TPgal

We're booked on a seven night cruise out of Athens, but will be traveling from Seattle at least two weeks prior to "tootle around" Europe before embarking on the Viva. Our tier level entitles us to a 50% discount on a bag of laundry and I'm wondering can we send it out right away, like the morning of the first full day? Or, do we need to wait for the mid-cruise 'deal'? Seems like a silly thing to wonder about, but it's dreary in Seattle today so here I am. 🙂

I really like the Shiseido ultimate sun protector SPF 50. Doesn't take much and the bottle is small for easy reapplication during your beach day if needed. I also have to recommend the Sydney hat by The Wallaroo Hat company. She's rated SPF 30, looks great, packs like a dream (crushable), and doesn't lose shape in the water. Mine has been to Las Vegas, Costa Rica, the pool, outdoor weddings, and back yard parties. I love her, and she's coming to Greece! I have it in this color, and finally broke down and bought a second color because I'm a princess. Available direct from TWH co, eBay and the other online megastore.

I know it's been a hot minute since you posted this, but I have a couple questions: 1) Does the 5-4-3-2-1 counts include what you're wearing on travel day? such as the three pants - is that 2 in the bag one on your bottom? 2) what kind of modifications do you do? Extra tops, pj's, less underwear/bras? 3) if going for 2 weeks with limited or no access to laundry would you double the numbers or hand wash and hope for things to dry nicely?

I have a company perk of a sabbatical every five years, so I get to plan an epic (no pun intended) family vacation with lots of advance notice. I booked our July 2025 Viva cruise in February of '23 The upside is I get to spend lots of time researching, planning and dreaming of how we'll get to the cruise, where we'll go before we depart, and how we'll do three weeks in Europe without our normal gigantic suitcases. The downside is the waiting... For me, having a big trip on the books makes slogging though a dreary Seattle winter day bearable.

My DH did it in August on the Bliss in Alaska. He loved it and was brimming with fun facts for the rest of our journey. He especially enjoyed the galley and seeing how it all worked. At the end he got a cute photo in the kitchen with some giant whisks. I would say if you've ever worked back of the house in hospitality or want to be on the bridge then this is for you. I am glad that we didn't go at a team because he really enjoyed sharing all that he learned and his photos - which he was allowed to take plenty.

So, that's the value of the AARP card... I've been wondering. 😉

I did a little searching on your behalf:

My 8 year old and 80 year old mom did the zip line at the "light house" it was quick and certainly not as fast as the one in Icy Straight Alaska, but they really liked it. It's a superman line so you're going head first and can see everything as you zip over the water. The kiddo met the height requirement but didn't weigh enough to build enough momentum to make it all the way and had to be 'rescued'. It is a fun family memory. The day will be as fun as you make it. Certainly more fun that sitting here in my office answering worky emails. 🙂

I'm going to be pedantic, forgive me - I need a vacation. Belonging to the same family and even the same genus (save the Atlantic salmon), steelhead and salmon species are extraordinarily similar. However, steelhead are considered trout, not salmon at all. This is because steelhead continue to live after spawning; Pacific salmon species do not. Source: a-z-animals dot com Salmon has a rich, buttery flavor with a slightly oily taste, while steelhead trout tastes like a combination between trout and salmon, albeit having a more delicate flavor than the latter. Both have a mild, neutral taste that's not overly fishy. source: recipes dot net. (I learned something new today, and I grew up in an area where fishing for steelhead was a major industry. Hello Long Beach, WA peeps!)

100% yes. It already happened: Jersey Boys for Beatlejuice. Hamilton on ice could be fun at sea. 🙂

Same. I book, then check in on the different pricing schemes. Every now and then there is a change worth the phone call - the last was a $700 drop which is significant and will cover the cost of the PP+ package if we opt in. But, it's not the promos that change the price, it's the cost of the cabin.

This is great news! Thank you for sharing this tidbit. We're booked for a 2Br on the Viva leaving out of Athens, but doing a 10 day Italy jaunt prior and I don't think that the three of us can do that in backpacks, so there will be luggage, and while the drawers under the beds seem like a great idea the luggage problem seemed real.

I naively popped onto my Bonvoy account and looked it up as an option for our 2025 Europe extravaganza ending with a Viva cruise in a 2BR. It IS a beautiful hotel, but probably not a logical option for this family of 3. Too bad though, it is gorgeous! 🙂

There's no Roll Call yet for that sailing, but once there is be sure to join. The most common advice I've seen about teens meeting new friends is for them to attend the kid's club the first event to connect with the others - then they'll likely work out future meetups on their own. Enjoy your trip!

I'm so glad to have come across this post! We are booked on an NCL Athens/Santorini/Ephesus/Istanbul cruise in 2025. Because of that darned kid we have to go in July and will be one of the many Americans causing havoc. I hope we luck out with the weather and don't melt away into puddles. I have seen the recommendations for George's taxi and am hopeful that by booking a private tour or two that it will enable us to see more sites in without spending our days stuck in a line or on the metro. (Saving all my pennies for this trip.) We'll pack our patience and water bottles, and am now spending the meantime reading all the excellent articles Terry has posted. Thank you, from Terri in Seattle.

The food we nicked from the buffet and o'sheehans saved our bacon on our 9+ hour excursion through the Panama Canal. The lunch offered on our ferry was unappetizing and the hot temperature of where that food sat for the duration of our journey was questionable at best. That bagel, and other things I stashed in my day pack kept our 6 year old from eating a fellow traveler. Ziplock bags for the win!

For some reason I have a memory of the plates being a different pattern at some of the specialty restaurants - getting a Cagney's plate back to the Cagney's dish stack might be extra effort for the behind the scenes staff that they are trying to discourage.

If we expand the OPs signature it shows 40 cruises. Poor fella getting reamed over a typo.

You're a good human.

Strange...I wonder what their motivation i$?

I've seen some very lovely modest swimwear and no one (with any class) says anything. I prefer bike short length bottoms and a long sleeve SPF swimwear coverup over my top. You will have no issues; hope you have a great time! Just sharing, that I found some great sun safe options at caly psa (one word) .

Nope. No socks either.

I think we might have been on the same sailing (8/12). We had only sailed on smaller ships and liked many things about the Bliss (club balcony as well) but the lines...it took us 90 minutes to get to a bus in Sitka, because the port times were so short waiting until later wasn't an option. I agree that the noise level in the atrium was bonkers. How on earth can origami be so loud? But, every butt attending the atrium events is a butt that is not in a lounge chair somewhere else. We liked the waterfront, and didn't find it extremely crowded, but it was a struggle to find a spot for our party of five. Wait, maybe we were the problem, but we weren't this lady sleeping in the observation lounge... too bad her room didn't come with a bed.

We just left the Bliss Saturday. We didn't try to buy a bottle of wine - as there were three of us with P+, we would order a glass and they would open it and we'd polish it off with the second pour. However, there were wines that were on the menu that they wouldn't open at certain places - i.e. the Lafite Sauv. Blanc, and we couldn't get the Pomeroy Rose either. The Kool wasn't terrible but it was frustrating. We stopped by Guest Services and they called out the assistant beverage manager who explained that the Pomeroy wasn't on ship due to supply issues. He asked us where we were dining for the remainder of the cruise and he visited us at each specialty dining location ("Hello Mr. Jason & family!") and all pours of Veuve at Le Bistro were not only offered multiple times during our dinner, but had no charge. At La Cocina, they didn't balk at the fact that the three of us chose different ($25/glass) reds, but there was some hesitation when the server brought an open bottle of Barolo to our table and we said yes to a glass of that - the server had to go to the back and ask. Maybe the other table had purchased the bottle, but in the end they poured it for us. I saw them open another one for the other table, as our three pours finished that bottle handily. Cagney's on Friday, the Barolo was on hand without issue, and they poured me a pre-dinner glass at the A-List. It was nice that our difficulty in getting the higher end wines went away, but we were left with the impression that it was due to the Beverage Manager's intervention. It's unfortunate for the staff that the expectations set by the marketing doesn't match up with what they are able to pour or open. They work so hard and are so professional, that it must be awful to tell people no. In the end, I'm not quite sure the math worked for us on the P+ package on the wine, but we loved the daily Starbucks, grabbing a liter of water anywhere, and Mr. Jason liked being able to specify his favorite gin in the A-list gin & tonics. We haven't pulled the trigger on the upgrade for the next cruise, but I also need to let the credit card cool down for a cycle. It's not good when it's steaming. Also, I will always refer to my DH as "Mr. Jason" especially when asking for assistance. He now calls me "Mrs. Mr Jason"

I knowingly added extra tip to the tab, that wasn't my issue. I was wondering about the Latitudes discount, but @OrcaGirl makes a great point about the use of the term "Spa Signature Treatments". Based on that, I am gathering the discount wouldn't have come into play. It is not about the money, I mean if the discount was the make or break point, maybe I shouldn't be cruising, it was about being dishonest, but as @hawkeyetlse pointed out - I was ok with shorting the state of Alaska their cut... so I shall shrink off back to my day job and question my own ethics. Thank you all.