20 hours ago, RLK33853 said:

Just a note of warning from our experience in renewing this week.

 

When my wife went to renew her NEXUS this week, the the top website she was referred to by Google, looked totally legitimate but wanted $125 processing fee.  We knew this wasn't correct and looked at the URL - https://nexus-card.com/renew-your-nexus-card.php?gclid=CjwKCAjw8symBhAqEiwAaTA__PG0mUf5YKASY6hP68oy9lhhcHSoCAiOOTp2EO-GYrNQ6h_fG-f-9BoCk0oQAvD_BwE

 

You should be going to https://ttp.cbp.dhs.gov which is the real site.

 

Not saying the other site is a scam, but I certainly wouldn't want some third party to have all my personal information, nor pay them so that they can forward my application to DHS.

 

At the very bottom of their page they do have a disclaimer, but who reads that far.

Good reminder and good warning to all.

As Fouremco says, this is one of the sites that may do the job for you but at a premium cost.

This is why I have bookmarked what I call the "GOES" site because that word is in CAPS somewhere in the long URL, and that is the site that I go to...

This is also why I spend a lot of time when travelling to a country that requires a Visa for a Canadian to enter, looking for the countries government site that is legit.  I start at the Canadian government site and then look for the country specific site.  Lots of sites out there, especially for Visas and ETA's that will take your money and do it for you, but at premium cost.  Worst case scenario is that it is a fraudulent site that takes your money, and your information and you get to your destination and your Visa is not valid. 

8 hours ago, Messybill said:

Yes this works for dual sim iPhones and Rogers.  Rogers may make changes that make this difficult in the future, as Bell has attempted to do. There are plenty of other alternative ways of staying connected when travelling with an ESIM.  Check out Fongo.com for a free Canadian VOIP number.  When you are travelling, you can add texting to free voice calls for a very small fee.  Viber and even WhatsApp are other ways to avoid ridiculous roaming charges....

We are going to try all your recommendations on our trip leaving next week.

Our main goal is to NOT have to pay Rogers $15 per day to stay connected to home.

We want to be able to receive phone calls from family and friends at home and not be hidden behind an eSIM that sends any calls to our home numbers to voicemail that we cannot access.

We are fine to tell immediate family to reach us via WhatsApp, and have done so, but just still want the connection to the home number.

We also want to be able to use our data freely to use maps and internet searches, as we are going on a River Cruise and often you are in port overnight and you want to go back into the city or town after dinner on your own.

So, we have checked out your other post, written down all the settings and checked them out and know what to switch on and off and where...  

We are going to buy from the eSIM provider you suggested because we will be in 5 Eastern European  countries and this is the only one that seems to have a package that includes all of the countries we will be in so we don't have to purchase country by country.

Thank you for your patience with my questions!

This is a good question.  We had a Christmas Market cruise booked during the pandemic that we cancelled because of the pandemic and we just stated looking again and we booked not for this year but for 2024 as you are looking at.

We are going Viking, and although this cruise does not advertise that it is a Christmas market cruise, Viking assured us that they adjust the itinerary when the markets are open as this itinerary runs all year.

We booked the start of our cruise for embarkation on November 27th, 2024.

We are travelling with some other family and friends that did not want to return home too close to Christmas, so we took the latest departure in November to ensure that we would get the best chance of seeing many markets.

We are 15 days on our journey and so many German cities that I am sure we will be fine.

You might want to adjust your dates - if you can - to a week later departure?

Google for this year lists this information - you can Google each city and find the information for the markets.

This is the itinerary we are on....

3 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

I think the lesson for all is that travel is an adventure, and if everything turns our perfectly, you are very lucky.  But if not, just go with the flow, and make some unique memories. And if you do not like the hotels or the airlines Viking uses, then just make your own independent arrangements (then you can only blame yourself if the choices are not up to your standard.).

Over the past 8-10 years I have become a very different traveller from my early days.  In those earlier years I had very high expectations and was terribly impacted and disappointed if every expectation was not only met but in many cases exceeded.

What I have learned and accepted in the more recent years is that there are so many things that can and will impact our travel that are out of our control and that unless you want to be negative and feel the victim all the time you have to as LibertaBella says - "go with the flow".

I think that aside from vouchers and this kind of distraction, some of the biggest lessons that I have learned is that every country does something or everything different from what we do at home and this is Okay!  This is actually why I travel now.  This is the journey of travel.  This is the discovery part of travel.  This is what excites me about travel.

The number of times I have heard the statement "This is not how we do it at home" makes me want to scream.  If you want it how you do it at home, stay home.

We had a friend with us whose dinner experience was ruined because they ordered a Tiramisu and it was not how they got it at their favourite Italian restaurant at home and she talked about her disappointment for days.  It got to the point where we had to ask her to stop talking about it.

Some are just impacted by the slightest things.

Travel is a journey of adventure and new experiences, and in some situations things are not as you expect or want... but you just go with it.

I remember reading a review that absolutely trashed a European hotel because they did not supply a face cloth or wash cloth which is fairly common and perhaps expected in North America, but it is not a standard item in Europe.  I ask, how does a hotel deserve this bad review because they don't supply something that we expect from North America, but is not a common item in Europe?  

First time we came across the missing face cloth, we asked, found that the housekeeping staff did not even know what we were referring to and from that point forward, this is a standard item we pack when we travel.

Go with the flow.

2 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

@LibertyBella if you want a long cruise, on a ship with real Egyptian style, at a time of year with a little heat [October or May hot enough? – but there are also sailings in the cooler months for wimps like me 😉], you might consider one of these.  12 or 14 nights – all onboard the ship, which sails all the way from Cairo to Aswan [nobody else that I have found sails that far North] so no need to shift to hotels:

https://www.noble-caledonia.co.uk/tour/2980/jewels-of-the-nile/?search_url_id=26

https://www.noble-caledonia.co.uk/tour/3203/timeless-nile/?search_url_id=24

 

Uniworld sails Cairo to Aswan - actually Dendera to Aswan.  Uniworld flys you from Cairo to Luxor, then you sail to Dendera and then  turn around and sail to Aswan.

3 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

 

 

I just booked an Israel land tour for next July, and we were just cruising in Greece two weeks ago and it was scorching, so I if I have air-conditioning in my hotel or on my ship, I can handle a few hours of intense sun excursions almost anywhere.  We may aim for 2026 as well, because I am hopefully planning for India for 2025 (land tour).   Still waiting to do my China river cruise, cancelled due to Covid.

 

The planning is always great fun--enjoy!!

 

We are all about the planning.  We have 2024 and 2025 bookings and planning underway now.  Our friends think we are crazy sometimes, but we love having these trips to look forward to and researching and planning and searching flights and, and, and.....

3 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

 

 

I have been researching different lines for a while (hey, I really like that Uniworld fancy decor--you might have convinced me!), but I also want to go when there is a bit of heat, because I do like the sun, and some cruise ships were just avoiding Egypt in the Summer. I also am considering a week long cruise, because I do not want to pack and unpack too often, and I want a bit of elegance.

 

 

 

I am still in touch with one of the servers from our Egypt Uniworld cruise - we connected on Instagram.  He went off for four months May/June/July/August because they don't said during these months, just too hot.

We went the end of March and we had plenty hot...  35C+ many days, no breeze, and of course no shade, so there is plenty of heat in the spring.

As you know when you are in the middle of the desert in a location like Abu Simbel you are just going to bake.

Call me a bit slow on the uptake with this....

We are Rogers and iPhone users...

Based on the text below taken today from the Apple tech support site, this would suggest to me that we must be connected to a WiFi network at all times for the WiFi calling to work?

I am hoping that having an eSIM with data will be the same as a WiFi connection?

Apple define wifi calling as:

Make a call with Wi-Fi Calling

6 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

It's personal preference.  I'm someone who hasn't done a pride parade in decades.  I go to bars maybe a few times a year.  I'm certainly not someone you'd consider part of "the scene." 

 

Would I consider one of these tours?  It's intriguing. All else being equal, I'd probably have more in common with a group of gays than a mostly straight cohort.  Or not:  I've gone to my share of LGBT mixers on traditional ships and they can be kind of cliquish, though I'll take my share of responsibility there.  I can be a bit socially uncomfortable/awkward so maybe I was projecting.

 

Weighing against it, I'm a single traveler so adding the supplement makes many of the cruises pricey.  Though the land-based tours might be doable.  

If you are looking for land based tours, we are trying Gate1 for the first time in January 2024 through Cambodia and Vietnam.  Why I suggest Gate1 is their single supplements are often $500 to $900 on a trip cost of 4K or 5K which is a huge savings over most cruise lines and this tour operator and the people that travel with them are all very welcoming of LGBT.  I did a lot of research and read a lot of FB groups on this company and all the topics of LGBT were extremely positive and open.  I will always have more fear of being in a small group of 20ish or less that there may be some folks that are not comfortable with a gay single or couple on the trip, but everything points to positive.

Wow... thank you!  This makes it all clearer.

I have had challenges before when we did not want roaming services what to turn on and off, and by trail and error we have had charges before.

The other thing that is difficult to calculate, is that when you are on Rogers roaming, your charge per day is based on the 24 hour clock at home, so you can sometimes be charged for two days when you only actually wanted or used time in one 24 hour day where you are located in the world.  That for me last time in Australia for work was confusing... but if this system works, when I travel for work I can use this system too and save my work a lot of roaming charges.

9 hours ago, Messybill said:

As far as I am aware, phones that accept ESIMs are "dual".  That is, you can keep your regular SIM in the phone and use the ESIM as a "second line".  If that is the situation, your home number will still work without roaming if you configure things as I described.   Your contacts in Canada will be able to contact you as if you were still at home in your kitchen.  (and vice versa).   If you have doubts about the capabilities of your particular phone you can check it at various websites, for example: 

 

https://esim.holafly.com/how-to/esim-phones/

Messybill,

Thank you for this.  I am - IMO - fairly tech savvy but I find that some of these settings are so confusing. 

Data roaming on or off - cellular network on or off - airplane mode on or off....

I read your post 40 in the other discussion and have written a bunch of notes that I am now investigating.  We are also on Rogers and we have iPhones that are compatible with eSIM's.

If we follow all the steps you outline:

1. WiFi call1ng ON
2. Data roaming OFF
3. Search home network only
4. For eSIM - data switching and roaming ON

Questions for you:

1. This means that with the eSIM enabled when we arrive in Europe, we will be using the data plan on that eSIM for our Maps and WhatsApp, and any data needs, correct?
2. Our phone thinks we are still on our home network, so if anyone calls us we can answer and there won't be any charge - provided we are within the limits of our home plan?
3. This would also mean that we could make calls that are within our plan limits to a home based number and not be charged additional cost?
4. Calls made locally would be charged as a Canada to Europe call - right?
5. BUT, if we call using WhatsApp on the eSIM data, that is ok....?

Final confusing thing for me to understand.

You say that it is WiFi calling, but actually Internet calling.

Does this mean for our home number we must be connected to an actual WiFi network - the ship, the hotel, the coffee shop, for WiFi calling to work?

Or by virtue that we are connected to data through the eSIM we are internet connected and therefore able to use WiFi/Internet calling on your HSP line?

OMGoodness, many questions, but if you can clarify these you will be a lifesaver and a MONEY SAVER!

Thank you Thank you.

Complaints about water levels on Viking River Cruises are NOT Viking's fault.  Each year some river water levels rise and fall  due to excessive rain or lack there of...  This is nothing to do with Viking and this impacts every other river cruise line.

These kinds of complaints represent individuals that don't understand the challenges and what you might expect during a river cruise.  These are individuals that have not researched or understood what some of the challenges might be.  It is not Viking's job to warn me about water levels, because from what I understand they go out of their way to provide the best alternatives to overcome the problem.

No one wants to be bussed around a bridge, or stay in a hotel over the ship that they were expecting, but these are some of the unfortunate things that go with travel - luxury or budget.

Weather is weather.  If your flight is cancelled because of a massive snow storm or whatever and you miss your cruise embarkation, that is not the fault of the airline or Viking.  How can river levels be Viking's fault.

As for the voucher thing and Covid... what cruise line ever expected what kind of devastation Covid would bring to the world and the business of cruising.  We personally had 3 cruises - with Viking - canceled because of Covid.  We feel that Viking was outstanding in their voucher offers and their guarantee programs that they offered.

Was every rule of the voucher program to our liking?  No, but you also have to look at the financial risk that Viking had during that period.

We chose voucher when our cruises were canceled and some of our travel companions took cash refund.  To each their own.

As for vaccination requirements, that was and still is what is is...  Viking still require - until October - for all passengers to be vaccinated.  Every business imposed the rules around vaccination for the protection of their guests / customers and their business.

I am not trying to say that you don't have an argument with Viking....  We have had our own arguments with Viking over vouchers and how they can be used.

Most if not all calls to Viking are recorded.  You could ask for them to review the recorded conversation where you were told that they could rebook in a year when vaccination restrictions would be lifted and see if that gets you anywhere.  

4 hours ago, tashaaa said:

 

Thank you sooooo much for all the additional information. After seeing your video and reading your posts, I actually can't wait to travel to Antarctica and it's a lot easier to book with all provided infromation.

Thank you again 🙂

You are welcome!  Be sure to post a review here once you have travelled.

From my understanding - we are just embarking on a trip and using eSIM for the first time too.

You will turn off your cellular roaming with your home number - no one can reach you by calling your home number.  You will have a new number associated to the eSIM is what I understand.

You will use data through the eSIM, and so you can use WhatsApp calling or texting.  If you have an iPhone, then you should still be able to iMessage other iPhones on data too.

Hopefully someone else will confirm what I am saying...

We are about to buy for the first time a eSIM but we will do WhatsApp calling and texting using the eSIM data.

I don't know how you use your Canadian number to do WiFi calling and if you are doing actual WiFi calling you would not need an eSIM to do that.

If you turn off your data and cellular roaming and use only WiFi, you can call using your existing number.

Unless your phone has the ability to recognize two sims - your regular and the eSIM - then the eSIM closes off your Canadian number.  This is why you would install the eSIM and use WhatsApp for your calling because WhatsApp uses the Canadian phone number through data and not the cellular network.

Not sure this is making perfect sense...

Definitely 2 days and can be longer with winds and high surf.  2 days is a minimum for any cruise line.

7 minutes ago, Catlover54 said:

 

Also just saw your Douro cruise video.    Once again, totally enchanting, professional quality cinematography.   I noticed there were what looked like some drone shots in Portugal (unfortunately not allowed in Antarctica)

My DH is the one who does the photography (he is not a professional, but he primarily travels to take pictures). 

I will have to start stalking, err, I mean "following", your trips 🙂

Thank you again...

Here is a link to our YouTube channel that has some other trips...

Yes, in Portugal we had a drone.  One and only time - sold it after coming home.

First took a couple of months to get permission from the Portugal government, then abiding by the many laws even though you had permission... had to get permission from the Viking ship Captain.

Many people complained about the noise that they make, and many UNESCO sites don't allow drones.

All in all not worth the effort and hassle for us.

In the Portugal one however we got Viking's permission to use The Traveller and the London Orchestra that performed it for Viking.  That was cool.

6 minutes ago, Catlover54 said:

 

Simply stunning video.

 Brilliant editing, timing, haunting and mesmerising music.  Thank you so much for sharing this.

Thank you!  My Husband does all this and if you can imagine, all of this is shot with an iPhone only.

He can spend a couple of months after the trip sifting through all the materials to end up with the final product.

Thank you again - this was truly a trip of a lifetime that cannot be compared to anything else.

20 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

This is making me dizzy!!!

Right?????  Imagine too much to drink and come back to this....

The dining room was VERY dark....

Our Bathroom

Uniworld is over the top....

Yes - a lot of waiting on board the ship as any landing site can only have 100 passengers on the continent at any given time.  This is Antarctica law/rules.  Because you are daylight 24 hours, we even had excursions that left the ship at 8:30pm at night.  This is what they have to do to get everyone a landing especially if there have been weather issues that prevented earlier day landings.  We lost one full day to weather but the next four days were amazingly sunny and beautiful and the expedition crew did everything in their power to get us all ashore hence the 8:30pm excursions.

30 minutes ago, tashaaa said:

Hi everyone,

 

My husband and I would are looking in Hurtigruten Antarctica cruise in december 2024. I read a lot of post and comments, but there are still some thing that aren't so clear to me, so maybe you can help:

 

1. water is provided in the water stations at any time. I read that you don't get water with lunch and dinner, you have to purchase it. is this true?

2. wine and beer is provided with lunch and dinner. how many glasses do you get?

3. I read you can purchase premium beverage packinge on bord the ship, for 32$? Does this cover if you drink let say Whiskey?

4. Does Hurtigruten have an Online Planner, where you can purchase additional packiges, are they available?

5. What are the prices of drinks on the ship?

 

I know this is an expedition cruise and different from other cruises.

 

Thank you sooo much for additional information.

 

 

 

 

Hello - We did the Hurtigruten Antarctica trip about 18 months ago now and this was the situation then.  I cannot comment if anything has changed since, but think not...

You are given a metal water bottle when you board.  This is in the cabin for you as a brand new item.  On each deck near the elevator lobby is a water purifier station that you can fill your personal water bottle with purified water.  Hurtigruten does NOT have individual plastic water bottles on the ship.  You could bring your own water bottle if you wanted.  They have sessions where you can go (free) and decorate/paint your water bottle to customize it.

You DO get water at all meals.  Every table in the dining room has a glass water carafe on the table and glasses when you sit down.  This will be refilled if you drink it all.  I am not sure why anyone would say that you have to purchase water at the meal - not true.   The only time that you may find that water is not on the table is if the Drake Passage waves are very high and the ship is listing then they will temporarily remove the glass carafes from the tables as they can fall over and crash to the floor.

Wine and beer is free flowing at both lunch and dinner.  There is no limit that we found.  We often has multiple glasses and they freely refill without question.  In fact they are quite generous.  Some get the glass refilled before leaving the dining room and carry it out with them.

The premium beverage package we did not look into because you typically have to purchase that as every person in a cabin and for the entire length of the cruise.  Because of the Drake Passage - and the recommendation that you don't drink if you are even remotely seasick - we did not ask or investigate this package.  Ideally, there could be 4-5 days that you may not access the package if you are seasick and then you are paying for that time.  In fact, we did try to investigate this before travelling until we learned about the Drake Passage no drinking recommendation and could not get any real solid information about a drinks package.  You are on your own with this one...

Does Hurtigruten have an online planner where you can purchase additional packages?  Can you please give me more information?  Do you mean prior to the cruise to purchase the optional excursions like snowshoeing and kayaking?  If this is what you mean, then NO.  No one can purchase these before they trip.  You board and there is a sign up process then a lottery draw.  There is no need to rush to sign up as long as you are on the list.  It is a true lottery and you either win or you don't.  These are the excursions that if you DO WIN, then you pay extra.  I think that there are 4 or 5 options that you can sign up for.  We got snowshoeing and kayaking and some people we talked to got nothing.  This all depends on weather and numbers of people that they can actually accommodate of these optional excursions and the fact is that they cannot accommodate everyone on the ship.

What are the drink prices?  We never really found out...  I did order a few vodka drinks but never really looked at the price.  We had OBC and were just trying to use that up.  The fact is that after dinner we were so physically exhausted from our landings each day that we really never spent time in the lounge after dinner - we often just went to bed.  Also there were times that our excursions started at 8:30pm in the evening so we ate and then went on excursion... no drinking before the excursion if you want to endure the physicality of the excursion and be safe.

This is different from other cruises - very different.  Hope this helps.  

I will provide some links here for you:

Here is our review of our trip during and after:

Here is our video - the link in the review is dead: