Northern Aurora

We boarded on March 10th and will also be onboard for the next two cruises! We will look for you.

I will start listing some changes and others will add. Seapass cards are now found in the mail slot outside your stateroom. After boarding go directly to your stateroom to drop off your carryons and put your valuables in the safe. Now folks watch their muster drill video in the Celebrity app or on the stateroom TV. You will need to physically report to your muster drill station to confirm that you completed the safety drill video, but there will not a large number of folks gathered in the area.

I also am following the adventure and want to read more of your adventures. While I hope this this thread returns to its original topic just a comment about Alaska cruises from someone who lives in Alaska. For hose interested in whales seriously consider an itinerary which includes Icy Strait Point. And I do not think that any one cruise line is superior for our state.

I agree — availability is hit or miss. We are on the Eclipse in Australian / New Zealand waters. We have Gold Peak iced tea on board.

I is “officially” the ugliest state capitol as the result of a public vote held across the country. And it is not interesting inside either. At best is functional.

K — This ship will have some new future cruise personnel on the next leg (we are on until April 19th) so I will also check with another future cruise person. If I learn anything I most certainly post. We are also looking at contingency plans. G.

Weather in our state is becoming more unpredictable. Layers are your key. Ensure that you have a waterproof (not water resistant) outer layer. Prepare for temperature ranges from 30s to mid 60s F. Who knows what you will experience.

Both uber and Lyft are relatively new in Alaska as our wage and hour laws has to be modified to allow for their operation. They are fairly available in larger communities such as Anchorage and Fairbanks but not so much in the smaller communities.

We are presently on a Celebrity ship and I asked a future cruise sales person about the status of this cruise. She took my stateroom number and supposedly will call me if she receives any information. I am not holding my breath. But if I do receive any info will certainly share.

We have not received lip balm since the resumption of cruising. In contrast to Peaches experience we did B2B cruises on Solstice in June and and another pair in September, all in suites, but no lip balm. But we are receiving small bottles of hand sanitizer.

I believe the goal is 2025, but given supply chain issues who knows. I like wolfie11’s idea a lottery. I am taking August 15, 2026.

During the administration of Governor Gary Walker our Wage and Hours laws were amended to allow for Uber and Lyft to operate, but availability is spotty at best, particularly in communities as small as Skagway.

As on other itineraries the Solstice Alaskan cruises will have the evening theater shows at 7 and 9 pm.

I also have a pair of waterproof walking shoes which I have used in Europe, Iceland, South America and so forth. While they are not too clunky they offer good ankle support. Well worth the investment.

Goggle Klondike Gold Rush National Park. This national park is structured in several units with one located in Skagway. Through the years the National Park Service has acquired more and more buildings which now house museums and educational displays. There are also some ranger led walks. Skagway also has a city museum which is not operated by the NPS. While the community has become more touristy than the first time I saw it in the early to mid 1980s there are a few interesting stores in addition to the Diamonds International and so forth. The small quilting shop is wonderful. Also use goggle to find the Skagway visitor bureau. I suspect their website will have some ideas.

We have never had the evening shows repeat, but have had afternoon matinee type of shows with different material. For what it is worth we have none eight cruises since the resumption of cruising.

I have posted on this thread but am not the OP. I certainly hope she returns. It has been years since we have done a Chefs Table but would not be surprised if it is indeed sold out. Magnifying mirrors seem to be rather hit and miss anymore. On the Eclipse we were in a Celebrity Suite for the March 10th cruise and no such mirror. We are now in a Sky Suite for the next three legs of our b2b2b2b series and again no such mirror.

We did not go to the Captains Club event on the March 10th cruise but did attend on the March 15th cruise. I have no idea who Dominic is but we definitely have Eddy Jenkins now.

Also consider the ferry mail run. It is a hoot.

Yes, Celebrity did provide complimentary rapid antigen tests for the 300 and some B2B passengers. The tests were in staterooms when we re-boarded. We were on the honor system regarding reporting positive results.

I am posting from the Eclipse. We were also on the Tasmanian cruise and will stay onboard until April 19th. According to the Celebrity Today the pasta, pizza and salad bar is open until 1AM. Late bites are offered from 10 PM until 1 AM.

Just a quick comment — we have been to Portland several times and have done the mail ferry run twice. Both times we throughly enjoyed the experience.

Hello K: The time frame is eleven months. In our situation Celebrity did offer several other Asian itineraries roughly during our time frame. These substitutes were offered at a the same daily prices (same price per day) as the chartered cruise, but none of them were appealing. We ended up on a B2B2B in Europe.

We had been booked for a Japan B2B in 2015, and the entire ship was chartered by a Chinese firm. This is actually starting to “smell” similar to that experience. In 2015 the charter was confirmed just prior to the ability to purchase air.

We are also booked for the April 9th cruise as the second leg of a B2B so are also following.