mslaabs

Some cruise lines offer an excursion when you are visiting glaciers, a smaller boat picks you up from the ship and takes you closer to the glacier.  We've done this a couple of times and both times the ship dropped us off at the Glacier (via smaller boat) then the smaller boat caught up with the ship again in Juneau.  Not the cheapest excursion, but we felt it was well worth it. The smaller boat has inside seating as well as outside viewing decks. We got a lot closer to the glacier than the ship could, plus we saw seals and whales on our journey to Juneau.  The only  walking required was a rocky gangway to board the smaller boat, so not sure if that would be an issue.

We are doing New Orleans to Memphis in June and have been wondering about the water levels as well. Our hope is the snow melt and spring showers will help.

Thanks everyone. I was able to do the "add a cruise" to get it linked.

Is linking a reservation no longer an option?  When I first log in, I see where it says I can do that, but when I click the "View Cruise Details" link there is no mention of it.  I booked the cruise through Royal's website and not a TA.  I have also made full payment. Traveling with my parents and trying to link their reservation so we don't have to spend time arranging dinner seating when we get on board.  I know I have been able to link reservations for previous cruises.  Am I totally missing something on the website or is it just missing all together?

Are you still able to get a bottle of water inside the Diamond lounge (without using a voucher) or do you have to now get it from a bar?

Thanks everyone. I wasn't aware of the Cruise/Travel Insurance category. I will check that forum out.

I tried the search feature and I must not be using the magical phrase because I can't find an answer, so hoping someone here can help.  I want to purchase a Viking Cruise using a voucher we received when we had to previously cancel a cruise due to a Covid related issue.  Viking confirmed through email that their TripMate's travel insurance would not cover the voucher if we once again had to cancel (the new cruise).  Can anyone suggest a travel insurance that will cover the voucher if we had to cancel?  I understand there are cancellation fees, but beyond that how can we protect the money tied up in the voucher (a few thousand dollars)? I did search several insurance providers but could not find anything on their websites specifically related to travel vouchers.   I guess the biggest concern is testing positive a day or two before sailing date.  I'm still a little baffled that the cruise line's insurance would not protect the money tied up in the voucher.  At the very least I was expecting we would receive another voucher.  

Thanks for any help you can offer.

I declined it on NCL because I don' t drink alcohol and I'm not a fan of Pepsi.  I figure I'll be drinking water and ice/hot tea the entire cruise.  

We did Alaska this past October. It rained in Ketchikan, as it has done all three times we've been there. Other than that, we actually had pretty good weather. Yes, it was cold but I bought one of those bands that covers your ears and had gloves and I was good to go.  Being out on deck for an extended period of time, required an extra layer of clothes for me (think wind chill).  I didn't go on NCL but the cruise line we were on had waiters walking the decks handing out hot chocolate.  We saw whales from the ship and the scenery was still wonderful. I didn't find the daylight to be an issue. I would go in October again. 

On 6/28/2021 at 12:41 PM, SantaFe1 said:

Yes yes yes!  Puffins everywhere on the spectacular Vigur island excursion this warm sunny morning. 

Nice photo of the puffins. Just curious what camera or size lens you used for the photos of the puffins?

Thanks, appreciate the info.

I am also new to Viking. Something in my readings led me to believe the in cabin mini bar may be complimentary. Did I totally misunderstand that or is it really complimentary? (staying in a deluxe veranda if it matters)

8 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

They don't provide lanyards -- but Guest Services will hole-punch your sea pass card for free. 🤣  (And, in fact, if you are on a "revolutionized" ship, where, I believe, RFID cards are being used now, you definitely want to have them punch the hole at GS so that the chip is not compromised.)

 

Last summer, we took our first HAL cruise.  We were pleasantly surprised at check-in to be given sea pass cards that were already hole-punched. 

On the Edge in April they would not punch a hole in our card because of the chip and let us know that we could purchase lanyards with the plastic sleeve attached at the gift shop.  Key West was our first port so we waited and bought the plastic sleeve lanyard there for a little less than what the ship was charging.

7 hours ago, zooma said:

 

This is good to know -- thanks. Did you book with one of the airlines that Air2Sea was showing other flights for, or a wholly separate airline?

The airlines I booked were on the Air2Sea site with other times.  I actually booked two separate airlines, American for the outbound flight and United for the return.  Air2Sea just booked it as 2 one way tickets.

I found flights that were not available on Air2Ses website, but I called and the rep was able to book the flights for me. She did say flights had to meet certain criteria before they could book it (for my cruise, flights had to depart The port city after noon). So if you don’t see a flight you want, it’s worth a phone call to see if rep can book for you.


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Thank you both.  Yes, I was referring to the airport transfer through the ship at $27.  138East, thanks for the tip about the Taxi Dispatcher.  I will research that a bit more and may cancel my ship transfer in favor of the taxi dispatcher shuttle.

I'm taking my first cruise from Port Liberty in November and I'm doing it solo so want to know what to expect before I encounter it.  These boards have been helpful in answering many questions, but I found little on how the ship's shuttle to the airport works.  First, I understand Uber/Lyft are great options, but I'm not comfortable doing those alone and prefer the (hopefully) ease of the ship's shuttle. I have a 12:30 United Airlines flight and here are my questions:

1. Disembarkation - is there a special group for Airport transfer people or do you disembark with the general mass?

2. Do I retrieve my luggage at the ship terminal and take it to the shuttle with me? Again, are bags kept in a separate group for retrieving?

3. Are there signs or crew members in the terminal to direct you to the shuttles? I would think "yes", but don't want to assume.

4. Does the shuttle drop you off directly at the terminal?  I've never been to EWR, but I've been reading that there is a tram stop of some sort that a lot of ride share places drop you off at and then you need to drag the luggage on the tram to the correct terminal.

5. This may have be answered in one of the above questions, but how am I reunited with my luggage at the airport?

Thanks in advance for any insight anyone can provide.

We went a couple of years ago and saw the puppies on board.  They had a line for pictures, but also one of the handlers was walking around with a puppy so those standing/watching could have an opportunity to pet them.

Another test

Instead of starting another "test photo" thread, I'm going to just add to this one with my test photo.

Count me in, love reading along. Hope it wasn't your bag that was smoking.

I'm going to preface this by saying this is my own personal opinion and by no means am I trying to discourage you from going to LL Bean (I'm a huge fan myself) if that is on your bucket list. I have been to the LL Bean store, but not through a ship's excursion. While the store is great, if this is your first time to Maine it might be worth checking out some of the sight-seeing excursions. This my personal experience and others may have had a different one, but when I was at the store I found they did not carry several of the items or as large of a variety of a particular item as they have in the catalogs. For example I wanted one of those LL Bean t-shirts but they only carried one design and one color in the store where as there are a few more options in the catalog. They still had a variety of items though and I did not walk out empty handed. Whatever your decision, Maine is a great place to visit.

We were on the Allure week of 5/6 and a majority of the time it was accurate, but we did find a few events that the time was off.

deleted...found my answer

The taxi ride could be an adventure in itself if it is anything like ride we had one year to the Atlantis. The cab driver literally drove down the sidewalk to get around cars, then blew through a toll booth yelling out the window that we did not have time to stop and pay a toll:eek:

The ride back to the ship was not nearly as exciting.