We were on the Solstice to Alaska in June/July 2013. We are a family of 5, kids were 13, 11, 8 at the time of sailing. We were part of a group of 18 to celebrate a big anniversary. Left from Seattle because one of the families traveling with us lives in Seattle and it made it easier for all of us. We have been on
DCL once about 5 years ago and RCL Allure about 3 years ago.
We stayed in the family oceanview room (deck 8, I think) and it was HUGE! It's located at the very front of the ship and we did hear some noise and felt a lot of vibration when docking but we were usually awake at those times. It had a large balcony, a separate bedroom with bunkbeds, and the master bedroom could be closed to separate it from the main sitting area. It was the best family cabin we have had yet.
My kids did miss some of the on-board activities that they liked from previous cruises (mini golf, Flowrider, rock wall), but did find ways to entertain themselves. Went to the kids club a couple of times but weren't really interested in what was going on. Many of the pools were practically empty (they are heated) and our weather was gorgeous every day with the exception of Juneau, so they swam a lot or found other ways to entertain themselves. They also really enjoyed the naturalist who was on board and went to a lot of his presentations. We were busy on every port day and got off just after docking and returned just before leaving port.
I thought the glass blowing demo was boring and felt that the lawn area could've been used for a better purpose. The entertainment is lacking in comparison to the other ships we have been on.
Service was great. Our steward and waiters were excellent. Dress code was comparable to other cruises. The kids wore khakis and polo shirts except on the formal nights. Then they wore a shirt and tie. Other cruisers had on a variety of clothes on formal night-some with tuxes and gowns and others with shirts/ties with or without sport coats and nice dresses.
We loved Alaska and want to return again. The scenery and wildlife were so so beautiful. Next time, if possible we would leave from Vancouver or do a land package before or after, but for our first trip this was great. The kids had a blast and are begging us to go back---partly because our helicopter/dogsled tour was cancelled in Juneau due to bad weather and no visibility.
It is completely different than the Caribbean cruises we have been on. Seeing that you have been on other cruises you need to go into it saying that it is going to be a different experience than in the past, and then sit back and enjoy it. Each ship is different and each has positives and negatives. We felt this ship was geared more toward the adult crowd but the kids still loved the trip. There were many extended families on board (families with grandparents) and others were variety of ages from young to old.
Feel free to ask any questions.