JeffElizabeth

On a cruise right now and it seems like cruisers are penny pinching. Not nearly as much drinking as I used to see.

We love Erin. ❤️ She is a great CD.

Am on the Voyage of the Vikings right now, they deleted Bergen, Norway and Dublin, Ireland. Reykjavik will be tender only on an overnighter! Fellow passengers are upset.

Sorry I gave you that impression. I am less worried about tourists than so many tourists that seeing the sights are impossible and I also hate spending most of my time ashore in traffic.

Weinerschnitzel, MDR.

Great points. Some of our best experiences on our cruises were the three days we spent in the ports before and after our actual cruises. Get a much better sense of the communities. Overnight stops are also great. Don't feel rushed.

Saw this about Princess. It will be interesting to see how it goes.

They used to be bargains, but I haven't priced one recently. They also tend to have more sea days. We love them. Taken them from Florida to Europe, From Florida to San Diego through the Panama Canal. Also Amsterdam to Boston.

I just read one article that even Stornoway is overwhelmed. Agree, we normally prefer to visit Europe in September or March. We prefer cooler temperatures and less crowding but have always wanted to do the Voyage of the Vikings so we are finally doing it. Upside? We will skip the heat in Colorado right now by heading north.

Wow. Thanks for the update.

Even if you tip in cash at the end of the cruise? We tip the stewards and those in the main dining room.

I use a travel wallet. When not cruising, I keep my foreign currencies in it, and for a cruise, I add my driver's license, a credit card, an ATM card, and not much else. Don't want to lose anything in case my wallet is stolen.

Had that happen to our ship in a Greenland port. 🇬🇱 Natives were skinning seals about 300 yards away from our ship. We didn't mind. You really needed binoculars to understand what was going on.

Crew told me they stopped requiring you to bring your life jackets to muster because too many people were tripping on the straps. True?

Last year we were lucky and took a long Mediterranean cruise in March and April. It was so nice to not be overwhelmed with other tourists. For many of our guides, it was their first work in two years. The only place we felt crowded was Venice. How crowded are the popular sites now? I read that Chinese tourists are back, and more Americans are returning too. We will be on Voyage of the Vikings this month and I was just curious how bad is it right now?

Personally I think the $1 sale wasn't meant for loyal HAL customers. It was meant to attract passengers from other cruise lines, or even better, people new to cruising.

Watch, cruise lines will buy new LNG ships and then the environmentalists will decide that isn't good enough either. The US is going after gas ovens right now. I remember when Natural Gas was seen as so much better than coal or diesel.

Interesting. It looks like if the dollar sale brings in new customers, it is working. My old company used to run special sales during slow periods. They tended to backfire. Instead of buying retail in the next quarter like they normally would, we gave them a discount and lost a future sale. This sale doesn't appear to be doing that. True, I do expect a certain percentage of these deposits to be canceled, but overall the strategy worked.

Exactly. We bring back oil oil souvenir assortment packs for our friends who are foodies.

Good for them! People are booking their 2025 cruises already. Think they will sell out most good cruises? Or were people just taking advantage of the new marketing promotions?

Agree. Used to love the Crow's Nest on the older ships. Just not the same on the monster ships. We hardly spent any time there now.

Ironically nearby Ireland is very geologically stable. Almost no earthquakes. Whose fault is that? (Pun intended)

Will be visiting Iceland this month and signed up for a helicopter 🚁 trip on the Zuiderdam. Very cool to watch the lava flow from a safe place. Got to see it on Hawaii's big island a few years ago.

Fascinating. I knew you paid a premium for Viking, but I didn't think it was that high.

Interesting. We like Oceania more than Holland, but we are giving them one more chance with our upcoming Voyage of the Vikings trip. My fingers are crossed they will win us back.