Live from Solstice

[dkjretired]

Having a lot of trouble writing this document, tried three times without any luck.

 

Solstice has been wonderful, meals in Blu are great, can’t say we have had anything that was not good.

 

Had some waffles this morning for Ed, just a tradition.

 

Arno, I will post all the names once I can make sure I have reliable way to enter anything,

 

We did Duck tour today in Ketchikan, it was good but not as good as Seattle. We then did Zip lines over the rainforest, seven lines saw a couple of bear cubs and lots of salmon both dead and alive. Feel good about it since I had open heart surgery, 1 yr ago this month.

 

Brent Nixon was excellent, three talks so far, one on Alaska, one on Bears and one on Whales. Another guest speaker was Miss Amanda who talked on Ketchikan.

 

Tomorrow is Tracy Arm Fijord, looking forward to it.

 

I’ll check on the Bistro menu and suite restaurant.

 

don

[dkjretired]

Lois:

 

We happened to sit next to Janine and Geoff today in Blu, were your ears burning.. Just kidding, nice people.

[c-legs]

Hi, Don

Thank you so much for your ''live from''. As we are sailing her ''repo'' voyage on 12th sept ending up in Vancouver on 23rd, we are quite interested in your opinions and descriptions.

 

I wonder if you could find out, from the proper folks '' in the know'' on board, what route they are mapping from Juneau 18th Sept ( leaving 20;30hr) sailing to Victoria ( due in 07;00 hr 21st sept). Originally, ==X== litterature was showing a straight shot out of Chatham strait staying on the windward side of the Charlottes and the entire Vancouver Island, re-entering JuandeFuca strait at Cape Flaherty until Victoria.

Now, ==X== website map shows they are following a much more logical,and attractive route from Chatham strait ,leeward of the Charlottes thruHecate strait, Queen Charlotte Sound and onward thru Johnstone Strait and Georgia strait ( the BC Inside Passage), Juan de Fuca strait to Victoria. They certainly have more than enough time to follow this route....and it's infinitely more pleasant,scenic and smoother...

I understand the bridge officers will be the same in 2 weeks...so one of them ought to know....;)

Thanks for trying; no sweat if you don't have the time.

Enjoy your cruise.

Thanks again for your ''play by play.''.

Hopefully, the weather is tolerable.

Cheers

claude

[Ma Bell]

Just noticed your post Don. Glad to hear you're having a wonderful time!:)

[dkjretired]

Hi! My parents will be boarding on Friday, if you happen to notice, does the Bistro have the new expanded menu yet?

 

Thanks so much, & I hope you're having an awesome trip! :)

 

No change in the menus in Bistro, they did not get the new ones.

[dkjretired]

Hi, Don

Thank you so much for your ''live from''. As we are sailing her ''repo'' voyage on 12th sept ending up in Vancouver on 23rd, we are quite interested in your opinions and descriptions.

 

I wonder if you could find out, from the proper folks '' in the know'' on board, what route they are mapping from Juneau 18th Sept ( leaving 20;30hr) sailing to Victoria ( due in 07;00 hr 21st sept). Originally, ==X== litterature was showing a straight shot out of Chatham strait staying on the windward side of the Charlottes and the entire Vancouver Island, re-entering JuandeFuca strait at Cape Flaherty until Victoria.

Now, ==X== website map shows they are following a much more logical,and attractive route from Chatham strait ,leeward of the Charlottes thruHecate strait, Queen Charlotte Sound and onward thru Johnstone Strait and Georgia strait ( the BC Inside Passage), Juan de Fuca strait to Victoria. They certainly have more than enough time to follow this route....and it's infinitely more pleasant,scenic and smoother...

I understand the bridge officers will be the same in 2 weeks...so one of them ought to know....;)

Thanks for trying; no sweat if you don't have the time.

Enjoy your cruise.

Thanks again for your ''play by play.''.

Hopefully, the weather is tolerable.

Cheers

claude

 

I asked one of the officers, bit of a language barrier but he said they are doing the same route we are now doing, we are out in the ocean. I am not real familiar with the area since I'm from the east coast but that's what he said.

[dkjretired]

We will be sailing on the Solstice starting September 5th. Can't wait to hear about your experiences as they happen! What is the weather like so far? We are really looking forward to Alaska and trying Celebrity for the first time!

Weather in Alaska was rainy especially in the Tracy Arm. We took the small boats at the glacier, what a great trip saw two glaciers up close and lots of whales.

[c-legs]

I asked one of the officers, bit of a language barrier but he said they are doing the same route we are now doing, we are out in the ocean. I am not real familiar with the area since I'm from the east coast but that's what he said.

Hi Don,

Thank you very much for your trouble.

Too bad they are doing that.....

Cheers

[MoyCoy]

How is the internet? Is it spoty. Would it be possible to upload pictures during a live review? I am sailing the Solstice in 3 weeks and thought about doing a live review but feared the slow connection would all but drive me crazy.

[cruise kitty]

No change in the menus in Bistro, they did not get the new ones.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to check & reply! Have a wonderful last evening on your cruise, my folks are in Seattle right now ready to board tomorrow! :)

[wvufan]

Hi Don,

 

Glad you're doing well and enjoying yourself. Alaska is our favorite destination and we are going again in May. Sadly, Brent won't be on that one. I remember when he got engaged to Amanda, who was the harpist on that cruise.

 

Please tell me more about the small boats in Tracy. If you see Brent again, please ask him about whales in mid to late May.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

[dkjretired]

How is the internet? Is it spoty. Would it be possible to upload pictures during a live review? I am sailing the Solstice in 3 weeks and thought about doing a live review but feared the slow connection would all but drive me crazy.

 

Internet is like dial up, thought I returned to the 90s. I'll explain more when I get on a computer.

[Lois R]

Hi Don,:) not sure when you are flying home....today or tomorrow? But

I know with the West Coast to East Coast flight you are probably going

to feel a bit jet lagged.:eek:

Hope you both had a great week....I know you had been wanting to

sail to Alaska for a long time:)

[dkjretired]

Hi Don,:) not sure when you are flying home....today or tomorrow? But

I know with the West Coast to East Coast flight you are probably going

to feel a bit jet lagged.:eek:

Hope you both had a great week....I know you had been wanting to

sail to Alaska for a long time:)

 

Hi Lois:

 

Had a great trip and a long flight home due to weather. Finally on a real computer this morning. Always nice to be home.

[dkjretired]

Internet is like dial up, thought I returned to the 90s. I'll explain more when I get on a computer.

 

Just to elaborate a bit, I did speak to one of the officers on the internet. They supposedly will be in drydock in 16 and will be getting the new internet that is going on the Quantum, assuming it works well. Also, terrible service because of the high mountains in Alaska.

 

The other thing I found out which was very frustrating was the page timed out after two minutes. A couple of times I printed longer posts on this thread and when I hit the submit reply button it signed me out of the system. The attendant told me to write off line and then paste and copy. Did that without a problem.

[dkjretired]

Hi Don,

 

Glad you're doing well and enjoying yourself. Alaska is our favorite destination and we are going again in May. Sadly, Brent won't be on that one. I remember when he got engaged to Amanda, who was the harpist on that cruise.

 

Please tell me more about the small boats in Tracy. If you see Brent again, please ask him about whales in mid to late May.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

 

They both were very interesting, she gave some good talks also but he was really fabulous. I hit all his talks.

[dkjretired]

Hi Don,

Although I know they have not yet implemented the new suite restaurant, I'd be interested to hear what the dining room staff and maitre 'd have to say about it and the possible menu.

 

Thanks!

Melody

 

Hi Melody:

 

I spoke to an officer, not giving names but he was high up. He stated they are of course hoping for first quarter next year but apparently that is optimistic. Due to logistics he though it was going to be on the left side of the bottom floor on the Main restaurant. Apparently people were in looking at things and that is what they determined at that time.

[dkjretired]

Hi Don,

 

Glad you're doing well and enjoying yourself. Alaska is our favorite destination and we are going again in May. Sadly, Brent won't be on that one. I remember when he got engaged to Amanda, who was the harpist on that cruise.

 

Please tell me more about the small boats in Tracy. If you see Brent again, please ask him about whales in mid to late May.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

 

I didn't get to ask him about the whales in May but I can tell you about the small boats. It was one of the two highlights of the trip for us. The trip was Tracey Arm Fijord and Glacier Explorer, this year # JU94. Basically the Solstice pulls up to the Sawyer Glacier, either North or south, don't remember. They stay there awhile while Brent Nixon narrates and then the ship turns around, goes out of the Fijord and on ups to Juneau, getting there around 1 or so. If you do the excursion, you get off and get on a very comfortable Catmaran, with inside and outside viewing decks. We had excellent crew which will give you coffee and hot chocolate for free. They have food and other medicinal drinks for a cost. The catamaran and goes very close, about 200yards or so to the glacier, we saw calving and lots of seals. The catamaran after awhile leaves and goes to another glacier, either north or south which I don't believe you can even see from the ship. After time at that glacier which was the most beautiful blue in color, you leave and go to Ketchikan. We got there a little after the ship arrived. We were lucky however as we had some time and we happened upon a number of whales which they don't always see. Very nice trip, I would recommend it highly.

Edited September 7, 2014 by dkjretired

[dkjretired]

Enjoy your cruise.

 

If you have the minutes, could you name the senior staff on board as well as the host(ess).?

 

I posted the officers on that officers thread, I'll try and do the entertainment tomorrow but have to go out and start mowing my 4 acres while its light and no storms. Back to reality.

 

Enjoy your cruise coming up.

[cruise kitty]

I didn't get to ask him about the whales in May but I can tell you about the small boats. It was one of the two highlights of the trip for us. The trip was Tracey Arm Fijord and Glacier Explorer, this year # JU94. Basically the Solstice pulls up to the Sawyer Glacier, either North or south, don't remember. They stay there awhile while Brent Nixon narrates and then the ship turns around, goes out of the Fijord and on ups to Juneau, getting there around 1 or so. If you do the excursion, you get off and get on a very comfortable Catmaran, with inside and outside viewing decks. We had excellent crew which will give you coffee and hot chocolate for free. They have food and other medicinal drinks for a cost. The catamaran and goes very close, about 200yards or so to the glacier, we saw calving and lots of seals. The catamaran after awhile leaves and goes to another glacier, either north or south which I don't believe you can even see from the ship. After time at that glacier which was the most beautiful blue in color, you leave and go to Ketchikan. We got there a little after the ship arrived. We were lucky however as we had some time and we happened upon a number of whales which they don't always see. Very nice trip, I would recommend it highly.

 

Thanks for your review of this excursion, my parents are doing this one, & I was a little concerned that the boat would not be comfy for them, but it sounds like they're going to be well taken care of :)