Northern Aurora

Judy, do you know if the Cafe al Bacio was one of the lounges where the vouchers could be used for wine (if they serve wine there), non-alcoholic speciality coffees, or premium teas? We are going on the Eclipse on Saturday where we may or may not have the vouchers versus the regular Elite afternoon event. Thanks for your report, Kathy

Kathy: While we have not used vouchers on the Eclipse, last April on the Equinox the Cafe al Bacio was one of the venues which did NOT accept the elite vouchers.

Glaciers has provided the best summary of the amount of time needed at Alyeska. While the tram ride is great and the views spectacular on a clear day, during the summer (non-ski season) the amount of time to spend there really depends on how much hiking someone wants to do.

We also like the Double Musky for dinner.

We have done three Panama Canal full transits on Celebrity ships. On each there was a speaker offering lectures about the region, and during the actual transit (which takes about nine to ten hours) there will be a narration available in the public areas of the ship and on the staterooms TVs describing what you are actually seeing.

I've been on Century three times, but not on a canal trip, and Century has a lovely lounge above the bridge (the Hemisphere) which would be perfect for viewing the canal if you find the weather too hot or humid.

Celebrity libraries are open 24/7. The Century library has a quirk -- it has two sides with the main hallway dividing it. On one side is the non-fiction and a card room, and the other side has the fiction with sofas and so forth.

There really isn't anything, such as a beach, within walking distance. The port is within a rather industrial area.

We were only on the Mercury three times, but have the fondest of memories. Thanks for sharing.

Since we live in the middle of Alaska and fly to every cruise port we tend to do B2B cruises. I am not aware of any discount given to the second leg of a B2B.

MoyCoy: Are you on the Century for one of its Hawaii sailings? We did a RT out of San Diego on the Century in October, 2012, and I didn't meet anyone who was bored. "Hawaiian Ambassador" June was on board, and June and the other destination folks did a great job of organizing a wide variety of Hawaii themed activities. We left the Century last month (October 6th), and June boarded before the end of the Pacific Coastal Wine cruise so it appears

that she once again will be on board for the Century Hawaii cruises.

We've been on cruise ships twice on Thanksgiving -- on the long departed Mercury in 2008 and on the Century in 2011.

On the Mercury I remember great carved turkey in the buffet during lunch. So I ordered the dinner entree featuring turkey, and it was a turkey roll type of thing. Given what I saw at lunch it was quite the surprise!

The Century the cruise was from Honolulu to Sydney. Half of the passengers were Australian, and the head chef was also Australian. During an elite galley tour he indicated that while they were not going to attempt a "traditional" American Thanksgiving meal there would be "elements" (his word) of an American Thanksgiving feast on the menu. For example, there was a spinach salad with dried cranberries. In any event, I spoke with one Aussie woman who was very disappointed because she wanted to at least see, if not consume, a traditional holiday meal from a different country. This particular woman also was very critical of the Aussie meat pies on that cruise but we spent a week in Australia following the cruise and thought that the meat pies on the Century were essentially the same as we found in the country.

Which Seattle cruise terminal will the Westerdam be using? There are no hotels close to the Smith Cove (Pier 91 terminal). The Edgewater and Marriott Waterfront are within walking distance to the Bell Street (Pier 66) terminal. But taxis in Seattle are very inexpensive, so don't be limited by looking for a hotel extremely close to the cruise terminal the Westerdam will be using.

Last Sunday the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner's front page article was on the scope of the Department of Transportation's road work for 2014. It appears that a significant amount of work will be done on the Park's Highway this coming summer, including work not only south of Denali but also between Healy and Denali. DOT's navigator on-line updates will be very helpful this coming summer.

While I like the appearance of the Baggallini bag posted by Arusha, it is not clear to me that the fabric has the anti-slash mesh. Does anyone who owns one know?

As as to RFID protection, my husband has a travel wallet with RFID protection. We also always keep our credit cards in lightweight RFID sleeves, even at home. We also bought the lightweight sleeves from Amazon for our passports.

So are you saying the train ride isn't that scenic?

While what I may find scenic you may not. But in my opinion, the drive from Denali to Fairbanks is much more scenic than the train. On the drive, past Nenana, there are views from the ridgetops on the left of Minto Flats and toward the right of the massive Tanana River. On the train folks are just lumbering along through ice rich land (google "permafrost").

I have two Pacsafe bags, both of which can be worn across the front of the body or hang on a shoulder. I have been very pleased with both. I generally use the larger one more often as it has elastic pockets which are perfect for a water bottle. Both have the RFID feature, but we also use RFID sleeves around credit cards and our passports.

Thanks again. I would have thought the train would be a lot faster than a bus. I am sure it is a lovely ride, so I don't mind it being longer.

If you check the Alaska Railroad schedule (http://www.alaskarailroad.com) the northbound train schedule has the trail leaving Denali at 4:00 PM and reaching Fairbanks at 8:00 PM. For years I frequently was held up in traffic as I drove home from work as I was driving north on University Avenue. That northbound train was crossing the tracks at 8:30 PM (and still had a distance to go before reaching the Fairbanks depot).

As Chenega as alluded, the train tracks are located on the flats and traverses through ice rich land. Hence, the train lumbers along. In contrast, the highway is located on higher ground and ridge tops, and is not traversing through frost heaves and damage caused by permafrost conditions (or, to be accurate, not at least not as many frost heaves).

I agree with Budget Queen that the travel times provided by Google are somewhat optimistic. While it has been a number of years since we have taken the train from Denali to Fairbanks, my recollection is that it was about four hours (it takes from 2 to 2.5 hours to drive, depending on how many stops are made for photos).

Also the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (http://www.newsminer.com) had an interesting front page article this morning on the scope of the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities work for this upcoming summer. It appears that there could be lengthly delays at times for those driving on the Parks Highway (from Anchorage to Fairbanks). My observation from someone who lives here is that the contractors will begin the work as soon as they can.

The paragraph of interest from the News-Miner for those traveling on the Parks Highway is below:

• Travelers on the Parks Highway are sure to encounter lengthy delays, thanks to at least six sections of the road that will be under construction between Fairbanks and Anchorage. That includes creating numerous passing lanes along a 140-mile stretch south of Nenana and building a new overpass at Broad Pass near Cantwell. A 13-mile stretch between the Denali National Park and Preserve entrance and Healy will also get a complete overhaul, with improved drainage, embankment construction and resurfacing.

We now book Aqua Class whenever we can. We are great fans of Blu. While we enjoy the meals and service, the greatest advantage of Blu is the fact that it is so much quieter than the MDR. So while we enjoy the bottles of water and so forth, for us the great advantage of Aqua is the serene nature of Blu.

I've also enjoyed your reports of your time on the Infinity. We have done three cruises on her and have thoroughly enjoyed each one. Is this cruise your first time on Infinity? While they all may be M-class ships I find both the Constellation and Infinity very different than Millennium.

For those interested in items actually made in Alaska, there is a "Made in Alaska" (MIA) permit available. The MIA symbol is on the MIA website (http://www.makeinalaska.org), and is two bears cuddled together.

There is also another symbol for items made by first people (native) artists. This program has a silver hand symbol, and can bee seen on a different website (http://www.eed.state.ak.us/aksca).

Quite frankly, so many items in the cruise oriented stores in SE Alaska have products not make in the state.

CMar00: While Celebrity and Royal Caribbean may be "sister" companies, they are a very different product. For example, Celebrity has minimal announcements during the day. At 10 AM (in the past this was done at noon, but the captains have been switching to 10 AM) the captain will address the ship, providing navigation and weather information. After the captain's statement the cruise director will go a fairly brief summary of some of the day's activities, often mentioning the evening show. When local authorities have cleared a ship at ports, there will be an announcement, and when a passenger is in distress you will hear the "star code" announcement for the crew.

But it is rare to have an announcement, and when one does happen the entire ship goes silent. We were on the Celebrity Century in October 2012 on a RT to Hawaii when there was a major earthquake off of British Columbia. At 8 PM the captain made an announcement from the bridge, and read the latest tsunami warning which had been issued for Oahu. We were being seated in the MDR, and the entire room instantly went silent, with waiters stopped in their tracks.

Thank you so much for posting this update. We have done three full transits with a fourth scheduled for March 2015 (Valparaiso to Ft. Lauderdale). Since we will be on a ship which fits the current locks I wasn't expecting to go through the new ones. Now it is confirmed.

Any menus? Interested in what is served with lobster on formal night. Is it shrimp or beef? I.e. Seafood Melody or Surf and turf?

Allergic to shrimp so have to avoid it.

 

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

We left the Century October 6th after B2B cruises. Lobster is served on the last formal night. As I recall it was presented in the shell and was not part of a melange.

They'll probably give them out as gifts and prizes soon. By the time they sell out all of the menus will have been changed and the people pictured will have retired.

The cookbook was $29.99 on the Century last month. When I saw that price my thoughts were similar to that of Orator.

Nice to read that two other posters were also pleased with the Hotel Barcelona Universal. We were very pleased with the location, staff and room itself (we had one of large corner rooms). Our rate also included the breakfast buffet, which we found to be very nice (includes both hot and cold offerings).

We spent several days in Barcelona following B2B cruises last spring. We used the metro system daily, were aware of our surroundings, and had no problems with pickpockets. I use a "Pacsafe" brand purse, which I had in front of my body and we left our credit cards in the hotel safe. Barcelona is a safe city where the crime against tourists is the potential of being pickpocketed -- not mugged and shot.

We were on two Rome in Limo tours last spring, and used guides arranged by Rome in Limo for both the Vatican and Pompeii. Our groups were very pleased with the quality of both guides and I would definitely pay extra for the guides again. For example, our Rome in Limo driver dropped us off at the curb to our waiting Vatican guide who whisked us through the crowds to the front of lines to pick up our pre-purchased tickets. I felt that we literally "hit the pavement running." Our Pompeii guide also was waiting for us as our driver was parking, and purchased our Pompeii tickets for us as we hit the restrooms. Again, we maximized our time. And both provided absolutely excellent tours.