Northern Aurora

SPE certified items were on the MDR menu on the Century in September and October. I tried several items was generally satisfied. But at one dinner another table mate and I both tried one of the SPE desserts; while I was pleased she wasn't impressed at all. In all fairness, while I certainly love to eat I am not much of a fan of sweets, and I think that she didn't find the dessert sweet enough for her taste.

The best website for aurora information is that of the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (http://www.gi.alaska.edu). This website also has an auroral forecast.

 

In Fairbanks, while occasionally we can have auroras in late August, generally the best viewing time extends from September to March.

. I know you cannot take an iron on board for safety reasons - what about an electric hair straightener?

 

Many thanks

 

Electrical hair styling products such as curling irons are perfectly fine. Women would be rioting on the piers if such items were confiscated!

ATTENTION ALL POSTERS TO THIS THREAD!! :p

 

I am organizing a protest rally too.

 

I want to protest the fact that I am NOT on the Connie in Key West right now!!!! :(:(

 

It's 20 below Fahrenheit right now where I am, (-29 C ) wind chill included... (I am not kidding!!)

 

AND I AM JOINING YOU -- NOAA updated their current weather conditions phone recording about forty-five minutes ago and the temperature in Fairbanks, Alaska was -33 F !! Fortunately no wind chill.

 

Right now I could see myself sitting on the Connie with some fruity little drink in hand enjoying the warmth of Key West. There would be no complaints from me!

Just rent a car for the day. It is a lovely drive on a nice day as the Seward Highway runs along Turnagain Arm from Anchorage to Girdwood. There will be some pullouts on the right as you drive south. On a nice day there will be some great photo opportunities.

Sorry, no tea.

 

Orator: Thanks so much for the prompt reply.

We have done four cruises in Aqua Class. We were never limited to two bottles per stateroom per day. Once we started to use the water (after the first day) more and more bottles were delivered each day. Several days into each cruise we always had several unopened water bottles in the stateroom.

Remember, the coffee benefit only includes standard cappuccinos, lattes and expresses. At least one person was unclean about this and complained to the CC Hostess that she was charged for a "expression based" drink.

 

Orator: Were you able to also order pots of Tea Forte at the Cafe al Bacio as part of the Elite+ coffee benefit? We actually drink both lattes and Tea Forte, but I am still curious.

Ryan: Reading your post I have the impression that you really don't want to go to Denali. Just because it is a "must do" for many visitors to the Interior doesn't mean that everyone must do it. Perhaps your group would be happier with other options.

 

Just a few comments to expand on Mapleleave's excellent answer -- Our local newspaper, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, is already publishing articles about the expected road construction on the Parks Highway (which extends from Anchorage to Fairbanks). Apparently several design projects have all "come together" at the same time, and so there will be a considerable amount of work on the entire highway.

 

Healy is north of the entrance to Denali National Park and the area referred to as "Glitter Gulch." Not only will be work done in that area, but more importantly, there will be considerable work done south of the "Glitter Gulch" area also. So depending on when folks drive from Anchorage to Denali they could encounter construction delays. And when you look at a map of Alaskan roads, those roads aren't the major roads -- they are the ONLY roads. In most areas there are not side roads which could be used for detours.

 

Once the construction starts our Department of Transportation and Public Facilities will post what they term the "Navigator" on their website (http://www.dot.state.ak.us). The Navigator will provide updates as to where to expect delays.

brookeinmn has asked about an issue which has infrequently been discussed on this board. There actually is a dog musher prominent in Interior Alaska dog circles who can't run the Yukon Quest. The Quest is the other long distance 1000+ dog race; the Quest runs from Fairbanks to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, with the starting and ending point switching alternate years. In any event, his one DUI conviction is a serious problem for this guy.

 

I also think that the BIL needs to contact the Canadian authorities.

Thanks to both posters for their replies.

 

hallasam: We were considering the Icelandair Hotel Akureyri, and will book it.

 

Nitemare: We will only be in Iceland for a week. Most of that time we will be in Reykjavik, but we will spent two nights in Akureyri. After spending time in Florida, then the transatlantic cruise followed by a week in Belgium followed by another week in Amsterdam, and then finally the week in Iceland we really need to return to home in Alaska. Thankfully dogs are very forgiving creatures so we will be forgiven.

Suites, no. Aqua class suites, yes.

 

This has not been my experience. Sky Suites and higher are able to dine in Blu on a space available basis. Suite passengers may or may not be charged the $5.00 surcharge. It seems that on a number of sailings suite passengers are not billed for the surcharge.

KiwiFunCruiser: Escargot are essentially a land clam. If you like clams you will likely like escargot.

lais: Have you had the opportunity to ask any of the "stripes" about Century's potential sale?

We will be spending a week in Iceland following a transatlantic cruise. While we plan to spend several days in Reykjavik, we are considering driving to Akureyri for a day to two. Any recommendations for hotels in Akureyri?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

FYI, I booked the Mayflower for our pre-cruise stay. Thank you for that recommendation. The pricing was on par with the Marriott and quite a bit less than the Inn at the Market. If it works better for DM, then that's what counts.

 

The Mayflower Park is currently our favorite Seattle hotel. We also love the fact that the hotel is totally non-smoking. The restaurant, Andaluca, has the most wonderful breakfasts.

 

Also, since the Mayflower Park is right beside Westlake it is so easy to take the monorail to Seattle Center and the Space Needle. You don't even need to go outside -- there is a walkway which takes you from the Mayflower Park to Westlake, and once in Westlake just take the escalator to the top floor for the monorail.

January is my first cruise with tendering ports since achieving elite status. I am trying to understand the process.

 

I only have Royal and NCL to compare, but on the cruises I've been on, ticket distribution times are announced the evening before the port. Lines open for Priority eligible persons - first come, first served. The priority group can claim places , then an hour later, everyone can get their passes.

 

When in port they will announce which tender is boarding for everyone holding that number to proceed to the tenders.

 

From what I am reading, on celebrity your stateroom attendant will leave a priority pass in your room the night before than at whatever time you wish you walk down to where tenders are boarding and "bump" to the head of the line?

 

Is this how it works?

 

While the stateroom attendant will leave priority tender tickets in the evening when they do the "turndown" service, our experience has been that the procedure varies. But check the back of the ticket for instructions. You will be either instructed to assemble in a certain lounge, and when they reach about ten or so folks with priority tickets they will escort the group to the tender dock, or you will be told just to go to deck for the tender dock. But the instructions on the reverse side will make the procedure clear.

 

 

Do we have to use the kiosk to get tickets or just get in the business class line after handing over our bags? How early should we get to the station for the morning train?

 

We took Amtrak from King Station to Vancouver last September. Our taxi dropped us off at the King Street station about 6 am as we had been told by Amtrak personnel in Seattle that they opened the office for luggage check-in at 6 AM. Since we had never taken Amtrak to Vancouver we thought we should be on the early side. Well, they opened for luggage check more like 6:20 AM. After checking our luggage it was at least another 30 minutes before they began to assign seats. The seats were assigned in the lobby area.

 

We rarely take trains, and really enjoyed the trip up to Vancouver. I know I couldn't take a long train trip, but for four hours it was quite nice. Much of the track runs along the coast, and the views were lovely.

Since we fly to every cruise port we tend to do B2B cruises, and have never emptied the contents of the safe on the turnaround day. Since the passenger sets the combination, the combination won't change unless the passenger changes it.

We've been Elite but now do not know what we are. How do we

find out?

 

If you remember how many "points" you had before the new system, just multiply that number of 30. For example, we had 39 "old" points, so now have 1170 under the new system.

 

Your loyalty points will also be found on the Celebrity website if you have a "My Celebrity" account.

I think everyone who looks to the future would note that it's going to take more cruises to move up through the Captain's Club levels, compared to the old system. But, heck -- that's what we all said about the old system -- "it was too easy to achieve Elite Status." This new system seems to take care of that.

 

Our next cruise (next week) is 15 nights in an inside cabin. We will move to 900 points after that cruise, and under the old system with the 30:1 conversion, we would be at 930 points. I don't feel like I'm going to lose anything! Will we make it to Zenith some day -- I don't think so, although our Cruising habits will remain the same.

 

I like the new system and I think Celebrity got it right! As for the new Zenith level folks and those moving into that level --- Congratulations, you deserve every perk! That's a bunch of cruises and whole lot of money, and I'm glad Celebrity is rewarding their best customers!!

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

 

I had stopped reading the threads about the new Captain's Club levels as I was tired of the whining and complaining, particularly when posters begin to whine about issues which were not Captain's Club perks such as chocolates and the lack of "Midnight Bites." But I started reading this thread, and it is so nice to read reasonable posts. I agree with Kel and some of the others.

 

My husband and I are now in the Elite+ tier, and are very satisfied with our perks. I do believe that Celebrity "got it right."

We have used both select (or "anytime") and traditional dining. For us, we prefer the flexibility of select, and while I have read that some folks have felt that the service wasn't as good as when in traditional we have not noticed any difference.

Is there a reason why the husband must stay at a hotel near the airport? Does he have an early flight the next day?

 

On a 2011 cruise we docked at the OPT in the morning. My husband and I took a taxi from the OPT to our hotel, the Sir Stamford at Circular Quay, where we left our luggage as the room wasn't ready (as we expected). The Sir Stamford is essentially across the street from the botanical gardens so we spent the day visiting the NSW Art Gallery and the gardens. Actually, we spent a week in Sydney following that cruise, and every day (with the exception of the day we went out to the Blue Mountains) we walked through the gardens. They are lovely.

We did a pair of B2Bs, leaving the ship two months ago. Both cruises had the brunch, and on both legs it was on the last sea day.

Can one travel "light" for an Alaska Cruise? I think the warmer clothes will take up much more room than our typical "Caribbean" wardrobe LOL - but thanks for the suggestion - we typically make it with one large rolling duffel each and back packs for carry-on so this might be doable ;)

 

As someone who lives in Alaska, I think one can travel "light" for an Alaskan cruise! But seriously, while the Seattle light rail doesn't have racks for suitcases such as seen on European trains or even rental car agency shuttles, you do frequently see people with suitcases using it to go to SeaTac. You just wouldn't want try to use it with two full sized suitcases per person.