Mary229

I guess it depends on the cruise. We had both dining rooms open, one for fixed and one for open seating. I chose fixed - same servers, same table every night makes for a much more pleasant dining experience. When i need flexibility I dine elsewhere. when I sailed I thought it was a bit silly to have both dining rooms open, it just didn’t make logistical sense for the passenger levels. It seemed more people were opting for other dining rather than the MDR. Anyway you can call guest services and request fixed dining, early or late. If you prefer open dining you can make reservations from the app. Finally you can simply talk to the maitre d’ in person

That’s too bad. We used to summer in Ontario and Quebec and once the temperature rose to the highs in early August the bugs would slowly diminish. I was hoping the same for Alaska. We are going just before Labor Day when it should be cold

I have mosquito hat/shirt and DEET. I am hoping that by going late in August I might forego mosquitoes. I am hate mosquitoes. What do you think?

How are the bugs?

@idtr CCL is has the strongest market position and they keep a full tank and pay their fuel bills. HAL has excellent crew who I trust with my safety. If you want to cruise the CCL lines are a good option. As an investment I have no opinion, I own enough to receive my shareholder credit and have owned that for years. I do not take or give investment advice. I was making a comment on interest rates and if you think rates below 5% are the future I respectfully disagree

I understand the i bonds but again I was just commenting on interest rates not making an investment recommendation. The point is 9.5% is not that uncommon now and will soon be very common.

It is as safe as anything except high demand skilled trades. I was just making a comment on the interest rate not the quality of CCL debt. One I own, one I don’t

That is interesting in that the US government is now paying 9.5% on their ultra safe I-bonds

Someone said those dresses are heavy, is that true? I might try one myself if they are light enough to fit my packing criteria

@Janie1229 I like dress up too and contrary to popular advice if I am on a cruise only journey I bring jewelry. Years ago a Dallas Texas socialite told me when all else fails wear a scarf and big earrings, that advice has never failed me

It has been predictable for the last 12 months. I usually only book one cruise at a time. Right now I have a full slate, my idea was to lock in 2020/2021 prices. I locked air prices as soon as they became available too. Currently HAL and American do not have a fuel surcharge except as reflected in the fare. Aside from the frequent flight changes and airport turmoil, both of which I can adapt to I certainly enjoy the lower population density on the ships. Yes, you forego certain amenities and conveniences but as a bit of a crowd-phobic i can tolerate that also.

I was on the N. statendam in one of those cabins, loved it. 8197 and 8188 are smaller than the others. They have one less closet than the others the deck chair scraping is only very early around 6:30 - 7 am. It is only for a moment and not terribly problematic

It is included but it may show as a $44 package fee on you invoice. HAL will require you to talk to your TA about billing issues

. I do think if anyone is expecting a 2019 experience at airports, hotels, cruise ships, etc… will be disappointed. I understand peoples’ disappointment but going forward consider yourself forewarned. I do think the cruise line should refund for excursions that were part of the package deal and if I were in that group I would press HAL for a refund. You can easily look up the cost and demand that payment

See Terry’s post 47 on page 2

Call HAL and get them to buy you a flight. They will pay the additional costs. What stress!

Yeah , I understand but prolonging this debacle is going to hurt more. Do like I do, I write my Senators and Congressmen demanding an end to this testing. Take it out on the people responsible

I am loving your review I am going to bookmark it as reference for my upcoming Alaska journey.

I think it is dependent on the Shorex manager. I had little good to say about the manager on my last cruise but she really shone when giving port talks. She gave meaningful information about tours and independent options. I truly wish they had offered the replay on TV .

I alway pack snacks and coffee! Ditto on the foodie shore excursions, free excursion, free food The only thing holding me back from cancelling are the high air prices I will incur in the future. I locked in some pretty low rates and would expect to pay almost 3x more next year.

I feel your pain. We had a similar incident in Amsterdam. First test at a roadside“Covid clinic” was positive for him, we found a more professional outfit to do his test - negative. My advice is 1. Don’t use the cruise ship service, I am hearing about a lot of bad testing there 2. Take another test or best of all 3. Use the cyber proctored version if you are comfortable with those. You can practice at home. DH didn’t want to do those which was an unfortunate error. BTW, he tested negative at home PS I doubt you will get compensation from any service but you may want to check with your travel insurance provider about filing a claim

Don’t rely on the app until your cruise starts, it is at best only an approximation your journey. Rely on your confirmation invoice

I am sorry you had a bad experience. We are still within the window to cancel for a FCC and I am torn between waiting for an offer and cancelling until next year. Which of your tours were canceled? When you say dead time was this time designated as time they were supposed to do something. I am doing Yukon with 2 days Denali, I thought 2 days was enough for me though the DH was spoiling for 3. It sounds like you think the triple Denali is not the way to go, is that right? I look forward to your comments and any advice you have.

I am always stunned by those who think the cruise line has some heightened responsibility for travelers. It seems to me this is something that should be discussed with your personal physician prior to traveling and if she feels it is beneficial she can prescribe a dose. We do this with malaria pills why not with Covid.

Well give it some thought. Our new flight to BLI from Dallas is $82 one way. We are going home from another city not serviced by Southwest. I am keeping my old flights. This is just a back up in case HAL cancels so I can still do the rest of my itinerary. Using points I will get a full refund from Southwest