Northern Aurora

The walk from the ship to the terminal is very short. There will be a line of taxis right outside the terminal. There also will be the shuttles taking folks to the downtown area. All very organized and the signage will be very clear.

"So today, we get off the ship, and there is a tram that takes you around Prince Rupert. Super! When we go to buy tickets, we are asked for our sea pass card. Now this is NOT a HAL excursion. Anyone can walk up and take it. But once they knew I was off the ship, they wanted my sea pass and would not take cash. So I gave the woman the card, and she wrote us a receipt. She had told me the trip around town took 90 minutes, and the cost for us would be $59.95. She handed me the receipt to sign, and I was SHOCKED to see it was $59.95 EACH! For a 90-minute tour around a very small town. We decided to skip that. " Just curious -- was the $59.95 price in Canadian or US dollars?

I also have been enjoying this thread. We left the Eclipse the day Ken boarded. And I have to smile at the update -- we have crossed the Equator five (or has it been six) times on Celebrity ships and the Equator crossing celebration has never been any time close to the actual crossing, but always conveniently after lunch.

The cakes served at Cafe al Bacio in the evening can be wonderful. The basic chocolate cake from the "always available" section on the MDR menu (and also offered in Blu and Luminae) is delicious. But my favorite is the flaming sphere on the Luminae menu.

According to the NPS website they expect the closure of the single road into the park to remain in effect through the summer of 2024. Our local news paper has a reporter stationed year around in the Healy/Denali area and she has reported that the road may not be open until 2025. There are views of Denali from the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus, so anyone visiting the Museum of the North should look for it out of the windows just across from the entrance and beside the museum store. There are great views of Denali at Mary's McKinley View Lodge (mile 134.5 of the George Parks Hwy) and there are some pullouts/view areas just north of that lodge. And there are views from the Princess McKinley Lodge as already noted.

I am not aware of any cruise lines which have used the Dena'ina Center as their "hospitality center." The "hospitality centers" which I am aware of are hosted in the Egan Center on 5th Avenue. The Dena'ina Center is much, much larger -- too large for a cruise line hospitality center.

The inside passage has a number of islands. So the ship will have land on one side and numerous islands, some very large, on the other side. The Gulf of Alaska, as you leave the inside passage and head toward Seward, can have larger waves. The definition of "rough" is so subjective, but on one cruise through the Gulf of Alaska the ship movement didn't bother us, but some were definitely experiencing some motion sickness.

As a fellow Suite guest we have had no problems boarding prior to an assigned boarding time (such as 12:30 PM). We generally board about 11:30 AM.

Even if your binoculars are bulky definitely bring you own, or purchase another pair. The binoculars in Celebrity staterooms, no matter the stateroom category, are worthless.

We boarded the Eclipse on March 10th and left on April 19th. So our last two legs of the B2B2B2B were the B2B which @Azllama was also on. We were provided RAT tests on all three of the turnaround days. The test were in an envelopes and we did indeed have instructions on all three turnaround days. I don't know why @Azllama assumes that "a lot of them went in the trash" as the accompanying letter had the phone number for Guest Relations. If any one living through the Covid-19 pandemic can't understand how to administer a RAT test they simply could have called Guest Relations for instructions. And we did not return home with Covid-19.

We boarded the Eclipse on March 10 for a B2B2B2B series. Our last two legs were the B2B pair which @Azllama was on. We were on the Eclipse pre-covid on a B2B2B from Buenos Aires to Vancouver in 2019 and were also on her in post-covid in April 2022. While the decor is becoming dated the ship is in great condition. Were in Suites and Luminae was excellent. Staff and crew are great. We did not have issues with the meals. Nor did we have issues with the age of the ship.

While I absolutely love great aquariums (Monterrey is my all time favorite but there is one in Spain we also love) the SeaLife center is not what I would describe as an aquarium as many of us understand the concept. It is more of an education experience with sea life. Also don't expect some sort of performing dolphins type of experience. While it is a nice experience, you will not spend the entire day there. Even if you do a behind the scenes tour. Depending on your own interests, consider visiting Exit Glacier for part of your day. And Major Marine is my preferred vendor in Seward for visits to Kenai Fjords National Park water visits.

I will also be following. And for @KmomChicago, PVSA is the Passenger Vessel Service Act.

Theo: If you are always ready for a good beer you will like the Skagway Brewing Company. But for the very first time we tried the Klondike Brewing Company while in Skagway last June. My husband had a flight of three (or was it four) brews and pronounced the beer better than the SBC. But the KBC has absolutely no food offerings -- can't even buy a bag of chips or crackers. They do welcome food from other sources such as a food truck.

I know it isn't a popular sentiment among her fans but I just find Tracy's Crab Shack to be over rated for what it is.

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.