catspaw1

We booked the Xploration for June 2025. However my TA said Celebrity was going to eliminate the Xploration. I assume if they did that, they would put us on another ship. So maybe they are eliminating the other 2 ships for 2026?

If they lowered the price a lot or I had more OBC, I would do it. I am currently taking a French cooking class through adult education. 8 hours for about $130 including food costs. We always have enough to take home some also. I cook from scratch almost every day. Just made homemade tomato soup- far superior to Campbell's

Yeah me two. I loved the chocolate extravaganza midnight buffet! My favorite!

Our first cruise was in the 80's & they had lots of things for free including the midnight buffet, napkin folding, bridge & kitchen tours, vegetable & ice carving demonstrations to name a few. Cruising has changed a lot & not for the better! Everything is an upcharge & nothing for free in the daytime anymore. I miss the good old days!

Would love to go but no way at that price! If free I would attend

Jim, retired Fed here. I was at DHS when we rolled out Global Entry. No you will probably not have to go to another interview again. But sometimes they call you back to redo fingerprints. Happened to me even though I retired from the Fed, have high clearance level & used to work for DHS. CBP used to be my component & they called me for an interview many years ago even though I worked for DHS! They just needed my fingerprints again even though mine are all over the government. Also do NOT trust the State dept website on passport processing times. Pay the extra money to expedite if you need your passport back within 3 months. Add an extra week for passport delivery to any processing time. Remember spring & summer are the most popular times to renew a passport & will increase processing times. I used to work for the Government publishing office- we actually made the passports & shipped them to state dept to fill out. Did you know there are over 300 security features in your passport?

We did an independent tour with Kenai fjords for 9 hours about 30 years ago & it was one of the highlight of our 2.5 week trip in AK. I would go with major marine this time as they have NPS rangers onboard. Please be aware this trip can have very rough conditions when they transit through the ocean. The day we went the water was like a lake. They usually have black Friday specials. We are going back to AK next year but not with Celebrity. Celebrity does not have a permit to go into Glacier Bay & this was another trip highlight for us. We have booked a 3 night excursion with a bear lodge, doing independent travel & on a cruise also for AK for next year.

Going back to Glacier bay is a must for us. Loved that NPS ranger prevention we had over 30 years ago. We loved AK then! We had a really good time on HAL & that's why we wanted to return.

I never assume on any acronym! I booked 2 cruises- both with Celebrity with it. We cruised on HAL 30 years ago to AK & Carribean for 10 days once & really enjoyed both trips. We are thinking of either HAl or Princess to AK August 2 or 3 from Whitter southbound so have been lurking on the HAL site.

Costco insurance is from a third-party provider.

now I found it- cancel for any reason. It would help to spell out acronyms. Yes they had it but it was more money so we didn't get it.

CFAR?????? no idea what that is. Please clarify.

We have costco trip insurance for our upcoming celebrity cruise. As long as you are a costco member, you can purchase it even if you don't book with them. It's 6.5% of trip costs without booking through costco travel & 5% if you booked through them. You need to buy the insurance within 21 days of purchase to get preexisting medical conditions covered. For our Bermuda cruise I checked a bunch of policies & costco was at least $75 cheaper. Good coverage also. We have a chase sapphire reserve card but get insurance coverage for cruises & international trips. Our health coverage, even though Medicare is primary, covers us for emergency medical abroad

Enjoyed reading your very informative trip report. Glad you had a good time.

stoo bush you are incorrect- you do NOT need to book your cruise with Costco to get the insurance. How do I know? I just booked two cruises through a TA & got the Costco travel insurance! Costco had better medical evac & medical premiums coverage. If you book through Costco travel cost is 5% of trip; if not 6.5%. Our TA price was less than Costco as we got better OBC & choice of cabins. Also they have a 24/7 travel number while it's hard to get through to Costco travel. Hopefully we won't need it but we always take travel insurance for cruises & international travel.

We are PADI certified advanced diving certified. There is no way I would wear a full face mask. I have problems clearing my ears & always need to press on my nose to equalize. So no way I would wear a full face mask. We also do a lot of snorkeling.

Yes it was between the Niew Amsterdam & Sapphire Princess. We have been to AK before in August & agree that it rains more than. Once the first northerly cold front comes down, it brings heavy rain & wind. We hit a gale & missed a port of call! We are Bluewater sailors so didn't get sick but the dining room was almost empty! Fortunately we are looking at either the August 2 & 3 trip. We are doing a bear adventure into the Bush July 21 for 3 nights & will explor AK before & after the bear trip waiting for the cruise. We are retired so have the time.

Thanks everyone for your very helpful comments. We went on HAL to AK 30 years ago & loved it. Returning to Glacier Bay is a must for us! I'm watching both cruises now. My TA has been out so will talk with her again when she returns. Celebrity cruises does not have park privileges to go into Glacier bay & returning there is very important to us. We are leaning to HAL again.

Being retired government, I heard about the expansion & a grateful the government bought & preserved the land. I live near the "company" town so we hear a lot. BTW are you aware that the bridge that was destroyed In Denali NP won't be repaired till 2026? So you can only travel about 20 miles inland on the park shuttle bus. We traveled to wonder lake back in the 80's & got to see "the big one" - Denali. We loved Talkteena then also.

Ken I just finished your TR on the Galapagos last night & it was awesome. The pictures really added a lot to the blog. Thanks so much for posting! I will go back & read some of the other TR also. And I will follow your TR to AK. We went to AK in the 1980's so things also have changed a lot since then & not for the better with global warming & population increase. AK always holds a special place in our hearts. We are also staying at a bear lodge in Lake Clarke national park for 3 nights next late July, traveling inland on our own & then going on a cruise ship. Decided going over for a day was way too short & good possibility of canceling due to bad weather.

We are PADI certified advanced divers & also snorkel. I would never use a full face mask. Go to a good dive shop & buy your own face mask & snorkel & bring with you. They will fit a lot better. For the ladies, I use a special strap so my hair doesn't get caught up. We also have flippers that use dive booties that work great. We will bring all equipment to the Xploration next June. Bring your own gear that doesn't leak!

I'm retired DoD civilian. May stay at military housing if I can get it while in AK.

I will look forward to reading it then. AK, with global glacier warming, has changed a lot from 30 years ago. We went before the TV show northern exposure put Talkeetna on the map! It was a quirky town back then but we loved it. Keep in mind the Denali NP has limited park access from the bridge collapse but is still awesome I think.

Ken, I'm reading your TR on the Galapagos now & it's awesome. I really appreciate reading all your indepth reports! We usually go more budget- OV- as we take 4-6 trips a year. We are also going to Shenandoah park near where we leave for probably 5 nights & KY over the summer. & I'm currently in Rochester NY now staying at another Marriott as my husband is lifetime Titanium. I love your TR & will read all of them. Thanks for taking the time to post!