Northern Aurora

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.

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.