DCThunder

I recently booked a cruise on Cunard. First time sailing with them, so will be an interesting experience. As part of the booking, I received a Cunard World Club number. In looking at that number, it is the same as my Princess Captain's Circle number. Does anyone know if this is normal? I know both Princess and Cunard are owned by CCL, but I found it curious that the loyalty numbers would be the same. My HAL Mariners Club number is similar, but different. Unfortunately, my loyalty status on Princess hasn't carried over to Cunard. 😀

I'll second the recommendation for the van tour from Skagway. I took that in September 2022 and it was a great ride up the valley on the opposite side from the railroad. We went all the way to Carcross in the Yukon and could have gone all the way to Whitehorse with more time. The border crossing was very unigue as there's about 10 miles of separation between the Canadian boarder post and the US border post. The railroad may be iconic, but the van trip is the way to go, IMHO.

It looks like nothing is posted yet beyond February 2026. I'm looking for April 2026 sailings for Japan. Any idea when those will be out?

Well, and Norfolk does have the largest naval base in the world...

I don't know anything about American Heritage cruises, but Charleston has been a home port for the Carnival Sunshine doing 4 and 5 day "booze cruises" to the Bahamas and back. American Spirit also does small ship cruises into the Carolina low country out of the Holy City.

My question for those posting in this thread is how far back do you want Princess to turn the clock? 2019 before the pandemic with in-person muster drills and a more rigid dress code? 2013 to before the Royal class ships debuted and your only dining choices were Early and Late? Or do you want to go all the way back to the 1970's and the Original Love Boat with lecherous doctors, perky cruise directors, and hip bartenders? Oh, and Charo, of course! If you're going to go back in time, you have to take the "bad" with what you see as "good" of the olden days.

To the OP, please remember the ancient Arabic proverb: "The dogs bark but the caravan moves on".

@martincathThanks a lot for some great ideas. I wasn't aware the 1 July was Canada Day, so thanks for that information. I only knew I'd be home for our Independence Day. The idea of a HOHO is very intriguing and I will investigate that further.

👍

Will they hold my luggage for the day when I disembark from a cruise in the morning and don't have to be at the airport until the evening for a redeye home?

I'll be arriving back in Vancouver on July 1 for a redeye flight back to the US East Coast. I'd like to see a bit of the Vancouver area rather than sitting at the airport for 12 hours. Would my best course of action be to store my luggage at Canada Place, book a day tour that would bring me back to Canada Place to get my stuff, and then get to the airport in the early evening? My flight is 10 pm or so. Or are there tours that would be able to take me and my stuff along for the day and drop me off at the airport?

An interesting little article on the history of US passports: The History of the US Passport - The Most Coveted Travel Document in the World - (passportinfoguide.com) I remember my first passport, which I got in 1970, was only valid for 5 years.

It is interesting that the ship lost power less than 30 minutes after leaving port. I realize sh** happens, but you'd think that they wouldn't leave the dock if there were questions about the electrical power.

I've got a REAL ID too, but always carry my passport for domestic flights within the USA.

The City Dock in Annapolis can handle sailboats and go-fast boats, but a cruise ship, that's a hard no. I also doubt the channel up the Severn River is sufficiently dredged to allow for a 40 ft draft cruise ship to make it up there. Otherwise, there are no viable ports on the Chesapeake Bay until you get down to the Norfolk/Newport News/Hampton Roads area.

Is there a maritime expression for "ambulance chaser"? Or do seamen use the landlubber term?

Isn't this very close to the path that Celebrity is taking with charging solos more than a 100% solo supplement because a solo has lower on board spending potential than a couple would?

For the record, expedited passport renewal times have gotten better. It seems they've caught up with the backlog from last summer. I submitted an expedited renewal on 12/26/23 and had my new passport by 1/4/24. Perhaps I was lucky, but the horror stories of 13 weeks for a renewal appear to be a thing of the past.

I put on the Port Everglades webcam this morning around 0830 to see which ships were in port today as I like to watch the sailaways in the afternoon. I was very surprised to see NA sailing into port at that time. It wasn't until a little while ago that I learned about the incident and loss of life aboard, but it certainly explains the late arrival. I'm very sorry to hear of the deaths of two dedicated crew. Thoughts and prayers to their loved ones back home.

For the record, the luggage tracker that's part of the American Airlines and United Airlines apps works really well in telling you the whereabouts of your bags once you check them in at the airport. I can't speak for other airlines, because my recent flights have all been on AA or UA. If you fly Spirit, they probably charge you $99 to track a bag. 😁

I just returned from the Holland America cruise that goes up the Amazon River to Manaus with stops at several ports on the river. The trip was amazing and I'm very glad I went. I also have no burning desire to ever go back, but the trip scratched a long-time itch to see the Amazon rainforest up close. If anyone here is doing this cruise, be sure to book shore excursions in Manaus through Do Brazil Right tours. They meet the ship right on the pontoon where passengers disembark, have small 10-20 person mini-buses for city tours, and two level riverboats for the river cruises, the guides speak excellent English and are very knowledgeable, and it's an overall first rate operation. Manaus can be a somewhat dangerous city (I heard one passenger on the ship was robbed at gunpoint and roughed up a bit in the process while exploring with her daughter!), and DoBrazilRight was very diligent about keeping our tour group together as we wandered through the huge produce, fish, and meat market. We also had plenty of time at the Manus Opera House and were able to hear a local orchestra as they rehearsed for a performance. The boat day cruise to the Meeting of the Waters, a visit to a fish hatchery, including lunch, and a native village for a dance celebration also included swimming with the pink dolphins. For Santarem/Alter do Chao (two separate towns, but Alter do Chao is more of a resort), book with Selvagem Tours. Karlos is the manager and he also runs a great operation. In Santarem we went up a smaller river and saw a sloth hanging in a tree, fished for piranhas, and saw a lot of trees. Alter do Chao allowed for two stops at beautiful sand beaches where we were able to swim in the Amazon. The boats met us right at the pier and we were off the ship and on the riverboats in 10 minutes. Both of these operations get a 10/10 from me. Check them out if you get to the Amazon.

After taking a bus transfer FROM the Brooklyn cruise port to JFK after disembarking, I would NEVER try to take a bus TO the cruise port on the day of sailing, especially from EWR.

Most hotels will "hold" luggage for you even after check-out. So check out, leave the bags with the front desk, go have lunch or do last minute shopping, come back and get bags, travel to port, and board ship.

So long as you put the Princess luggage tags on your bags properly, there's very little chance they will not be put on board the ship and delivered to your cabin. One time one of my smaller bags lost it's tag and it was at Guest Services with several other bags that also were without tags.

I haven't Crossed the Line on a Princess ship (or on a USN vessel) but did become a 2X Shellback on HAL, including last month crossing the Equator on the Amazon River. On HAL, only the crew members had to undergo the initiation ceremony, although I did "kiss the fish" after the ceremony was over and King Neptune and his Mermaid Consort had returned to his watery realms.