ducklite

I'm still a few years away from retiring and being able to book this cruise, but I've been saving for it, and I'm beginning to research it more in depth.  So far, I haven't been able to find a single first hand report on it, as it looks like many if not all of the sailings were cancelled due to Covid.

I'd love to chat with anyone who might have taken it, or even been booked on it to get some data points.

On 2/1/2022 at 2:04 PM, Heartfelttraveler said:

I, for one, will do whatever it takes to be able to travel to Switzerland, cruise down the Rhine, and spend a few days in Amsterdam.  I am triple vaxed, will fill out whatever forms, and wear my mask diligently.  Hope to see Switzerland, Germany, France and Netherlands in March.

Unless things have changed, be prepared to take a daily Covid test while you are in Netherlands.  If you are able to get an EU Green Pass with your CDC card you wont' need to do this.  We tried to get the EU Green Pass in Italy and Germany before getting to NL with no luck.

On 1/14/2022 at 7:09 PM, PAllinson said:

Lindblad just notified our TA that they are cancelling our trip to Scotland this summer due to UK's travel restrictions and are refusing to refund us. Insurance also refuses to refund us as they claim it is covid related as well as the airlines. I will have to dispute with AMEX. This is the second time they pulled tis on us as they did the same thing last summer with a Canada trip and refused to refund us. I will never book with them again

Are they offering a credit for the full amount you paid them?  Did they offer to switch you to a different trip or dates?

I will NEVER let my passport expire until the day I am living in a care home.  Life comes at you fast, and you never know when the opportunity of a lifetime will present itself.  About 35 years ago I had a coworker who was offered the opportunity to go to Australia for two weeks with a group of other guys.  One of the four had to cancel the paid in full trip at the last minute, and my coworker would only need to pay about a hundred dollars in change fees for the name.  (That was when you could do so.)  He had the vacation time built up, the cost was nominal, and he didn't go.  Because he didn't have a passport.  

Not to mention it is very easy to renew a passport, the entire process can be done by mail outside of getting the photo taken at a local AAA, Walgreens, etc.  Not so when applying for a new passport or renewing a passport that expired over a year prior.

I actually renew mine about a year prior to it expiring each time.  Most of the places I travel to require six months of validity, and I want plenty of time for them to be able to get around to processing it without stressing about it being delayed.

On 1/27/2022 at 4:43 PM, Ferry_Watcher said:

@ducklite, Wow, that's what I call adventure traveling!  Is your background Eastern European, or is it the road less traveled wanderlust?

I'm Irish and my husband is Polish.  The interest is with the road less traveled wanderlust.  🙂  

I've booked almost the entire Machu Picchu trip with only a couple of details remaining. 

Next year is a tip that is more traveled, although I suspect we'll be hiking through woods to find dragon's teeth and bunkers.  Our adult son (a major WWII history buff) is going with us, and after spending a few days in Paris we're going to start at D-Day in Normandy and work our way east where we'll roughly follow the path the Allies took as they overtook the Germans in Aachen, with time in Bastogne/Foy for the Battle of the Bulge ending with the German surrender in Reims.  And some Champagne tasting to celebrate. 🙂 

In 2024 we're planning a trip that will take us to South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia!

In 2025 I expect we'll cruise again, we've been leery to tie up finds with the cruise lines due to the continued uncertainty.

Since my post on this thread last year, we cancelled the Egypt portion of our trip because as I cleared one obstacle, another cropped up.  When it comes to travel, if it's that hard to book, it will be a nightmare once you get there.  We'll go at another point in time.

We DID get to go to Ukraine.  We booked a private guide and driver and spent two days including an overnight in the 30km exclusion zone at Chernobyl.  We spent the first day exploring Chernobyl Village and Pripyat Village.  The second day was mostly in the building that houses reactor 1-4 under the new containment structure.  We were able to stand on the cap of reactor 3 and enter the control room for reactor 4.  An unbelievable adventure!  We also had (not enough) time in Kyiv which is larger than Chicago.  We hope to return there some day.

We didn't get to go to see our friends in Austria, as we landed in Frankfurt we learned that Austria was going into lockdown and closing their borders, so we had to pivot and went from Ukraine to Florence, then to Amsterdam which was partially locked down, but we were still able to see what we wanted to see.

We are still planning on working until we are 65, maybe even do some contract work when we are home between trips.  We figured if we each worked contract positions a couple of months a year, it would give us the funds to fly business class on all of our long haul flights, and the "getting there" part seems to be harder as we get older.  

We are now trying to prioritize our bucket list based on how challenging the place is in terms of stairs, uneven walkways, and long journeys.  As a result, this year we are planning on Machu Picchu.  The big enchilada trip will happen within a year of retirement, the 30 day five Stans and Caucuses tour along with the 30+ day Antartica cruise.  We definitely want to take those trips sooner than later, and unfortunately can't take that much contiguous vacation time with our jobs.  (And the Stans and Caucuses aren't really a viable option due to political unrest right now.)  As with everything in life, it's a balancing act.

18 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Great philosophy! We just booked two weeks in Japan (land trip) for this Fall.  Now we are hoping that Japan opens up to travelers (i.e., Covid subsides) and we can all travel more freely and with confidence.

 

We were planning on a cruise in Japan with our adult son next year, but I'm just not willing to commit that much in deposit funds and airfare at this point with a country that isn't even open.  So we'll go to see a bunch of WWII sites France and Belgium instead.  I can wait to book the airfare and Air BnB's for a few more months.

On 10/14/2021 at 7:40 AM, Mercruiser said:

We lived in Eindhoven Netherlands in 2018-2019. Made many trips to Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Amsterdam is much more interesting IMHO, with all the historic architecture. Rotterdam was destroyed in WW2, so it has modern architecture.

 

I didn't get the feeling that the Dutch are out to stop cruise ships. Rather, they are wanting to discourage over-tourism in general. Pre-Covid, Amsterdam was overrun with tourists in the summer. During the summer of 2020, many Amsterdammers found their city to be a much more enjoyable place to live without the hoards of tourists.

As well they should   Amsterdam, Dublin, Tallinn, Krakow, Venice, and many more have become over touristed--whether by drunken 20-somethings on stag and hen party weekends to day trippers from giant cruise ships, it's become grotesque.  Personally I'd rather pay 50 Euro a day to have smaller crowds.  Primarily we visit off season to avoid the crowds, and we've found that we are warmly welcomed during off and shoulder season.

On 10/11/2021 at 7:11 PM, ravinblue said:

Thanks for the opinions. I will say that that similar questions have been asked before and there are always answers from those who  always tip even where it is not customary and that is fine. But I was actually more concerned with the mechanisms of tipping on a snorkel boat where everything tends to get wet. I don't remember anyone ever tipping on scuba boats when I used to dive in Hawaii and the Caribbean. But, I think I have some sort of water-proof wallet lying around here somewhere.

We did tip on one shore excursion because it was a full day and included lunch which they had gone above and beyond to work around my food allergies.  

If you are taking Dr. Poole's dolphin excursion, he doesn't accept tips but instead asks you to make a donation to his research.

But to answer your specific question--use a dry bag.  You can get them in a variety of sizes.  Plus when you are snorkling the boat stays with you, so you can leave things on board.  I put my dry bag in the bottom of a beach bag that I had dry towels and sun screen in.  

On 8/16/2021 at 11:53 AM, grandgeezer said:

Having a credit card means nothing, it doesn't show means to pay for anything. I use a credit card for my account and there hasn't been a new cruise related charge in almost ten years. In fact there is always a credit issued to repay the refundable obc we receive from our travel agent.

People who don't have the means to stay in a hotel for a night and pay a change fee to get back home early flat out shouldn't be traveling.  

On 8/16/2021 at 11:33 AM, kirtihk said:

In general - true.  However, I don't expect from my TA ANYTHING at all whatsoever these days!!! Why?!! - what to expect from him?!!  - have you or whoever else been working for free during 18 months?!!  and on top of that paying your employees (my agent is actually an owner of his agency)?!!  My agent does exactly that and working more hours than prior to February 2020 - 14-16 a day, every day (yes, including weekends).  What is he doing for those long hours?!! - cancelling and rebooking while being on the phone with cruise lines sometimes for 4-6 hours (waiting and hoping not to lose them), cancelling and rebooking, cancelling and rebooking, cancelling and rebooking... - no revenue, no a penny, nothing.  I'm writing about it in many quotes, and no one replies (no one cares, right?!!).  We are only care about what are told to be, right?!!  Every one else is a casualty of the "war", collateral damage so to speak.

I sell trade show space.  I spent many, many months cancelling and rebooking people and processing refunds, working 14-16 hours a day, including weekends.  I even took the time to hand write a note of gratitude to 20 customers per week during that time.  I ended each day with a stress headache because of being yelled and cursed at all day, every day for something that was not my fault and of which I had ZERO control.  I did it because IT WAS MY JOB.  And I didn't drop the ball on anything as major as making sure they knew the requirements for attending the show they were booked into once shows began to reopen.  So yeah, if the TA never told them (which I'm not sure was the case, the TA failed at their job.  Miserably.  

18 hours ago, MommaBear55 said:

Your wife, and your daughter if over 12, will not be able to sail out of NJ / Cape Liberty. Try Florida.

 

Please don't come to Florida if you are unvaccinated.  We've got more than our share of COVID here already.

I'm 60.  Not single but if I were, I'd be interested in meeting other singles of both genders for fellowship--meals together, maybe shore excursions, pre-dinner cocktails, etc.  If I really hit it off with someone I might want to continue the friendship after the cruise and see how things evolved over time,  But a hook up?  Nope.

20 hours ago, lissie said:

To all those peopple who are delaying retirement for reasons  which basically boil down  to "having more money". 

 

There is one thing that you are assuming - you are assuming you will continue to be healthy. 

 

A major social media platform just reminded me that 4 years ago we were excitedly exploring Shanghai at the planned start of a 4 month trip along the Silk Rd to Istanbul.  

 

It will NOT be reminding me that a week later my partner was in a Chinese hospital fighting for his life after suffering high altitude pulmonary odema.  

 

He survived but he'll never be as fit as he was then, now takes handfuls of drugs a day, has had a heart valve replaced, and now every trip starts with "can we get insurance". 

 

Don't assume life is  forever 

We are fortunately that we get a lot of vacation time, and we have been starting to take some of the trips we want that require more physical ability for this exact reason.  We'll delay Norwegian Fjord, Panama Canal, etc. until we are older and want more of a "drive by" experience.

What are your hobbies?  I'd look for group cruises that have a focus on them.  That way you'll be sure to meet like minded people and immediately have something in common.

Our social security will cover our cost to have food, shelter, and medical care as we are right now +25%.  My husband has a pension (I get 100% should something happen to him) and we have enough in investments to retire right now, but we will keep working until 65 and not collect SS until 67 to maximize savings and income during retirement.  

In the worst case we could downsize to a smaller home and pay cash for it and cut out collecting wine, eating out, and travel which is where half of our post-savings income goes.

On 4/22/2020 at 9:34 AM, rvrocker said:

even better keep the snot noised bratty kids off the ships

Particularly because none of them are vaccinated!

On 7/25/2021 at 6:53 PM, MamaFej said:

I filled out my passport application online while on an RV trip in June. I intended to print out the application and send it it as soon as we got home (around the 17th). On the 21st, I somehow lost my driver license (I'm 99.4858% sure it fell out of my pocket at a brewery). I was very glad I'd been too busy/distracted since getting home to have mailed in my passport and application. We had a 4 week trip to Hawaii leaving on the 24th. My passport was the only way for me to be able to get on the plane. It would have really sucked to have Hubby go on our 30th anniversary trip without me. 

We got home shortly after midnight Friday, and I Priority mailed in the application, with the fees for expiditing both processing and shipping. I'll be surprised if I get the new one in time for our closed-loop Alaska cruises in mid-late September. I'm glad I can get by with my (replacement) Enhanced DL and birth certificate. 

Whew!

FYI--If you have it, your Global Entry card works as REAL ID for domestic air travel.

On 7/4/2021 at 8:07 PM, jsn55 said:

I agree with Mrs Claypool.  Shirt with a collar, tuck it in, wear a belt ... about as formal as any river cruise gets.  I do question your plan to wear jeans, they are heavy and hard to wash/dry so you have to send them out ... maybe look at some lighter-weight pants that will look nicer anyway.

We will be there in December when the weather is much cooler.  Keep in mind that before we go to Egypt we are going to COLD Ukraine and Austria.  We are trying to keep our luggage as light as possible, and jeans absolutely make sense for most of this trip.  We'll each have a pair of lighter pants, but after wearing them all day we probably shouldn't wear them to dinner.  I guess we'll each pack a second pair of lighter slacks and an appropriate top.  Hopefully no one has a problem with seeing us in the same outfit night after night.  We're not opposed to sending a few things out for laundry on the ship if we need to. 

We will have a washer/dryer in Ukraine and Vienna, so will arrive in Egypt with clean clothes.  We have a free day before our tour starts when we arrive in Cairo, so maybe I'll buy an Abaya to wear for dinners--they look very comfy!  Thanks for letting me know that they aren't going to expect any sort of dressy outfits.  🙂 
 

1 hour ago, sharkster77 said:

Interesting--did not know that there was more than one Cyrillic alphabet.

 

 

A quote (Albert Einstein) from my youth that has always stuck with me is "The day you stop learning is the day you start dying".  Have tried to live my life that way, always LOVE learning new things (comes in handy watching Jeopardy!)

So agree on the quote.  I did know that there are numerous Cyrillic alphabets.  I've noticed small but distinct differences between the Russian, Ukrainian, Greek, Serbian, Uzbek, and Montenegrin alphabets as I've researched various trips--either taken/actively planning, or dreaming of.  🙂 

15 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

I recall a rather and lengthy thread a few years ago. I’m not sure whether it was here on cruise critic or another board. It involved a Ukrainian (not sure whether by nationality or heritage) who took a poster to task for using the term “the Ukraine.” She said it was very insulting; up until I read that thread, I never thought three little letters could be so problematic. 

 

Folks traveling to Ukraine might want to read this article - https://time.com/12597/the-ukraine-or-ukraine/ - before traveling. It’s one of several articles that can be found by searching “is using ‘the Ukraine’ insulting.” No sense stepping on land mines and boobie traps unnecessarily. Just a heads up.

Interesting--I'll keep that in mind moving forward!

17 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Agree with all you’ve said but your 2nd paragraph makes me wonder why you are waiting?  FWIW, we retired early for all the reasons you list in this paragraph. We decided it might be better to have to do some budgeting but be able to do things we wanted…but we’re more worried that some of those negative events might keep us from being able to travel. Thankfully in the last three years that hasn’t happened. We have also been able to do everything we have wanted to do and stayed under our budget. That combined with the stock market means we have much more money in our accounts now than we did on retirement day.  
 

Not trying to be negative towards your plans but also want to give you some positive thoughts towards pulling the plug early!

We aren't!  We have taken some amazing trips in the past 10 years.  A three week trip including a two week cruise to Italy/Croatia, Montenegro, and Greece with time on the front and back in Rome and Athens; French Polynesia; and a dozen other European countries.  Of course we've also done several Caribbean cruises.  We've both been to every continental US state and a decent chunk of Canada--much of it for free due to our employers!

We just don't feel ready to retire.  We both love what we do for a living, and feel that it keeps us on our toes.  And yes, the stock market has helped bolster the value of our retirement accounts, but we have lived through enough downturns to know that is never guaranteed.  If we were to retire right now, we would not be able to take some of the trips we want to take. 

For example, our "retirement trip" is the Lindblad/NatGeo cruise that begins in Ushuaia, Argentina and ends in Dundedin, NZ.  35 days aboard the Endurance in Antarctica, over $50K each for the cruise fare alone.  The plan is to get off and spend the next several months in NZ, Australia, and various parts of Asia, some via land and some via cruise--too early to really put much together, although hoping for a couple of interesting longer itineraries from Windstar.  Ideally from there we'd take a cruise from Japan to Alaska.  That's why we'll continue to work for another five years. 

By the way, this year we are headed to the Ukraine and Egypt--hopefully we'll be able to enter Austria in between to spend some time with friends there.  🙂

16 hours ago, Mrs. Claypool said:

Certainly you should take an anti-diarrheal medicine with you, just in case.  

 

But to give you some comfort, we travelled through Egypt on a 2-week cruise and never had any stomach problems.  Of course, we ate either at our hotel, on board the ship, or at places that were included in the ship's excursion ... and bought some plain baked goods at the local markets a few times.

 

We start the trip in the Ukraine prior to a currently unknown country (hopefully Austria where we know the water/food are fine) before Egypt.  The Ukraine is also an iffy place in terms of food and water sanitation, and we are spending some of our time there in a more rural area, so we are going prepared.  🙂 

We've also been very disciplined at saving.  (We could retire now, but we'll work until we are 65 to max out the savings so we never need to worry about saying "we can't afford that" for something we'd like to do, that should be within our means. 

About 10 years ago when we were hitting 50, we took a look around at the people we knew, and realized that life comes at you fast.  Sometimes very fast.  Too many had died far too young, become disabled, or were facing life altering illnesses.  We had a couple of personal medical scares.  So we decided to begin traveling.  

We noted our bucket list places, and then looked at the places that will get more challenging as we age.  With the exception of the very top bucket list places, we have been knocking things off based on how challenging the travel might be as we age.  

I'm careful with our travel dollars.  We usually have one "splurge" on each trip--as long as it fits our budget.  We usually go with AirBnB's, having breakfast and about half the dinners in the rental.  That also allows us to pack lighter as we do laundry while there.  

As part of our travels this year we are on a three day Nile cruise in December.  We are trying to keep our packing as light as possible as we are going to the Ukraine and either Austria, Serbia, Greece, or Israel depending on borders being open prior to arrival in Egypt for our final week.  We are planning on jeans and base layers/fleece tops depending on the climate the entire trip, but if we each need to bring a pair of slacks and a collared shirt or risk being turned away, we'll do so.  Hopefully our tablemates won't care if we wear the same clothes three evenings in a row. 🤪

The ship we are supposed to be on is the M/S Tulip.  I have hunted high and low, and haven't found anything discussing dinner dress code.  

Has anyone sailed on that ship who can shed some insight?