I have been so ridiculously busy over the last week between dealing with kittens and trying to sort through and edit around 500 photos. Oy. It hasn’t left me a lot of time for putting down my thoughts on this trip, but now it’s time!

Jason and I flew out to Seattle the day before our cruise. Travel was (almost) completely uneventful on the way there, and we made it to our hotel in good time. The Moore Hotel is an old, quirky place with all the remnants of being an old, quirky place: clawfoot tubs, old chandeliers and radiators, physical key locks, no a/c. As it was an extremely hot day in Seattle, we were warned profusely about the a/c issue, but honestly, it was the same temp as current San Antonio mornings, so while it wasn’t the most comfortable in the late afternoon, we were fine. We kept the windows open and a rotating fan on us throughout the night, and it was perfect.

I’ve seen a lot of reviews that complain about the Moore, but honestly, it comes down to one thing: if you want modern conveniences, don’t go to a historic hotel. Period. We loved it, and the front desk staff was extremely knowledgeable. They set us up to go to the pier for a decent price the next day, and they helped us out with the one glitch from our travels. The airline completely broke my suitcase. I mean, they snapped one of the long poles holding the side together into two pieces, so if I rolled it along, the suitcase would bend in half. The Moore staff was able to help us find a place within walking distance to replace my case and to pick up a few things we needed that were either forgotten, or got damaged by the broken case. I have nothing but good things to say about them, and I’d gladly stay there again.

Bonus, the hotel was on the edge of the Pike Place Market district, so we were literally a couple blocks from the fish market, flower market, the original Starbucks, etc. We found this awesome restaurant called The Pink Door for dinner (no actual signage that we could see, just a literal pink door to let you know you’d arrived), and there was live tango music while we ate. Apparently, there are acrobatic shows (from hoops and swings on the ceiling) on certain days, but we missed that. Again, 10 out of 10 recommend, but if you go, be forewarned: it is definitely pricey. It was our one big splurge meal.

Lots of exploring, crumpets for breakfast, so many photos, and then we were off to the pier in a van with a bunch of other cruisers, some who were also going to be on our ship. I don’t think I’ve mentioned this yet (forgive me if I have – I’ve been posting across four different social medias!), but we were on the same exact ship as our last cruise in 2018! The Solstice is definitely more rundown now than six years ago, as you might imagine, so there were a few hmmm moments along the way – lights that went out through the whole ship mid-dinner one night; seats in the theatres sagging and broken; a few large windows cracked or with broken seals, etc. Still, it’s a good ship, and we were amused to see that one of the two copies of Oathbringer (that were brand new in the ship’s library in 2018) was still there, with book cover gone and half the spine pulled off. Poor, well-loved Oathbringer.

Because we’d been on the ship before, we already knew all the good places to hang out. Jason and I tend to avoid the loud, chaotic areas (like the shops and casino). Because this was a cold-weather cruise, the library and card rooms where a lot fuller than usual, so we ended up spending time up in the sky lounge or in the earth room, which were mostly empty. There were also mornings at the specialty coffee place (I was completely enamored with their iced bianco). A movie (A Man Called Otto) in the hidden little theatre. (There’s a literal joke about people being unable to find this spot despite events being set there.) A “musical Shakespeare mystery,” which I thought was going to be a singing kind of musical but instead was a mystery with pop songs played at intervals that we had to guess the names of. A world wine tour where I learned so much!

Jason and I didn’t attend any of the big evening shows. Most of them were uninteresting, and the one I really wanted to go to was on the night I was super sick and needed to sleep. After three years of avoiding crowds, I got a cold after our trip to Ketchikan that lasted 48 hours. It was just a cold, but it sucked. I napped a lot. The rocking of the boat, which was quite strong at times, was the perfect lull-me-to-sleep tonic. (I don’t get seasick on cruises and actually adore the way the rocking feels!) Being sick meant that I missed most of the events I wanted to attend (like dance and archery classes), but at the same time, it gave me time to read and play murder mystery board games with Jason. Super laid back trip!!

I think the last thing I wanted to mention about the cruise itself was the food. We’ve always cruised on Celebrity, and I’ve been told by a travel-agent friend that they have the best food. I was also told by another friend who cruises a lot that many cruise lines cut back on food quality heavily during the pandemic. I was worried that would be the case with Celebrity, too, but for the most part, it wasn’t. Or, if they have cut back, it’s only to a level that’s still superior to what I get at home, so I didn’t really notice. My favorite thing that I ate onboard was a panna cotta in strawberry puree, which was divine. I wish I’d gotten a second serving.

Post-cruise, we traveled back to San Antonio on a trip that was far more eventful, with extreme delays, an incredibly dirty Denver airport, lots of turbulence as we flew through tons of lightning strikes, and an eventual arrival back at home around 2am the next day. I kinda wish we’d stayed another night at the Moore before traveling home!! But it’s done now, and most of the rest of the trip was good (minus the stupid cold). After five years, I remember why I enjoy cruising so much. It’s unfortunate, because the cruise industry is an environmental disaster, but still. I loved it.

Random notes from onboard:

• we saw whales breaching beside the ship!
• it was so cold and foggy every night that being out on the decks was madness
• we bought regular wifi on the ship, which was meant to be on one device, but they upgraded us to two devices out of nowhere, no extra charge!
• they also upgraded our drinks package from Zero Proof (just sodas, juices, and specialty coffees) to a Classic package, so I could have wine at dinner without it costing anything – I have no idea why they did that, but I’ll take it!
• at breakfast one morning, a waitress sang a song to a couple celebrating their anniversary
• the staff did a really good job helping J avoid nuts on the trip – so good, in fact, that when he ordered peanut butter ice cream (he’s not allergic to peanuts, just tree nuts), they brought him a different dessert altogether, ha!

For more/better photos, see my Instagram: @pookasluagh