Northern Aurora

We have sailed through the Drake Passage three times. Twice on a M-class ship and once on an S-class (actually -- the Eclipse). All times it was the "Drake Lake" -- smooth as could be.

I am late to the discussion, but just some random comments from someone who actually lives in Alaska. Despite the fact that we live here we have done at least 7 Alaska cruise itineraries as they give us an excuse to visit a very different part of our very large state. First, the best itineraries are those north or southbound 7 nights from Vancouver to either Seward (which is the port Celebrity uses) or Whittier. This can be combined with a land trip. We also have done them as a B2B. The next best option, in my opinion, are the round trips out of Vancouver. The worst, again in my opinion, are the roundtrips out of Seattle; simply too much time is spent in open water reaching the scenic areas. Alaska cruises, no matter what cruise line, attract multi-generational families. You will see grandparents, adult children and the grandkids on these cruises. Even if just parents and kids there will be a great number of families and kids on board. For more information on Alaska cruises visit the Alaska Cruise Critic forum. And again, my opinion from someone who boarded the Edge in Civitaveechia on October 30 and left her in Sydney, Australia on December 9th, this ship is a poor choice for Alaska. I had several discussions about this with staff while on board when they would say something like "you know we are headed to Alaska." The ship is very inward facing. If you are not in the Retreat there are no forward viewing lounges similar to the Sky Lounges on the S-class ships. Celebrity has (at least in the past) naturalists on board on Alaska itineraries. They do presentations in the theater, but also set up in the Sky Lounge during the day looking for whales and other wildlife, chatting folks, and so forth. I don't know where they can set up during the day on the Edge which would offer that sense of discovery as the ship approaches a pod of whales.

No one in first class needs "settle" for less than their first choice. Use the Alaska Airlines app and pre-order your selection. Meals can also be pre-ordered on their website, although we use the app. And lately we have been offered three choices for evening meals.

Well -- I've been in SE Alaska in October a number of times. For years I attended the Museums Alaska/Alaska Historical Society annual meetings (the two groups meet jointly as so many folks attend both). Don't get too excited about those fall colors. The bulk of the forest in SE (or at least in the Tongass) is sitka spruce, western hemlock and red cedar. But I will acknowledge that when the pelting rain moves from vertical to horizontal the green of the sitka spruce makes it easy to see what has happened. In the Interior we have lovely fall colors above tree line as the lichens and ground shrubs change colors. And more folks now have been planting Amur Maples in their yards. They are not native but the Georgeson Botanical Garden brought them into Fairbanks in the 1980s and local nurseries sell them. They do change colors, as do our birch and aspen trees.

During the dungeness season check Annabelle's (downtown in the Gilmore Hotel) for their specials.

It was last summer.

We also had snow on the upper decks when in Antartica. The crew built a penguin snowman. Layers are the key. Our outer layer was water proof (not water resistant). Other layers included fleece jacket and fleece vest. Water proof footwear.

While we are not great fans of the Martini Bar on the Edge this fall (remember -- we boarded with you on October 30th and left in Sydney on December 9th so overlapped with you for two of our B2B2B cruises) bar snack mix was served to us (without asking) in the Martini Bar. Nice mix of sesame threads, and so forth. Very similar to the photo in post #2. Served in a tall narrow neck container.

@Georgia_Peaches: I will be surprised if Alaska Airlines doesn't have any sort of counter presence at ATL. And I hope you are aware that don't just fly along the west coast. We use them to fly to Boston, Newark and Florida. Check their flight map. I may be wrong, but believe they are the fifth largest US airline.

We fly Alaska frequently and we do so in first class. It is very reliable. And we use their easy-to-use kiosks for boarding passes and luggage tags with no problems. No issues with luggage delays. They are presently in talks to purchase Hawaiian Air. And double check that statement that "they don't have an actual ticket counter with live humans either." While there may not be a ticket counter manned all day, generally when flying Alaska from a destination which offers limited service they open their ticket counter several hours prior to departure.

If you read this boards you will see this term often. SE Alaska means Southeast Alaska. When folks are on a cruise ship they are in SE Alaska.

Just a comment from someone who lives in Alaska and has traveled to SE Alaska on business -- there is a reason why those October cruises are so discounted. Expect rough seas and heavy rain. Some folks have reported that they were lucky with the weather -- but be forewarned if you decide to cruise SE Alaska in October.

We have boarded Celebrity ships in Buenos Aires twice. Both times suitcases were delivered to the cruise terminal porters. If you don't have Celebrity luggage tags on the bags the porters will have bags and tag them with your stateroom number. Your suitcases will be delivered to your stateroom. Once handed to the porters they will take care of them. You will not be responsible to hauling them onto the ship. Keep your passport, medicines, cruise documents and so forth in your carry-on bag. Buenos Aires is an industrial port so shuttles are used to transport passengers through the stacks of cargo containers to the cruise ship. You will only have your carry-on bags with you. Your suitcases are handled by the porters.

Is Temsco still operating in Juneau?

The RTs out of Seattle are generally very poor itineraries. Just spend too many hours reaching Alaska. The RTs out of Vancouver are superior to those out of Seattle, and the one ways between Vancouver and either Seward or Whittier are the best in my opinion. Don't want to be nosy, but unless you or a member of your party have a legal issue, such as a DUI which would make it difficult to enter Canada, Canadian Immigration is very easy. In addition to flying into Vancouver there are companies who offer motor coach transfers to the cruise terminal in Vancouver. And there is also Amtrak. And don't discount spending some time in Vancouver. Great city.

Check that NCL itinerary closely. NCL has been using Ward Cove (versus downtown) in Ketchikan. Ward Cove is several miles outside of Ketchikan and a shuttle is used to transport folks to the downtown area. If you want to do something in the Ketchikan downtown area that shuttle will eat a significant amount of time.

We left the Edge earlier this month. While having dinner in Raw on 5 the magic carpet moved by our window table. Fun to watch it slowly move up the side of the ship. And as already mentioned, no one was on it -- no passengers and no crew.

It has been years since we did a Suite GTY. But both times we were assigned a Sky Suite within days of booking. Not even a week before we were assigned a suite.

Elite and Elite+ are Captain's Club loyalty levels. Amethyst is a Blue Chip casino level.

We have done the Taj dinner six or seven times. We just completed a series of three cruises on the Edge, where it wasn't offered, but was offered last March and April on a series of four cruises on the Eclipse. We have never seen it offered at noon, nor has it ever been offered on embarkation day. They need time to sell it and our experience is that it will sell out. Frequently the maitre 'ds know about it. Each time we have done it the food was excellent. Served family style and many dishes to sample.

August 2024 on the Solstice -- is this an Alaska itinerary RT out of Vancouver? The Alaska itineraries always attract families including multi-generation families. There will be a number of other kids onboard and the popular Fun Factory will be busy.

Alaska is very easy to do a land tour on your own. Just book a cruise, and then spend some time on land customizing your trip to your own interests. In my opinion, as someone who lives in Alaska, you will not only have a more interesting experience if you DIY on land but will most likely save a bundle on costs too.

Just use goggle to find the Port of Seattle cruise ship schedule to determine which dock your ship will be using. That information may determine your hotel selection, but since taxis/uber are so reasonable in Seattle it may not be a factor. And even though the Marriott Waterfront is directly across from Pier 66 (Bell Street) they offer shuttle service to Pier 91 (Smith Cove) for a very reasonable fee.

There has been a modified welcome aboard sparkling beverage on at least some ships. In the Cafe al Bacio look for a tray of flutes with bubbly on the counter. I've seen four or five flutes. Folks are welcome to pick up a glass. Really isn't obvious unless you look for it.

No -- you do not need to book reservations for the nightly shows in the theatre. There is no mechanism in place to do so even if you wanted to. There is enough seating that you shouldn't have any issues with seats. Just be aware that on evening chic nights that there will be a reserved section for those passengers booked in suites and also Zenith members of the loyalty program.