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CHICAGOPAUL LIVE!!!! Our First ALASKA CRUISE on the ECLIPSE!!! May 19th Sailing


chicagopaul
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Loving your blog as always. With regards to the memorial benches that’s a very common thing in the UK - the money you pay for the plaque goes to the upkeep of the park/area they are in. 

Enjoy your cruise!

Wendy

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6 hours ago, Newbury newbie said:

Hi Huskydo, we’re doing similar this August but flying out to Calgary (and back from Vancouver).  We’re picking up the car at the airport and taking 7 days to drive to Vancouver via stays in Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper and Kamloops. 2 nights in Vancouver then joining Eclipse. We booked flights and hotels through BA holidays and car hire through Canadian Affair.

 

Hi Newbury Newbie

you must be getting really excited now as August will soon be here.

 

It’s interesting you’re flying into Calgary and home from Vancouver, we thought of this too but looked at flights and seemed to have to pay double for doing this. I may just have a look at BA holidays and see. I was just purely looking at flights only, not booked anything yet as flights are not listed yet for BA.

I’d be interested to hear which hotels you’ve decided.

Did you book the cruise separately direct with Celebrity or use a TA?

Im so looking forward to it:) 

 

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Hi Paul and Edward,

I will be following your cruise.  Hope you have a GREAT time.

This Alaska cruise will be very different from the Caribbean cruises.

I see you will be in Icy Straight Point.  If it is something of interest to you, the zip line is advertised as the "World's Longest Zip Line Ride".  5,500 feet long, 1,320 feet vertical drop, 65 MPH.

We (I) did it last year and it is a real thrill.

Have fun on your trip.

Bob (and Terry)

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53 minutes ago, gerelmx said:

Good morning, embarkation day. Celebrity Eclipse arriving to Canada Place

image.png.f2ccb12ba3e1740c4f39c04549a283be.png

 

Thanks for posting! We’re up and getting ready now, 7:25am at the time of posting, and are going to walk over and check her out. 

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Following along as well...love your blogs and enjoy your comments and critiques!

 

We did Alaska a few years ago and it's on our list to re-enjoy even though we initially thought it'd be a one and done!  You really can't imagine how beautiful it is until you experience it firsthand.  You also definitely need to return to Vancouver with more time to spend...so many places to explore there and you can even do it on a budget, although the currency exchange that you enjoy must be like a great bonus!!

 

Enjoy your cruise today and keep up the great work, loving it all!

 

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2 hours ago, Huskydo said:

 

Hi Newbury Newbie

you must be getting really excited now as August will soon be here.

 

It’s interesting you’re flying into Calgary and home from Vancouver, we thought of this too but looked at flights and seemed to have to pay double for doing this. I may just have a look at BA holidays and see. I was just purely looking at flights only, not booked anything yet as flights are not listed yet for BA.

I’d be interested to hear which hotels you’ve decided.

Did you book the cruise separately direct with Celebrity or use a TA?

Im so looking forward to it:) 

 

Hi, just to say we flew out to Vancouver and back from Calgary using Air Transat (Gatwick) and were really impressed with them. Good price and great service both at Gatwick and on board. Would definitely look at using them again. (BA is usually our default airline) but would go with Air Transat to Canada. Hopefully Newbury Newbie, Gatwick could be an alternative to you, a bit further than  Heathrow. 

We loved our Alaska sailing and loved Vancouver - had the same experience as Paul and Edward, it is a city I would love to go back to. We also loved Banff.

Sorry Huskydo - just checked and you are Lincolnshire so Gatwick may not be an option for you.

Edited by downsmead
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Well she is looking beautiful in port. We walked around the pier this morning and watched them provision the ship. HAL Westerdam is in port as well. The weather today is picture perfect. A nice cool morning with some warmth in the sun. We walked into Starbucks to order coffee and we were greeted with a good morning how are you. Not used to that haha. 

 

We already received a facebook message message from our favorite sommelier Star who is on board the Reflection. We have a taxi arriving at 10:30 to take us to the ship. It should be a good day! 

 

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Thanks so much for doing this!  We're on a slightly different itinerary in July on the Eclipse so will be especially  interested in your impressions.  We're traveling with our son, daughter in law and two grandsons so it will be a family affair.  We've been to Alaska several times and, yet, jump at the opportunity to cruise there again.

 

Bon voyage!

 

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3 hours ago, Huskydo said:

 

Hi Newbury Newbie

you must be getting really excited now as August will soon be here.

 

It’s interesting you’re flying into Calgary and home from Vancouver, we thought of this too but looked at flights and seemed to have to pay double for doing this. I may just have a look at BA holidays and see. I was just purely looking at flights only, not booked anything yet as flights are not listed yet for BA.

I’d be interested to hear which hotels you’ve decided.

Did you book the cruise separately direct with Celebrity or use a TA?

Im so looking forward to it:) 

 

Huskydo, if you want to PM me I can give you some more info. Shouldn’t really be hijacking this thread. 

 

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On 5/18/2019 at 9:36 AM, chicagopaul said:

 

No problem. Celebrity and RCCL too have reciprocal status with MGM. We’ve set it up a couple ways (as you’ll usually need to renew it yearly). When we were in Vegas we simply went to the MLife players desk at the Aria (you can do this at any MGM casino worldwide) and mentioned we were Elite Plus with celebrity and knew they had reciprocal status match. They asked us to pull up our Celebrity account on our phone to show them (so have this ready). Make sure to show them your online account with your status as well as your captains club number since they’ll take that down. They’ll then either create an account for you with that status or upgrade your existing account. This will be good for one year. You can also call in and do this. If you google MLife and Celebrity Cruises you’ll see a number that pops up specifically for you to call. 

 

Then for Hyatt you basically do the same thing. I believe if you login to your MLife account (after its been set up with your new upgraded status) you be able to link your Hyatt account from there. 

 

Quite recently both our MLife and Hyatt account upgraded status expired. Edward simply called MLife to get the platinum status reinstated (just needed the captains club numbers) and once that was done he called Hyatt with his MLife number and that was reinstated. 

 

Important note. When talking to Hyatt just mention your status with MLife. Don’t mention how you got that status (through celebrity). 

 

Hope that helps! 

 

Thank you for this helpful information on MLife and Hyatt status match programs. I will definitely enroll in these programs!

 

Bon Voyage!!! 

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1 hour ago, chicagopaul said:

We already received a facebook message message from our favorite sommelier Star who is on board the Reflection. We have a taxi arriving at 10:30 to take us to the ship. It should be a good day! 

 

We had the pleasure of a wonderful special Italian reds tasting that Star put together when we sailed Silhouette. Star is amazing. If you would, please tell her that the Kerrs send their regards (even though it's been a while and she might not remember us!)

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Well we are onboard! The luggage drop off was a bit busy. We didn’t see a priority drop off for Royal or Penthouse but while waiting in line to get up to the check in area (it was a long line) we ran into someone with a Celebrity sign that said special delivery. He had our names on the list and escorted us through security, through check in and to boarder control. That was definitely needed! He was a very nice guy and was great to talk to. It always feels good to be escorted through. My mini “celebrity” moment of the day. 

 

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image.thumb.jpg.978d741e88968cb20db902cb81be1f01.jpg

 

we are are now sitting in Michaels with a glass of wine. Once we met our escort I’d say the entire process took about 10 minutes. 

 

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I am enjoying your trip report!  I also live in downtown Chicago and am doing the same cruise on the Eclipse out of Vancouver in Aug so it’s great to hear your perspective.  I’m even staying at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver before our cruise as an Explorist so I’m interested to hear that portion too

Edited by cache77
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3 minutes ago, chicagopaul said:Well we are onboard! The luggage drop off was a bit busy. We didn’t see a priority drop off for Royal or Penthouse but while waiting in line to get up to the check in area (it was a long line) we ran into someone with a Celebrity sign that said special delivery. He had our names on the list and escorted us through security, through check in and to boarder control. That was definitely needed! He was a very nice guy and was great to talk to. It always feels good to be escorted through. My mini “celebrity” moment of the day. 

 

E151F579-D6A4-41E9-8AF4-C82E9F0A50FA.thumb.jpeg.fd351d8e61d07d335411b7e38c46394e.jpeg

 

image.thumb.jpg.978d741e88968cb20db902cb81be1f01.jpg

 

we are are now sitting in Michaels with a glass of wine. Once we met our escort I’d say the entire process took about 10 minutes. 

 

69DD18D9-89D5-4750-A5F2-58C5DB7C49BA.thumb.jpeg.2e12397f697d63a5d2636a9f73aa9504.jpeg

 

Im curious how you knew to flag him down?  Do you know if he helps Sky Suite skip the line too by any chance? Thanks! 

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1 hour ago, Newbury newbie said:

Huskydo, if you want to PM me I can give you some more info. Shouldn’t really be hijacking this thread. 

 

 

Yes, please;) 

 

apologies to Chicagopaul for highjacking the thread;)

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23 minutes ago, cache77 said:

 

Im curious how you knew to flag him down?  Do you know if he helps Sky Suite skip the line too by any chance? Thanks! 

 

He had a sign for Celebrity that said Special Delivery. Your name has to be on his list. Unfortunately it’s only for Royal and Penthouse. However once you get through the line, the check in for suites looked empty. The issue was both ships in port had passengers entering one line for the elevator to get to security. 

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1 hour ago, chicagopaul said:

The issue was both ships in port had passengers entering one line for the elevator to get to security. 

 

A classic bottleneck. No stairs?

Edited by gerelmx
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First off, thanks for the detailed pricing examples of your cruise, air & hotel, and even restaurants/bars.  It's all a part of the total cruise vacation experience! 

 

Secondly, I learned from one of your previous trip blogs about the Celebrity>MLife>Hyatt "connection". We've had the Chase Hyatt card for a number of years, and getting to the Explorist level via the Captain's Club and MLife has been an amazing boon to us with those 4 Regency Club upgrades per account, per year. They have paid off in dividends many times over, and we owe it all to your detailed booking instructions, Paul. Kudos! 😉

 

As you've alluded, it doesn't take long to discover the delicious vibe of Vancouver. Your description of the feel of the city is what keeps us coming back year after year.  We are spending another 3 nights pre-cruise there in September and I've made note of the "not-so-dive" dive bar you enjoyed. We usually hit the Cactus Club on the waterfront once for lunch each visit, so I'm glad you enjoyed as well. And I'm salivating over that octopus! 

 

Bon voyage to your Alaska adventure. So completely different from a Caribbean cruise!

 

We disembarked Millie last week from the Transpacific. We did the Fall westbound version in 2016 and know you're going to love all those lazy sea days. As you know from Transatlantics, crossings are very, very social cruises. You'll have a blast! 😉

 

 

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