My wife and I are in our mid-sixties. This was our third Celebrity cruise and our first time to Alaska. Celebrity has, over the years, provided us with some of the most memorable times of our lives. We also tend to see the positive in most experiences rather than seek out the negative. We have no association with any cruise line or travel enterprise. Having made that disclosure, I will proceed with this review.

We live in Tallahassee, Florida so we had to fly to Atlanta and then on to Seattle. We arrived at SEA-TAC about 3 pm, grabbed our bags and took the shuttle over to the Marriott across the street for a night’s stay and to relax before our relaxing cruise. The next day we took a shuttle from the hotel to Pier 91 for $12 per person. Easy and fast.

Embarkation was orderly and without delay even although it was crowded. As usual, we went on board Solstice and sat with our champagne in the lounge waiting on our room. Not long afterwards we went to our Concierge room 2106 and sat on the large balcony for a while before heading to the required safety muster in one of the dining rooms. Our tradition is to get to the outdoor Sunset Bar at the back of the ship for departure. The Sunset is pretty crowded at departure times. The weather in Seattle was perfect in every way. Mount Rainier, 60 miles away, was as clearly visible tall in the sky over the water. Departure was everything we hoped for and more with serene water and beautiful sights...new experiences for new memories. Read more