olemissreb

That looks like the same ATV tour we did 10 years ago - except we did ours at Midnight on the Summer Solstice! So much fun - and if you weren't wearing 100% DEET, you got eaten up by mosquitoes!

I've got about 18 months before we sail, so hopefully they bring it back by then. Either way, I'll have a glass of champagne in my hand shortly after boarding and I'll get my boyfriend a beer or bourbon (depending on his mood). We're sailing out of San Juan, so I'll be sure to be on the top deck with my travel mates for sail away - my favorite port to sail out of!

Thanks! Boy have things changed since my last cruise (on RCL) in 2019! So much easier to just check in to the muster station and then continue to explore the ship.

Well that stinks that they no longer greet you with champagne. It was such a nice touch and really set the tone for the cruise and set the line apart a little. And good to know about the app. We can watch the muster drill the night before we board the ship in San Juan. Thank you!

I haven't been on a Celebrity cruise in 10 years. Last one was on the Millie in Alaska. Do you still get greeted with champagne/mimosas/oj as you first come aboard? I'll ve on the Summit in '25...does it have the option to do the muster drill on the app? We'll be sailing with 2 newbies, so want to prepare them the best we can. Good to know we can drop off our carry-ons and pick up our Seapass cards right away...what a nice and welcome change!

Can you tell me what is on the menu at Le Petit Chef? We aren't going to be on Summit till March '25 and we have a picky eater in the group. Dinner there sounds interesting, but don't want to book anything if there won't be anything for him to eat. Thanks!

When I was doing my research for the Alaska cruise we took 10 years ago, I made up a spreadsheet of all the ports, the ships that sailed there and when and the port times. I found without a doubt that the longer port times were on the one way ships (Seward/Whittier to Vancouver or vice versa). I also discovered that the fees associated with flying on airline points was so much more expensive flying from/to Vancouver, so we took Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle and flew home from there (after a couple extra days of sightseeing). We were on the Celebrity Millennium. My sons were a little bored (they were 13 & 17 at the time), because Celebrity doesn't typically cater to kids. I may have gone with Radiance of the Seas if that ship's departure date coincided with our vacation time as it would have had more stuff geared to the boys. One week is not enough in Alaska. As someone pointed out, most of the port stops are pretty touristy and reminded me of many ports in the Caribbean. We were able to spend an extra week before the cruise and went up to Denali and over to the Matanuska Glacier (where we trekked on the glacier). So glad we did that! We ended up taking the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Seward (a day early) and took a Kenai Fjords tour and got so close to a glacier we heard it calving - AMAZING! Excursions are expensive - both private and through the cruise line - but there used to be TourSaver books that you could use to save some money. We booked all private excursions and they were all so totally worth it! In Skagway, we took the train up to the Yukon and while all the cruise line excursion people were getting on huge greyhound type tour buses, we got on a small van (15 passenger) type bus and were able to stop at places the tour buses couldn't get in to - and where we went wasn't overly crowded because we got ahead of the buses. In Icy Strait, we booked an excursion with a local boat owner to take us out whale watching - just the 5 members of my family along with the boat owner . We were with all the cruise tours at one point and all we kept seeing were just tail flips, but then we left the crowd behind and went in to what is technically part of Glacier Bay and we ended up catching a baby whale practicing his breaches! OMG we were the only ones out there and it was just breathtaking! In Ketchikan, we booked a flight seeing tour to the Misty Fjords National Monument - there were 6 of us plus the pilot (5 of us were family) - SPECTACULAR. The pilot had some music playing that fit so perfectly with the beauty of the area, my mom and I both got teary eyed! All this to say - don't skimp on the excursions. Pay a local as their tourist season is only 5 months or so long and they can use the tourist dollars way more than the cruise line.

I've been on Princess (many moons ago when I was probably one of the youngest ones on board), Carnival (one 5 day cruise that kind of soured me on the line as a whole), Royal and Celebrity. I've had my kids on 1 each of the latter and they loved it. Not as much for them to do on Celebrity, but we were in Alaska and they found other kids on board to hang with and they kept themselves entertained (they were 13 & 17 at the time). The Royal cruise, the kids (10 & 14 at the time) had much more to do and the youngest loved the kids club with all the things they had them doing. My favorite is Celebrity - they just feel a little more "upscale" from the time you get on board and they greet you with a complementary glass of champagne (or at least they did the last time I was on Celebrity 10 years ago in Alaska). First time I was on Celebrity for a Caribbean cruise, they had a tent set up dockside and they would greet you with cold towels to cool yourself off after a HOT day on the islands. I hope they still do that on my March '25 cruise! I'm now in my 60s and feel like I just fit in more with the other passengers. No I'm not really well traveled, but I've never really been a party animal and I'm perfectly content to sit at a bar and listen to the music with a good glass of wine or to have great conversations with my travel companions. Next cruise will be with my boyfriend (who will turn 60 that year), my sister and her boyfriend (both in their 60s) and while we may venture to the "disco" for a little while, we'll probably just be content to hang out and enjoy the trip and each other's company. I find that that is much easier to do on Celebrity because it's not as "loud" - seems more toned down in terms of the volume (both amount and decibel level) of announcements and the volume of the music throughout the ship. Just a more relaxed atmosphere all around.

Not sure how many days it was, but the minute the Alaska itineraries for 2013 opened up, I booked...I think it was close to 2 years before we set sail. I just booked a March 2025 cruise Memorial day this year.

When I went 10 years ago, we took the train from Anchorage to Seward the day before the cruise. Absolutely gorgeous scenery and relaxing ride. When we got to Seward, we did a Kenai Fjords tour and the train operator took our luggage to our hotel. The next day, we did a behind the scenes tour at the SeaLife Center before going to the ship. If I remember correctly, we were able to have the hotel send our luggage straight to the ship when we checked out.

Did you get to Pan Am pier early for embarkation? We are going in March 2025 and thinking that we may get some sightseeing in in the morning and get to the pier maybe 1 or 2pm - just to avoid the crowds. Last time I sailed out of there, my former FIL wanted to get to the pier by 10 or 11am and it was crowded and traffic was horrid. Thought by delaying our arrival we might avoid all of that.

This is making me even more excited for my Southern Caribbean cruise in March 2025. It will be my 3rd time on a Celebrity M Class ship (Connie and Millie were the first 2).

Right? I can only cross my fingers that this first cruise for him will lead to many more. Although I did promise him that after the cruise, we'd take a train ride somewhere in the US.

Oh I hope they have this selection on the Summit in 2025! It will be my boyfriend's first cruise and if he can get his Blantons and sit on deck and relax watching the sun set, I may never get him off the ship! 🤣

I haven't cruised on X since 2013, and haven't cruised at all since 2019 (on RC). My sister and I are now booked on Summit in 2025. She and I have cruised before, but our boyfriends are both newbies, so we're really looking forward to showing them the joys of cruising. Hoping we'll have sunny skies, smooth sailing and great food and relaxation! Of all the cruises I've been on, X has been my favorite. Summit will be my 3rd M class ship - the only class I've sailed on so far. I tend to lean toward the smaller ships, but maybe one day I'll get on one of the "behemoths". 🙂

Does anyone know how to download a excursions brochure? In the past I was able to do it on the Royal site and then we could take our time and figure out what types of excursions we wanted to do and then I could peruse CC and TA and figure out how to do it cheaper. I thought I saw it at one time but now I can't seem to find a way to download a brochure. The link to the "hack" above didn't work for me - it still made me log in. Guess Celebrity caught on to it?

Thank you! I did see that course on TA...pretty good reviews and bonus that it is so close to the ship. I think we'll end up booking that for the guys. Just have to remember to teach them the difference between "ships time" and "local time"...newbies!...and pray they get back to the ship in time. 🤣

I'd been itching to get back on a cruise and so had my sister, so when I looked before the sale, the price of the cruise we wanted was about $1200 higher. Glad we waited to get the cruise and cabins we wanted at a savings! Now our boyfriends can experience their first cruise with us.

I'll be on Summit in March 2025. What is the surcharge for Sushi on 5? Can you take the sushi "to go"? 3 out of 4 in our group like sushi and the 4th is more of a cheeseburger guy. I really hate to have him eating alone while the rest of us are enjoying sushi. We're not sure whether we'll get a dining package or not just yet. Got some research to do on that.

Sorry! If I could find 2 bottles of Blantons, I'd prefer to drink it with my boyfriend! 😄

Thank you! For some reason I was thinking that the 2 bottles that we could bring on board were of any alcohol. Thanks for the clarification. Well just damn...maybe in 2 years they will have added Blantons to the list! 🙂

Does anyone know if they serve Blantons on board the Summit and how much that would cost? Also, if we have the premium beverage package, would we only be charged the amount above $17 (plus tip)? My boyfriend is a bourbon drinker and Blantons is his favorite. We don't sail till 2025, so we have time to find our own bottle and bring it on board if necessary. 🙂

Thank you for this...while I qualify regarding when I booked my cruise, I don't sail until March 2025 so I guess I wait. Maybe they'll have another deal next year at this time. Right now, $137.99/person/day is a lot steep!

I'm assuming the sale is for sailings that are coming up in the near future? I just booked for March 2025 and the beverage packages only had a 7% savings on them...not much of a savings for me, but I've got plenty of time before I'll book to watch for a better sale.

My sister and I are planning a Feb '25 cruise with our boyfriends. She and I really would love to do Nicole's Table Cooking Class as we both love cooking, but the guys wouldn't. What they would love to do is go golfing. Does anyone know of any golf courses in the area that the guys could go to? Or do you know if Celebrity offers a golf excursion? Thanks for the help!