CDNPolar

Background... I am in Learning and Development and I do my best to de-genderize by never saying "Ladies and Gentlemen" and will always when a typical statement would include He/She, I add They to that... All the countries that I work with however are off shore to North America, and none of them really understand why I am doing this. We just returned from a River Cruise through Eastern Europe. On the ship, with every port talk and every announcement, "Ladies and Gentlemen" was repeated before each new statement.... "Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight we are going to...." "Now Ladies and Gentlemen, we are going to give you information about..." "Ladies and Gentlemen, we hope you enjoy your dinner..." On the shore excursions, all the guides (local to the country and city) also addressed us as Ladies and Gentlemen, and also inserted this in front of almost every new statement. It was so painfully obvious to me, but this is how the world has worked up to this point. I have written emails about this to one cruise line specifically, and no response from them. They ALWAYS respond to my emails but not this one. I don't think they know what to do with this.

I would personally pick Madrid. We have been to 5 or 6 cities in Spain, and Madrid still remains my favourite for many reasons, but the 2 main are: Less tourists and the food culture. Madrid is more authentically Spanish and a more local feeling culture. When you are in the downtown areas of Madrid you are eating along the streets with locals, not mostly tourists. Personally Barcelona is just too busy for me, but you have to see that too. If there is flexibility, I would do 2 nights Madrid, and then 1 extra in Barcelona.

The one thing I would say about dinner was that other than I think one night, it was menu, and the menu selection was quite limited. Choice of two appetizers, two or perhaps three entrees, and then between two desserts. Other ships was have been on for similar cost had much more extensive daily choices of a custom daily menu and also a standard list of always available choices. The food quality was excellent, and the breakfast and lunch buffet were really good, but dinner was limiting for sure. Often I chose an entree that I was not really interested in because it was the best choice for my taste, but I would have liked more options.

Our cabin had the red stripe and we were none the wiser. We just accepted it as it was and it was fine. We were however in Antarctica and we were not sitting in the cabin or on the balcony anyway. If there was something to see we wanted the full 360 view so we were on an open deck. We rarely spend time in our cabin other than sleeping. We would book the same cabin again as we did pick it for location and layout.

I think that I may have been too quick with my answer, and did not ask this... If seafood is an allergy and seafood is a major part of the Hurtigruten menu, does that mean that you cannot have food that is prepared close by or cooked in the same pan? I know people with various levels of seafood allergy and some have to be guaranteed that seafood has never touched anything they will eat, vs. some that are only if they chew and swallow the seafood. Depending on the level of the allergy, contact Hurtigruten before you book.

Yes - we were on this ship for Antarctica, and the expedition crew put on some entertainment a couple of nights - music as a crew band and a play - but don't know if anything will happen on this one. Limited - very - dining options and just alcohol after dinner.

It is quite wonderful. My favourite is the snow grotto and the steam room. Back and forth between those. Treat yourself to a massage too. I have had a massage on most ocean journeys and the Norwegian therapists are great.

The spa on Viking is not extensively used especially the sauna which is inside the change room beside the cold plunge pool. There are also times that no one is there at all.

we were impressed with the food on Hurtigruten especially the selection on the buffet - I think you would be ok.

You will have to contact the different companies that do Antarctica cruises. Antarctica cruises don’t restock they only have what they have. Once they leave and cross the Drake Passage there is no restocking. You won’t want to get on board and then find out that they cannot accommodate your dietary needs.

No. Every other forum on CC works for me with mark all read. Only this one does not. I am quite online literate and understand how these things work or should work. Every other forum only bolds again when new content is posted. This forum constantly remains BOLDED when no new content is posted.

When I left click mark forum as read, it changes all in the forum to read but the forum name in the main listing remains BOLDED even with no new activity. in all other forums the name of the forum in the main listing only BOLDS again when new activity. so many times I enter the LGBT forum because it is BOLDED and there is no new activity.

At least I am not dreaming....

We have not stayed in 3001 but we have stayed very close. Things to think about. On rough seas you will not only feel it more the more forward you are (IMO) but if the seas are really rough you will hear the bow slamming down as well. You will hear rehearsals and the shows from the Star Theatre as well. Because we have experienced a forward cabin a couple of times in the past on Deck 3, we now only stay mid-ship or towards the aft. We actually asked to be moved in rough seas from a very forward cabin on one of our last cruises because it was so bad. I don't understand why Viking put the suites where they do.

Thank you Globaliser and megr1125, but am I missing the option on Aerolopa for keying your flight number and having the seat map pop up? It seems that I need to know the aircraft and look for that under the airline? If there are multiple configurations, how do I know which one is which?

Don't know where else to put this. All other areas of CC that I frequent removes the bold font on the main forum page when you mark the forum as read, and that bold face comes back only when new activity happens. On the LGBT forum, this does not seem to be the case - is there a switch you can throw to make this happen on this forum too?

Not sure where else to put this. I research my air extensively before booking including the airline, aircraft type, route, connections, connection time, and seating configuration in each cabin. Just something that gets me excited....haha. I have always been a fond user of SeatGuru, because you key in your airline, date, and flight number and it responds with the seating configuration of the aircraft you will be on. Lately I have seen that especially with Premium Economy SeatGuru is not accurate as often the airline uses a different configuration if the flight is international vs. domestic. International flights are 2 / 3 / 2 and domestic are 3 / 3 / 3. You can choose alternate configurations, but you are never certain what you are actually looking at. I was also informed in another discussion that SeatGuru is not being updated any longer. I am typically flying Toronto Canada to Europe or Asia. Other than SeatGuru, what are your recommendations for an accurate seat map when doing flight research? Thanks!

Also you have to be careful while you are sailing that you are not connecting to US cell towers. It is possible. We have friends on Lake Simcoe and you have to be careful that your phone is not connecting across the lake.

Canadians and Americans will need an ETIAS Visa starting sometime next year to visit all EU countries. We don't know what kind of restrictions may come from this as yet. The fun may begin then. To date we do not need a Visa.

What are all those reels and video shorts.... "Tell me you are older without telling me you are older..." Yep - quiet, sedate, no confusion, 4 o'clock tea in the lounge.... bed after the show!

I would say YES

Now you cannot say that no one would run on that deck, BUT, it is not really designed and convenient for runners because you go through what I can only call a very narrow passage at the front of the ship which is crew access to the anchor and mooring lines, and it is really only one lane, with sharp corners. There would certainly be collisions with runners and walkers. We have never experienced any noise from this deck, and I walk on this deck often and only ever see people walking.

As the Trusted Traveller or Verified Traveler, NEXUS is promising new screening rules for us such as not having to remove the small liquids, laptops, light coats, shoes, etc. at security screening. We fly tomorrow through Pearson T3 on British Air. The last flight in the early spring that we has was also BA out of T3 but at that time I think we could not find or there was not a Nexus line for security. Is there now a separate line in Toronto T3 international (not USA) departure for Nexus? What can we expect? Thanks!

Do you need roaming coverage if you can connect to the ship's WiFi? Are you looking to be able to make and receive calls while on the ship that are inside your monthly package?

Well, I don't think that our cruise line of choice is marketing directly into the gay community, but if you watch PBS or Downton Abbey you will certainly get your share of advertisements from them. Other gay friends and couples that I have talked to about cruising always refer to the big ships and the party ships and the gay themed cruises. Most of the men that I have known that have cruised in the past have not been interested in the smaller ships that we prefer. I am not trying to stereotype, this is just my experience. I wish that there were more friendly gay couples on the cruises we go on so that we are not the token gay couple! Haha.