sillymonkey23

Hi, Thank you for a great review! We are heading to AK on the same itinerary next June and I found all your info VERY helpful. We'll be spending 2 days in Seward before we board. On our list of plans is the Kenai Fjord National Park glacier hike. We'll have our 6 year old son with us - how steep and rocky would you say the end of the hike is? He's an adventuresome little dude and loves to hike, but is it safe for little 6 year old feet? Thanks for any input you have! ~Katie

 

Hi there! How fun! Personally, I think an active 6-year old would love the hike, but you know your son best. We saw many families and young children on the trail, although there is one place that gets rather steep. It is shaded, and if you aren't rushing and take this slow, I think it is totally doable.

Our last day of the cruise was a full sea day. We cruised the Inside Passage and enjoyed the scenery from the comfort of the Millie. My husband and I woke up at our leisure, and, as he did on most mornings, my husband went to Cafe al Bacio (Deck Five, Mid-Ship) to get us some delicious coffees and then to the buffet to get us some breakfast. My favorite treat for breakfast was the salmon benedict. There was actually a benedict station where they made salmon or ham benedict to order. So it was always fresh and delicious. I also enjoyed the omelet station and the tasty pastries. Cafe al Bacio was a favorite of ours for their delicious treats such as lemon tarts and cookies.

For lunch this day, there was a chocolate fountain stationed in the Oceanview Cafe, with lots of different items to cover in chocolate. While we were eating our lunch, a long line of chefs carried around platters of chocolate-covered strawberries. We thought this was a nice touch.

A word on eating at the Oceanview Cafe (which serves as the buffet): we were a group of ten, and we never had an issue eating any meal together at the buffet. Whether we arranged to meet at a specific area or not, we were always able to find members of our group and grab two or three neighboring tables. Yes, there were certain busy times at the buffet, but overall, our group felt the quality of the food and the dining space to be more than adequate for our needs. I observed some rudeness at the buffet a few times, and felt the crew handled it extremely well. I had absolutely no complaints about the buffet. There is also an ice cream station in the buffet area, with real ice cream, not the kind from a machine. If you are eating a snack at the buffet at on odd time of day (say, 11:30 PM), I encourage you to take your food all the way to the aft of the ship and enjoy it in the open air. It's really lovely back there.

In Ketchikan, my husband and I went off on our own. We had booked a tour with Island Wings to see the Misty Fjords by floatplane. My parents, brother and sister-in-law went to see the Great Lumberjack Show and they loved it. I can post photos of that in a bit.

The Misty Fjords tour ended up being an absolute highlight of our trip. This is a great company, run by a phenomenal pilot who owns her own plane and knows the Ketchikan rainforest like the back of her hand. She has two adorable dogs that were sitting on the dock, waiting for her to bring the plane in. What I really enjoyed about this excursion was that the pilot (Michelle) was pointing out things and telling us the history of the area. It was not a pre-recorded lecture. This allowed Michelle to point out goats on the mountainside or giant schools of fish way down in the water. She showed us what lakes she has hiked down to or where she has kayaked and which places she would still like to visit.

She landed her plane down in Lake Manzoni and allowed us about 30 minutes to walk around the most secluded, beautiful and pristine lake you could ever imagine. It's right out of a story book. There was a waterfall cascading down the granite mountainside and fresh, wild blueberries to snack on. I loved every second! Despite Michelle's repeated warnings to be careful not to slip on the wet moss near the waterfall, I enthusiastically climbed up the waterfall, lost my footing, and slid down a portion of the waterfall. Michelle was very gracious and allowed me to sit on her rain jacket in the plane so I didn't get her beautiful plane muddy and wet.

TIP: bring bug spray, wear good shoes and watch your step!

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"Enjoyed your photos & review. We did a similar trip last September. Your review should be very helpful to fellow travelers. We are in our late 60's & tried some different adventures as well. Thought I would add a few photos."

Onespots-What wonderful photos! Thank you so much for sharing!

So, anyone can go up to the helipad to view the glaciers? Could you give precise directions please. Thank you.

I believe the availability of viewing the glacier from the helipad is somewhat dependent upon the weather. If it is windy or rainy, they may not open it to guests.

On our sailing, an announcement was made in the morning that the conditions were very good for cruising close to the glacier, and that the helipad would be open to all guests at around 1:30 PM. Several announcements were made throughout the day, directing guests to open decks and places to view the glacier. Additionally, there was a wonderful naturalist, Milos, narrating and giving information about the glacier an surrounding area starting at about noon.

We put on all of our cold weather gear and made our way to the helipad shortly after lunch. We took the elevator to Deck Five (where the upper level of the Celebrity Theater is). As soon as we got off the elevator we saw signs directing people to the helipad. We entered the theater, and followed a line of crew members directing us to watch our step and proceed to the helipad. We reached an open door that said "Crew Only" and followed more crew members instructions to be careful. We climbed up a few stairs and out a door that led to the exterior deck. Once outside, we did have to climb another set up stairs to get up to the viewing area.

It was pretty easy to find once we got to the Celebrity Theater on Deck Five. Just know that it gets pretty cold on the helipad because it is so exposed to the wind. You will probably want a hat and mittens and a solid coat or jacket. You can't beat the views, though!

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After we turned our bikes back in, we walked the nature trail that is very close to the cruise ship. It is beautiful! There were three eagles sitting in one of the trees, just showing off their beauty. We had such a great day!

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Perfect! Thanks so much. Is the muster drill finished in time to enjoy the sail away from Seward?

I remember that the ship started moving right at the very end of our muster drill. We went up to our room to grab our coats and then headed outside to deck 10 and were able to enjoy sail away for at least an hour before we got to cold.

I've been reading the review since it was posted. I'm enjoying the details of what to expect on the ship. I'll be on the southbound August 26th voyage and this will be my first time on Celebrity. My husband and I are in our mid to late 30's. Your perspective is extremely insightful.

 

Do you happen to have any menus from room service? I'm curious about what's available. Actually, any other menus would be helpful too. I hear the food is great but I am curious about what's being served.

 

Thanks!

How fun! You guys will have a great time! I'm so glad you're enjoying the review and that it has been helpful.

I don't have any actual photos of any of the menus, unfortunately. But I will share what I remember and a few photos of some food that we ate in the MDR.

I am pescatarian, which means the only meat I consume is fish and fish products. So I eat crab and salmon and shrimp and lobster but would not eat anything with chicken or beef broth and no animal meat (other than fish). I had some anxiety prior to our cruise that I would be eating garden salads and pasta all cruise long. This was really not the case. There was always a vegetarian option and a Broiled Salmon option on the always available part of the menu. At the end of the cruise I realized that I never once ordered from the always available section of the menu because every night there was at least one fish entree and one vegetarian entree that sounded delicious. On lobster night, I ate a lobster and a very yummy plate of gnocchi.

My husband is a full meat eater who LOVES his food. He was very pleased with the ribeye steak, sirloin steak, steak diane, lobster, duck and lamb dishes. There was a blue cheese souffle on the appetizer menu one night and it was so yummy. Our desserts were VERY good. We had baked alaska one night and the creme brulee was on the always available on the menu. The ice cream was very nice as well. One night they had pistachio and it was great.

I remember feeling happy with the choices for room service. You can actually order room service on your TV. All the options are clearly marked that they are either included or cost extra money. You can order bottles of wine to your room as well and the price per bottle is listed on the TV. Since we had the Premium Drink Package, the husband would just run down to Cellar Masters for wine while we were waiting on our food. We ordered cookies and a cheese plate one afternoon and cookies and a cheese pizza one late night from room service.

Wish I had more pics and menu information but I hope this was helpful!

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Was there a show every night - and what time? Trying to figure out dining reservations. Your review has been wonderful and full of much appreciated information!

I am so glad you are finding it helpful!

Yes, there is a show every night at 7 and 9 PM, except on the night we left Seward. On our very first night, there was only a 9 PM show because of the 7:45 muster drill. We enjoyed eating dinner around 6 PM and having time to catch some live music and a martini before the 9 PM show.

Our next stop was in Icy Strait Point (Hoonah). I have heard many people state that this was their least favorite port but my husband, brother and sister-in-law had a great time! The dock is new so you don't have to tender, there is only one ship in town at any time, and you don't have to venture far to find an authentic Alaskan experience. The area surrounding the cruise ship dock is fantastic.

Our group split up on this day. My parents enjoyed a relaxing morning on the ship and then walked off to have some amazing chowder at the restaurant closest to the cruise ship dock. They did the nature trail and before heading back to the ship. My sister-in-law's parents and aunt and uncle did a city tour and tribal dance. They said it was good and informative, and they also loved the authentic feel of the town.

My husband, brother and sister-in-law rented bikes for the day ($30 per person) and rode into town. We passed a father and his son working on building canoes and totem poles. We stopped and chatted with them for a bit and then we rode our bikes to the Icy Strait Brewing Company for some refreshments. This was very nice because it is new and has a deck overlooking the water. Then we went next door to The Office Bar for the most delicious crab I have ever had! When we were there it was $25 for a crab and a cup of clam chowder, so our group ordered two crabs and two clam chowders. The crab comes whole so you will need to crack it. Dip the tender crab meat in the melted butter they give you and enjoy! I am salivating thinking about it!

TIP: when visiting the Office Bar, bring cash and wait to ask for the wifi password until after you order.

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Hi Sillymonkey23

Thank you for the wonderful review, pictures and posts from Alaska. Really enjoyed your posts. We will be on our third Alaska cruise next month. We are very excited about the trip to Taku Lodge. I see you mention the insect repellent. Here in Scotland we have the midgie. I am not too familiar with the mosquito repellent. Is it one you applied to exposed areas or spray around you?

You were so lucky with the visitor at the grill after the food was served. Hoping to see him too.

Thanks again for sharing your travels. Jean.

You will LOVE the Taku Lodge! The kind of mosquito repellent that we wish we had brought is the kind that you spray or wipe on yourself. I recommend the brand called OFF!

It comes in a small, travel-sized, spray can or in towelette form that you can wipe on. I recommend covering yourself in it as much as you can and bring it with you. Though we had on sleeves and long pants, we found many bites on skin that was covered. The mosquitoes were aggressive!

Hopefully this is not an issue for you at all. It did not ruin our day but it made it a bit more difficult to stop and take pictures because as soon as we stopped moving, we would found ourselves getting nibbled on.

sillymonkey23, I'm really enjoying your review. I was on the 6/24 NB and had a similar experience -- it was a wonderful cruise and vacation in all respects. I feel like I'm sort of re-living my vacation while reading your review. :)

 

As far as Select Dining goes, though, I was told I could only make reservations one day at a time once onboard. I could call no earlier than 9am the day before. This was a pain and it left me wishing I'd made all of my reservations at home. I had to arrange my schedule around being near a phone at that time because waiting just a few hours could mean a dining time that wouldn't work for our family. (In one case the only time available was 8:30 so we passed on it & ate in the buffet.) I'd recommend to anyone -- especially a group -- to make reservations for the whole week online and then make adjustments if needed/able to later on.

 

All of that being said, we had a group booking of 900 people onboard with special dining times and special foods, so that possibly made everything associated with booking dining that much more complicated and difficult.

 

 

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We were able to email in advance for reservations at 6 PM the first night and then as we were leaving each night we would check in at the hostess stand and make a reservation for the following night. It worked out great! We had the same table and servers each night and were able to be more flexible with our time. There was one night we needed to call to make a reservation (I think it was for the second night) and we called the number on the back of the daily. We had to call a few times and we got transferred around a bit, but we finally got our reservation.

WOW. That is one fantastic shot! The sunsets are one of my favourite things about cruising to Alaska.

Thank you! We also LOVE our sunsets at sea! Nothing better than enjoying a drink and some good company while watching the sky light up. They also make for fantastic photo opportunities.

Here is a pic of my brother and his wife, enjoying the cruise:

SillyMonkey: That shot of the ship literally sailing off into the sunset is absolutely fabulous!!!!

How nice of you to say! Thank you so much!

This was a particularly dazzling sunset that seemed to light up the sky with a rich, golden hue. I must have dozens of photos of this same sunset.

It was taken as we were leaving Juneau and it was such a mild and clear night. We must have sat watching the sky turn colors for at least an hour.

Here is another shot from about 10 minutes earlier:

Thank you for posting your review. We will be on the Equinox in 2017 which, I believe is a sister ship to the Millenium. I'm very excited to try Celebrity as my cruises over the last 10 years have been on Princess. I noticed your picture of the bathroom. The storage looks great. How is the storage in the rest of the cabin and how is the closet area? I think Princess' closet, the storage where the safe is and the main cabin area is great. If you have any pictures of the closet and thoughts on storage, I would love to read about it.:):):)

 

I was just reading another thread and know realize that the Millenium and Equinox are not the same class of ship.

I don't have any pictures of the closet, but I can tell you that I felt the storage was adequate. The two panels closest to the stateroom door open into a nice-sized closet. We were able to hang the contents of our garment bag in there with no problems. Directly next to those two panels is a third panel that opens up to the safe, perched about eye level on a shelf, another shelf just below that and then six drawers under that shelf. The drawers were small-ish but worked for our needs. There is a shelf above the television where we put some of our hats, scarves and gloves. There is also a small drawer in each nightstand on either side of the bed. Finally, there is a small door on either side of the mirrored vanity. If you open those doors you will find two small shelves as well.

We stored our garment bag and large suitcase under the bed, rather than in the closet, so that it wouldn't be in the way of our hanging clothes. We also stored our shoes under the bed as we found this was most convenient.

All of our bathroom items fit easily in the bathroom, and there are actually a few shelves in the bathroom under the sink if you want or need to use those as well. The shower has two small corner shelves that were perfect for what we needed.

We felt the room was very functional and cozy. The television is large and easy to see from the bed. We also enjoyed viewing our charges and ordering room service on the TV, which we could not do on NCL's Jewel, Pearl, Star and Sky.

Great review. Thanks for posting. We've been considering Celebrity. We've been on HAL, Carnival and NCL. Currently NCL is our favorite, partly due to the quality of the entertainment. As you know, their newer ships have multiple entertainment venues and Broadway style shows. We've heard the crew and and food on Celebrity is better, but the entertainment, not so much. What was your experience?

Celebrity Millennium will not offer you the variety of entertainment that NCL's newer ships (Getaway, Breakaway, Escape, etc) will. Though jazz music is offered in the evening at one of the lounges, there is not a dedicated jazz club, for example, on the Millie. On our cruise there was an excellent Billy Joel tribute, a wonderfully funny impressionist, a cirque style show and a Broadway tribute show. These were all rated as very good by various members of our group. On our previous NCL Alaskan cruise on the Jewel, we ended up walking out of a few of the broadway style shows because we thought the singing and dancing was less than stellar.

Celebrity works for us because entertainment is not a huge priority. I absolutely agree that we had better food and much better service on our Celebrity cruise than on our last few NCL cruises. I thought the quality of the singing and dancing was also better on Celebrity, but I can't deny there are fewer options for entertainment.

We are an extended family group of 8 that will be taking the southbound Millennium cruise on 8/12. I love all your pics and ship information. We are doing a very similar itinerary so far. A couple of us are arriving a few days early to go to Denali and are stopping on the way for a hike on Matanuska. The rest are arriving Thursday night and we are taking the train the next morning to Seward. I was very pleased to hear we could check our bags straight through to the ship because we are promptly going on a fjords cruise once we arrive 11:30-6:30. I'm a bit worried we are cutting it close to the 7:00 deadline for check-in but the fjords cruise folks seem to think it's fine. I'm looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip, your shore excursions and your logistics for coordinating a larger group of travelers!

How fun! I discovered that traveling in a larger group really adds to the enjoyment of the cruise. There is always someone to see a show with or go to the wine tasting with you or join you at the pool. If you don't have a set dining time, I would recommend trying to make reservations for your group when you get on board by calling the phone extension listed on your Celebrity Today.

Also, we were able to frequent a specific part of the ship, so that if anyone in our group was looking for us onboard, they would be likely to find us at the back of the ship on Deck 10, having a drink and snacking on food from the buffet. We thought our favorite hangout would be the Rooftop Terrace, but when we met up there for sailaway we were disappointed to find that it was very, very cold (due to being up high and exposed to winds) and there is no bar. We quickly shuffled down the aft stairs to find relative warmth and smiling bartenders. I think we sat out there just about every single night after dinner, admiring the sun set. One particularly magical evening we even saw about a dozen whales off in the distance, blowing water straight up into the golden rays of the setting sun.

As far as your Seward excursion, I think you will be good on getting to the ship on time, but I also don't blame you for worrying about it. We had a few similar experiences of cutting it close on our trip. In Ketchikan, we were scurrying back on board with about 14 minutes to spare. In Seward, we standing in Kenai Fjords National Park with zero cellular service, praying that the last shuttle of the day would arrive in timely fashion to get us back to the ship. It did.

I would just say to double-check where your tour group is dropping you off so you know what to expect. If they say they will have you back to the cruise terminal by 6:30 I would say that is fantastic. If they will drop you at the train station or the small boat harbor, you can expect a ten minute walk to the terminal and you will still be just fine. I am guessing that the tour group runs the tour in such a way to make sure they get their cruise ship passengers to the ship with time for them to check-in. If they were to cause even one tour group of people to miss their ship, you can bet it would negatively impact the company's ratings. All aboard is at 7 PM, but the ship doesn't leave until after the muster drill at 7:45. I doubt (although I cannot know for certain) that if you are standing in line to check-in at 6:55 someone will come along and start yelling that if you haven't checked by 7:00 you're getting left behind. It seems unlikely. Have you checked the Alaska boards to see if anyone else has used that tour company? It might make you feel better to read about other people's experiences with that particular tour.

Here is a photo of one of our sunsets, as viewed from "our spot" on Deck 10, aft.

Great review! We are looking to go back to Alaska and book on Millenium. Love that size ship. We did the Solstice last July and it was wonderful. Tracy Arm w Alaska naturalist Brent Nixon quiet narration was goose bump producing. We really didn't see much wildlife so was thinking of doing earlier in season might be better.

 

We fly S. Fla to Anchorage- can't get much further! Is there an excursion or ability to stay on Kodiak pre-cruise, if anyone knows. Would love to go there.

 

How long is the train from Anchorage to Seward? Do you book that with Celebrity?

Thanks again for your review and photos.

Thanks! I'm glad you are enjoying the review. We did Tracy Arm in 2014 with NCL and it was stunning! We weren't able to get very close to the glacier, but winding through the fjord was breathtaking!

Not sure about traveling to Kodiak as I haven't looked into it. Hopefully someone else can speak to that.

We boarded the Alaskan Railroad at 6:45 AM and arrived in Seward at 11:05 AM. So the total travel time was a bit more than four hours. I'm not sure if you CAN book this with Celebrity, but we booked direct with the Alaskan Railroad by visiting alaskarailroad dot com. You will want the "Coastal Classic" if traveling from Anchorage to Seward. The cost is $92 per person for Adventure Class or $181 per person for Gold Star Service (first class). My husband and I discussed booking Gold Star service because it looks very nice, but because we were traveling with eight other people, we didn't want to separate from them. I am happy with our choice to do Adventure Class. The seats were comfortable, the train cars were clean and it was wonderful to experience Alaska in a completely new way with our travel companions.

I HIGHLY recommend this experience. There is only one ship in port in Seward so most everyone on the train will be on your cruise. When you arrive at the train station, there are porters to take your bags. Those bags are then transferred to the ship and taken to your room. You can, of course, keep any carry on bags with you that you would like. Once you arrive at the train station, many people will be heading off on day tours because you don't have to be on board until 7 PM. I was concerned that the entire train would pour into the cruise terminal and it would take hours to get onboard, but that was not the case at all. We got through check-in very quickly and walked right on to the ship.

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I really enjoyed your review. and am glad you enjoyed our city. We have a large Oriental population here hence the great Sushi, Chinese food, Korean etc.

 

Congratulations on the expected new arrival in your family. What an exciting time! It will be worth not cruising for a few years.

We did notice the large Asian population and the abundance of quality restaurants to choose from. All the food we had in Vancouver was so delicious!

Thank you so much! My husband and I are so eager to be picked that we would gladly give up cruising for the next several years to stay home with our little one. Until then, we just purchase excellent trip insurance!

Vancouver has rapidly become one of our favorite cities. we've been back there a couple of times and there's just so much to see and do. I don't do sushi but the muesli is divine...and we had one of the best meals ever at an Asian restaurant right near the hotel we stayed at. If you're there again, places I recommend are: Of course, the park....Capillano Park with its swinging bridge...Victoria and Butchart Gardens...and Grouse Mt. You can probably fly there on Air Canada for a whole lot less than we can from NY....and now's the time to go.

We agree with you! Vancouver is fantastic. I particularly enjoyed the beauty and cleanliness of the city, as well as the feeling of diversity and inclusion that was prevalent throughout. We have been to Victoria many times and would love to return and stay for a week or so, visiting Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo.

Loved the review and the pictures and congratulations on the upcoming new member to your family!!

 

We did Alaska as our first (and almost our last) cruise with HAL...the land portion was fantastic as were the ports....problem? we had to keep getting back on the ship, which was HORRID!!! Fast forward several years later and we took our first Celebrity cruise through Panama Canal....talk about addicted!!! We're now preparing for our 3rd and have 3 more booked! Also thinking about doing Alaska again with cousin who was with us first time but didn't get to stay in Vancouver. We spent 3 days there and loved it. One benefit to HAL was that the ship size allowed it to be one of a very few who actually sail Glacier Bay, which was magnificent, but we're looking forward to some of the other things. It is very sad to see how much Mendenhall has retreated since our last visit..:eek: Our favorite port was Haines.....just beautiful.

Awwwwww, thank you so much! The adoption process is killer and waiting is tough. But we are trying to remember that our little one will find us eventually.

I can relate to feeling addicted to cruising! I think Celebrity will be our cruise line of choice for many years to come. I have heard that HAL caters to an older crowd and I agree that Glacier Bay is magnificent. We sailed the NCL Pearl to Glacier Bay in 2013. Mendenhall has absolutely receded a ton in the last few years. I was just telling my husband that soon they will have to create an additional trail or access road just so people can continue to view it.

We stayed over in Vancouver and had a few days to enjoy the beautiful city. We had the most delicious sushi of our lives there and really enjoyed exploring Stanley Park!

Great review! We generally sail NCL, have done Princess, and Disney. NCL has had so many changes and they are no longer set apart price wise from many other lines. My DH and I are looking for alternative cruise venues. We were attracted to Celebrity and your review was MOST helpful. You are a great Marketer for Celebrity.

That is very kind of you to say! Thank you! We have been on several NCL cruises in the past and, while we enjoyed them, we experienced some issues with food quality and service. On our last NCL cruise in 2014, we were on the Jewel to Alaska with my parents. We had many issues and we were not pleased with the NCL experience anymore. So when it was time for another cruise, we explored our options.

Celebrity works for us because although I am relatively young (33), the activities and offerings onboard closely align with my interests. I enjoy:

1. Good food

2. Attentive service

3. A quiet and relaxing place on the ship where I can read, enjoy a hot tub or swim

4. Fast drink service

5. Well-trained and happy staff (who speak English well)

I got very excited about 60's Trivia and Beatles Trivia and the shows in the main theater. I thought the iBroadway show was very good. We have season seats at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles and LOVE broadway music and I was impressed with the talent onboard. My parents raved and raved about the Billy Joel tribute. They thought it was exceptional. The Solarium felt very luxurious and calm. It was a space that other cruise lines might be likely to charge money for. The sauna was wonderful!

To us, what really stood out was the level of service. It is important to me that my parents were well taken care of, and it made me very happy to hear many people in our group say they felt like Cinderella! We chatted with our waiter and assistant waiter and stateroom attendant and they all spoke English very well. My husband is Filipino and several times on NCL he was treated poorly by Filipino staff when he told them that he hadn't been to the Philippines in many years or that he didn't speak the language well. It was awkward and uncomfortable. This was not an issue on Celebrity. Our waiter was from the Philippines and was finishing his eight-month contract on debarkation day. He was so happy to be able to go home to his four-year old daughter. My mom got misty-eyed when we said goodbye to him and several in our group marveled at his dedication to his family that would give him the strength to be away from home for eight months at a time. The really special thing is that this young man had been with the company for EIGHT YEARS. He started as a dishwasher and moved up to a waiter. He was completing his tenth, eight-month contract. This made me feel happy because it seems that Celebrity treats their staff well. From our experience, staff was well-trained and happy.

On NCL, service in the dining room dragged and it was hard to find someone to get you a drink or a spoon if you needed one. On Celebrity, each staff member has a specific job and they do that job very well. Our waiter greeted us and explained the menu, offering his suggestions. He also took our order and delivered our hot food. Our assistant waiter poured water and coffee and cleared our dishes. Our sommelier kept the prossecco or chianti flowing and made recommendations, if needed. The Head Waiter jumped in to help whenever necessary. There was a beverage attendant (they wear silver ties) who greeted my dad and brother by name and knew what they wanted before they had to ask ("a sprite, Mr. Clifford?" "A Maker's and Ginger Ale, Mr. Timothy?"). It made for a really lovely dining experience.

I guess it's all a matter of expectations, but ours were surpassed on Celebrity. Rodim, our stateroom attendant, would greet us by name and rush down the hall to open the door to our room. He even left a few flowers in our room in a small vase! This was very special! On our last NCL cruise, I brought MY OWN FLOWERS that I had purchased from Pike's Market, and when I asked for a vase I was told they had none.

Each staff member would make eye contact and greet us as we passed. The guy making pizza at 1 AM in the buffet thanked us for choosing to sail Celebrity. Maybe mass cruise lines are changing and trying to adjust to a new generation of cruisers. Maybe it's not all tuxedos and fancy-schmancy anymore and maybe if that is the expectation you will be disappointed at people wearing casual T-Shirts in the dining room. On one night, there was a young man wearing a camo baseball cap at the table next to us. We saw it. It did not ruin our meal. The stranger's choice of headwear did not affect the taste of my meal or the enjoyment of those at my table.

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After our amazing tour with Beyond Skagway Tours, we wanted to try a little hike. We stopped in at the Skagway Visitor's Center for a free map to Smuggler's Cove. It was a lovely, short hike through the woods to get to a beautiful little clearing right on the water. It is about a mile from the cruise ship docks and I would really recommend it to anyone who is looking for a little peace and beauty.

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Our Beyond Skagway Tour was from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM and we drove from the ship's dock to Emerald Lake, turned around, ate lunch in Carcross and returned back to Skagway. We stopped along the way many times for bear sightings, to fill our water bottles in the waterfall, to admire the beautiful scenery, to spot mountain goats on the steep hillside, etc. This is a driving-based tour but it is FAR from boring! It mostly parallels the path that the White Pass & Yukon Railway takes, but if you are on the railway, you can't pull over to watch bears snacking on dandelions or to walk across a suspension bridge. When it was time to head back, we asked Jay if we had time to make a stop at the Gold Rush Cemetery, and he happily obliged. We had 15 minutes at the cemetery and three people in our group hustled up the path to Reid Falls to feel the waterfall mist and admire the falls.

When it was time to go back to the dock, we asked Jay to drop most of us off in front of the Skagway Brewing Company. Four of us went in for a most delicious Spruce Tip Ale. Four others shopped their way back to the ship. My mom and dad stayed on the van and Jay took them all the way back to the ship. We were very happy with our tour! We ended up seeing FOUR BEARS!

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For our day in Skagway, we had from 7 AM to 8 PM off the ship so we knew we wanted to make the most of the long day in port. Having previously been to Skagway, I was in already in love with the small-town vibe, the Gold Rush Cemetery and gorgeous Reid Falls. But this time we really wanted to see more, so we booked a private tour with Beyond Skagway Tours. I am so thankful that we did! It was probably my favorite day of the entire cruise! TIP: You will leave Alaska and drive into Canada! You must have your passport with you! In Carcross you can even have it stamped at the visitor's center :)

We met up with our tour guide/driver (his name is Jay--highly recommend asking for him!) at the end of the pier and he led us to a very comfortable van that easily accommodated all of us. Jay spent time getting to know what we wanted to do and customized our day according to our desires. As we drove, he pointed out mountains, lakes, bridges, wildlife, and waterfalls. He stopped anytime he thought there was something we would want to see. He is a professional photographer so the pictures that he took of our group are wonderful!

He asked if we would be interested in visiting the Yukon suspension bridge and we enthusiastically said "yes!" He arranged for us all to get half price tickets to the bridge so it was only $8 (Canadian) per person. There is a coffee shop, restrooms and a nice restaurant built on top of the mountains that straddle the bridge. Have a Nanaimo bar from the coffee shop! So delicious!

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