Featherweight Cruise: Quilt Through Alaska's Glaciers
Looking for the perfect blend of quilting and Alaskan adventure? Join us aboard the Celebrity Solstice next June where you will enjoy some of Alaska's most stunning sights as well as a delightful quilting experience courtesy of The Featherweight Shop! Take in gorgeous views of wildlife, glaciers, and mountains as you sew on a Featherweight prepared just for you.
During the seven-day cruise, you will…
- Eat like royalty
- Attend Featherweight and quilting tutorials
- Work on your own quilt top (all pieces are precut by laser and ready to sew!)*
- Enjoy breathtaking views of some of Alaska’s finest highlights
- Have plenty of time for excursions at ports
By the time you disembark, you will carry home not just your gorgeous quilt project*, but treasured memories of the Last Frontier. Sign up now—cruise 2 is already sold out, and cruise 1 has just a few spots left!
*2025 Cruise Quilt Pattern and Design - To Be Announced
Cruise 1 - June 15-22 — Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Hubbard Glacier.
Cruise 2 - June 22-29 — SOLD OUT — Icy Strait Point, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier.
Not sure which cruise to pick? Take a look at the pictures below to see if the glaciers settle that question for you! The biggest difference between the cruises is that Cruise 1 features Hubbard Glacier up close while Cruise 2 features Dawes Glacier, seen from a distance.
Note: Not to make things terribly confusing, but as you can see in the recap below, the order was reversed in 2024—Cruise 1 featured Dawes Glacier, while Cruise 2 featured Hubbard Glacier.
2024 Cruise Recap
CRUISE 1 - featuring Dawes Glacier
Day 1 - Vancouver, BC
The Celebrity Solstice departed from naturally stunning Vancouver, British Columbia, which is nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Coastal Mountains. You might want to arrive a day early to explore!
We loved setting up the classroom for quilters. Those floor-to-ceiling windows helped create a blissful learning and sewing environment for everyone!
Day 2 - Sea Day (cruising)
Quilters enjoyed our tutorials on “Getting To Know Your Featherweight” and how to use the different quarter-inch feet and piecing accessories. By the end, our quilters had learned unique tips to advance their piecing skills!
Day 3 - Icy Strait Point
We loved the pristine waters, lush forests, snow-capped mountains, humpback whales, and bald eagles.
Day 4 - Skagway
A bit of time travel! Skagway transported us back to the late 19th century with its rich (no pun intended) Gold Rush-era vibe. We rode a vintage train on a narrow-gauge railroad from Skagway into the heart of the Yukon, climbing 3,000 feet (!) and passing glacial rivers, waterfalls, and gorges.
Day 5 - Endicott Arm (featuring Dawes Glacier) & Juneau
The highlight of Cruise 1! We sailed near the Dawes Glacier, a majestic 15-mile-long ribbon of ice rising like a crystalline fortress out of the frigid water. Half a mile wide, six hundred feet tall, the glacier is famous for its calving, which is when massive chunks of ice break off and plunge into the ocean.
Below shows our morning view of Dawes. The sunny clear view was spectacular. The cruise coordinator of the ship woke everyone up at 5:30 am because the conditions were so unusual: smooth, calm, clear, and just pristinely beautiful. We are eager to go back and explore excursion options to possibly see the calving up close on Dawes.
Then we enjoyed this view from the tram in Juneau:
Day 6 - Ketchikan
Visiting the quilt and yarn shops in Ketchikan were a highlight! We enjoyed perusing all the Alaska-themed fabrics (and dodging rain drops).
Day 7 - Sea Day (cruising)
The lovely Rosanna (who assisted with organizing much of this cruise—thank you, Rosanna!) taught quilters how to make a Featherweight accessory bag featuring our custom-printed Featherweight collage fabric.
Day 8 - Vancouver, BC
This is where we said goodbye to the first crew of quilters and hello to the second. Welcome aboard!
CRUISE 2 - featuring Hubbard Glacier
The second cruise had the same itinerary as the first with a couple tweaks: the ship did not make port at Skagway, instead allowing more time to visit the awe-inspiring Hubbard Glacier.
Day 1 - Vancouver, BC
Day 2 - Sea Day (Cruising)
Quilters got right to work! They had impressive focus while Alaska did her best to distract.
Day 3 - Icy Strait Point
The weather at Icy Straight Point definitely lives up to the “icy.” Even in May, the lows can plummet to below freezing at night, and during the day, you’re lucky if you hit 60 degrees. A down jacket is the way to go!
Day 4 - Hubbard Glacier & Cruising
Our favorite glacier! This colossal ice palace peaks at 400 feet and stretches nearly 76 miles long. The glacier’s surface is a mosaic of brilliant blue and white and turquoise that seem to glow from within, as if lit by a hidden source.
But Hubbard isn’t just a visual beauty—it’s also a symphony of sound. The quiet is punctuated by deep rumbles of ice shifting and cracking, a reminder of the glacier's relentless movement. You hear the distant, thunderous roar of ice calving into the water, followed by the softer splash as icebergs break free and plunge into the bay. Magnificent and glorious!
Day 5 - Juneau
A highlight for Kate, Ruthie, and April was the helicopter excursion in Juneau—landing on the Mendenhall Glacier and drinking the water directly from it! The water was clean, cold, and so refreshing—and blue.
Day 6 - Ketchikan
Shockingly different weather from one week to the next! On the first cruise, Ketchikan was a chilly, sopping adventure. But on the second cruise—here comes the sun!
Day 7 - Sea Day (Cruising)
Sewing like mad! On the last sea day, the class room thrummed with the happy hum of dozens of Singer Featherweights. There’s no homier sound!
Day 8 - Vancouver, BC
Brimming with memories for a lifetime, we returned to Vancouver and prepared for the long drive back to our hometown of Kooskia, located just north of Central Idaho. See you next year!
Quilts Ahoy
Just look at the smashing results from both cruises. Well done, quilters!
“Entered the Michigan in the Turner County Fair in Parker, South Dakota, and received a Blue Ribbon - 1st place. Thank you for the fun cruise and pushing me to learn so much!” - Jana M
“I finished my quilt, using different borders. I have always wanted to make this quilt, and was happy to find out it was the one we were going to make on the cruise!” - Brenda P.
"We had sew much fun. The Featherweight Shop provided everything we needed plus tons of goodies. We saw whales from the sewing room!" -Jodi F.
"Finally finished! Thank you for a wonderful trip! - Katherine A.
Miriam N. finished her quilt late summer and added more borders to make it larger - so lovely!
"Victory twirl! It is finished! Thank you for stretching me, Featherweight Shop!" - Jan L.
What quilters are saying…
“I can hardly wait to go back. The Featherweight Shop cruise was so fun.” - Peggy S.
“I would like to say thank you to the entire Featherweight staff for their hard work and dedication to ensure a wonderful quilting experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the quilting environment, and my husband and I loved the cruise and our Alaska journey.” - Joanne D.
“Christine and I had a wonderful time on week one. The Featherweight crew were very organized and made sure we had what we needed for a successful cruise. Loved the daily gifts found on our sewing machines and the knowledge shared with us about our Featherweights! Thank you!” - Linda F.
Will we see you in Alaska next June?
Cruise 1 - June 15-22 — Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Hubbard GlacierCruise 2 - June 22-29 — Icy Strait Point, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier