Blues51

I'm leaving shortly for the ACL Lower Mississippi Cruise from Memphis to New Orleans. Here's the itinerary for our trip. Oops, though I tried to black out the particulars such as confirmation number, I see that the blackout can be removed. Send a message to me and I'll send via email. Edit - OK, trying again. Someone please let me know if my personal information is still recoverable...

Again, my naivete about the realities of modern cruising is showing. I didn't know enough to ask about those inclusions. But I'm learning via these boards. The only cruises we've taken in recent years were Viking River cruises in Europe, and they include most things. Oh well. Live and learn. I'm not complaining, just getting educated is all.

Thank you everyone for your replies. When I say we're not big drinkers, I didn't mean to imply we're teetotalers. We love to have a Pina Colada by the pool, though perhaps not every day. But we'd probably order wine by the glass for both of us, definitely at dinner, and sometimes also at lunch. And sometimes the single poolside drink may become two. The comment(s) about coffee, sparkling water, regular water are well taken. We like all the above. Still, it sounds like we wouldn't get value from a package, even at the current promo price. The one saving grace there is that we don't want to constantly think about what we're charging. Still, even with several beverage-related charges per person per day, it sounds like we're still better off going a la carte. Someone commented on bringing wine. Yes, we're traveling 3000 miles to get there. So a bit unwieldy to pack it. But knowing there's a Total Wine nearby sounds great. We're fans of that store; and we love to buy a few medium-to-high-end wines to enjoy. Still, we'd probably enjoy those wines in the room or on deck, and still need to pay for wine by the glass at dinner. Thanks again, everyone. We're not veteran (ocean) cruisers. It's been quite a while since our last ocean cruise, and the modern paradigm of extra cost for everything is kinda new to us.

More information - we'll be on Celebrity Beyond for the 10 day Ultimate Caribbean cruise March 7-17, travelling Aqua Class

Trying to decide whether to get a drink package during the Labor Day sale. Wife and I are not big drinkers, but enjoy a glass of wine with meals. Hence my question - if I don't get the drink package, does the basic cruise fare include wine with meals? We're travelling Aqua Class, if that makes a difference. Thanks.

When they have these sales, do they also discount things like wifi and specialty dining?

Two questions -- 1) we'll be on Beyond, Aqua class, but don't plan to add the drinks package. If I bring (2 or 4, I've seen claims for both) bottles of wine onboard, what is the corkage fee? And 2) do they sell bottles of wine at the meals, and can we drink some and bring the rest back to the cabin? If so, what's the typical cost for bottles of medium to good quality red wines?

We ran into a similar situation 9 years ago when we traveled to Europe (by land, not a cruise). My wife's brother was, unfortunately, diagnosed with cancer. He has since passed, but at the time, his prognosis was fair to good. We insured our trip via InsureMyTrip.com. We were afraid we might have to cancel at the last minute if her brother worsened. The agent at InsureMyTrip was very helpful. But it was her opinion, and only an opinion, though an informed one, that if we were to do so, normal trip insurance would deny a claim due to pre-existing conditions. Our solution, at her suggestion, was a policy known as "cancel for any reason" insurance. It's pricier than a normal policy, to be sure. And IIRC, it only reimburses 75% of the cost. But it was good peace of mind for us. I hope this helps you.

We were told that we, on the Viking Baldur, were the very first ship to make it from Passau to Regensburg. The senior crew were all up at 2 am to see if we'd make it through. Which we did, with centimeters to spare. Apparently we have a very aggressive captain, for which we're all thankful. Now on our way towards Nuremberg.

Hello again from the Viking Baldur. We left Melk this afternoon and are sailing for Passau. Our cruise director announced that they had quite a discussion about the water levels, but finally decided that we could make it upriver. Several optional excursions from Passau are canceled, and the sun deck is closed, but the ship will continue upstream. Yay!

On Viking Baldur, we're approaching Melk. No public announcements, but cruise director told me Passau is flooded, not allowing ships to dock, and impassible past Passau. But he said much can change in the 24 hours until the captain needs to make a decision.

We're on the Viking Baldur, currently docked in Vienna on a B to A cruise. We're due to leave tonight for Melk and then Passau. No one of the crew has mentioned anything about a ship swap - it appears to be business as usual. That doesn't mean that they may spring a change on us at the last minute, but so far, so good.