abbydancer2003

The only place I've ever been asked for mine (I've done 5 now) was getting on a plane to Vancouver in San Francisco.

I was told you can't, as it's handled by an outside company. I asked for one we did.

DH lived in Seattle for a long time. When he moved to Northern California one of the hardest things to get used was the fact that rain here can last for days, whereas in Seattle, rain blows through for maybe a few hours.

You'd think, but the guy at Sherwood said no. And on simpler consumer goods, that's absolutely true. For example Costco brand batteries are Duracell.

Good morning.

Day 9R sea day Our last full day. It started with our usual breakfast. After breakfast, we had a little bit of time until our meeting with the future cruise person, so we checked out Tuscan, no M&K. We then went to the casino for a bit. At 10:30, we met with the future cruise lady. We said we wanted to find something short near the beginning of 2023. There’s a story behind this. Originally we’d booked a 10 day Caribbean on the Equinox for January of 2023. A few months ago, we realized that we had a commitment in San Jose California through the 29th (We got season tickets to the US skating championships). So we moved it to a January 2024, and then I realized I have a conflict, so we moved it to February. We thought maybe we wouldn’t cruise in 2023, but I decided I wanted to. So we met with her. First, we said we wanted a short cruise in 2024, and it didn’t matter what, since we were booking with a fully refundable deposit, and would move it some time. She said they didn’t do that any more, since they have book later. (This issue with that is that you have a month or two to make the booking.). We said we wanted to book something in early 2024 with a fully refundable deposit in the worst balcony possible (no point in taking a good room that someone else wants). We then went on to finding a cruise. We looked at short Caribbean or east coast, but finally settled on a 7 day Mexico on the Solstice. It’s right after the US skating championships, so Beth will be in California anyway, so seemed like a good idea. We went back to the Casino for a bit after that. At 12:30 Mike texted about lunch so we decided to meet at Luminae for our last lunch at around 1. So we did. Mike joined us. I started with a tomato/burrata salad, and then had the filet mignon with horseradish jus for my main (I’ve had a lot of steaks on this cruise). I finished with a berry pavlova. After lunch we decided to go to Michaels for a while. Milos, the onboard naturalist would be there for a meet and greet/Q & A session, followed by afternoon tea, which we’d managed to miss every day so far. At 3pm, Milos showed up followed by the tea. He took a lot of questions about Alaska, the planets and other science type things. Prior to this I’d seen some stuff of his in the gift shop. Apparently, he was on the radio in Santa Cruz CA doing short since and astronomy spots for the local NPR/PBS radio station. So he does actually have the background. Midway through Mike text saying this guy isn’t Micky Live. On our antarctic cruise in 2019, Micky Live was the enrichment speaker. I believe his background is media. At our chef’s table, there was an officer dining with us who was the Spanish translator for Mickey. I asked how he was able to do that, and he said it was easy, since Mickey was just reading wikipedia on his topics (how do I get that job??). Milos, however, has both the knowledge and the performance skill to handle the Alaska cruises. Following that we went back to the room and the balcony until dinner. And of course started the worst thing on any cruise - packing. And at dinner, we were all there. I started with burrata cheese (I guess they load a lot of it) with an eggplant/olive/caper tapenade. That was outstanding. For my main, I had the chili braised short ribs, and while good, I think I prefer the main dining’s short rib preparation. For dessert it was between the coconut cremeux, and ricotta cheesecake. Ali recommended the coconut, so that’s what I had. And then, following dinner, back to the room to finish packing. When I put the bags out I alway put everything, including the clothes from the current day, into the suitcase. So all we take off is toiletries and sleepwear. So the bags went out. When I took them out I noticed that M&K’s were out, and pretty much the same as mine except for color. (Later Mike said ‘what a coincidence’ and I said not really because we’d all bought them at the same time. ) And then, our last sleep on the ship.

Have a wonderful trip.

I've done two bids with Celebrity - Aqua to Celebrity suite (not only did I not get it, I also missed the cruise due to covid), and then Concierge to Aqua on the replacement cruise. I did a pretty minimum bid, and it was successful, but I didn't like the location. So I called, and got moved to not just a different room, but in the lower of the two Aqua categories. (the original was in the higher). And the multiplier starts at 1% and goes up to 5% depending on loyalty level.

We've always been able to dance on the ships. Island has wheelhouse and explorers, I believe, both of which have floors and often bands playing.

I think there are 3, and maybe, as someone posted a 4th one on her live thread, and it seems they add one with each new ship. The first was just le petit chef making a surf and turf menu. Two was le petit chef and friends - that has the ravioli. Three was family - it goes through the seasons. And then I just saw something about the history of food. I've done the first 3. For me it was once and done, but once turned out to be a lot more times than one, since I kept going with new people.

So apparently the mattress that Princess buys from Sherwood is unique to them, and not available from Sherwood. They called me today. I assume that when Princess needs new mattress, they'll have them made as they did before. Sherwood is still there, Princess has just stopped their retail program. I guess it's Marriott for us.

Day 8R Ketchikan Today is Ketchikan, where we don’t arrive until around 2pm. So time for breakfast and lunch. We had breakfast, and while we were there, Mike retreat concierge came to see us. We’d made an appointment with a future cruise rep, and apparently their system is down, so we rescheduled for tomorrow. As we were leaving got a text from Mike that they were in the Elite breakfast in Tuscan. So, we headed there and sat with them for a while. Following that, Kathy wanted to shop so we went to the stores. I wandered around for a while, found Mike and Kathy who told me Beth was talking to some people in the perfume store. I went over there, and it was a couple from Newfoundland, and they were talking about the people from there. If you’ve seen Come From Away, that’s exactly who they are. They said that if someone who’d lost their luggage went into a dress store, the owner would, when they found out, lend the person some clothes and invite them to dinner. We headed to Michael’s for a while, and then to lunch. I had the now frequently appearing chicken Cobb salad sans chicken as an appetizers, and the butterflied Luminae burger with extra jam. For dessert I had the olive oil pudding. I still don’t taste olive oil. By this time, we were pulling into Ketchikan. We had booked a 3rd party tour of the town, and of the Saxman park. Our tour was at 3:30, since the ship arrived at 2, 3:30 seemed safe. We left the ship around 2:20. Heading to the pier area we saw a bus for Sourdough tours, who is the provider for our tour. While we were considering going there and figuring out where to go when our time came, we were waved over to their booth. When they noticed the boot on Beth’s leg, they said that they’d reserve the front seat for us. Then they asked if we wanted to go on the 2:30 tour. We decided to do that, as it would give us some time afterwards. We got seats near the front of the bus, but as we drove to our first stop Beth noticed one of the front rows was open. In addition, the guys in the front on our side did offer to switch with us. Our driver and guide was Ken, who was half Tlinget. We noticed that the other side of the front row was empty, so with permission Beth moved over there. First stop was a building in town to learn about totem carving from a hobbiest. She was very clear that she was neither a native nor a master, but did give us lots of info. She also had some taxidermy animals including a wolverine and bear. She did tell a good story about a group from what was probably a Disney cruise, as there were lots of small children. One 5 year asked her the names of the animals. She said “Wolverine, mink …”. The little girl stamped her foot and said “No I want their names”. So she introduced us to Fluffy the wolverine, Sprinkles the bear, and Spreckles the wolf. She also gave a sample of a simple smoked salmon dip. Following that, we headed to the Salmon ladder. Glen and I had been there before and it was just a salmon ladder to the side of a small waterfall. However, August is spawning season, so lots of salmon there. Some jump the waterfall under the road, and others use the ladder. That was very cool. Next stop was up river where there were fish doing their thing. After that we went back through town towards the Saxman park. Before that, we drove along the water and stopped at a couple locations to not see whales (sometimes you do, not this time). Saxman park is a totem park south of town. At this time, there’s a clan house, but it’s mostly a totem park, and possibly the largest in the area. We started at a chief totem on it’s side. Ken explained everything on it, and then we walked to the center area where we could see most of the other totems. Some of the notable ones were the Seward totem, a caricature of Seward (as in Lincolns Secretary of State). The Tlinglet’s gave him a gift and apparently he did not give one in return, something that is expected in Tlinget culture. Another interesting one is the Lincoln one. The pole celebrates a peace treaty between two rival tribes, and a US ship named Lincoln that was instrumental in the treaty. To commemorate they took a picture of President Lincoln. Since they only had a portrait from the waist up, the totem has very short legs. The brochure from the park describes all their totems. After that, we went back to town and were dropped of at Creek street. We decided to get dropped there, rather than back at the ship so we could shop and wander. We stopped in an artist store there, and I got Glen some coffee and a small sticker for my laptop. From there we found the Christmas store that Aurica had told us about. Beth was looking for some ribbon, and I was sort of looking for a jacket like Glen got last time, but in a different color. The Christmas store didn’t have any, but I did find a 7.00 white chocolate Huckleberry candy bar. I hope it’s good. Next we went to the store where Glen got his jacket. The only color they had that I liked was the one Glen got, and I didn’t want that. The store next door to the Xmas store, had one with a light blue green trim that I liked, so I went and got it while Beth browsed the store. Once I headed back there, I found her in the jewelry shop next door, chatting with the worker, who is Israeli. Apparently they’re in Ketchikan during the summer, and Mexico during the winter. She had come in looking for ribbon, and bought a couple of small boxes to get it, but they did give us a couple of charms. (We’d been collecting the Effy free charms, bu there were only 2 on this cruise). After that we went back to the ship. We dropped our stuff and went to Al Baccio. We then went back to the room, and I went onto the balcony to see if there were pier runners (there weren’t - we are apparently a very responsible group of passengers. Next stop, dinner - it was somewhat busy because of the late port time - I’ve noticed that before. For dinner, I started with the yellow beet risotto - I’m not really a beet fan, but it was good - I think I like yellow ones, but not red ones particularly. Since it was evening chic night, I had the rack of lamb, which was pretty good and then the Daniel Boulud Raspberry vacherin for dessert. Someday, I’ll look up what a vacherin is. Tomorrow is our last full day.

Day 7R - Juneau We started the day with breakfast in Luminae. Our original plan was to have dinner in Blu that day, but since we did that the previous two days, we went back to Luminae. Our tour was for 1pm - we’d booked, the 5 glacier floatplane and salmon lunch at the Taku Lodge. We’d booked that directly with the company (Wings Airways) in 2019. Each time the cruise cancelled, we kept moving the reservation. When I was in Juneau in July, I did talk to them about Beth’s mobility, so they were prepared in case she needed help. At about 11, we gathered our stuff and headed out. We decided to do some exploring before our tour. We first turned right towards the other ships. We visited the tram and Beth asked about it because she’s considering bringing her kids on it next month. We then waked back towards the tour company on the shop side, and did a bit of shopping. Beth bought some postcards. We also ran into Mike who was waiting for a shuttle to take him to Mendenhall. It was around noon, so we stopped by Wing’s office and checked in. Sam, who runs it welcomed me back, and told us that they’d just had two weeks where they couldn’t fly, so she was glad they were flying today. She told us to come back at 12:45. We then did a bit of in town shopping - we went to the Fudge company and I got Glen some of the clusters he likes. Beth also bought candy for crew and for her family. We also visited the same bookstore Glen and I did, but it’s not really a general bookstore. While wandering about we found another general bookstore (as well as an ATM). Next stop was an ATM for her and a drugstore, where she did find an ACE bandage. (Turns out it was a single use one, but it did give her a day to air out her regular one). We then found a cafe and stopped for coffee and tea while we waited for our arrival time. At 12:45 we went back to Wings. We were decided into groups and assigned a team. We were in Grizzley Bear. At that time, they asked who wanted chicken. (We did). If you were a chicken person you got a poker chip to give them at serving time. We were then told we had a bit of time, and could go use the restrooms in the building next door (a group of shops). While going there, we found another bookstore, which we decided to visit after the tour. We all lined up by the fence, and one by one the groups were called to go to their plane. We were in the green plane with Bruce as our pilot. There’s a ramp down to the planes, but Beth was able to do it. We all boarded, and headed out to the ice field. There is a recorded narration about the area, including the glaciers we fly over. Bruce briefly interrupted to point out a waterfall. After about 30 minutes we reach the hole in the wall glacier and the Taku Lodge. Bruce suggested, as we left the plane that we stake a seat in the lodge and then see the grounds in the 30 minutes until lunch. We wandered around, tried Cornball (didn’t do well at all). Eventually they rang a bell indicating the salmon was ready. We lined up have lunch. In addition to salmon there was coleslaw, baked beans, a cinnamon raison mix and two kinds of bread. When we got to the front, and handed them our chips they took the plate into the kitchen and brought it out with a crispy baked chicken breast. It was very, very good. During lunch, one of the employees explained the history of the lodge, and also what happens during the off season. Apparently the staff lives there during the summer, and then checks in during the winter. For dessert there were spiced ginger cookies. I could make a meal out of them, they were so good. After lunch we took a guided walk around the property, as the guide pointed out some of the berry plants they have. I tried a blueberry but it wasn’t quite ripe yet. After that we headed to the gift shop. We found the cook book, but it didn’t have the chicken recipe, and Beth didn’t want to buy it just for the cookies. The staff told her it was OK to take a picture. Around then, the planes started arriving back. They were a bit early because ours was the the last of the day, so they didn’t have to load or unload passengers. They said not to worry, we wouldn’t be leaving early. We decided that since we’d walked everywhere, we’d find a bench near the planes and wait. There were benches right there, and soon we were aboard and heading back to Juneau. On the way back, Bruce told me to ask for a frequent flier pin in the office. Apparently, because this wasn’t my first trip with them, I can get one. Once off the plane and up the ramp, I asked and I’m now the proud owner of a Taku Glacier Lodge pilot pin. Following that we went to the bookstore near the office. Beth bought some novels set in Alaska, and we had a nice conversation with the gentleman working there. They talked about authors, and some who were not nice people. He said about one “I’d take two cabs and a bus to avoid having to talk to him”. I rather liked that, and may use it in the future. We went back to the ship and stopped for coffee at al Baccio. By mistake, the server brought two lattes, and we had her leave the second one because Mike had messaged that he was coming down, so we figured he’d like it. He arrived and we were right. We enjoyed our coffee, and then went back up to the room. Beth has to do a bone stimulation treatment twice a day, so she stared that, and Mike and Kathy came over to keep us company for a while. Eventually we dressed for dinner, and met M&K at Michaels. We chatted there for a bit, and then headed to our dinner at Murano. I’d asked to be seated in Fernando’s section. I don’t think that they remembered him very well though. The restaurant was packed. Service started out slowly, and it took me about 15 minutes to get my water refilled. By the time someone came and refilled it, I was very close to going to Michael’s Club to get a bigger glass of ice water from them. That’s never happened before. Eventually, though, they got it under control and the service was it’s usual great. The amuse bouche was a shrimp cerviche, and since I like shrimp, I had it. Beth eats nothing from the sea, so she refused it and they gave her a vegetarian thing. For dinner I had the Anjou pear in philo, the veal tenderloin and grand marier soufflé. All good, but I think the Chateaubriand for two is better. Back to the room after dinner.

Every time I use the helpful link here, I get the email an hour later.

Nothing quite as sad as when I started a series by Charlotte MacLeod (second one of her's I've read) and finding out that there are 12 books, and she died about 17 years ago, so no more books. Another series I just started by Sue Henry - about a detective in Alaska. It's a series, with the last book ending with a cliffhanger (or so I've heard). Author died in 2020, so that's how it ends.

Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to criticize you for posting the answers. It was meant to be comment on the fact that the answers are verbatim. Go ahead and do it - I like finding the answers, but others don't.

On my first on the Eclipse I cashed out about 600.00 worth. I don't think I had to do 10% each time. I'll check again in October.

I remember once I was watching a Nightline about gay marriage, and I said to my husband I don't see how anyone's gay marriage would even affect anyone's straight marriage. My husband said "well, it's affecting ours". I was shocked and said "how?" He then said "I'm trying to go to sleep, and you're watching a show on gay marriage". Ha ha.

Like most, open the learn link, and scroll through. The questions and answers are verbatim from the marketing material, and in order.

I just got the next chance email. It's a quiz on Australia. 2 bonus questions - will you cruise Australia and when. I don't think you have to answer them for full credit.

I think Princess stopped. Sorry, I should have said Princess has paused the program.

Thanks. I knew it was Sherwood, but I'm didn't think they sell them here. Maybe I can order one.

Interesting, and annoying. I ordered on March 31, 2022, and never got it, they just cancelled the order. They also refunded the cover and topper that I ordered at the same time and received. (And the only reason it's not still sitting in "unfulfilled" is that I callled. I was told that they'd stopped production, but I guess you got in before I did. I saw an online review for the topper, which said the same thing, so when we order our Marriott bed, and if the topper is too small, we'll just donate it or something. I'm glad it worked out for you.

Hmmm, that's. a new LPC. I guess it's the fourth one. Thanks for sharing!

I'm not sure I always played 10%.