OneSixtyToOne

The coins being referred to aren't collectables like the original circulated coins. They are bullion and only worth the current melt value. You will never get anything above that value. The US Mint has used past designs of famous coins (eg. Walking Liberty) to give them the allure of being collectable when they are really just precious metal in an attractive package. If you actually had a silver dollar from the period when they were in circulation and used as tender, then, yes they are worth much more. These are not. Also it seems very inconvenient to find a gold and silver seller to exchange for actual notes. If I was a service worker, I would prefer cash to something I needed to barter with. A former boss of mine once gave these to his staff for Christmas one year. I have it in a drawer somewhere because I never wanted to do the legwork to cash it in.

They work great. In fact new phones no longer have a physical SIM. I bought one for our European trip last January. I purchased 3 gigabytes for 30 days for $13. I used only half the data in 2 weeks. I turned off photo synching unless we were on Wi-Fi. I also bought a data stick to save photos and video to. Can never have too many backups. My wife’s older phone did not support eSims and she sent a text and got a notice from Verizon that she has just been charged $10 for 24 hours of international calling. After that she disabled her cellular and I set up a hot spot on my phone for her use, and, yes, she has since bought a new phone for our upcoming trip.

They are collectible/investment 1oz silver bullion coins from the US Mint. Never heard of anyone actually using them. https://www.usmint.gov/coins/coin-medal-programs/american-eagle/silver-bullion

I seem to recall that some poster has stated that they have replaced some of the older machines on at least one ship (Sea?) with combination washer/dryers. As a result of the poor drying capability, there is a shortage of dryers on other decks.

I’ve posted this in the roll call for the Mediterranean Odyssey that embarks April 2nd in Venice, but in case anyone misses it, be aware. If you have not made pre-cruise arrangements, flying into Venice on embarkation day may be problematic. Italian air traffic controllers are striking on April 2 from 1:00PM to 5:00PM. I suggest you check with your airlines. Since this labor action seems to be concentrated from now until Easter, I wonder if it will affect any of our excursions or docking?

FYI Croatia switched to the Euro as of Jan 1 of this year.

Free pressing and shoe shine, laundry is DIY. Penthouse Suites get free laundry and dry cleaning.

Lol On our Mediterranean Odyssey roll call someone from Hawaii stated they will NOT be bringing any Aloha shirts.

They scan your passport at check-in. It appears to be an LAX thing.

We will go through passport control (bags will be checked to final destination). In January we went through Munich and passport control was less than 5 minutes. I’ve heard horror stories about Frankfort.

What happens if you miss a connection when using Viking Air? Who should you notify? We only have a 2 hour window in Frankfort and we’re not confident we will make the connection.

Here is the entire 7 hour trip https://youtu.be/xisVS_DKpJg

FYI The saunas are located in the men and women's locker rooms. The ice room and steam room are located in the common pool area.

Paris is very easy to navigate using the Metro. For us, Paris is all about the art. The state art museums have separated their exhibits by time frame. The Louvre is everything pre Impressionism, the Musee d’Orsay is Impressionism and post-Impressionism. The Pompidou Center is Modern Art. You can get a skip the line Paris Pass that includes most of the major museums. I consider the d’Orsay a must see. It’s a converted train station and it houses some of the most famous French works of art in the world. On the upper level, the clock face of the former train station is made of glass and you have a tremendous view of Sacre Coeur. You can spend the whole day in the vicinity of the d’Orsay. Across the river is the Musee l'Orangerie, a specially constructed building to house Monet’s giant waterlily paintings. Also within walking distance is Rodin’s mansion, where in the garden you’ll find The Thinker. His home is filled with hundreds of his sculptures. Napoleon’s tomb is also nearby. All are worth a visit. I love Monet so for me any trip to Paris must include a visit to Musée Marmottan Monet. Here you’ll find his most famous work that named the entire era, Impression Sunrise. The Picasso Museum is also a great place to visit. Sainte Chapelle has the most amazing stained glass in the world. d’Orsay: Sainte Chapelle:

We were just on a Viking cruise to Italy in January. There are no restrictions in place.

FYI We leave for this cruise in 12 days. I will be live posting. Check the boards for it.

It's also possible they will receive carbon offset credits like Tesla does.

Every profession talks in its own language. To a musician “flat” means something specific, to the rest of us, it’s derived from the idiom “falling flat” to indicate the performer missed the mark and underwhelmed the audience.

They work for me. They are in the .MOV format.

Our rugs arrived today from Turkey. 😍

Excellent news. We will be on the Sky in April.

What ship are you on?

I am looking specifically at the South America & the Chilean Fjords itinerary for our next cruise and noticed that this doesn't look like that great of a deal at all. The promo is for Dec 2023 - Jan-Feb 2024 but the price of the V1 is $1000 more than a DV1 on cruises for Nov-Dec of 2024, so the "Free Upgrade" is marketing smoke and mirrors. A DV1 in Nov will cost $100 less than the "promo" in Jan. The $1000 OBC is really the only part that makes this attractive in any way but you could be paying up to $1000 more for the room than in Nov-Dec. Prices go back up in 2025, so the sweet spot seems to be late 2024 without a promo code.

If you phone supports eSims you can buy and install one before you go. I recently used one that was good for all of Europe, $13 for 30 days. Other locations and lengths available.

I have never taken the train to Portsmouth, but I highly recommend visiting the Mary Rose Museum and Nelson’s flagship Victory. The Mary Rose is one of the most impressive displays I have ever seen. When doing our tour of Portsmouth on another cruise they mentioned that rail lines between London and Portsmouth were once the fastest in the country because the ship captains would have to travel to and from the Admiralty in London. The train terminates right near the entrance to the attractions. As far a tours in London and outlying areas, I highly recommend London Walks. They have dozens of fascinating walks as well as day trips. Their day trip to Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge is excellent.