strickerj

28 minutes ago, SilvertoGold said:

BTW:   September is great for Glacier Bay!  Ships get permission to go past Jaw Point at Johns Hopkins Glacier and you get a much better viewing of the glacier and seals on the ice flows.  

Good to know. We did a Seattle RT (including Glacier Bay) at the end of May, and I thought it was a great time (the greenery at low elevation with the snow still on the mountains), but I was thinking about going back and doing a one-way southbound in September in a few years to see the interior and Hubbard Glacier.

27 minutes ago, ski ww said:

That sounds like a rip off to me. We got tested by HAL in Greece for a resent cruise on the Oosterdam for $60

Our local urgent care charged $150 per test for the 3 of us, and we weren't told until after receiving them... This is basically a government-endorsed racket.

One other thing - the linked Motley Fool article mentions that the fed hiking interest rates by 0.75% would increase the cruise industry's debt by $550M. Does that mean the loans are variable interest, or is it a hypothetical lifecycle cost where future refinancing is taken into account?

Just now, DaveOKC said:

Well, issuing stock is certainly less expensive than borrowing the same $1 billion, which would cost them about $120,000,000 annually in interest expense.  Either way the shareholder gets hurt of course, but the stock issuing approach gives the company a better chance of surviving.

I can understand that; I just wonder if overdoing it would cause hesitation to buy among potential investors, that is, dilute the stock more than the amount of stock issued. I wouldn't buy any of this round of stock if I thought they were going to do it again every quarter.

10 minutes ago, seaoma said:

 

The CDC doesn't have all the answers. They are just in the position of making the rules.

 

Personally, I follow people who are directly involved working with viruses and public health. They have helped us in this country for centuries. 

 

How does letting more people on cruises with covid, make sense? 

 

The CDC is the one compiling the data though (such as it is), so you'd think they'd be in the best position to determine an appropriate course of action. I never claimed letting more people on cruises with COVID would reduce cases; my point was that COVID is and seemingly always will be with us, it isn't nearly the threat now that it was in the beginning, and society isn't collapsing as a result of everything other than cruising being unrestricted. There are lots of things we could do to keep from ever getting sick or injured, but we don't because they're impractical relative to the risk being mitigated. I believe the time has come where COVID testing everyone boarding a ship falls into that category.

On 7/22/2022 at 9:23 AM, DaveOKC said:

Backing up my previous comment - this from Market Watch:

 

Shares of Carnival Corp. CCL, -11.18% tumbled 11.2% in morning trading Thursday, to pace the S&P 500's SPX, +0.99% after the cruise operator caused investors to "panic" with its $1 billion public equity offering. The company said late Wednesday that the offering, which represented about about 10% of the current market capitalization of $9.79 billion, priced at $9.95 a share, or a 10.3% discount to Wednesday's closing price of $11.09. The offering comes after the stock had rocketed 27.3% amid a four-day win streak to close Wednesday at a six-week high. 

Thanks for sharing; this kind of backs up my initial reaction - I'm not an accountant or lawyer, but I don't understand how a publicly traded company can just issue more stock out of thin air. The market dictates the value of the company (market cap). In this case, that was about $11B at $11.09 per share.

Company announces $1B stock issuance, and the existing stock drops to $9.95 per share (roughly $1B total), bringing the total market cap to... still $11B, but effectively the company has just stolen $1B in equity from its shareholders. It's like printing money, except by a corporation rather than the government. I'd be rightfully miffed if I were still a shareholder.

3 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I've been preaching this niche market approach for over a year. Saving the cruise industry shareholders is going to take out of the box thinking. Considering more and more ports have ZERO covid protocols (no testing, no quarantine, no vaccination).... someone needs to do the experiment ;-). 

This is a good idea. As long as the cruise lines follow the same schedule, and untested ships aren't in the same ports at the same time as tested ones, this is about as close to a scientifically rigorous experiment as you could do.

My wife, her mother, and I cruised Eurodam roundtrip from Seattle on May 21-28, and we think it was worth it. We didn't have much choice since it had been canceled twice (2020 and 2021), and HAL wouldn't extend the FCC past 2022 that we foolishly accepted in lieu of a refund.

Weather and scenery were great. Our flight there was on time. A couple shore excursions were canceled, but we were able to find alternatives, and the ones I was most looking forward to went as planned.

Of course, this was before the summer travel meltdowns, return of mask mandates, etc. I'm not sure I would enjoy it as much now with the current state of travel. FWIW, we never masked or distanced (nor did about 90% of the passengers), and none of us got COVID (though my wife and I have both had it already, so we weren't too worried about that).

On 6/22/2022 at 10:26 AM, graphicguy said:

...

Frankly, the only cruise line I found that was pretty up front was Celebrity.  They tell you they’re “all inclusive” sailings have no hidden charges.  And, they’re right.  I didn’t pay a nickel for drinks, they included tips, and they give an OBC to cover some Specialty Dinning venues and perhaps an excursion or two.  They’re fares tend to be higher (except they have a great solo fare sale going on right now).

 

On 6/22/2022 at 10:48 AM, peikris said:

 

I absolutely love Celebrity. No hidden charges, port fees returned for missed ports and excellent itineraries and food.

Holland America was like this too. The "Have It All" promo with the drink package, specialty dining, and WiFi was actually free, gratuities already included. And we proactively got a $20pp port fee refund because the dock in Sitka was unavailable, so we had to tender to shore instead. I didn't even know we were entitled to that; someone on this forum told me what it was for.

So, to be clear, with NCL's Free at Sea promo, do you only pay gratuities on the specialty dining when you book the specialty restaurant, or do you pay it even if you don't use it? I'm looking at an itinerary that has the promo but it's so short and port-intensive that we'd probably stick to the MDR or buffet.

I always print essential documents in advance just in case there's an issue with the phone, but for ones that you can't (e.g. shore excursion tickets only accessible through the app), I grab screenshots on my phone in advance just in case the app doesn't load when I need them.

I'd have wanted to take the bus/train combo to Carcross, but since that isn't an option this year, maybe you'll have time to take the WPYRR roundtrip to the border and rent a car afterwards to drive to the Yukon, depending on your port times? (On the itinerary I was considering, Skagway was a pretty long stop, something like 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM.)

I got seasick on our first sea day on Eurodam (ocean side of Vancouver Island) but was perfectly fine on the whale watching boat out of ISP. Of course, there's no guarantee as to the weather, but the water around there tends to be pretty smooth.

3 hours ago, RSWBADGER said:

...

Masks: Masks are recommended on board but not required except on Alaska cruises that sail to/from Whittier and Vancouver.
...

This would suggest the roundtrips from Vancouver are included, whereas everything else I've seen just said the one-ways between Vancouver and Whittier (in either direction)?

On 6/12/2022 at 1:32 PM, idiebabe said:

Count your Blessings!  We were on 5/28 Sailing and had almost 2000 Guests.  Way too much for the Dining Staff in the DR to handle especially after having 1300 Guests the week before and being Short-staffed, etc.  

 

Enjoy it!! 

 

We were on it the week before (5/21) and it seemed fairly empty, but we weren't really sure what to expect.

1 hour ago, ewildcat7 said:

...

However, the larger question still remains - why is masking required for the one way cruises, but not the roundtrips?  Canada seems to be the major difference as the roundtrips don't touch Canada, but the one ways do.  The one ways have the same excursion stops as the roundtrips, so an "uptick of cases in Alaska" should affect both types of cruises equally.

...

I'm not sure it's Canada since the Seattle roundtrips stop in Victoria to satisfy PVSA. Also, there are roundtrips out of Vancouver that also aren't included in this policy if I'm reading it correctly.

Absolutely agreed on your last point; I think people are frustrated by the arbitrary and inconsistent nature of the restrictions, and often getting shouted down for bringing that up 

We did this on Eurodam a few weeks ago. Just the outermost panel opened, as shown in the picture a few posts above. I agree it made a big difference for us!

11 hours ago, Kitty Ellas Mom said:

Yes, I meant something other than Alaska for Jan to Mar. I've also realized that this summer is no longer a time when I can go on a long trip.  It's too bad because I'd love to immediately rebook another Alaska cruise. I'm seriously thinking about booking Alaska again for 2023 but that summer is already looking crowded. Oh dear. A weird thing: Chase card, where I booked with points, says my airline credit must be used by end of Apr, but United says that I have until Dec 2023. Which is right? I know I need to call United but expect to be on hold.....I'm thinking a lot about various land vacations I could take with the flight credit because it would just be easier to plan....

If I'm reading this correctly, you booked United flights through the Chase travel portal, used your Chase points to pay for them, and upon cancelling, got a credit for the cash price of the tickets (that is, not a refund of your points)? If so, then Chase's travel agent has control of the credit, so I'd go with what that says. It's possible that what United says would be the case had you booked through them directly.

Regarding Hubbard, would I be correct in assuming that later in the season (e.g. August or September) would offer a better chance at getting close to the glacier? (We just got back from an Alaska cruise that didn't include Hubbard, and I'm already starting to plan a return trip.)

I got the impression OP meant either Alaska this July or somewhere different Jan-Mar, since her credits expire before next year's Alaska season starts. If so, Caribbean or Hawaii would be about all there is. If you aren't locked into Princess, have you considered Norwegian's Pride of America? It's the only U.S.-registered cruise ship, and therefore the only one that does 7-day Hawaii itineraries (i.e., without the transit from the mainland).

1 hour ago, jjwarrin said:

I'll give you an update when I get back on how things went or during.  We'll see how things go👍.  Thanks again for everything you shared.  The kit I'll take is the 16-35, 24-105 and the 70-200, with my 2x extender.  I'll miss my RF 28-70 and my RF 85mm f1.2, but this is a different kind of trip. Lol

That's still way more gear than I carry. I bought a big camera backpack to give myself room to expand, and instead I get stuck carrying around my wife's stuff. 

6 hours ago, jjwarrin said:

Thanks for sharing your experience with the EF24-105mm!  I still plan on taking the 16-35 and my 70-200, with the 2x extender.  We're actually traveling on the Eurodam!  How was the ship and Holland American in general?

Just realized I didn't answer the last part - I really enjoyed HAL. Food was good, the wraparound promenade and the artwork in the common areas were nice touches, and I enjoyed the sedate atmosphere. The BBC presentation on the Main Stage and Billboard Onboard were fun. BB King lounge and the casino were too small and crowded, so we didn't stay long there.

Crew was friendly and generally attentive, though you could tell most weren't experienced. Tendering to shore in Sitka took an hour and a half, which delayed the start of our shore excursion. (Hence my comment "for the most part, everything was on schedule" - this was the one exception.)

2 hours ago, jjwarrin said:

Thanks for sharing your experience with the EF24-105mm!  I still plan on taking the 16-35 and my 70-200, with the 2x extender.  We're actually traveling on the Eurodam!  How was the ship and Holland American in general?

I thought it was great. We decided on this itinerary to avoid the restrictions on flying into Canada. (We changed our booking in February since we didn't know they'd be relaxed.) The seas were rough the first full day (outside Vancouver Island) and the second to last day (between Queen Charlotte islands and Vancouver Island). For the most part, everything was on schedule (unlike Crown Princess, which departed half an hour before us).

Regarding the camera, we did have a decent pair of binoculars (Nikon 10x42 ProStaff 3S) to scope points of interest far away, then we zoomed in as much as possible with the camera and can enlarge and crop them on the PC later if desired. I didn't really miss having a longer telephoto. (My wife does, but too far and the motion of the ship causes blur, so it's a tradeoff.)

I haven't thought of this thread in a while... We finally got to go on our Alaska cruise a couple weeks ago (Eurodam roundtrip from Seattle). Due to time and financial constraints, I ended up not renting the 100-400 mm lens as I originally planned, but my 24-105 was good enough most of the time.

37 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Agree.  If there is a tour to Butchart Gardens, the time there would be so abbreviated that making the trip is hardly worth the effort.  One would get a small sight of the beauty and "that's all folks"!  

 

 

 

 

I was on the Eurodam a couple weeks ago, and when our port time was changed (in advance) from a 6:00 PM arrival to 8:00 PM, our booked Butchart Gardens tour was canceled.

3 hours ago, broberts said:

 

Cruise ships represent a tiny portion of marine entries. One of the problems with press releases is that they are not good at conveying details of complex topics.

Yeah but the revised guidelines linked in the press release didn't mention additional requirements for cruise ships either. This is where those details should have been.