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Headed Off On Our First Ever Cruise!

WalnutBaron

WalnutBaron

TUG Review Crew: Expert
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DW and I are leaving the day after tomorrow for Vancouver, BC where we will board the Celebrity Solstice for a 7-night cruise to Alaska. It's taken me more than two decades to finally convince my bride of 44 years to take a cruise--and the thing that tipped her over was the chance to see whales, eagles, moose, and grizzlies during our visit to the 49th state. I've been doing a ton of reading and researching and have found Gene Sloan's articles from The Points Guy newsletters to be of great value in helping us avoid the land mines and prepare us for this new adventure. Along the way we'll be seeing Icy Strait, the Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, and Ketchikan--and we have a few excursions booked as well. Once we return to Vancouver, we're planning to stay over a few days to explore that beautiful city, along with a side trip to Victoria to see the spectacular Butchart Gardens, a place we saw about thirty years ago and have always dreamed of returning to.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that DW will really enjoy this, as she's always been more than skeptical about cruising. What she doesn't know is that I already have two other cruises booked in 2025--a Panama Canal and Southern Caribbean cruise for February and a New England and St. Lawrence Seaway cruise in October. I made sure I can cancel without penalty if it turns out she never wants to go on another cruise, but I'm hoping this first one will convince her it's the way to go :cheer:
 
Have a great time.

Before this year we had only been on one cruise and that was to Alaska out of Vancouver on Holland America. We enjoyed each of the stops and the land time beforehand in Vancouver. Fast forward to this year and we did two cruises, one to the Greek Isles and one in the Baltic. Enjoyed those as well. Now we have one planned for January in the Southern Caribbean. So, we can definitely see some advantages to cruising as well.
 
@WalnutBaron I hope your Beloved enjoys the cruise. It was the Solstice that tipped us over from Holland America some yeaers ago. We'd taken a transatlantic to Barcelona (with stops) and after 14 days, when we disembarked, I looked back at that beautiful ship and said something like 'Two weeks and there were restaurants we didn't eat in, bars that we hadn't had a drink in, and activities that we simply didn't have time to do.' Soon as we got home, I booked the T/A the other direction on the maiden voyage of Silhouette. We like the Solstice Class Celebrity ships. There are bigger ones, there are smaller ones, but Solstice seems 'just right'.

Enjoy your trip, Butchart Gardens is still a wonder, and Vancouver/Victoria are treasures. Don't forget the binoculars for the cruise along the Inside Passage, and be sure to take in the 'Ranger Talks' when they give them up in the Sky Lounge (Deck 14 Fwd)

Jim

Oh, and be sure to load the Celebrity App if you haven't already.
 
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Bon Voyage, Walnut Baron! Our first cruise (not counting being guests on the William Clay Ford from Duluth to Detroit) was r/t Seattle to Alaska on NCL. Family from Portland Oregon were the catalysts in our booking it! We had a great time and hope you and your wife enjoy your Celebrity cruise. After our Alaska cruise we happened upon Celebrity and that has become our preferred line.
Aside to Passepartout: Enjoy your upcoming cruise and perhaps we'll catch a glimpse of each other in Boston!
 
Hope ya'all are having a great time!
 
Thanks to all for your kind wishes. We had a GREAT time! I can’t say enough good things about Celebrity and the beautiful Solstice cruise ship. Everything was first class—the friendly and hospitable crew, the entertainment, the food, the activities on board, the cleanliness—all of it. And we hit the weather lottery with a full week of spectacular sunshine and temps in the mid-70s.

And yes, even DW had a great time, so I’m hoping to convince her we need to do it another cruise next year.

@Passepartout , I agree with you about the Solstice-class ships. Big enough not to feel overcrowded, but small enough to feel like you can learn your way around.

All in all, one of our best and most memorable trips ever. We’re very grateful we got to go.
 
Alaska will likely be our next cruising experience. Tried to get Rick to go this year, but he balked at it. He has a gazebo to build in the backyard. I would rather go on the cruise, to be honest, but he is determined to build that gazebo, all by himself. Well, our sons will help.
 
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