Mary229

Picking up the HAL grand South America at Buenos Aires, Iguazu falls, Carnival in Rio then 5 or so days on the Amazon then on to Fort Lauderdale. This is DH’s bucket list item

Pretty much this indicates 100% protection. This is the great myth we are suffering under currently. There is an urban myth that vaccines do 1. Protect 100% 2. There are no studies which have tested vaccinated individuals en masse for the disease as we have done in with coronavirus. Many of us may be walking around with measles, flu, mumps, smallpox, etc… but being asymptomatic by virtue of our vaccination status we are considered 100% protected.

Don’t bother. It is used but I quickly noted the line for verifly was no quicker than our Neanderthal line.

If you like those you will definitely be amused by the tux question in the Ask a Cruise Question forum. There is a brawl brewing over who should wear what and who was raised by wolves😅

I added a little more to my post

The complete answer would violate Covid rules on Cruise Critic. The start up process should be finished and staffing levels should be ar a semi permanent level. Borders between the US and Canada should be fully open, currently the White Pass rail is not running cross border, I am sure by 2023 they will.

@Laminator both the Hilton and the Sheraton are in the airport. If your porters can take you curbside, which should be the case, they can transport you to either hotel. Literally in the airport. both the Sheraton and the Hilton had in hotel testing facilities. Here is the Hilton https://hiltonamsterdamairportschipol.wi-q.com/ this is the professional, quick testing service inside the Hilton https://jouwafspraak.nl/ also for ease of cruise boarding the Movenpick is next door to the terminal. I enjoyed my stay there, it is at the quiet end of a street with a harbor view. We enjoyed just hanging out people watching. Nice buffet breakfast and a subway 2 doors down if you don’t want to “go out”, not exactly heart healthy but after 30 days of cruising a sub was just what I wanted 😉

For any diseases remember to wash your face often too. We are so obsessed with hand washing we often overlook washing our face

Please provide sources for that. To my knowledge no study indicated that MMR gave 100% protection.

Me, too. I told the DH if the nurse had also taken my blood pressure she would have said I was unfit to travel. It is so nerve wracking. I sure wish they would not test those of us who are fully boosted. be sure you wash your face when you wash your hands.

If the wind bothers you and you can open and shut the door, put a hand towel between the door and frame, this will act as a weather seal. I have been able to fix all ship sounds with a hand towel or wash cloth.

Just read this article on the Points Guy. KLM has halted reservations for this weekend https://thepointsguy.com/news/klm-amsterdam-long-waits

My first Amazon cruise was a nightmare from beginning to end. It was a steamer sailing the upper Amazon of Peru. The story is too long to recount here as the disasters aboard would take pages of text. We are trying again 15 years later on a cruise ship. I guess we are forever optimistic.

The security and checkin waits are long. Two weeks ago I opted to stay at the Hilton and that was an excellent choice. I took my Covid test at the Hilton. I walked to the airline lounge for breakfast. Ideal, no stress. My flight was for 11:00 am

We are spending time in Montreal pre-cruise. We are staying in old town near the port. Can anyone recommend a testing location that is reasonable. I prefer testing sites to self tests but will carry self tests if need be.. Thank you.

Hand washing with a gentle wool cleanser is fine.

I do this also. we only take very long cruises so there are plenty of sea days, enough for both for exploration and napping.

Currency exchange is all about how much you are exchanging. For the few hundred dollars cash I may need on a cruise I use the convenience of the ship. We are talking a few dollars for convenience and that is worth it to me. Last cruise I only needed cash for restrooms and tips, that hardly amounted to anything

For lack of anything else to do I took a wine and tapas tour on a recent cruise. I called it rapid dating for couples. We met people who we later toured independently with. So it had a hidden value I had not considered. That said I probably wouldn’t do one again except as an add on at the very end of the day. I have a similar view about panoramic tours. We often do up to 10 miles of walking in port. If we arrive back to ship and they have a late afternoon panoramic we will do it, again we have met people whose company we enjoyed and learned a bit from the tour guide. I do not like the current trend where all excursions start before 9 in the morning

Exactly. When offering personal financial advice to anyone for any reason I advise alerts set at the very minimum allowed. One should always know if their credit card is at a party they are not attending.

I use Whatsinport and Tom’s port guides to understand logistics from the ports. I also use google maps and AllTrails to find walkable areas from the port if possible. Whatsinport and Tom’s are pretty good explaining if you need a shuttle, transport or can simply walk off. There is also a Dutch couple on YouTube who does very good videos on where the port is and how to walk or find transport. Perhaps I can find their videos with a little work

@Babr I do have a full medical policy for travel so that is good. Yes my costs exceed the limit and the only reason I would cancel would be death of parent or travel partner (spouse) or medical incapacitation of either of us. You make good points about vouchers. I have one or two non refundable costs and I will bear the loss if there is not an affordable solution

It might be worth moving it to next year when everything should be back to normal. We are doing this same tour but only as an extension of a larger trip. If I were in your shoes I would seriously consider 2023

I could use some advice. I have a full annual medical travel policy. I have Chase Sapphire insurance which will cover the actual cruise fare. Is it possible to buy a “supplemental “ policy to cover additional expenses such as hotels, flights and tours? Or do I need to cover everything in one policy and work it out with the insurance agencies if there is a claim. I know Chase puts themselves in a second position. Thank you. another angle is we each have a Chase sapphire card. If I pay the fare on one and the other expenses on another are they then treated as separate insurance?

I would expect more than a simple reimbursement. I think perhaps you are missing something. I would call