AMHuntFerry

But it can be educational to newbies. As someone who hadn't used a TA since travel planning via internet became a reality (~mid-90s?), lurking on CC for a year (back in ~2019) taught me that a TA is typically very useful when booking cruises.

OK, I'm going to hijak...we just got back from a couple of weeks in Poland and a week in Berlin (Berlin was work). We are completely sold on Poland, although I'm still untwisting my tongue from trying to speak my pathetic few words of Polish. My spouse's new favorite city is Krakow, but I'm going to have to spend some time in Innsbruck before changing my choice of favorite...Krakow is definitely in the running. We only spent time in cities and there is so much more to see. I could have easily spent an entire week in Warsaw alone. If you haven't booked a hotel yet, Hotel Bristol Warsaw was amazing (and historic). Enjoy your trip!

For those interested in which sports will be shown during a cruise, it is available online: https://sport24live.com/schedule

Looking at the deck plans, rooms with two parallel lines on the wall between two rooms indicates they are connecting (but does not necessarily indicate where the door is located).

Same on Regatta...GDR closed at 8 and Terrace at 8:30...enough time to grab some food and relax. Baristas has been open on our four sailings...lots of tip money would be lost if it were closed (or else people are just shaking the barista's hand).

Watch out for those mahjong players...they can get boisterous 😉

My goal is usually to be one of the last off the ship since I am not a morning person. The times that you need to know (assuming everything is "normal" and not running early/late). Be out of the cabin by 8 am (if you want to be kind to your cabin attendant, get out earlier and put the room-cleaning tag on the door so they know you are out..we aim for 7:30). Go have a leisurely breakfast in Terrace, then hang out in Baristas for some espresso and caneles. When the exit line thins, walk off the ship before 9 am.

Some do and others don't. It really depends on what insurance each person bought.

In your guest statement, the anchor-symbol will appear next to the port's departure time IF it's a planned anchor port. Sometimes an unplanned anchor port happens (e.g., pier damage, weather, last-minute schedule changes by the port (although we can go on and on about what "last minute" means in O-land)). In the blue book, either "dock" or "anchor" was listed for each port. However, I am a cynical sort so I often double check the actual ports' schedules if I want to know for sure (and even then it might change).

Or have little menu cards at the tables or at the entrance/on the cart.

The capacity numbers are posted on the boats. I didn't really notice until one of the crew told me that he estimates how many people are on neighboring ships by adding up the lifeboat capacities (and then he does some ratio estimates to determine passengers...can't remember specifics).

There are capacity limits for the life/tender boats' two purposes. The tender capacity is less than the lifeboat capacity; I can't remember the ratio, but it's somewhere around 1/2 to 1/3 which matches your 60% estimate. Next time someone is near a tender, maybe they can let us know what the two capacities are.

@LHT28 Raise Ice Something(?) Exercize! Take care and glad you made it home OK; I love coming home!

Both places have limited resources if you want to do anything (e.g., hire a guide) other than DIY, so that may be another motivation to book O shorex. If I'm looking at the correct cruise, you'll be in Sitka on July 4th so some of the DIY activities may be closed. You may be the only ship in Klawock since it is so small, although there may be a Lindblad or similar tiny ship in port. The Sitka tender does not take long and Individuals were allowed to fill empty seats on the early tenders that were mostly O shorex.

Riviera starts the Alaska season in 2025...so excited as we love that ship! No CA coastals though 😞

It depends on the length of cruise. Laundry by the piece is always available. Super long cruises (e.g. ATW and I maybe others) include laundry. If you are on a not-short cruise, a discounted by the bag special price will likely be offered (e.g., 13 night cruise with ~3 days of laundry special mid-cruise for $25/bag). I think a bag held 20 items (2 socks = 1 item), so just over $1 per item which is a bargain. I don't think I kept an order sheet for the special, but I remember there didn't seem to be a way to add special instructions like cold water and low heat, so I used the self-serve; if someone can chime in on special instructions that would make me more comfortable letting go of my inner control freak. Here's the per item price list from June:

The Illy brand is gone. I've seen people talk about another brand (I'm blanking on the name..L__), but the barista on our recent cruise said that they are using a house-brand (bought directly rather than via a branded company) coffee bean from Columbia. They were also having issues with the grind being off, so there is a learning curve with the new beans. The coffee machine may be being finicky or the settings might be wrong. One time I got all espresso, no milk; another time the opposite. I think the machine is supposed to know when it needs more supplies, but machines misbehave....So just let staff know it's not functioning like you think it should.

If you want to do more cruising, check out Vista that was built with Starlink. O regulars who have craved better internet have been pleased. Riviera is supposed to get it (December or January I think?) and Allura will have it. The others will get it too on an unpublished schedule (assume Marina will get it during drydock in the spring). Without Starlink, the access is better at night (~3 am) or even 5-6 am (my spouse does not have the aversion to morning that I do and tested it out for work).

Which ports are tenders for you? We did tenders in Sitka and Skagway on Regatta this year, Catalina and Santa Barbara last year, and have tendered from Riviera in Belize City. Note that Skagway is a temporary tender (~2 minutes) due to a rockslide on the pier. For our trips they ran at least two tenders during busy times (morning and late in the day). We rarely waited long to board after getting our tender tickets but we are not first-off-the-ship people (my fault as a night owl). Tendering does suck up time but I can't imagine it's anything like larger ships. If you're on an O-shorex your wait time will be small.

Ugh! If walking is something you enjoy, the totem park and car museum are about two miles away (turn left when you get to the road). There are also trails up to a lake (turn right when you get to the road). GPS is your friend 🙂

Perks (prepaid grats or OBC) that O gives via TAs.

The 25% off is not part of O-Life. I have booked cruise-only and gotten the 25% off shorex when booking the minimum (sometimes it worked out better that way, especially if taking OE/OS shorex). If you have your shorex pdf detailing all of the excursions for your cruise, the first page will have the Your World Collection (YWC) 25% discount minimum requirements. Here is a screenshot of a recent one for reference:

Baristas has it too.

I think it was scheduled maintenance or testing in Vancouver if I remember correctly.

Your boarding pass will have exact info, so 21 days out will be your day of reckoning (example below)