Northern Aurora

AKStafford has provided great info as he always does. Just a few comments -- as someone who lives abut a 2.5 hour drive north of the Denali National Park entrance I've always thought that folks who don't go into the park as far as Eielson Visitor's Center (mile 66) short-change themselves on the full park experience. Unstable land conditions prompted closure of the single park road at the Pretty Rocks section. At this time the shuttle buses go in as far as mile 43 ish. According to the DNP website the closure is expected to remain in effect through the summer of 2024. The Independence Mine State Historical Park is located in Hatcher Pass. Mahay's Jet Boat Adventures is a good option in Talkeetna. Three days is not enough to explore the Wrangell -- St. Elias National Park & Preserve.

I believe it was listed under Shore Excursions. My husband was checking for it and found it listed. Normally we consult with each other, but as soon as he saw it he immediately booked for both of us. Shore excursion tickets were delivered to the stateroom. I've already described the tour itself in a previous post. But the tour includes the Bridge, Engine Control Room, Galley (spent much longer time then the "taste of the operation" walk-through), crew mess (there are actually three), I-95 corridor, interior crew bar, food storage rooms, and laundry. We did not visit any crew cabins but saw photos. Nor did we visit the crew store. I may have missed something.

We were on the Solstice B2B in June, and it was offered on both legs. However, it also was sold out on both legs. The Retreat Concierges tried to wait list us but there were no cancellations. We were also on the Solstice in September for another B2B. When we found it on the Cruise Planner we immediately booked it for the first leg. It is my understanding that the Behind the Scenes Tour also sold out for those legs in September. We had taken a Behind the Scenes tour on a M-class ship but never on a S-class. Throughly enjoyed it again.

While I do enjoy wine I also enjoy a delicious mocktail. The bartenders do indeed have some great mocktails which are not listed on the bar menus. However, I love the minted lemonade mocktail from the bar menu -- tart sweet with bruised mint leaves. Wonderful on a warm weather itinerary.

While the ship will cruise up Endicott Arm with the naturalist providing narration there is an optimal excursion which I described in my prior post (#3). There are very limited spaces, and this excursion generally sells out prior to the actual cruise. We have both remained on the cruise ship and also have taken the small boat excursion which approaches Dawes much closer than the ship can navigate through the fairly narrow channel which has numerous ice bergs. After visiting Dawes the cruise ship will head to Juneau but will not visit Fords Terror (this small narrow fjord is named after a person who had to deal with tidal conditions, hence the "terror"). After the small (two level) boat visits Fords Terror it then heads to Juneau. The cruise ship is too large to navigate Fords Terror. You don't do an excursion actually to Dawes itself (ie, no walking on this massive glacier), but the small boat experience will take you closer to the glacier face, which will be actively calving (or at least it has every time we have visited). The calving will also be visible from the cruise ship. Hope this is clear.

Our first hand experience is that the former "Personal Retreat Hosts" are being referred to as butlers on other ships as well. And others have posted about this change back to butler as well.

A few years ago I was curious about the value of the laundry perk, so calculated what the laundry bag which had just returned would have cost if we had paid by the piece. It was just over $50.00. So the pre-purchase of a bag for $40 is a decent value.

We rarely do anything less than B2B. Sometimes we do the online check-in process for the second third leg but probably more frequently we don't. While at the B2B meeting it may be announced that if you didn't do the online check-in then you need to go to Guest Relations to register a credit card number you may find that the GR staff just look at you with a blank stare. Even when we are in the same stateroom we also provide extra tips at the end of each leg. We also have had stateroom attendants or butlers moved from one section to another.

I've been to Skagway a number of times, both as cruise ship excursions and by road. "Essiesmom" has provided a great answer. The scenery is great whether you take the White Pass or simply drive. Tracy Arm Fjord is not "the same as Dawes Glacier." Dawes Glacier is at the end of Endicott Arm. Tracy Arm is north of Endicott Arm, and Sawyer Glacier is at the end of Tracy Arm. We have taken the small boat excursion offered by Celebrity to Dawes Glacier. We tendered off the Solstice onto a two level boat (operated by Allen Marine) and were able to approach Dawes Glacier much closer than the cruise ship could do so. On the return to Juneau the Allen Marine vessel also diverted into Fords Terror. We rejoined the Solstice shortly after it docked in Juneau.

We have used Allen Marine in Juneau. And yes, we have done the Mt. Robert Tramway a number of times. Remember -- "AK" is not the US postal abbreviation for Arkansas, but for Alaska. On a clear day the views from the Mt. Roberts Tramway are incredible. We never book before as while the lines may look long they move very quickly.

Traditionally August was the start of the rainy season in SE Alaska, but our weather has become rather unpredictable and "old" patterns are questionable. Just be prepared for rain, and if you don't experience heavy downpours be happy. But July will definitely have more hours of daylight. Our OP states that fishing is a must, but are they looking for fishing excursions from their cruise ship or while they are on their land tour? It is difficult to recommend any "places to stay on land" until they have plans for their land trip. Heading north toward Denali, fishing on the Kenai Peninsula, heading to the Wrangell -- St. Elias National Park and Preserve? What are they considering?

Some simple ideas: Juneau: If whale watching is not of interest consider the Alaska State Museum, the Sealaska Heritage Institute or the Mt. Roberts Tramway (if the weather cooperates). There will be kiosks on the piers selling shuttle bus tickets to Mendenhall Glacier. Ketchikan: We were in Ketchikan twice last summer and the funicular between Creek Street and the Cape Fox Lodge wasn't running either time. I asked two locals and received two very different answers. I have a feeling that it will not return. In any event, the Totem Heritage Museum is in town and has a great collection of old totems housed inside (great option if it is raining). Ketchikan has a lovely small museum located at the edge of Creek Street. And there is also the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center. One of my favorite restaurants in SE Alaska is Annabelles which is right downtown. Victoria: It is a lovely walk from the cruise terminal downtown. Our favorite restaurant is the Bard and Banker Scottish Pub located on Government Street. Skagway: While our OP has plans for the WP&YRR they should also be aware that the National Park Service owns a number of buildings in Skagway which are operated as museums.

Ros: The two bottle policy is restricted to wine. Not two bottles of gin or some other "hard" alcohol. But, at least for bookings in North America and Europe, Celebrity has been moving to including alcohol beverage packages (either the Classic or Premium) with bookings. Do you have a beverage package with your booking? We will be doing a B2B2B2B in Australian, New Zealand and South Pacific waters starting in March, and all four sailings include beverage packages.

Blu and Luminae are both "Smart Casual" on Evening Chic nights, but there will some folks who will dress up. Folks feel comfortable whether their clothing is more dressy those nights, or not.

According to an article I read a number of years ago, which was actually about the ARR revenue operations, the issue which the cruise lines have faced is that customers complained about too much travel siting on a rail car. For example, the trip between Fairbanks and the entrance to Denali National Park is about two hours longer by rail than it is by motor coach. And in that case the trip my motor coach is more scenic too. Not everyone is a rail enthusiast. While I haven't bothered to look at the attached pdf someone who tries to put together a trip from Whittier to Fairbanks needs to understand that there most likely will be an overnight in Anchorage. And the ARR station isn't close to the Princess McKinley Wilderness Lodge at all, but is located in Talkeetna. Talkeetna, assuming no road construction, is about a 45 minute drive from the Princess McKinley Wilderness Lodge.

After reading this thread Select (which is Celebrity's term for anytime dining) should work well for you. While our OP is changing the topic when asking about Concierge Class staterooms the bedding is not either more or less comfortable. If you don't find the bed comfortable then tell the stateroom attendant. The stateroom attendants have all sorts of "tricks of the trade" to make beds more suitable for their passengers such as egg crate mattress pads and so forth. The ship is stocked with a variety of pillow types and anyone can ask for different pillows than what they find on the beds when first boarding.

As I understand your post you are looking for a land tour which only uses the Alaska Railroad as the means of transport. Is that correct? In any event I am aware that several years ago (possibly as long as a decade ago) Princess began to use more motor coaches to transport their customers. In particular, while it takes about 2.5 hours by motor coach between Fairbanks and the entrance to Denali National Park, the time required to do the same distance by rail is four hours.

I really wonder how these rumors begin. We were on a B2B and so were in Skagway twice in June 2022. The first time was days before the rock slide, and the second days after the slide. The slide has impacted the Rail Road dock which has two berth positions. The ship we were on uses the RR dock. The second port call the ship docked at the aft berth and tenders were used to move passengers the very short distance to the small boat harbor. And remember that Skagway has other docks as well. Only the forward position of the RR dock has been impacted.

I have not seen a Sushi on 5 menu which I found to be ship specific. I suspect what the OP finds on the app will be what they see on the ship.

Last summer we had a serious shortage of rental cars in our state, as did many other areas of the US. Some folks have investigated renting U-Haul vehicles. While U-Haul is a self-moving company which has vehicles such as small moving vans, they also have some 8 passenger vans. Last summer we were driving to Chena Hot Springs Resort and actually saw one of their rental vans on the road -- folks would stop at scenic pull-outs and take photos.

I am not surprised at all that Suites are sold out. I just checked a travel agent site which lists all available staterooms in each category, and only eleven A1s are available.

There is no "dress code" for the Concierge Class embarkation lunch. Those boarding most likely haven't received their luggage yet. Those embarking for warm weather cruises will definitely be wearing shorts Zenith members of the loyalty program and B2B cruisers are also invited.

That is the only reason I can think of either. Embarkation lunch in Luminae is much superior to the Concierge class embarkation event.

Your statement is really interesting. A rather blanket statement. Why is it one of the "don'ts?"

As someone who travels in Suites and is also a Zenith CC member, Suite guests can actually attend the Concierge, B2B and Zenith luncheon in the MDR offered on turnaround/embarkation day. Not quite sure why you would want to but it is allowed.