sheff29

my husband loves to buy all the pics, but at $20+ each, i knew we'd be better off getting a package for our upcoming cruise. we paid $200 for all prints/digital plus $30 for the ship dvd, we could not use OBC. we purchased this on 4/18 for a 7/23 cruise, so just under 3 months in advance.

great news that our prem bev pkg is accepted, thank you for all of the posts!

we booked Qsine for one of our nights. i was under the impression our prem bev package would be in effect for this. however, i saw this in the fine print.... can anyone confirm?

Specialty Restaurants

All cover charges are per person. Restaurant reservations are subject to availability, and reservations are non-transferable. Additional items such as beverages, menu supplements, food and wine pairings and gratuities are not included.

We are booked for their whale watch this July, based on great reviews on trip advisor. We liked the size of boats and positive feedback on comfort/safety. We chose a wildlife/bear walk excursion in Ketchikan instead because ISP is supposed to have great whales. I remember my research notes also included Misty Lodge for brown bears too if you want to check it out.

We are on Celebrity Infinity in July - it's does not stop at Tracy Arm. We are booked on a 7 hr round trip excursion out of Juneau to see Tracy Arm, 8:30-3:30 at $239pp (Allen Marine Tours), booked thru Celebrity. So even if your ship's itinerary doesn't include TA, you can still get there if your port time in Juneau allows (luckily ours does). Can't wait!

We booked with Celebrity, using Allen Marine a Tours. I spoke with Cassandra, she was really great in answering questions and we are very excited to see the glaciers from their boat. FYI in case anyone else was wondering... The round trip uses a 40 person 65 foot boat, much smaller than the one way trips. Thanks for all of the responses to my original post.

Also, if anyone has personal experience.... are the interiors on these boats comfortable, seating bathrooms? and are the waters fairly calm or rocky, any seasickness? Can you bring your own small snacks aboard?

We currently have a car rental reservation for Juneau to do our own exploring (have been compiling a list of places to visit), but am told that a trip to Tracy Arm is a must do. We are on the Celebrity Infinity end of July, it does not make a stop in Tracy Arm, we would take a full round trip from Juneau. Our port time is 7:30am-8:00pm.

We generally like to take private non-ship sponsored excursions, mostly to support local tour operators. That being said, we may do the Celebrity excursion anyway. Just need to hear thoughts or give validation to plan....

Celebrity excursion says "kaltian express" which makes me think it is the vendor named "Allen Marine". The price is $239pp and runs 7 hours, providing transp to dock. We would be assured timely return since cruise sponsored trip. Just not sure how many people onboard, seating too tight?

The other operator is Adventure Bound, local operator, runs a 10 hour trip at $162pp, this seems more personal, maybe less people, not sure about transportation to dock (waiting for email back). Problem here is they depart at 7:45am, afraid we won't make it in time. Also, if too long (10 hrs), we may not have time for downtown time (Red Dog and Tracy King Crab).

Any thoughts?

Good Morning. We too would like to rent a vehicle for the day - would prefer a larger car or SUV as hubby 6'5" and needs leg and head room. How do you know what dock your ship pulls into? We are on the Celebrity Infinity on Thursday July 27. Which rental facility is closest to our dock that we can walk to? Also, how is parking near dock in case we want to break/rest before heading back out? We are in port a long day 7:30am-8:00pm? Thank you.

I really appreciate all of the replies, a lot of which were informative and enjoyable to read, thank you for sharing. I've done quite a bit of research on the different cruise lines, deck plans, the ports, the glaciers, etc. I'm pretty certain we'll go with the Celebrity Infinity this time, the itinerary is great, the inside passage ports are perfect, and the price with perks seems a good deal. I can see us returning again in future years as there appears to be so much to do and see! Thanks again for the insight. I'm sure I'll be asking questions on excursions next. :)

We are 2 adults in our early 50's, not big cruisers but want to do Alaska next July 2017. We sailed on Celebrity Summit (southern Caribbean) last April so we know we like a smaller M class ship as compared to talk of bigger S class. Have never sailed Holland America. We want round trip from Vancouver with as much Inside Passage as possible to alleviate any seasickness. We really want the Infinity but have heard good things about HAL specific to Alaska. Which ship/itinerary would you choose and why? If we've never cruised Alaska before, would you say that Hubbard Glacier is good, or do you think we need to do Glacier Bay? There us a definite price difference so not sure if HAL worth the money?

Infinity - $5153

Cat 2a verandah (one cat upgrade, paying for 2b)

Go Best promo includes premium drink, gratuities, $300 OBC, unlimited wifi.

Vancouver 4:30, Inside Passage, Icy Strait Point 3:30-10:00, Hubbard Glacier 10:30-2:30, Juneau 7:30-6:00, Ketchikan 12:00-8:30, Inside Passage, Vancouver 7:00.

Nieuw Amsterdam - $5148

Cat V verandah, no promos, price does not include drinks or gratuities.

Vancouver 4:30, Inside Passage, Tracy Arm 10:00-10:30 then same day Juneau 1:00-10:00, Skagway 7am-9pm, Glacier Bay 7:00-4:00, Ketchikan 10:00-6:00, Inside Passage, Vancouver 7:00.

Does anyone know when the dry dock is scheduled for?

May I add a question regarding Specialty Restaurants?

Is it the same as MDR that you can order more than one entree if you cannot decide between the two, or if you'd like to have more than one appetizer? And is the Premium Drink Package accepted? I understand there is also a Wine by the Bottle package, would that by accepted also? Thx!

Do you have a map of numbered cabana locations?

Had my mind set on Great Bay until I read this. Looks like we will head to Orient.

Thanks for the quick replies! Will gladly make reservation now. Cheers!

Love the new menu posted for Bistro on Five, and excited to try out Qsine on our upcoming Summit cruise next week. Question....

Will the Premium Alcohol Beverage Package be accepted in the Specialty restaurants?

1. What deck do you enter through gangplank?

2. We are checking out of the Sheraton Old San Juan Resort that morning... How long of a taxi ride will it be to the Pan Am pier? Was told approx $25 w bags for 2 people.

3. We'd like to board around noon, have lunch, explore ship, etc. Was told cabins usually ready around 1-1:30.

4. What can we expect when we pull up to pier? We did online check in already and received the luggage tags in mail. (ps, we are in concierge class so may board faster?)

Thanks for any help.

We are arriving on Good Friday also. Was hoping for nice dinner out and a little shopping after walking the town and visiting forts. Anyone have knowledge of places open on the holiday?

I'm considering packing in checked luggage our two favorite bottles of champagne for our Celebrity cruise (on ice in room for balcony sunsets). Hubby is afraid it'll leak despite my bubble wrapping and sealing in XXL Ziploc bag. Question.... Will there be a problem with having both bottles in my luggage rather than each of us packing one per person?

Our only sea day is day 2, the first formal night. I suppose either dress will work on either day. Thanks for the info girls! I'm having a bit of fun tearing through the closet and buying a few new things too, hope my bag isn't too heavy. Lol

Which of the 2 formal nights would you classify as the "dressier" one, and I mean for the ladies. I've got two dresses picked out to bring... one is a little more "sparkly" and was thinking wear this one first? Any experiences you can share? Thx.

If you are dead set on having table mates every night then I would suggest select dining.

Pros

 

• Have a choice of eating with others or just the two of you
  
• Not locked into any time frame to eat
  
• If you meet another couple through your roll call or on the ship you can arrange to have dinner with them if they have select
  
• You can eat at your own pace. You don't have to wait for others to finish their course before you get your next course.
  
• You can get stuck with a group of people who you don't like in traditional dining but in select you can dine with a different group the next night.
  
• Don't have to notify the wait staff of your comings and goings.
  
• Won't get stuck in an empty dining room (usually the last night when tips are given out) or at an empty table because others decided to eat elsewhere.
  

Cons

• If you measure service by how much the waiter chats you up and tells you about his home life and family or if you need him or her to remember what you like and dislike then select dining is not for you.
  
• Gratuity has to be paid at the time of final payment.
  
• You may have to wait for a table to become available if you arrive at a peek time.
  

We contemplated choosing the a Select a Dining for some of the reasons listed in "pros", but found the Traditional would suit us best because we do like to chat up table mates and enjoy lively conversations, but not have to do introductions over and over each night, and we like the idea of having same waitstaff. The downside of Traditional for us was the early seating seems too early (6:00) and the late seating was def too late (8:30). We thought we'd pick one night to do Qsine around 7:30 so we could nap by pool, enjoy sail away on balcony before getting dressed for dinner.

Question..... can you switch from Traditional to Select mid-cruise? And is formal night different if you have Traditional or Select, or same as any other night but we're all dressed up?

I am a newbie and find this thread to be very helpful. Thank you for your time and effort in compiling this info and for sharing!

Question please.....

Does the Premium Alcohol Package include buckets of beer (like the idea of keeping bottles cold poolside!)? And will it cover the wine in the Cellar Masters or do you need a separate swipe card?

I thought I posted this under "Summit", can't figure out how to move it or even start a thread there, new to this and apparently not very good at it, sorry. Thanks for any help/tips.