Northern Aurora

Also check the menu for the Skagway Brewing Company. We generally order either their halibut and chips, or a halibut sandwich, but it seems to me that I have seen crab being served to other patrons. I just checked their menu and it wouldn't load for me, but the page does have a photo of crab legs.

We have taken a ferry across the bay several times. We thoroughly enjoy lunch at the Scoma's in Sausalito.

Actually, while I, as an Alaska resident, would never consider any sort of cruise line sponsored land tour, I actually think that Celebrity does have at least one cruise line sponsored land tour which includes Homer. We are on the Celebrity e-mail list for advertisement mailers and I believe I have seen Celebrity ads for cruise tours to Homer.

Anyone looking for low cost options in Ketchikan should consider the SE Alaska Discovery Center. It is operated by the US Forest Service. While it has a modest entrance fee they also accept a number of park passes. Check their website for the list of passes they accept which provide free admission.

Apparently our OP will be in Skagway, but what other ports are on their specific itinerary? Since the OP's first visit in 2015 the National Park Service as acquired more buildings in Skagway. Check the website for the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park for detailed information on the free museums and programs (such as their junior ranger program).

We were on the Eclipse for a B2B2B2B. The ship was in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. On the final leg, which started April 6th, we had an uptick in covid cases. Initially folks were asked to mask in the casino and theater. Then masks were to be worn in all public spaces unless actively eating or drinking. At that point all of the crew wore masks.

Homer is actually my favorite coastal community accessible by car. The drive is lovely and the community has an interesting funky-ness to it. I would definitely consider visiting.

While highly rated the Arctic Circle tours by the Northern Alaska Tour Company are tiring and make for a very long day. I would also suggest renting a car. A day in Fairbanks could include a visit to the Morris Thompson Cultural Center followed by a visit to the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum. The auto museum is located off of College Road. If our OP is in Fairbanks on a Saturday or Wednesday then the Tanana Valley Farmer's Market (located on College Road), which has a variety of vendors, would be a nice stop for lunch. At the other end of College Road is the University of Alaska Fairbanks so a stop at the Museum of the North would be very convenient. Another idea would be a visit to Running Reindeer Ranch.

Given the price of one way car rentals between Anchorage and Seward another possibility would be to do the train both to Seward and then a few days later take it back to Anchorage. In addition to PJs Taxi also consider contacting Salmon Berry Travel and Tours out of Anchorage. In the past they have been able to create custom tour experiences.

@MrsTocko When you state "I just really need to figure out how to get us on that train" I hope you are not considering the transfer between train and bus as mentioned in post #2. While it might technically be possible don't even consider an attempt. The Portage "station" is not a train station as generally understood. It is about double in size of my garden shed. I wonder if it is even manned or heated. You don not want to be stuck there. As mentioned by "wolfie" just take the NCL train transfer to the Anchorage airport to pick up your rental car. If you are driving to Seward have you considered taking additional time and driving to Homer? Homer is delightful and is my favorite SE coastal community accessible by road.

We left the Eclipse last week, and while on board asked one of the Future Cruise Sales staff about the 2025 Panama Canal transits. She was rather vague but suggested October for a release of the dates. We have done six full transits, and have thoroughly enjoyed each one.

We left the Eclipse on April 19th after a B2B2B2B. The Taj dinner was offered on all four legs, and we did it on all four legs. Thoroughly enjoyed it each time.

While there there are different several docks in Skagway, unless someone in your party has really serious mobility issues, walking to the White Pass and Yukon Railroad headquarters will not be in issue. Skagway is very flat and about four blocks in width. Lovely community, but very compact.

Luminae menus area not itinerary specific. The menu you will have in Alaska will not be unique to Alaska. That being said on an Alaska itinerary pre-covid once we did have some Alaska local seafood. We have done four Alaska itineraries post-covid in Luminae and they were the standard Luminae menus. About a week prior to embarkation you will have a better idea of what you will experience.

I also am sorry that this happened to you, but you were given the reason for the cancellation of Talkeetna. And it would not have been difficult to add the short flight between Anchorage and Fairbanks as Alaska Airlines offers shuttle service several times daily on an Embracer (about 65 seats). For a five night land tour it would have been easy to have spent one or two nights in Anchorage. And then take either the Alaska Railroad or one of the motor coach transfers between Anchorage and Seward. Seward is one of the coastal communities where Alaskans go for recreation. It is not touristy but has a number of options for visitors. Our OP made the decision to cancel the entire trip, which was their decision to make. But if they had posted before cancelling all plans the trip may have been salvaged. As someone who lives in Alaska I am not sure that I would describe either HAL or Princess as "the Alaska experts." And last summer Princess cancelled a number of land tours after they closed both their Cooper Landing and Copper River lodges. Initially they were opened, but in early June the decision was announced that they would be closed for the remaining season.

I am late to this discussion but I would also go with the Sapphire itinerary. I would not choose the Majestic itinerary which has the extra day at the McKinley View Princess Lodge. The Denali Princess Lodge and the McKinley View Princess are very different experiences. The Denali Princess is located a mile or so north of the entrance to Denali National Park. The park entrance is mile 237 of the George Parks Highway. Other lodging complexes are located near by, and there are a number of business (such as flight seeing or river rafting) businesses located in what is termed "glitter gulch" (the businesses located just outside of the park entrance). The McKinley View Princess is located at mile 133 of the George Parks Highway. While there are nice views of Denali if the mountain is visible the McKinley View complex is not located near any other business. The lodge complex itself is located up a hill with a long walk to the highway, but, there is nothing within walking distance. The community of Talkeetna is about a 45 to 60 minute drive away. We have stayed at the McKinley View Princess a number of times as it is good stopping place for us when we drive back from Seward to our home in Fairbanks. I am often struck by how a number of folks look bored as they are sitting in the lobby. Some folks do find it a good place to do their laundry.

Are you asking about the production/headliner shows in the theater held at 7 and repeated at 9 PM? While there will be two shows nightly (the 9 PM is a repeat of the 7 PM) but each night there will be a different production/headliner show. Neither the headliner nor production show will repeat. There may be a matinee of the headliner act, but it will be with different material and is generally during the afternoon of a sea day.

Thank you so much for the update. Moving the flight to 2 PM is a great solution. I really doubt you could have made that 10:46 AM flight. In addition to the factors already the security checkpoint at the Anchorage airport could also have been an issue. It can be a choke-point. Sometimes folks just breeze right through, but other times there are long slow lines to get through security.

Do I understand you correctly? You cancelled the cruise tour and cruise also? While I am sorry this happened to you I would have suggested that you not cancel the cruise. It was only a five day land tour and, while you would have needed to act quickly, you could have done a DIY trip on the Kenai Peninsula. And it would have been easy to add a flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks as Alaska Airlines offers shuttles multiple times each day for the 50 minute flight. As someone who lives is in Alaska we are experiencing a severe labor shortage. Part of the issue continues to be the J-1 Visa employee shortage. From the information in our OP's post my educated guess is that the Talkeetna hotel which Celebrity uses cancelled on Celebrity. Talkeetna is a very small community and there are few alternatives for Celebrity to use. Last summer Princess closed two of their five lodges in Alaska (the Cooper Landing and Copper River facilities) as they could not staff them. The decision to close was made in early June. This issue is not unique to Celebrity.

We just left the Eclipse on April 19th. Pre-covid we were on the Eclipse for six weeks in 2019. The number of books in the Eclipse library looks the same to me post-covid as it did pre-covid. I don't think that covid impacted the number of books in the ship libraries. While we now have a selection of books on each of our i-Pads. But for years we have taken physical books to leave in the various ship libraries. Just left a pair hardbacks on the Eclipse.

Om June 2022 the halibut fish and chips at Skagway Brewing was pathetic. Very greasy and the halibut very fishy. Definitely not up to their previous standards. Just so you know as you have stated that you were not in Alaska last summer.

Just "google" Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska. You will easily find the 2024 docking schedules for all Alaska cruise ports.

Yes -- folks can definitely make requests such as no sauce on a dish.

There is at least one Hotel Director (and I wonder if they all do so) who reads Cruise Critic threads about "their" particular ship. And years ago I met the Celebrity loyalty person who skimmed Cruise Critic as a part of their job. Celebrity "powers that be" must be aware that customers are unhappy and perceive this as a mess of gigantic proportions. I doubt that the "powers that be" will ever address this mess but we do deserve some transparency and an explanation. It was clear to a number of us that there was something amiss with some of the Asia itineraries. What I had suspected was a full ship charter as that had happened to a B2B we had several years ago. I didn't suspect an over booking situation.

We stayed at the Auberge last September and just took a taxi. Easy peasy. We have stayed at the Auberge in 2018 and then again last September. The hotel is in the middle of the block which is why our OP may not remember it. It was remodeled since we stayed there in 2018; it was lovely then but is even nicer now. The walk from the Auberge to Canada Place is very easy. Leave the hotel, turn left and walk half a block along level sidewalks. Then left again and one block along a slightly downhill incline to Canada Place. The incline is not that steep so no concerns about having to really hold onto the suitcase handle to avoid an escaping suitcase racing down ahead of its owner.