Enjoyment of the Persian Garden is another perk that is free for AquaClass® guests and is available for a surcharge for others. To gain access, simply show your room key to the spa services desk. Lockers are available, as well. If you’d like to use one, just exchange your room key for a locker key.

Upon entering the Persian Garden, we instantly drifted away as we took in the decor and inhaled the aromatherapy-filled air. Heated ceramic loungers lined one side of the room and, while we must admit that they didn’t look very cozy, they were incredibly comfortable and cathartic. There were also three large specialty sauna/steam rooms: a very hot Turkish bath, a dry steam room, and an Aromatherapy steam room. After spending time in each, it was hard not to feel recharged.

Which leads us to our Alaskan cruising experience.

The cruise up the Inside Passage was extremely calm and, with land always in sight, we got to enjoy the natural scenic beauty of British Columbia. Our first port was Ketchikan. Here, we had the opportunity to try out our rain jackets, as the weather was not in our favor. Luckily, though, this was the only day of rain during our trip. There were many things to do in Ketchikan, especially if you enjoy shopping. We decided to try something different, though, and opted to snorkel. Don’t worry; they supplied wetsuits. Overall, we highly recommend this adventure because it not only provides great memories, but it’s also an excellent conversation starter when you mention that you went snorkeling in Alaska.

The next port of call was Icy Strait Point. We decided to check out Hoonah, a local town with a unique culture and countless fun activities. Here, nothing is written down and everything is told through storyboards. Fortunately for us, we learned that there was a carving project going on upon our arrival. At the event, three Native Americans carved a 30-foot by 15-foot storyboard and two totem poles. After listening to their story, we wandered around town before heading back to the ship.

The next stop was Juneau. Here, we took a Mendenhall Glacier and city tour. The city has lots of history, plenty of jewelry shopping and, of course, the world famous Red Dog Saloon. The highlight of our tour, though, was visiting the glacier and walking up to the falls. We got so close to the glacier that we were able to fully appreciate the immensity of it. The waterfalls were also spectacular.

On to Skagway next.

Unfortunately, the White Pass train was full, so we ended up taking a bus tour instead. However, even the tour bus driver said it’s worth taking the train; so if you do have the opportunity to visit Skagway, we suggest booking the train early. The bus followed the train route as far as Fraser and we crossed into Canada and continued on our way to Emerald Lake. We were lucky that it was a sunny day, because we were able to watch how the lake turned emerald. You cannot see the northern lights in the summer, so the local Native Americans have a legend that says they reside in the lake then. After that, it was back to the ship. This is a fairly long tour, so we just made it back to the ship at last call.

The last stop was the Hubbard Glacier. All we can say is ‘Wow.’ The Captain was able to get the ship extremely close to it; better yet, the ship did a 1800 so we were able to see the glacier from all angles.

When we weren’t out on land, we were enjoying everything that Celebrity Millennium has to offer. With all the planned events going on, we could stay as active or relaxed as we wanted. Of particular note, the nightly entertainment was above par and thoroughly enjoyable.

We would like to thank Cedric from the I-Lounge who helped get us set up and going on this blog. We would also like to thank Claudia, Kate and Sylvia, who made all the arrangements and did everything first class. Last but not least, we would also like to thank the Captain’s Club hostess, Juliana, for doing everything in her power to make us feel like VIPs.

Of course, we also have to thank Celebrity for putting on the contest in the first place. Just remember, you can’t win if you don’t enter the contests.

Thank you all for this once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

Jacqueline and Norm

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• celebrity cruises
• aquaclass
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• alaska