Northern Aurora

Life has been crazy busy the last few days so I am late to this discussion, but just a few random comments. We haven't and won't go down to Denali until the Pretty Rocks road issue is solved. My favorite parts of the DNP are past Pretty Rocks. Areas such as the Polychrome Overlook, Toklat River rest stop, Stony Hill overlook and Eielson Visitor's Center. Just love those wide vistas at Polychrome, frequently see bears at Toklat and enjoy the programs at Eielson Visitor's Center which are very different than the visitor center near the park entrance. But if you go to Denali and have a rental car another possible place to stay is the Tonglen Lake Lodge. Also in Seward, since apparently your wife is a retired military family member, check if you are eligible to stay at the Seward Military Resort. Once we have stayed at the Edgewater in Seward. I prefer the Harbor 360 as the Edgewater room that we were in seemed overly crowded with furniture. But it does indeed have a guest laundry (or did when we were there pre-pandemic). Guest parking was an issue but if you don't have a rental vehicle that will not be a consideration.

There are no "loaner irons" for passengers. Most of us wear easy to travel clothing (ie, wrinkle resistant) and don't worry about any wrinkles. We are all in the same boat so to speak, and few people care about seeing wrinkled clothing on their fellow passengers.

When driving home from either Homer or Seward we almost always end up staying at the Princess McKinley View Lodge. Not my favorite place but it is the logical place to stop on the drive. I don't know what type of "exploring the property" they are going to do. The property is composed of a number of mostly two level lodges with guest rooms. If Denali is visible the view from the bar deck is lovely. The front desk has had board games available to check out in the past. Some folks find it to be a good place to do laundry. For timing purposes, assuming there is no road construction, the drive between the McKinley View Princess and Talkeetna should take a little less than an hour. Sometimes there is an info sheet in the guest rooms regarding shuttle scheduling.

We also have done such an excursion, but not with Princess and not at Hubbard. To our OP -- these excursions are booked directly with the cruise line. Folks essentially tender off the cruise ship onto the small vessel which can approach the glacier front much closer than the cruise ship. In our case the small vessel took a different route to Juneau than the cruise ship. The the excursion vessel approached the cruise ship as it was finishing the docking procedure in Juneau. These excursions sell out very quickly.

Just a quick comment regarding pillows -- the stateroom attendants have access to all kinds of pillows. Soft pillows, firm pillows, isotonic pillows and so forth. If you don't find the pillows in your stateroom to your liking just ask for something else. Let them fix the problem. The cruise line wants to you sleep comfortably.

If you don't make the final payment on the day it is due I suspect the cruise will be cancelled, but please update us regarding what happened.

Every Celebrity ship we have been on does indeed have an ATM or two. Don't use them. The fees are high/exorbitant. We have never used one on a ship. In all fairness to Celebrity they are not in the business to provide currency.

Juneau has a number of options which don't include purchasing an excursion from the cruise line. Options would include renting a vehicle for the day to visit Mendenhall on your own; could also drive to the Shrine of St. Terese, Douglas Island, visit the fish hatchery, Alaskan Brewing Company brewery and so forth. The Alaska State Museum is within walking distance of the downtown piers and is a good option in case Juneau is experiencing a deluge of "liquid sunshine" while you are there. No need to pre-purchase tickets to the Mt. Roberts tramway. While it may appear to have a long line the lines move quickly. Views from the top are lovely, but don't consider if the weather is cloudy. Hanger on the Wharf is a nice option for a meal. Our best whale watching experience has been out of Icy Strait Point.

Use goggle to find the JuneauConvention and Visitor's Bureau. In the past it has had a list of local taxi companies

Thank you so much for posting. Are these wines priced $17 and under?

We have traveled with friends with both couples in Aqua staterooms. The wife of our friends requires gluten free meals. Our experience was that at the end of dinner a waiter would drop by with the menu for the next night. The waiter went through the menu and she pre-ordered for the next night so a gluten free option could be prepared.

I have copied and pasted an excerpt from a very long review posted by @Ski Mom from the Disabled Cruiser forum. Outlines some of the issues she had. Hello just returned from a fabulous 8 night River cruise with ACL on the American Song July 8th through July 16th. A little about us. We are in our early sixties and I have MS. I walk with a cane and travel with a transport wheelchair. I usually rent a scooter for larger ships but didn’t for this trip and I will explain later. We didn’t know what to expect when we booked with ACL because I honestly was not familiar with them. ....... Although the staff was willing to always help out I do think ACL needs to improve the overall accessibility in their staterooms and the disembarkation process on both shore excursions and the first and last day. I had done some research on line before the cruise and saw that the hallways and elevators were small and narrow and a scooter would have a hard time getting through especially when there are carts in the hallway from housekeeping staff who by the way were awesome and always seemed to be working and available if need be. The ramps to leave the ship for excursions were quite narrow steep and bumpy and I don’t think you would be able to use a scooter on them. That is the one thing that Princess and Celebrity have ACL beat hands down because I’ve been on both of them and never had a problem using my scooter.The ramps going ashore would definitely not accommodate a travel scooter and the shower in my accessible stateroom had a six inch lip that if I was traveling alone I would have not been able to use. I took pictures of the bathroom to show others so they are prepared. The balcony also required a step. All and all it was a wonderful cruise and I would definitely recommend them but I think at this point it would be a bit hard on a wheelchair traveler to do on their own. .......

She will be fine with dress sandals. Actually, I wonder if anyone has been denied seating in Luminae while wearing flip flops. Any personal experience out there?

I've given you one restaurant recommendation for Ketchikan. In Juneau consider Hanger on the Wharf. Very casual but good food. And while this opinion is unpopular on the Alaska Cruise Critic forum I think that Tracey's Crab Shack in Juneau is very overpriced and over rated for what it is. And I am curious as to how they (Tracey's) are "dancing around" the Alaska king crab issue.

@doghog: I have never seen either Alaska king crab nor Alaska dungeness on any of the Alaska itineraries we have taken. In Alaska the king crab fishery is experiencing severe problems with declining populations. While I don't closely follow Alaska commercial fishing issues it is my understanding that speculation is that sea water temperature is heating. Populations are declining. In the restaurants on land the king crab sold is likely Russian sourced and basically what you can purchase at Costco. Ketchikan has a dungeness crab fishery. I personally love dungy -- might as well be honest -- I love all crab. In any event in Ketchikan our favorite restaurant is Annabelle's. When the dungy fishery is open they frequently have fresh locally caught dungeness as one of their daily specials. Annabelle's is downtown in the historic Gilmore Hotel so very easily accessible. The George Inlet Lodge is also an interesting place for dungy but is not downtown.

Even though we live in Alaska we have done 6 or 7 Alaska itineraries. This state is so large they give us an opportunity to visit a very different part of our state. We have done over 70 Celebrity cruises, and I think the dress is more relaxed on Alaska itineraries than general. There will be evening chic nights. While we had Alaskan sourced fish on one Celebrity Alaska itinerary it is rare. The salmon will be the same as on other Celebrity itineraries. With the late departures shops will not be open while in port. We don't bother with the casino so someone else will have to respond as to when the casino will be open. We were just on the Edge last fall. We boarded in Civitaveechia and left in Sydney. My impression of the ship is that it is not a great option for Alaska. While there is one Alaska Edge itinerary which is Vancouver to Seattle the bulk of the Edge itineraries are RTs out of Seattle. Of the three options for Alaska (Vancouver to either Seward or Whittier one way and the reverse, RTs out of Vancouver, and RTs out of Seattle) I am of the opinion that the RTs out of Seattle are the weakest option.

We were on the Edge last fall for 40 nights in a Sunset Sky Suite. Two different "retreat hosts." No lip balm but nightly chocolates.

Thanks for the update. For those interested in booking the cruise line chartered train the train cars are boarded at the Seward cruise terminal (think warehouse) along the ship.

We have never rented a vehicle in Homer since we drive our own vehicles when visiting Homer. In Kodiak most of the car rental agencies have cars at the airport. However there is at least one agency which (at least in the past) has a deal with a downtown gift store where you can pick up a car and return it at the gift store too. They will have the car waiting for you when you walk downtown. We have rented from them but I don't remember the agency name. May be National. In Dutch Harbor/Unalaska the rental car agencies are located at the airport. If the cruise ship docks at the Alaska Marine Highway (Alaska state ferries) pier it is close to downtown. However, if the size of the cruise ship is such that they need to dock at one of the commercial fishing boat piers those piers are much farther out. PS: Just a comment from an Alaskan who has actually been to Dutch Harbor/Unalaska -- for visitors who want to talk like an Alaskan local residents hate it when the harbor is referred to as "Dutch." Very similar to the reaction of San Francisco residents when their community is referred to as "Frisco." May find yourself abruptly corrected.

B2B = back to back CS = Celebrity Suite CDC = Centers for Disease Control

The lumberjack show is not "more in downtown Ketchikan." It IS in downtown Ketchikan. Ward Cove is several miles out of downtown Ketchikan.

Celebrity S-class ships also have a very large sky lounge forward looking. Great amount of seating and views on multiple sides. That is where their naturalists set up when not conducting lectures. There are also other interior venues

Given the mobility issues our OP's husband is experiencing they need to be very aware of the ship itself. Some of the small vessels, such as UnCruise, American Cruise Lines or Lindblad are not the most friendly to those with mobility issues. For example, in the UnCruise fleet only the Wilderness Legacy has an elevator for guests and even then stairs are necessary to get to the top deck. And I am trying to remember if any of the Alaska ferries in the Alaska Marine Highway system have elevators for guest use. For the best option regarding scenery our OP needs to consider a cruise out of Vancouver. There are nice round trip options out of Vancouver. The one-way trips are between Vancouver or either Seward or Whittier (Alaska). While the RTs out of Seattle might initially be appealing our OP needs be aware that portions of the first and last day in and out of Seattle are sea views. Also try to find a ship which has a forward observation lounge.

There are also motor coach transfers. The cruise line will likely offer a motor coach transfer but there are also private companies which offer them too. Depending on the size of your party check the website for Salmon Berry Travel and Tours; their option includes a tour with stops at Exit Glacier, the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and Girdwood before drop off at either the Anchorage Airport or your hotel. Other companies offer a direct drive to Anchorage.

Yes, the mimosas and bloody mary's are free of charge at the Elite and above coffeehouse style breakfast. As are lattes and so forth. The breakfast is 8 to 10 AM. Depending on the number of Elite and above on the ship the Captain's Club host/hostess and possibly more of the CC team will be there so it is a good venue if you have a question for the host/hostess.