Hoyaheel

I'm sure whatever you use at home will be perfectly fine for what you want to do in Alaska - and helpfully, nicely broken in so you won't get hot spots/blisters!

Our cruise was very port intensive and there were several cooking classes on port days. There was also one cooking demo in the theater; I did not attend. (ironically, I believe I was in a cooking class at the time)

I do culinary classes because they're fun. I'm a pretty good cook. I learned some new recipes and we enjoyed ourselves. I used a different type of knife that I quite enjoyed and might buy for home. Our chef was a VERY good instructor - she's been teaching for years. Professional chefs are not always good instructors - very different skill sets.

For specifics, you should try the Princess board and see if anyone who has sailed recently has noted this information - better chance there than here, probably.

[It doesn't matter why someone wants to know something. Someone asked. It's a messageboard for sharing information, so if someone has a responsive answer, we give it. That's what we do. We try to be helpful like that.]

Even on an Alaska trip where we visited family on land and did some hiking, I was fine with goretex hiking shoes. So that's what I've brought for each of my AK cruises as well. (I don't have good luck with "sneakers" in general - shoes marketing as "walking shoes" - esp German ;-) - or "hiking shoes" fit my feet better, so that's what I buy and use when I'm doing a lot of walking - be it trails in Alaska or wintry cobblestones in Europe.) 

I agree your current itinerary doesn't look like it warrants anything super ankle-supportive but you never know what might change (we did a lot of walking through wooded trails just when we walked off a cruise ship, so....) 

We've seen several shows on the Panama Canal over the years - Modern Marvels, Impossible Engineering etc. If you have any streaming or on demand options, won't hurt to do a quick search. Maybe some things on you tube as well; I haven't looked lately.

Just did 2 classes in December on Riviera. They were $69 each. They do NOT include the apron - it's $19 to purchase. You get handouts with the recipes you're using in the class, but they also sell a cookbook that has the recipes from most or all of the class recipes. [I was bummed the apron wasn't included - more than half my aprons at home are from HAL cooking classes husband and I did a decade ago ;-)]

I booked our classes online at least 2 months in advance. I didn't see any added on our cruise (14 day holiday/Caribbean) but I wasn't paying CLOSE attention (I did read the newsletter everyday, but perhaps they sent notices only to people who were on waitlists or such).

I try to avoid blanket recommendations - specific itineraries and passport/nationality matter when it comes to visas. I don't know what each cruise itinerary is nor do I know where people might be before or after their cruise. You're very happy with the evisa. It might make a lot of sense for a lot of people. But it's not the only option and not always the appropriate or legal option. We're not disagreeing on this.

Please note that evisa are single entry only [as of now, at least] - so if you're coming back through Vietnam at any point during your trip (not a couple ports in a row - but coming back after another country) you have to get a different type of visa. evisas might be great but they do NOT fit all scenarios. 

Cruiselines don't control country immigration, but they sure control who is allowed on their ships. If they say you need XYZ paperwork or you don't board.....

And yet - some of us still love locks, no matter what. Even when they all look the same. Even when it's dark and you can't see clearly (that's what doing a Christmas markets river cruise will do for locks transit 😉 ) Sure, it's not for everyone. Nothing is. But details matter to the % of us who care.....No matter what the topic or question!

Yeah, some of us are REALLY into weird engineering stuff - so OP, thank you for asking this question 🙂 My in-laws are booked on a holiday Panama Canal cruise for 2020; though I'm not sure if they'll actually take the cruise or not....

I don't like silicone tubes for carry-on - they're too bulky! (at least all the varieties I've seen have been) I own a few and will use them in checked luggage, but they take up space I want for other things in my 3-1-1 bag ;-) I also don't like using packing cubes in an organized packing manner. Perhaps I'm just contrary ;-) I do think it's important to check out everyone's ideas and play around until you find a style that works for you!

[I overpacked on my last trip. I was MISERABLE. I, personally, was distraught by what I had to carry, unpack, use (or not use) and repack. So I know that the stress of packing lighter is worth it TO ME because the alternative doesn't work ;-)]

19 minutes ago, clo said:

Mercy 🙂 What ingredient there is off-putting to you? 

Well, I don't really like bearnaise. So I wouldn't go out of my way to make or try that combo. YMMV, that's the thing about food ;-)

I don't consider myself a cheerleader - I just went on my first Oceania cruise. I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food - my husband and I really enjoyed it. My in-laws (she of the "well-done" meat and my FIL of the "lobster every night" at the Terrace) actually went to dinner with us in the Dining Room and enjoyed it (their first time in GDR but their 5th Oceania cruise). My FIL had sushi and steak bulgogi for the first time and loved them. So you never know.

My husband had escargot served two or three different ways during our recent Riviera cruise - different styles on different nights, in different restaurants. I believe Polo served in puff pastry and Jacques in the garlic butter as shown above here. We also had several versions of "Creme brulee" (sorry, don't feel like searching for the accents today, please use your imagination). Some were better than others [in my and my MIL's opinions], some were traditional and some were not.

My MIL got the filet w/ foie gras at Jacques - immediately put the foie on my plate ;-) [she also orders the filet well done but we don't talk about that in the family ;-)]

Have you sent a registered letter? Email? Anything in writing?? I would do that ASAP if you have not already. If there is a procedure listed on their website for how to request the refund, make sure you note each step you have taken to properly follow that procedure. Make a paper trail as best you can! Be factual and concise and explicit.

Key West was one port I was really looking forward to but we had to skip because of the terrible storms in the area (Dec 23) 😞 Ah well. The cruise was pretty port- intensive for me (my MIL chose the cruise and she hates sea days - I love them) so having an extra day at sea was lovely for me. This isn't your first SS cruise, right - you went a couple years ago? Sounds like a lovely first post-retirement cruise!

It will be listed in your final trip details/materials (pdf via email and/or the book sent to your house). It depends on your room category (and potentially your Oceania status?) We had no status and were in a standard veranda and our boarding time was 1:00pm (Dec 22 2019). I think we arrived around 12:30? We were allowed on, our cabins ready around 2:30? (I think they say the verandas are ready at 3pm so we were ready early 😉

Yep, I live rurally too - and even in the larger town where I work, I don't think there are many B&M travel agents left. I LOVE travel planning and am a true DIYer - I only use an agent to get perks I can't get myself. So I'm really only using as a booking agent. But for a group like you're trying to corral - heck yeah, I'd let someone else do the heavy lifting!!! Good luck.

Just off  Riviera on Sunday - on each side of the bed, 1 US outlet. At desk - Euro outlet on left and US outlet on right. Those are the outlets we used during the trip (we did bring an adapter in case it was necessary but we did just fine with the 3 US plugs - and I opted to bring my US hair appliance to use at the desk instead of my euro version)

It really depends on the type of cruise. Since you mention pool, I assume you're talking about a warm weather option, Caribbean or Med during the summer,  maybe SE Asia? I just did my first Caribbean cruise in over a decade (i'm NOT a beach person) and found I could wear tops in port only once before washing - we walked a lot and I am a sweaty person (same in Mekong last summer). I brought technical tops & shorts so easy to wash & dry overnight (it was a 14 day cruise, we had self-serve laundrettes on board - I did a load of laundry twice on trip and washed a few things in the cabin). For night time stuff, I wore stuff 3-4 times, aired out between wearings - because I was indoors in a/c and not wearing for very long.

In cold weather & more casual travel, I often wear things 3-4 times, airing out in between, and often using a heat tech or similar base layer that can easily be washed & dried in room. 

If you aren't in a position (with upcoming cruise travel or from friends) to ask people about their agents, you can ask about travel agents on OTHER message boards that don't have the same restrictions as CC, or you can just start googling for reviews and keep an eye on companies that come up in good reviews repeatedly. Look at YouTube and FB for videos from agencies and see what sorts of responses those posts get (being aware that bad stuff can often be deleted, of course). Look for balanced reviews. I agree to start with the cruise company website and see who THEY recommend....Good luck!

OK, from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap we flew Cambodia Angkor Air according to my boarding pass. I can't find the info on packing we were told on the ship, so it might have been just verbal in the daily meeting? I know I was frustrated - not by the baggage limits really; I was underweight - but by the scheduling and not being able to pack bags in the way I wanted. (husband just reminded me of this when I was asking him about the flights) We had to get on the plane, deplane and go straight to see temples. Our bags went to the hotel to wait for us. Which meant we either had to bring laptops & other sensitive issues with us to the Angkor complex or leave things "unattended" at the hotel. I'm not sure there's an ideal way to handle this - they can only do so much with the timing - but it was frustrating nonetheless...

When you open Lyft, before you book, the app will tell you the fare - so you have the option not to book if you don't want to. Haven't used Uber in ages but I think it will as well. I often do that to check fares when planning trips when I can't find estimates online. Good luck!

Our cruise was quite lovely!!