Northern Aurora

The Celebrity Today (daily planner) will list the times and locations of the live music throughout the ship. In addition to the Rendezvous and Sky Lounge music will be offered in other locations, such as Cellar Masters on M-class ships. The Summit is a M-class ship

Any one planning to use the funicular needs to confirm directly with Cape Fox Lodge (the lodge owns the funicular) that the funicular will be operational this summer. We were in Ketchikan twice in 2021 and it wasn't operating. It didn't operate at all the entire abbreviated 2021 cruise season. I asked two locals and were given two different answers as to why it wasn't operating. We were in Ketchikan twice the summer of 2022, and again it wasn't operating either time.

@midwife1021: Have you found the travelalaska.com website? They have a downloadable vacation planner and an entire section on the cruise ports called "Cruising into Summer." Ketchikan is known for totems among other attractions. Juneau, our state capital, hosts the state museum. Other popular attractions include, but are not limited to, Mendenhall Glacier, whale watching and Mt. Roberts Tramway. Sitka is full of history as this was the community where the official transfer ceremony of Russian America to the US was held. Popular attractions include Sitka National Historical Park (called "totem pole park" by the locals), Fortress of the Bear, the Raptor Center and the Russian Bishop's House. Icy Strait Point offers exceptional whale watching, an incredibly long zip line, and gondolas up mountain to incredible vistas. How long do you plan to stay in Seward? Seward offers wonderful small boat excursions into Kenai Fjords National Park, Exit Glacier, and the SeaLife Center. The Seavey dog racing family (members race the Iditarod) open their dog yard to visitors.

Explore Fairbanks is the name of our visitor's bureau. After posting I realized I had neglected to mention the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitor's Center. Explore Fairbanks is located there in addition to the Alaska Public Lands Information Center. Their free exhibit hall augments the exhibits at the Museum of the North. Check the Morris Thompson website.

Were you in Anchorage? Where did you dine? Where did you dine in Fairbanks? What ports did you visit and where did you dine? Did you dine in Seward?

Actually the mid-ship S-class elevators could also be described as "glass cages." The rear glass walls of the elevators are open to the ship. While not mentioned in several years this has been an issue for folks with height phobias issues.

@Jonny3317: Have you checked the FAQ on the Mt. Roberts Tramway website?

First, I would not suggest driving to North Pole unless you want to visit the Santa Claus House, or, as I refer to it, the emporium of poor taste; the three story fiberglass Santa out front should suggest that the place if full of tourist junk made in China. I would not describe a drive to the Chena Hot Springs Resort as being "very long." The resort itself is located at mile 57 (or so) of the paved Chena Hot Springs Road. The first 25 miles or so are through some rather funky subdivisions, but at about mile 26 you enter the Chena River State Recreation area (over 254,000 acres) with has hiking trails (consider Angel Rocks, or for more experienced hikers, the Granite Tors trail), campgrounds and so forth. The habitat is very "moosey" so look for them. At the CHSR consider taking swim wear and visiting the rock pool. A tour of their ice museum/ice hotel is interesting, and they also offer free tours of their geothermal energy facility which not only harvests the geothermal energy from the hot springs to provide electricity to the entire complex but also heats the hydrophonic (sp?) green houses which allows them to grow lettuces, greens and herbs even at -50F. Definitely try their restaurant. Best tomatoes in Alaska. The White Mountains National Recreation Area is about 1 million acres in size and is north of Fairbanks on the Steese Highway. Some interesting vistas and also hiking trails, but these trails are for the experienced. Rikas Roadhouse is on the Richardson Highway about 100 miles from Fairbanks. Rika's is part of the Big Delta State Historical Park. Several years ago a long time concessionaire chose to not renew their contract and the state has had problems securing a long term contract. So do your research and check their website. In Fairbanks I would suggest the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum. A prior post mentioned the UA Museum, but the correct name is the UAF Museum of the North, and I also recommend it. Other ideas include the Tanana Valley Farmer's Market Traditional days are Wednesdays and Saturdays. In addition to truck farmers vendors include crafters selling their own products. And there will be food trucks so we often grab a quick lunch there. Friends of Creamer's Field sponsors free guided nature tours of the refuge. Days and hours are now being finalized so check their website. The refugee is never closed and the trails are popular with locals. All of these attractions have websites, so google is your friend. And I am curious if our OP has checked the Explore Fairbanks website.

I don't think that I would define any Skagway restaurant as offering "fine dining." The Skagway Brewing Company food menu is heavy on items like fish and chips and so forth. According to my husband (I can't stand beer) their craft brewed beer is good. And they also have great non-alcohol craft brewed root beer. According to the husband again, the Klondike Brewing Company (also in Skagway) has better craft brewed beer, but no food. In Juneau the popular dining spot with the cruisers is Tracey's Crab Shack. I've always thought it was highly over rated, and given the situation with king crab I wonder how TCS will respond. When in Juneau we generally stop at Hanger on the Wharf, but I really wouldn't call that fine dining. In Ketchikan we always stop at Annabelles. The menu is heavy on sea food and frequently has fresh dungeness crab as dungy is caught there. Another Ketchikan option is Heen Kahidi which is the dining room (not coffee shop) in the Cape Fox Lodge. Menus for all these places can be found using google.

I remember what Skagway was before it was found by the cruise industry. It has become too touristy for my taste but there is a great quilt shop in Skagway. ISP was developed by the local native corporation (Hunt Totem) and is an example of folks of first nations heritage creating jobs for their local economy.

There are pluses and minuses on both the M- and S-class ships. We like both classes of ships. We prefer the design of Luminae and Blu on the M-class ship over the S-class design as both restaurants are smaller on the M-class ships. We also do like the three banks of elevators on the M-class ships. And we much prefer the design of the M-class Rendezvous Lounges over the Ensemble Lounges on the S-class ships. We spent two weeks on the Millennium in September 2021. We met someone who was on their first Celebrity cruise but had cruised other lines. When I mentioned that the Millennium was the oldest ship currently sailing in the Celebrity fleet the guy was surprised. The ship has been "revolutionized" and you would never suspect it is an "old" ship.

My favorite Kenai Fjords small boat excursion vendor is Major Marine. Due to timing of the afternoon train departing from the Anchorage Airport to the Seward cruise terminal the ships departing from Seward often leave about 8 PM. So easy to do on the turnaround day of a B2B.

Since you will be provided with an "In Transit" pass you could walk off if you really wanted to for some reason. But no, you will not need to do so. Your traveling companion will simply check in when she arrives and you do not need to be present.

Schipol, the Amsterdam airport, has been experiencing significant problems with delays getting through security. Who knows what the situation will be be when you fly, but I personally wouldn't try an 11 AM departure.

While it isn't the most interesting hotel in San Diego the Wyndham San Diego Bayside is essentially right across the street from the cruise terminal. On site dining. Also across the street from the San Diego Maritime Museum and very close to the Midway (aircraft carrier museum).

And what do the group members want to see or do? Are they the outdoorsy type of folks? Want to see wildlife? Interested in our first people cultures? Refuse to fly in small planes or helicopters? Any mobility issues? Most, if not all, of the communities which host cruise ships have a visitors' bureau (sometimes combined with their respective Chamber of Commerce). Just use goggle to find them. And most, if not all, have downloadable visitor guides.

I have been to Kodiak both on business (attending a Alaska Historical Society/Museums Alaska annual joint conference) and on pleasure. Kodiak has interesting WWII history. As mentioned above if you are interested in renting a vehicle driving out toward the village of Chignik is interesting. Look for the famous bears. Renting a vehicle would also make it easy to visit Ft. Abercrombie. My husband and I spent several days in Kodiak in 2016 before boarding the Alaska State Ferry Tustamena for a trip to Dutch Harbor/Unalaska, and at that time a downtown gift shop was the pick up location for rental cars. Museums easily walkable in Kodiak include the Alutiq Museum and the Kodiak History Museum (aka the Baranov Museum). I wasn't aware that any cruise ship tendered in Kodiak. Docking locations include the State Ferry terminal (which is located downtown) and a secondary more industrial location which is a very short walk to the downtown area.

Contact the Seavey's directly and ask if they provide shuttle service. Somehow it seems to me that in the past (ie. pre-pandemic) they may have done so.

Actually, I am not sure that Celebrity offers room service on embarkation day. But our OP has stated that they haven't cruised with Celebrity for several years. Since the resumption of cruising after the global suspension Celebrity now has folks pick up their sea passes from the mail slot outside their stateroom door. While the stateroom attendants may not have fully prepared the stateroom folks are free to drop off their carryons and put valuables in the safe. Not having folks schlep around their carryons makes a surprising difference and the public venues don't feel as crowded.

Yes Don -- I posted about this several hours ago. As reported today in both the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and Anchorage Daily News an agreement with a contractor was formalized last week. The work is expected to begin in May 2023, and if all goes well, the NPS states travel along the entire length of the single park road may be possible in 2025 but the press releases aren't predicting whether that would be early in the season or later in the season. Since there has been no maintenance on the road past the closure since August 2021 there are indeed concerns about the road conditions past Pretty Rocks. While there is a park road maintenance camp near the park entrance I am not aware of a secondary road maintenance camp located between Eielson Visitor Center and Kantishna.

When we were on the Eclipse in April 2022 the Luminae maitre'd was Aurica. She was superb. We will be fortunate indeed if she is still onboard when we join the Eclipse in March. And a great "thank you" to nz1 for your reporting.

The hard copy of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and the electronic version of today's Anchorage Daily News both have published updates on the rock slide issue at Pretty Rocks. The National Park Service has selected a contractor, the contract was formalized last week, construction is scheduled to start next May and they hope, if all goes well, to have the road accessible by the summer of 2025.

We have both rented cars in Skagway when on port calls, and have actually driven our own vehicles to Skagway. You may be pushing your time trying to drive to Emerald Lake. When we rented vehicles in Skagway we the car rental office didn't open until 8 AM. Sitka is very easy to DIY. The Russian Bishop's House, the Sheldon Jackson Museum and Sitka National Historical Park are all with in easy walking distance from the Harrigan Centennial Center. Unless you have serious mobility problems the Raptor Center is also within walking distance. The Fortress of the Bear is not. Sitka has a visitor center website with a visitor guide; use goggle to find the website.

We will be returning to the Eclipse in March for a B2B2B2B series. When we were on the Eclipse in April 2022 the Michaels' Club concierges and the Suite Manager were all excellent. The Suite Manager remembered us from when he was a Luminae waiter in 2016. In any event, who is the current Suite Manager? Do you have one or two Retreat Concierges? Enjoying your posts.

We were on the first April 2022 Eclipse sailing when the ship returned to passenger operations. That was the famous/infamous "barnacle cruise." The Luminae maitre'd on that sailing was one of the best ever, as was the entire Luminae staff. We will be returning to the Eclipse in March for a B2B2B2B, and wonder who the Luminae maitre'd is on your sailing? Sommelier? Any standout waitstaff?