Our Alaska cruise began with an unexpected twist. Although we were originally scheduled to sail round-trip from Vancouver, Dale's revised schedule meant we flew directly to Ketchikan to board the Solstice.
The journey was a two-leg trip: first from Vancouver to Seattle, then on to Ketchikan. After landing, we ferried across to the mainland and made our way to the Landings Hotel. After waiting a long time for the overbooked shuttle, we decided to take a reasonably priced taxi. The hotel is older, but the service was excellent. For dinner, we went to the recommended Portside Pub & Grill, located upstairs. The highlight was a phenomenal seafood stew, overflowing with generous portions of shrimp, crab, fish, calamari, and mussels. The hotel's main-floor restaurant, The Diner, also served a delicious breakfast the next morning.
With bus passes Dale had purchased online, we took a bus out to Totem Bight State Park. This outdoor museum, set in a beautiful, misty forest surrounding a sheltered cove, was the perfect setting for the historical totems. The park features 14 beautifully refurbished totem poles from the Tlingit and Haida nations, each with its own story, as well as a Clan House.
Boarding the ship was a breeze as we were the only new passengers. The crew gave us a warm welcome and looked after us exceptionally well. After unpacking, we headed to the upper deck for a quick tea and snack before dinner. It was a formal night, and the menu did not disappoint with wonderful selections, including lobster and salmon with prawns. The evening's entertainment was a great magic show by the very talented Paige Thompson.
At sea - It was a grey chilly morning, so the entertainment staff put on a full indoor agenda. Dale did his Top Gun talk at 10:15am, then after lunch we got to see Paige Thompson again for a new show. It was a bit warmer after the show, so had a hot tub before dinner. The entertainment was the production show Amade. It is a spectacular show featuring the singers, dancers and acrobats, with no real story line, so you could just watch in amazement!
Vancouver - we had to disembark and get a new cruise card for the next phase, which was our originally scheduled cruise. Joel and his friend Azam met us for a lovely walk along Vancouver's downtown shoreline and back to Canada Place to re-board the ship. We had a delicious welcome lunch and had a leisurely afternoon. The evening's entertainer was The Comedy of Steven Scott.
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