Northern Aurora

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.

Since there is a cruise ship in Whittier I am surprised you can't find a motor coach transfer. With eight folks contact Salmon Berry Tours in Anchorage and ask if they can provide a custom tour/transfer for your group.

There are motor coach transfers. Just goggle something like "motor coach transfer from Anchorage to Whittier."

I have been to Victoria on business, with my husband on a land trip and several times as a port call. The community is charming. If we are on a cruise ship short stop we walk down to the Bard and Banker Scottish pub on Government Street and enjoy a meal. Great food in a historic building.

Regarding grocery stores, Alaska also has a local chain named "Three Bears." The one in Healy opened in 2017 and I understand that the family owned chain intends to expand into North Pole (outside of Fairbanks) in the next year or so.

The best gift is an extra tip.

We were on the Infinity when Harry and Meghan were married. The wedding was not broadcast in the theater. One woman from the UK was quite upset and was very vocal about her unhappiness. We were waiting to be seated for dinner and she was telling someone else that she had complained to Guest Relations. A coronation is quite different from a wedding (I guess I am just stating the obvious) so I wonder if it will be broadcast in the theater.

As someone who lives in Alaska I think that two hours is more than sufficient. And I suspect that shuttle delivery time is rather conservative. There is a good chance they will be at the Anchorage airport before 11:30 AM.

The OP is from Massachusetts, which, as is Alaska, is part of the USA. And Iceland Air has flown in and out of Anchorage during at the summer months for a number of years.

And maybe the "powers that be" know my fondness for chocolate. But for photos I think chocolate frosting is a better contrast.

I am late to the discussion but will offer a few comments. Fairbanks is the place in Alaska to go for Thai restaurants. Our favorite is Lemon Grass which offers both authentic Thai and some Thai-Alaska fusion salmon dishes. The historic Pump House has changed owners and brought in a new executive chef; I've been pleased with the changes. Lavelle's Bistro is a reliable option. And Soba, which is Moldovan, is another great choice. In Denali we loved 229 Parks but unfortunately they no longer are in business, and the beautiful log building was sold the the Alaska Geographic Society. 49th State Brewing doesn't do anything for me; while the menu looks appealing the food doesn't match (ie their "lightly" breaded calamari is as greasy as a really bad fast food french fry). Rose's Cafe is open for breakfast and lunch (they close at 2 PM), but the food is consistent in quality with excellent bread. In Anchorage our long time favorite was Aladins, which again no longer exists. We haven't been to Seward since prior to the pandemic. In the past we enjoyed Chinooks, but the food quality can be variable.

Options are vehicle rental, train or plane.

Since the shuttle drops you off at the Anchorage airport at 11:30 AM you should be find with a 1:20 PM departure. You are not going through US Customs and Immigration (remember -- Alaska is part of the US), but will go through security. Do you have TSA pre-check? I can't remember how many gates the Anchorage airport has, but isn't that large.

I so agree -- the city lights are gorgeous. Well worth the trip.

If this post was serious then I wonder if the poster has any idea of the size of bears claws and the damage even a thirty pound bear can do. I live in Interior Alaska -- and if you have a bear in your neighborhood you have a problem. Actually, you have serious problem. And I mean SERIOUS problem . I quickly checked the website for the Fortress of the Bear. It was a quick check about it appears to me that even there the closest they state you can get to a bear is 25 feet. And that is from the viewing platforms down into the old timber pulp mill bins.

My reaction is the same as Don's. Is this a joke? I don't think that even Fortress of the Bear does this.

Jim: We will be boarding the Edge in Civitavecchia next fall and are on the first three legs of the world cruise. We will leave the ship in Sydney. So we will see you onboard. We were fortunate to get a flight on March 20th so didn't have to deal with the US government re-patriation flights. And as it turned out some commercial carriers did continue flying for about three days (some had stopped). But there were so many rumors no one knew for sure. Once we could leave the Solstice Celebrity provided busses to both the domestic and international airports. We reached the international airport about 9:30 AM and it was an absolute mess. We had flights to Honolulu on an airline which I absolutely loathe but beggars can't be choosers and we took what we could get. Not only was it an airline which I have never enjoyed - - the seats were in coach! My husband was so relieved when we landed and he didn't have to listen to me. It was several days before Alaska Airlines could get us a direct flight from Honolulu to Anchorage in first class but we were back on US soil. Gerry

Jim: While we have done turnaround days in Sydney several times the last time was in 2016, and I don't remember if they issued us transit passes or not. We were in Celebrity Suites for both legs of that Honolulu to Singapore trip. I do remember that there were a couple in a Penthouse who were not pleased that they had to actually leave the ship for several hours. And I agree -- there is so much to do right around the OPT that I wonder why anyone would just sit in the terminal. In March we plan to board the Eclipse in Sydney for a B2B2B2B series with all turnaround days in Sydney, so can provide up-to-date information then. We were actually on the Solstice at the end of the first leg of a B2B2B2B in March 2020. The global suspension of cruising was implemented on the first leg of that series. The Solstice reached Sydney a day early as ports were closing. Australian Border Force wouldn't let anyone off the ship which caused consternation as we all just wanted to try to get home. We flew out of Sydney at 7:40 PM on March 20, 2020. The border formally closed at 9 PM. Some commercial flights continued for several days but there were so many rumors no one really knew what was going on. In any event, March 20th was so much fun that we got to live it twice as we crossed the International Date Line. Gerry

We have done several turnaround days in Sydney. In Sydney the B2B folks are required to leave the ship and are not permitted back on until the embarkation boarding begins. No processing in a lounge nor any immediate re-boarding. Celebrity uses the Overseas Passenger Terminal which is centrally located and so close to attractions such as the Royal Botanic Gardens, the famous bridge, the Opera House, Museum of Modern Art, Rocks Discovery Center and so forth. A number of pubs and cafes nearby.