Celebrity Solstice or Radiance Alaska

Hello. We are debating whether to book on Sep 6, 2013 either on Solstice or Radiance. We are from Vancouver so we do not have to worry about Flights as Seattle is only a 2 hour drive. We are Emerald on Royal and have booked a B2B on Oasis on Oct 4. If we book Radiance, we would become Diamond for the 2nd half for the B2B. If we book Solstice, we are Select.

The question we have, what ship would you sail and why?

Radiance was the first ship I cruised on. It was a Caribbean cruise. I was wowed by all the glass and thought "This would be a great ship to sail Alaska". I cruised on her again 3 years later in Alaska, and indeed, all the glass everywhere gives you the ability to see the great scenery from indoors. Since that time, I cruised one of the newer Princess ships to Alaska, and while it was a good cruise, I preferred the indoor panoramic views of Radiance.

Solstice sounds like a great ship and I would like to sail her or one of her sisters, but I just haven't yet.

If you become Diamond after the first leg of your b2b, I'm not sure you will get any additional perks for the second leg, because you don't become Diamond immediately. Maybe someone who has done it can answer that part of the question.

Vancouver is considered to be a better port to sail from, and the seas are calmer than sailing from Seattle. I just noticed that the Radiance cruise is roundtrip from Vancouver. That is very unusual for Radiance - it usually does one way cruises. It doesn't call on Skagway which is a very nice port to visit. I prefer it over Icy Strait. It does call on Hubbard glacier which is great. Solstice's time in Juneau is not good - it doesn't get there until 1:30 which is awkward for whale watching excursions which are best out of Juneau.

All things considered, I'd go with Radiance. The main reasons are: 1) not having to cross the border, 2) calmer seas and 3)Hubbard Glacier.