Northern Aurora

I am curious if the higher priced four hour experience includes a dog mushing experience? Temsco, an Alaskan helicopter firm, offers excursions out of both Skagway and Juneau. Our OP may want to check their website.

We spent 14 nights on the Solstice in June and 15 nights in September. The decor is dated but the ship is in good repair and clean. Very happy and positive crew. The Solstice will not go into dry dock before March 2023.

We have been to Catalina several times most recently on a Solstice port call last September. Tickets to the Casino were sold out on the Casino website but about two to three weeks before the port call tickets suddenly appeared on the Solstice shore excursions for our cruise! And the Casino tour tickets purchased through Celebrity were essentially the same amount as if we had purchased through the Casino website! We did the tour and were very pleased, but we enjoy touring historic properties. Incredible building with an incredible guide.

@katmigordon: You most likely have the premium beverage package, premium wi-fi, pre-paid gratuities and the non-refundable onboard credit. Unless you are on a Blue Chip comped cruise (the Celebrity casino program), you most likely have the full Retreat (think Suite) perks. You will not need to use the OBC toward any of those perks (beverage package, wi-fi, or pre-paid gratuities). If you booked through a travel agent they can confirm your perks. If you booked with Celebrity direct then a Celebrity agent can confirm your package details.

Another Alaskan here -- only one set of train tracks for the White Pass & Yukon Railroad. Some of the excursion names denote how far the train will venture away from Skagway.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. I am assuming that your upcoming Alaska cruise is on a Celebrity ship. The days of scenic cruising will be in areas where shore will be visible from the ship. Depending on your specific itinerary views will be on both sides of the ship. There will be activities on board, including trivia and so forth. Celebrity Alaska itineraries have a naturalist on board who will have presentations listed in the Celebrity Today (planner). Topics will include sea birds, whales, bears and other topics. Restaurants will be open.

And thank you for the voice of reason. We plan to board the Eclipse in March for a B2B2B2B, and I will form my own opinion then.

At times on a typed forum it is hard to tell if someone is joking. If you aren't joking, then of course not -- you don't need to pack a pillow. Any stateroom level can request different pillows and the ship is stocked with a variety. And if you aren't satisfied with the bed fitness/softness also tell the stateroom attendant. They have a number of "tricks of the trade" to make the bed firmer and can add different "toppers" to make them softer. One of the last things a ship hotel director would want to hear is that someone told their friends/neighbors that they had a hard time sleeping on their vacation.

There will definitely be entertainment in the theater. The two evening shows are at 7 PM with a repeat at 9 PM.

The Millennium was the first M-class while the Silhouette is a S-class ship. The Millennium is smaller. Although the first of the M-class ships she has been "revolutionized" and looks beautiful. We spent two weeks on the Millie in September 2021 where we met a couple who were on their first Celebrity cruise. When I mentioned that the Millie was the oldest ship currently in the Celebrity fleet the guy was visibly surprised and impressed. You would never know it.

And I should have been more clear in my post. We were not on the Eclipse when we "did" Antarctica in 2015, but we were on a B2B2B series in South America in 2019. The Eclipse just swamps communities like Ushuaia.

And in Seattle the Port of Seattle offers the service.

@cccole: I am rather late to this discussion but just wanted to comment that we have been to Antarctica and have been on the Eclipse several times (we will be boarding her again in March for B2B2B2B series). So many of the South American ports are small and rather industrial. The Eclipse is, in my opinion, too large for these ports and towns. The Eclipse just overwhelms them.

I've always thought that the Cellar Masters on the M-class ships are a more versatile design than the cave-like Cellar Masters on the S-class ships. So nice to have an acoustic duo or strings along that wall in Cellar Masters on the M-class ships. And I much prefer the Rendezvous (M-class) over the Ensemble Lounge (S-class) with the dedicated dance floor, bar in the back and nice area for a party band.

The Celebrity Today (daily planner) will list the times and locations of the live music throughout the ship. In addition to the Rendezvous and Sky Lounge music will be offered in other locations, such as Cellar Masters on M-class ships. The Summit is a M-class ship

Any one planning to use the funicular needs to confirm directly with Cape Fox Lodge (the lodge owns the funicular) that the funicular will be operational this summer. We were in Ketchikan twice in 2021 and it wasn't operating. It didn't operate at all the entire abbreviated 2021 cruise season. I asked two locals and were given two different answers as to why it wasn't operating. We were in Ketchikan twice the summer of 2022, and again it wasn't operating either time.

@midwife1021: Have you found the travelalaska.com website? They have a downloadable vacation planner and an entire section on the cruise ports called "Cruising into Summer." Ketchikan is known for totems among other attractions. Juneau, our state capital, hosts the state museum. Other popular attractions include, but are not limited to, Mendenhall Glacier, whale watching and Mt. Roberts Tramway. Sitka is full of history as this was the community where the official transfer ceremony of Russian America to the US was held. Popular attractions include Sitka National Historical Park (called "totem pole park" by the locals), Fortress of the Bear, the Raptor Center and the Russian Bishop's House. Icy Strait Point offers exceptional whale watching, an incredibly long zip line, and gondolas up mountain to incredible vistas. How long do you plan to stay in Seward? Seward offers wonderful small boat excursions into Kenai Fjords National Park, Exit Glacier, and the SeaLife Center. The Seavey dog racing family (members race the Iditarod) open their dog yard to visitors.

Explore Fairbanks is the name of our visitor's bureau. After posting I realized I had neglected to mention the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitor's Center. Explore Fairbanks is located there in addition to the Alaska Public Lands Information Center. Their free exhibit hall augments the exhibits at the Museum of the North. Check the Morris Thompson website.

Were you in Anchorage? Where did you dine? Where did you dine in Fairbanks? What ports did you visit and where did you dine? Did you dine in Seward?

Actually the mid-ship S-class elevators could also be described as "glass cages." The rear glass walls of the elevators are open to the ship. While not mentioned in several years this has been an issue for folks with height phobias issues.

@Jonny3317: Have you checked the FAQ on the Mt. Roberts Tramway website?

First, I would not suggest driving to North Pole unless you want to visit the Santa Claus House, or, as I refer to it, the emporium of poor taste; the three story fiberglass Santa out front should suggest that the place if full of tourist junk made in China. I would not describe a drive to the Chena Hot Springs Resort as being "very long." The resort itself is located at mile 57 (or so) of the paved Chena Hot Springs Road. The first 25 miles or so are through some rather funky subdivisions, but at about mile 26 you enter the Chena River State Recreation area (over 254,000 acres) with has hiking trails (consider Angel Rocks, or for more experienced hikers, the Granite Tors trail), campgrounds and so forth. The habitat is very "moosey" so look for them. At the CHSR consider taking swim wear and visiting the rock pool. A tour of their ice museum/ice hotel is interesting, and they also offer free tours of their geothermal energy facility which not only harvests the geothermal energy from the hot springs to provide electricity to the entire complex but also heats the hydrophonic (sp?) green houses which allows them to grow lettuces, greens and herbs even at -50F. Definitely try their restaurant. Best tomatoes in Alaska. The White Mountains National Recreation Area is about 1 million acres in size and is north of Fairbanks on the Steese Highway. Some interesting vistas and also hiking trails, but these trails are for the experienced. Rikas Roadhouse is on the Richardson Highway about 100 miles from Fairbanks. Rika's is part of the Big Delta State Historical Park. Several years ago a long time concessionaire chose to not renew their contract and the state has had problems securing a long term contract. So do your research and check their website. In Fairbanks I would suggest the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum. A prior post mentioned the UA Museum, but the correct name is the UAF Museum of the North, and I also recommend it. Other ideas include the Tanana Valley Farmer's Market Traditional days are Wednesdays and Saturdays. In addition to truck farmers vendors include crafters selling their own products. And there will be food trucks so we often grab a quick lunch there. Friends of Creamer's Field sponsors free guided nature tours of the refuge. Days and hours are now being finalized so check their website. The refugee is never closed and the trails are popular with locals. All of these attractions have websites, so google is your friend. And I am curious if our OP has checked the Explore Fairbanks website.

I don't think that I would define any Skagway restaurant as offering "fine dining." The Skagway Brewing Company food menu is heavy on items like fish and chips and so forth. According to my husband (I can't stand beer) their craft brewed beer is good. And they also have great non-alcohol craft brewed root beer. According to the husband again, the Klondike Brewing Company (also in Skagway) has better craft brewed beer, but no food. In Juneau the popular dining spot with the cruisers is Tracey's Crab Shack. I've always thought it was highly over rated, and given the situation with king crab I wonder how TCS will respond. When in Juneau we generally stop at Hanger on the Wharf, but I really wouldn't call that fine dining. In Ketchikan we always stop at Annabelles. The menu is heavy on sea food and frequently has fresh dungeness crab as dungy is caught there. Another Ketchikan option is Heen Kahidi which is the dining room (not coffee shop) in the Cape Fox Lodge. Menus for all these places can be found using google.

I remember what Skagway was before it was found by the cruise industry. It has become too touristy for my taste but there is a great quilt shop in Skagway. ISP was developed by the local native corporation (Hunt Totem) and is an example of folks of first nations heritage creating jobs for their local economy.

There are pluses and minuses on both the M- and S-class ships. We like both classes of ships. We prefer the design of Luminae and Blu on the M-class ship over the S-class design as both restaurants are smaller on the M-class ships. We also do like the three banks of elevators on the M-class ships. And we much prefer the design of the M-class Rendezvous Lounges over the Ensemble Lounges on the S-class ships. We spent two weeks on the Millennium in September 2021. We met someone who was on their first Celebrity cruise but had cruised other lines. When I mentioned that the Millennium was the oldest ship currently sailing in the Celebrity fleet the guy was surprised. The ship has been "revolutionized" and you would never suspect it is an "old" ship.