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I don't remember there being taxis and I feel like that would be a very expensive option unless you didn't go all that far up the highway. The drive itself is pretty easy. It's just the same road the whole time out and back.

When we were in Skagway a couple of years ago, we rented a car and made a stop at the Tutshi Sled Dog Tour along the Klondike Highway. We got to play with dogs, get a talk from the owner/Iditarod driver, and then go on a "sled ride" with the dogs. I would definitely recommend it.

We did the Rainforest Hike + Canoe in Ketchikan a few years ago and enjoyed that. We are going to try the Mendenhall Glacier Kayak excursion in Juneau when we go back this summer. I think one advantage of the canoe was that it was about ~15-20 people in the canoe so there is more manpower and easier to take a rest if needed. The kayak is just 2 people so you are more self-dependent to get yourself around.

We drove to Emerald Lake and back and were out from about 8:30-5:00. We made several stops along the way (Yukon Suspension Bridge, Tutshi Dog Sled Tour) plus numerous photo stops. We did our stops on the way out and then drove pretty much straight back (where my wife and kids napped). I think driving straight back from Emerald Lake took about 1 1/2 hours. Make sure to search for "Murray's Guide to the Klondike Highway." You can find a free PDF version online. It gives tons of mile-by-mile detail.

We did this in Skagway, but rented a car through Turo. It was far less expensive than going through either of the rental companies there. We were probably out from about 8:30-5:00 with multiple stops along the way (Yukon Suspension Bridge, Tutshi Dog Sled Tour). This was definitely our best excursion. The scenery in Yukon is breathtakingly spectacular.

Yes, this is what I normally do. However, I want to make sure that the OBC can actually be applied to gratuities. I ran into a situation on my last cruise (on Norwegian) in which I didn't realize that one type of OBC must be spent onboard and couldn't be applied to gratuities. I didn't realize this until disembarkation day and was then forced into buying a very overpriced picture frame and photo because that was the only thing still open.

Used Turo to rent a car in Skagway and drove Klondike Highway all the way to Emerald Lake and back. This was definitely my highlight of my Alaskan cruise. The Yukon scenery is breathtakingly spectacular. You can get a free "Murray's Guide to the Klondike Highway" online and it gives you tons of mile-by-mile detail to follow along.

Did this 2 years ago and HIGHLY recommend doing this. You can control your pace more than going on the White Pass train and get much further into Yukon. I found a car through Turo that was much cheaper than going through the Avis in town. There is a free "Murray's Guide to the Klondike Highway" that you can find online that will give plenty of mile-by-mile detail. The scenery is breathtakingly spectacular. Make sure to stop at the Yukon Suspension Bridge. We also visited the Tutshi dog sled farm. We eventually turned around at Emerald Lake.

Hello, Just booked my first Celebrity Cruise. The TA has given me $428 of OBC of which $120 has already been issued and is available in my Celebrity account. The remaining $308 will come once I am onboard, but I can also just request it as a rebate check from the TA after the cruise is complete.. Does anyone know whether I can just use the $120 toward covering the gratuities? I'm aware of the differences between non-refundable and refundable OBC, but every cruise line seems to handle things differently and I have primarily sailed on Norwegian in the past. I'm thinking that the $120 will need to be used on something, whether it is specialty dining, excursions, or something else. We are not drinkers and typically have almost no additional onboard expenses to worry about.

I just went through the reservation process and it looks like Le Petit Chef charges full price for children, whereas Murano and Tuscan Grille have a discounted children's rate.

OP here... Didn't think this would get that many replies, but appreciate them all (even the snarky ones.) In general, I think we will be ok. My kids are pretty calm and not super energetic and are generally fine with sticking with us and checking out the trivia, cooking demos, art auctions, etc. However, it is nice to have some more kid-friendly options now and then.Overall though, I think they will just enjoy being on the cruise ship. I agree that Alaska will also mean less time at the pool/waterslides, but it looks like the Solarium only offers very limited (mostly meal times) for kids to use the Solarium indoor pool. On another note, I saw that the specialty restaurants had a children's price. Does that require them to order from a kids menu or can we have them order off the regular menu?

My wife and I just booked our first Celebrity cruise on Solstice to Alaska later this summer including our 12 year old daughter and 9 year old son. We got caught up in the excitement of booking another cruise and the urgency of locking in a dwindling supply of available cabins, but we are now having buyer's remorse about whether Celebrity/Solstice is a good line/ship to take the kids. Our kids are experienced cruisers, who love a good buffet and typically enjoy cruising, but they only know the world of larger Norwegian ships (Escape, Joy, Encore) that are filled with water slides/parks, a wide variety of specialty dining options (that don't require cover charges,) and many other areas for entertaining younger passengers. Neither of them are very fond of going to the kids' clubs and we try not to drop them off there unless there is an activity or evening show that isn't appropriate for them to join us. This will also be their second Alaska cruise, so there isn't the novelty of the Alaskan scenery/wildlife either. Should we be worried that they are going to be bored on this ship? Help put our minds at ease now that our $1,000 non-refundable deposit is paid and final payment is a mere 2 weeks away. Signed, Concerned Cruiser w/ Kiddies

Sailing on Solstice in July and will be first time on Celebrity. We have traditionally sailed on Norwegian which offers the specialty restaurants as one of their included bonus perks. We have $120 of OBC to spend and am considering whether it is worth just using it on LPC or one of the other specialty restaurants. Any thoughts on which one would be best. Also, will I need to pay the cover charges for my kids (12 & 9) if they were to just order from the children's menu for that meal?

Hello Celebrity CCers... My family (2 adults, 12yo, 9yo) has traditionally done Club Balcony Suites/Mini Suites on Norwegian and are taking our first Celebrity cruise on Solstice. It looks like there are very few Veranda cabins designed to accommodate 4 guests. Can anyone share if one room layout is better/more comfortable than others? We are trying to get one with the single sofa plus upper bed rather than the single sofa plus pullout sofa. Also, are the Concierge class benefits worth it for an additional ~$500 for the week?

We just came back from a Seattle-Juneau-Skagway-Glacier Bay-Ketchikan-Victoria-Seattle itinerary with a 10 year old and 7 year old. In Juneau, we took a Lyft from the downtown area out to Mendenhall Glacier and spent about an hour or two exploring the glacier and visitor center. Thankfully, the Lyft driver gave us his cell phone number to contact him directly for a ride back because there was no cell service nor WiFi at Mendenhall in order to request a ride back. The cost for the Lyft was about $40-45 each way. This compares to $45 per adult and $35 per child to take the Blue Bus shuttle. Skagway - We rented a car through Turo and drove the Klondike Highway out to Emerald Lake and then turned around and came back. It was about 150 miles roundtrip. We stopped several times along the way to take photos. We also stopped at Yukon Suspension Bridge and at Tutshi Sled Dog Tours. We left Skagway at around 10am and got back at around 5:30pm. The scenery is breathtakingly spectacular. I would highly recommend doing this. I think with young kids this would give you a more flexibility then doing the White Pass Railroad. However, with a 2, 5, and 6 year old I could see car seats being an issue. Ketchikan - We did the Rainforest Canoe and Nature Trail through the ship (contracted through Alaska Travel Adventures.) This would be a fun time for the adults, but the kids would be too young. Victoria - We walked from the Ogden Point cruise terminal to the downtown/wharf area. It is about a 1 1/4 mile walk each way. There are enough people doing the same thing that you didn't really need to worry too much about getting lost. The buildings are pretty when they get lit up in the evening. There are also horse-drawn carriages that you use if you didn't want to walk.