love2driveinct

The Nordic Prince was my first cruise, also, in July 1993. What memories!

My parents and grandmother invited me to join them, and my 21-year-old self knew it was probably my last free vacation so of course I jumped at the chance. It was Seattle R/T to Alaska and it was amazing. Being on such a small ship (~23K gross tons) allowed us to get much closer to the glaciers than today's larger ships.

This was also back when cruises were different... caviar and escargots and ice sculptures and midnight buffets. Even though I was young, I am so glad I got to experience that.

My second cruise was on Voyager of the Seas, and although I knew the ship was big, I don't think I realized at the time that she is almost six times as large as the NP.

Sorry to hear that she has been decommissioned, especially when she was built the same year I was born (I'd like to think I have a lot more useful years left :D), but she and her crew gave my family an experience of a lifetime. I see from these posts that we're not the only ones.

We are flying Air Canada and their info is here (no free bags for dependents, but up to three for the service person):

http://www.aircanada.com/en/agents_n...age_policy.pdf

It says "Eligible active and retired members of the Canadian and U.S. military are now entitled to check up to three pieces of checked baggage, each weighing up to 32 kg (70 lb) each. The allowance is applicable to the

member of the military and is valid for both personal and duty travel."

Our years of experience with terminology like "eligible active and retired members" has so far always included Reservists.

The other airline is United and their info is here:

https://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/tra...edBaggage.aspx

It says "Active U.S. military personnel and their dependents:

Dependents of active U.S. military personnel will have the same exemptions as the military service member whose status provides the benefit, as long as they are traveling on the same reservation."

It seems that there would be an extra step or two required at the airport -- getting the ID checked for eligibility, getting special luggage tags. Seems like it would be worth the trouble if it worked out.

We're both active duty but we've done it many times. Depending on the airline, some want your ID, some want a copy of the leave orders. We've had success with United and American waiving our baggage fees. I believe American even offered free seat upgrades for military.

 

At our airport, there are specific kiosks for military members to check-in at that have the fees waived. If they don't have the military kiosks, there's usually a button halfway through to select "military" on the bag screen. You'll then have to go to the front to check your bags.

Ok, thank you. Neither of the airlines say anything on their websites about leave orders, but I suppose they could demand them anyway if they wanted.

I guess it's a matter of whether we want to take the chance. It would completely change the bags we bring and the way we pack them, but we'd have to be prepared to pay the fees if it didn't work out.

We are flying Air Canada and their info is here (no free bags for dependents, but up to three for the service person):

http://www.aircanada.com/en/agents_na/policies/documents/military_baggage_policy.pdf

It says "Eligible active and retired members of the Canadian and U.S. military are now entitled to check up to three pieces of checked baggage, each weighing up to 32 kg (70 lb) each. The allowance is applicable to the

member of the military and is valid for both personal and duty travel."

Our years of experience with terminology like "eligible active and retired members" has so far always included Reservists.

The other airline is United and their info is here:

https://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/travel/Pages/CheckedBaggage.aspx

It says "Active U.S. military personnel and their dependents:

Dependents of active U.S. military personnel will have the same exemptions as the military service member whose status provides the benefit, as long as they are traveling on the same reservation."

It seems that there would be an extra step or two required at the airport -- getting the ID checked for eligibility, getting special luggage tags. I was just trying to find out if anyone had done this and how it worked out.

I was sick once on a cruise and it was awful, so I am paranoid now about any of us getting sick. Unfortunately, the week or so before a trip always seems to be the most hectic, just when you need to make sure everyone is getting ample rest and fluids.

We will be doing our best to be vigilant about getting rest and water, and taking our probiotics, daily vitamins, and preventive allergy meds in the couple of weeks before our cruise (and will bring them along to take during).

Of course, even when taking normal precautions (washing hands, not touching face, etc), things still happen. I am quite sure I got sick from someone on the airplane or in the airport, so part of me wants to wear a mask just to be safe. It's likely that I won't do that, though. I feel like there's a happy medium between living a totally carefree life and being completely germaphobic to the point of not being able to relax. If getting extra rest and taking vitamins & probiotics ahead of time allows me to relax a little bit during my vacation, then I'm going to do it.

Good luck with whatever you decide and have a great cruise!

I did ask this question in the Military Cruisers forum, but it isn't frequented as much as this one, so I'm also asking it here. I hope that's okay.

Both of the airlines we are flying state that they offer a good discount (free) on a certain number of checked bags for military personnel, even when traveling for pleasure. One of the airlines even extends this to dependents traveling with them.

In our case it could save quite a bit of money since we are a family of five. Our original plan was to bring five carry-ons and only as many large checked suitcases (probably 3) as we need since they will be $35 each. But normally we fly Southwest (no fees) and each bring one large checked bag to keep our carry-ons to a minimum. This is obviously easier for us to manage, especially since our youngest struggles to pull anything larger than a small carry-on.

So... Has anyone done this? Is it a huge hassle?

Has anyone in the Reserves tried this with the white ID that looks identical to AD?

Both of the airlines we are flying state that they offer a good discount (free) on a certain number of checked bags for military personnel, even when traveling for pleasure. One of the airlines even extends this to dependents traveling with them.

In our case it could save quite a bit of money since we are a family of five. Our original plan was to bring five carry-ons and only as many large checked suitcases (probably 3) as we need since they will be $35 each. But normally we fly Southwest (no fees) and each bring one large checked bag to keep our carry-ons to a minimum. This is obviously easier for us to manage, especially since our youngest struggles to pull anything larger than a small carry-on.

So... Has anyone done this? Is it a huge hassle?

Has anyone in the Reserves tried this with the white ID that looks identical to AD?

I'm going to ask this question in the Air forum, too, since it seems this area isn't frequented as much.

I am interested in seeing others' responses to this, as well.

We are booked in side-by-side non-adjoining cabins with our two teens and one tween in one cabin, and my husband and I in the other. I was assuming that I could get a key to their room.

When we booked I asked our Vacation Planner if there was any practical reason to book me in one and my husband in the other (and then actually sleep the way we wanted), and he said there wasn't. Since we met the requirements we did not need to and there wasn't any real benefit to doing it.

I'm hopeful that we made the right decision.

I just spoke with someone at the Captain's Club. They have been told to manually register anyone who calls them. Although I wish the online system were working, I am happy that they are dealing with the problem in this way. I was also told that because of this system glitch -- or whatever you want to call it -- they will be holding a Connections party regardless of whether there are at least 25 people signed up.

Captain's Club number is 1-800-760-0654. Just give them your reservation number(s) and asked to be registered for the party. Only takes a moment.

Good luck everyone and happy mingling! :)

One of the previous posts mentioned going to the Celebrity website and registering there. Anyone know how to find it? They don't seem to have a search box.

I, too, have sent an email but have not received a response. I've tried multiple times over the past few weeks to register, but always get that same error message mentioned in the original post.

I'm on the 6/24 NB Alaska and we are four people shy of having a party. If I could just register the five in my family, we'd be all set!

Edited to add: Today I have tried using Google Chrome, Explorer, and Safari on my iPhone. Same error message everywhere. It allows me to search for the party and tells me how many guests are registered already, but it does not allow me to register.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all of these responses... we are sailing in late June and I was also wondering how to pack (and how to help my kids pack).

We are from New England, so my cool-weather wardrobe includes mainly tall boots over skinny jeans, cords, or leggings. I just don't think I can pull that look off in June, seems like too much of a stretch. :p

I don't own any regular slacks or khakis -- never found any that fit well. So I guess on the ship I'll be wearing skirts, dresses, and cropped pants/jeans (if the weather allows). My go-to for excursions will be regular jeans and sneakers or barn boots. I do have a lot of active wear (nice yoga pants, leggings, hoodies etc), and it sounds like, from one of the previous posts, that is commonly worn around the ship.

I went on an Alaska cruise when I was young -- going to check my photo album now to see what I was wearing. The fashion choices of 1993... lol.

Thanks everyone. I feel confident that there will be a nice balance between kids and adults, with maybe a bit more kids than usual since it'll be summer break. I am fine with that, of course, because I want my own kids to have others to hang out with.

We did Solstice to Alaska in June 2014 . It was 84f , almost the hottest temperatures they have had ! Hardly noticed any kids onboard.

Wow -- 84! How fun!

On Alaska cruises, using the pools, whirlpools, etc are really secondary activitles largely because it can still tend to be cold and rainy. We did the Solstice to Alaska and none of this happened.

Good point... I forgot about this.

My kids will be 11, 15, and 18 and have cruised three times before, but not with Celebrity. We are looking at a June Alaska cruise and I'm sure there will be many families on board, but I was wondering what to expect as far as kids go in general. Will they be everywhere, crowding pools and whirlpools and running amuck? (Like I experienced on a RC cruise a few years ago where there were large youth sports teams and they all liked to stay together so you had to plan your day around them.) I am hoping for a slightly more peaceful experience... LOL

Any thoughts?