Alaskan cruise on Soltice

I've heard good/bad things about the Soltice. Just any thoughts, like the food, entertainment, and do they have a naturalist on board, is it better to book a verandah or an Aqua Class? Time of season to go were looking at 2016.

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Go in August...

Veranda is fine unless you want the amenities of Aqua class. BLU restaurant? read up on the amenities and see if those make a difference to you.

I've heard good/bad things about the Soltice. Just any thoughts, like the food, entertainment, and do they have a naturalist on board, is it better to book a verandah or an Aqua Class? Time of season to go were looking at 2016.

 

 

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We've done three Alaska cruises on the Solstice in the past two years (two in AQ, one 1B verandah), and will be on her Vancouver/Hawaii run in Sept 2015 (again in AQ)...we love the Solstice! She had a great naturalist on board, but that doesn't mean he'll be there in 2016. If price is close I would choose an AQ room every time because we LOVE Blu, but the other AQ amenities don't do anything for me. Just note that the Alaska itinerary on the Solstice is more "blah" than on the M-class out of Vancouver (IMO). For us, though, it's all about complete relaxation on the ship more than the itinerary. Again just personal opinion, but I would choose an S-class over an M-class everytime (but others feel just as strongly the other way). Our best weather was in May, but of course you can't predict weather. However, we especially enjoy going in September at the end of the season because most kids are back in school and just about everything is on sale. :) Enjoy your cruise no matter what you pick!

DW and I sailed on Solstice in June to Alaska with our daughter, son-in-law and 2 grandchildren. It is a very nice ship, but too large for my tastes. I much prefer the M class ships to the S class. One of the main reasons is that DW and I love to dance on board. The Solstice had a lot of their dancing at the base of the stairs in the main lobby. They also had ship's photographers in the same place. It seemed ridiculous to me that they would have a dance floor at the base of the main stairs. People were trying to get from one level to the next as others were trying to get formal night photographs and still others trying to dance - all in the same space. The buffet was very busy and it was difficult to find tables for all 6 of us. The specialty restaurants were very good. Jerry of Jerry and Lady Kathryn

My DW loves the spa, would rather sail out of Seattle, even though we live in Canada

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Recently sailed the Solstice to Alaska, beautiful ship. We booked an aft veranda- would do it again in a heartbeat. 180 degree Views were beautiful and the balcony gets very little wind.

Go early if you want to see snow on the moutain tops and in mid-July to August if you want to see more orcas and whales. At least that has been our experience.

The Alaska board has great information on timing.

Is it better to sail out of Seattle or Vancouver? As a Canadian it's more expensive to fly to BC, although I would have np sailing out of BC. What's one thing not to miss about the Soltice and Alaska.

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Does anyone know if you can get a dining package and if so how much would it be for a 7 day cruise?

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I'd rather sail out of Vancouver than Seattle. Although I think the Solstice is a lovely ship, I would choose an Alaska cruise based on the itinerary rather than the ship. Roundtrip itineraries out of Seattle don't do much for me - unless it's HAL's 14-night roundtrip: http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?webItineraryIdForAudit=A5L14S&fromSearchVacation=true&destList=cruises,A&dateCode=6_2015&flexibleMonths=false&noOfFlexibleMonths=1&portCode=&shipCodeSearch=&voyageCode=S526

We arrived home form the last Solstice Alaska cruise of the season, one month ago. It was a 12 night repositioning cruise and we loved it! This is a video of our cruise...

We had a 1A cabin on the front angle of the hump (about mid-ship). We took advantage of the 123 promotion and had the beverage package, which we upgraded to the premium package. We also purchased the Ultimate Dining Package.

BILL

You should also read this thread about the Solstice itinerary in Alaska:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2115631

I'd rather sail out of Vancouver than Seattle. Although I think the Solstice is a lovely ship, I would choose an Alaska cruise based on the itinerary rather than the ship. Roundtrip itineraries out of Seattle don't do much for me - unless it's HAL's 14-night roundtrip: http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?webItineraryIdForAudit=A5L14S&fromSearchVacation=true&destList=cruises,A&dateCode=6_2015&flexibleMonths=false&noOfFlexibleMonths=1&portCode=&shipCodeSearch=&voyageCode=S526

HAL's itinerary is great, but the price is very high, $4200 pp for a balcony.

My DW and I've only sailed Carnival and we did a mock booking for June 15 to see what the difference in price for a balcony on Carnival was around the same price US for an AQ CDN which CDN Would work better for us, being from Ontario.

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My DW and I've only sailed Carnival and we did a mock booking for June 15 to see what the difference in price for a balcony on Carnival was around the same price US for an AQ CDN which CDN Would work better for us, being from Ontario.

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Anyone know what the deployment sale next month going to be?

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For us itinerary trumps ship. The S ship are my favorite but... They are too big to go East of Vancouver Island and Johnstone Straight is my favorite stretch of the itinerary. Make sure you read HostJazzbeau's link. Been on the Infinity, a sister ship of the Millinium, and enjoyed it. My wife prefers the M class ships. If you sail from Vancouver, the Millinium sails East of Vancouver Island. Southbound, it is during the afternoon of the last full day.

We just booked an Aft facing Aqua stateroom (A1) on the Aug 7/15 Solstice sailing. It will be our first time to Alaska, and first time in an Aft facing stateroom. We are really looking forward to it! I figure we might be able to see more having the Aft view (better than not being able to see the other side at all from our balcony).

We usually book suites, but it seems as though suites on the Alaska cruises next summer are astronomically priced (could have to do with the new suite program taking effect)! If you can't do a suite, choose Aqua, it's the next best thing (in my humble opinion).

Another interesting factor for us was airfare - it's cheaper to fly to Seattle than Vancouver from Toronto (go figure!).

Shawn

The M class seems more expensive for our budget than the S class why is that?

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HAL's itinerary is great, but the price is very high, $4200 pp for a balcony.

There's also Coral Princess, which has a perfect design for Alaska scenery-viewing and to fit in the Johnstone Strait. And Princess has rights to visit Glacier Bay. Our neighbors were just able to get a really good deal for next summer thanks for a big Princess sale.

We did a HAL cruise tour in Alaska. If doing a land and sea HAL has benefits because they own so many of the hotels. If just taking a cruise the consideration would be ports. HAL includes Glacier bay, a full day that was honestly one of the highlights of our trip. We felt like we would only go once in our lives and we would regret not seeing Glacier bay. It was amazing, but it's personal preference and weather could make it a non-event.

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Solstice is a GORGEOUS ship !!

We sailed on her in 2012 (C2 Midship angle off he hump, oversized balcony) and would not hesitate to book her again

Anyone know what the deployment sale next month going to be? [/Quote]

 

Celebrity rolls out their 2016-17 Deployment Schedule in November. Alaska will be announced available for Captain's Club Members to book as of November 18th

 

Not sure if there will be Early Bird Booking Incentives as well... Best bet is stayed tuned to CC for info

 

The M class seems more expensive for our budget than the S class why is that?

 

M-Class Ships are smaller than the Solstice so they travel more of the inside passage... That could account for costs (that and fewer pax onboard to cover costs)

 

I would probably do an M-Class in hopes of seeing more / being closer. Definitely go for a balcony... Maybe a C1 Aft Sunset over the wake to have even a wider scoe of view (do love thos cabins on M Ships)

 

Friends & Family have done small ships... HAL & Coral Princess. Both loved the cruise, but they said the ships were a nice size, but the trade off was fewer venues (lack of nightlife)

 

Cheers!

is it better to book a verandah or an Aqua Class?

That depends entirely on how valuable the Aqua Class benefits are to you, and whether you feel the price difference is reasonable.

There are people who will tell you they ONLY book AQ, and others (me included) who will tell you there is nothing you get with AQ that is worth paying more for. For those who love AQ, many seem to love it because they enjoy dining in Blu.

My DW loves the spa, would rather sail out of Seattle, even though we live in Canada

If you are leaning toward AQ because of that, understand that the only AQ benefits you get at the actual spa are access to the relaxation room/Persian Garden, and a "spa concierge" to book spa appointments for you. There are no special spa services or spa discounts offered to AQ pax.