MBP&O2/O

I was under the impression that ships are now required to slow down where there are whales? Perhaps not in Alaska?

We went on an undersea 'submarine' tour in St. Barts. If you are claustrophobic, or even considering it 🙂 then avoid at all costs. No motion problems ... just people throwing up left right and centre because of the heat and being so confined. Of course when the first one gips then it is contagious. 🤮 As an aside there wasn't that much of interest to see.

As I said, I am not an expert apart from pointing and pressing the correct button 😄 Attached ... pointed, zoomed to maximum, and pressed the button. The 2 inch flower was 45 feet away and the camera in full dunce mode.

I am no camaera expert, but I have a four year old Sony HX400V bridge camera with excellent zoom facilities. It beats a phone camera hands down, and as it has built in WiFi I can transfer the pics to my tablet for ease of viewing. Never regretted it ... apart from the $$$.

We have booked a small group Whale Watch at Juneau (4 hrs) and a Whale Watch and Bear Watch excursion at ISP (6 hrs). Fingers crossed but both WW trips are offering the refund if no Whales are seen ... they also say that they have never had to offer the refund 🙂and sightings are guaranteed.

I live 20 miles from Newcastle International Airport .... Silversea Air department insist that my local airport is Edinburgh...... which is 115 miles away. As an aside, were I to insist on flights from Newcastle I would be charged a deviation fee!

You would be looking at an absolute minimum of 2hrs in a car at the best of times ... factor in rush hour peak traffic etc et etc ... h How long will airport protocols take .. UK airports are an absolute shambles at the moment!

My first SB cruise US next year. I am hoping I will be OK as I am extremely low maintenance and am quite capable of looking after myself 😁 I can empathise with the crew and am aware of their pressures

On our last SS cruise our 'consultant' was next to useless. Frequently ignored emails. Failed to send 'joining instructions' ...tickets yes, boarding times no! Post cruise she seemed not have the faintest idea when we made enquiries regarding another cruise ... UK corporate seemed to have lost the plot. Should you be concerned? Debatable but keep chasing them ... either personally or via a TA.

Maybe in retaliation for the USA increasing ESTA charges 😁

The only time I experienced anything like that was after a trip when i went over three months without even going onto dry land. When I eventually left the ship it was by tender ...so a long haul trip on a vibrating and noisy launch may have had something to do with it 🤪

I second the previous post. I do not swim or snorkel nor will I use a kayak. Walking is fine. Zodiacs are also fine. Thanks

Thanks for the report. Looks good to me 🙂 Most questions answered. I note you flew in to Quito but going home you checked in for Guayquil??? Any flight we book will fly home from Quito but refuel at Guayaquil.

I am awaiting a quote from Celebrity for a Galapagos cruise ... but not on the Flora, which I would generally prefer. I am told that the suite bathrooms have see through glass doors which is my main sticking point. Your comments would be appreciated. Ta

Loll 😁😁😁

Not as bad as you would think ... except when the 'I know best' bean counters get involved 😁

.... and 2 to 3 metres isn't really that big ... and yes the hull design has an awful lot to do with it.

Then of course you have the scenario where you are all layered up in the grungy damp and windy weather and suddenly the sun comes out and the wind drops and you need to unlayer .... and you have to deal with an armful of clothes 😁 Of course Murphys Law states that once you have stripped down the rain will start etc etc🤪🙄

Rule of thumb ...divide the larger number by the small one and the larger the answer the better. 8 x 32 = 4 ... 10 x 32 = 3.2 ... 7 x 50 = 7 The more light in the better the end product.

Mighty Cruise Ships I think .... many in the series started the same way showing 'Day 1' issues.

The ones P&O supplied for bridge officers werre in chocolate fireguard territory. I bought my own.... a pair of Nikon 7 x 50. It was a while ago ... so long I hate to remember .... but they are still going strong. At the same time I bought my own sextant which came with a 7 x 50 monocular which was / is very handy as a small spotting scope.

Interesting comments and watching with a specific eye on the excursions as I don't kayak or snorkeling so it will be good to see what options are offered. The Infinite Balcony doesn't do it for me either. How long did you stay in Quito pre cruise? It always used to be 2 nights but now it looks like just the 1? Tks.

Like CHPURSER, I have worked many a Christmas at sea and been away from family etc. As a watchkeeping officer I very rarely had a drink, and still had meals at odd times, usually alone, so Christmas was just like any other day at sea. One Christmas we crossed the IDL, advanced the clocks 24 hours and thus cancelled Boxxing Day 😁 When I came ashore it was a similar scenario, but at least I saw the family. As a passenger I think Xmas at sea would be amongst my worst nightmares .... not for me at all.

When I worked for P&O we had several ships that were owned by a New Zealand company, who chartered the ships to a Norwegian company who managed them, but they were crewed and run by P&O. All baffling but it shows how someone can own a ship and have no practical input as to how it is run/managed etc.

I went to Jeddah once and we weren't allowed off the ship for 'cultural reasons' ...... a high profile public execution. I also managed a Rhodesian stamp in my passport which could have stopped me entering certain African countries. We also used to load fruit cargoes from South Africa to Saudi ... Saudi would not trade with South Africa so all the boxes were stamped 'Product of Botswana'. We then stopped at Mozambique, dropped the anchor, changed the deck log book, and then officially sailed from a non South African country. The politically expedient Way and Means Act, and nothing to do with two faced burocracy!