Rare May B Posted July 13 #26 Share Posted July 13 45 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said: There seem to be some W Indies cruises left, and we might book one. But we booked this a year ago because it is domestic, and it just gets harder and harder, at our age, to fly to Europe. Once there we are fine. But 24+ hour flights and transport are just really hard, although we have two more coming up. Yes. I am really disappointed, and disappointed in Viking for not acknowledging that people have booked non-refundable flights, as we have. The cancellation is only for Sea. But apparently all Pacific Coast Explorer cruises were on Sea. They don’t exist anymore. It’s common for cruise lines to cover any non-refundable travel plans cruisers make before a cruise is cancelled. But we all know Viking does whatever it wants. Still, it seems worth pursuing. Cancelling outside of flight availability is one thing, but within 330 days with no offer of compensation seems like “public be damned”. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SantaFe1 Posted July 13 #27 Share Posted July 13 3 minutes ago, May B said: It’s common for cruise lines to cover any non-refundable travel plans cruisers make before a cruise is cancelled. But we all know Viking does whatever it wants. Still, it seems worth pursuing. Cancelling outside of flight availability is one thing, but within 330 days with no offer of compensation seems like “public be damned”. We have had many changes with Viking in the course of our nine Ocean cruises. And they have always been so generous, even when not their fault. But this is solely their fault, not a change, but a cancelation. And just nothing. I am tempted not to rebook another cruise with them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare May B Posted July 13 #28 Share Posted July 13 20 hours ago, SantaFe1 said: We have had many changes with Viking in the course of our nine Ocean cruises. And they have always been so generous, even when not their fault. But this is solely their fault, not a change, but a cancelation. And just nothing. I am tempted not to rebook another cruise with them. I absolutely can understand that! I still think you’ll get reimbursed for the non-refundable portion of your airline tickets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SantaFe1 Posted July 14 #29 Share Posted July 14 2 hours ago, May B said: I absolutely can understand that! I still think you’ll get reimbursed for the non-refundable portion of your airline tickets. Well, today, Alaska air gave us a certificate good for the amount of our tickets. Has to be redeemed within one year for Travel up to 11 months after that. But Alaska is not a good fit for us. But we are already planning a use for it. Our insurance will not reimburse because we got the voucher. But we are trying to make lemonade out of lemons. 10 days in LA where we are from. Seeing family and friends. And, I see I can book the West Indies cruise in Feb-March of 2026 for a big birthday. So, Ok, onward! Always something else in the world to see! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OneSixtyToOne Posted July 14 #30 Share Posted July 14 1 hour ago, SantaFe1 said: Well, today, Alaska air gave us a certificate good for the amount of our tickets. Has to be redeemed within one year for Travel up to 11 months after that. But Alaska is not a good fit for us. But we are already planning a use for it. Our insurance will not reimburse because we got the voucher. But we are trying to make lemonade out of lemons. 10 days in LA where we are from. Seeing family and friends. And, I see I can book the West Indies cruise in Feb-March of 2026 for a big birthday. So, Ok, onward! Always something else in the world to see! You should still come down to San Diego. Pandas will be here! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SantaFe1 Posted July 14 #31 Share Posted July 14 4 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said: You should still come down to San Diego. Pandas will be here! We are considering that! My husband thought maybe on the train. But I don’t really know how to do that. Will research it! It will be good to go home for several days, in any case. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare May B Posted July 14 #32 Share Posted July 14 42 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said: We are considering that! My husband thought maybe on the train. But I don’t really know how to do that. Will research it! It will be good to go home for several days, in any case. We took a non-stop on Alaska from Tampa to San Diego, in first class. Booking several months in advance made it very reasonable. Train between San Diego and Los Angeles will work nicely, I think. I wholeheartedly endorse the lemons to lemonades. And big birthdays are perfect for a bonus cruise! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OneSixtyToOne Posted July 14 #33 Share Posted July 14 3 hours ago, SantaFe1 said: We are considering that! My husband thought maybe on the train. But I don’t really know how to do that. Will research it! It will be good to go home for several days, in any case. The train is a great scenic ride along the coast. Be sure to sit on the west (right) side when heading south. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OneSixtyToOne Posted July 23 #34 Share Posted July 23 FYI the zoo just announced the new Pandas will go on exhibit Aug 8th 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie1 Posted July 23 Author #35 Share Posted July 23 Very cool! Hopefully we'll get to see them in November! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OneSixtyToOne Posted July 23 #36 Share Posted July 23 1 hour ago, snookie1 said: Very cool! Hopefully we'll get to see them in November! Details were just released. There will be free timed tickets available every day at a kiosk near the zoo entrance. I expect all the time slots to fill up soon after the zoo opens. IMO If you really want to see the pandas, you need to be at the zoo when it opens. They are also offering a limited space behind the scenes tour before opening hours. Those will probably fill up fast. As the zoo is an all day experience, any time slot is fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie1 Posted July 24 Author #37 Share Posted July 24 Good to know. Thanks for the info!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare longterm Posted July 25 #38 Share Posted July 25 On 7/8/2024 at 9:06 PM, OneSixtyToOne said: I concur with @SantaFe1. We are members of the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park and are about 30 minutes away. You are paying for transportation and general admission only. I would suggest a visit to the Zoo in Balboa Park. The new Pandas just arrived from China this week. They are not on exhibit yet and no date has been announced. My guess is September or October. Take the opportunity to see them. The zoo is more compact than Safari Park so you will see more there in a short time. You can spend days wandering around the Zoo and the museums and gardens in Balboa Park. One hidden gem is the San Diego Model Railroad Museum on the Prado. It’s the largest model railroad exhibit in North America and the museum is fully accredited with the American Association of Museums. It’s pretty unique and amazing place. (Full disclosure, I’m a former president of the museum so I will plug it every opportunity I get.) https://www.sdmrm.org I"m really glad to know about the Model RR Museum; San Diego is a beautiful place, one of my favorite cities in the US. I played concerts at Humphrey's by the Bay several times back in the 80s and 90s--with Crystal Gayle in the 80s, the Everly Brothers in the 90s; we toured the Midway once, can't remember what year; when we go back, we'll definitely visit the RR museum. There's a Dr. Seuss museum there too, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OneSixtyToOne Posted July 25 #39 Share Posted July 25 1 hour ago, longterm said: There's a Dr. Seuss museum there too, right? Not per se. His personal collection was donated to UCSD and the library was renamed. There is an art gallery in La Jolla that has some of his works, and there are statues around town. https://www.sandiego.org/articles/history/discovering-dr-seuss-in-san-diego.aspx A friend of mine was a hairdresser and she use to go to their home to style his wife’s hair. They had a bronze Lorax statue at the home and someone stole it. It was later found in a canyon. https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/dr-seuss-geisels-stolen-lorax-statue-found-hidden-in-la-jolla-canyon/1927839/?amp=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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