Northern Aurora

Did your group book this with a travel agent? Was this a group rate through a travel agent?

We have done the small vessel excursion in Endicott Arm to the face of Dawes Glacier. We tendered off the cruise ship early in the morning and were ahead of the ship as the cruise ship and small vessel made their way to Dawes. The small vessel was able to get very close to Dawes -- so close that when the massive calving produced displacement waves our little vessel rocked and rolled. Our small vessel took an alternate route to Juneau going up Ford's Terror (he was a person -- just goggle) along a very narrow fjord to visit some waterfalls and other lovely scenery. We re-joined the cruise ship just as they were finishing docking in Juneau. If folks are interested in this type of excursion they do indeed totally book very early.

Another option is the Bay View Pub.

Wow -- an additional $7,000 for three nights is outrageous. Prices here may be high but not that high. Look at Salmon Berry Travel and Tours. They do transfers from Anchorage to Whittier. Highly rated company.

For years I never received any marketing e-mails. I made a number of phone calls, talked to concierges while on the ship and so forth. Kept signing up for the marketing e-mails, but never received them. Then for a year or so I received them, only to now never receive a thing. While we do receive express notifications regarding itinerary changes, when we don't receive one of these letters to Zeniths I wonder what else we are not receiving. Say "hi" to C. for me.

A big "thank you" to those who posted their letter regarding the reinstatement of Zeniths. This Zenith hasn't received a copy -- and no -- it didn't appear in the junk folder. Are we the only pair of Zeniths on this thread who didn't receive a copy? Given our time zone difference with the rest of the US I'll be on the phone tomorrow asking why.

Juneau has the Mendenhall Glacier which is reached by road. It is administered by the US Forest Service which had some issues last summer regarding the number of visitor passes issued to shuttle bus companies. Mendenhall has retreated (shrunk) so much it is a remnant of its former self. ISP is a port developed by the cruise industry; the community of Hoonah is about 1.5 miles away by road. But all of these communities have some sort of visitor guides which can be found by using google. In some Alaska small communities the visitor bureau and Chamber of Commerce are the same entity.

I also responded to our OP's other thread which he recently started. I also would not consider a cruise organized land tour. The amount of time you are considering for a tour is very short and Alaska is very large in size. In your other post you were considering a land tour starting in Fairbanks and a few days later boarding the ship in Whittier. A land tour such as that consists of a great amount of time sitting on your transport, whether it be motor coach or train. Another DIY option would be to rent a vehicle and head down to Seward for a day or two, and then drive over to Homer. Yet another would be to focus on the Wrangell -- St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Time to spend some time on google to find instructive websites.

Endicott Arm is a relatively narrow fjord with Dawes Glacier at the end. The issue for you is to consider how important seeing a large tidewater glacier is for your Alaskan experience and whether there are other glaciers on the itineraries you are considering.

Like @AKStafford I also live in Alaska. Both options A and B are simply terrible. On both of them you will be sitting on the transport (train or bus) for a substantial amount of time. With three or four nights before boarding the ship seriously consider a DIY independent land trip.

The procedure varies by ports and countries, but some ports want to see your sea pass card and a government issued photo ID. Unless we are required to have our passports with us our passports are locked in our stateroom safe. We use our driver's licenses as our government issued ID.

Zenith perks include the premium beverage package, premium wifi and unlimited laundry.

I wonder if our OP is taking their first cruise. The Concierge Class "perks" are mostly marketing hype. Those passengers participating in the self disembarkation process will disembark before the ship starts calling luggage tag numbers. And I would also not suggest a flight before noon.

Celebrity lists priority debarkation as a Concierge Class perk. But with self disembarkation, if you are physically able to "man handle" your luggage with no assistance from the crew, you will be off the ship once the ship has been cleared to disembark passengers.

I believe that the number of folks who have reached the Zenith level of the Captain's Club has doubled since we became Zenith in 2016. And there is a significant number of double Zeniths now too. So I will be interested in the "space available" determination. The highest number of Zeniths on a particular sailing I have experienced was 19. More than once there have been 17 fellow Zeniths on a sailing.

You also need to ask yourself if you would consider self disembarkation. In that situation you need to handle your luggage with no assistance from the ship crew.

Very simple answer -- yes.

We certainly were the first but I think we are still the only Celebrity Captain' Club Zenith members who reside in Alaska. For those who don't "speak X" we are the highest tier of their loyalty program. I strongly suspect that luggage storage is available at the Eagan Center. But with a group that large have you considered a private transfer using Salmon Berry Tours and Travel? They could design a private transfer and day of touring before dropping the group off at the Anchorage airport.

There are certain cities which are wonderful for B2B passengers on a turnaround day -- and Sydney is certainly one of them. The OPT is located right where the "action is" so to speak. The Rocks area is the oldest Sydney neighborhood and is filled with interesting buildings (which have plaques on them with their history) in addition to the Rocks Discovery Center (think museum). But for those who find themselves in the situation "cruise stitch" found herself in the Museum of Contemporary Art is essentially across and down slightly from the OPT. The collection is edgy and is not for everyone. Admission is free. On the top level there is a lovely cafe with great food and views of the city. While we were there last spring the restaurant was closed for renovations, but also has great food. And there is a lovely gift store on the ground floor.

Through the years we have had a number of turnaround days in Sydney including one while the OPT was being expanded. This spring we were on a B2B2B2B with all turnaround days in Sydney. In any event, Celebrity uses the Overseas Passenger Terminal and not White Bay. So the ship is docked across from the iconic Opera House and in the Rocks area of the city. Sydney is unique in that all B2B passengers must exit the ship. The turnaround process cannot be conducted on an outer deck. Transit passes are issued so it is easy to return once the boarding of embarking passengers has commenced. And once B2B passengers are back on board they cannot leave the ship. There will be a member of the boarding staff positioned on the upper level of the OPT reminding folks that once they are on board they cannot leave the ship, but some folks just can't listen.

Do not try to exchange foreign currency on a cruise ship. To state that the exchange rate will be atrocious is a kind statement. The "ease" will cost you dearly. We spent a month in Japan in 2018 and will return next spring. We had absolutely no issues using our US credit cards and ATM cards while in Japan.

As already noted the rose was from the Captain's Club host. Periodically there will be a note attached, but since it is so common the assumption is that folks know this. So paper is not wasted to attach a note.

Just have the porter tag the luggage with the current stateroom number at the pier. Easy peasy.

There will be a hair dryer. I have found them in various places -- sometimes in a bathroom drawer and other times in a desk drawer.

We always have the premium beverage package. We have not been charged a VAT when in Spanish, Italian or French ports.