Questions, formal nights, perks

[InsureFun]

Looking to cruise Celebrity to Alaska due to itinerary and the fact I have never sailed on one of her ships, I have some questions:

 

We REALLY do not want to bring formal attire to Alaska, are all the restaurants formal or just the MDR? On Norwegian you can Freestyle to avoid the hassle. I know some people enjoy it and that's fine, but I dress up a lot at home and really don't get much of a thrill out of it.

 

The classic beverage perk, is it a hassle to upgrade it?

 

We are considering the 3 package specialty dining, can we have the conceirge make the reservations?

 

Overall have you been satisfied with the shore excursions booked through the ship?

[cruisestitch]

We REALLY do not want to bring formal attire to Alaska, are all the restaurants formal or just the MDR?

 

The specialty restaurants are "smart casual and above" every night.

 

The classic beverage perk, is it a hassle to upgrade it? No hassle at all

 

We are considering the 3 package specialty dining, can we have the conceirge make the reservations?

 

Concierge can do it, or you can contact any of the many people who will be talking about the specialties on your arrival onto the ship, or any of the specialty MaitreD's

Edited March 11, 2014 by cruisestitch

[cruisetimeforme]

Have been to Alaska many times on various cruise lines and seems you'll find plenty of others not dressing up, just a bit more casual in general. Have done some ship shore excursions that were good. Check the Alaska ports board for lots of great info and plenty of excursions you can book yourself. Whale watching tours are a must for me and there are bus options on your own that we've used as well to get to some locations. Enjoy your adventure and planning, it's one of our favorite destinations

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Ever since our 1st cruise we've taken formal wear but have decided not to take it on our Alaska cruise since we have a 6 day land trip pre cruise. I will take a cocktail dress & DH a sports coat and tie. We will be in Blu which is smart casual every night but still feel our dress will meet Celebrities requirements. (This is our 12th cruise with Celebrity so I feel comfortable in our choice.)

 

This is our 2nd Alaska cruise and we booked ships excursions in Skagway & Ketchikan both times. ISP & Juneau we've done private whale watching excursions.

 

Mary Lou

[Lsimon]

...We are considering the 3 package specialty dining, can we have the conceirge make the reservations?

 

Overall have you been satisfied with the shore excursions booked through the ship?

 

Just call the restaurant reservation number when you get on board or stop by one of the many reservation booths on opening day or stop by the restaurant. Concierge isn't going to help for this.

 

Excursions - sometimes ship excursions are fantastic and sometimes not. Lots of pros and cons there. Best to do a little research in the Alaska port of call forum here on Cruise Critic. Post about specific locations, or ports, there if you want but include what you are interested in or the types of excursions you might like.

[ozark74]

Looking to cruise Celebrity to Alaska due to itinerary and the fact I have never sailed on one of her ships, I have some questions:

 

We REALLY do not want to bring formal attire to Alaska, are all the restaurants formal or just the MDR? On Norwegian you can Freestyle to avoid the hassle. I know some people enjoy it and that's fine, but I dress up a lot at home and really don't get much of a thrill out of it.

 

The classic beverage perk, is it a hassle to upgrade it?

 

We are considering the 3 package specialty dining, can we have the conceirge make the reservations?

 

Overall have you been satisfied with the shore excursions booked through the ship?

 

 

If you do not want to go formal go Aqua. It is smart casual all the time. That is all we book any more.

 

To upgrade the beverage perk just call it is $11.50 USD per day. Have read you can do it at any bar but not sure.

 

Do not know about specialty dining with Aqua haveing Blu it is like a specialty dining every day.

 

We did helicopters in Juneau with Celebrity it was very good. It is a crap shoot sometimes they are good sometime they are very bad.

Been there 4 times so we do not do any tours anymore.

[Hlitner]

When we were recently on the Eclipse any bar tender (or bar waiter) could quickly upgrade your drink package from Classic to Premium. I have previously posted that it was one excellent bar tender who saved me a lot of money ($322) by convincing us not to upgrade for at least 2 or 3 days (we were on a 14 day cruise). His attitude was to try the Classic Package for a couple of days and see if it was adequate. For us the Classic Package was fine and we never felt the need to upgrade. About the only time I missed the Premium was when ordering glasses of wine in Blu, but we could just not justify another $23 a day (cost for the 2 of us) for the slightly better wines on the Premium list.

 

DW and I would have possibly enjoyed the offerings at the Martini bar, but the music in that venue was to loud and annoying so we had no desire to even try that venue.

 

Hank

Edited March 12, 2014 by Hlitner

[turning46]

You're going to have a great time!

It is very easy to upgrade the drinks package at any time.

 

Regarding dress, even the MDR is smart casual and above on all but the formal nights. If you want to be even more casual than that, the buffet is pretty much anything goes.

 

Regarding the excursions, I looked at Tripadvisor and booked the top rated whale watching in Juneau and the top rated sea kayaking in Ketchikan from private vendors. They were wonderful, but I wish I'd gone on the Tracy Arm excursion offered by the ship that takes a smaller boat around the glaciers - I heard SO many great reviews from fellow passengers. Next time, I guess.

 

We booked the white pass train ride through the ship - the price was the same as via private vendors; it was excellent, too.

 

Have fun!

[lovetotraveltx]

Looking to cruise Celebrity to Alaska due to itinerary and the fact I have never sailed on one of her ships, I have some questions:

 

We REALLY do not want to bring formal attire to Alaska, are all the restaurants formal or just the MDR? On Norwegian you can Freestyle to avoid the hassle. I know some people enjoy it and that's fine, but I dress up a lot at home and really don't get much of a thrill out of it.

 

The classic beverage perk, is it a hassle to upgrade it?

 

We are considering the 3 package specialty dining, can we have the conceirge make the reservations?

 

Overall have you been satisfied with the shore excursions booked through the ship?

 

How much is the 3 package speciality dining?