you won't have room in the suitcase for much more, and you'll pay excess baggage charges to the airlines. So we packed for layers - lots of layers. Celebrity should do passengers a favor and rent heavy jackets, like they rent tuxedos for formal night.

Ketchikan is cute, and we took the tour that included the tribal village. We didn't book it thru Celebrity, but it seemed to be the same tour regardless of where you booked it. We saw bears in the wild, totem poles, etc. Bear in mind that it rains in Ketchikan about 300 days a year, so expect soggy conditions. Read more