Our first time in Alaska! We had a wonderful time with a wonderful itinerary on Celebrity Solstice. Embarkation in the port of Seattle went very smoothly. We were checked in by 10:30am and actually on board by 11:10am. We were first in line at the Shore Excursion Desk on Deck 3 which opens at 11:30am to book a few final shore excursions using our onboard credit. We stopped by the buffet, sat in the sun on the Sunset Bar and in our cabins at 1pm. Our luggage arrived in our cabins before 2:30pm. We unpacked, went to the boat drill and since we had an aft sunset veranda, we stayed in our cabin drinking the bottle of wine we brought on board with us, enjoying in private the incredibly gorgeous sailaway from Seattle, taking in the stunning views of Mt. Rainier, downtown Seattle, the islands of the Juan de Fuca Strait - picture perfect!! Then, we headed down to dinner.

Typically, we sail Aqua Class as we very much enjoy the dining experience of Blu, but, there are no Aqua Class cabins on Solstice Class ships, that are sunset verandas - meaning there are no cabins off the back of the ship that are in the Aqua Class category on the Solstice Class ships. We have come to find that we love the sunset verandas - the cabins off the back of the ship - due to the sweeping views, you have your own private 180 degree vista-view! (we sailed away from Venice in a sunset veranda, WOW!!!). So what we have done twice now, is book a sunset veranda in order to have the stunning views, and book Select Dining (same menu as the Main Dining Room, but you have flexibility as to seating and timing). We have come to love Select Dining (ok, no, not as much as Blu in Aqua Class, but we are compromising to get the views from the aft sunset veranda cabins!). We have found that the Select Dining maitre d' works very hard to ensure that you are seated in the same station every night so that you establish a relationship with the server in that station - if you want to, that is, as you can request to sit anywhere in the Select area, which is very big. Saara, the maitre d' on Solstice for this cruise, was outstanding, very patient, accommodating, adept. When you think about what she has to manage, the huge number of guests, it is mind boggling - I am sure that the Select Dining area is the largest fine dining "restaurant" anywhere, with people making so many demands - she really did an amazing job, so much juggling. And the menus - well, I sailed Aqua Class on Eclipse only a month ago for two full weeks in the Baltic.

And, truly, there are many many menu item crossovers between Blu and the main dining room. I don't think people realize that. Flavor is of course tantamount in all of the dining venues on board. But the menus in Blu and the Main Dining Room are very similar, many menu items are the same. The main dining room menu has gotten very "healthy" - but just like in Blu, you can order "unhealthy" items that are richer, but in general, the menu items are prepared with good health, great flavor in mind. Our server, Sanyo, was exceptional - he would always bring us the vegetarian menu along with the regular menu. He also realized quickly that we love authentic Indian food, not the "dumbed down" American mild version of it. Who knew (not us) that one of the specialty menus that Celebrity makes every night, is an Indian menu! An Indian menu, separate from the regular menu, with several options under every category. Authentic Indian food, filled with flavor and heat! Sanyo would usually bring my husband a side dish of veg that was featured on the Indian menu, every night, as an accompaniment to his entree. Excellent service, excellent food. Read more