EagleRocker

We were on the cruise that disembarked in Vancouver on May 26 and went to YVR on the next morning (Saturday).  We have Global Entry and CLEAR and did not use the mobile passport control app.  We used the Global Entry lane and went to the scanners where you scan your passport, but did not even have to make that minimal effort.  A quick look at the mirror for a retinal scan and we each got a "good to go" type message.  We then walked a few feet to the lines where people were waiting to go through passport control and there was a separate lane (no one in it) for those with Global Entry.  We had only just gotten to the lane when the passport officer called out our two first names and simply waved us through.  We both laughed out loud at how fast and painless the whole going through immigration control had been (all of about 1-2 minutes, tops).  We never showed anyone our passport (other than the gate agent when we arrived at the airport).  Global Entry has always saved us time and effort, as has CLEAR (which YVR does not have).

We are on this cruise and have the streaming internet version. For the most part, it has worked pretty well, but then, our usage has not been heavy duty (no work stuff).

The ship seems remarkably uncrowded. People are friendly and, for the most part, pretty quiet and respectful of others. It is so nice to sit outside and enjoy all the gorgeous scenery without too much noise from others.

We have had very good meal service each time.

We are on the May 19 sailing and received an email this morning about ordering the jackets. The picture in the email was of the prior aqua colored jackets. Nothing in the order form indicated color, so who knows.

As to the OP’s concern about an iPad dying: some years back, in early January, we were burglarized and an old first or second generation iPad was taken. Almost a year later, our plumber was standing on some stairs in the backyard, pointed to our roof, and lo and behold, there was the iPad (the burglar had thrown it onto the roof). It had been sitting out in the elements (rain, high heat, raccoon ( who love our roof), and so on) for ages and we assumed it was a goner. We brought it in, charged it, and it started right up and worked fine. Those things are tough!

Self-deembarkation was very fast.  We just walked up and were off the ship instantly.  The TSA lines, however, were fairly long, although they moved.  If you can get CLEAR before you go, do it. I do think a 10:30 flight is risky, but if you go straight to security, maybe it will work.

CupKayke, thank you for such a detailed review and great pics.  We were on this same cruise.  I had a lot of the same reactions and thoughts as you.

SLOTheta, like you, we filled out the Luggage Direct info on the HAL site, got confirmations and so on and planned on using Port Valet (which is the same thing as Luggage Direct).  No one on the ship told us it was not being offered.  Late in the cruise, I called the Neptune Lounge concierge to ask if I needed to do anything else about it and he let me know it was not an option on this cruise.  Just glad I found out before disembarkation; we got off 15 minutes earlier than planned to allow us to pick up and deal with our bags and those of my 89-year old walker-using parents.  HAL really should disable that Luggage Direct function for the Seattle cruises if Port Valet is not being used.

And wow, was SeaTac ever a horror show on June 26.  I have NEVER seen it anywhere near this crazy.  We had noon flights so had hired a limo to pick up up by 8:30 a.m., thinking that would be ample time.  Luckily, we breezed through disembarkation and were out earlier than that, and the driver was able to pick up up before 8:30 a.m.  We ended up needing that extra time.  When we walked into SeaTac, I literally gasped out loud at the crazy sight before me.  People everywhere, no real rhyme or reason as to the crowds or real lines, just a massive mess (this was in the Alaska Air terminal).  Hordes and hordes of confused people (us included).  My husband and I got in the enormous First Class check in line (which wrapped all the way back to the security lines) to try that for mode of bag drop off, and my sister took her bags and those of my parents to the kiosks and bag drop off complete mess.  I assumed we would be through before her so we could start taking my parents through security, but no.  My sister got rid of their bags first and because the three of them did not have TSA PreCheck, she managed to get my elderly parents and their walkers and all their stuff through the regular security lines while my husband and I were still stuck in the First Class check in line (albeit getting closer to the front).  And even though we had TSA PreCheck and CLEAR, we had to schlep quite a ways away to use both (neither of the nearest security lines had both, and the TSA PreCheck lines were not that short) and my sister and walker-using parents still beat us to the gate.  We ended up making our flights easily (my sister made her 11:40 a.m. flight as well) but I was a bit panicked for a while, while we waited endlessly to dump our bags.

So the moral for Alaska cruisers flying out of SeaTac, be ready for a bit of an ordeal and allow a lot of time.  And if you can grab a bag cart (I miraculously nabbed a free ranging one left by someone), think about using it.  That made our endless wait in line to drop our bags a lot easier; something to lean on and plonk our backpacks on.  I hope this June 26 was an aberration but maybe not (we flew almost exactly a year earlier out of SeaTac and while not as bad as this year, it was PLENTY crowded and busy).

I ordered the 3-pack from Optum last Saturday the 21st and the tests arrived on Friday the 27th. Expiration date of early October 2021, with a sticker noting the three month extension of the expiration date. I would order early if they still are available, as shipping was delayed from the promised two day delivery.

Rick, we also are on the 9/24 sailing and were able to check in/get our express passes using the app several weeks ago. We are in a suite and received a 12-12:30 slot. I hope reloading the app worked for you. 

I had the same issue no matter what I tried, so printed, hand wrote in the areas that would not fill, scanned, and emailed it.  It worked, and got $801 in OBC 😀 I received the automated email after I sent my email, acknowledging receipt and advising that it could take 14 business days to process and that I would be emailed.  I was not, and after a few weeks, I asked our Celebrity Vacation Planner to check. She did and boom, I immediately received a confirmation showing it (plus it now shows when I go into the Cruise Planner). So be patient up to a point, then check if you have not heard.

FWIW, I flew out of SeaTac yesterday.  Our drive from Anacortes to SeaTac took twice as long as it used to take (due, in part, to I-5 lane closures near Seattle). Our drive up the prior Saturday was hellish until we got well past Seattle, very bumper to bumper. Traffic always seems to be heavy nowadays in the Seattle area and for quite a distance north and south of it, so do not assume it will be a quick drive from the pier to SeaTac and vice versa.  The airport was crazy busy, people everywhere.  No special screening done for Covid but masks required (of course).  Oddly, despite the gazillion people everywhere, the Security lines in the Alaska Airlines terminal were really fast (this was around 2:00), which was a pleasant surprise.  Flights are FULL.

On 4/19/2019 at 3:56 PM, hcat said:

Thanks to all the Spreadsheet  monitors past, present and future..

☆☆☆☆☆

Very important function!

Agreed - thanks very much to anyone who has done this work up till now and anyone who does so in the future.  I have found this resource to be so helpful.  Much appreciated.

9 hours ago, JaneStarr said:

Unfortunately, you can’t know for sure until you board the ship and ask your own butler. We are currently onboard Solstice with amazing Captain Tasos and crew.

 

Celebrity has definitely been having serious communications issues.

Our very nice shoreside concierge emailed — in response to my specific question— that we’d only have laundry twice per cruise (for current 19 night Transpacific + 10 nights to Vancouver).  

 

Once onboard, our excellent butler told me that it was officially limited to twice per cruise but not to worry about it this time. He’d take care of us.

 

Suite manager said that shoreside concierge should’ve informed us that laundry is unlimited. She asked to see the email stating the laundry limits and was not pleased that I didn’t just misunderstand what I was told.

 

The current Suite Class amenity flyer states that RS gets “Complimentary laundry service” (with no fine print nor asterisks)

 

 I have zero confidence that the answer won’t change again by our next cruise, if we continue to cruise with Celebrity.

What ends up included seems to just be the luck of the draw. Why should it feel like they are doing us a favor at these prices? How are we to make an informed decision on the value of the cruise and even how much to pack if they aren’t consistent?

 

Sadly, I suggest you bring copies on your cruise of whatever perks you are promised.
Jane 

Jane: You captured my concern exactly. Sorry you experienced what you did.

The wording on the website says “laundry service” without any qualification. This sounds like unlimited but it seems that different members of the Celebrity team interpret or apply it differently, which is unfortunate. We have a land trip before our 12 nights on the Silhouette and having “unlimited” dry cleaning and pressing affects how I will pack (unlimited wash not so much, because we do have Elite laundry perks, whatever they may be in practice nowadays, and I hand wash the items I do not want to shrink or which are delicate).

Thanks for your advice, which will help others as well as me.  Fingers crossed we will have a nice butler who adheres to a liberal interpretation of the laundry policy.

Thanks Chemmo

We just upgraded to a Royal Suite for our upcoming May 7 cruise. (Yay, first time. Working our way up the suite chain cruise-by-cruise.) Assuming we get unlimited laundry, does this include unlimited dry cleaning as well? Anyone know?

Jagofee:  We had a Celebrity Suite on an M Class, so cannot speak to the CS on an S Class; maybe I would like that, but to be honest, the pictures I have seen do not make it look significantly more appealing than the S Class Sky Suite and possibly even less so unless it was one of the ones with the large angled balconies, which look nice.  I was not bothered that the M Class CS bedroom did not have a view - I actually liked that the bedroom was like a dark cave, because I am a bad sleeper and appreciated how quiet and dark it was.  Plus at the end of the 14-night trip, I got sick with some respiratory thing and my husband kindly slept out on the couch that last night; it was good for us both to have that option.  Liked the double closets.  HATED the bathroom. It is in the bedroom about three feet from the end of the bed, so you will wake up your partner if you use it, whereas in the aft S1, there is a sufficient physical separation that allows the other person to not get woken up.  The M Class bathroom is very small and the tub/shower combo is dangerous IMHO.  We were ok with it (did not like but handled), but I think that anyone short or with balance or mobility issues would have found it daunting getting in and out.  I am really puzzled by that poor design choice.  Also did not love the added-on balcony - the width is fine but pretty narrow and no wind protection.  The living area was good - I LOVED having a real table with real chairs, because we like to do Room Service breakfasts - I do not think S Class CSs have that.  The benefits are not really much more than with a Sky Suite, other than you get a call from a Concierge ahead of time asking if there is anything that he or she can do, and I was able to request that a bottle of wine be in the room for embarkation rather than the usually crappy sparkling wine (maybe it is fine, I just don't like it).  The Royal Suite seems like a big upgrade from both, but sadly, I have not been fortunate enough yet to experience one of those.

The main reasons we loved our Deck 12 aft corner S1 on the Reflection (and I assume the same on other S Class ships) were:  room was very large and spacious feeling, with lots of light coming in; great bathroom for what is the lowest level suite, plenty big and nice; fantastic views, both from the balcony and the side porthole window; aft location was quiet; and we loved the Deck 12 overhang, which was not as big an overhang as on the side S2s but just enough to be protective (I am pale so did not feel like I was frying when out there, even though there was plenty of sun).  We have an aft (non-corner) S2 on our upcoming cruise, so I will get to try that soon.

I had a similar experience to yvonenneh with respect to our upcoming May cruise.  On Monday night, which was a few weeks past final payment (US), a Sky Suite showed up on the X site (hadn't been any for about a week or so), at a price that was decent but not great (probably about $1500-$2000+ less per person than it had been at various times prior to final payment).  I called to do a paid upgrade (I have never had any problem with doing that, Celebrity always has been wiling to let me upgrade for more $$) and asked if there were any non-US final payment dates that had not yet passed and if this was truly the only Sky Suite available - told No as to first question and Yes as to latter.  So I upgraded.  Later that night, two more Sky Suites magically appeared on the X site.  Hmm, I thought, but at least they were at the priced I paid.  When I checked again the next morning, within 12 or so hours of my Monday night booking, the price had dropped by $1200 per person - AARRGH.  And today, there still is one left at that reduced price.  Had I waited till the morning or later in the week, I could have saved $2400.  Painful, but nothing can be done (I called and tried, knowing it was an exercise in futility).  Live and learn (tho not quite sure what I actually learned).

OP, you will love your upgrade to an after corner S1.  We had a Deck 12 corner S1 on Reflection an 11-night Med (Turkey, Italy and Greece) cruise and it was fantastic. Large and comfortable room (probably my all-time favorite, even more so than a more recent Celebrity Suite).  Sitting on the curved balcony as we made our way through the Dardanelles is a very fond memory, as are the wonderful expansive views we got of Istanbul heading in and out.  The views from the corner really are expansive and great.  Loved the side porthole window; it made there room so light and airy seeming.  Great bathroom and great service.  Minimal to no noise from above.  People often express concern about that with respect to the after Deck 12 rooms, but we did not experience it and it was a fairly warm weather cruise, so people were using the outside Bar area above. No hallway noise being at the back of the ship, and the wake view is glorious.  We did not experience any vibrations or other back of ship issues that might cause discomfort.  Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

We were on Infinity for the two week round Cape Horn in March 2017, and found her to be a lovely ship. I did not find the decor tired. If I understand you correctly to be considering a suite, we had a Celebrity Suite and thought the suite amenities were great. Luminae was lovely and Michael’s Club was a really large and nice space, with a great concierge who treated us so well, above and beyond.

We did this trip in 2012. I definitely was not fit and had rotten knees, but I was able to do all the excursions (though avoided the ones described as truly strenuous). I found some to be easy and painless, some a bit tiring but doable. I do not consider myself to have good balance and did not find walking on lava to be a problem at all with good walking shoes. Not too much climbing up and down; the terrain is flat-ish and any inclines are pretty gradual. I was concerned getting in and out of the zodiacs would be hard and it was not, a piece of cake, including the water landings (they show you how to swing your legs and it was not hard at all).

The trip is very satisfying in terms of the wildlife you see. It is amazing to see all of the amazing creatures up close and in such abundance. The marine iguanas are incredible. I did find the week on the ship to be very tiring. Up early every day for an excursion, race back for a quick lunch, then race out the door for the afternoon excursion, then race back for a frantic shower and clean up to try to make the excursion talk and dinner. Given the need to be up and out the door early each morning, dinners dragged on way too long, in my opinion, but there is no other evening eating option (room service menu was terrible, unless it has changed).

As others have said, the CS dining table is great, whether if having others over or for your own in-room eating (no more crouching over the coffee table to eat).  The living room area is really nice, again whether for having others over or just hanging out on your own.  Love the large wall of windows but did not really like the balcony - skinny and exposed to the elements.  We found that we used it far less on our 14-day South America trip on the Infinity in 2017 than anticipated and much less than the balconies we have had with Sky Suites and verandah rooms.  The CS bedroom is great, as others note.  Quiet and dark (wonderful for light sleepers like me) and the two closets are really useful.  I found the bathroom quite disappointing.  Very small and the tub/shower could be lethal for someone with balance or mobility issues (quite a step-over getting in and out). Plus ours (Deck 9) had a constant unpleasant smell from the drain in the floor — sometimes food smells (who wants to smell onions in your bathroom suite) but most of the time a nasty and vile disinfectant type stench.  It helps to keep a towel wadded up over the drain, but kind of ridiculous to have to do that.  In contrast, S-Class Sky Suite bathrooms are dramatically better. While we felt a fair amount of guilt and experienced dagger eyes from other passengers, having the Michael's Club concierge escort us past long disembarkation lines to get off the ship in port and come find us and pluck us out of long embarkation lines (a real surprise) to get back on was a great perk and a huge time and annoyance saver.  Guilt notwithstanding, it was nice.  And it also was nice getting a pre-cruise call offering assistance and the invitation to tour the bridge.

All this said, you will be happy if you decide to stay in a Sky Suite. You get Michaels Club and Luminae access (as well as Blu) and your four perks regardless of what suite type you are in, which for us are the clinchers. 

Thank you EagleRocker for the informative comments. Pardon my ignorance as this would be my first Alaska cruise — is cruising inside passage the same as cruising Glacier Bay?

How are the shore excursions offered by Silversea? Are they of high quality and competitive pricing?

 

Would you recommend us to take their shore excursions or find independent providers? I would also welcome your suggestions on excursions since you have done several cruises already 😊

 

Thanks in advance!

Sorry, have not had a chance to look at the Boards for a while.

Glacier Bay is not the same thing as an Inside Passage cruise, tho an Inside Passage cruise might include a day in Glacier Bay. Access to Glacier Bay is limited and only a few big cruise lines are granted the rights to access it in a given year. Right now, Holland America can do so but I forget which other line can.

I am having trouble remembering which shore excursions we took through Silversea. I know we did a wonderful one through them in Sitka, in which you go on a big zodiac style boat -- very fast, holds around 10 people or so, you have to wear a Coast Guard style suit they give you -- and look for birds, wildlife. It was exhilarating. I have seen that excursion offered by other lines like Regent - I suspect the pricing is similar across lines. We may not have done other excursions through Silversea given that we have gone many times before and just decided to do other things on our own. We often find independent providers, some of whom offer the same excursions that are on offer through the cruise line.

Sorry not to be of more help on this question.

I've done some searching and I seem to be getting some mixed results so I was hoping to find the most recent experiences people have had.

 

We will be visiting Juneau on 8/29 from 6:30-4pm and will be a group of 5 adults. My FIL will be joining us and based upon his limited mobility we are really struggling to come up with ideas for what to do yet still make sure he is able to participate in the trip. He is able to walk short distances but we are also thinking of renting a wheelchair for the trip to make it easier on him.

 

The best idea we currently have is to rent a car and just visit a few sites on our own, particularly mendenhall. I know there is a wheelchair accessible trail but was curious if people thought it would be possible to make it to nugget falls in one? Also, are there any other locations you can think of we might enjoy visiting that would be accessible by car but also potentially wheelchair accessible?

 

Finally does anyone know which rental car agencies are currently available to the dock or fairly easily accessible? I have heard Juneau Rental Car is an option but I've also read their cars are pretty beat up and unreliable and I'm pretty nervous about getting stranded somewhere. Anyone have any thoughts/experiences with them that would sway a nervous nelly either way?

 

Thanks so much!

I am in a similar position for our upcoming cruise (my 85-year old parents have somewhat limited mobility). There will be five of us. We are renting from Avis, and plan on having whichever of us will be the driver take an Uber (or taxi or a long walk) to Avis from where we will be docked (CT) and then come back to get the rest of us. Will do the reverse when we return the car. As for driving options, here is a rough plan we likely will follow at least in part (no Mendenhall for us, because we all have been there before multiple times):

- Drive to Shrine of St. Therese. About 20 miles north of Downtown Juneau, an easy and lovely drive. The Shrine property is gorgeous and your FIL can walk as little or as much as he wants and/or be wheeled around much of it. He may not be able to go out to the little island shrine, but the rest of the property is worth seeing.

- Go to the Macauley Salmon Hatchery, mainly because none of us have been there.

- Drive around Douglas Island. Very pretty places to stop and take in the view.

- Go to Glacier Gardens, because they take you around in a vehicle, so good for those with mobility issues.

- Maybe go to renovated Alaska State Museum (would work with a wheelchair).

Good luck!

These places were not walkable.

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing these wonderful pics. I especially loved the chubby sea lion (seal?) with his/her head poking out of the water. This helps raise my excitement for our upcoming three-night stay in Seward pre-cruise.

The experience on a luxury line will be different then on Celebrity.

 

I have sailed Celebrity, Silversea and Crystal in Alaska.

 

Had a great time on all the lines but the luxury lines does make the on board experience quite nice.

 

I am a believer to begin with itinerary.

 

Figure out in advance things such as where in Alaska you want to sail and other things such as length of cruise.

 

Then start looking at itineraries.

 

If Glacier Bay is important to you that will rule out Celebrity.

 

Often luxury lines stop at some (not all but some) ports that mainstream cruise lines don't stop at but that is also a factor of the length of the cruise.

 

If you find itineraries across multiple lines (I think you will) then read member reviews and study the cruise lines web sites. The web site will tell you a lot including what is included with the cruise fare and other things such as pricing, room sizes what the line emphasizes etc.

 

Keith

Agree with all of the above. Itinerary is key, but many are similar, so if you find some on various lines that are acceptable and can spring for Silversea, I recommend it. We did Silversea in May 2014, Seward to Vancouver on the Silver Shadow, and loved it. We had done Alaska cruises previously on RCI, Holland America (twice), and Celebrity. The Silversea cruise was one of our favorites, with the one downside that it did not go to Glacier Bay (which I consider a must do if you only can go on one Alaska cruise). It did go to Sitka, which many do not, and Sitka is wonderful - I prefer it over many of the typical port stops. We really enjoyed the Silver Shadow - a bit older but a comfortable ship. We had a regular verandah room, which I thought was great, plenty spacious and comfy (balcony is kinda small though). We usually get suites on the other lines, and our Silver Shadow verandah room (tho much smaller) soundly bested them in two respects: a nice walk in closet; and a huge, fabulous marble bathroom, much nicer than any I have had on even high level suites on other lines. Not to be weird about it, but that bathroom was really great, has spoiled me for other lines. Our attendant also was great; indeed, the service all around was very high caliber. Example: when we got back from our day in Sitka, waiting for me was a filled bath with votive (electric) candles and rose petals strewn all around (I felt very pampered), which I understand is standard. I was not expecting it and it was a nice touch. We found the food to be fine - not amazing, but good enough (and we loved the specialty Italian restaurant, very good). Perhaps the lavish free drinks helped, but we were content with it all.

So, start with itinerary and then winnow by lines. Assuming price is an issue (as it is for most of us), and assuming we are talking about a 7-night trip, I would rather devote money to excursions than a fancy room or line (that said, I would go with HAL or Celebrity over RCI). Alaska is all about the outdoors experiences, of which there are many and they are glorious. I hope you have a wonderful trip (notwithstanding my out of date signature, we are going again (6th time, if that tells you something) on June 24, 2018, on a HAL Seward to Vancouver trip).

A few years back we were on a Caribbean cruise on the Ruby out of New York City where we live and the second night when we went to dinner we were placed with three other couples, the three men were all hot shot wall street brokers and they were bragging about the deals and tricks they do giving me hot stock tips, telling what to watch for in a few weeks, basically breaking the law and bragging about it, after the main course was done one of them asked me what I do for a living. I just could not resist the temptation, I replied that I was an Investigator for the Securities and Exchange Commission, well you should have seen their faces, they jumped up said hey look at the time we got to go, but you did not have dessert and coffee I said, by the way I didnt catch your names. The waiter came over looked at them almost running out of the dinning room turned to me and asked what happend, I told him that they said they had a show to catch. My wife looked at me and said, really the SEC, really. I would wave to them every time I saw them on and off the ship. I'm a Carpenter and my wife is a Teacher, no SEC.

Best story so far. Can't stop smiling envisioning the looks on their faces.