Northern Aurora

Since our OP will have Elite Captain's Club status they can attend the Captain's Club happy hour event which is held in various bars across the ship. They can pick up water bottles there. And I hope they have contacted the Celebrity Captain's Club so that their Diamond Royal status will indeed be recognized.

I am glad that someone has confirmed the shuttles. Not only are we still experiencing a severe labor shortage in general in this state, we are having extreme issues with a lack of folks who have commercial driver's licenses. For example, Sophie Station Hotel in Fairbanks for years (think decades) had a trolley type of shuttle on a fixed route around town for their guests; it has not resumed since the pandemic. And the school bus vendors around the state are really struggling to staff school bus routes.

There are large signs at SEATAC with verbiage to the effect that once you leave the terminal area do not expect to re-enter the terminal. I seriously doubt that you will be able to leave the secure area, pick up your bags, and then somehow have them scanned again to re-enter the secured area. Your airline will not somehow re-check your bags. We have stayed a number of times at the Mayflower Park. While there is no rooftop restaurant their on-site restaurant is excellent. And their bar, Oliver's, serves large (think small plates) food offerings. Go directly to the hotel.

@Coral: Marx Brothers is one of the nicest restaurants in Anchorage. I don't remember when they opened but I remember dining there in the early 1980s. That particular experience was very memorable as a co-worker went into diabetic shock. She learned her lesson from that experience -- what can I say. It was a memorable experience for all -- her friends and the employees. In any event, the building was originally a small home from the early 1920s (check their website for accurate info) so reservations are a must. Excellent food. Lovely decor. Great food.

I wonder if @dfilpus has stayed at the McKinley Chalets this season. I hope so. Alaska is experiencing a severe labor shortage in general and a particularly severe shortage of folks who have Commercial Driver's Licenses. Until @dfilpus confirms that they were at the Chalets this current season our OP needs to e-mail the Chalets and confirm that those shuttles from the Chalets to the DBD are indeed running this summer.

We have done Vancouver RT. While I don't know what ship you are considering our experience was that we saw quite a bit of scenic land and islands on our sea days.

If you want something more upscale consider the Marx Brothers Cafe. Reservations are a must.

Anyone who loves art galleries should check the Vancouver Art Gallery website. While I find their Emily Carr gallery an acquired taste they have some very interesting special exhibits.

We are Zenith members of the Captain's Club who travel in Sky and Celebrity Suites. We have yet to have a butler show up at our stateroom with a tablet .....

This situation happens to so many folks. On the first leg take your documentation of your loyalty points to the Captain's Club folks on board. Your should be able to enjoy the perks of your new CC level for the second part of your B2B.

Thank you so much for the update. The younger brother of a close friend went from seemingly healthy to having a major stroke the day after Christmas. I have another friend who deals with Parkinson's, and tells folks that when you have good health "you have it all." I wish you well.

Terry-- let me again state that you will not have an issue. While we are Zenith we also travel in Suites. You will not have an issue at Bay of Islands.

When we are in San Diego on a turnaround day on B2B cruise or there for a port day we always head to the Midway. Since we first visited the Midway in 2008 more and more of the aircraft carrier has been opened.

We have tendered at the Bay of Islands, and they handled Suite/Retreat guests the same as Suite/Retreat guests are handled at other tender ports. We reported to the Retreat Lounge, and were escorted to the very front of the tender lines by one of the concierges.

I thought that the boarding staff at Sydney did an excellent job in verbally telling folks as you walked toward the Australian Border Force officers (on level two of the OPT) that once we boarded we could not leave. When we boarded we were verbally instructed, and again on each subsequent leg. They were very clear. Jim: I don't think we have been on the same ship since the Millennium in 2018. And what a trip that was. We expect to be back in Japan for a B2B in 2024 and plan to stay at the Yokohama hotel where we spent the night when evacuated from the ship. We spent five nights in Tokyo after leaving the Millennium and so this time will work out of Yokohama for a few days. G.

We have been to Australia and Sydney a number of times including land and cruises. And we have done turnaround days in Sydney previously. I never save the turnaround day instruction letter, but I believe that info was in the letter. Sydney is interesting in that every passenger has to be off that ship (not just standing on an outer deck on the ship) to zero out. And since you went through immigration (remember those folks in the Australian Border Force uniforms right before your carryons were passed through the security check?) once onboard you are onboard.

Great comparison. The yacht club/marina is rather isolated in terms of commercial activity. Or I should state that it was in 2016. Folks who didn't have any specific plans for YK were left standing looking rather befuddled. And I remember that tender ride being long too. An Australian woman had to be evacuated from the ship at YK. Her predicament was the talk of the ship as she had to be moved from the Solstice to the ship tender in a stretcher. She couldn't step, even with assistance, from the ship onto the tender.

We left the Eclipse in April after a B2B2B2B with all the turnaround days in Sydney. B2B passengers had to actually leave the ship and could re-board with the embarking passengers. There are so many interesting things to do within close proximity to the OPT it wasn't an issue. We join the Edge on October 30th and will leave after three segments on December 9. Yorkey's Knob is the "access" point for Cairns. In 2016, when we tendered into Yorkey's Knob, the tender location was at a yacht club.

Where are you staying? Quite frankly, we haven't had any issues.

I am reserving judgement until we have first person accounts from those onboard. But we have eleven future reservations, all in either Sky Suites or Celebrity Suites. One B2B2B and the remaining B2B pairs. We'll wait to make a decision.

We were on the Solstice in 2016 and were overnight at Cairns. My information precedes @mahdnc but my memory is that the tenders did not run overnight. And I remember that LONG tender ride to shore which was on the rough side.

Cruise Critic has a forum devoted to all things Alaska. It is located under "Ports of Call."

We have stayed at the Mayflower several times. Their "classic" rooms, while lovely, are rather small. We book their corner suites.

A few more random thoughts -- There will be two shows in the theater every evening. The first one at 7 PM and a repeat performance at 9 PM. There is sufficient seating in the theater that there are no reservations for seating. In addition to those shows there will be music in various venues during the evening. It will vary from acoustic guitars, classical performers, a house band and a party band. In addition to trivia games expect to find "Deal or nor Deal."

In particular I am good at mis-typing numerals. But you are the only one who caught that. Give yourself a gold star for paying attention to details!