CDNPolar

I am happy if it curbs users. Quicker transit for the rest of us. Frankly we are at a point in life where if it is convenient, we pay for it. For those in the know, we have a HWY 407 Transponder but might only use it once a month. However, if we can get there via the 407 over the 401 you bet I am going to pay the toll.

With Viking we have always "engaged" with the Crew to a larger extent. With our Cabin Attendant(s) we try to engage with them on day one and then try to chat with them whenever we can. Same with the servers in the dining rooms, and the wine servers. When we find a team in the Restaurant we ask for them nightly by indicating this to the Host in The Restaurant and nightly we get to know them and again, engage with them. We find that we have a better experience when we actively engage them in conversation and generally interact with them. I know some don't want to engage in conversation with the Crew and that is okay too. For us any decline has been more in the menu and food side of things. Not a lot, but it is like "shrinkflation" you don't notice it blatantly but it is there if you look.

I agree with you on your points. We would likely cancel our future bookings and move to Oceana.

...and could you even hear the announcements? How many times have we been in busy airports all around the world and in most areas of the departure lounge you cannot hear anything that the gate agent is saying.

I may be a pessimist but I believe that nothing is free - today. I just got contacted on LinkedIn to attend a full day conference in Toronto. Looks like an amazing line up of speakers and topics. Could not find the price for the day anywhere, but assumed that it would be in the range of $600 to $800 for the day. Went back to the person inviting me - oh and she just connected with me on LinkedIn the day before, and she is from overseas - and she indicated that I would be her guest and that it would cost me nothing. Why me? You don't know me, so what value am I bringing? This would be an expensive event to put on. There is a scam of some kind tied up in this invitation. Nothing is free.

You are suggesting that the onboard booking bonus or credit was up to $2,000.00? We have booked a number of future cruises while onboard but never, never have we seen a credit that is this big. Generally it is a $400 pp past guest discount, 6 months payment (which we always get anyway) and an OBC of a couple hundred for the cruise we are on. This may add closer to $600 in savings over booking off the ship. Do you have more intel on this? Unless you are counting in Free Air but that is available to anyone booking on or off a ship? Like @Squawkman indicated, you can only do this on an Ocean Ship and not on River.

This is perhaps too personal of a question, but are you going to buy Viking when they IPO?

Curious what you want to suggest?

Yeah, it may be harder for your Mom but I have read that others have achieved the SSBP when their adult cabin mate did not drink. You should have organized the cabin occupancy (on paper) as you and your mom and your sister and stepdad. You would stay in your preferred way - you and your sister - but for the booking and the SSBP you would have no worries this way. The other way to look at it is that the SSBP is nothing special. You still have access to everything Viking sells in liquor, wine, and beer, you just pay for it as you go. Since you get free / included beer and wine with lunch and dinner, and if these are ok for you then you have to justify spending $25 per day above that in other drinks. A lot of Viking drinks are only $8.00 or less. Let us know how you make out.

Interesting YouTube on Viking's potential IPO and what it means for you and me. I don't necessarily support this opinion, but it is interesting to see this guy's opinion.

Be careful on expedition type cruises, and if there are any "high risk" activities. The typical - emphasis on typical - medical plan does not cover injury from zip lining, scuba diving, rock climbing, parasailing, etc. You can buy insurance for these, but the typical policy does not cover these types of activities.

Every insurance policy that I have seen for travel when it comes to medical, it is very explicit that YOU must call the insurance company at the first sign of illness and/or before treatment starts unless it is an accident that prevents you from calling... This would never be the role of the doctor, clinic, or hospital.

We did not do this excursion, but here is the full description when you get your final documents. Passau Salzburg Highlights Price: $385.00 CAD Duration: 9.50 Hours DEPASSEO04 Date: December 06, 2024 08:15 AM Available City of Mozart and “The Sound of Music” -- Drive with your guide past charming mountain villages, rolling hills and pristine lakes. Upon arrival in this glorious city, enjoy a guided walking tour of the Italianate Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its high-baroque architecture. Pass by the Hagenauer House at Getreidegasse 9, the birthplace of renowned classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Salzburg’s favorite son; today, it is one of Austria’s most visited museums. See the Domplatz, dominated by the 249-foot 17th-century Dom and St. Peter’s Abbey, where Mozart premiered the Great Mass in C Minor in 1783. Savor lunch in Austria’s oldest restaurant, named for the church, as classically trained singers and musicians regale you with songs in the spirit of the musical.

Sorry @gabelle9 as this discussion has gotten way off your original question. I hope you have your answer! Welcome to Cruise Critic!

Sorry - thought you were doing Antarctica~

Enjoy! You will love it. Here is our personal video from our Cruise.

Very sorry for you to be experiencing this, and of course for you Dad to be going through this. What @iamtrustworthy said, but you should (IMO) be covered in the way you have described the chain of events. The one thing that I would suggest is that you will need doctor/hospital reports, letters, diagnosis, etc. Start to collect these kinds of things. At least keep track of the doctors that you have seen and the dates. What was the first symptom, was it a family doctor, what was the referral process, etc. Your insurance when you start the claim may ask for their specific forms to be completed by the doctor, or they may take reports signed by the doctor. We had to collect a lot of this information for a cancellation claim, and we also had to pay a few hundred dollars for some forms to be completed by the doctors. Our insurance claim started with - on the insurance company request - on a report from our family physician that first noticed an abnormality in blood work and then there were several doctors after that and they wanted an accounting of all the appointments and tests to the diagnosis.

I personally think that a Caribbean cruise is a great way to start. That was my first cruise - Western Caribbean. As we were coming out of Covid and wanted desperately to cruise we did a Panama Canal partial crossing out of Ft. Lauderdale returning to Ft. Lauderdale. You probably won't see us on another Caribbean cruise soon but that is just preference for us. I am not saying that there is nothing to do or see with some Caribbean islands, but we in general are not "warm or hot weather people". We are just more focused on Europe and the APAC region now in our interests. Look carefully at the solo charges by cruise line. They can be massively different. Look also at the areas of some ships that are adult only and what the cost is for you to be able to stay in or access these areas. Some are premium fare for adult only areas. Exciting for you to be planning this. We are such "cruise people" and so many of our friends have never been on a cruise and for some reason very negatively doubtful that they would ever enjoy one.... but they have never tried one.

I like "wild guesser" and will steal that... I just replace "Man" or "Woman" now with person because it works for every human on the planet unless one day we have people identifying as "non-human".

True, but I have spent a lot of time there in restaurants, my Boss is South African (but now lives in UK) and I have picked up many terms from him including some in Afrikaans. I have a good friend that was in Canada but now is back in SA and never heard this from her and I am constantly asking her - what is that word.... what does that mean? Interesting. I love culture and the differences especially with language and what we call things. I think my most interesting education with that has been with the Aussies that I work with.

I have not been in the practice of reading the PCC with every cruise booked. Silly me to not think that there could be a separate document version as time goes on and each booking is made. We receive the US Terms and Conditions document - I assume identical because the title of the document is actually "US Terms and Conditions" but we have a Canadian Addendum at the very bottom. I don't think that there are any specific "Canadian" differences anywhere else in the document. 33. CANADIANADDENDUM. a. Amendments-Residents of Canada. For residents of Canada, we may modify in whole or in part this Passenger Ticket Contract at any time. In the event this Passenger Ticket Contract is amended, suspended or changed, we will provide at least 30 days written notice before the amendment comes into effect, setting out the new clause, or the amended clause and how it read formerly, and the date on which the change will come into effect. You may refuse the amendment and rescind this Passenger Ticket Contract without cost, penalty or cancellation indemnity, by sending us notice to that effect no later than 30 days after the amendment comes into force, at the address or email address indicated in the notice. b. Carrier Liability, Choice of Law and Forum-Residents of Quebec. For individual residents of Quebec, our responsibility as the Carrier for death, injury, illness, damage, delay or other loss to person or property of any kind suffered by you or any of the other Passengers in your party shall be governed, in the first instance, by the Athens Convention, with protocols and amendments as adopted by Canada, and, as applicable, by those other and further limitations of liability set forth in the statutory maritime and general laws of Quebec and Canada, as the law governing this Passenger Ticket Contract. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this Passenger Ticket Contract may be determined by the courts of the City of Montreal in the Province of Quebec.

We just use Apple iPhone Notes and have a shared Note between us where we list the following: Then I have a separate Shared Note that I track every continent, country, and city visited, but this is not by cruise itinerary. These are always my goto for remembering what and when...

Have been to SA and work with SA daily remotely. Have never heard this term. Frankly in the world of gender fluidity now, I have abandoned any other term other than "server" as that can cross any pronoun. That is typically what we call them in Canada.

This was an interesting concept to me so I did some fast research yesterday. I am also talking Canada requirements so they could be different in the USA. 1) I would have to pass an exam first 2) If I wanted to be completely independent, there would be huge upfront costs which would negate my commissions for years based on our cruising frequency. 3) An agency would probably not bring me in just to book my own cruises, and even if they did, a portion of the commission would go to them. I am a few years - or less - from retirement and I thought what a great way to keep occupied. Study, take the exam, and be my own TA. The fact is that the cost to do so is not worth it and if this was so simple, then we would all do it.

Welcome to Cruise Critic and WELCOME to Cruising! I hope you love it and hope that it is a great celebration for you! We may not be the norm, but we plan up to 2-3 years out. We map out the areas of the world that we want to see and then start to book as much as 18+ months out. Why 18+ months out? We cruise - so far - only on Viking River and Ocean. We also book the lowest category of cabin on a Viking River or Ocean ship because other than location of the cabin, all else is pretty much the same. To get these cabins, we have found that we must book as much as 18 months out. There is a lot of discussion on Cruise Critic about using a Travel Agent. I encourage you to search for and read these discussions. There are many. As someone new to cruising, you may want to find a TA that specializes in cruising that could help you. You may get a deal through them too. (Not all TA's have deals on fares or give credits on board). We book direct with the cruise line and then transfer to a TA to get the credit on board. We know what we are booking so we do the pre-work ourselves and book direct and then transfer. Good luck with this and be sure to ask lots of questions. Once you find a cruise line, port of departure, or ship you are interested in, start to read those forums and post your questions there for better insights. Our November River cruise this year was booked 14 months out. Our March 2025 cruise was booked 18 months out. We even have an April 2026 cruise booked at this point. I think your planning time also depends on what cruise line and where you want to go. Do you want a Caribbean cruise or a Mediterranean Cruise. Do you want a cruise around Japan? So much to choose from, but you will find some itineraries are booked out much further in advance than others.