CDNPolar

OMG, don't get me started on Priority tags at Pearson. To me when arriving back at Toronto Pearson, those orange/red'ish tags may well mean to the luggage handlers "keep to last". Come on - Priority luggage is not a new concept around the world. Whether your priority is because you spend 700 bucks a year on a credit card, or you actually fly in Business or First (if it exists on your airline) the bags are to be segregated and delivered front of the line. In my experience this rarely happens in Toronto Pearson. Oh, and Pearson, we just count on 45 minute wait whether our bags come out first or not. This is the joke we have with Nexus. We are out of the Immigration area in 5 minutes and ahead of the line of 500 others, but then we just stand and wait at the luggage until our entire flight is there also. If you are checking luggage to be claimed at Pearson, Nexus just prevents you from standing in a line at Immigration to standing at the luggage carousel.

There are no seats at Cairo airport because they fill the space with the multiple security screening areas.

I agree with all of this but what if airports were like this? I think fair comment and question, but I personally after 12 cruises have no recollection of a cruise terminal that was not warehouse looking and some have actually given me the vibe of horror movies where you are entering a building where they might pull a hood over your head and you wake up minus a kidney.

We cruise almost exclusively Viking who does include WiFi for everyone. You are limited to I think two devices per person logged in at a time, but hey... If the major cruise lines that do not include WiFi now want to include WiFi, they could but they would increase the base cabin price by the WiFi cost per person per day and by the number of occupants in the room. I don't see this as one that will go away as this is a given that people are going to pay for this. The majors make their money on the add ons and this is a major and expected add on for the majority of the ship.

I am speaking about Canadian products now that can be very different, but we have opted for the next 12 months to use an annual plan as it will significantly reduce our spend on insurance, but I spent probably without exaggeration 8 hours on the phone with insurance companies before I got all the answers to the questions I had. Regarding your pre-existing conditions that you "think" would be waived? No, why would they waive pre-existing conditions just because it is an annual policy? Pre-existing conditions can be a money pit for insurance companies which is why most don't cover them, or they have very specific stability periods and requirements. Some even limit the amount of coverage while travelling for pre-existing conditions. You may have a $10 Million policy for medical but the pre-existing may only be covered to $300K or there abouts. Regarding pre-existing conditions for my Canadian annual policy: Know and understand what "stability" is for any pre-existing condition. For my policy, this means no medication change, no new meds, no reduction or stoppage of meds. No tests pending or booked or recommended in the future - for the pre-existing condition. For my annual policy stability for medical is the above for 180 days. For my annual policy stability for cancelation is the above for 90 days. In the 12 months ahead of me, we have 3 cruises booked. I must be 180 days stable before each departure date for medical and 90 days stable before each departure date for cancelation / interruption. My policy only pays a max of $5K per person, but we can top this up if we want to. We have $2.5K coverage on a credit card as well, so we essentially have $7.5K per person and we hedge our bets on any amount on top of that. Just know your policy inside and out, and don't rely on the policy language as it can be confusing. Read the policy word for word, then call with questions. Because calls are recorded now - in most cases - when I get the answers that I want I ask for the reference number to that call so that if needed the insurance company can easily get the call recording to hear what I asked and what I was told.

We have learned that delays, cancelations, and many other reasons can cause any tech that you have to run out of juice. We always carry a charger that is super fast and has more than enough extra juice for any occasion. I know that wired is restrictive, and although at home I go completely wireless with my sound, on a flight I still depend on wires.

What @CruiserBruce said, but for your peace of mind, when you check your bags for the Rouge flight just ask if they are checked right through. Also take note of the luggage tag that it has both Montreal and Athens listed. Even when you expect this to be the case - which it most certainly will be - asking just rids you of any doubts.

If they are telling you to keep them then they are not reused, IMO.

I didn't think that you knew it was me!

This meets my personal care and travel essential needs.

They sell product. I have seen many people buying.

You are so lucky... We are coming out of the "haze" of a couple of pre-existing conditions where all meds have now been stopped because the threat is over... but that stoppage of medication makes the condition pre-existing and of more concern - unstable for the next 90 days and 180 days. Well, for the next 90 days for cancellation, but for medical claim while travelling it is 180 days.

My understanding is, yes, in limited supply and type, but there would be a cost associated with this. The Ship's Doctor is not a free visit for an antihistamine. I may be way off base with this, but I don't think that Viking Medical Centre operates by dispensing free medications, OTC or prescription.

Did not know that... I am not yet 65 but it is not far down the road... What about pre-existing conditions?

We have a TD Infinite Privilege card and it gives AC lounge access. This one is $599 per year, but if you look at all the additional benefits of this card on top of the lounge access such as the companion ticket once annually, the fee is paid for pretty quickly. We have been playing with cards over the last year and because we have more or less exhausted our AC benefits from new cards and first year bonuses we are looking for new strategies.

IMO and my experience the river cruises are always slightly more casual. Also depends on the time of year and the destinations involved. Our Egypt Nile cruise was so very casual. Many people coming back from a 35C day in the desert would go to dinner in what they were wearing during the day. Egypt is extreme, but we did Eastern Europe in late August and the same thing. 35C and higher and the vibe was very casual. Also, for me, the Viking River ships all under air condition the lounge and the dining room. We were "baking" almost every night to which end, we did not often go to the lounge after dinner because we were exhausted from the heat in the dining room and could not bear the thought of extending that discomfort after dinner.

I made this statement (some time back) - that Viking's demographic is aging and with that Viking is losing them.... and many people came back and said that NO, as the next generation down is aging, they are replacing them. Below is a chart of age ranges in the USA - source Google. What my philosophy is, is that yes there are people behind the Silent Generation and Boomers that are replacing "us", BUT they grew up in a different era and want different things. I personally believe that IPO or not, Viking does need to grow with the times because the up and coming retirees that can afford Viking in cost and time will want different things than Viking's current demographic. This is not just about age in my opinion. For those of us still working today, look at the gaps in the office environment between the different age groups and their wants and needs. The younger workers have very different wants and needs from the Silents and the Boomers. Heck, even the current demographic of Viking is evolving. In 2017 when we first went on a Viking cruise, we would see so many iPads for picture taking and fewer (not none, but fewer) smartphones. Today, smartphones everywhere. Technology is reshaping the Silents and the Boomers now and what the generations behind us want is not what we wanted. IMO.

Agree here.... there are some people that are just so oblivious to their surroundings and they are LOUD everywhere they go. Nothing to do with drinking. Very true. Occasionally you see a few people travelling together or newly acquainted in the Explorer Lounge later in the evening "having a lot of fun together" but they are not over the top... just feeling good. It is the low ceilings IMO and the tables are too close together. Thank goodness they don't play loud music like the neighbourhood restaurants at home play.

I have a small kit of OTC meds that I bring on every cruise. You can never count on the shop having what you need, nor can you count on it being open when you need something. I bring: Antihistamine tablets Advil Tylenol Extra Strength Tylenol Back Imodium Tylenol Cold and Flu Heartburn Relief Charcoal caps Probiotic Antibiotic Ointment Gravol Some think that this is overkill, but I have a type of pill organizer that is specifically made for carrying these types of meds in small quantities. I probably bring 8 or so of each pill depending on how many fit in each compartment. This has saved us many times from having to find a pharmacy. I also travel with large size bandaids for your heels if you get a blister. These are large (2.5" X 3") so they are above the heel of your shoe when applied and then they are not rubbed off from walking. The typical finger style bandaid never stays put on a heel blister. This type on Amazon even comes with cut out labels for all sorts of brands and pills. The one I have does not have the cutouts, but I just applied labels to each compartment.

We went on multiple on River with Viking. When we booked in advance we chose one or two per day depending on what times were available, but when we boarded we were on more... more meaning that they just put us on additional excursions without advance notice. We just received the tickets. Not sure if they were additional included, or what they were. We did not investigate, we just went.

The day before at the Port Talk, speak with the Shore Excursions manager right after the talk - don't wait until the day of. If there is room, the port talks generally foster some interest and you may lose a spot if you wait. They will sign you up immediately and charge your stateroom account.

Yes, somewhere there is a discussion about this but we have never seen this happen yet.

I appreciate your concerns about this model, but I think most people would be amazed at how much of our world is outsourced today in this kind of model. This does not mean - if executed well - that the individual crew member that you meet on the ship is not trained and held to the exacting standards that the client company demands. That is all part of the outsourcing. Believe me, every nurse we present to the UK either at least meets, if not exceeds the UK's standard in knowledge, ability, and care. It does come down to can the company do the recruitment, onboarding, training, contract management, scheduling, etc., as well as the specialist that this is all they do? This is not the same contracting model that I believe you are referring to with 50-100% salary increases... in this model no one is being paid more than the cruise company would pay if they did it all themselves. In this kind of model the cruise company or client company is paying a service fee for the services but likely pay rolling the crew themselves.

Yep... many folks have an impression that it is US/Canada but we have only flown to or through the USA perhaps 3 times in the last 10 years. It is expedited security at Toronto Pearson - with TSA Approved so you don't pull your liquids or laptop...etc., and all that BS. When coming back to Canada from anywhere you skip that 300 person line and breeze through immigration only to wait at luggage claim for the next 45 minutes. When you transit through the US - such as Chicago - on the way back to Canada, you go quickly through their Global Entry system. It is a no brainer to us.

Born and raised in the greater Toronto area and Pearson has been my primary airport. I will admit that there are many better airports in Europe and especially in Asia, perhaps I am numb to what Pearson really is. Yes, it is over crowded, and the food outlets suck, but we know that and are prepared for that so I guess we enter with low or no expectations. We pay for the credit cards that give us Maple Leaf Lounge access and this makes the experience a bit better.