donaldsc

Lewis R French - a 22 passenger windjammer sailing out of Camden Maine. Bet that this sets a record for the oldest 1st cruise ship on this thread. She is the oldest ship sailing out of the US as she was build in 1871. She is also pure sail as she has no engine. Just recently we did 2 weeks on the Clipper Clipper Line's Star Flyer. Doing a cruise on a sailboat is a wonderful experience. A bit bigger at ~150 passengers than the 22 of us on the Lewis R French. DON

Watches. And before anyone relies that they are overpriced - regardless of what you pay for them they are not overpriced because they are free. DON

On the average how much do you have to play to get a casino price break. Of the amount you play how much do you end up losing? One final thought and this is a totally personal comment - playing several hours per day is not how I would like to spend my time on a ship or even on land. DON

It would be interesting to try to figure out the number of square feet per person available per person when a significant percentage of the 14,000 or more visitors are on State Street at a time. And actually you misspeak the available space in Skagway since while the town may be 20 x 6 or 120 square blocks the actual touristy area with ships and sites is much smaller. I would bet that most of the visitors do not get more than 1 block off State St if they get off State Street at all. I would also be that most of the visitors do not get further than 9th or 10th avenue because that is where the shops are. So instead of having 120 square blocks you have only 20 square blocks. Just my opinion but I think that Skagway is the worse port stop of any of the AK port stops. Think Times Square on New Years Eve. LOL!! DON

Would you book a cruise and put down money when the cruise company puts out this press release about the ship you might be sailing on - “Due to confidentiality requirements of the agreement, we would be prevented from stating the previous name of the vessel and the company it was purchased from. We will also be releasing updated deck plans, cabin dimensions and public space information.” DON

Totally agree on ToursbyLocals. They are my goto tour group where ever they are available. I have used them many times and have always gotten great guides. The great thing about them is that when you are working on the final tour details or if you want to do something special you deal directly w the tour guide and not with some 3d party phone operators who tries but fails to convey your issues to the guide. DON

I do use the chair. There is no reason to demand a chair and not use it. That would not be nice and then I would be acting like a jerk. With regard to the person calling me a "jerk" - I would suggest that the bigger jerks are the chair hogs. I can't see why we have to coddle the chair hogs by ignoring them. There obviously has to be some middle line between the people who put stuff on their chairs at 6 AM and leave them there all day and the people who leave stuff on the chairs for a short time get a snack or to go to the loo or to go to their rooms to get something. However the cruise line's solution to the problem is to pretend that it doesn't exist. Perhaps the only solution for those of who want to sit by the pool is to handle the problem themselves. After all I have as much right to a poolside chair as the chair hogs. DON

Here is a solution to the overcrowded pool lounger problem when people have put stuff on the chair in the morning and are not there. I wait around 1/2 hour to see if they come back and then ask a pool attendant if they want to take the abandoned stuff or else I will move it to somewhere else. Works most of the time. I almost never have to move it but when I do it will be nowhere close to where it was. DON

If you are looking for some sort of a packing list a pad and pen would work very well. Alternatively if you want something that you can update, modify and/or save just create one in Excel. DON

This is not an answer to the OP's question but it is sort of relevant. We recently did a Viking Ocean cruise. On surf and turf night they grilled lobsters and steak done on the back deck. There was no limit. The lobsters were not large so I only had 5 or 6 of them in addition to 2nds of the beef. There are advantages of going on a good cruise line. I also did an AK cruise on the American Queen Voyages Ocean Victory. Lobster was on the always available part of the menu so I has 1 or 2 lobster tails every night. Jealous???? DON

You are in Canada so my answer may not apply. However we use an Allianz annual trip policy. The one time that we had to file a claim they were prompt and easy to work with. DON

We did our 1st Viking Ocean cruise recently. We also did our 1st Viking river cruise last summer. Your thoughts on the cruises match mine perfectly. Both cruises were very good. The ships and the service on the ships were excellent. The problem is that considering the publicity that Viking puts out and our expectations we expected something really really special. It was good but not as good as I expected. Will I book on Viking again. Well we have booked a Viking ocean cruise in Norway next winter to hopefully see aurora. I am not sure about booking another Viking river cruise, It is just that we will now go on one of their cruises with realistic expectations. DON

I see lots of comments here about the fact that the crew tries but there is not enough crew. Maybe a solution would be not to fill the ships to 125% of capacity but to the level that the crew can handle. I guess the odds of that happening are about the same as seeing a pig fly. DON

My reason for the post was to point out that Viking claims that this is a NE Passage cruise which it is not. I would call that deceptive advertising. DON

Viking is advertising a new Canada & the Northwest Passage 27 DAYS | Nuuk to Toronto cruise. If you look at the map for the cruise (https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=rm&ogbl#search/in%3Atrash+viking/FMfcgzGsmhWjLMPsdzWMdzrFNCNPfDPB) you can clearly see that it is definitely NOT a Northwest Passage cruise. It looks like a sort of interesting cruise that wastes too many days out of the high Arctic but in no way should it be advertised as Northwest Passage. DON

If the person who keeps their balcony light on is perhaps afraid of the dark they can get a small night light and leave it on in their cabin. If I had my druthers I would always keep the shades in my house up even at night. I like to be able to look outside even when it is dark and there is nothing to see. I admit that this makes no sense but that is how I feel. My wife however insists on drawing the shades at night. Guess who wins that discussion. DON

There is a good reason for that rule. While you may be able to get onto a ship and then return back to the US w/o a passport, you can not fly back to the US w/o one. What if the kid w the passport has a medical emergency and has to fly back to the US w you. The kid w/o the passport will not be allowed to get onto the plane w you and you can not leave a minor child alone in a foreign port. Also what the sole adult (you) has a medical emergency. The same problem occurs. What will happen probably is that none of you will b e allowed to board the ship. DON

Our next longish cruise in a 19 day Japan cruise w 4 sea days. That is about 2 more sea days than I would prefer. My ideal cruise would be no sea days at all. DON

Not complete. This is the list from the NPS site. DON "Cruise Lines Viking Cunard Holland America Line Norwegian Cruise Lines Princess Cruise Lines Seabourn Cruise Line Limited"

Try typing "transderm scop expiration date" into Google. Lots of hits. DON

Did you check the Princess FAQ on passports which is completely clear and explicit. "Domestic itineraries The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) governs acceptable travel documents for entry into the U.S. by sea from Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexico or within the United States. We highly recommend a passport. We also require a passport for all guests in a travel party when minors are traveling with only one adult (21 years and older).† However, for U.S. and Canadian citizens/nationals on select itineraries a passport is not always required. In lieu of a passport book, these individuals must present one of the following valid WHTI-compliant travel documents at cruise check-in: U.S. Passport Card U.S. or Canadian Issued Enhanced Driver's License (EDL) (A REAL ID is not the same and doesn’t fulfill this requirement.) U.S. or Canadian Issued Identification Card (issued to minors and non-drivers) NEXUS Card Air travel is limited to participating airports (for entry to Canada) SENTRI (for entry to Mexico) and FAST cards I-872 American Indian Card or Enhanced Tribal ID Card (ETC) †We have implemented this requirement because we want to ensure that your party remains together should an emergency arise that requires one or more members to be disembarked in a non-U.S. port. We cannot guarantee that all members of your party will be allowed to disembark with just a WHTI-compliant document or birth certificate. Failure to present a valid passport for all guests traveling together will result in denial of boarding without refund of the cruise or cruisetour fare" I have highlighted in yellow the rule and the reason for the rule. I very seriously doubt that there will be ANY exceptions and the reason for the rule is clear. DON

Can't hurt to ask. Just ask in a way that does not put any pressure on the cabin attendant. DON

The problem is that Viator sometimes books tours when they do not have guides to do the tours. That is happening to me now. I have booked 2 Viator tours on my Japan cruise. Because the Japanese tourist industry was decimated by Covid there is a real shortage of guides in Japan. What Viator has done for both of my tours is tell me that I am booked and then send me e-mail messages telling me that they are trying to find guides for my tours and will contact me when or if they find guides. I do have to admit that I have successfully done tours that I booked on Viator on other cruises. DON

If you do decide to do it make sure that you have a good plan B in place so you don't have to try to create one at the airport. DON

Sort of like the HAL Holland America Mariner Award Pins. I wonder - could you set up a business and/or would Princess ban them if you tried to sell medallion covers or even fake medallion pins showing to to be higher in status than you really are. Or perhaps interchangeable witty sayings. DON