Northern Aurora

As a general answer to this question, at ANY port it is so easy to "goggle" the port cruise ship terminal cruise ship schedule. But, yes, Celebrity uses Pier 91 (Smith Cove) for embarkation and disembarkation. Celebrity uses Seattle's Pier 66 (Bell Street) only for the periodic port calls.

I am curious if our OP is asking whether they should take a cruise line sponsored land tour or DIY?

Both the McKinley Chalets and the Denali Princess are very comparable. Both are decorated in "north country lodge" decor with lots of photos/prints of Denali itself, moose, bears and so forth. I find that both feel rather sterile. They are also very similar in that the bulk of the rooms are in two story individual lodges (generally no elevator) spread out through the property. Both over look the Nenana River. Restaurant quality is generally very similar with multiple options. Both are only open during the summer and are designed to be closed during the winter (ie, water systems are drained). We have stayed in two room hotel rooms at the Chalets but only one room hotel rooms at the Princess Denali. Both are located across from the "glitter gulch" development on the other side of the George Parks Hwy. It is very easy and quick to walk from the Chalets to the Princess. The front desks of each property is similar with possibly more seating at the Princess. Both are similar in age. They are very similar in quality. I would not characterize one as being more "Alaskan" than the other. I don't have a preference for one over the other. The Chalets were not purchased from the NPS. The former owner is Aramark, which is a NPS concessionaire. The McKinley View Princess is essentially the same.

Hopefully roupa has made a decision. But just can case they have not I will offer a few more comments. We have never stayed at Beluga Lake Lodge. The Lands End Resort has nice hotel rooms and a lovely restaurant; it is located at the end of the famous "spit." The condos, which are referred to as their "lodges" are individually owned condos managed by Land's End Resort when the owners are not occupying their unit. The condos are right beside the resort and are also on the beach.

Somehow I am confused about the question. I have read the entire thread, and which hotels are you asking as being the most "Alaskan?" And which hotels are closer to what? We have stayed at the McKinley View Princess, Denali Princess and McKinley Chalets. Let me know and I can offer opinions.

The distance between Skagway and the Canadian border crossing is about seven miles. If your passports don't arrive in time and your goal was to drive to Emerald Lake the answer is, for most of us, rather clear.

The company which, as I admit don't remember the name, did not operate actually within the confines of DNP. They did walks/hikes outside of the actual park borders. The one really detailed description I remember reading was along a stream south of the DNP entrance.

We spent six weeks on the Eclipse from March into April. We met with two different future cruise sales persons. Since a full Panama Canal crossing is one of my husbands' favorite itineraries (we have done six full transits) we asked about a full transit in 2025. I have looked at my notes. The answers were vague, but they tried to sell us a partial transit.

@nodumblond: Have you been in contact with the Denali area visitor's bureau/Chamber of Commerce. I know they have one. There was, at least pre-covid, someone in the Denali area who did private walking tours/simple hikes for visitors. I have no idea of the name, but when trip reports were posted (in a thread sorted by year at the top of this index page) at least one trip report from several years ago mentioned taking one. There also is at least one of the BnBs or a small lodge (not associated with a cruise line) which has rented used vehicles in the past. Is that the local rental car company you have mentioned? My memory is that they are located in Healy.

Since our OP is only at Denali for what they describe as half a day I also wonder what their options are. They may not have time to rent a vehicle and drive into the park. Is the Jeep tour a HAL excursion?

The Eclipse is large enough in terms of passenger capacity that if you don't have tender priority due to Captain's Club loyalty level or are not in a Suite then folks will want to get tender ticket as soon as possible. While we have tender priority due to CC club status there were some long lines on the Eclipse when we were on from March 10 to April 19. And there are some tender ports which are easier for the crew than others, such as those with shorter distances to shore.

@newbie202020 connecting door system. Hopefully someone will post a photo as a photo is definitely worth a thousand words in this case.

My experience was pre-covid, but Luminae has 14 individual menus. We were on a 17 night (if my memory is correct) and so had three repeats. My memory is that when we boarded the Luminae maitre'd could tell us the repeats.

We have never purchased a "cruise package" when staying at the Pan Pacific and have always been offered the luggage pickup from the hotel room for delivery to the ship porters. As mentioned by @Ferry_Watcher there is a strong "suggestion" that a tip is suggested/expected.

I am not @wolfie11 but do live in Alaska. Tatsuda's IGA store was heavily damaged from a rock slide in February 2020. The damage was extensive and I believe they are permanently closed. We have been to Ketchikan a number of times, with the most recent visits in 2022 (we were there twice). The shop @CynCyn is describing is not "ringing any bells" for me.

In April 2022 our luggage was picked up from our Pan Pacific hotel room and transported to the ship porters. Hopefully someone with more recent experience can comment.

We boarded the Eclipse on March 10th and left on April 19th. We were on for a series of four legs. We couldn't book the same suite for all four legs so had a Celebrity Suite for one and the same Sky Suite for the remaining three legs. We had two different stateroom attendants, and three butlers. Both suites were in good condition with what was clearly some new soft goods. No flaking paint on the balconies, and both Suite had sheer curtains. Both stateroom attendants were excellent. All three butlers were also excellent. The meals and service in Luminae was again excellent. While some of the decor is looking dated the ship was clean. My one "beef" is that one of the sinks in the woman's mid-ship restroom on deck 5 was inoperable the entire time we were on the ship. Given the importance of hand washing I found that rather curious. But I also would not hesitate to book the Eclipse and indeed we are booked again for a month in 2024.

As someone who lives in Alaska I also am interested in this "Alaska Destination Pocket Guide." Somehow I really wonder if it is worth the $32 price. Hope someone who purchased one posts.

@bjworm: The production showtimes are very standard across the Celebrity fleet.

We have done this excursion off of the Celebrity Solstice in June 2022. An Allen Marine vessel picked us up from the Solstice about 7 AM. Essentially it was a tender operation but we didn't use the Solstice tenders. The two level Allen Marine vessel was able to sail much closer to the glacier than the Solstice could. We had an excellent naturalist on board who knew when to talk, and also when to be quiet and let folks take in the scenery and experience. We took a different route back to Juneau than the Solstice, diverting into Fords' Terror (google it). The Solstice was just completing their docking procedures in Juneau as the Allen Marine vessel approached the Solstice and we walked from the Allan Marine vessel onto the Solstice. We were directly reunited with the Solstice. It will be a long day, but you will be able to schedule another excursion/activity.

Just a comment from someone who lives in Alaska -- I have never seen a set of nesting dolls which were made in Alaska. The ones I have seen have been imported from Russia.

Actually I was left with the impression from your post #3 that you are opposed to taking a fee based shuttle into Valdez. Your complaint needs to be made directly to your cruise line. Believe me -- as someone who lives in Alaska -- the "powers that be" in Valdez will not be quaking in their boots because a NCL cruiser says they will not take the shuttle into Valdez but remain on the ship. Valdez has a number of solid non cruise ship based jobs and the "powers that be" are not interested in folks who will leave the ship to purchase made overseas shot glasses.

We use our Zenith laundry perk every two or three days. We've always had blouses, shirts and pants returned on hangers. And we've never made a specific request to have them returned on hangers. Possibly just lucky?

This is SO true. There is no way anyone who understands risk management could ever allow folks to simply walk through an industrial port where oil tankers being bing loaded. And for those who are not residents of Alaska please understand that folks who worry about such things view the Alaska pipeline as a potential terrorist target.

We have both embarked and disembarked in Seward. We are also Zenith members of Celebrity's Captain's Club program so have done numerous B2B turnaround days. Celebrity's turnaround day procedures ensure that it is very easy for B2B passengers to spend the day off the ship. I suspect they prefer that B2B passengers are off the ship. You will be free to leave the ship for the day. You will be issued a transit pass before you leave the ship which will allow you to bypass the usual boarding lines (although Celebrity now has such a streamlined boarding process that lines are minimal). Celebrity frequently has meetings for B2B passengers, but there may be so few B2B passengers for this cruise they may not. But you will receive a detailed instruction letter. You will be able to leave as soon as disembarking passengers are free to do so. Many will be leaving at 7 AM-ish. You will indeed have sufficient time in port to explore. Seward is a popular port for the staff and crew as the bulk of the passengers will be off early morning and the ship doesn't leave until early evening. So the staff and crew have hours off. You will find them shopping at the local Safeway for snacks and sundry items. The Seward cruise terminal (think "warehouse") is located beside the small boat harbor. The town is located on the other side of the small boat harbor. Seward is a community where Alaskans go for instate recreation, and has a much more "authentic Alaska" feeling to it than some of the cruise ship ports in SE Alaska. No Diamonds International, and the folks you encounter in the shops generally live in the community. If you are interested in a Kenai Fjords boat excursion our favorite vendor is Major Marine. Their check in desk is located in the Harbor 360 Hotel which you will see from the ship across the small boat harbor. Other options for the day would include the SeaLife Center or a visit to Exit Glacier. Seward also has interesting shops and nice restaurants.