Justbooked our first Celebrity cruise...

[Goodtime Cruizin]

We've sailed Royal on (5) cruises & have a 6th cruise scheduled w/ Royal in Oct 2016. So it looks like we have a bit to learn. We are sailing on the Millenium's Southern Alaska sailing on Aug 25th, 2017, so we have a bit of time to learn about Celebrity, the Millenium, and of course Alaska. We wanted an aft cabin and our TA gave us a nice selection. A few on the 9th deck, a couple on deck 8, two on deck 7 and 3 on Deck 6. We selected a C1, cabin 7203. We're hopping we did alright.

 

If you had to offer advise of your top three things to know about the Southern sailing out of Seward, or the Millennium, and/or finally Celebrity, what would it be?

 

Thank you advance for help!

Edited March 15, 2016 by Goodtime Cruizin

[Host Jazzbeau]

Our Alaska cruise was on Princess, not Celebrity -- so can't comment about the cruise once it sails. But I will suggest some pre-cruise ideas. First, check out the extensive Cruise Critic area for Alaska:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

If you can manage it, I heartily recommend flying into Anchorage some days ahead, renting a car and driving north to Talkeetna (best base for flight seeing of Denali) and Denali/Healey (to take the National Park bus all the way into the park -- it's just as comfortable as the more expensive tour buses and goes further so you see more). When you get back to Anchorage, stay overnight and then take the train to Whittier. You should be able to check your luggage with Celebrity right at the Anchorage train station [we did with Princess]. Then when you arrive in Whittier you will have time to take a Prince William Sound day-cruise that gets up close and personal with some glaciers [the little boat can get much closer than any cruise ship]. There were two basic itineraries to choose when we did it: one blitzes through 26 glaciers; the other only visits a handful but anchors alongside so you can watch the icebergs calving off -- this is magical! After the daycruise you just stroll over to the Celebrity ship and your luggage should already be in your cabin -- what an elegant way to start a cruise!

[az_tchr]

Agree with the above. The only correction is do NOT go to Whittier - Celebrity cruises out of Seward! Not easy to get from Seward to Whittier.

 

Return your car at the Anchorage airport and take a shuttle to Seward it is a great drive and stops at an animal sanctuary on the way.. Book 2 nights in Seward - share a rental or get a hotel near the water and harbo and do the Kenai Fjords all day tour the following day. Probably the best boat scenic tour I have ever done. Easy to walk to the ship from town or call a taxi for about $10 or less.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Oops! What can I say -- all that glacier viewing left me snow-blind? :eek:

[alcpa1]

I don't know how you so correctly chose a southbound Alaskan cruise but congrats are in order.

Ditto a few days in Anchorage or anywhere in Alaska. You can get information from the state of Alaska that will help as well as the Alaska boards here on Cruise Critic.

The southbound itinerary provided the greatest chance that you will have a wonderful day sailing into Hubbard Glacier and doing so in an aft cabin makes it even better. This itinerary sails the glacial bay in the afternoon when there is less fog and the lighting makes the glaciers look an even darker shade of turquoise.

If your cruise includes Icy Straits be sure to park on your balcony as you sail away. The ship glides through the passage and wildlife and sea life will return to the shores and follow the ship. It's an amazing experience.

If you can tack on a few days in Vancouver and love modern clean cities with ambiance and charm then do so.

Another great benefit, other than the Millie which is one of our favorite ships, is your proximity to home. Did you know that Anchorage is 1,300 miles north westish of Vancouver and after an exhiliariting cruise you will appreciate a flight that is that much shorter.

[FlorenceItaly]

Agree with the above. The only correction is do NOT go to Whittier - Celebrity cruises out of Seward! Not easy to get from Seward to Whittier.

 

Return your car at the Anchorage airport and take a shuttle to Seward it is a great drive and stops at an animal sanctuary on the way.. Book 2 nights in Seward - share a rental or get a hotel near the water and harbo and do the Kenai Fjords all day tour the following day. Probably the best boat scenic tour I have ever done. Easy to walk to the ship from town or call a taxi for about $10 or less.

 

I agree. My post cruise Kenai Fjords day tour was THE highlight of my cruise. It is a must do.

 

 

 

Marie

[Goodtime Cruizin]

I don't know how you so correctly chose a southbound Alaskan cruise but congrats are in order.

Ditto a few days in Anchorage or anywhere in Alaska. You can get information from the state of Alaska that will help as well as the Alaska boards here on Cruise Critic.

The southbound itinerary provided the greatest chance that you will have a wonderful day sailing into Hubbard Glacier and doing so in an aft cabin makes it even better. This itinerary sails the glacial bay in the afternoon when there is less fog and the lighting makes the glaciers look an even darker shade of turquoise.

If your cruise includes Icy Straits be sure to park on your balcony as you sail away. The ship glides through the passage and wildlife and sea life will return to the shores and follow the ship. It's an amazing experience.

If you can tack on a few days in Vancouver and love modern clean cities with ambiance and charm then do so.

Another great benefit, other than the Millie which is one of our favorite ships, is your proximity to home. Did you know that Anchorage is 1,300 miles north westish of Vancouver and after an exhiliariting cruise you will appreciate a flight that is that much shorter.

 

Well we let our TA know last October that we were interested in an Alaskan 2017 Cruise. She contacted us a couple of weeks ago to offer us this cruise and the aft cabin. It sounds like she did right by us.

 

Thank you all for the great responses. CC is great for sharing info, so Thanks again. I'm already beginning to reach out to a few of these suggestions, places and contacts.

 

Happy Cruising!

[Northern Aurora]

....

Return your car at the Anchorage airport and take a shuttle to Seward it is a great drive ....

 

 

The Alaska Railroad route between Anchorage and Seward is generally considered to be MUCH more scenic than the highway. Celebrity offers some rail transfer options but folks can just book directly with the ARR also.