Celebrity Solstice Alaska Review 2022 - Tips and Ship Score! 

Thank you so much! We had a great cruise and it was stunning. On our next Alaska cruise, we will look for a good whale watching excursion and book another glacier hike experience. Our hike was canceled due to fog and visibility. Celebrity was excellent! Thanks for watching!

So happy that it was helpful, Sandy! I hope that you have a great cruise! Consider adding whale watching to your trip - we recently determined that it was something we regretted not doing.

Thanks Evan! Aqua Class is going to be great! Spend time in the thermal suite and enjoy Blu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We were just mentioning last night that we wished we would have done that excursion at the glacier and went closer and met the ship in Juneau that afternoon. Also we missed out on the Helicopter landing on the glacier with hike due to weather. Budget for those and book them early! Thanks so much for watching! You're going to have an amazing time!

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!

So glad that you enjoyed it and thanks for watching! We have done several sailings on the Solstice Class ships so let me know if you have any additional questions.

The Solstice is a great ship as are all the other Celebrity Solstice class ships. This Alaskan cruise was excellent and I highly recommend it! Thanks for watching!

Good for you Karen! The Dawes Glacier up close looked so cool! That should be amazing. The helicopter + sled dogs is also a bucket list event. Very smart to book early to secure your spot. Enjoy and thanks for watching!

We are booked for September 2023 also on the Solstice!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks so much for watching! My travel advisor recommended the corner Sky Suite and it was really amazing for an AK cruise. That's so disappointing getting food poisoning and with no apology!!! We too felt that it was still one our best cruises and Celebrity is still our GO TO for major cruise vacations. I'm curious, were you able to visit Skagway since they closed the pier Celebrity and Royal use?

That looks like a great cruise! You will have a great time for sure! If you have a questions please feel free to reach out to me. Thanks for watching!

Thank you so much! I'm really glad that you enjoyed the content. Celebrity is a great cruise line and always delivers a strong product.

I think that June is a good time to go too. I usually really love food on Celebrity but I think it was mainly the Oceanview Café that disappointed. I wish that the Canada stop was not mandatory so that they can replace that with another day port like Sitka. It was still one our most enjoyable cruises. Thanks for watching!

I will be traveling next June 16 to 23 staying in Aqua class. Its been a number of years since been to Alaska, around 15 yrs or so and seems there will be lots of difference on board.

​@@trudymeyers2386 June is a really great month to go and is about the same time we went. Bring your flexibility and you will have a fantastic time! The Persian Garden is a great place to see the Fjords and nature pass by! ENJOY! Make sure you also do Tuscan Grille since we feel that is one of the standout locations on the Solstice.

You'll love the aft corner Sky Suite and make sure that you take advantage of the access to Michaels Club and the concierge service. The young ladies at the desk there are amazing. For all food sensitivities, do not hesitate to speak to your retreat host or the concierges in Michaels Club to speak to the Chef at Luminae as well as any other venue that you are visiting. They will work with you and make sure that you have an amazing experience. Bon Voyage!

Hopefully not on deck 12 or you might have some noise from the ocean view Café

@@chr.b.4552 11, thankfully!

@@loveistheonlyword I think that 12 and 10 also have the window washing equipment as a small visual obstruction on the Solstice.

Thanks so much for watching, Stacey! It was really surprising to us that the food was not up to Celebrity standards - we have done 9 Celebrity sailings. I always bring a USB hub and a European adapter with USB ports for all ships but I agree the newer ships have more charging options. I am very happy (and jealous) that you were able to do the helicopter glacier tour. We ate in Luminae most meals which was very good but the buffet didn't do it for me either. Next time we both agreed that we will do more whale watching or hiking excursions.

I haven’t been on her denver 2017 she must be getting old but that’s fine with me

We have not been on the Infinity yet. We were supposed to sail her through Italy and Greece but canceled due to pandemic shut down. Thanks for watching!

We have sailed both as well. We love the solstice class. Thanks for watching!

Go Hoosiers! I'm glad that you liked the video. Are you planning an AK Cruise? There is so much to decide. Good Luck and thanks for watching!

@@seemoreseascruises3791 Go Hoosiers! We will. I will plan a cruise trip eventually with my boyfriend. I am sure your video convince him to do it soon. Thank you!

They do seem to push that drink package if you do not have it. The "All Included" has limited that from what I have noticed. I agree with you that the Aqua Class is not worth it. Blu is nice but going to the Thermal Suite once was enough for me. Glad you had a wonderful cruise! Thanks for watching!

I am sure you will have a great cruise! Our suite # was hard to forget, 1666. Thanks for watching!

I am so glad that you found it helpful! We sailed in the middle of June. Your weather will be mixed and maybe a bit cooler so plan on layers and rain gear. I think you made a great choice for the glacier boat excursion! I wished I had realized that was an option before we sailed. Our helicopter landing and hike on Mendenhall Glacier was canceled due to weather so that would have been great for the morning. Thanks so much for watching and commenting! Please let me know if you have any further questions.

We stayed two days before and one day after. Both hotels were quite expensive actually. It had been several years since I visited Seattle. If I could give you any advice would stay up near the space needle since I think hotels were cheaper around there and it is closer to the port. The problem with that is that it would be a long walk to the water front and Pikes Market area. The hills are VERY steep and we took an Uber back to the hotel sometimes. Seattle is a great city but the downtown hotels are expensive. I wish I could be more helpful. Have a great cruise and thanks for watching!

Thanks John! We did get decent service while in port but it did fluctuate depending on the location. Always remember to put in back on airplane mode when not in port. Even though it is the coastline of the US, the signals don't reach too far and you will be roaming. Also, it seems that the pier Celebrity uses in Skagway is closed due to rock slides so expect a change of itinerary. Enjoy! It's really breathtaking scenery.

I'm it right now, be sure to have fun at the free arcade.

I looked for my daily planners in my file cabinet but it does not look like I saved them. On a 7 Night Celebrity sailing, night 2 and night 5 are normally the chic nights. On this cruise, I think it was actually night 2 and night 6 because they are days at sea. I booked friends on the same itinerary and I am pretty sure that is correct. On an Alaska cruise, the dress up component is not as prevalent than on others. The dress is more casual since everyone is focused on comfortable attire while they enjoy the passing beauty of the area and coastlines. You can go all out and get some great pictures (we rotate ours) or just cover the basics of cocktail dress for ladies and kakis and polo for men. You might want to pack one decent pair of shoes. Boots, layers and rain gear are the priority when packing! You will love it! Thanks so much for watching!

@@seemoreseascruises3791 Thank you so much for the reply

Had a very easy debarkation. We did the self assist walk off which made it even easier. The port has relationships with the airport. They’re managed by the same company. You might be able to secure a transfer to the airport through your cruise ship. I know that you can check your luggage at the port for the airport. Good luck, and thanks so much for watching!

Yes, this was an aft corner Sky Suite. It was cabin 1666 starboard facing land. The balcony wraps around to give you side and aft views. Starboard is better heading North through Alaska. We had no soot issues at all. I have had that on other ships too. Thanks for watching!

If you have the Wi-Fi package you can normally text each other. You can also use several messaging apps with the Wi-Fi package. Otherwise, most cruise lines have a messaging function in their own app. This is not as robust as I would like but when it works, this can be a solution. You do not need to have the Wi-Fi package to use the cruise line app while onboard. They provide that function as part of your cruise fare.

Congratulations on your first Celebrity Cruise! 42 Cruises? WOW! You will love the ship. The inside pool is called the solarium and it is adults only and open to all adults with no extra fee. There are two hot tubs in that area as well that are not an extra charge. We found that a cabin on the starboard side of the ship is best for this itinerary, especially if you have a veranda stateroom. If you have the anytime dining in place of early or late seating, go into cruise planner and make your main dining room reservations now for the time that you want each day. It is easier access to a reserved table without waiting in the walk up line. Enjoy your time! I am happy to answer any other questions that you might have. Thanks for watching!

That is awful. This mandatory Canadian stop is so outdated and troublesome. Did you have any chance to get off the ship in that short of time?

We got off for a lame city tour on a bus with a stop to get coffee at Tim Horton's. No stores were open except the one at the port. It was so crowded that we would never gotten back on by the all aboard time.

I believe it was a Captain's Club event for Select level and above. The staterooms had the same naturalist commentating on the TV as well as in the Sky Observation Lounge. Thanks for watching Mel82!

For an Alaska cruise, there were several shows throughout the week - twice a night. Normally there are two or three production shows, a comedian and several lectures during the day regarding upcoming ports from a Naturalist who also narrated our morning through the fjords via the stateroom TV and headsets on the front deck. He also broadcast via the PA system up in the observation lounge. I remember the shows being very good and the comedian was also very good. The theater is very large and has two entrances on each of the two floors. We tend to sit upstairs along an aisle in case we want to exit before the show ends. There is also a great deal of music and performers throughout the ship. I don't like to film in the theater but there are few bad seats and Celebrity does an amazing job at entertainment.

Have a great cruise and thanks for watching!

This was in mid June! It gets pretty packed in July & August. Thanks for watching!

That is CRAZY! I sure hope that you were able to leave Vancouver. I would assume that they were doing everything they could to get that fuel barge out of there. I have never heard anything like that before. Wow.

@@seemoreseascruises3791 no nothing is being done. Our cabin is right above it. No activity at all. Barge just left behind attached to our cruise ship. No workers, no movement. 13 hours stuck in harbour so far. Last communication from captain was 9 hours ago.

@@maryhhome I just found this article " bc.ctvnews.ca/strike-action-by-tugboat-workers-strands-cruise-ship-in-vancouver-passengers-1.6046681 " It seems that it is the tugboat strike and the company also controls the fuel barges and other supporting functions. I am so sorry for you guys. Celebrity has to make this up to you since all of your logistics are now completely out of sync.

@@seemoreseascruises3791 thank you! 20 hours in port. Finally leaving for Alaska!

Celebrity is refunding 1.5 days of cruise. Skipping IcyStraight port.

We booked all of our excursions on the Celebrity website cruise planner several months in advance. The Misty Fjords Flightseeing sea plane was $279 each. Tickets to the Lumberjack show were $49 each. The Mendenhall Glacier helicopter tour, landing and guided walk was $339 each. The White Pass Scenic Railway was $134 each. The Hot Glass Class for one guest was $120. These are much more expensive than tours in the Caribbean and are in high demand so book early. We had a ton of onboard credit applied from our canceled Italy Greek Isles cruise due to Covid. We used our onboard credit to pay for most of these. Alaska excursions are very expensive so plan your budget accordingly.

We sailed the Celebrity Solstice in mid June. The weather was just getting to be a bit warmer however there were days that we needed the winter coat, hat and gloves. May through Sept is normally the AK season for cruises with July & August being the most popular. Ports will be less crowded at the beginning and end of the season. It was a bucket list experience! Good luck and thanks for watching!

@@seemoreseascruises3791 thank you for the reply.. appreciate the info.

Gary, I think that is a very fair criticism for a review. This cruise was more about the destination than the dining and was booked a few years ago when our Italy / Greece cruise was canceled due to the pandemic. We did not go into this with the intent of posting a review. Also a major food sensitivity is more easily controlled when dealing with a smaller staff and attention to details in Luminae. I completely respect your comment and agree that it is a good one. Thanks for watching!

Yes, you are correct. When I do my reviews, they are for the complete sailing from my personal experience which includes the ship condition and design, cabins, entertainment, ports of call, food and service. The Solstice has been a mainstay asset for Celebrity positioned in the Pacific to service Alaska for several years. The Edge will be joining the Alaska team next season. That is why the title of this video includes "Solstice Alaska Review." You can still take away much of what the ship has to offer but I get your point. Have a great transpacific crossing - this is a great ship for that. Thanks for the comment and for watching!

Thank you so much! I am very glad that you enjoyed it!