Northern Aurora

I wish our OP would expand their question. While we have had itineraries changed several times there have only been a few times when we have received refundable OBC for the changes. We received R-OBC for a port change on a South American itinerary, and again for a highly changed itinerary for a cruise around Japan which was impacted by two typhoons. And we were on the same cruise as was "TeaBag" when R-OBC was issued due to the extra sea day and missing one port.

In over 50 sailings on Celebrity I have never heard a "daily announcement for birthdays and anniversaries over the PA." We were on the Eclipse in April. The time span included by birthday. We did not make any note of a special occasion, but had the Suite Manager, a Michael's Club host, a Cafe al Bacio barista and a Cellar Master sommelier wish me a happy birthday. Our butler delivered a cake and decorated our suite. I asked the sommelier how he knew it was my birthday, and he told me my name and photo were posted in a crew area. Possibly because we are Zenith Captain's Club members?

@NavyCruiser: While I have never taken a RCCL cruise we are very familiar with their "sister" line Celebrity. Since the restart of cruises Celebrity now provides heavy cloth masks in staterooms. They also have the disposable medical style masks available for those who ask. My husband tested positive for Covid on a Vancouver to Honolulu cruise in April, and KN95 masks were provided to him (he was in isolation) and me (I stayed in our suite). In this age it is a good idea to pack a few home Covid-19 kits so you can easily test if you have any suspicions. We are double vaccinated and double boosted. My husband's case was surprisingly mild. But he developed a slight odd cough, and since we had the kits, we thought we should test. He tested positive immediately so we called the Medical Center. A nurse came to the suite to administer a PCR to him and an antigen to me. He tested positive on the PCR so it was off to isolation for him. Celebrity had me report to the covid testing center (where they test the crew) daily. So while I was being tested daily the cruise line was administering the tests. I wasn't testing using our home test kits. And I never did test positive. My husband was provided a fingertip pulse oximeter and a forehead thermometer so he could take his own readings when the Medical Center called him several times a day. A nurse or physician also visited him daily. He was provided cough syrup and OTC pain killer but he never developed any muscle aches or headache. On Celebrity folks are reporting that items such as OTC pain meds, OTC allergy products and cough syrup have been removed from the sundry shop. They are available for purchase but the concern is that someone may be experiencing mild covid. According to a report on our Alaska public radio network, which was repeated in the Anchorage Daily News today, some ships are experiencing a surge in cases. I don't think you are being too paranoid. We leave in a week for a B2B cruise and we are indeed packing a supply of our own KN95 masks and a few home covid test kits.

Pike's Waterfront is open year round. While the hotels in the "glitter gulch" in Denali and the Princess properties (even the one in Fairbanks) close for the winter season Pike's does not. It is open all year long. But our labor shortage here is acute and simply stunning. There was another article in today's local newspaper that the school bus contractor is already telling the school district that the bus contractor believes they can only run 100 of the 130 Fairbanks school bus routes. I suspect that some businesses are having to hire folks they may have rejected in the past. We also have businesses which in the past were open 7 days a week but are now open 6 days. An example is the stand-alone restaurant associated with Pike's Waterfront. Due to the labor shortage Pike's Landing is now closed on Sundays.

The shuttle from the pier to downtown Sitka is free. The drop off point is the Harrigan Centennial Center. We have walked to all of the attractions listed with no problems. And the walk between the Harrigan Centennial Center and Sitka Historical Park passes the Sheldon Jackson Museum.

While I realize that folks who had booked the Copper River Princess are annoyed, in all fairness to Princess, they didn't make this decision lightly and must have anticipated that some customers would be unhappy. And, again in all fairness to Princess, the labor shortage here in Alaska is simply stunning. The Anchorage Daily News published an article today about our unemployment rate which has reached the lowest unemployment rate in Alaska's history. Where I live, in Fairbanks, it rare to walk into a business and not see a "now hiring" sign. One of the principle owners of the Chena Hot Springs Resort is a very creative thinker, and their solution is to sponsor a number of Ukrainian refugees. Given its relative remote location the resort provides housing for their employees (ranging from studio apartments for single folks to houses for families). Sponsors have to agree to be sponsors for a certain length of time which is not a problem for the resort as they are open year round. So the resort will provide both housing and jobs.

I am not sure I would have been angry, but certainly would be irritated. What explanation was provided by the front desk staff? If the ladies found inside the room had not instigated the move then I understand why your husband is unhappy that you "voiced my anger to both the ladies." The irritation should have been voiced to the front desk staff. We periodically stay at the Princess McKinley View Lodge when driving from Seward to our home in Fairbanks. Every time we have stayed there something odd happens. While the incidents most frequently are about food, one time we were given keys to a room which had belongings in it. Fortunately no one was in the room when we opened the door, but the front desk staff person almost challenged us and reacted as if he didn't quite believe us. I felt like telling him to go to the room so he could verify that suitcases were in it.

The Anchorage Daily News is also confirming the closure. The labor shortage is this state is absolutely amazing.

Somehow I am not surprised as we are experiencing a very serious labor shortage here.

We have also done the eMed proctored tests. We ordered them directly from the company. But in April we used the CVM testing site at the Vancouver airport. We flew in to Vancouver the day before boarding so tested before heading to the Pan Pacific. Our OP needs to goggle the testing sites in downtown Vancouver. There are now more testing sites including one at the Fairmont hotel and I believe one at the Canada Place too. Also email your hotel concierge to ask about testing sites near your Vancouver hotel.

Pre-covid we did a Norwegian fjords cruises and I don't recall having Aquavit on the ship.

The drive time between Seward and Anchorage is approximately two hours. The majority is a two lane highway and if there are road accidents or road construction/repairs the time will be longer.

And a comment from someone who lives in Alaska -- we are experiencing a severe labor shortage all through the state. It is impacting every business from those in the hospitality and tourism sector to grocery stores to realtors. I had my hair cut yesterday, and even the hairdresser was bemoaning the labor shortage in her industry as they want to add several more staff to the salon (she is part owner) and can't recruit anyone.

Even though we live in Alaska we periodically do Alaska itineraries. Dress on Celebrity while on Alaska itineraries us definitely more casual than on other itineraries with the exception of Antarctic itineraries (which my experience is that the dress is also very casual). We are booked for an Alaska B2B later this month and my husband won't bring a tailored suit and I don't plan to pack any dresses.

The phone number I posted in post #3 is not one provided to us when we became Zenith in 2016. I've had it for several years and suspect it has been posted a number of times on Cruise Critic. When I was on the phone yesterday talking with a Celebrity rep (regarding another matter) and had them check the status of our claim I was using a Zenith phone number.

Jim: I agree that there is more than one number. The number I called was answered in less than 60 seconds. And we also have already had our taxes and port fees refunded onto the credit card which was used to purchase the cruises. We also found the refund by checking the credit card account.

With so little time in Ketchikan you may want to consider a ship tour, but there will be vendors offering tours on shore. It is unclear to me if your group is interested in our First Nation cultures, but just Saxman Totem Park for more information. Ketchikan also has a nice indoor totem museum, the Totem Heritage Center, which is operated by the city. Given your brother-in-law's stamina another option in Juneau may be to take the Mt. Roberts tram. Nice trails at the top with beautiful views. If he becomes tired he can wait in the coffee shop/casual restaurant. Butchart Gardens are indeed lovely, but given the distance from the ship and your limited time in Victoria you may want to consider a ship tour.

On April 30 my husband tested positive on the first leg of a B2B. While we were told we could remain on the ship for the second leg (he would have continued in isolation for the first few days of the second leg) we opted to leave the ship on turnaround day and finish his isolation in a hotel. We left the ship with sets of FCCs. One set as compensation for the days he spent in isolation and the second FCC pair reimbursed us for the second leg. We were told to keep our hotel and meal receipts. After calling the Celebrity Engagement Center (1-888-305-1427) copies were scanned and e-mailed to: celebrityengagementcenter@celebrity.com Note that I called a different number than the one mentioned by Jim. I was on the phone with a shoreside concierge yesterday as asked if she could check the status of our claim. She confirmed it was indeed received by e-mail and told me to expect 30 days to process the claim.

A number of the bartenders also have alcohol free mocktails which they have concocted through the years but are not listed on the bar menus. I find the watermelon tropic, which is listed on the bar menus, too sweet for my taste, but have had bartenders create something similar but not as sweet.

I read the Washington Post, the Anchorage Daily News and our local paper the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner on line while on ships. I just log on to the web pages and rarely have an issue.

What ports are you visiting? Some ports are easy to DIY.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. I suspect "Alakegirl" is correct. We were on the Eclipse in April, and certainly dined at both Murano and Tuscan Grill.

I don't know the number of seats or tables, but Blu on the S-class ships is larger than on the M-class. Similar to Luminae on the S-class ships Blu on the S-class ships is also somewhat divided into two "halves."

Welcome to Celebrity. Do you by chance have a beverage package included in your booking? For example, the classic beverage package, which so many folks have, includes canned soft drinks.

Casinos became non-smoking in 2008. We did two cruises that year. During the spring 2008 cruise smoking was allowed on one side of the casino. During the fall cruise there was no smoking at all in the casino.