BeachTunes

Thank you @SerraG for taking the time to post about your journey! We will be taking our first cruise to Alaska in September, albeit on the Solstice, and found your port info very helpful! May you feel better soon!

20 minutes ago, asctony said:

I'm sorry if you took my opinion as being directed at you. Like I said before, it was a general statement to inform people to use all the available resources.

 

Just like I have people ask me what is my favorite Cruise Line? I don't have one as they all provide something both plus and minus.

 

Happy Sailing. Enjoy your cruise. 

All good! No worries at all! Yes, these boards can be "amusing" at times. 

By the way we ADORE Italy. What a beautiful country you live in! 🙂

19 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

Hi Ellen.😃

Great to see you on the Celebrity boards.  Tim still reminisces about the Crystal cruise as one of his most memorable and relaxing.☺️

 

I am in 100% agreement with you.  I can think of a few other venues.  
Murano.  

Sushi on 5.  

Inside Access excursion.

 

It is unfortunate that Celebrity may be cutting the galley tours short.  We have done the free galley tour of days gone bye bye before as well as the one included with the Inside Access: Behind the Scenes Ship Tour excursion.  Both provided an extensive overview in the galley.  The latter being the more recent one that hasn’t yet escaped my memory included commentary from one of the chefs who sadly was not understandable at all through the provided wireless earpieces.  
 

Once we did one on a December sailing and the crew was working on the construction of the gingerbread houses for the displays.  That was really cool.😎 
 

We have another Behind the Scenes tour booked on our upcoming Beyond sailing mainly because we hope it will be a bit different than the previous one since it is on a different class of ships.  We are doing it more for the bridge and control room access than anything else, but we will enjoy it all.  On board it is US$155.10 per person, but I caught a pre-cruise 30% off flash sale bringing it down to US$107.99 per person.  I booked the excursion at the end of March.  If you and DH have not yet considered this tour, you should have a look at it.

Hello Friends! 

Thank you for sharing your experiences with the Behind The Scenes Tour. That might be a better use of our time and funds! 

And yes, that Crystal cruise was dreamy! Virtual hugs to you both! 🙂

14 hours ago, asctony said:

Please help me to understand why anyone would book & pay for anything that is undefinable?

 

Like people said this galley tour was free before. It is shorter now and offers a lunch which you already paid for in your cruise price. 

 

Too many things are now no longer free. Yes, many things have changed from free to money makers for the cruise lines.

 

We see postings where people are asking for information about:

I purchased a xxxxxx.

What does it contain, what will i get, how long may I use it, where is it located, etc.?

 

Tell me why I should cruise this ship? Are these ports for me? 

 

I see and read these on all of CC Forums. I just don't understand it.

 

Research, use a TA, Internet, call Cruise Line. Before you commit!

 

JMHO, I know it is your money.

 

Thank you for taking the time to voice your opinion. With all due respect, I asked the question about this tour because my understanding is that is a fairly new offering to Celebrity so I was hoping to hear from people who have recently experienced it. Mission accomplished! 🙂

Happy Seas to You!

@Epperbiker Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your experience.

I was optimistic about this but are now on the fence. We won't be in suite class so the opportunity to try the Luminae Burger is intriguing but I can get an amazing burger on land for much less. I'm thinking we can spend our weak Canadian dollars better in another venue. 🙂

FYI, there is a recent video review of Solstice on YouTube and the vloggers mentioned this tour. Not sure if I'm allowed to post the link. They personally didn't recommend it as they couldn't hear the chef as he wasn't microphoned. They did reveal that the lunch was held in Blu and Beef Cheek was on the menu. 

As per @Eggs2Go comment, I'm seeing it as something interesting to do to add spice on a sea day! Staying tuned on this! As long as future reviews share that the experience isn't too crowded I'm in. We're in Concierge Class but have usually been in Aqua in the past so a lunch at Blu would be a lovely change in scenery, in our opinion.

@BeasleysMom66 Thank you for your feedback and amazing photos! I'm so happy to have booked this tour while it had availability!

@whitbob Wow! What amazing photos! Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm even more excited now! 🙂

32 minutes ago, nordicacres said:

I am actually sailing NCL, but we signed up to do this tour in a few weeks. I will have a (likely) lengthy review of the trip posted on that board if you care to venture over there to check it out. We are sailing 6/24/24.

Thank you so much! I will definitely be on the lookout for your review. Have a wonderful trip!

Thank you all very much for your excellent feedback. I just booked it!

I have a feeling we will love Alaska so much that we will want to return but not likely for several years as there are just so many places on our travel bucket list. So I took the plunge on this once in a lifetime experience!

I'm going to try not to tell my husband about it until we're on board. 🙂

Hello!

We just made final payment for our September Solstice cruise to Alaska! Yay! This trip will mark hitting my final US state. I've been to the other 49 and just need to cross Alaska off my list!

We'll be in an aft Concierge Sunset Veranda Stateroom and are looking forward to the wake views as we have only sailed in midship staterooms in the past. I imagine the Hubbard Glacier views will be wonderful! We'll likely also jump up to the bow for alternative viewpoints. 

That said, there is a very expensive excursion that a lot of various forums say is a MUST when at Hubbard Glacier... The Hubbard Glacier Wilderness Exploration. It's currently offered at 25% off but it still costs a whopping $537 per person Canadian! (That's around $390 USD per person.) A g-note for a two hour tour just to get closer to the glacier seems excessive to me. But I'm curious if it really is as great as many people say. We've already splurged on the Taku Lodge Feast and Glacier Flight in Juneau. Trying to decide if this experience at Hubbard will delight or disappoint! If it's on a loud, crowded vessel, I think I'll pass but I can't decide, even having watched a few YouTube videos. I imagine it would be an absolute drag in the rain, a situation no one can predict. 

Any feedback would be appreciated! (I will post this on the Alaska board as well as I believe the ships all use the same tour operator. Although, it seems Celebrity's pricing is the highest! Go figure!)

Thank you! 🙂

12 hours ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

Here’s the cdc info:  

https://www.cdc.gov/vessel-sanitation/cruise-ship-outbreaks/index.html

It's interesting to note that 3 out of the 7 outbreaks occurred on recent Alaskan itineraries. 

That said, given the volume of ships sailing around the world, the list of those with viral outbreaks is is relatively small. 

Replying to my own question here... LOL! 

I did a search and see that this tour has been asked about twice recently between March and April without any input. So I'm assuming it's a newer on board offering along with the Argentinian steak classes and the like. I'll be patient and wait for feedback when more people take part. 

And of course if we do book it, I'll share my thoughts about it post cruise! 🙂

Just now, Liao said:

I’ve not done it, but just be aware that any excursion must be cancelled no later than 48 hours or you will still be charged 

Thank you Liao! That's a good point! If we book it, we will select our last sea day to give us time to cancel if desired. 🙂

Hello! 

My husband and I have booked an Alaskan cruise on the Solstice and noticed a sea day culinary tour called "Galley to Table: Kitchen Tour & Lunch". 

I haven't read any reviews about this "excursion" and wondered if anyone has experienced it. The description implies that in addition to touring the MDR galley, guests will tour the specialty restaurant kitchens with tastings of unique dishes from each. Sounds like a progressive lunch perhaps? 

It very well could be a new thing. Either way if anyone has any insight, it would be appreciated! The price is reasonable at $69 per person (Canadian) or around $50 USD. I guess I'm mostly curious about the menu as I can't partake of much seafood or shellfish, unfortunately. I suppose we could book the tour, ask about the menu once on board and then decide whether to cancel or not...

Thanks as always for your input Cruise Critics! 🙂

3 hours ago, lobsternight said:

It really is an exceptional tour, and with Celebrity you should be docked right next to the planes so very short walk  

 

My advice would be to take the 11am tour as the earlier one can sometimes be postponed due to morning cloud or fog  

Thank you @lobsternight! I appreciate your feedback and input. We have booked the 9am departure but our booking is changeable. We'll look into rescheduling to the 11am tour.

The reason we booked the earlier "brunch" option is because I really wanted to try their reindeer sausage that's only served in the morning! LOL! Upon further research, I'm learning reindeer is sold in some form or another at all of our ports of call so I'll get my fix at some point! 🙂

We stayed in 6145 in 2015 before the Summit was revolutionized. And we were literally the last cruise before Luminae opened. So fewer suite perks back then aside from having access to a butler. It was an incredible stateroom! Loved the bathroom and large balcony. From photos I've seen online, it is even more beautiful now having been updated. I would stay in that room again in a heartbeat! Not to worry at all! 

Read the next paragraph with a grain of salt because what we experienced is a thing of the past. Just wanted to share this story that we now laugh about from our stay in that suite...

At the time of our sailing, the Penthouse had a grand piano with "player piano" type tech built in adjacent to where our bed was. Normally it wouldn't have bothered us as I would have enjoyed overhearing professional, preprogrammed music. However, the guests of the Penthouse had a large multigenerational group on board - including a hoard of kids - who banged away on the poor piano before the crack of down over the first couple of days. It was especially annoying because I'm a pianist myself and could tell the kids were actually INSIDE the piano underneath the cover harmfully tugging at its strings and hammers. Once we mentioned it to our butler, who had also heard the racket, it stopped. (That had to be a tough conversation with the Penthouse guests!) 

The good news is, I'm 99.99% sure the Penthouse no longer has a grand piano for aforementioned reasons!  I also think better soundproofing was likely put in place during the refit. The piano was the only thing we heard. Other than that, we didn't hear a peep from next door.

As DaKahuna noted above, I doubt musicians would practice in their staterooms. I was an entertainment crew member a few moons ago on a non-Celebrity ship and we would always practice in the theatre, backstage or in venues away from any crew or guest cabins. 

I've actually looked out for that stateroom on many occasions when making mock bookings. That's how much we loved it, piano bangers and all! LOL! Enjoy!

What a fun story! I grew up in Saint John, New Brunswick and non-east coast friends often confuse me for having grown up in St. John Newfoundland. Same coast but two very different places. I adore every Newfoundlander I've met. Lovely people! 

Perhaps Celebrity should consider hosting a "Come From Away" themed cruise based on the hit Broadway musical set in Gander, NFLD!

I've also been having problems with the website from the Toronto area of Ontario, Canada. It doesn't matter if I'm using my laptop or my phone... For three days I have had issues looking up fares, cruise deck plans, info, etc. I get error messages if I'm lucky and "jumbled" pages otherwise. 🤷‍♀️

@martincath Thanks for the verification! It is appreciated! 🙂

Edited to add: We love YYZ Express in Toronto. Good to know we can prebook the same process in Vancouver! 🙌

Hello from the Greater Toronto Area! 

We're planning our first Alaskan cruise and are wondering if an 11:40am flight out of YVR (Vancouver) is advisable for Canadians traveling to YYZ (Toronto). This would fall on a Sunday in mid-September. 

We'll likely be booking with Air Canada whose recommendation for domestic airport arrival times with luggage to check in is at least 2 hours prior to departure. We figure we can either self-disembark or aim for an 8am disembarkation slot to get us through everything to be at the airport (likely via the SkyTrain) by 9:30am. 

There are 1pm-ish flights as well but they land around 9pm in Toronto, which is not terrible timing either... We just like to get home as soon as possible after vacations to reunite with our fur baby! 🙂

Thanks in advance for your input! 

@Crew News: Thank you so much for the info and stunning photos! We are even more excited about this tour! Drinks chilled with glacier ice? Icing on an already delicious cake, so to speak! 🙂

@maggiev: The tour with Celebrity is way more expensive than booking direct. For us Canadians it's $300 more per person! We will be booking directly with the Taku Lodge/Wings Airways: https://wingsairways.com ✈️

For the record, I reached out to them directly and received confirmation that yes, a 9am tour start will indeed be compatible with a 7:30am port arrival time. I was told that check in for the tour is at 8:30am and that our ship will be docked a short few minute walk from their office/seaplane. (I would imagine Holland America ships would be in a similar location at the pier.) ❤️

16 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

Wings is a very reliable vendor.  Have you called them and asked then your question.

 

DON

Thank you Don! It's so funny with all of these online forums these days, I didn't think of the common sense idea of contacting the vendor directly. LOL! Will do! 🙂

Hello! 

My husband and I are planning to book an Alaskan cruise with Celebrity soon and the Taku Lodge flight/salmon lunch out of Juneau is on our bucket list! 

Wings Airways is currently showing availability for 9am or 11am departures on our port of call date in September. The 9am seems interesting because it's a combo of brunch and lunch and includes a few extra dishes that sound cool like reindeer sausage! That said, would it be too risky booking the 9am with a 7:30am port arrival time on Celebrity Solstice? My instinct is telling me the 11am would be a safer bet but I'm curious if anyone has done the early time slot in the past. We personally prefer early excursions to allow more time to explore the port at our leisure, chill, shop, etc. 

Thank you all in advance for your input! 🙂

Thank you all SO much for the delicious advice and mouth watering pictures! 

I have a feeling we'll be spending a lot of time in the Commodore Club! 😉 We'll also have to spend a bit of time each morning on the promenade deck walking off all of the on board delicacies. LOL

You have made us even more excited about our first Cunard cruise! I don't think a week is long enough to savour everything but we'e going to try! 🙂

I am "one of those people" who (discreetly and quickly) takes pictures of restaurant food so I'll be sure to share lots of foodie photos when we return.