Northern Aurora

I assume that both cruises use Canada Place. At best you would walk the width of a large building.

We boarded several hours ago. I asked your question, and was told that you can disembark the ship after checking in, but I am not 100% sure that the person throughly understood the question.

We boarded the Millennium several hours ago. We are in an Aqua Sky Suite. We have met the head butler, and asked about dedicated butlers. The answer is not yet.

I had the same reaction when I read the question.

I am not aware of any downtown hotel which offers a complementary shuttle from the Anchorage airport to downtown. The Captain Cook is an Anchorage institution. Also consider the downtown Marriott. The downtown Westmark is becoming “long in the tooth” but would be fine for one night.

Our first Celebrity cruise was in 2008 and we became Zenith in 2016. During our first cruise smoking was allowed in the casinos and Michael’s Club eas the cigar lounge. Admission was not based on any loyalty level. After smoking was eleminated indoors MC becomes a piano bar venue. Remember Perry Grant on the Constrllation? Held court in the MC. MC becomes a venue with access to suites and Zeniths later, and in fact, in 2010 there was not a Zenith level. In 2010 every one had access to MC. Interesting how the venues change through the years.

Actually, the ARR early evening train will offer two levels of service —Adventure and Goldstar. If Goldstar is extremely important to you than you may want to take that 6 PM train. There is much to do in Seward for the day.

When we stop in Victoria on those brief port call designed to satisfy PVSA requirement we walk down to the Bard and Banker Scottish Pub. Beautiful building, great food.

There have been so many complaints about this I, as a Zenith who also has complained about the policy, doubt that the complaints of a single person made the difference. It took complaints from multiple of folks.

There is parking garage under Canada Place. This is where we have seen motor coaches deliver passengers. The luggage drop is in the parking garage. The Pan Pacific hotel is positioned essentially above. You will not enter the hotel itself.

We are presently in Yokohama for a few days before boarding the Millennium for a B2B. For the March 28 cruise we will be embarking using the Daikoku Pier but will disembark at the Osanbashi Pier on April 9. For the April 9 cruise we will be using Osanbsahi to also disembark. Celebrity sent out an express notification for clarification. We were also B2B on the Millennium in 2018 and only used the Osanbashi Pier. Pay attention to your e-docs.p

I also think there is some confusion as initially Sky Suites and Celebrity Suites were not allowed access to Michael’s Club but did have some specialty dining. Michael’s Club was at first limited to Zeniths and higher level suites. When Sky and Celebrity Suites were allowed access to MC they lost the specialty dining. That was the trade-off. And my experience is that Luminae has only been open for lunch on sea days. The rare exception has been when the ship arrived at a port around 1:30 or 2 PM.

We spent a month on the Eclipse last spring in a suite. We did indeed periodically have music in the Michael’s Club/Retreat Lounge. The concierges had a schedule of events in MC/RL. Also had music periodically during the 40 nights we spent on the Edge last fall.

My experience is yes. We have been to Japan previously, and had no issues with credit cards (particularly in metro areas) but we ask when entering the taxi. We landed at Haneda yesterday and the poor guy at the well run taxi rank was asked continuously about whether credit cards could be used and the answer was yes.

We also did an airport transfer with Celebrity several years ago when we had a large amount of N-OBC to burn. The vendor was Major Marine.

In 2019 we did the Tuscan Farmhouse when we had a significant amount of non-refundable OBC to burn. Both my husband and I enjoyed it -- much more than we had anticipated. Several months ago another poster posted a review of their cruise which included photos, and the same farmhouse was in their photos.

If you book directly with the ARR you have the option of either Adventure or Goldstar service. This is the early morning train which leaves from the downtown Anchorage ARR station and takes folks to the Seward ARR station. The Celebrity chartered train leaves hours later. The chartered trains leave from the Anchorage Airport (there is a short rail spur) and go directly to the Seward cruise terminal (not the Seward ARR depot). The chartered train service can only be booked through the cruise lines. If there is only one price point then I suspect that only one service level is offered on the charters, but the question is whether it is the Adventure or Goldstar service. The tracks are the same whether folks book directly with the ARR or book the chartered service. The scenery is the same. But the ARR does not parallel the road the entire way as it diverges from the road at Portage and then starts to run parallel to the road at Moose Pass. The road runs through the Chugach National Forest much of the way. There are no subdivisions or side roads. So if there is a car accident the road is closed. About a decade ago there was a very serious multi car accident at the entrance to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center which resulted in fatalities. The road was closed for twelve hours and there was a cruise ship in Seward that day. Some of the cruise line motor coaches were on the Anchorage side of the accident and the ship was hours delayed in leaving, which caused issues with the itinerary. Given the space between the rail tracks and road (when the railroad is running parallel to the road) I am not aware of any road accident causing issues with operation of the ARR.

The ARR tracks are the same whether folks book Gold Star or Adventure -- the cars are different, but the tracks are the same. The scenery is the same, just the cars are different. We live in Fairbanks, Alaska, and when we see passenger trains the cars are often a mixture of domed and "regular' cars. The one (and most likely only time) we have ever driven to a cruise port was when we drove down to Seward to board the Millennium for a B2B Seward to Vancouver and back. At the end of that B2B I remember finishing breakfast in Luminae and watching the ARR chartered train leave from the Seward cruise terminal for the Anchorage airport. It seems to me that the cars were all the "regular" (not domed) cars, but I am not positive. The ARR passenger service is surprisingly expensive. It is essentially a freight carrier. The cost to fly from Fairbanks to Anchorage, even in first class, is much cheaper than spending the day to take the train down. The flight is about 50 minutes, but the train is the entire day.

I am curious as to what suite level our OP has booked. Sky Suites and Celebrity Suites don't include specialty dining but higher level suites do.

Pre-pandemic we did a B2B Alaska cruises out of Seward, but we drove down in one of our vehicles. I've never taken the Celebrity chartered train. But if there is only one price for the Celebrity chartered train that would suggest one level of service.

It is unusual. I've "goggled" the Yokohama cruise terminal schedule, and more than one site, even though you click the "english" option, have the information in Japanese only.

I will write your question down in my trip notebook. Prompt me if I forget. On our March 28th embarkation it appears we will be at the Daikoka Pier instead of the Osanbashi Pier which the Millennium used when we were B2B in 2018. It appears that the Daikoka pier is a "one off" for that March embarkation.

@dleahy4444: We are not to mention travel agencies here, but I just checked one which lists all available staterooms. When I do a mock booking for three the sailing is essentially sold out. I get the same results when I change the mock booking for two.

An option on a rainy day is the Vancouver Art Gallery. Check their website as they have periodically hosted some very special exhibits. Over a decade ago, when the Rijksmusuem in Amsterdam was being remodeled, the Vancouver Art Gallery hosted an incredibly impressive exhibit from the Rijksmuseum for several months -- they were the only art museum in North America to host that exhibit.

@Nixieh: The bartenders can concoct a number of no alcohol "mocktails" for you. Some will be listed in the bar menus, and some a bartender can create. My particular favorite is the Minted Lemonade -- sweet sour flavor with bruised mint leaves.