CDNPolar

My age tells much. Bars were in back alleys. We hid in the shadows. I would have welcomed a FOD meetup then, but now, I agree with this sentiment. We don't necessarily need it, unless we absolutely feel the need to be connected with other gays. I may suggest on our next cruise that the cruise line - Viking - run a get together, and if I ask for it then I suppose that I should attend. I would and will, but I still wonder why? I have met many people naturally on a cruise without a labeled get together. Do I need to specifically connect with other gay people? Yes? No? I really don't know. My husband and I are very obviously a couple and we don't try to hide it. We have matching wedding rings that are distinct that they are the same. We act, talk, and interact as a couple. We are not effeminate - IMO - but anyone watching us would suspect or determine that we are a couple. We find that people are accepting and if they are not we have not witnessed it. We are just out to meet nice people.

Things have changed post pandemic - IMO.

I find it interesting that two of the busiest discussions that I have happened across on CC today are both about dress code. Those that follow it and those that don't. This is a problem that we will never solve on CC. If you see someone violating the dress code on a ship you are on, complain to the crew, or at least ask why they are not enforcing the dress code. Write letters or emails to your cruise line to ask why they are not enforcing their dress code. Remember that especially on embarkation day and the next day or two, there could be folks that are on board the ship without their luggage and the crew may be making exceptions for them. (This is why my carry on always has 3 changes including one that is acceptable for dinner. This is called being prepared for all eventualities)

I don't watch a lot of TV when on a cruise, but do use TV to fall asleep most nights... I don't remember not having TV other than the lectures, so there must have been. Did you not approach Guest Services? Most ships have canned movies and TV series.

I agree with the above statement. In Egypt, we learned very quickly (we are keen observers) that when leaving a temple and being forced to walk past the gauntlet of merchants, that if you do not make eye contact, you do not engage, you do not stop to browse, they leave you alone. They are intent on those that they can get the attention of. Many people - IMO - feel they are being rude if they walk past someone trying to engage with them. Just move past and don't make eye contact. We also learned that many of these merchants randomly call out names to the crowds walking past... "Susan! Susan!" and other names to randomly get someone named Susan to stop. Our friend did stop and she could not figure out how he knew her name. He didn't, he just got lucky that there was a Susan walking past. I learned a couple hard lessons with this kind of selling tactic. I did on my first Egyptian excursion going into a temple engage with a young guy who was wandering with merchandise, not tied to a booth. He asked my name and I gave him my name. 45 minutes or so later when I emerged from the temple, he walked right up to me and said my name and that he had been waiting for me. He followed me to the bus and was persistent. This was the same excursion where Susan stopped, and this guy followed her to the bus as well and even after she boarded the bus he was calling to her though the open door. This is part of some cultures and how these people make money, and part of travel.

Love it! Agree 100% but this is debated in many forums here on CC. This topic meets with why we don't discuss religion or politics.

Generally speaking for what you have indicated here - email and general web based transactions you should be ok. Where you may experience lags is if you want to video conference. The challenge will be that on a TA cruise, you will have many more people online during the daytime awake hours and the connection may be slow. I am an early riser and find that in those early hours of the morning... 5am, 6am, etc., that the speed is better.

In this time frame, you must prepare for every weather condition. We find that traditional weather patterns are not dependable now. My brother and wife went last year at that time and they packed for moderate weather conditions and had to go off ship to buy warm jackets, hats and gloves. Look at the advance forecast about two weeks before leaving and pack accordingly is what we do. We love to travel in this time frame that you are going and we have very lightweight items that we always have as a back up. We take lighter jackets, but we have wool under layers that we can pop on if necessary. Layers are the key.

I personally do have "jeans" but not the traditional blue. I have migrated to the type that are more "dress" in nature and colour and very stretchy. BUT, I still will never follow anyone that wears them on an airplane or when they want to be warm. Jeans to me are utility pants / trousers that are not built for comfort. And for someone that lives in -20C winter weather half the year, I would never wear jeans to be warm.

River cruising is much more casual in general, and I will say that the destination will somewhat determine the dress in the dining room in the evening... The Nile, was very relaxed, but on European River Cruises, we still see people "dressing" for dinner and by that I mean following Viking's dress code.

We are doing this cruise late November this year as we want to visit the Christmas Markets and we don't mind the cold snowy weather. I think that you will find that folks go at different times of the year for many different reasons. We often book our European River Cruises early spring or later in the fall as we don't like the heat and rather travel in the off or shoulder seasons.

Hi, and welcome to Cruise Critic. We do both. We have booked through Viking and we have booked on our own. We have used Viking Air, and we have let Viking assign our flights. We have done it all. Our decision is based on what Viking is offering in price of flights. For instance, we are going on The British Isles in 2026 and we feel that the flight price that Viking is offering is too high, so we will book on our own. If Viking is offering free air, it is a no brainer, we are going to go with Viking. If the price is the same as we can source on our own, we go with Viking. There are benefits if you go with Viking Air as they will manage the air for you. There is also the question if you are going to pay for Viking Air Plus or just let Viking assign flights.

So, if I read what you are saying correctly, when I am in the Chef's Table and there are empty tables, it does not mean that there is room for more to dine, they could be at their capacity based on the complexity of the menu and the ability to serve the guests in a timely manner while keeping quality. Hmmmm... Interesting. Never thought of it this way. I would have thought that they would be able to serve a full room and even turn that room over once.

Call the insurance company directly with a list of questions. Get these answers from the insurance company - not us - we don't know the policy well enough to know. Every policy is different. Policy coverage depends on age, pre-existing conditions, covered reasons for cancel, delay, or interruption.

Going to do my due diligence. I have basically bit the bullet for so many years because I felt that to get the best network you had to go with one of the leaders.... I have had friends on the cheaper plans from other companies that don't get great reception and service in some areas... This however may be a game changer with one of these global plans. Thanks to everyone for your input.

It is the less than expected data service and connection that I am concerned with and don't want to leave the reliability of Rogers....

Does this Austria number allow you to call anywhere in the world under the plan? No additional fees? I am struggling now because I have recently launched my own business and want to be connected when travelling by phone, but will NOT pay Rogers $15 per day for Roam Like Home. I also want clients to be able to call a North American number when trying to reach me. Complicated. I think that one day we will all buy eSIM's for our phones and have global calling much cheaper than Rogers Roam Like Home.

So, this is a very complicated question. My knowledge of insurance and coverage for multiple people going together is that you all have to be covered under one blanket policy... OR very specific reasons have to happen for one or the other or all to claim compensation for cancelling. The questions are: 1) What is your coverage if flights are cancelled - I believe that this would fall under "interruption" terms, not a cancellation. 2) What is your Daughters insurance in Europe cover? If she does not have a reason to cancel that falls into the covered reasons that are generally a death, illness, or other... then she may be obligated to board or lose everything. I personally would call your insurance company and have a heart-to-heart with them and ask them all the scenarios. But, how is your daughter in Europe covered? That may be separate from you and your daughter travelling with you.

Agree with @bookbabe re the phone number part, but I guess that I don't really pay attention to getting a phone number because the use is restrictive and must meet your requirements. There is however a consideration that while travelling if you want to use your phone to call a restaurant or a tour operator that does not offer a WhatsApp number then you are restricted without a number.

Haha @bookbabe and I were typing our answers at the same time!

Don't worry, I'll be gentle... This eSIM thing took me a while. First, the Airalo is an eSIM not a physical SIM, which means that it is a QR Code that you scan on your phone and your phone installs it as a "Virtual" SIM. Your phone - if compatible with eSIM's - then understands that you have 2 SIM's installed and in your settings you can turn OFF your CAD number and plan. Note however that this eSIM does not give you calling options, it is a data only that I purchase. This gives me WhatsApp calling, data and internet searching, Email, Google maps, and iMessage between iPhones. Ask more questions. The WhatsApp number that you use is still your home cell number. WhatsApp is a data driven App for phone calling - it is not a cellular phone call. As long as you have data or Wifi when travelling you can WhatsApp call. Your friends and family just need to know that you are travelling and they can reach you via email or WhatsApp Chat or Calls. These friends and family however all have to have WhatsApp installed. We send an email to critical friends and family in advance of travelling telling them that we are reachable by WhatsApp while away.

Someone may correct me here, but on Viking, which is our cruise line of choice, I don't remember ever being in a "selling" situation OTHER THAN when you go to a winery for a wine tasting. This we know in advance that they will be selling their wines, BUT we also know this and expect this because this is the culture of wineries and wine tastings. This has never been a heavy sell, nor has the winery or tour guide ever made us feel any obligation. We have walked out right after the tasting if we did not like the wines, and other times we have purchased. The first real "sales" experiences (plural) we had were in Egypt on a Uniworld River cruise. This was aggressive selling in the outdoor markets that are set up so you cannot exit a temple without going through this gauntlet of sellers, but we were also taken to several stores where the sales pitch was heavy. This I did NOT enjoy. One store where I engaged for a few minutes asking questions about their wares actually got angry at me when I did not purchase. Mexico was the other place where this was blatant. I personally would like the cruise line to tell you that you are going to be sold to, but if the excursion says you are going to visit a rug store, or a papyrus store, then I would assume that you are going to be sold to.

Question: I think that the cancellation fee is fair. Does this mean that you would receive an invoice from your TA after you cancel? If so, I wonder how many people actually pay? I think that many people here on CC are saying their Agents don't charge fees, but to me it sounds like you have been working with these agents for years and have history of booking and actually following through. I think that if you call an Agent cold that you have never booked with before, that they have fees because they don't know you and don't know if you are going to waste their time. You are suggesting that cruise bookings pay a "pretty nice commission" but do you also know the volume of bookings an Agent must have annually to make a decent living? That full commission does not necessarily all go to the agent. Some may go to the "agency" they work for.

Listen, I am hoping that this might be the case, but I fear it will not be. There is not the staff to guest ratio to make this possible. You see the same servers at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and they are not in short supply, but there are not enough of them to run room service too. In between meals they need a rest time. Also, the kitchen does not operate full-time all day. They cook for each meal, which also means that if the sick passenger needs a meal in their cabin, it is produced when the rest of the meals are coming out of the kitchen.

Viking know how to reach THEIR AUDIENCE. It is evident on the ships when you see the demographic.