TakingFlight

Goodbye!!

Off topic indeed. Don’t tell anyone I live in Sunset Palisades. My little piece of paradise.

I knew it was a risk when I posted. I can still see the scorch marks I acquired on other boards!

Thank you for your quick and flame-free response.

I’m new to the NCL board and I’m sure this question has been asked before so I apologize in advance. Does NCL provide a credit towards the cruise fare if we decline the “free” airfare?

JP can relate to my third and final (I promise) recurring dream. I am somewhere outdoors, far from home, and I am holding my rather large and strong male cat who is struggling to get free. I am holding on desperately because I know if he gets loose I will never see him again. 36 years ago I did have a cat who fled the house we had just moved to. We had a few more wonderful feline companions but not since 2009. So again I don’t know what this is all about. A therapist would have a field day!

I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one! I believe the source of my dream is that I have a Bachelor's Degree in Biology with a Minor in Chemistry. I only needed one more Chemistry class-Physical Chemistry-to have a double Major. I never could bring myself to take that class and I think subconsciously I must regret it and I keep trying to complete it...over and over and over again.

And I have that dream, too! In mine it’s time for the final exam and I haven’t attended class all term and I don’t know where the classroom is. When I wake up I realize that I already have my degree (years ago). Not sure why these dreams keep coming back to haunt me.

Air Tahiti uses the Star Alliance business class lounge at Tom Bradley terminal.

I sure do, Mysty. In fact I have a recurring dream where I’m trying to make an important phone call and, yup, it’s a rotary dial phone and I keep messing it up. I wake up quite tense but then realize that I now live in the 21st century. What a relief!

Thank you, @TLCOhio for all of the great travel tips! We will definitely check out the area east of Millersburg as we will be driving in from Canton. I am still recovering from yesterday’s debacle. Hoping that Notre Dame picks themselves up and can move on from here.

Speculation, no facts here. I have read repeatedly on Cruise Critic that cruise lines do maintenance on their website on weekends. I hope that’s the case here and soon you will be able to book your dining reservations.

The new requirement to enter Mozambique with a yellow fever vaccination certificate or a medical waiver comes from the local Mozambique health authorities. The U.K., U.S. CDC, WHO guidelines haven't changed. My information comes from the U.S. Embassy in Maputo. The info from Regent says that Mozambique will accept a medical waiver. "Mozambican authorities now require all travelers entering Mozambique to present a valid International Vaccination Certificate. Additionally, travelers who have been to any of the 43 countries where Yellow Fever is known to exist must present a valid Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate. If you cannot present a valid certificate on entry you may be vaccinated at your expense (approximately U.S. $50).:"

@TLCOhio Yes, we will be attending the Ohio State vs. Iowa game on the 5th. It will be fun to observe the long-time rivalry between these two teams. Thank you for your offer of help for our road trip. We don't have much time in any particular spot but I would appreciate any ideas for breakfast or lunch in the Amish country. We'll be staying in Millersburg but only for one night. Then it will be on to Columbus for the game.

Ha ha! I have enjoyed learning a whole new vocabulary these last several months from our U.K. Coolers. Hallig of Hooge? Welsh Rarebit? And it has its own day? What an education we can get in the Cooler.

Notre Dame fans here! Such a tense game last Saturday but the Irish prevailed. We will be traveling to South Bend, Indiana for the Notre Dame/Louisville game on September 28. Then we will explore Lake Erie and the Ohio Amish country for a week before wrapping it up in Columbus for our first ever Ohio State University game! It should be an enjoyable week all the way around. Go Irish!

Caribbean journeys in 2026 end on March 10. I am eagerly awaiting the release of the next couple of cruises so that I can book one that includes our 50th anniversary. I know I can rely on all of you more experienced Explora folks on this thread to let me know when the rest of March, 2026 is available. Who knows, maybe it will even be the brand new ship. Thanks in advance!

Good decision, in my humble opinion. I’ve been looking at some river cruises that include a motorcycle/scooter (my DH keeps trying to educate me on the difference) tour where a guide is driving and me, the passenger, is hanging on for dear life. In our 70’s I’m not willing to risk that, much less doing it on a bicycle in the crazy Vietnam traffic.

Our first cruise on Regent will be in December over the Christmas and New Year holidays, departing from Cape Town. Can I assume that dress will be more formal on those special holiday evenings?

Wow, what a difference from our Venture cruise last month. We had giant pours of Hennessy and Remy VSOP in several different bars. Too much cognac in fact. Is such a thing even possible?

I am watching the game right now. It’s bringing back memories from last year when we went to Dublin to see Notre Dame (the Fighting Irish) play Navy. It was spectacular, Dublin really rolled out the red carpet for all of the fans!

Take a look at the River Cruise and Viking River Cruises forums on Cruise Critic. We went with Viking, even though they are not our favorite river cruise line. But they did a fantastic job on the Nile. They have been doing the trip for years and have all the right local connections. Their new ships are fantastic and they have preferred docking sites. We were never docked right near another river cruise ship although we saw a lot of that on the river. Definitely do the extra trip to Abu Simbel and the dawn balloon ride over the Valleys of the Kings and Queens. We went in April, weather perfect. It was Ramadan but no issues with that. Actually things were quieter in a good way.

I had a similar experience last month in the Arctic. I wished I’d brought some nicer clothes for dinner and my husband wished he’d brought his sport coat.

We specifically chose our pre-cruise safari (not through Regent) so that we can take our luggage with us on a commercial flight vs. flying on a small plane to a private airstrip. There are plenty of options in Sabi/Kruger that allow this. The safari company will pick up both us and our luggage and drive us to the lodge.We typically each have one larger suitcase and a carry on. We are flying into JNB and then flying directly to CPT after our safari.

Are you staying in a hotel before boarding the Pursuit? If so, which one? We are doing a very similar Kimberley trip next year including the Ghan train and will have two nights to spend in Broome before boarding the ship.