YourWorldWithBill

I'll let you know once we figure out when we can go. Good to know that June works, also.

Thanks for the answer. That's really interesting; I had figured that June might be the best, but I'll focus on May of next year!

To answer the basic question, I don't believe that the patches are available onboard. So, even if you saw the doctor, you would get something else. I also want to echo what some others have said: pretty strong side effects. My wife tried them on a couple of cruises, and on the last one the dry mouth and other symptoms were so strong that she will not use them again. We take ginger tablets, and she will take Bonine (Meclizine).

What would you suggest as the best season for viewing? Our Alaska cruise was in September, as we went on to Fairbanks and were fortunate to see the Aurora, one of our goals. We knew it wasn't a great time for seeing whales. Our next cruise there we want to focus on whales and other wildlife. I've seen different suggestions of times to go, depending on the type of whale, as they migrate at different times. What's your advice (or suggestion)?

Especially Carnival, since it's the same company.

Strange that after all this time they would reduce the amount to 8%! Such is life. Such is cruising. Such is CCL, I guess.

Thanks for the Fleet report and daily, all the maps, the posts, the pictures. Please give Maurice happy birthday wishes, @ger_77! 81 degrees and a bit cloudy here. Nine days until boarding the Nieuw Statendam in Rotterdam!

Greetings all and thanks for the fleet report, maps, and everyone's posts. @Cruzin Terri, so sorry about all you're going through. Everything just seems so much to handle. Hopefully there's light at the end of the tunnel.

We share an opinion with those who mentioned being closer to the Neptune Lounge. In addition to the snacks, etc. available there, we really took advantage of the concierges to answer any questions we had or attend to anything. We found that really worthwhile, so we choose the deck and location fairly close.

Having sailed on both an older ship and the newest, we prefer the newest. But that is just us! Everyone has a different opinion. We noticed a difference even in the food on the newer ship; better. And we never felt crowded.

I should clarify somethin I said: It's interesting that when I had a long talk with an AmEx representative trying to answer that question, since the gift cards were for purchasing the cruise, I couldn't get a clear answer. So I don't use the gift cards for that. If one of us were patient enough to press them for an answer and wait for the reply, I'd bet that the cruise would be covered, since you could track the gift card number.

Very nice!

As others have said, we received the same notice for our May cruise from Rotterdam. Boarding in Vancouver can use any help it can get, but I don't have a lot of faith this will help. Maybe it will help in some ports.

When we were on the Noordam my cousins had CO, and it's true that it made it easier for them to dine with us, and to enter the dining room ahead of others who were waiting. I guess that would have been different if they were not CO.

I think you're correct about the one night two night issue. Our HAL cruises were 7 day and 10 day, and our next is a 13 day, and all were/will be in each port only one night. But since both of our Viking cruises were 7 days, there were also one night in each port! We've also experienced the extra night (on another line), and we liked it at the end of the cruise. As I said, although we liked Viking a lot, and missed the food a bit, we started feeling more comfortable in several ways on each of our HAL cruises, and the cost difference sealed the deal. Part of a decision a couple of years ago came from comparing cruises to the fjords in Norway; we were surprised by the better itineraries on HAL. And that's also really apparent in Alaska.

You're correct: they open up at a certain point, usually 3 or 4 months prior to sailing. I've always booked early online, but on these boards some have said that they keep plenty of slots available for booking onboard.

The main difference is location. We were midships on the Rotterdam and had 2 sinks and a bathtub (which we also didn't need). The Shower was the best I've had onboard.

We cruised on Viking twice before our first HAL cruise, and once we started on HAL we never looked back. We have the same reason you mentioned - we didn't think the difference in price was justified - but we also like the HAL itineraries and the staff. Remember, the main benefit of Club Orange is the room upgrade; so, if you pay for the cheapest verandah category you have your agent or HAL consultant while you're making the booking, talk to the right dept. at HAL and upgrade you to the stateroom you want. Nice savings. You won't have access to the Neptune lounge as they do, but there are several small things that go with the CO are convenient, and some that make it easier for you to be with them otherwise.

My nephew lives in Maui; previously west of Paia, and now on the slope of Haleakala. I visited a couple of times, but not since he moved.

That's been my experience in various ways: things on Navigator functioning well on the ship, but not pre-boarding.

Just a note of support for the beauty of College Fjord. We walked away from our dinner to go from side to side on the ship and couldn't get enough of what we saw.

We're going the opposite way: enjoyed CO on the Rotterdam (and other) and looking forward to it on the Nieuw Statendam soon. I believe that only the Rotterdam was built with CO in mind, and that the space was adapted on the other ships. So my prediction is that you'll really like it on your next cruise!

Maybe that's out new plan! That's the path.....

Good point. I use ginger tablets that are real ginger and pretty effective.