donaldsc

We did the Fox Island overnight. You obviously can't do it on a cruise but it was nice especially in the evening when we sort of had the island to ourselves. I recommend it if you have the time. DON

Type "Bridge cruises 2024" into Google. DON

I get it that you want to see the western states AND also Alaska. The problem w the tour that you are looking at is that it packs both locations into one tour in just 18 days. This is absurd and I am sure that you realize that. My suggestion would be to go to a good TA and try to find 2 separate tours - one that covers the western US and a good completely separate AK cruise tour. I have no idea what your budget or available time is but this would give you maybe not the best trip but a much much better trip than the one that you are looking at. DON

We are going on a Med epicurean cruise. How casual is the dressing at dinner. Would golf shirts be OK? I do not plan to bring a tie. DON

If those were my only cruise choices I would do a land tour. Any post such as this should have a "none of the above" option. DON

This one has no surge protection. I carry the data sheet w me when we travel. DON https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09W2393ZN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 【Cruise Accessories Must Haves】: This cruise power strip comes with No surge protection, makes it absolutely a must have Home and cruise essential. small extension cord comes with 4 outlets 3 USB ports, small size and 4ft short extension cord which makes it easy to storage. Easy to carry and suitable for traveler cruise ships, hotels, airports. 【Reliable Safety Travel Accessories】: The small power strip is FCC & RoHS approved and made of fire-resistant pc shell, making it fireproof up to 1382 F. Portable power strip for travel with 4 anti-slip rubbers bottom, the 4 FT short extension cord can be stable on your nightstand without slipping off. The small power strip works great on your nightstand , home, office, and college dorm room.

Here are my thoughts about ADA compliance issues and I know that I will get some backlash from the ADA crowd. You just can't make the entire world ADA complaint. It is not fair to the 99% of us who do not need ADA compliance for an entity to take away an activity or event just so the 1% (I am obviously making up numbers) can do the event or activity. The people who need ADA compliance should just accept that there are just some things that they will not be able to do. We have done the backstage tour a while back and it was very interesting. It should be brought back and maybe they should also do a good virtual reality version of the tour for the few people who can't do it. I remember a long while ago when the reopened the historical ship USS Constellation which is an 1854 sloop of war. The ADA created major problems because they were not able to make an 1855 sloop of war fully ADA compliant. Fire away on me. DON

This is obviously too late for the OP but I am going to throw this out as a totally crazy but wonderful option - a cruise on one of Star Clipper's full rigged sailboats. - https://www.starclippers.com/en/star-clippers-videos.html. We did almost 3 weeks on their Star Flyer cruising the Greek Islands and it was one of the most wonderful cruises that we had ever done. You usually spend the morning cruising under sail w/o any power. You get to your destination around noonish and spend the afternoon and evening on one of the islands. You don't leave the island until 10 or 11 PM so you stay on the island for a while after the Genormous of the Seas crazies are back on their ship. We loved our cruise. DON

I have one of these. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09W2393ZN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 The only problem is that it does not have any USB c sockets. This version does have one USB A and one USB c. It also delivers 45 W for fast charging. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09Y1RDY2X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 DON

Love your attitude toward safety rules. DON

Before we can reasonably answer your question you need to ask yourself a basic question - is the prime purpose of the trip to take wonderful photographs including a 16 x 20 that you will hang on the wall or are you there to see and experience AK and get good photos so you relive your trip. If the former you will take a large photo backpack and every accessory you have just in case you need it. You will also end up carry a very heavy photo bag. If the latter and I am in this group you will take as little as you can get away with. In my case my entire photo kit weighs ~ 3 pounds and fits in a small bag. DON

Packing cubes will not solve your weight problem. In fact they will make it worse because you can compress more of your stuff into a small volume. You then end up with empty space in your suitcase which lets you carry even more stuff. Cubes let you carry the same amount of stuff in a smaller suitcase. They let you keep your stuff more organized. They don't help you reduce the weight of your suitcase. DON

As long as you get to the meeting place 5 or 10 minutes early you will be OK. Then you may end up waiting 10 minutes for someone who is late. Just be aware that if you arrive close to the tour start time you may get a really lousy seat on the bus. DON

We have carried Allianz annual policies for years. The 2 times we had to use the policies they handled the claim well. We just renewed ours - $1610 for 2 people for the best policy that they had and we are in our 80's. DON

Could you reverse your bed position to your feet are at the head of the bed and your head is at the foot of the bed? DON