snowmc

St. Thomas....our thoughts and prayers are with you.

https://zest4travel.wordpress.com/2017/04/14/st-thomas-american-virgin-islands/

Check out http://www.zest4travel.wordpress.com....there is some really good information there concerning Alaska ports and the glaciers.

There is a great shuttle company (Seattle Express) at the walkway (after leaving the terminal building, walk all the way down to the end, past all the busses). They will have shuttles available to purchase on sight...$15/person. DO NOT get them confused with Shuttle Express! We disembarked August 11th and had reservations with Shuttle Express....horrible organization. Seattle Express had shuttles ready to go...we went with them and were at the airport in plenty of time for a 12:30pm flight. We left the ship at 9am.

Do they require prepayment? Or do you pay when you pick up the bike?

I highly recommend the Misty Fjords trip. After 11 cruises to Alaska, that is still one of my favorite excursions. Harv and Marv run a close second. Have a wonderful time.

Just got off Celebrity Solstice (8/4 cruise). We went to Endicott instead of Tracy Arm. You actually get much closer to Dawes Glacier (Endicott Arm) than you can at Sawyer glacier (Tracy Arm). Both fjords are beautiful.

My favorite cruise is the southbound to Vancouver, but all the options are wonderful. We have sailed in May, June, July and early August. Personally, I won't sail any later than the first two weeks of August. Weather can change rapidly...just today (8/12/17) Northern Alaska got their first snowstorm of the year. I have several Alaska posts on my blog...http://www.zest4travel.wordpress.com The article on the pros/cons of glaciers might give you some helpful information as to which one you want to visit. Happy planning!

I have used a direct service ONCE through a cruise line. Bags were supposed to be loaded onto a bus in Vancouver and we were supposed to get them at SeaTac. Half of our bags made it....had to wait a week for the others to arrive, since it was an international destination and they had to be escorted through customs and searched. Guess what we NEVER did again!! To this day, we walk our bags off. There is NO WAY I would trust anyone to get my bags off the ship, to the airport and to the correct airline.

Glad Celebrity allowed you to use the service though and that most of your luggage arrived.

I wrote a pros/cons of the different glaciers. You can read it at: https://zest4travel.wordpress.com/2017/03/12/pros-and-cons-of-hubbard-glacier-glacier-bay-and-tracy-arm-fjord/ Maybe it will give you some information to help with the decision.

You have received some very good information here. Alaska is our destination of choice, as we live in the Pacific Northwest. Our 11th trip is coming this Friday. In my travel blog, I have many posts about Alaska...ports, excursion, glaciers, packing list, etc. If you can work it into your budget and timeframe, I would recommend a one way either northbound or southbound. If not, try for a RT from Vancouver....you will have better options for glaciers. Seattle is the easiest to sail from. Check out my blog.....http://www.zest4travel.wordpress.com. You might find some helpful information. Enjoy your planning!

Alaska is our favorite destination....11th cruise is coming up this Friday. I have lots of posts about Alaska on my blog...http://www.zest4travel.wordpress.com Maybe you can find some information in there that will help you with your decision. Alaska is amazing...we haven't had a bad trip yet. I even have a pros/cons post on the different glaciers.

You might get a few ideas here: https://zest4travel.wordpress.com/2017/02/04/exploring-skagway/

You might get a few ideas from the following post: https://zest4travel.wordpress.com/2017/07/24/must-have-souvenirs/ There are several ideas for Alaska.

My favorite store for souvenirs is in Skagway and Juneau. Alaska t-shirt company. I tend to prefer the one in Skagway...seems more open. It is at the end of the main street closest to the harbour, right across the street from the train engine. Ulus are fun, but I have not used mine since I got home. Have used the dish towels, oven mitts, socks and salad claws so much more!

In our 10 Alaska cruises, I have never been to a port and not had tour operators offering excursions on the dock. You will have plenty of options available to choose from. These tour operators are all licensed, so you do not need to worry about being scammed. Enjoy your cruise!

Why not do both and experience both types of whales? Orcas are amazing and so are humpbacks.

I am so sorry for the misinformation. It was Homewood Suites Convention Center. We debated between the two, and confused he names. That said, we did go past the Garden Inn while there, and it was not as convenient as the Homewood Suites. My apologies.

Thanks for the update....was confused also! We have booked the Homewood Suites Downtown for August. Was trying to decided between the Hilton Garden Inn and the Homewood Suites. Both look very nice, but decided to go with Homewood, as it is closer to the port. The Homewood Suites at the Convention Center looks very nice also.

Just of the Solstice - Seattle

 

Just sailed the Solstice from 30 June to 7 July and here are a few remarks:

 

We arrived in Seattle on the Tuesday before and stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Convention Center. We had Hilton points and that made it a good deal. Nice hotel. The free breakfast/free cocktail hour area was well appointed. One caveat it only has one working elevator and the waits can be long, especially on Friday morning when everyone was checking out with lots and lots of luggage. Hopefully it will be fixed soon.

 

The location was great. We walked down Pike Street straight to the market. The hotel isn’t too, too close but it was a very doable 10 block walk (15 min) on one of the lesser steep streets.

 

The next morning, we walked to the Space Needle to take advantage of the early bird admission ($19 vs $27). It is a good 25 minute walk, mostly but not always downhill. After the needle, we walked through Belltown to Steinbruck Park to meet our downtown walking guide. We had some time to spare so we grabbed an egg sandwich at “Rub with Love Shack”. It was the best egg sandwich ever.

 

The free “Seattle 101” downtown walking tour was unbelievably great – (http://www.seattlefreewalkingtours.org). Jake was a great guide. He was informative and engaging. He knew his stuff, and for the price of a tip (and it should be a good one) it was a great bargain. At the end of it we immediately signed up for“The Market Experience” walking tour of Pike’s Market. We got up front at some of the busier stalls (think flying fish) and were offered samples at other stalls. I can’t say enough.

 

The next day we took an Uber to the Museum of Flight. The museum is big and needs a lot of time. We have been to many flight museums and this one really rated up there. But, it is out of the city limits.

 

We used Uber again to get to the pier on Friday. The pick-up was easy, but the drop off was a monster. The Port Authority limits how many vehicles can enter at one time. Taxis definitely had a priority entry here. For a few more bucks we could have avoided the delay.

 

To any one staying at the Hilton Garden Inn Convention Center, there is a good tapas restaurant catty-corner from the hotel. It is called Tango. A good take out place is called Homegrown. It is a block past Tango…turn left at the big Starbucks. I should mention that there are at least 5 highly rated (TripAdvisor) restaurant within walking distance of the hotel. Also, if you want a bottle of wine for the room, there is a convenience store right by the hotel. If you want anything harder you have to walk a few blocks.

 

If you have any specific question…Ask me.

Curious to know if you actually stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown or the Homewood Suites Convention Center? Hilton Garden does not provide a free breakfast/free cocktail hour and is not listed as Convention Center. Homewood Suites DOES offer these amenities and is listed as located at the Convention Center. Just looking for clarification.

There has been a resident humpback whale at Icy Strait Point the last year or so. He/she likes to hang out near the ship dock. Many people said that they had a better whale watching experience right by the ship than they did on an excursion! That being said, Juneau is a great place for an excursion. There are several different options available there. The further south you go, the more unlikely you are to see them....that's from our experience of 10 Alaska cruises. For seaplane tours, I would suggest Ketchikan. The Misty Fjords are amazing. In my travel blog...http://www.zest4travel.wordpress.com....I have several articles about the Alaska ports and glaciers. I also have a packing list I have developed over the years. Enjoy your Alaska cruise....it is amazing.

Just curious- I have never seen a C1 guarantee. Do these exist?

If you are looking at an XC then you are guaranteeing a minimum of C3.

 

 

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Oddly enough, I have seen this. Attempted to book a C1 category cabin (even though XC was available at a lower price) and the only option was a GTY...no cabins listed. And the GTY was at the higher C1 price. Figured, what the heck...if I'm paying for a GTY, why not just pay the lower price?

Alaska is our favorite destination....been 10 times with our 11th coming August 4th. I have a travel blog...http://www.zest4travel.wordpress.com and have several posts about the different ports, glaciers and a packing list. Maybe you can find some useful information there. Hope you have an amazing cruise! :ship:

Many TA's book blocks of cabins and then release then at final payment, when they can't sell them. Celebrity then needs to fill those cabins, so they offer them at reduced rates and also provide GTY. We have book using GTY our last few cruises and have been pretty lucky. We have been able to move our assigned cabin to a location we prefer also....Captain's Club personnel have been very helpful. We generally book Concierge Class and have been assigned cabins within that class.

I have never seen Celebrity offer a discount for single cruisers. When the Edge is launched, there will be single cabins available for the first time. Other than that, single cruisers pay full fare, but only one taxes/port fees. You also earn double Captain's Club points.

The beach was "empty". This is because its Great Bay beach and it is known to have pollution issues. It's not just ship folk that use beaches. For lot's of people living in the Phillipsburg area Great Bay beach is their nearest beach and the fact that it was "empty" on both of your recent visits speaks volumes.

When we first arrived, Great Bay Beach was packed. Later that evening...and the following day...the beach was empty. We were the only ship in port the next day. Water was lovely and so was the beach.

I can point out a few things from our overnight stay in St. Maarten in March 2017 on the Equinox.

 

1. The excursions to the French side by Celebrity were outrageously priced.

Even going to the French side on our own for dinner would have cost exorbitant amounts.

 

2. DW and I went with a couple in 1992 that rented a car and took a day tour of the island.

After that she was terrified to think of a night time ride on the hilly and twisty roads.

 

3. We decided instead to have dinner at the Holland House Hotel. Verdict? Don't. They messed up our order twice. They did not even serve my order the first time. DW had to send her order back, it was not hot at all and the service took forever (over 90 minutes). Going here to have a few drinks and enjoy the view would work but dinner never again.

 

4. Most of the stores and restaurants in Phillipsburg close at 5 P.M.

 

5. We got a taxi back to the ship. On the way the taxi driver asked if he could pick up another couple. A middle aged couple have to be helped out of the restaurant they are in and into the taxi. They are so drunk that when they get onto the taxi the woman gets in the front seat, slumps over and promptly hits her head against the dashboard with a resounding crack.

We get near the dock and one of the golf carts comes out and loads the couple on. They put the woman on the back facing backwards. How she did not fall out I'll never know.

 

I have no idea how they even walked up the gang plank. It was a totally embarassing display for us and them.

 

Luckily we got back for our late dinner seating and were able to get something to eat.

 

On the positive side it was interesting being around the dock area at night with hardly any one else around as all the other ships had left. It was also good that when we headed to the beach the next morning we got a really early start to the day.

 

We had looked forward to our overnight and were sorely disappointed.

 

Maybe other people can report successful options.

 

Enjoy your cruising days.

Wow....sounds like that was an adventure! The Holland House Hotel has been completely refurbished and appears to be under new management. With any luck, the service has improved!

Yes....the town closes down pretty early. Don't think they are used to ships being there overnight. :) Still...it was nice to get out and walk around without tons of other tourists.

Yes...transportation to the French side is expensive, but if you are only going to be there once, you should make the effort. We tend to avoid ship excursions, as we find doing it on our own is much cheaper and we can set our own timeline....of course paying attention to All Aboard time!

Hope you enjoy your future travels. We are cruising to Alaska again next and are planning to sail from Southampton in October! Happy cruising!