Northern Aurora

Celebrity docks essentially downtown in the Alaska ports. For example Celebrity does not use Ward Cove in Ketchikan. Would not be hard to walk to a local church in many Alaska ports.

While we love the Pan Pacific we also like the Auberge. They have hotel rooms and also suites. Easy walk to Canada Place.

Our experience has been smooth. On the March 28 cruise we had miserable weather in Shimizu but made all of the ports. The prior sailing missed one port due to winds. Turnaround day the weather was miserable in Yokohama but beautiful yesterday (Shimizu) and today. (Kobe). We had a captain change on April 9 as Capt. Theocharis boarded. Andrea Muegge is the hotel director, and she is highly visible as always. Retreat concierges are great. Luminae maitre ‘d is Fernando; we have had him before and he runs a smooth Luminae. We take full advantage of our Zenith laundry benefit and it has been returning very quickly. It will be interesting to read as to whether you will be able to leave the ship after boarding. The suite manager and one of the Retreat concierges say you can. While I was talking to the concierge he called the documentation officer who also says you can get off.

I also don’t think that Mendenhall merits much excitement, but it definitely illustrates the amount of retreat so many of our glaciers are experiencing.

While I also would not select a cruise to Alaska based on evening shows I can understand that an elderly woman may place more importance on them than I do. Celebrity would be a consideration. On a seven night Celebrity cruise expect three production shows using their in-house production cast with the remaining four nights shows featuring guest entertainers.

Through the years we have stayed at Cedarbrook Lodge a number of times and love the property. With a child another consideration is the Marriott Waterfront. It is located across from Pier 66 but in the past has offered a shuttle to Pier 91 (for a fee). A number of child friendly attractions in close proximity.

Yes — the menu changes nightly. There are fourteen different menus, in addition to several “always available” items such as french onion soup, escargot, shrimp cocktail and so forth.

We are presently in Yokohama on our turnaround day. The weather is miserable so we remained on board. I have now asked your question to the Suite Manager and one of the Retreat concierges. Both have told me you should be able to get off the ship after checking in. The Retreat Concierge also confirmed with the Documentation Officer.

We spent 40 nights on the Edge last fall. We were in a suite the entire time. While the ship is large it did not feel crowded to us. And we were told that it was full. We had a considerable amount of OBC so did dine a number of times in the specialty restaurants. Le Grand Bistro was US$30 per person. Raw on Five is priced a la carte. I do not remember prices of the other venues. Others will chime in. We have crossed between NZ and Australia several times. We have experienced high seas on every one.

I am posting from the Millennium on the first leg of a B2B. We also did a B2B in Japan in 2018. We have/had significant non refundable on board credit on these trips so have booked several shore excursions through Celebrity. But Japan is such a safe country that if you are comfortable navigating their transit system it is easy to visit a number of attractions on your own. Our loyalty level provides both a premium beverage package and premium wi-fi so have not paid attention to pricing for years. If you do not opt for pre-paid gratuities the gratuities will be charged to your account daily. You can check your account daily on the stateroom TV. Certain classes in the gym have a charge. But use of the equipment such as rowing machines and so forth is free.

We had one route mapped out, but talked to the visitor info folks inside the Tempozan Wharf terminal. What we had mapped out would have worked, but they recommended a slightly different route. This question must be asked frequently as they had a printed handout with directions. We boarded the Osaka Metro at station C11 (green Chou line). We got off at the Ikomo Station (C27 ). There we boarded the Kintetsu rapid express to Nara. With the Kintetsu line you walk out of the station at ground level. There is a fountain on your right. Stay on the right and within five minutes you will be in the deer park. The cost was 960 yen per person each way, so less than 4000 yen total for two of us. The same ticket was used for both the metro and train.

You will not be locked on board. Deliver your luggage to the porters, pick up your sea pass cards, put your valuables in the safe and leave for the day.

We didn’t make it to Nara when we were in Japan in 2018. The community is so lovely and I fell in love with the deer. Those deer OWN Nara and they know it! And we also belong to the club of folks who had trips to Japan cancelled due to Covid.

We also were on a ship excursion when a number of phones sounded the alert. We happened to be on a high elevation (in the parking lot of the Peace Memorial Museum). Our guide had us initially stay on the motor coach then let us get off but had us stay in the bus vicinity. She was excellent in conveying information to us. A fellow passenger was texting with a relative who had elected to remain on board today, also we knew that the Millennium had left the port before receiving the express notification. We have been told that while the prediction was for a tsunami around four meters, but apparently it more like 0.3 meters. No damage to the port. We had left at 8:30 am for a five hour tour. We received the full tour so returned to the ship after 3 pm. Today the Millennium docked on the port side of the ship. Gangway was normal width. Passports were checked both here in Okinawa (both departing and returning to the ship) and in Kochi (just leaving the ship). Should also mention that in Osaka we docked within a five minute walk to the subway station. On the first day we simply used the metro to go to the train station to board the rapid express to Nara. The deer were incredible. And yes — they do bow for their deer crackers.

Consider the aquarium in Stanley Park.

We are having an issue with tidal conditions. So the ship is using a single gangway off of deck 2 which is more parallel to the ship then generally used. In 2018 we used a much wider gangway. We are in a Suite. The Retreat Concierges are not the ones mentioned on a prior post on this thread. The Luminae maitre’d is one of my favorites. This morning the naturalist Brent Nixon had a Beyond the Podium presentation on coral reefs. His wife Mary Amanda did a presentation on Fukuoka, Japan and Jeju, South, Korea. This is a 12 night cruise, but have three evening chic nights.

I are presently posting from the Millennium on the first leg of a B2B. We were B2B on the Millennium in 2018, and were in an aft stateroom for that pair. Since boarding on March 28th we have docked on the starboard side of the ship. But in 2018 we docked several times on the port side. Folks do not consistently see land on these itineraries. And in 2018 we had some lovely views from our aft stateroom, including a spectacular view of Mt. Fuji while leaving Yokohama. I would have no issues booking an an aft stateroom.

We live in Fairbanks. It is difficult for folks who have not visited Alaska to understand how large Alaska is. That four night pre-cruise package is essentially a lot of time in a motor coach. Instead consider focusing on the Kenai Peninsula.

In Sitka consider the Bayview Pub.

We have done two land trips to Iceland and one prior cruise. We have actually driven the Golden Circle twice. My husband is a geologist so the rift valley is fascinating. For those not familiar google it. We have found driving in Iceland to be very easy since there are not that many roads.

While we have hiking boots we have never taken them on an Alaskan itinerary. We do pack nice waterproof sturdy walking shoes. We have used them in Northern Europe, South America, the Falklands, Iceland and so forth.

I am posting from the Millennium. We boarded several days ago for a B2B with slightly different itineraries. We were last in Japan in 2018 for a B2B, and enjoyed the fall colors on that trip. Covid canceled an attempt to return. We have the long standing Celebrity naturalist Brent Nixon on board; he is doing presentations. He did a presentation on the snow monkeys of Japan yesterday. His wife Mary Amanda is doing presentations on the history of various cities. Last night (we are overnighting in Osaka) we had an excellent local Taiko drum group perform in the theater with shows at 7 and 9. It was wonderful. We also have a sizable group of Japanese citizens with us. It is a tour group with their own welcome desks at Guest Relations. They are enjoying this cruise around their own country, and the folks I talked to also thought the Taiko drum group was excellent.

We are also on the same cruise and that leg is the second leg of a B2B. We have overnighted in Reykjavik on a prior series of cruises, and yes indeed, it was handled exactly the same as Celebrity has handled every overnight port call — the ship gangway will be open all night. People are free to leave at their leisure. We have also rented a car for an overnight at Reykjavik. Great amount of safe overnight parking at the cruise terminal. We did not need to pick up the rental from the airport. It was delivered to the cruise terminal. Two different car rental agencies had kiosks at the cruise terminal for those who had booked cars.

Why do you think that you will be paying a $10.00 up charge in Luminae? For what?

I do not know which month of the year you will be visiting, but the most likely bad weather would be some rain,which is very typical for Juneau no matter the month.