Celebrity Solstice Alaskian Cruise

DAY 22 11th SEPT
Today, we packed our bags ready for our CRUISE. We woke up around seven in the morning. We waited around for a bit whilst we finished our packing and then waited for the appropriate time to leave the apartment. We left at around ten thirty and we drove to the cruise docking area a few kilometres away. Nanna and Poppa drove here in their own rented car. When we arrived we gave our suitcases to a suitcase transporter guy and went into the building for signing onto the cruise. We had to wait for a while as Dad and Nanna had to drive their vehicles back to a garage and catch a shuttle back. After waiting for what seemed like ages we met up with them and skipped the line to go into an express lane, the reason for this is because we were in the same group as Nanna and Poppa who have a high ranking due to being on 19 cruises before. So after

checking in, baggage security and such alike we walked up to the cruise ship. We didn’t need/have to wait for the designated docking time as we were with Nanna and Poppa. Once we boarded we went straight to the Ocean View Café where we had lunch. We had advice to go eat almost immediately as most people go straight to their room for a while and flock here all together later so it was easier to get in first. We arrived at the Ocean View Café and it was a big buffet, most buffets have about two or three areas maybe four if you are lucky but this place had five or six stations. In proportions to the others, HUGE. After food and drinks we heard on the Public Address system that we were allowed to go to our rooms. Mum and Dad went into their own room and Michelle and I get our room. Something that is both really annoying and useful each at the same time is that our room key cards differ in the rooms that

they open, so Michelle’s key card opened our room like Mum’s but dad and mine only open up Mum and Dad’s room. This is helpful as each group can get to the other room but that means that some of us CAN’T get into our own rooms without someone else, so I cannot get into my room without Michelle or Mum, see my point! So in cases like that I just had to sit around in Mum and Dad’s room until they arrived. Later that night was partially uneventful as far as being on a cruise ship goes, we looked around and watched the ship leave three HOURS late. We had a nice dinner, I went swimming with Michelle and then went to bed. At first I thought I would have trouble sleeping with the reasonably loud humming of the engine but I dropped off to sleep in no time.

DAY 23 12th SEPT - At Sea
Today is our second day on a cruise, YAY. A nice big breakfast as I haven’t gotten used to the novelty of it yet. The rest of the day was kind of ordinary with the view of the ocean or a distant shore. A nice lunch later and we have been looking around the ship, it has been surprisingly hard to get lost here on this ship. Tonight is a formal night so we get to go to a FANCY restaurant and when I say fancy I mean waiters waiting on your hand and foot and with an option of escargot or frog legs. We dressed up all snazzy and had a very nice meal. I started with a shrimp cocktail. For second course I had a Caesar salad. Entrée ( what we would call main) was broiled salmon with mash potato, carrot and green beans. Dessert was a slice of a decadent apple pie with a scoop of ice-cream. Later that night we watched a talk on hump-back whales by Brent Nixon who is a hilarious a guy and also I went swimming with my dad. Sleep came swift tonight.

DAY 24 13th SEPT - Ketchikan, Alaska
Today we arrived at Ketchikan and had a good time. We made port at about seven in the morning and oddly my Mum and Dad were awake watching the ship pull into port. I say oddly as they usually sleep in. At 10 we left the cruise ship and had a wander around old town for a while then went back around to the main area in front of the cruise ship to go on the Duck Tour. The Duck Tour is a tour of the town on an amphibious vehicle. This was quite nice as we got a third generation resident for our tour guide who was pretty funny. We went around town where he talked about it and even went around on the water. The funniest thing he said was how he explained how a fast food joint went bust due to having the drive through

on the ocean side. Bear in mind that they can get category 2 cyclone speed winds without the cyclone. So people would drive up to here and try to talk into the intercom but all that could be heard was the wind. When people would pay for the food they would get their money out, go to pass it to the employee and the money would be ripped out of their hands by the wind. When it came to getting the food the people would stick their hand out the window and as soon as it came in contact with the wind it went flying away too. This made life better for the people who set up nets down wind of the shop. The rest of the day was spent looking around on foot in shops and even to a place called ‘Creek Street’. Here there a bunch of buildings including the house of a woman who managed to pay off her $800 house in two weeks through a business which got $5 per man. Later that night after a nice dinner we went to

watch another talk with Brent Nixon talking about the Sea Otter, tragic things have happened to them. Sleep came easy that night too.

DAY 25 14th, SEPT - Tracy Arm Fjord & Sawyer Glacier Alaska

Today, is a sea day meaning that we spend the day out at sea and do not make port. Today we are going into an area where there is a glacier which is quite nice and different from the usual. After a sleep in and a hearty breakfast we were all out on

the balcony of the ship taking pictures of the whales, Sea Otters, ice and the view as the ship went down the 28 miles of Tracy Arm Fjord. Frustratingly, today the batteries on my camera have died so now my camera is useless, we have some spare batteries somewhere but they remain elusive. Later we went back to our rooms were we talked to Michelle about the view, she wanted to read and so gave us her camera. We spent a while looking at the view and such alike and later I got tired of the cold and the view and went back inside. I tried going back into my room but because the key card can’t open that door I spent a while in my Mum and Dad’s room. The reason I was getting bored of the view is (at least to me) like looking at the same picture for a good half hour, it gets boring and as the ship was going so slowly it was barely changing. After spending

a good few hours in Mum and Dad’s room before I got bored there and came back out on the deck, there we could see some mountain goats and after a bit you could see the Sawyer Glacier where all the ice is coming from. Later the ship turned around and left. That night at 5pm we went to another Brent Nixon talk which was on bears. It was very entertaining and the most hilarious part was where he gave a representation of how bears feel after their denning stage, not being able to "go" for three months causes extreme discomfort and the bears seek out Skunk Cabbage (which has a strong laxative effect) for almost instant relief. But the way he showed it was PRICELESS! After watching a really weird show on TV, sleep came later than usual.

DAY 26 15th SEPT - Skagway, Alaska

Today, we are going to Skagway, so after a quick morning we headed onto the Icy Straight Railway. This train was very nice and even had their own toilet in each carriage. The view along the way was very nice and scenic. When we got to the top of the track, we had to wait for an hour for the train to start moving again. The reason for the wait was that we had to wait for other trains to climb to the top of the track to the passing lane, and one of the trains had broken down for a while. The train started moving again when the other trains had passed. On the way up the track we learnt that the track we were on was used in the gold rush and of an area called Dead Horse Gulley were three THOUSAND horses died. When we got back into town we had a wander around town and there are a LOT of jewelry stores and we found a really cool snow-plowing train. On the

way back to the ship (and I don't mean to be preachy) a fly decided it would be great fun to fly straight into my ear. I admit it kind of shocked me and I was waving like a loony on the walk back swatting at the flies. That night was uneventful.

DAY 27 16th SEPT - Icy Strait Point, Alaska
Today, was cloudy, and cold. We got up early and left the ship at nine. We waited in a sheltered building for a while and then went off to the scenic tram tour. On our way to the tram we saw people going down a MASSIVE zip line. It takes 90 seconds for the whole trip down, and is the longest and fastest zip line in the world. Riders reach up to 100km/h. When we got onto the tram we managed to get on our own secluded part and off we went. We went through a forest and it was quite impressive. We even saw Skunk Cabbage. Along the way we

saw either a small or a young deer or elk. Halfway we stopped at a beach area and we had a look around. Soon we got back in and headed back the way we came. Along the way Michelle dropped her phone but managed to realize before it was too late, and we were able to stop and run back for it. We will never let her forget this. When we returned back into town we had a look at the cannery museum. Later Poppa and I enjoyed half a crab which we demolished while Mum, Dad and Nanna went on a nature walk. After the crab was finished I went to a small fire pit to warm up. I waited around there and coincidentally I met the walkers there when they finished their walk. Nanna and Poppa later went back onto the Celebrity Solstice while the rest of us stayed behind for Halibut and Chips before we went back to the ship, the rest of the day was ordinary.

DAY 28 17th SEPT - Juneau, Alaska
Today, we arrive at Juneau, and the weather is lovely, rain! We haven't got anything particularly planned today so we are going to wander around the town, though Nanna and Poppa are going onto a cable car up the hill/mountain but it is pretty foggy up there. We started on our walk heading left from the ship and we noticed a couple of bald eagles up in some trees which made some nice shots. Along the way through town we noticed that there are LOTS of jewelry stores. We walked past a few pubs, some kids stores, souvenir stores and eventually found our way into a convenience store. Here we bought things like batteries for my camera, and an SD card. This is around the time I figured out how to use the Celebrity Solstice's broken umbrella. We made our way back and along the way we

stopped into a few jewelry stores and a souvenir shop. We bought some jewelry for Mum's work friend who is house/dog sitting and saving us $3,000 in kennel fees as a thank you. We also bought some new shirts and another rude novelty item I was requested to not mention. Near the boat we had a look inside some other shops to find very interesting things, like sand bubble art, stuff I couldn't begin to describe more, rotating orbs including one of earth and even small toy dragons which Michelle took great interest in. As we headed back onto the ship we noticed that the eagles had moved and that they looked rather wet. The rest of the day was pretty laid back and Nanna and Poppa had decided against going on the cable car as they didn't want to look at the inside of a cloud, they offered their tickets to other people but no-one else wanted it.

DAY 29 18th SEPT - At Sea
Today is a sea day and was particularly awful getting our sea legs because we are out at sea and there are larger waves than in the shallower areas and so the ship is rocking, the feeling is particularly weird when you are in bed because of the rocking motion, because we couldn't leave we got to get a very good look at the inside of the ship, when we got out of bed that is. Because Michelle hasn't been able to sleep in lately, Mum and Dad have decreed that she can sleep in today. Though I got up at god knows when (because the room has no windows, it is hard to tell time without a clock) I ended up nerding about in the room for multiple hours until Mum and Dad took a peak inside. Michelle and I have gotten very interested in a TV show they have called 'Forensic Files', this is a TV show that is a documentary about how forensic science has been used to solve mysteries, mostly murders but occasionally other ones. An example is when a woman was kidnapped and wasn't found for years. Eventually they found her, in a freezer. There was a big investigation and the killer was either killed or sentenced to life prison with no parole, my memory is weird and I cannot remember.

DAY 30 19th SEPT - At Sea
Today is a second day at sea and much the same as the previous day, though I did watch a glass blowing demonstration and sampled most of the foods available at the buffet. Michelle didn't have a monster sleep in today though. I am rather excited as I am going to be seeing some of my cousins in a week but am also kind of down as we don't have too much time of this luxury left, this has felt like it has been going on forever. Michelle has gotten me interested in Fan Fiction novels, these are online stories that are made by fans of a Fandom (a Fandom is a term used to refer to a sub culture based from fans of movies or TV shows) who write stories about the characters in their Fandom. An example is when Tony Stark from the Avengers learns magic from Loki. Most are funny but there are some weird parts.

DAY 31 20th SEPT - Victoria, British Columbia
Today we are getting off this luxurious hell hole and stepping on dry land, though I am being quite over dramatic with the hell hole part. We are in Victoria on Vancouver Island. Here is a GIANT garden called the Butchart Gardens. We have rented

a car for the day and are driving there ourselves. The garden is spectacular, and wet, it is raining so we are all walking around with umbrellas tuck in to hold themselves up. The garden is big, colorful and just about magical. There were no limits on our photo taking so we took hundreds of photos. We had lunch at the cafe and headed off in the afternoon. We then went to a castle/mansion nearby but didn't look around inside because it would have taken too long. We then went back to ship and went inside while Mum and Dad dropped off the car. When we were walking back down the pier we were almost being blown off by strong winds, we even kidded about how much fun it would be to be in a wheel chair with a kite without brakes. The rest of the day was ordinary other than how Michelle and I stayed up late watching 'Forensic Files'.

DAY 32 21st SEPT - Nanaimo, British Columbia
Today is our second last day on the cruise so we made it count. We didn't have anything planned so we wandered around the town. We started our walk after being dropped off by a bus for the cruise ship around a tourist town square, had a look around and headed off. Walking through the streets we found out that they had a canon firing event on so we watched. The first shot made me jump high and the second shot I recorded on my phone, Mum was almost wetting herself laughing because the man who lit the cannon also jumped when it went off. We had lunch at a diner called 'Pirate Chips'. Michelle had a Peanut Butter Bacon Burger, I had a Poutine Burger with a side of Poutine and Mum and Dad shared a large plate of Poutine, for those of you who haven't had Poutine it is hot chips with gravy and melted cheese on top. When Michelle finished with her rather messy burger, she looked like a toddler after Spaghetti Bolognaise. After, we shared what is called a Nanaimo Bar that was deep fried and served with whipped cream and ice-cream. This was DECADENT. We paid the bill and picked up a few brochures (one of which has a Nanaimo Bar recipe, YAY). We walked through a town square like area with a bunch of shops that are only the temporary kind at farmers market and Mum bought some jewelry. We headed back to the ship on foot and looked at the shops on the way back. That night Michelle and I were asked to go to the bar on the top back of the ship for pre-dinner drinks. We found Mum and Dad talking to some other Australians they had found and so we joined them. We had a nice talk and went off soon after they left. Otherwise we had a rather usual night that night though it was our last on the ship though we did leave a big tip for our great room cleaner whose name escapes me.

DAY 33 22 SEPT - Vancouver, British Columbia
We arrived at Vancouver quite early today but we don't need to leave the ship till between 8-9 ish. We had breakfast in the real fancy restaurant and had a nice yet small breakfast. We then waited for what seemed like forever to exit the boat and get our luggage (the night before, we put our suit cases out in the hallway so they get grabbed and put in a different area to be collected by their owner). We ended up leaving around 9 and we left to get our Vancouver car. We looked through out the area but couldn't find it, getting ourselves up tight we asked someone at the help desk who told us it was a few blocks away, we got our stuff and headed off. We got the car without another worry at 10-ish and found ourselves without anything to do for

6 odd hours. So we drove around and listened to the Gypsy Guide (the tour guide app). We drove around the park and stopped to look at a ship bringing in or taking out a big load of sulfur (look at the picture the sulphur powder rock stuff is bright yellow). We then went to a market place where we bought some lunch plus fruit and cheese. We then arrived at our apartment and took the awful elevator ride up to the floor. It was awful because of the sudden stops which felt horrible. We spent the night in and had a nice dinner. The beds were nice and springy and it was surprisingly nice to have WiFi again.