Northern Aurora

@Mark_T's experience is interesting. When the shoreside concierge called and e-mailed several days ago the e-mail encouraged us to arrive early since we are in the Retreat (and are also Zeniths). In 2016 we did a turnaround day in Sydney (one of several). At that point the cruise terminal staff were strict on boarding times/process. Passengers who had arrived early were standing around with their luggage. Apparently the luggage couldn't even be dropped off. We had our transit passes so re-boarded at our leisure.

We are also on the March 15th cruise. We will actually board on March 10 for the first leg of a B2B2B2B. We were both called and e-mailed several days ago by a shoreside concierge. On the March 10th cruise we have a boarding time of 1 PM. Boarding will end at 5 PM. According to the e-mail the port authorities are requiring Celebrity to have scheduled check-in times. Since we are in a Suite and are also Zenith level Captain's Club members we have been told we can arrive early. I expect that boarding for the March 10th cruise will be the same as March 15th. We have disembarked from Sydney, embarked in Sydney and have experienced several turnaround days in Sydney. My impression is that it is one of the more regulated ports and that cruise terminal employees take boarding times seriously.

As I understand @loveturtles plans I can only state that I would have never suggested such a plan. I, as does @AKStafford, live in Alaska. I try to read the CC Alaska forum on a regular basis, but of course, have a life and travel frequently. If the proposed plan was suggested in prior posts, and I missed the post. As I read and understand the plan I am really sorry. And I mean really sorry. Hopefully I am misunderstanding the plan Another idea to salvage this plan, since apparently changing air fare has been dismissed, would be to pick up the rental car in Fairbanks (as apparently has been booked and I read the post change is not flexible), drive to southcentral on the George Parks Highway Alaska making some stops, visit Seward, drive across the Glenn Highway to Glennallen, possibly detouring south to Valdez, possibly visiting the Wrangell -- St. Elias National Park and Preserve and then driving north toward Fairbanks. This would mean driving in essentially a triangular route. But the OP states that they are not "hikers" so don't know what their activity level is of interest. The drive from Fairbanks to Anchorage, assuming no stops for road maintenance or brush clearing, and few stops for tourist activities, takes between 6 and 7 hours. The drive from Fairbanks to Healy takes about two hours and 15 minutes. When we drive from our home in Fairbanks to Seward we generally stop at the Princess Mt. McKinley View Lodge (at which I have had a number of problems through the years). The other comment I want to make is that Alaska communities have visitor and convention bureau websites. In the small communities they are generally operated in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce. Use google to find those websites.

Reading this I am a little confused. Are you flying into Fairbanks and then driving to Anchorage? And then back-tracking driving back north to Fairbanks. I would suggest flying into Anchorage and starting your 11 day pre-cruise there. Drive down to Seward and spend two or more nights there, then over to Homer. Around Anchorage consider time spent at Matanuska Glacier. After spending time in south-central Alaska either do a one-way vehicle drop off driving north to Fairbanks, or return the rental car in Anchorage and fly to Fairbanks. Alaska Airlines has multiple flights each day between Fairbanks and Anchorage. It could be less expensive to fly. Regarding the Denali area there may not be much open around May 10th.

This is February 6th. Please don't assume that the information on the app is accurate for a July 8 sailing. Check closer to the sailing date.

While it has been several years it happened to us. The one time (and probably only time) we have driven to a cruise port was when we drove from our home in Fairbanks, Alaska to Seward, Alaska for an Alaska itinerary B2B. We never buy anything from a ship liquor store since we fly to ports. But since we were driving my husband bought two bottles of something ( don't remember what) on the first leg. Those two bottles were delivered prior to turnaround day. On the second leg he also bought two bottles of whatever (again I don't remember what). So we drove home with four bottles.

Have you considered contacting the Skagway visitor's bureau? Goggle them for their e-mail and phone number.

The Cape Fox Lodge certainly has road access so is accessible by foot, vehicles or taxi. But given how long the funicular has been closed I suspect it will not operate in the near future if ever again.

We were in Ketchikan twice in 2021 after the Alaska Tourism Recovery Act was passed and limited cruises were able to operate in Ketchikan. I asked two different locals and received two different answers. We were again in Ketchikan twice in 2022. Asked locals again and again received different answers. But a Cape Fox Lodge employee (the lodge owns the funicular) wasn't optimistic due to the high maintenance costs and corrosive air due to being in close proximity to salt water.

I also have been to SE Alaska in May and always pack a pair of shorts. In the Interior of Alaska, where I live, we are definitely in shorts in May. We did an Antarctica cruise in 2015. There was one guy who wore a heavy wool sweater and shorts every day -- even on the day when we had snow on the outer decks and the crew built a penguin snowman.

We spent fourteen nights on board the Solstice in June 2022 and then fifteen nights in September 2022. While that color scheme is certainly dated that ship is incredibly clean. Clearly some soft goods have been replaced. And the crew and staff were simply wonderful. The ship had a happy vibe to it.

There is a small discount for B2B cruises. It is not an OBC. There is a minimum length before it can be applied. We were once on a B2B2B2B and the third leg was a really short cruise (two nights if my memory is correct) and that "broke" the chain of B2B cruises. As already mentioned the cruises do not have to be booked at the same time but the discount should be applied before final payment. Sometimes travel agents have to be reminded.

We don't bother to print an Xpress pass for any additional legs. And we have always had to have our security photo taken again. At the B2B meetings we have had the documentation officer tell folks to stop at Guest Relations to confirm our credit card information but we don't bother unless Guest Relations asks that we do so.

Given the fact that we are retired and that air fare is generally the same or similar whether we are on a single cruise or B2B, we generally book at least a B2B. I have indeed booked B2Bs separately and a number of times added legs after the original booking date. Before final payment ensure that either your TA or Celebrity recognizes that you are on a B2B or B2B2B so that your B2B discount (not OBC) is applied to the legs. And if you are having to change staterooms (which is not difficult at all) and have a preferred stateroom you can ask that stateroom be waitlisted.

We did a pair of cruises on the Solstice in June and then another pair in September. On the four legs we were in three different staterooms. While the Solstice hasn't been "revolutionized" all three staterooms were in great condition with clearly some new soft goods (such as mattresses and curtains). Other areas of the ship had new sections of carpet and so forth, but the color scheme is dated. Since there are folks who absolutely hate the Kelly Happen color schemes and furniture selections the dated color scheme isn't a serious issue.

We were in Prince Rupert on a port call, but it was several years ago. Any time we are in a port which doesn't have either a Diamonds International or Tanzanite International store I find it refreshing. Definitely not as touristy. We visited the Museum of Northern British Columbia which was well curated, enjoyed a lovely lunch at a restaurant which overlooked the small boat harbor and visited an artists co-op (where our purchases were appreciated).

We dined in the Solstice Murano both in June and September. Each time it was excellent as usual. I don't recall any menu changes. It has been the same menu for a number of years.

For those not living here it is difficult to describe the severe labor shortage we are experiencing. The hospitality industry has been hard hit due to the J-1 VISA issues, but it extends across a number of labor sectors. Any occupation which requires special certification, whether it be in the health care industry, folks with Commercial Driver's Licenses, Coast Guard licenses and so forth, are particularly in short supply. I don't know how long it takes to learn to drive a train, but it wouldn't surprise me if the ARR can't staff some of their "special runs" such as charters. But it will be interesting if Celebrity does try to use motor coaches to move their passengers to Anchorage. The one (and most likely only time as that is a long drive) we drove to a cruise port we drove from our home in Fairbanks to Seward for a few days before boarding the Millennium for a B2B. We checked out of our hotel at 11 AM, dropped of the luggage at the cruise terminal, walked over to the long-term parking area and then boarded the ship. When we walked into Michael's Club at noon there was one a couple and their teenage daughter there. At Luminae for lunch it was five folks -- us and the couple with their daughter. The ship was virtually a ghost ship with some folks straggling on throughout the afternoon. Only until the chartered train arrived about 5 PM did the ship suddenly fill with passengers. The same experience when we were dining in Luminae on the last morning of that B2B. The ship was virtually a ghost ship as the bulk of the passengers seemed to be on that train. We heard the "last call" for the train and watched it depart. Luminae was very empty. While I don't know the percentage of passengers who used the chartered train it wouldn't surprise me if approximately half did so. That is going to be a number of motor coaches to fill when we have a severe shortage of folks with CDLs. I should also comment on Hertz. Unless something has changed recently one family owns all of the Hertz franchises in the entire state.

Interesting situation. For years the ARR has offered chartered service on ship days in Seward both from the Anchorage airport to Seward (arriving in Seward about 5 PM) and then a very early departure from the Seward cruise terminal directly to the Anchorage Airport. These tickets could only be purchased from the cruise line and could not be purchased from the ARR. So they never appeared on the ARR time schedule. As someone who lives in Alaska I read the Alaska CC forum and it seems to me that the chartered trains were running last summer during the cruise season. In Alaska we are experiencing a severe labor shortage so I wonder if that is why the charters appear to be canceled this upcoming season. The chartered runs are certainly money-makers for both the ARR and the cruise lines. They are popular since the ARR and highway don't run parallel as the train diverges from the road route at the small community of Moose Pass. The rail route then takes a different valley from the road. The road and rail then run parallel again at roughly the Portage area. The valley which the ARR diverges into is gorgeous. While the scenery from the road is nice, it is generally agreed that the best scenery is in that route taken by the ARR. The statement below is incorrect. The ARR certainly was running to and from Seward in 2000. All through Alaska there were a number of attempts to build private railroads with varying degrees of commercial success. In the early 1900s there were at least two attempts to build a private line out of Seward with track actually laid. Neither attempt was successful. In 1914 the US Congress authorized funding to purchase the existing track, and construction of what becomes the ARR was started. The track from Seward to Fairbanks was completed in 1923. Until an industrial port was constructed in Anchorage the vast bulk of our freight came up to Alaska by barge and was off-loaded in Seward. There was definitely track in Seward in 2000.

It has been a number of years since Celebrity mailed luggage tags. We print ours off the edocs and use a plastic luggage tag holder to attach to the luggage. Doubt it is worth mentioning to Celebrity as their website has a number of issues which we, as customers, seem to be expected to live with.

With the national "hub and spoke" airport flights you will find that a number of flights out of Alaska are either early morning "red eyes" or the late night "red eyes." But I am curious when the Captain Cook will expect you to check out? I am curious if you will need to check out of the hotel at 11 AM or noon? Will you have a later check-out?

The last time we flew into Rome and took a ship out of Civitavecchia was in October 2019. Our hotel concierge set up the private transfer and we were very happy.

Running Reindeer Ranch is very popular. Access to the Chena Hot Springs Rock pool is restricted by age, but I am not aware that access to the hot tubs is also restricted. And they can certainly take tours of the ice museum and energy tour. The drive through the Chena River Rec. Area is prime moose habitat.

During the global suspension of cruising caused by the pandemic the owners of the private dock took advantage of the free time and have expanded the docking facilities. Not only can multiple ships now dock, the large ships like the Quantam of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas and NCL Bliss can also dock. An acquaintance in Fairbanks grew up in Sitka and was in Sitka for the Christmas 2021 holidays. He told me that the community is trying to make plans for the days when they will five ships docked at once. They are concerned about pedestrian traffic, having sufficient trash containers and so forth. So check the Sitka cruise terminal port calls before assuming that there will be no issues with obtaining walk-up tours.

Actually, some ships which docked at aft position of the RR dock (which can dock two ships) did indeed tender from the aft position to the small boat harbor. We did B2B Alaska cruises last summer. The first time we were there a few days before the slide and we docked as normal. The second time was a few days after the slide, but the ship docked and the ship tenders moved folks around the slide to the small boat harbor. And rocks were still sliding down the cliff face which was quite interesting.