berrytarte

Reporting back from the Celebrity Solstice. Overall we were really shocked by how meat and 2 sides focused the menus were in the MDR. The staff really struggled with vegetarian dishes, most of the non-Indian vegetarian options we tried were terrible. We're not picky, but it was really bad: cheese ravioli served on a vinegary ketchup-like tomato sauce, a mushroom risotto with the flavor and texture of dirt. How do you mess up risotto?!?! We ended up ordering a collection of sides the first night and our waiter served it with half a chicken on top.

The good news is after night one we were able to order off the Indian menu ahead of time for dinner, which was usually all vegetarian and really good. We tried the Bistro on 5 and their only options were salads, and they weren't very good ones. We also tried lunch at the MDR, which was a bust. The waiter was flummoxed when we asked for vegetarian options and said they only had vegetarian food at the buffet. The menu only offered a starter salad. We asked if they had bread and cheese and he ended up having some brought down from the buffet. Thank goodness we weren't vegan.

Overall, we had better food and service on Celebrity than we did on NCL, but our servers on NCL were way more comfortable with and familiar with vegetarians. Maybe because it's more common with the younger cruisegoers on NCL?

I'm not a vegetarian, but my wife is and I prefer vegetable-based meals. It's really difficult to make decisions on onboard dining based on the reviews of meat eaters. People often seem to be ranking restaurants based on the availability of an expensive meat product (Aka lobster) or how well they cook steak, neither of which are considerations for us. We cruised on NCL Sky a few years ago and it was very hit or miss. The first few meals in the MDR were dreadful, she kept being served piles of unseasoned roasted or sautéed vegetables with nothing else alongside. Boring, and not filling. After we spoke to the waiter we were able to order Indian or Mexican for the rest of the cruise. Speciality dining was great in the Italian restaurant, lots of veggie pastas, but the highly reviewed French place was a total bust. More plain roasted vegetables with a weird cheese spread on top. We're cruising on Celebrity next and are hoping the food will improve.

I would definitely leave some extra time to cross the border in case you encounter extra screening. I drove to Canada last summer from Vermont and discovered that my wife had grabbed my old expired passport by mistake. On the way back at the US Crossing the agent pulled me aside for extra questioning and gave me a long lecture about how a valid passport is now required. She was very nice about it, but this all added an additional 40 minutes to the crossing. Honestly, I wouldn't drive to Emerald Lake w/o a passport b/c the stress of whether I'd run into trouble would ruin it for me.

We will be there in two weeks...have the rental car booked...so excited! I have not seen any bad photos of Emerald Lake. I'm really hoping to get to hold some sled puppies at our lunch pit stop too. :)

Puppies?!?! Where is this pit stop?

In Ketchikan we also enjoyed taking the public bus out to Potlatch Park and Totem Bight.

 

You can stop off at Walmart on the way back if you need anything there, and then catch the free Walmart shuttle back to the ship.

 

It's a bargain "do it yourself" excursion at $1 each way for the bus ride, and only 50 cents for seniors.

(Or it least those were the bus prices the last time we went, a couple of years ago.)

 

Free admission to both totem pole parks, which are right next door to one another.

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Here are links for both.

 

Totem Bight State Historical Park

 

Potlatch Totem Park

 

Potlatch Park also has a large garage full of antique cars.

 

You can ask the bus driver to drop you off at Walmart on the way back, if you need anything there, and then catch the free Walmart shuttle back to your ship later.

 

 

Do you happen to recall where you caught the public bus in Ketchikan? I've been looking at the very low tech transit website and it's hard to tell how close the bus stop is to the cruise ship dock.

Wow, what an awesome review. Thanks!

Thank you both, this is SO helpful!

I'm traveling on a cruise to Alaska in June on the Celebrity Solstice with three other women. The three of them are all casual dressers (T-shirts, polo shirts, hoodies, cargo shorts/pants and jeans). My wife will wear a men's dress shirt and slacks if needed, but my friends do not like the dress up at all. I've been reading about people being turned away from the MDR and some lounges on Celebrity ships and asked to change. I'm wondering how likely we are to run into trouble on the Solstice...and what advice I should give my friends on what to pack.

This was fascinating. I'm a relatively new cruiser, and I honestly had no idea what exactly CDs do. I feel better informed now, and it actually makes me want to check out the entertainment.

I don't think the airlines even serve peanuts anymore - this was a snack brought on board by a passenger.

 

This is an old thread, but just thought I'd mention that Southwest Airlines still serves peanuts on their flights.

I've only been on one NCL cruise, but the LGBT gatherings were a bust for us. The majority of people on a ship are going to be straight and don't seem to have trouble making friends. Now, I do feel sorry for some of my straight friends when they tell me horror stories about their online dating adventures !

Reporting back with an epilogue: had a good family chat with my MIL and we're planning on a (non-cruise) trip to British Columbia for Thanksgiving this year and taking her on a cruise for Mother's Day in May/June 2017 on HAL, Celebrity or Princess. Thanks to everyone for steering me in the right direction.

She even objects if others dance?

 

 

 

Even if she doesn't see it?

 

 

 

I know a lot of people who don't believe in dancing for religious reasons, but going on a cruise wouldn't bother them at all.

 

 

 

Same as they don't drink, but are happy to go to a restaurant where others may have a drink or four.

I'm honestly not sure how she'd react. She had friends in her church who go on cruises regularly, so in theory I'm hoping she'd be fine. It's good to hear your experience with others, that gives me hope.

She used to be fairly relaxed about it, for example we'd eat out at pubs with her. And we definitely danced in front of her at our wedding. But she's become much more strict recently...last Thanksgiving she left the table when some guests had a glass of wine at dinner and she refused a recent trip to see a relative in a school musical (Annie) because she disapproved of the dancing. Reading this, I know she sounds like a terror! She's really not, she's just had a lot of changes in her life recently, and is still adjusting I think.

Does your $1500 budget include your airfare to the port of departure? If so, your budget isn't going to go very far seeing you'll be paying 4 fares, including the single supplement for her solo cabin. In all likelihood, you may be looking at inside cabins.

 

 

 

In your original post you said your MIL doesn't like to be around people who drink, and she doesn't like dancing. To be frank, if that is the case, I don't think she'd be happy on a cruise. People drink alcohol day and night, they drink at all meals, yes, even bloody Mary's at breakfast, at the pool, in all the clubs. And on some of those shorter 3-5 day cruises, drinking can be pretty rampant as cruisers try and shove 7 days of cruising into a shorter cruise.

 

 

 

You need to discuss all of this with her, and be honest that this will not be alcohol free. Being a vegetarian is definitely not a problem, as cruise lines are very good at providing vegan/vegetarian options. But there will be lots of drinking and dancing on every ship.

Our budget doesn't include airfare, since we're likely to use miles for any plane tickets. After looking at pricing and all of the fun options for Caribbean cruises, I'm thinking we need to bump up our budget or plan on doing a cruise next Thanksgiving (we already have quite a lot of travel planned his year already).

I appreciate your advice to talk to my MIL directly about this. I envisioned surprising her with the trip (she loves surprises), but I'm starting to think we should talk sure this is a good fit and she knows what she's getting into.

$1500 per person or total?

 

 

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Total. I'm thinking that may make a longer cruise during a holiday season outside out of price range.

Best cruise for my mother in law,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

one we are not on.:eek:

I certainly understand that! There's a reason we've managed to vacation without her so far. She doesn't believe in dancing (her church doesn't allow it) and that's proving to be a big barrier in choosing a cruise.

Thank you all for such amazing suggestions! I'm doing some more research based on your guidance. Luckily, we all like children (my MIL is a retired elementary school teacher) which sounds essential during Thanksgiving.

Is there a budget for this? Will she have her own cabin?

 

 

 

Without knowing this, there is little advice I can provide.

 

 

 

Other than that, and no offense, MIL sounds a bit fussy; and I lean towards Celebrity or Princess.

Ha! No offense taken. She can be a difficult for sure, but she's also very sweet.

I haven't settled on a budget yet, but probably around $1500. Maybe a bit more if we're leaving from somewhere Southwest flies to (we have lots of miles).

I didn't realize larger suites were an option before getting such great advice on this thread. I definitely think two cabins or two bedrooms would be ideal.

My wife and I are considering taking my MIL on a cruise for Thanksgiving this year. We're in our early 40s and she's in her late 70s. Our Thanksgivings together are often stressful , so my thinking is this would be a way to avoid cooking or anyone worrying about money spent at restaurants because it's all paid for in advance!

I'd love some advice on what type of itinerary or cruise line might be a good fit for mom. Or advice on holiday cruises in general. She doesn't drink, and doesn't really like it when others are publicly drunk (or honestly, if people drink around her). She's a strict vegetarian but not squeamish about meat being around. She loves games, meeting new people, and a quiet nook with a book. She likes the beach, and gets nervous in cities. She considers anything with more than 25,000 people a city, btw. In contrast, my wife and I love big cities, cocktails, and in my case, eating plenty of meat.

So...any advice? All of her friends have been on cruises and she never has so I'd really love to do this for her. We're in California, but could definitely travel to another port. I've been looking at 3-5 day Carnival, Princess, and Disney cruises to Mexico but I'm not sure how she's do in those ports.

My partner and I are on the Celebrity Solstice on June 3 to Alaska. It's our first time on Celebrity, but definitely not our first cruise. Looking forward to it!

We are also on the same sailing. It's our first time on Celebrity as well. Hope you come to the meet and greet!

We've been watching it too! My friend suggested it to scare us away from sea kayaking but instead it's gotten us very excited about our trip. The glacier hiking looked amazing!

 

 

 

For us, we like a comfortable room, food I can eat (severe allergies), and crew that seem to enjoy their job.

 

This sounds exactly like my criteria for a great cruise!

I'm planning our second cruise, on the Celebrity Solstice next summer to Alaska. My wife and I have been married 7 years, together for 12. We're in our late 30s and live in California. We love to travel, but she wasn't into cruising until I convinced her to go to Disney World, which was the gateway drug for a cruise. She has a food allergy and is a vegetarian.

We're bringing friends along on our next cruise so we're guaranteed to have at least 1 other queer couple.

Also thinking about taking an Olivia cruise. It would be nice to be surrounded by lesbians.

You are sure right about that.

My wedding gift to my wife was a 5 day cruise to Canada which was a week after our wedding cruise. I even got the okay from her boss for that week off, which was a long shot since we would just be off a week for the wedding cruise.

 

The best part was me giving her the surprise. We were getting dressed on the ship for the wedding and I handed her a card. After she read the card I told her I hope she would love my wedding gift to her and then I pointed out the cabin window. She was like 'what?!?!', I told her in 10 days we would be setting sail again, on that ship. Fate would have it that the ship we were sailing on was docked next to our wedding ship and our cabin window was facing it. It didn't dawn on me that the ship would be there.

 

She did not see it coming. She was totally shocked.

 

 

 

My soon to be wife reading her card while on the Norwegian Jewel.

 

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The Carnival Glory right outside our cabin window.

 

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Wow. That is such a beautiful story! Thanks for sharing it.

Glad to have found this thread. My wife and I are sailing on NCL Sky on 08/02/2013. We're celebrating our anniversary (together 10 years, married for 5). We live in DC, but we're originally from the West Coast. We love the Caribbean, but this is my wife's first cruise. I'm super excited but a bit nervous of the non-friendly reputation of the Bahamas.