Donaghadee

On 4/3/2021 at 10:46 PM, CharTrav said:

Was alerted elsewhere in this forum that the VO schedule for June and July is now empty.  Had already noticed last week that Orion's Alaska & the Inside Passage was no longer scheduled this Summer and its two Trans-Pacific cruises starting in Vancouver on Aug 27 were flagged with "SOLD OUT" (a good sign a cancellation is imminent).  Thus -- have updated and posted the spreadsheet to DropBox.  As an FYI -- the British Isles Explorer sailing on Aug 9th is also flagged with "SOLD OUT" -- a reliable harbinger that it too will be cancelled along with its 2 sailings in June & July.  When the official notice of these cancellations are posted to Updates on Current Sailings, will adjust the cancellation date used in the spreadsheet and repost to DropBox.   As always, the link to the spreadsheet is https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8pm1betyh91wlhf/AABBcPIWuqWJQtR5JrNSFOqMa?dl=0, no DropBox account required to access and download. If you already have it .. just use the link provided in the ReadMe tab to download a fresh copy.

We are (were?) scheduled for the 27 Aug sailing of the Orion North Pacific cruise.  I watched with interest as the available cabins went from "sold out" just after we booked in July last year, to a few open cabins popping up here and there.  Then it went into a full cascade of dozens of cancellations last winter.  A week later it was listed a sold out again.  Fishy?  Yeah.

At any rate, Canada is off limits, Russia is closed and Japan will likely be a no-go until next year. This one isn't going to happen.  I just wish Viking would put us out of our misery instead of rescheduling our flights to a closed up Vancouver every week.

9 minutes ago, aungrl said:

Important caveat:  As someone above noted, this is a great feature ON LAND.  It's not for when you're actually sailing in the evenings or overnight.  But then, you have access to whip Wifi, and all the other ways to access phone-calling type capabilities mentioned above via wifi.  

Thank you, thank you.  I've been pounding that drum all afternoon and no one seems to comprehend the concept.  Also the fact that cell signals don't penetrate a steel ship seems lost to so many...

I'll just give up here and go have a drink...

16 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

The Verizon international plans apply only when you are in range of the cell towers, that is, when you are on land or docked. Services at sea is a separate plan. It is all covered at the same link I gave above, you just have to keep scrolling down to find it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Anonymity?  After not reading the rules on here and using my real name. Too late for that! 😂

I don't recall providing my home address and phone number to CC.

Worst I've seen from these guys is daily news and cruise specials in my inbox.

Completely tolerable in light of the benefit.

10 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

You mean like this service we are using right now?  No! Horrors! 😂

There is merely irritating but consensual, then there's full on egregious.  FB is the latter.

If you want complete anonymity, look into Signal.

The tracking device.  Picked off the July 10 cruise thread.  Some Brit lady snapped the pic on the Venus British Isles cruise.

2 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

 

All this advice is confusing. Here is the link to Verizon's International: https://www.verizon.com/solutions-and-services/international-travel/

 

It explains it all. Read the choices and decide what works best for you.

 

Having listened to all of this back and forth, my plan is simple. We already have TravelPass on all of our phones. My plan is to keep it on DH's phone, in case we need it, and to cancel it on my phone  so that I can receive the texts (no one calls me or texts me, so the odds of me running up a huge phone bill in the few hours the phone is out of airplane mode are slim -- and why pay $10 to receive a dollars worth of texts). Once we get the texts, my phone goes back into airplane mode.

Another thing to consider...  The ship will cast off and head to the next port around dinner time, and won't arrive at the next stop until early morning.  If you think you're going to spend your evening texting or calling your friends and relatives with tales of your adventures, you are mistaken.

Cell service at sea ranges from spotty and weak to none. Get a text/voice over WiFi app.

38 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

We use WhatsApp all the time to talk to our friends in Scotland and London. Never a charge. I really don’t understand how they make money. Maybe there are paid plans for businesses? 

WhatsApp is owned by FB.  They make their money by selling your information to advertisers and others, just like always.

Here's a tidbit everyone should be aware of:  Ships are giant Faraday cages.  Cell signals and most other radio signals cannot penetrate all that steel.  It renders cellphones mostly useless unless you want to spend all your time outside on the top deck.

2 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

OK, I’ve installed both apps, and we have a Verizon store nearby.  I WILL go over there this week!!  Thanks, I’m such neophyte with all this stuff, and my husband isn’t much better.  

Glad I could help.  Be sure to tell them the exact situation.  Only WiFi available, don't want to pay for cell service, no voice, text only.  You might even get them to set up your email if you ask nicely.

1 minute ago, SantaFe1 said:

Perfect!  We have Verizon.

If you have Verizon, you'll get tagged $10 if you take your phone off airplane mode.  Then it's 0.50 a text.  Install Verizon's message+ and save a buck.  If you have a Verizon store nearby, they'll be happy to walk you through it.

7 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

On the other hand, what would happen if I had registered, given my phone number, got to Iceland and they tried to send to that number to my phone w/o a SIM card?  Or what if I didn’t have a cell phone?

If you have one of the aforementioned apps installed it'll get to you at the speed of light plus some switching time.  You don't need a foreign SIM card.  SIMs are for cellular traffic.  We're talking WFi traffic here.  Two different roads to the same destination.

WiFi text apps go over the internet via WiFi.  There are no fees for these messages.

If you don't have a cell phone, you'd better do some shopping.

13 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

I would want email too.  I wonder if there is a way we kind find out if they will do that...?

You don't need to spend any money for a cellular SIM card to message.  Simply install one of several apps that are FREE.  Like I mentioned earlier, Message+, WhatsApp and Signal, as well as others will allow you to text to your heart's content over the ship's WiFi system.  If you want to send email, that goes over the ship's Wifi system too.  Find a teenager to set it up for you. 🙃

Edit: Viking WiFi is FREE and available throughout the ship.  It's quite good.

1 hour ago, JeriGail said:

Here's another photo from one of the UK cruisers that was posted on the other site.  Viking removed the furs from the couches.

Looks a bit thin on furniture too.

30 minutes ago, Seaharvest said:

As part of my prep for the cruise I looked into my ATT prepaid plan and how to add Iceland so I could get my text message regarding my Covid test results from the airport. My plan does not offer any international options and my husband's plan does not include Iceland. Have others looked into this and what are they finding.

I've used this app shipboard several times.  I'm not 100% certain it works with all carriers, but it's worth a look.  Similar to WhatsApp in that it operates over the ship's WiFi system.  Set your phone to airplane mode but turn on WiFi.  No cell service required, and you don't have to deal with FB like WhatsApp.  And it's free.

https://www.vzmessages.com/introduction/index.html

Edit: Yes, it works with all US phone numbers irrespective of carrier.

1 hour ago, DJVKN said:

I think they are pretty good. I am following one of the groups that is on another site that has something to do with faces and books. It is a Viking group for the British Isle seacation that sailed yesterday. Lots of great information on protocols etc and he say the device is pretty small. The medallions on Princess are a little larger than a quarter so I think I'll see if it works since I already own it.

 

Photos.  We need photos of the thing with a scale either next to or beneath it.  Otherwise we're chasing UFOs.

5 minutes ago, alohadave said:

Can I find my DW on the Viking app?

Unless they've changed something, the Viking app will only do shipboard things  like schedules, menus, weather.  I never found any 2-way features.  What's App works.  I'm sure there are others.

1 minute ago, DJVKN said:

I have this little round silicone thing that fits on my watchband that  I use for my medallion when I sail Princess. I am hoping it will work for this tracer gadget as well. I really dislike lanyards. I got it a few years ago from Amazon and it comes in many colors.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R6VM499/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

And the odds of the tracer thing fitting in that are...

3 hours ago, Dukefan said:

Use something little this it you want to hook it to your belt 

I was thinking along these lines:

It has a little pouch for the gizmo and is secured with snaps. Put it on in the morning and forget about it until bedtime.  No brick in your pocket and nothing flapping about around your neck or belt.

11 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

The lace or the dongle?😂

They say you have to have the dongle on your person at all tiles.  That doesn't bother me much, it's just something else to forget and have to retrieve.  Since it probably doesn't have a belt clip and I steadfastly refuse to wear a lanyard, might as well wear it ankle monitor style.  I have yet to forget my shoes.

I will also address the cruise director as "Warden".

10 minutes ago, JeriGail said:

Love that idea!  We could wrap beads around the contact tracer - maybe bring different colors so we could match our outfits.

I was thinking about tying it to a bootlace to learn how durable it is...

3 hours ago, Travel2Learn said:

Since we arrive at Reykjavik at 5am, best viewing from the ship may be during the middle of the night.  If you are on starboard side, ask when we will have the best view and set your clock.  We're port side because no other DV's were/are available. 

 

Wonder if it would be OK to walk around the ship in a bathrobe.  A few years ago, on a different cruise line, several of us went to the open pool deck in bathrobes and relaxed on loungers waiting and watching a total eclipse of the moon.  

There is no "middle of the night" as in pitch dark there.  Best you can hope for during mid-summer is bright twilight.

3 hours ago, AKexplorer said:

Here's a link to a local newspaper article talking about the eruptions. It's evidently a 2 hour hike from the parking area with porta-potties available at the lot.

https://www.icelandreview.com/nature-travel/plans-for-parking-lots-paths-and-park-wardens-at-eruption-site/

 

The length of the hike certainly throttles how many tourists are there.  If they put in a new road and lot, the place will be swarmed.  Conversely, we might have time to see it.

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

I think that deal has already been made. She had already given away some of her $38,000,000,000!  
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/recode/2020/12/15/22176710/mackenzie-scott-bezos-philanthropy-speed-four-billion
 

The author and publisher get the lion's share.  Now reflect on how many bazillion items passed through Bezos' operation to amass that kind of coin. Boggling numbers.  Like him or not, you have to admit he built quite the mousetrap. 

7 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Yeah but that same company is already getting a monthly fee from me. Hate for him to have to make his yacht even fancier just because I buy a book unexpectedly. 😂

Don't worry, his soon-to-be ex is getting half.