GORDONCHICK

IMO, there's always wear and tear on ships, due to the number of passengers on and off plus the sea air. Also IMO, Alaska should be more focused on the itinerary than the actual ship (same goes for Europe). To really experience Alaska, that is off the ship. Whatever glacier(s) you put priority on, and if there are specific ports you want to hit. We did a cruise on HAL solely because I wanted to go to Sitka. The fact that our 3rd person (minor son at the time) was free except port charges and taxes was also a plus. I definitely wouldn't sail HAL again (at least not for another 15-20 years) or in the Caribbean unless it's an itinerary thing. And what I've learned from reviews - some people's expectations and travel standards are very different than ours. There are some reviewers on here that I put a whole lot more stock in than others because I've learned that their expectations and standards are pretty similar to ours. I also don't take travel recommendations from my SIL. Why? She rents castles to stay in while in Scotland and Ireland! I think that would be cool - if I had her basically unlimited budget. But we don't. If people drag on things that aren't important to you, just skip that part. As far as food goes, that's incredibly subjective. I'm a great cook. But not a chef. I am picky about food but my criteria is probably different from many. That's okay!

Yep, absolutely jaw-dropping! These are from 2007 and we were on Mercury.

I also LOVE Hubbard! We seem to be in the minority, but it does depend on the time of year because it's trickier to see (fogged in) or get close to (lots of bigger ice in the water).

I checked and all Edge Panama Canal cruises are RT Ft Lauderdale and are partial transits. The ship will hang out in Gatun Lake. Some passengers may elect for excursions and they usually leave the ship in ship lifeboats. The ship stays in Gatun until they (the canal authority) get most of the traffic through going westbound. They will then turn one side into eastbound traffic and the ship will go through. If you're in a balcony on the port side, you would most likely see ships heading west while you're heading east in the canal. It's very cool. Docking in Colon at Cristobal Pier may have changed since I've been there (2004). Back then, it was a warehouse with lots of booths of handmade things (and some junk). It's a very industrial area, or at least it was, so walking around wasn't advised. But there were some kind of carts that you paid the people to take you to a different area. There weren't excursions from that area back then, but I would hope there would be now. Hilarious thing I remember about this stop: my son was 3.5yo, so very short. We were standing by the rails and looking at the dancers, who weren't wearing a lot of clothing. But my son couldn't see much and all he could see was there feet so he announced that they weren't wearing shoes - loudly. Everyone around us just laughed. He was pretty popular on that cruise. There were 3 kids on the entire cruise. My son, a 9yo girl named Jessica and a baby. Aaron and Jessica ran that kid's program. They got to choose everything they did.

The partial we did was 12 nights, so it was as long as some full transits. We liked that it returned to the same port and hit some quasi unusual ports along with some very common.

Your ship should "line up" before 6am, so you will see it lit. The boats and ships will enter in the order that those directing canal traffic arrange, which should the be line up order. Sometimes small boats are shuffle to fit in with other smaller boats. It sounds like you may be doing a partial transit. Our partial transit was transiting the Gatun locks (before the Panamax canals but where they would be was pointed out to us) and floated around in Gatun Lake. Some passengers took excursions that took them off the ship in different directions. They did not board the ship again until we were docked at Cristobal Pier so they only saw the transit early that morning.

My husband collects ALL the receipts! It's the CPA in him! LOL.

IMO, do a carry on (that would fit in a plane's cabin luggage compartment) that will have a change of clothes, swimsuit, any medications or must haves (C-pap, etc), electronics and jewelry. Check anything else and it will be delivered to your cabin. While I'm sure you are more than capable of schlepping all your luggage, you're on vacation! Relax and let someone else do the heavy lifting! Have a great time!

Alaska and Europe are where the itineraries should be the top priority, IMO. This doesn't just include ports, but TIME in ports is important to me. I am one that prefers Hubbard over Glacier Bay. BUT there's a huge caveat to that! If sailing early in the season, there's a good chance of fog covering Hubbard or not getting very close because of all the ice in the water. If cruising late in the season, you have a much better chance of actually seeing Hubbard. The wildlife in Glacier Bay is amazing, but the glaciers did not impact me like Hubbard did. Our last cruise to AK was in 2015 and it was in very late May. The itinerary had both Glacier Bay AND Hubbard. However, Hubbard was so fogged in that we couldn't hear a thing. But we could hear the calving - soooo frustrating!

But it is formal - in Bermuda!

My husband still has to wear a suit and tie to work. Which is exactly why it's not appealing in vacation.

This is actually Bermuda formal - as long as they wear the knee socks and dress shoes.

It also says it will be enforced in all restaurants. And we all know that's not true.

I can notice because I love people watching. But how someone else is dressed isn't going to affect me or the time I have with my husband/family/friends. I don't give people that power over me. I suggest some of you try that approach.

The sparkle is in the eye of the beholder. Look for sparkle and you're bound to find it. Look for everything wrong and you will find that, too. I've found that the longer people have been shut off/shut in, the more sour their perceptions of just about everything. I'm a realist in expectations, but I choose joy in most cases. We've sailed may different lines. We've had a good time on all of them - because we choose to look for the good. We don't overlook the bad. We know if it's there. But to us, almost any time spent at sea is a good time.

I think it's funny and misguided for you to think that parents will think twice about taking their children out of school early! And I just double checked and the district I live in gets out 12/16 for Christmas break. My son's college gets out the week before that.

Yeah, that's not going to happen. It might have fewer than others that are 7 nights, but there will still be hundreds on board.

Concierge is $400 more than a regular veranda on the cruise we are looking at. For that price, it's definitely not worth it to us. If it were negligible, that would be different.

Best way to do it on camp outs for sure.

Personally, we are happy to not have to pack suits and ties for DH and cocktail dresses for me.

I'm not sure the point of your post. We did the 26 glacier tour that was about 5 hours long. It included College Fjord and Harriman Fjord.

We did one of those, too, but they still weren't as impressive as Hubbard for me.

IMO, the only thing better about Glacier Bay is the wildlife. Otherwise, I'll take Hubbard. The biggest problem with Hubbard is that it sometimes gets fogged in and you can't see it! We were on a cruise that did both GB and Hubbard and you couldn't see Hubbard for anything! But you could hear the calving. Hubbard is so massive and it makes my jaw drop.

When we've been on other lines in the Caribbean, they would decorate the day after Thanksgiving while the ship was in port and most passengers were ashore. It was always fun to come back to a fully decorated ship.

Some people cannot tolerate the amount of alcohol in the commercial sanitizers. I worked with a woman who was made to use some at work even though she had an exemption from her doctor, and it put her in the hospital. HR fired the boss because he had been told by her and HR and he forced her anyway. I don't have the issue as bad as my co-worker did, but I can only take so much of it myself. I realize this doesn't cover most, but there are times it covers some.