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There´s no passport control unless the ship has arrived from the US. If it´s a cruise from Civitavecchia to Barcelona or a roundtrip out of Barcelona you entered the Schengen area already by plane and there´s no passport control at the port when disembarking. steamboats

The Viking Beyla is shown upriver of the Carola bridge. So she's trapped and can't go downriver. Just saw the news and the photos. Fortunately nobody was hurt. steamboats

It´s day 10 of the cruise and we visit the Hubbard Glacier, Icy Bay and the Tsaa Fjord with the impressive waterfalls at Guyot Glacier. steamboats

Day 9 sees us in the little village Elfin Cove which is known for deep sea fishing. Later some young humpbacks show us how good they are in breeching.

@Tyler414 Uber / Lyft is not such a big thing in Spain and other parts of Europe. steamboats

@Nachosdelux I´ve been to Barcelona many times and yes, you can be out and at the airport pretty soon. But I also have seen extreme long lines at the taxi stand (usually they clear up quickly, I never waited more than 15 min, they are super well organized there). I also have seen extreme long lines at the airport security. So both can happen. It depends on the time of the day (8 am is early, but by 8:30 or 9 am the lines are forming up). It depends on the day of the week. It depends on how many ships are in port. steamboats

On day 8 we visit the Dawes Glacier in Endicott Arm and move on to Tracy Arm to explore the North and South Sawyer Glaciers with a local boat. steamboats

The fixed rate is 45 Euro. Here´s a link to the official website (Spanish) and the Barcelona Tourist Guide (private, English). steamboats

Day 7 sees us in Kake a little Tlingit village where we watch black bears and have a look at the largest totem pole made out of one tree. Not to mention the humpbacks later that day. steamboats

Our next stop on day 6 is Petersburg. We opted to hike Ravens Roost Trail on our own which turned out a little bit longer than we thought. We also explored the little town. steamboats

Holding a paper map (or a newspaper) directly to your body and then picking your wallet is one of the oldest scams in Rome and other cities 🤣. steamboats

On day 5 we´re docked in Wrangell. In the morning we join a jetboat tour on the Stikine river. In the afternoon we explore the little town and the Petroglyph beach. Early in the night the captain woke us up with an announcement which made everyone jump out of bed an got outside 😉. steamboats

Actually I have two cases, one without the neck strap for use in a bag and one with a neck strap. So it´s not were thick. I don´t think that anyone will grab the strap and pull. But here are two examples for devices to secure a cell phone Number 1 has a telephone spiral cord. Number 2 has a pull out cord. Both can be used with a regular phone case. I also prefer the neck strap case for making photos onboard. I always in fear that my cell phone might fall overboard when taking a photo ;-). steamboats

As a woman I prefer those cell phone chains so I can hang it around my neck. But I just saw some device similar to a card you need to carry around. It´s with a roll up cord and can be connected to your cell phone. So this prevents your cell phone from being taken easily plus it can´t fall out of your pocket. The cord might not be safe in regards of it can´t be cut. But when you have your phone in a front pocket of your clothes or an easy access pocket of your bag it can´t be taken easly without you noticing anything. I also have a belly bag with zippers which can be locked with a carabiner. steamboats

The only really big port with lots of cruise ships waits for us on day 4 - Ketchikan. We explore the city on our own with the "Walking Tour Map" offered by the visitor information. In the afternoon we kayak in Orca Cove. steamboats

After four days without internet I finally can continue my review with day 3 and the second day in the Inside Passage with some surprises. steamboats

Another part is online - Day 2 - we're cruising the Inside Passage. Great, I wanted to work on the review the whole weekend and woke up to Alexa telling me she doesn't have internet. Seems like we need some new hardware. So I can only work offline meaning I can work on my photos but not work on new entries. Fortunately my mobile phone is online (when I'm close to a window at the street side of my home 🤣). steamboats

Transit is only when you fly into the US and change planes to fly to another country. So as an example: You fly into LA and onward to Tahiti - then you´re in Transit. When you touch US soil (outside of an airport) you´re in the US and not in Transit. steamboats

Today´s entry covers our travel to Vancouver and our first evening onboard. This is the first time ever I traveled from Germany to Canada (or US) boarding a ship the same day without a pre cruise hotel night. You have to wait a bit for more entries until the weekend... steamboats

Thanks all for your kind words! The review continues with our balcony cabin 724 onboard the Hanseatic spirit. steamboats

The BIRG ticket is also available at the ticket machines inside the train station (machines are multi language). Don´t forget to cancel/validate the tickets. There are boxes at the platform where you can stamp the ticket. There´s a bus running from the ship to the train station. It´s the most expensive part of a trip to Rome as this bus is 6 Euro single ride. Or you walk 20 min. steamboats

Part 3 covers extra costs onboard - WiFi, spa, beverages and more. steamboats

Part 2 covering the decks 7 to 9 is online. steamboats

We had the pleasure to cruise onboard the Hanseatic spirit from Vancouver to Seward (15 nights). I just started my photo extense review with part 1 about the ship itself - and I just realized that today the Hanseatic spirit is celebrating its 3rd birthday. The text is in German but usually automatic translation works pretty well - and there are still the photos ;-). The first part covers the ship from deck 3 to deck 6 - actually I planned one part for the ship but as I said... too many photos. Usually I try to post one part per day but I don´t have that much time anymore so I´m limited to the weekends to work on the review. I´ll let you know when a new part went online. Enjoy! steamboats

It depends on the type of charter and the charter contract... So when you book with Amadeus directly you get their product as advertised on their website. This may or may not include beverages, shore tours... When you book a full A&K charter they only use the ship and crew but the product may be different. So there might be different entertainment, more included (like beverages, wifi, shore tours). So you have to compare the two offers. steamboats