Fairgarth

It's counter-intuitive, of course, but actually it's not. In the early days of Covid, one of the U.S. universities (Johns Hopkins maybe?) borrowed two aircraft from United (which were sitting on the ground, doing nothing) and set up a series of scientific tests. I'm quoting from memory so stand to be corrected here. They set up a dummy on a seat spewing micro particles just like the Covid virus and then located dectectors around the seat in various locations. Then they moved the dummy to a different seat and did it again. And again. Then they took the aircraft to 35,000 feet and did it again. Turns out your chances of catching Covid on a flight are very slim. The air comes in above you and is extracted at floor level by your feet so the air current is downwards and the particles did not spread through the cabin. As for airports, however, that would be a different story I'm sure.

Sorry, no beach within walking distance. The closest would be at Fort James. Anas on the Beach is on Dickensen Beach, a bit further north, one of the better ones but usually busy. Sorry again, no point in walking around town and nothing to explore. Lots to do on Antigua but you need to head out on wheeled transport from the port. Check out the 'Antigua Nice' website for ideas.

To respond to the original question, as I see it FWIW for gentlemen (can't advise the ladies). Smart casual would be dress pants with a crease, dress shirt with long sleeves and a collar. French cuffs, maybe? Shoes, not sneakers. Tie and jacket not required. Casual would be none of the above.

They are not that stupid! Some years ago, Northlink Ferries ordered three new ships - two from Finland and one from the Clyde. Then the Clyde came back and said they could not do the job. Right then, three from Finland, nae problem! How the mighty are fallen.

Thank you, kind Sir, for your reports on the voyage. I was interested for two reasons. First, the Panama Canal is on my bucket list. And second, having done crossings on the QM2 I was dubious if the other Queens would measure up. Those fears are now put to rest.

...and now for something completely different... Last time we sailed out of Civitavecchia we stayed at a B & B in Tarquinia for three nights (I tre Camini). We got the train from Fiumicino airport to Tarquinia (one change) and the owner met us at the station. When we checked out she gave us a ride to the cruise port. Tarquinia is a lovely, medieval hilltop town. We enjoyed our stay.

Thank you for the feedback, we appreciate it. All's well that ends well. Having cruised 21 times on seven different lines but never Regent, we are following your reports with great interest so thank you once more.

Yelp! This is a looming disaster! DW and her sister love rose de Provence. We are booked on Splendor in a few weeks - our first cruise on Regent. Our last trip was on Koningsdam where they had plenty of Whispering Angel so the sisters were happy. So please elucidate - is this a purely temporary, highly unusual situation for Regent? Or if not, should we contact them and request that rose be boarded for our cruise? Can that be done?

I flew out of YVR last month. They insist I take off my shoes. This was the second time it happened, and I find it most irritating. I'm over 75 so when I go through security at a U.S. airport I can keep my shoes on. But if in Canada, flying TO the U.S. why on earth would it be different? Other than total incompetence and a stubbornly contrary bureaucracy.

I would be very surprised if there are no empty cabins on a ship that was fully booked. Over the last dozen years, we have been no-shows on three cruises we had booked and paid for. Last minute family emergencies prevented our travel. We can't possibly be the only ones. So on a ship with 1000 cabins, even a 1% no-show rate would release 10 cabins.

Or to re-phrase that: you can learn from other people's mistakes. You haven't got time to make them all yourself.

Aha! Volume. I didn't think of that, thank you.

We sailed on her in early June. The beer list in the bars was almost entirely 'out of stock'. However, they did have lots of craft Alaskan from Juneau which were not listed. Which was fine, much enjoyed. However, again, there are lots of craft beers in the Vancouver area but none on board. Why not? Price? Taxes? Buy American?

We boarded Koningsdam in June. Check-in with HAL was very quick and slick. The line-up for security was not too bad. But then we had to line up for an hour and a half for U.S. Pre-clearance. Nobody can jump the queue as far as we could see. Vancouver port and Canada gets the bad reputation but c'mon folks, the problem is U.S. Customs. Just a thought - can anybody recommend arriving very late after all others are processed?

Don't know what ship yopu were on but here's a photo from our cruise in June.

What a glorious video and lovely photos, thank you. We were on her in June and also got lucky with the weather in Glacier Bay. So that's what we looked like!

In 2017, I good friend of ours was leaving Vancouver on the Zaandam. We decided to get on to the Lion's Gate Bridge and wave at the ship passing underneath. It was very late, we waited and waited, our paid parking expired and we had to top it up. Finally, we saw the ship move. He told us later that they had a medical emergency before they even left so that involved an offloaded passenger, doctors, ambulances and probably a lot of paperwork.

Oh my! Great advice. We boarded the same cruise on 10th June. After an hour in the U.S. Customs lineup I was desperate for a biological break and figured I'm not gonna make it. I beckoned to one of the ground staff who pointed me to a washroom so I fled the queue. I was afraid that my party would have cleared customs by the time I got back. Ha! Their progress could be measured by micrometer, not tape measure. Incidentally, all the ground staff at Vancouver port were excellent, smiling, friendly, helpful.

Some years ago my wife was flying from Winnipeg to Vancouver on the 12:30 flight. It pushed back on time but then sat for several minutes. The pilot announced that he was not happy with one of the instruments and had called maintenance. The woman sitting next to her got a bit agitated. After a while, the pilot announced that the problem could not be fixed and the flight was cancelled. Now the woman was really agitated. She was heading for a Holland America cruise sailing out of Vancouver at 5:00pm. Where were her brains? I've said it before: her faith in the airlines is touching and totally misplaced.

I have flown on airlines all around the world but as a resident of Canada, I have used Air Canada more than all the others put together. Ignore the negative reviews. You can, on occasion, have a miserable flight on AA, BA, United or anybody else. The probability is very low on AC. Go ahead.

I agree absolutely. Port staff were great, smiling and helpful.

I have had two negative experiences with Uber in Vancouver. It did not work out. On request, they tell me that there is a cab 14 minutes away....no, make that 8 minutes away....no, make that 11 minutes away...no, make that 12 minutes away...no, sorry, no cabs available. All right, sport, I'll call Yellow Cab. Four minutes.

Well, you have not said when you are travelling or where you are starting from but..... currently American does fly non-stop between O'Hare and Vancouver.

We disembarked Koningsdam on Saturday. Next to us in the queue for taxis was a couple heading to Abbotsford to catch their flight. They were moaning that it would cost $160 and did anyone want to share? We did not know what they saved on the air fare but it would certainly not be worth it to us. Abbotsford airport would be an hour and a half from the port on a good day, or a lot more if there was an accident or roadworks on the highway. What is your flight time? Too tight to be sure? Six hours wait at the airport? Flying YVR - YWG may cost more but for us that would be money well spent. Make sure you know the total cost of flying out of Abbotsford. Not just the fare but baggage, seat selection etc. What's the back-up if your flight is three hours late or cancelled due to a mechanical? Your choice!

Well, I have now had personal experience of this "shambles". Blame U. S. pre-clearance. We took a tip from 'martincath', dropped off our baggage at 11:00 and went for a wander along the waterfront. Had a nice lunch at Mahoney's. Walked back to Holland America check-in, no waiting, very slick and quick and moved on to the next. Bit of a line-up for security then a major line-up for U.S. pre-clearance. That took and hour and a half or more. Out of 21 cruises, this was by far the most time-consuming. Be prepared.