Background: If there is one area where I would do it much better, it would be the research and background of which cruise line to use. Although I thought I had researched cruise lines thoroughly I should have spent more time in this area. Unfortunately, the cruise lines don't make it easy to find out specifics and particulars so it can be very time consuming. Although I selected Celebrity, I would not recommend them due to my personal experiences and will never do business with them again. Their awful website, poor customer service on the phone and lack of follow-up information, even after paying in full, results in the conclusion that I will not book another cruise nor accompanying land tour with them. The frustration and energy expended trying to get basic information from Celebrity simply is not worth the effort, in my opinion. Especially when paying thousands of dollars up-front!

Despite multiple phone calls and e-mails to our TA and Celebrity, we never got confirmed information (hotels, timeline, etc.) about our land tour until we actually got on the bus after disembarkation when they handed us a sheet with the daily itinerary and times listed, along with an excursions list. They had told us that due to possible fluctuations they couldn't provide any of this information ahead of time. Bullfeathers. The sheet they provided us on the bus was obviously mass-produced and printed in quantities so Celebrity clearly knew what hotels we were staying at and approximately what time we would be in certain locations. So why don't they give this same information to customers beforehand? I believe the main reason is that you cannot try and plan any excursions on your own and are forced to use the ones Celebrity offers. This is a similar tactic to warning people not to book cruise excursions other than with their excursion companies because you might get "left behind."

On both the cruise and the land tour, I booked excursions directly with local AK companies who were VERY professional and accommodating and were able to shift our reservations accordingly. These local companies in AK are very familiar with the cruise ships and their livelihoods depend on good service! Read more