Northern Aurora

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.

An opinion from someone who flies in, out and through SEATAC frequently — save yourself some stress and book the 3pm flight. Flights before 11:30 are generally not recommended.

We were on the same three cruises with @emmas gran. We were also in the same sunset sky suite for all three legs. We were totally underwhelmed by the “enhanced” butler team experience. We have four more B2B pairs booked (8 reservation numbers), all booked in either Sky or celebrity suites. Doubt we will take all of those cruises. We are Zenith members of the loyalty program and for the first time in how many years left the ship without booking a future cruise. It was that bad.

We also stayed at the property prior to its purchase by Major Marine. After the purchase by Major Marine the breakfast room was modified to expand the seating area. And one of the meeting rooms has been modified and is now the check-ln area for the Major Marine excursions. So you check in for your Major Marine tour, finish your breakfast, drop by the hotel room to brush your teeth before heading out for your day trip.

We left the Celebrity Edge on December 9th. We generally take a taxi to the airport Rydges hotel where we stay before we fly out the next day. This time we had a significant amount of non refundable OBC. So we booked the Celebrity airport shuttle (using some of that NOBC) to the international terminal and walked across the street to the Rydges.

I also recommend the Harbor 360. They offer some packages which include lodging and a Kenai Fjords excursion, are very attractive. Major Marine, which owns the Harbor 360, is my preferred Kenai Fjords vendor. The small boat experience is so different than the cruise ship experience.

I have already offered my response and opinions in the each survey for the first two legs of the trip. And I have spoken to onboard staff too.

We let the Edge yesterday and the same wine was delivered to our suite the night before. It was from the hotel director. Have no ides why.

Like @emmas gran we also left the Edge in Sydney yesterday after boarding her in Rome on October 30. Again, all three legs were in the same Sunset Sky Suite. Our experience mirrored that of @emmas gran. We have four future B2B pairs booked — all in Sky Suites. Once we reach home we will decide how or whether to take those trips. We normally book future cruises while on board. Did not do so this cruise.

We were actually on the Solstice in Australian waters when the pandemic was starting and cruise ships ceased passenger operations. That was the last cruise in which I remember receiving the seapass card during pier checkin. The first time I remember picking up our seapass cards from the stateroom mail slot was the first cruise we did after the resumption of passenger operations.

Since the resumption of cruises embarking passengers now pick up their seapass cards from the mail slot outside their stateroom door. Folks are welcome to put valuables in their safe and drop off their carryon bags. If the stateroom attendants have not finished their preparations there will be a sign on the door stating “perfection in progress.”

Jim: Since we boarded in Rome, prior to Australia, we have had only one other tender port. The magic carpet was used at that tender port (Phuket). Unless the spouse and I have become utter dingbats during the last three weeks,we both remember using it. Again, we were told that it was damaged by one of the large private tenders in York’s Knob. Gerry

Goggle Salmon Tours and Travel. Highly rated.

Inquiring minds want to know — when you tendered back to the ship did you use the Magic Carpet? It was damaged by one of the private tenders and is now parked. Rumors are that it may be out of service for a while. Gerry

Island Wings was a guess as our OP did not mention the port. Always helpful for posters to mention the port.

Are you referring to Michele of Island Wings?

The Sushi on 5 menu has been posted a number of times so should be easy to find. It is the same on all the ships. And they do take reservations. On some sailings they can be quite busy and folks need reservations.