Katosmama

We booked with a travel agent based in Ushuaia that specializes in Antarctica (and does the ground transportation arrangements for many of the cruises).  They have a mailing list you can sign up for and will email out sell offs as well for some decent pricing.  

As everyone else said, do whatever you can to sleep on the plane.  Once you land, power through until a reasonable bedtime (I aim for at 9pm at the earliest, 10 would be great).  

Sleep general eludes me on planes no matter what I do - drugs, business class lie flat beds - nothing works.  What I do is put on a sleep mask and put something on my earphones - spa-like music, a sleep meditation, something to block out other noise and help me zone out, nothing that requires attention (like a podcast).  Getting comfy is key so sit somewhere that you won't be bumped or interrupted (like a window seat), and I have used one of those blow up pillows that you essentially lean forward on, wrap your arms around them and your head rests on it.  

On 7/21/2022 at 9:02 AM, jmlh said:

Where does one purchase an eSIM card?

Online.  Airalo is a popular one but just google eSIM for the country/countries you want to go to and see who has the best deal.

Buying a physical SIM is becoming old school.  Most phones now support dual SIM or an eSIM (virtual SIM) that you buy online before you leave, load it onto your phone and then activate it when you land.  Most cover large regions (so a Europe eSIM will cover every country in Europe, not just an EU country).

The bigger issue is Alaska having spotty service.  AT&T is the most reliable, contact AT&T support and buy an eSIM from them.  They email it to you and you should be good. 

We are booked on Viking from Zurich to Paris in December and wanted to fly into Zurich a few days early.  We already paid $100 pp for Viking Air Plus.  I have selected the flights that I want and when I called to book it they told me that as we are flying in a few days early in addition to the $100 pp for Viking Air Plus I have to pay another $100 PP to deviate and fly in early.  

Really???

You will not need hiking boots on Antarctica, and in fact I'm not even sure the ship would let you wear them.  The will not let you off the ship unless you are wearing waterproof pants because you need to be able to stand in at least a foot of water so they will want - and maybe insist - that you wear knee high waterproof boots with waterproof pants on over top.  I don't think hiking boots will cut it.  

The only exception to wearing their boots that I've hear is that if you are an exceptional size (like maybe over mens' 15, or need extra wide calf), they suggest you bring your own but they want them to be the same Muck boot style.  As for footwear on the boat, I wore running shoes/sneakers the entire time and was just fine.  Not cold, they were non slip and easy to get around the boat.  

I get very seasick and dislike the patches so I took meclizine the entire time.  The ship provided both patches, meclizine and some other anti nausea drug free of charge to anyone at any time.  I had no issues with the meclizine. 

Just back from Antarctica.  Like the OP, I have wide calves that are more than 17" (probably 18").  Polar Latitudes uses the insulated Muck boots as well.  I tried on some at home to get a sense of sizing and wound up using boots that were about 2 sizes too big.  I wore two pairs of socks - thick wool socks (Kirkland brand, from Costco - fantastic!) and just ankle socks over that, which helped fill the foot of the boot up.  The calves were still a bit tight but as the tops are neoprene they actually roll down really easily which made them super easy to get on.  

Essentially I rolled them down as far as I could, so rather than being knee height they were more like a couple of inches above the ankle.  Easy to get on and then roll them up to a comfortable spot on my calf and then I'd pull my waterproof pants down over them.  We were in and out of the water on landings but never more than really ankle deep and this worked perfectly.  

We just returned from Antarctica with Polar Latitudes and we did the camping one night.  We were surrounded by very friendly penguins who waddled through our camp to inspect us!  

We left the ship at 9pm and took zodiacs to shore.  We were mostly outside in bivvy bags - you got a tarp, then an air mattress, -35C sleeping bag, sleeping bag liner and a bivvy bag to shove it all in, and a pillow.  It was sunny and not windy at all, so everyone got really hot setting up camp and we were all taking off our parkas.  Everyone settled into their bivvy bags around 11:30pm and it was still light out.  It never got really dark - a little dusky, but you could still see perfectly without a light.  

It started to rain, and then snow, and at 2:30am the guides woke everyone up and said we were going back to the ship.  It was a bit of a scramble to get out of the bivvy/sleeping bag combo, get your winter/waterproof gear back on (waterproof pants, boots, parka), in the snow, and then pack up your stuff (really just jam into a waterproof bag) in a snow storm.  It was light enough out that we could see fine.  The expedition team had to drag all of our wet gear back to the ship, lay it all out to dry for a day or two and then repack it up; lots of work for them.

A couple of other notes:

• The sleeping bags were really warm, so most people just slept in a base layer, with maybe a hat on.
• The bivvy bags are meant to be zipped up, like a full body bag.  Some people were a little too big to zip theirs up, so they slept in a tent, inside the sleeping bag.  Tents seemed to be an option for those who wanted them, but more work for the expedition team. 
• It never really got dark, just a bit dusky.  
• You cannot bring any food or drinks ashore, but there will be a toilet to use.  You are only really on shore from 9pm to 5am or so, so it's not a big deal to not have food or drinks.  

When I looked at the entry requirements for Argentina via the embassy website it seemed to indicate that there was an exemption if Argentina was used as a stopover and you stayed less than 24 hours? Perhaps Atlas is banking on that with their charter flight, that you will only be in Argentina a few hours as they take you directly from the airport to the ship.  

I came across this link on cruise ship Covid cases on the CDC website and I'm trying to understand it.

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise/cruise-ship-color-status.html

I think that "restricted" voyages = voyages with passengers.  Also, I think any status other than fully green means that there is some Covid cases on board (but depending on the number, CDC may or may not investigate).  

So, if both of those assumptions are correct, of the 22 restricted voyages 16 of them have Covid cases on board?  73%?  

Am I reading this correctly?

Has anyone found trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance that will cover you if you test positive for COVID either before getting on a plane or while you are away?  Not looking for medical insurance, have that covered. Just cancellation!

I took the comment as:Adults only is the way it should be and I agree. Yes, some countries have different views of nudity, but when there are all nationalities on a cruise and all ages, some restrictions need to be applied

 

I am now reading some of the recent posts and seeing this turn into a moral issue. I think the OP simply asked if there was still a nude or topless deck on the ships, no one asked about whether or not nudity should be accepted worldwide, or whether we, as Americans should losen up a bit.

I certainly hope that you are planning to wear a full burka covering your hair, face, arms and legs on your next cruise...you know because when there are multiple nationalities "restrictions need to be applied".

Oh, wait, did you only mean AMERICAN norms should apply to the rest of the world??

My advice would be to book the transatlantic flight on a separate ticket from your short haul flights.

Assuming you can get a direct flight from wherever is closest to you to Amsterdam, book that round trip (I find KLM is generally pretty cheap for this). Then book whatever airline you want for Prague back to Amsterdam on a separate ticket. When you are not limited by codeshares you can more options that can be a lot cheaper. The only issue is that you will have to pick up your luggage and recheck it.

We just did this for some flights in Asia and saved ourselves a couple of thousand dollars AND had much better/shorter connections.

Only comment is that it is not necessary to get a visa from the Embassy. If you know your hotel already you might contact their offices and see if they will do an "entry visa ltr" for you. Many do for about $25 and you present that at the point of entry which I assume would be either Saigon Airport or Hanoi Airport. Have a couple of passport photos available and they issue you your visa there.

 

Just use the ships visa for those port visits and it creates less hassle. If I understand your itinerary you will only need a one time entry visa (cheaper), with only one week in Da Nang you will find your plate full. Be sure to visit Hue to the north (a full long day trip), also Hoi An to the southeast with "marble mountain on the way" and perhaps consider visiting the ancient ruins of the Mysong (sp?) ruins (the cultural center of the Cham Dynasty. In Da Nang they have a nice museum about the Cham and this would give you a lot of great info to appreciate what you are seeing at the ruins. That and Hoi An could be a long one day trip Mysong in the morning then lunch in Hue on the way back with a foot tour through old Hue... no vehicles allowed but pedal cabs available... be sure to dicker the price. We were there around Feb-Mar before the big visitor inflow from China and found great deals at the larger hotels on The China Beach!.

 

Probably more than you wanted to know.... by the way Singapore Airlines will have great fares as will Vietnam Air from Singapore to HCMC (Saigon) or Hanoi Airport. and its only a 2hr flight ... 3 to Hanoi... I personally would use Vietnam Air with Vietnam providing good service to Da Nang. We have been to Vietnam four times over the last 9 years and never grow tired of it. We spend a lot of our time in a city called Nha Trang on the coast about 30 Kilometers north of Camh Ranh Bay (sp?). You can make reservations ahead of time on the internet with both of the airlines. Take some time to get use to Vietnams website before jumping in. (they are willing to make mods to flights and my hotel has often done this for me a number of times.

Is the hotel visa the same one that you need to get stamped when you land? My only concern is that we are flying from Singapore to HCMC on Singapore Air and then transfer to Vietnam Air to fly onward to DaNang. We only have about 2.5 hrs to get the visa stamped, get through customs, pick up our bags and recheck them for our Vietnam Air flight. I'm concerned that won't be enough time as I've heard you can wait up to 2 hours for the letter to get stamped?

I might have answered my own question. I called CIBT and they said that the ships visas only cover ships ports, so I'd need to get a separate visa to reenter.

Still...anyone have any firsthand knowledge of this?

Thanks to all the previous posters who have put the price of Vietnamese visas in here (seems like $35 for a non-overnight visa and $50 for an overnight visa).

We are going on a 14 day cruise Dec 21st that stops three times in Vietnam. The cruise then carries on to Bangkok and ends in Singapore. After Singapore we are flying BACK to DaNang for a week.

We were thinking of skipping the ship visa and just getting a regular 30 day multiple entry visa from the embassy but the price is quite high! My next idea is to use the $35 ships visa for the ship excursions and then get a visa at the airport when we go back for the last week, however I wondered if there was any type of visa that we could get on board that would also cover our reentry after the cruise ends. Anyone have any idea?

I'm surprised - I thought Americans had crackers too. We Canadians have them!

Just wondering the dates of your cruise. We are also doing this cruise in Nov.Sonata-wine cruise.

We are on the AMASonata on Nov 19th (from Budapest to Nuremburg). Is that the same one as you? I don't think ours is wine though.

Thanks for doing this - very helpful! We are doing the same cruise in November.

One question - can you recall the menu for the Chef's Table? I would love to book it but my husband hates all forms of seafood, so if it's really heavy on seafood we may have to skip it.

Thanks!

Is it possible to book a tour of Alexandria right from the port? In the Caribbean it's very easy to simply book a tour as soon as you get off the ship, for a fraction of the cost of booking a tour with the ship. We are being quoted $75 USD for a half day tour of Alexandria, and if we could pick up a tour in port for around $40, I'd probably rather do that.

I wore mine to formal night dinner on the day I got married, and I was not the only bride in a wedding dress at dinner that night! I think a lot of brides do wear their dress to formal dinner, particularly if you got married that day. However, if you are comfortable in it, feel free to wear it! The most you will get is lots of congratulations!