Northern Aurora

Northern Aurora, you caught me. Loved our time in Juneau in '96. Saw whales and limited on salmon. Hope to catch our limit of Halibut this time.

I certainly hope that you didn't find my comment offensive, as I meant no offense. I just wanted to clarify that you were making a joke.

Those of us who live in Alaska are constantly amazed by the rampant misperceptions about our home. We did four cruises last year and at this point have three scheduled for 2014, and sometimes, when meeting folks on ships, I just don't want to admit that we are from Alaska. It seems that some folks have read way too much Jack London at a highly impressionable age. And the current "reality" TV shows don't help at all. One of our local newspaper columnists has just written a column on some of the questions her college freshman daughter going to school out of state has been asked -- while it is hoot, the questions are also appalling.

Seward has a grocery store -- a Safeway. Do you know how long you will be in Seward before the ship departs?

Do you know where you will be staying in Fairbanks? There are actually several hotels close to one of our Fred Meyers and a Safeway.

Century does not have a Bistro on 5. The MDR will not be open on embarkation day, but the buffet or the grill by the pool area will be. Also, the Aqua Spa Cafe will be open, and depending on when you board, it may be less crowded than the buffet. And despite the fact that the Century is has fewer passengers than the S-class ships, the Aqua Spa Cafe seems to have more seating with both an air conditioned area and an overflow area on the outer deck.

The community of Skagway itself is rather flat. We met a couple on a Alaska cruise several years ago who had walked from the pier to the cemetery with no problem, despite the fact that the woman was scheduled for a hip replacement once they returned home.

The other interesting Skagway cemetery is the one in the old townsite Dyea. This is the one which has the victims of the avalanche of April 3, 1898.

Perhaps we shall put our furniture in storage and just move on Celebrity ships.:)

I would love to put our furniture in storage and just move onto Celebrity ships -- but unfortunately they don't allow cats on board, and I don't think that we could convince anyone that our dog is a service dog.

With our 39 points under the earlier Captain's Club system I didn't expect to be given free cruises each year when the new system was implemented. I initially read some of the threads about the Captain's Club changes with interest, but became somewhat frustrated with what I perceive as unrealistic expectations by some of what they expected. My husband and I are both very pleased with our new benefits under Elite +.

Juneau for example is accessible by plane, boat or dogsled/snowmobile.

 

As someone who lives in Alaska, I hope the statement that Juneau, our capital, is accessible by dogsled/snowmobile is a joke. Sometimes it is hard to tell on a board.

I think it is easy to find the light rail from the terminal, but I am familiar with SEATAC. Gardyloo has included directions in his post.

The Mayflower Park is my favorite Seattle hotel, and for the past several years it is the only Seattle hotel we have used. The location is wonderful, but be aware that the entire hotel is non-smoking. Since we are non-smokers we view that as a positive, but a smoker may not. Also, Andaluca, the in-hotel restaurant, has wonderful breakfasts -- very, very large so we often just have a cup of chowder or something similar, for lunch.

We've sent a men's suit for dry cleaning several times, on different ships, and always have used one of our coupons with no problems.

In past years some folks have posted their packing lists for Alaska, and then after the cruise, posted what they DIDN'T use. Very interesting. Perhaps the Cruise Critic search function could help find these posts.

Layers are the key. But I believe that folks need a waterproof (not water resistant) outer layer. If shopping for jewelry is the most activity a person plans, then using a water resistant spray on sneakers may work for footwear, but if you plan to be active at all then you will need waterproof footwear. And since some of the Alaska cruise ports are quite windy (I don't think I have ever been in Skagway when it wasn't windy), I've found umbrellas to be useless (plus, the cruise ships which I have been on have them in the staterooms anyway).

Celebrity there are dining rooms that have fixed seating . Yes Celebrity has anytime dining but it is limited to one dining room. NCL all the dining rooms are anytime dining . NCL usually has more dining restaurants as well that are free style.

If the only Celebrity cruise the OP has had was on the Zenith, it has been some time since they were on a Celebrity ship! What a classic ship it was.

The Celebrity Solstice is the first of X's S-class ships (hence they are called "S-class" ships). All of these S-class ships have visually stunning interiors and have been generally been very popular with X fans (although I personally prefer the M-class ships, but that is just me).

Celebrity offers "select dining" option in the MDR. That is their "Celebrity speak" for their anytime dining option. About 1/3 of the seats (depending on the ship) in the MDR are used for select dining, with the remaining area of the MDR dedicated to traditional dining with two set times.

Celebrity also offers Aqua Class staterooms. While Aqua Class passengers can opt to dine in the MDR in select dining, the dining room assigned to Aqua is Blu. Blu serves only breakfast and dinner, and is any time dining. Also, on a space available basis suite passengers can dine in Blu.

Other dining options include the Aqua Spa Cafe (not connected to Aqua Class staterooms in any way), which is a no extra fee option for breakfast and lunch. And of course the buffet is available to all for no extra fee.

The extra fee options include the specialty restaurants, which generally require a reservation. Also, the Bistro on 5 is a creperie which charges a $5.00 per person cover charge for their all you care to eat meals.

I also agree that the OP is comparing two very different cruise lines. If they opt to go with Celebrity they need to understand that Celebrity now has a very restrictive smoking policy, which is great for non-smokers but a problem for those who smoke. And yes, even the casino is non-smoking.

Also, there are very few announcements on Celebrity. The captain will address the ship, generally at 10 AM, providing navigational and weather information, and then the cruise director will make some announcements about activities. But don't expect continual announcements about bingo games, shop sales and so forth.

I really shouldn't share this info because it will now be even harder to obtain -- but my favorite dessert is the coconut cake at the Cafe al Bacio/Cova Cafe. Heavenly!! I know the thread subject is "Favorite MDR entrees," but since life is short we really need to consider eating dessert first!

While in Fairbanks, located in Alaska's Interior, we can start to see aurora's in late August, the really good auroral viewing is late September/early October to mid-March. But remember that Fairbanks is considerably farther north than the cruise region of south-east Alaska.

If the cruise dates fit with your schedule, then by all means consider one of the late season September cruises. But also be aware that while south-east Alaska is a pacific coastal rainforest, and hence receives a fair amount of that "liquid sunshine," September can be particularly rainy. While I am not stating that you will be guaranteed rainy weather in September anyone who cruises in September must recognize the possibility exists.

Since we live in the middle of Alaska and fly to every cruise port we tend to do B2B cruises as it seems like a more efficient use of air fare.

When passengers receive the disembarkation questionnaire there will be a box to check for those on B2B cruises. When the disembarkation packets are delivered the B2B cruisers will receive a letter with detailed instructions as to how to handle the turnaround day. There have been different procedures on different cruises. Since you want to disembark on the turnaround day, if you are concerned about time constraints, you could always ask Guest Relations about the procedure a few days before the end of the first leg.

Also, without starting rumors, I thought I read somewhere that if one person got a beverage package, the person traveling with them needed to as well. Any truth to that, or am I crazy?

I remember when the beverage packages were introduced, and don't remember Celebrity requiring passengers traveling together to purchase beverage packages for all. Either 20pluscruises or I have a faulty memory! Now I am wondering which one of us doesn't remember correctly!!

We bought our ticket when we got there. They only take cash so make sure you don't only have your ATM. Once inside you can stay as long as you want.

We spent several days in Barcelona following B2B cruises last spring. While we had purchased our Sagrada Familia tickets before leaving for the cruise, we ran in to some folks we had met on the second leg. They hadn't purchased prior to the cruise, but purchased their Sagrada Familia tickets the day before online using computer facilities at their hotel. The lines to purchase tickets which we saw in May 2012 were very long, so if you don't purchase prior to the cruise, consider doing so once you are in Barcelona.

We used Romeinlimo last May for a tour to Rome and were extremely pleased. Romeinlimo arranged for our Vatican tour guide, and we were very impressed with her knowledge and skills. Our driver had called her and so our guide was waiting on the curb where we were dropped off and we literally hit the pavement running.

We've used this company in other ports, and were equally pleased.

In addition to the freshly squeezed orange and grapefruit juices at breakfast, Blu breakfasts also include some smoothies at no additional cost.

I may go again this year, have to see how the aurora is going, which I haven't looked into. :) (I ended up retiring in November, now I'm afraid of myself with my travels :) )

For those considering a visit to Fairbanks in March, Fairbanks is hosting the 2014 Arctic Winter Games -- March 15 through March 22nd. With the cultural programs and exchanges it is an interesting event.

Will be interesting to see if the contractor actually does cease work.

We did B2B cruises on the Equinox last spring, and the first time we went to Silk Harvest was our last time there. While the dining room is lovely and we enjoyed the manner in which the meals were plated we were not impressed with the meals themselves. Since Silk Harvest is described as a fusion restaurant I don't expect the meals to be traditional, but instead display creative use of non-traditional ingredients. I didn't find creative use of non-traditional ingredients, just a mediocre meals.

We've always enjoyed Murano, and also had a delightful meal in Tuscan Grill.

We have done three full transits of the canal, and while I understand that some folks have to do partial transits due to time constraints, I would suggest a full transit.

I also don't think that the type of stateroom is that important (ie, balcony versus ocean view versus inside). During the transit most folks are on the upper decks walking from side to side as the interesting scenery changes.

The original poster indicates that he is on the Carnival Miracle. Carnival uses Smith Cove (Pier 91). In that case, I would suggest staying at one of the downtown hotels.

We are great fans of Blu. What a chance to try Aqua Class for no extra charge. Go for it!

A flight that early also would not be in my comfort zone. Just wanted to comment that we have seen incredible lines of folks waiting to go through security at SEATAC.

If you indeed are in Fairbanks in September, consider booking two nights at the Chena Hot Springs Resort, which is about sixty miles out of Fairbanks. With the lack of light pollution, if the auroras are out, the views are lovely.

While there are several websites on the aurora, in my opinion, the best is the one offered by the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Geophysical Institute (http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast).