Northern Aurora

We use the laundry service every three days or so when cruising. I doubt that your request to deliver the items to your stateroom so that you can hang them will be honored. The laundry crew process so much each day this would be very difficult for them. We have had great service from the laundry folks but travel with easy care items.

Good restaurants walkable from the Westmark include the Thai House, Soba (Moldovan cuisine but be aware that service can be slow), Jazz Bistro and Lavelle's Bistro (which is where we are going to night with friends). Salty's would be another possibility, but I personally find them very sandwich focused so don't like them for dinner. And yes, I would rent a car in Denali and drive to mile 30 on the single park road. Also consider the hiking trails around Mt. Vista. The NPS visitor center at the park entrance is also worth a visit.

Which Fairbanks hotel will you be at? The drive from Fairbanks to the Chena Hot Springs Resort takes 90 minutes to two hours. It seems to me that every summer there is some sort of road construction on the Chena Hot Springs road. The first 22 or so miles is through some strange and funky subdivisions, but at mile 23 you enter the massive Chena River Recreation Area. Great moose habitat area. The resort itself has decent food. Their massive greenhouses, which are heated with a system using their thermal hot springs, grows their own lettuces, herbs and tomatoes. They can keep the greenhouses warm until the outdoor temperatures reach about -60F. They offer a tour of their energy facility, and, of course, the Ice Museum is very popular. The Pioneer Park Salmon Bake is one of those restaurants which has a very hard time attracting locals. In my opinion, it is over priced for what it is.

We disembarked twice in Sydney in 2023 -- both times on Celebrity ships. The international airport is about a 30 minute drive from the Overseas Passenger Terminal. We have disembarked in Sydney several times and the line for taxis is always long (one time it took about an hour in line). Celebrity will have motor coach transfers to both the international and domestic airports, but since folks have to wait until the coach is about 3/4 full there will be a delay there too. I also think you will have a hard time with a 11AM flight. Book a later flight. We rarely fly the same day we leave a ship. In Sydney we take a Hawaiian Air direct flight to Honolulu where we stay for several days before flying home to Alaska. The international airport has a Rydges Hotel directly across from the terminal. We stay there overnight and pay for a late checkout. About 6 PM we check out and move to the airport. The HA ticket counter is preparing to open, so a short wait before we check our bags.

We hit Zenith in 2016. "Achieving" a cruise loyalty level was never some sort of goal for us --just happened. We never travel with the "pins" and we also haven't bothered with the Facebook "official" site.

The owner of Pike's Waterfront Lodge also owns the stand-alone Pike's Landing restaurant which is located beside the lodge. This restaurant has a nice deck on the river which serves more casual fare while the main restaurant is more upscale. Acquaintances were in Fairbanks last summer on a Princess cruise tour so we picked them up at the Princess Lodge. The Princess is essentially right beside the Pike's Waterfront Lodge. I took a peek at their menu and it seemed to be designed with the notion that they needed to serve something but didn't expect to see the customer again. Definitely not trying to attract locals. So the menu included items like a hamburger, a vegan offering, a salmon dish, an entree sized salad and so forth. I also watched a meal being delivered and it didn't look very great either. If my memory is correct you are planing to spend some time at the Museum of the North. There is a strip mall near the West Ridge of the campus (which is where the Museum of the North is located) which houses the Red Fox Bar and Grill (in addition to our favorite Thai restaurant the Lemon Grass). The Red Fox is open for lunch. I have only been inside the Red Fox once and found it very much a bar (in contrast a pub) but they are a popular place for pizza (many people order carry-out). When we sit in the Lemon Grass front windows we watch a steady stream of people picking up takeout pizza from the Red Fox during the evenings. If you plan to visit the pipeline first then consider driving down College Road and stopping at Geraldo's. Pizza and sandwiches with decent atmosphere. Also check the website for the Pump House to learn if they are serving lunch this coming summer. This is where we took our acquaintances last summer. Years ago they would open for lunch during the summer. Ownership of the Pump House changed about 20 months ago. The new owners are making some changes which I see as positive so I wonder if they will again open for lunch. The Senator's Saloon (in the Pump House) is much more like a pub versus a bar. We live on Chena Ridge and this is our "go to" restaurant, but we do like Jazz Bistro, Soba and Lavelle's Bistro which are all downtown. As is standard in the rest of the US all of these restaurants have websites with menus.

We spent 40 nights on the Edge last fall, boarding in Civitavecchia and leaving the ship in Sydney. Unlike the Celebrity M- or S-class ships the E class ships do not have the equivalent of a Sky Lounge. Indoor covered spaces include the rather large area (both starboard and port side) around the Mast Grill. And the very intriguing space above Eden is lovely, but is an aft view. For those in a Retreat stateroom (we were) there is the area above The Retreat but this private deck area for those in Suites is rather open. While we book for an interesting itinerary, but there are folks who base their decision due to the actual ship itself. In our case the Edge went through the Suez Canal and make a number of interesting port calls in the Emirates, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand some of which were new to us, in addition to ports we had visited before. For folks who find the actual ship design very important I can see why a number of them love the E-class ships. Very interesting venues and artwork. And the bathroom design of our Suite was absolutely wonderful with a separate dressing room. Since were in a Suite we had a traditional balcony but I can see why there are folks who love the E-class infinite balconies -- folks either absolutely love them or equally absolutely hate them.

We spent 40 nights on the Edge last fall. We were in a Sunset SkySuite on deck 9 and had no noise issues. However, friends were in a Sunset Veranda on deck 7 and they had noise issues from Eden. That Sunset Veranda was the only one available for all three legs (we were on a B2B2B series). They had sufficient noise issues that some nights glasses rattled on the desk.

While I am not a great fan of the Edge I will admit that the MC makes tendering much easier.

Since @sunsetme has specifically asked about the Panama Canal we have done six full transits, and each time the helipad was open to all passengers. On one of the transits it was opened after the first hour or so as it had rained overnight. The helipad was deemed too wet initially to be opened so was opened after it had dried. On other occasions we have received helipad invitations based on factors such as Captain's Club loyalty status or stateroom category.

As I interpret the post by @Stevepcb64 they leave the next day to transit to DNP. And I don't agree that only the Riverboat Discovery is "a common itinerary for pax who just spend one night in Fairabanksk... ." Not the feedback I hear when on cruises.

My verbiage in my post #15 gave me some "wiggle room" regarding the pair (Riverboat and GD). I felt I really shouldn't claim that the pair were "always" sold together to the cruise lines, but this is the first time I have heard of a Princess land package which didn't include both. We spend about 90 days a year on a cruise ship doing lengthy fall and spring trips. When fellow passengers find out that we are from Alaska we hear about their Alaska cruise. When their trip to Alaska is on a cruise line sponsored package and they were in Fairbanks either pre- or post cruise I don't think that I have heard of someone only doing one (and not both). The Binkley family, which owns both, makes it so easy to sell both attractions to the cruise lines as they even have facilities for lunch on their properties. If @Stevepcb64 has a description of their day in Fairbanks which includes anything about trying to pan for gold, then they are going to the Gold Dredge #8.

Interesting that GD#8 may not be included in your land package. A local family owns both the GD and Riverboat Discovery so both attractions are often sold as a package. The dredge itself is in good shape -- much better than the one outside of Dawson, Yukon Territory, but it is my understanding that Parks Canada has poured some restoration funds into that dredge in the last decade or so. The antler arch is on the grounds of the Morris Thompson Cultural Center. The center is well worth a visit. And I hope you understand that you can walk from the Westmark to the MTCC. Lunch options downtown include Soba (Moldovan cuisine) and the Thai House. There is another Thai option downtown but I can't remember the name (it isn't our favorite Thai place). Also Lavelle's Bistro may be open during lunch; during the past few summers they have opened for lunch but we are experiencing a severe labor shortage so I don't know if they will be open for lunch this summer. If you decide to visit the Antique Auto Museum then consider Geraldo's on College Road; the food is "Italian-ish."

Pike's Waterfront is essentially beside (other side of Airport Way) from a Fairbanks airport runway. If folks don't have luggage they could walk to the hotel from the terminal. Regarding the rental car situation, the rental agencies have their airport desks directly across from the luggage carousels. The cars are at the airport so no shuttle needed to reach the car lots. And yes, Fairbanks has taxis and Uber drivers. Actually, your particular hotel may have an airport shuttle (check their website to determine if they still offer an airport shuttle). While you could use the FNSB bus system and the campus shuttle to visit the Museum of the North and the LARS, but given your limited time the bus routes will eat a chunk of it . A rental car would provide so much more flexibility and allow you to visit places like Running Reindeer Ranch. Also, I don't know how you could use the FNSB bus system to reach the pipeline viewing site in the Fox area. If you just want to visit the Museum of the North and LARS then consider taking a taxi to the Museum and then using the campus shuttle. And, as I stated in another post, before purchasing tickets to Gold Dredge #8 make sure that your land package doesn't already include it.

Just a few comments from someone who lives in Fairbanks -- The Westmark is indeed downtown. For those who are doing a cruise line sponsored land trip two Fairbanks attractions generally include (if not always included) Gold Dredge #8 and the Riverboat Discovery. Gold Dredge #8 is located very close to the pipeline viewing site closest to Fairbanks (about ten miles north of Fairbanks on the Steese Highway); this viewing site includes interpretative signs. Before you purchase tickets to GD #8 make sure that it isn't included in your land package. And remember that folks don't see the pipeline on the drive to Denali; I've had folks tell me that somehow they thought they would see it on the drive to DNP. I would also suggest eliminating a visit to Santa Claus House at North Pole. Santa Clause House is basically the "emporium of bad taste" in my opinion. Almost nothing unique. Basically junk made overseas. Cookie Jar is not a great place for lunch. When it was included that Food Network show (Dives, Dinners and whatever -- obviously I don't recall the name) there was surprise at the time that it was featured. I don't know what you are planning to do along the waterfront area, but I would suggest a stop at the Morris Thompson Cultural Center. If the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum is of interest (check their website -- this museum is worth a visit) it is a quick drive from the MTCC. Depending on what day of the week you are visiting, if the Tanana Valley Farmer's Market is operating (prior years they have opened on Wednesdays and Saturdays) then plan a stop there. Pump House is a decent choice for dinner. But if you like Thai the Lemon Grass is excellent. Jazz Bistro is within walking distance of your hotel. And I am not sure that the Westmark is going to offer a hotel shuttle from the airport after dropping off the rental car.

We always just ask for what we want regarding pillows and receive our requests. Doesn't make any difference if folks are in an Aqua class stateroom or not.

The original question was about the Edge. While some folks went "off topic" I remained on topic. We boarded the Edge on October 30, 2023 in Civitaveechia and left on December 9th in Sydney. Our friends (on deck 7) were on the same B2B2B on the Edge. This was the cruise series which went through the Suez Canal.

We were in a Sunset Sky Suite (9305) last fall on a B2B2B. Very quiet room. Friends were in a SV on deck 7 (there was only one available for all three cruises) and they had serious noise issues from Eden.

The Elite and above breakfast was been offered for years. I remember it on the now departed Mercury. It is a nice alternative to the Ocean View Buffet or the MDR for a light breakfast. As already mentioned on this thread the Captain's Club info sheet (which will be in your stateroom) will have the location on your specific ship.

I would not assume that "the authorities will not have the manpower available" in Whittier. This situation is not unique for the trans-Pacific crossings from Asia. Our preferred cruise line flies CBP folks from the respective country to the ship so that the formalities are conducted onboard . They have even had folks board in Papeete, Tahiti for the first New Zealand port of (Bay of Islands in that case).

We have disembarked in Seward several times, including Celebrity cruises. Unless you experience really rough weather crossing the Gulf of Alaska the ship will be docked in Seward hours before the official arrival time. The Seward cruise terminal is a warehouse like building. You will simply walk off. Our experience has been that the ship empties very quickly as the Alaska Rail transfer to the Anchorage airport is very popular.

The cruise line sponsored cruise tour will likely include theRiverboat Discovery and the Gold Dredge #8 as the same family owns both and sells the tours as a package. Our OP hasn't indicated their interests. They need to google Explore Fairbanks to find the visitor and convention bureau website. Lots of options listed on that website. Our Fairbanks economy is very different than the cruise line driven economies of some of the south east Alaska ports. While every component of an economy is important, tourism and, in particular, cruise line driven tourism is not a major factor. There will not be booths of vendors greeting folks at the airport. This certainly will not be like the Caribbean. The University of Alaska has the excellent Museum of the North. I also would recommend a DIY land tour.

I am late to this discussion, but wanted to add that the outer layer needs to be waterproof -- not water resistant. And your footwear needs are determined by your planned activities -- some folks have reported that they were comfortable using spray waterproofing on athletic shoes, but that would not be adequate for us.

I also can't agree that Princess has the best docking locations for their ships. I've seen Princess ships docked out in the "hinterlands" a number of times. We have stayed at both the Denali Princess and the McKinley View Princess a number of times. We have only stayed limited times at the Copper River Princess lodge. I can't say that we have enjoyed "the best experience with their own lodges" either. The Denali and McKinley View Princess are built using the same model -- a complex of two story buildings with guest lodging, and stand alone buildings housing restaurants, bars and retail space. These buildings are not designed to be operated during the winter so not much insulation; you will hear people walking outside and in the hallways. The story guest lodging buildings do not all have elevators. We have seen guests struggling with the stairs. We have been in rooms both in the DP and MVP which had torn window screens (remember -- Alaska has mosquitos). No air conditioning -- just standing fans you can position on a desk or so forth. When we have stayed at the Copper River facility it was newer so in better condition. For example, dresser drawers readily slid in and out.

We have done the WP&YRR twice. My memory is that the seats were cushioned. And take @SightCRR's advice -- leaving Skagway sit on the left side of the rail car.