jsn55

A 50th Anniversary YEAR! Clever, I'm happy for you both. I'd not be buying any 'evening gown' for a cruise ... too foo-foo and usually only worn once. I'd use the money for a nice piece of jewelry. I'm with 'the girls' above, but I do black silk pants and tunic top with all those accessories. They raised a good point about color ... if black isn't her best color, by all means make another choice. Congratulations, and have a wonderful year!

Other than good credit card travel insurance, buying from a broker specialist is always best ... their only goal is to recommend the correct policy for you on a specific trip.

Aw, what a freakin' shame. I know what you're saying ... when you feel like you could stop traffic in a gown, the world's a wonderful place. I've always made my own evening gowns, a simple halter top backless full-length dress and a wrap in a gorgeous fabric. I'm too tall to just go buy a gown, and I wouldn't spend that kind of money on something to wear anyway. I'd suggest you try again ... but we both know that probably wouldn't work. Do you have a photo from that glorious night?

Why were your claims denied? Buying insurance of any kind without reading the policy is problematic.

This is about the only way to catch people smoking anything on a balcony. People should report smokers and ships should send officers ... why wait until some idiot starts a fire?

Ah, the sails! One of the joys of our cruise was just floating so quietly down the Nile in a regular river ship; this must have been awesome indeed.

There's no answer, as long as you purchase insurance from a reputable source. And you read everything three times very carefully. It's all in how the claim forms are completed. I just got a very large check from the travel insurance built into my Chase Sapphire Reserve CC for a cancelled cruise. After a few weeks, they asked me for exactly one more useless item, so I know the forms were completed perfectly. They just sat on it. And that is, of course, their job. They can drag out the process by asking for one thing at a time over months ... they can do nothing and then deny the claim ... or they can do nothing and pay the claim. At the six-month point, I pitched a polite fit and had my reimbursement in a matter of days. Had I not been embroiled in a personal disaster, I probably would have got this all wrapped up in three months.

This photo is hilarious. I thought I was the most meticulous packer in the world, but I'm nothing compared to you. Love all those little bags just the right size. "Being sick" anytime is something that fills me with dread. To prove your point, in October I could tell that I was developing a cold the second day after the 10-hour flight. I gobbled Vitamin C, drank gallons of water, read/slept for 48 hours ... and beat the cold to death before I boarded my cruise. Had I not had a bunch of Vitamin C pills with me, I would have had to waste precious rest time trying to find some from an airport hotel.

What does Virgin Voyages call their Cruise Director? Someone is responsible for the raves for the entertainment.

Four countries with four currencies!?! A puzzle. You're right ... cash for tipping is about all you'll need. But I'd want some cash available in case I needed a taxi or whatever. I'll stick my neck out here and say that I think American dollars will be fine, at least for the SEs booked through Viking. Why not check with the private SE operators?

Yup, the breakfast paper tradition has always been acceptable. How nice today that family members can just bring a tablet to breakfast and not have to bother with the pesky papers themselves.

I agree with you ... but just because we don't find it understandable doesn't mean that lots of pax think it's great fun. I must admit that some door decor is so lame it makes me feel sorry for the occupants. But the point is that people ENJOY doing it, nothing else.

It's my understanding that NCL has banned door decorations; I don't recall any on a recent Epic cruise. Read the fine print on NCL's website as it pertains to your ship. I can see them being lax about it over the holidays, tho.

Both WC and shower have doors that slide shut. The walls are translucent glass, they're fine. And there is that curtain in case one of you doesn't want the other to see 'your shape' in the shower. Having the sink in the cabin is a great idea for access anytime. But I found the sink much too small and shallow and was constantly splashing water all over.

I'm still trying to recreate sitting on a beach in Cancun when Santa parachuted down wearing in full Santa suit. Must have been 30 years ago ... the epitome of being in the right place at the right time.

I had never heard of this group. They sound suspiciously like the Lutheran Buddhism beliefs that I seem to have developed over the years. Each to his own ... I'm going to do some more reading. I'll be on the lookout for any signs of 'cultism'.

Lovely! I just discovered that DISH will play "Minnesota Lutheran Christmas Carols" as long as I want them. What fun to sing along to those songs I learned when I was 14 in church choir. Wishing everyone a great Christmas! I'll be in San Diego walking the beach, looking for Santa.

HILARIOUS!!

I'd be VERY happy overlooking the Rhine any time of year!

Electronic devices are not the problem in and of themselves; they're quite wonderful actually. The problem is having your nose on a phone as you cross 6 lanes of traffic, as you have dinner with your family, as you share activities with friends. That I find sad. The other behaviour of blocking walkways, talking loudly in confined spaces, ignoring the cashier as you check out of the supermarket, using the speaker, stumbling into people ... that's rude. It reflects ignorance.

I'm a planner and love researching travel, So I'd start to look at itineraries and consider different cruiselines/ships for segments. Know how you feel about sea days ... lots or few. Cobble together the length of trip you want. Find a travel advisor who is also a cruise expert; there are all kinds of things available to a good TA on a long cruise.

Odd that they don't just set up border control in a temporary enclosure or something. But by the time everyone agreed on how to handle the situation, we'd all be too old to travel.

As long as they're not slowly walking down the hall looking at a phone, stopping dead in the middle of everything, or having loud conversations, I won't care. I do feel sorry for people who would rather play with a device than enjoy a ship or a port ... but it's their problem, none of my business.

So true! So many people just don't read things carefully, or at all. Many cruisers are aware of the fact that cruiseships are no longer welcome in Venice. NCL just listed 'Venice (Trieste)'' on my Epic cruise last month. Trieste is TWO HOURS from Venice. I'm not sure that NCL made much of an effort to let pax know. We met some people a week into the cruise who a) didn't know that and b) had air booked from Venice the day we disembarked. Panic ensued. I was astonished that anyone would be so casual about the details.

To me, 'cash payment' means a debit card or a check. I am very pleased to announce that Chase Sapphire Reserve has just sent me a whopping check to cover a cancelled river cruise last spring due to my husband's illness. The included travel insurance has always been a big perk in my mind. The claim took far too long, but they finally approved it after I pitched a mild fit on the phone and sent an email a couple of weeks ago. I have had complete faith in Chase since they invented the CSR in 2016, and I am relieved that faith is justified. CSR points are an incredible value when booking travel, and Chase' Customer Service is so much easier to deal with than AmEx, I use my CSR for almost everything now.