Heidi13

We were very happy with the CP, I suggest watching the rate every few days, as they do post some special rates.

Departing from the airport to Canada Place, the taxi is a fixed rate. However, if you call a taxi to your airport hotel, assuming it isn't the Fairmont at YVR, the taxi fare will be as per the meter. If the airport has a free shuttle, you can take that back to the airport to get a taxi, if you prefer the fixed rate. I suggest paying for both the taxi and wine by credit card, requesting they charge you in Canadian Dollars and let your card provider do the exchange.

You are most likely departing from San Pedro, either the World Cruise Centre or Berth # 46. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza, which is about equidistant from both berths and is in town, so good selection of pubs and restaurants close by. If you know you are using Berth # 46, the Double Tree is closer to the berth, but not much around, as it is out of town.

Did the same scenic cruising on the 20 WC.

Your parent's experience is most unfortunate. Based on your post, your parents were unable to fly, due to their flights being one of thousands in North America that were cancelled coast to coast due to weather. Your parents contacted the 24/7 number that is provided to all pax, but they were unable to book new flights. The 24/7 emergency number does rebook flights that are missed, as I know a couple that contacted them at 02:00 last week and were found the last 2 seats on an alternative flight. However, with the number of cancelled flights, if no seats are available, the 24/7 emergency department can't possibly book new flights in time to make the cruise. Viking are only a travel agent when booking flights, so I'm having difficulty understanding how Viking are at fault, if the airlines have no flights available. You noted your parents purchased travel insurance, which is a prudent investment to mitigate the financial risk. Surely, you should be working with the insurance company to get a refund for your parents. BTW - if your parents purchased travel insurance through Viking, again Viking are only a sales agent, as the insurance is through Tripmate. I suggest reading the Tripmate insurance policy to determine if this is a covered event and dealing with them. If they used Tripmate, here is the online URL to initiate a claim https://www.tripmate.com/main/claims/

Definitely not worth the risk, as they would probably be terminated.

Just received the annual Xmas email from Robin Petch aka "The Whale & Dolphin Guy", noting he is aboard Neptune for the 22/23 WC. We had Robin on the 19/20 WC and he is a wealth of knowledge. His office is one of the tables up in Explorers and if not presenting in the Theatre, he is often outside Explorers on the fwd deck. Please pass on my regards, since we are unable to sail this WC.

I recall hearing the birds in the bathrooms, especially early morning, but like you, don't recall hearing piped music. I just assumed my selective hearing blocked out the background noise.😁

At least on Princess, this information is distributed to the crew. The Purser sends out reports, which work down the chain of command. Cabin Stewards are advised by their Accommodation Supervisors, the name and cabin number of any pax removing the DSC and if at a fixed table, the wait staff at the table are advised by their Head Waiter. They most definitely can disseminate this information.

Great attitude. If you enjoy wine, when in Adelaide, I suggest checking out the Barossa Valley, if tours are on offer. Some great wineries.

Same here, any shore-ex spend was refunded to our credit card.

My preference would be spending the entire day in Dubrovnik. Even though I have been a number of times, I can still spend an entire day. Normally start walking the wall, which is easily 2+ hrs, with lots of stops for photos, enjoying the vistas and refreshments. We then wander the narrow streets of the old town and around the harbour.

In the highly unlikely event I am detained by the authorities, whether I am carrying my passport is the least of my worries, and I will be contacting the local Canadian or UK Consulates requesting assistance for more than a temporary passport. You may be capable of securing your passport against common pick-pockets, but no matter how well hidden, it isn't secure against muggings, which are rather common in a number of port cities. If you are mugged and end up in hospital, the probability of muggers taking the ship's daily news paper or the agent's contact details is fairly low, so in all probability you or the hospital can still contact the agent. Failing that you contact the local Consulate, who will check with the ship's agent. Pax that lose passports ashore can have a challenging time getting a temporary replacement due to to ship visiting multiple ports and not all ports have access to consular services. It may take a few days to acquire a replacement passport, in many countries. BTW - in the unlikely event, time is not available to land passports ashore, that decision is not made by the "Crew", it is made by the Master, who is not a member of the crew. If not landing passports ashore, the Master does not have, "Better things to do", they have valid operational and/or safety reasons for not delaying departure by a further few minutes.

@wowzz What Wowzz posted regarding Princess sharing the DSC fleetwide is factual, and has been that way since our son quit working for P&O/Princess almost 10 yrs ago. It was also in force during our last Princess cruise in 2015. Since we were on an Australian based ship which has no DSC, I asked some of the crew I knew, if they still shared fleet-wide.

No - prepaying the "Discretionary Service Charge" does not increase the levels of service you receive. Although the DSC was introduced after I left cruise ships, I have discussed it with a number of crews I worked with. On the company I worked for the cabin stewards and MDR stewards were advised if you removed/reduced the DSC. They did not know if you pre-paid or paid on the final bill.

I don't need to hope I can reach the "Ship's Agent", as we don't go ashore without having their contact details with us, either taking the daily paper or copying. Never had any issue contacting the Ship's Agent, in many years at sea. The passports, of no-show pax, are normally landed ashore, unless they are not in the safe/readily apparent, or the Master deems they have insufficient time to delay departure. It is not security that makes this decision. We prefer to base the decision on a risk assessment, determining if the potential theft of our passports is more of a risk than being able to contact the agent and retrieving passports. Having dealt with ship's agents and been involved in the process of sending passports ashore, from my experience in the industry, the potential risk of having the passport stolen is greater than getting the passports from the agent. We tend to carry our actual passports when it is mandated by the country we are visiting.

In addition to ships operating in the N/American market, ships on World Cruises, Grand Voyages and Line-Voyages also use Panama Canal.

Seabourn Venture is their newest tonnage and is Panamax

P&O Aurora, as their oldest and smallest ship is also Panamax

All Fred Olsen ships are also all Panamax

In Tilbury you disembark into an old cargo shed, where you pick up your cases. Taxis/Ubers/Executive cars are available in the small pick-up/drop-off area right outside the cargo shed. The closest train station is about 1 mile.

While stabiliers can be fins or tanks, from what I have read, the Venture is fitted with fins that extend out from the ship. When not required, and for docking, they are folded into the hull. To be effective, the stabalisers require the ship to be moving, so I am having difficulty understanding how the reduced effectiveness of the stabilisers would impact the S Georgia landings, as the ship is stopped - anchored or holding position in DP Mode. Has to be another reason for eliminating S Georgia. Unless a stabaliser suffered contact damage, many issues can be resolved with a drydocking. We have also used divers for an increasing number of underwater repairs.

In 2020 it was called the Royal Peninsula Tour, but the itinerary you posted sounds familiar. We found this tour to be the most comprehensive of all available ship and private tours. Rather than steaming down to Dunedin, most cruise ships dock at Port Chalmers, which has a terminal building between the 2 normal cruise ship berths. We talked into the terminal and quickly found the vendor - who either had a desk or sign. Once the group arrived our guide walked us to the car and we set-off.

Since we are only about 30 miles from Canada Place, we would save the airfare. When booking Alaska, we always book a B2B. Even for other destinations, flights may be cheaper to/from Vancouver, than a flight to Vancouver, then return from Anchorage.

Brilliant photo, thanks for sharing