donaldsc

When I look at reviews which I normally do not I just knock off the bottom 10 -15% of the reviews and also the top 10 - 15% and just look at the middle ones. The bottom ones are from people who are looking for something to complain about or are never satisfied with anything and then top ones are from people who are so invested in a line or a ship that they can never find any fault w it. DON

Does anyone actually participate in things such as masquerade or white nights any more? Seems like something like that is so 1980 cruising. DON

I always suggest that if you normally depend upon a smart watch that you buy a cheap dumb watch for cruising just in case your smart watch does somethong too smart while you are off the ship. You can buy a dumb watch on Amazon for Aas low as $15. DON

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Or else bring it back full. If they stop you step out of line and drink it all in sight of the crew the crew and just get back in line again. DON

Almost all ship tours are way overpriced unless you are unable or unwilling to take a private tour. In that case the ship tours are not overpriced. It is as simple as that. DON

Does it really matter. You are there when you are there. DON

Nothing strange about this - there are polar bears in Svalbard. The is a woman who has a very good Svalbard blog. In one of her recent blogs she shows a video of a polar bear walking right past her house. DON

This is a generality but going back to the ship just because you have a sensitive stomach or because you have paid for the ship lunch (I realize that the OP did not bring this factor up) is a total waste of very limited port time. You can almost always find something to eat that works for you in town. DON

I am looking for a cruise that does the Canary Island and maybe also the Azores. I do realize the Canaries and the Azores are not that close to each other. I also realize that there are lots of cruises that start in Spain and visit the Canaries for a few days as part of a longer cruise that also stops at other place. I would like to fly to the Canaries and do a cruise that does just the Canaries. Does such a cruise exist? DON

For a unique cruising experience try Star Clippers - https://www.starclippers.com/us-dom/. They are true sailboats not like Windstar which are nowhere close to being a true sailboat. A Star Clipper cruise is a unique great experience. DON

Thanks for all your replies. In the end it seem to make better sense to fly home through Amsterdam and not Heathrow. DON

Thanks again. I do have a follow up question before I give up. As LHT 28 suggested I went on the Virgin site and I can book the whole trip through Virgin. Since Virgin codeshares with Delta I should be OK with getting my points on Delta and maybe I can even book the whole thing on Delta but I will deal with that issue. I can also check with either Virgin or Delta about checking my bags all the way through. My big issue is timing. I have copied the flight details below and highlighted the possible problem areas in red. OSL to LHR. SK805. Wed, Mar 13. SAS flight. flight details 1:05 pm OSL Oslo, Norway journey duration2h 30m LHR. London Heathrow, United Kingdom. Terminal 2 2:35 pm Airbus A320neo Economy 3h Stopover London Heathrow, United Kingdom. This is a connecting flight in LHR LHR to LAS. VS155. Wed, Mar 13 flight details 5:35 pm LHR London Heathrow, United Kingdom Terminal 3 journey duration10h 55m LAS. Las Vegas, NV Terminal 3 9:30 pm I have checked on the LHR site and I think that I can get from terminal 2 to terminal 3 in a short time. The LHR site says it takes only 10 - 15 minutes. If I walk from terminal 2 to terminal 3 will I have to go through customs, immigration and security or am I considered a through traveler who is not actually entering England and not have to do all this stuff. If I can bypass all this stuff will my 3 hour layover be in LHR be OK I or am I still taking an unacceptable chance. Obviously if I can not bypass all this stuff the option will not work. I just hate to give it up because the connections are so good. In response to FlyerTalker’s post about points - I am looking forward to earning points on this trip and not using them. The price I got for the complete trip on Virgin (LAS - LHR going and OSL - LHR - LAS coming coming home was Economy Classic $1019. Premium $1759. The price is right. The connections are great. But if it will not work it wil not work. I wil just have to do Virgin to Europe and make other arrangements coming home. Thanks a lot. DON

Thanks to all of you for the replies. Sounds as if my "solution" is way to complicated and forgetting Virgin going home might be the best idea.. DON

OK - more details. I am taking a cruise that starts in London and ends in Bergen. I want to fly on Delta or any of the group airlines because I have lots of points on Delta. I also don't want to really end the cruise in Bergin because I plan to take the train from Bergen to Oslo so my travel home really starts in Bergen. The reason I want to fly to and from using Heathrow is that I can fly nonstop from London to my home airport of Las Vegas. Al the other options involve one or more extra stops. So here is the plan. Oslo to London. Then London nonstop to Las Vegas on Virgin Airlines nonstop. Great connections and only 1 stop. Here is the problem. There is no airline in the Delta system that flies from nonstop from Oslo to London - my only Oslo options are SAS or British Airways. So here is my question. If I put my luggage on the SAS or BA flight in Oslo will it go all the way to Vegas or will I have to pick up my luggage in London and check in at the Virgin desk and then go through security in London to get on the Virgin London to Vegas flight. DON

We are planning a trip where we will be flying from Oslo to Heathrow and then continue on to the US on Virgin Airline. My options are SAS or British Airways - Finnair. Will I be able to check my bags in at Oslo and have the airline transfer the bags to the Virgin flight. The other possibility is that I have to carry my bags from the SAS or BA flight and check them back in at the Virgin checkin. DON

If you stop into the Fairbanks visitor center or spend a few minutes on your computer I will bet that you might find things to do in Fairbanks for a day. DON

She messed up but it isn't her fault that she messed up. Do I have it right? I think that crocodile tears would be appropriate. DON

Check it out on the WeatherSpark WEB site. That is my go to site for anything regarding climate. DPN

That is how I feel about champagne in general. I have never been able to figure out why people make so much fuss about the stuff. Going along with the idea that you have to drink the stuff from a glass slipper maybe filtering it through a dirty sock might make it drinkable. DON

What would that red wine cost if you bought it at a large discount wine store - maybe $15 - $20 dollars. Even adding the corkage you come out behind with the plus plan. DON

This is sort of an answer. We did a cruise in AK on a ship that advertised that they had a science program. It was all sort of Mickey Mouse science.- sort of fun but totally meaningless. DON

We have used Gastineau Guiding Company twice. They were excellent both times, In fact the guide we had this summer was one of the best we have had ever on any cruise we have taken ever. DON

There ar only 3 ways I would ever book a ship - 1) The tour goes a good distance from the ship and I do not want to take the very very very miniscule chance of missing the ship and being forced to spend overnight in a place I don't want to sleep in 2) The tour goes a good distance from the ship and the next port is several sea days away. We have a friend who was on a cruise that made several stops in the Caribbean and then headed off to Europe. Two passengers missed the ship at the last port before Europe. 3) If the cruise company had bought up all the tours available in the port. This happens more often than you think. We did a cruise that stopped at the Falkland Islands and the cruise company had bought up 100% of the spots on the tours to the penguin colony and I had to pay more than a 100% markup to get to the colony. Otherwise I never ever take a ship tour. DON