Our very first shore excursion during our Alaska cruise on Celebrity Edge was in Ketchikan . The ship arrived at 7:00 am and was scheduled to depart by 4:00 pm. Our Shorex meeting time was at 12:15 pm, so we had a good chunk of the morning to explore. Although we stepped out right after breakfast, I quickly realized I had underestimated Alaska in summer. I thought a knitted sweater and jeans would be enough—but less than five minutes off the ship, I was freezing . We had to go back to the cabin to layer up before trying again. Lesson learned: even in August, Alaska mornings can be chilly! For our excursion, we joined the Totem Park & City Highlights tour , which was essentially a bus tour around Ketchikan with a driver/guide sharing stories about the town. We also learned that most of the workers in tourism are actually seasonal—they come to Alaska just for the cruise season, then move on elsewhere or back home. Our first stop was Potlatch Park , ...
Note: I’ll be writing a separate blog post for each of our Shore Excursions (Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria) and linking them back here once they’re up. For now, this post will focus on our overall cruise experience onboard Celebrity Edge
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I recently posted photos on Facebook from our cruise and realized—I haven’t blogged about it yet! A 7-day cruise is a lot to cover, so I’ll be writing this one day at a time. And what better way to start than to just dive in?
From August 15–22, 2025, we sailed on a Celebrity 7-Night Alaska Dawes Glacier Cruise aboard the Celebrity Edge. This wasn’t our first cruise. Since 2023 we’ve been lucky to cruise every year:
- Odyssey of the Seas (June 18–25, 2023): Santorini (Greece), Ephesus (Kusadasi, Turkey), Mykonos (Greece), Naples/Capri (Italy), and Civitavecchia.
- Explorer of the Seas (May 11–18, 2024): Naples and Sicily (Italy), Corfu (Greece), Kotor (Montenegro), and Zadar (Croatia).
I’ve grown to love cruising. People think it’s extravagant, but for the price (around $1,500–$2,500 depending on the cruise line), it’s actually quite reasonable. You visit multiple countries without paying for separate flights, hotels, or meals. Plus, you get unlimited food, activities, and even freebies! Sure, it’s a splurge, but compared to DIYing a multi-country trip, cruises can be less expensive—and way less tiring. Part of me is thinking maybe I'm just girl math-ing but my husband also agrees!
Getting There
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Since we live in Al Ahsa, the trip started with a 2-hour drive to Dammam Airport. From there, we flew Dammam → Dubai (1.5 hours) with a 3-hour layover, then Dubai → Seattle (14 hours).
That long-haul flight was… loooong. I slept, ate, played games, journaled, even painted—but every glance at the screen showed only 30 minutes had passed. To make it more bearable, I prepped a Busy Bag (snacks, journaling, and art supplies)—read about it here.
Boarding Day (Seattle → Celebrity Edge)
- We had a 1:00–1:30 pm check-in time, but like our past cruises, they weren’t strict. The staggered times just help manage the crowds.
- Luggage tip: Print cruise luggage tags ahead of time. Don’t laminate unless you have heavy-duty staplers or tape handy. Better yet, buy the reusable luggage tag pouches for next time.
- Safety briefing: Mandatory before sailing. Skip it and the captain won’t let the ship leave—talk about pressure!
- Cabin: Our keys were waiting outside the door. We unpacked a bit and decorated our cabin door using the rosettes from the birthday decor my sister used in Malaysia (read about my surprise celebration here). I also made custom magnets for the door, which turned out super cute—if you’d like to recreate them, you can check out my Design Space. I designed them myself!
- First stop: The buffet! On Celebrity, it’s the Oceanview Café (Royal Caribbean calls it Windjammer).
Our room was a Deluxe Inside, it didn't have windows but it was really pretty and by far our biggest cabin yet!
This cruise also had an Effy Jewelry store, and they hand out daily freebies. Day 1’s was a necklace. Of course, Ton and I both lined up, so I got two.
Dinner that night was at Normandie Restaurant. Service felt less attentive compared to Royal Caribbean (for example, RC staff always cleaned crumbs when clearing plates, Celebrity didn’t). Small detail, but noticeable.
Back in our cabin, we found turn-down service with little Celebrity X chocolates on the pillow—such a nice touch.
Here are some photos I took while we wandered around the ship:
Day 2 – Cruise Day
Cruise days are perfect for free activities and exploring the ship.
- Breakfast: Bacon, scrambled eggs, and my DIY garlic rice (white rice topped with fried garlic from the congee buffet). Also, rice porridge with eggs, caramelized onions, and spring onions— ultimate comfort food!
- Sketch Class: “Sketch with Toffee,” a Filipino artist onboard. We drew an Alaskan salmon—intimidating at first, but fun!
- Duck hiding: This is something I forgot on Day 1. Today, I brought a tote bag full of ducks and scattered them around the ship. This tote was given by my swap mate, Carlene all the way from the Philippines and I loved carrying it around. it's just the perfect size for the ducks, food, and freebies I get throughout the day.
Read about the ducks I prepared for this trip here!
- Rough seas: The waves were so strong everyone walked like “drunk zombies.” Ton stayed in bed, but I powered through activities. I even went down stairs sitting at one point—it was that bad. Staff said it was the roughest they’d seen in years.
- Musical Bingo: Fun but unlucky—we never got the X we needed. Haha!
- Effy freebies: Anchor charm in the morning, XO charm in the evening (two each again, thanks Ton).
Dinner was at Tuscan Restaurant—also Chic Night. Apart for this Chic Night themed dress code, the usual dress code for dinner is smart casual minimum, no slippers or shorts. Celebrity is stricter than RC here.
Back to our room, I thought our door was already extra, but I was surprised to see my neighbor across the hall went all out. Hers was an explosion of decorations—like a party supply store burst open right there on Deck 7. Definitely made the hallway feel festive every time we walked by. And my decor little. hahaha.
It cracked me up so much that I even made a reel about it on Instagram. Would you believe it already has 43,300 views and 879 likes? Clearly, cruise door décor is serious business. See my reel here!
Tonight's turn-down:
Day 3 – Ketchikan
Breakfast at Cosmopolitan Restaurant. The menu was fancier, but I preferred Oceanview’s buffet—faster, no waiting, and no “takaw shaming” when ordering seconds. Haha! At Cosmopolitan, I ordered another set of what I initially had, and the waiter (nicely) commented that I must be hungry. The couples beside us (double our age!) laughed, and we laughed with them. At least in Oceanview, you can grab seconds (or thirds!) without anyone noticing.
Before our Totem Park & City Highlights Shore Excursion, we joined a Dot Painting Class. I loved it—and Ton joined too!
Back onboard, we went for Oceanview’s Asian Food Night (sadly, no liempo—though they did serve tofu kare-kare, oddly without bagoong).
Later in the evening, we stuck to our casino rule: $20 per person per day. When it’s gone, it’s gone.
Luckily, we also got a $10 free credit from the cruise line which we saw when we went back to our cabin + another turn-down.
Day 4 – Endicott Arm / Dawes Glacier + Juneau
Up at 6 am to catch the Dawes Glacier—cold, breathtaking, and magical. Staff handed out blankets and hot chocolate, which made it extra cozy.
I'm sharing photos I took that morning so I don't have to describe them further! Hehe!
Trivia from yesterday: American bacon (crispy) vs. English bacon (soft).
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| English Bacon |
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| American Bacon |
We joined a Macrame class and another round of Dot Painting before our Whale Watching & Salmon Bake Shorex in Juneau.
Read about our Whale Watching & Salmon Bake Shorex here!
We were so tired afterward that we skipped the Effy freebie, casino night, and even the northern lights.
Day 5 – Skagway
Breakfast, then our White Pass Scenic Railway Shorex—stunning views. Also tried Alaskan King Crab for the first time (more on that in a separate post! But here is a teaser photo!).
After our Shorex, we snacked a little at Oceanview, rested in our stateroom, then went out again later in the evening for the Effy free charm and casino. We ended up staying out until around 3:00 am, when the ship felt like a total ghost town. Unlike our previous Royal Caribbean cruises—where the ship stayed lively practically 24/7—Celebrity quieted down much earlier. Different vibe, but still nice for late-night duck hiding.
Day 6 – Cruise Day
We joined back-to-back classes: Paracord Keychain making, then another Sketch Class (this time, drawing a bear). Toffee’s teaching was so good that all three of us ended up with really nice sketches.
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| Mine |
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| Ton's |
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| Chummy's |
But really… Day 6 was all about the food.
- Brunch – We decided to “save space” for the evening, but who are we kidding? Brunch on a cruise means piling up plates anyway. Still, it worked out because we needed room for not one, but two dinners. (You read that right! TWO!!!)
- Dinner #1 – Le Petit Chef (add-on). This has kind of become “our thing” whenever it’s available. We tried it in Manila (2023), Riyadh (earlier this year), and of course had to do it here too. It wasn't included in our package so we had to pay a little. The animated show projected on the table was just as magical, and the food was excellent. What made it extra special this time was the warm, cheerful service—especially from the Filipino staff. They even introduced the chef to us personally and had photos taken with him. We felt like VIPs!
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| Creamy Potato Leek |
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| Citrus Poached Cod Loin |
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| Beef Tenderloin En Croute |
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| Chocolate Cremieux |
Read about our Riyadh Le Petit Chef experience here!
- Dinner #2 – Lobster Night at Tuscan Restaurant. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to eat again after Le Petit Chef, but how could anyone say no to free lobster? It’s one of those “cruise classics” you can’t skip. So yes, two dinners in one night. No regrets!
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| Clasic Caesar Salad and Creamy Tuscan Shrimp Soup |
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| Broiled Lobster Tail |
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| Celebrity Signature Baked Alaska |
After back-to-back dinners, we strolled over to the Grand Plaza, where music and dancing were in full swing. Our server (another Filipino!) slipped us some free drinks—Mabuhay ang mga Pinoy! Before capping the night, we passed by the casino for our $20 play.
Day 7 – Victoria, Canada
Our shore excursion was in the evening, so the day was mostly ship activities.
- Paracord Bracelet Class (made one big enough for Lucky, our cat).
- Final Sketch Class: Orca of Alaska. Took a selfie with our teacher, Toffee to wrap it up!
- It was American Day food theme at Oceanview so we peeked and ate a little! The Roasted Pork Leg was to die for!!! The skin was so crispy and tasty!!!
- Mini Macrame Class - same project at the first one but they taught us a little trick to make the knots into cute design around the hoop.
- Special Dinner: Fine Cut Steakhouse—splurged on the Certified Black Angus Tomahawk.
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| Complimentary bread |
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| Crab Cake |
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| Black Pepper Bacon |
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| Lemon Poached Lobster Tail |
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| Black Angus Tomahawk |
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| Parmesan Truffle Fries |
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| Roasted Mushrooms |
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| Apple Walnut Cobbler |
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| Ultimate Chocolate Sundae |
After dinner, we started the bittersweet task of packing up. On cruises, the last night follows a very specific luggage process:
You need to pack almost everything and leave your big suitcases outside your cabin door by a set time (usually around 10:00 pm).
The crew collects them, stores them overnight, and brings them down to the disembarkation area.
The next morning, you claim your bags in the terminal after leaving the ship.
This makes disembarkation so much easier—imagine thousands of people dragging suitcases through narrow hallways and stairwells at the same time!
Of course, you still have to keep a carry-on bag with you for the night and morning—things like pajamas, toiletries, clothes for disembarkation day, travel documents, and any valuables. Some cruisers prefer to carry all their luggage off themselves (called self-assist disembarkation), but honestly, it’s a hassle unless you pack super light.
For us, leaving the suitcases outside always feels like the saddest part of the cruise—like the ship is gently telling you it’s almost over
Since ur Victoria Shorex started at 8 pm, we had to pack our things before we leave the ship as not to miss the 10 pm deadline.
Read about our Experience Victoria, Canada Shorex here.
We wrapped up the night with a final buffet at Oceanview.
Final Thoughts
Last breakfast at Oceanview, then disembarkation. As the captain said: “Don’t be sad it’s over, be happy it happened.”
Cruise Freebies – Our Jewelry Haul
One of the fun little perks of cruising is the freebies you can collect onboard. On Celebrity Edge, our cabin came with an Effy Jewelry tracker—a checklist showing what accessory would be given out each day and at what time. In theory, you’re supposed to bring the tracker every time you claim your freebie, but honestly… they weren’t that strict. I brought it the first two days, but after that, nobody really checked. Even funnier, my husband managed to get his share withoutshowing it at all. Double the freebies for me.
Here’s what we collected during the week from Effy:
- Day 1: Effy necklace
- Day 2: Anchor charm pendant (morning) + XO charm pendant (evening)
- Day 3: Charm pendant
- Day 4: Missed the horseshoe charm (Juneau day—we were too tired and knocked out early!)
- Day 5: Effy charm pendant
- Day 6: Effy charm pendant
So, by the end of the cruise, we had quite the souvenir jewelry collection—a mix of necklaces and charms. None of them are “big ticket” pieces of course, but they’re fun keepsakes that remind us of each day. And since Ton always lined up too, I got double of everything (except the horseshoe we missed).
Another fun tradition: cruise ships usually hand out a free charm bracelet at the start of the week. On our past Royal Caribbean cruises, they gave out bangles, but this time Celebrity gave us bracelets. Each day, they sell cruise-related charms as a “special” promo—usually $10 each, and also sell a pack of 5 random charms for $10 total. Of course, we went for the deal and brought home 5 extra charms. Between Ton and me, we also ended up with two free bracelets, so I had plenty of space to fill.
The third bracelet was a bit of a plot twist. One day, the newsletter announced that Cartier would be giving away free bracelets. Naturally, everyone lined up, buzzing at the thought of a Cartier freebie. Now, I knew it was too much to expect actual Cartier jewelry… but I was still a little let down when they handed us the exact same bracelet Celebrity had been giving away. Not even a different box or packaging to make it feel special. Oh well—at least now I have three matching “Cartier” bracelets as a story to tell.
Little tip if you’re going on a cruise: always check the daily program or cabin inserts for giveaways. Some are from Effy Jewelry, others from onboard stores, and they’re usually limited-time. It’s a fun way to collect small mementos without spending a dime.
Comparing the two:
- Royal Caribbean: Younger, livelier crowd, better service.
- Celebrity: Older crowd, quieter, but more artsy and creative activities—which I personally enjoyed.
Would we cruise again? Absolutely (we just booked out next trip!) Each line has its charm, but nothing beats waking up in a new place every day without the stress of airports and hotels.
Next up: I’ll be blogging separately about our Seattle stopover and each Alaska port (Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Victoria)—with more photos, food stories, and shore excursion details.
Awwww!!! 😍😍😍 I enjoyed reading this sis!!! there were a lot of stories in here that you were not able to tell in our group chat. Your photos of every food you had made me hungryyyyy, and made me imagine hearing the voice of the waiter from Cosmopolitan Restaurant. 😆 I was planning to comment on each day but I’d leave that to aMOMymous. 😆 Anyway, I’m soooo happy for you and Ton sis!!! 🥰🥰🥰
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