OlsSalt

No wonder there were no lines waiting to get tender tickets.

At least the passengers did not lose their heads over this frightful incident.

My first full Suez transit was in early 1977 (RTW Galileo Galilei) - the banks were still littered with destroyed military equipment. Twice entering this area from the south on passenger ships, we picked up onboard security personnel, barbed wire, acoustic and water devices were installed, blackouts strictly enforced, and portholes in the cabins were screwed tightly shut. We had to make the run across the Indian Ocean to the horn of Africa leading into the Red Sea. Small votive candles only on the tables, to light the aft recreation deck if we wanted to be outdoors at night. Somali pirates were out in those days. We did emergency drills on board - go to a central area of the ship - away from any possible munitions piercing the ship sides. With gallows humor, we did laugh a bit, thinking what would the pirates want with a ship full of complaining old people, who were probably not even worth ransom demands made on relatives back home. We passed with no incidents, nor even sightings. But it was a time to be tense, dutiful and alert. Yes, this was "vacation" travel.

Silverseas Moon?

We use Amtrak a lot for San Diego departures. But we always come in the day before and stay in a close by hotel, right across from the cruise terminal. Amtrak can be notoriously unreliable through no fault of their own, often due to frequent"suicide by train" incidents, "pedestrians" on the tracks, or recently washed-out track. Therefore, I would never recommend a same day arrival and having a secondary back up plan - like renting a car to get to the ship on time. We however find departures from San Diego on the norming of disembarkation to be reliable. They offered no checked baggage handling recently and very little mobility assistance to get self and luggage to the train cars. After the track had been washed out on the main LA-San Diego portion we had to disembark, get on a bus and then re-board the train. While waiting between the two connections the lighted announcement board said ...due to outrage .... the train will be delayed. Assume they meant "outage" but teaching K-12 basics has not been a strong suit in this state for years.

Another link about this area now heating up: Houthi militants killed in Prosperity Guardian action. https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/31/us-troops-kill-houthi-militants-red-sea-firefight-rebels-attempt-board-commercial-ship/

I found the same thing: onboard pedicures far more expensive, and hair coloring services similar or even less than on land. Next time, I WILL try those fish nibbling pedicures on land, for sure. Looked, but did not touch last times.

Did not think of this at the time. Should have, since that was the only possible option. Not sure what the communication is between front desk and the shore excursions franchise.

One unintended problem with the new electronic excursion system is the inability to notify anyone that we intended not to show up for a pre-paid shore excursion. Nothing on the Navigator allowed this. We understood we would not get refunds due to our late cancellation. That was not the problem. Those were the terms we knew when we signed up. Their office was closed the night before, and since we were under the weather, we were not getting out of bed that morning to go track them down port side. There was not even a mail slot at their desk, like in the past, to drop off any notifications. So without any possible way to send our last minute no-show notification, either (1) they had to delay the entire group while they waited for us to show up ( a nuisance for other passengers); and/or (2) they were also not able to re-sell our reservations to someone on a waiting list (missing a financial windfall for them)

Do you plan on any speciality eating while in Alaska ports - crab, salmon etc. Might not want to have two large meals on the same day then pick an at-sea day for your Pinnacle dinner. But usually those are also days reserved for the main dining room "gala nights". Nothing wrong with making your Pinnacle dinner a gala night too. Honestly (sadly) today, there is little that is special about "gala night - dressy night" in the main dining room. So personally, I would pick an at sea night and even if it is a gala night. Pull out all the stops for your own group to dress up or not, and have fun.

Operation Prosperity Guardian getting ready to escort a Maesrk cargo ship through the canal.

Silversea Muse - 14 day Alaska - Vancouver RT - $10,400* -balcony HAL Noodrem - 14 day Alaska -Vancouver RT - $2,500 - balcony *Helps pay for the butler. As well as more upscale food, programs and decor.

Thank you. I was just reliving it when I wrote this. The words came tumbling out. It suddenly felt so immediate to me. I appreciate having this memory triggered again. It was from the HAL Grand Indonesia Cruise - Southhampton to Singapore - with two weeks around Indonesia - watching crew members eagerly greet waving families in port after port. Everything was special on that cruise. We ❤️ Indonesia cruise. So many good HAL memories tucked away, thank goodness they are in my long-term memory, so they still get recalled as if they were in the present. Just don't ask me what I had for breakfast yesterday. 🙈

Never forget getting up at 4am on the former R class Rotterdam as we waited to queue and enter the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean. The winds were hot, the skies were dark, the port facilities were brightly lit, the shouts from local crew members carried across the water, while minarets in the background gave the entire scene an exotic and unforgettable look. The port entrance was filled with many idling ships with strange sounding names, from strange sounding places. The Rotterdam herself was very quiet, only a dozen of us were up at this hour to witness the very start of our gathering Suez convoy. Up until the last minute, we did not know if we would be the last ship in the early queue or the first ship in a later queue. But we got included in that early am queue, and watched the sun come up and the ship come back to life as we sailed on into the Red Sea.

The very cold Humboldt Current from Antarctica runs up along side Chile up to Santiago (ha ha, no wonder it has that name?) and it was surprisingly colder along this area than what we had expected. Even a bit of snowfall in Puerto Mott once. Everyone was buying extra sweaters in port or in the ship shops on a previous run down this coast from Santiago. Getting things during the cruise is always an option, so if you don't make the perfect packing choices up front you can supplement things later and even get a good cruise souvenir in the process. The ship stores seem to know what people need on various itineraries. And will have many "pool side" sales too. Plus many little shops set up dockside can also offer back up options.

Sorry to learn they are no longer offering recorded "art tours" of their often very interesting onboard installations. That used to be a feature in the past. See the promotion below for ....."iPad self-guided tours of the Oosterdam collection all around the ship"

Fair trade-off. Others get to identify the.... It's All About Meeeee! Fan Club. Take a look at some of the Carnival ships door decorations, if you want to see what happens when competition rears its ugly head.

You might want to also look into the thermal spa and/or the private outdoor cabanas to add to your package of add-on treats for total indulgence. Plus order some very lovely flower arrangements for your spacious Neptune cabin. You will have a small flower arrangement in the Neptune cabin, but HAL does such a good job with larger ones which can easily last at least two weeks if you want to feel lavish. They are well priced. Which ship are you on? Have you chosen your cabin? The older and smaller the ship, the grander the Neptune cabins are. They get a bit smaller or more spread out on different decks on the newer and larger ships. We always liked being as close as possible to the Neptune Lounge, so we could easily pop in and out throughout the day. I rarely went to the Lido for breakfast or lunch - had everything I liked right in the Neptune Lounge. I would take items back to the cabin so a little tray or flat carrying basket was helpful. There are tables in the Lounge and you can eat there. But I loved spending time in the cabin itself and its very spacious outdoor verandah. Then try searching the blog here for past Neptune Lounge threads to learn about the other extras that are available too for Neptune Suite room service: canapés if you want to entertain, afternoon delivered tea service, and full course dinners.

Such good people living on the Falklands. We always like to leave a small donation at the lovely church,, since it clearly needs major brick restoration work done. They don't ask, but they do quietly have a display showing the critical need to get this work done. Hope others drop some coins or bills into the basket to help them out. And enjoy their home made cookies.

I always find reports HAL ships are less than immediately up to date and trendy, comforting. HAL is saving me money. I like that. Fed, bed and time to be well-read., without going into the red That is what earns my HAL loyalty

Pack it in and pack it out. Don't leave them in the trash at the end of your cruise. Zero waste is the new goal, remember?

Reminds me of the joke on our Zaandam Antarctic cruise - speaker promised a new penguin joke a day, and he delivered. What are penguins called that you find in New York City? ***Lost.

Prior roll call member suggested using the website "windy.com" for pretty comprehensive weather patterns and conditions forecasting. Lots of variables to track: wind, waves, temperature, rain, visibility etc. Looks like slides from a recent cruise talk posted here, even the bridge might rely on it?

Reminder: port or starboard preference overall can depend on which way you are traveling - east to west, or west to east. BsAS to Santiago, or vice versa. In the really scenic areas or slow inner bay cruising during the Zaandam 2020 cruise, the captain did turn the ship around to give equal views to both sides. We had no regrets on the starboard side, but we were also going from west-Santiago to east BsAs.

WSJ today: Hapag-Lloyd cargo ships still staying away, re-evaluating this decision weekly. However, Danish Moeller-Maesk plans on re-starting their Red Sea transits as of last Sunday. Cargo ships will be the first trial runs, well before passenger ships. Egypt is losing significant canal income, so regional pressures can apply.