YourWorldWithBill

Thanks so much to all who posted after my last thank you note!🚢

On 4/29/2024 at 3:19 PM, Haljo1935 said:

Interested in learning how they worked for DW and her feedback if you'll kindly come back to update us.

Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

Now if I can just find something to make my memory work! 

And CC stopped sending me email notices about the HAL boards, because I accidently clicked "spam"; they restored that once, and in that email told me if I did it again I was expelled. I emailed them again, no response this time.

But I use Roy's @rafinmd page to see the new postings!

Thanks everyone for the Report, Maps, and all the posts.

Thank you @JazzyV for mentioned my upcoming cruise. We leave this morning for Chicago, then on to Rotterdam tomorrow. Boarding Nieuw Statendam on Sunday, the 5th.

Following this, @VMax1700, in preparation for boarding the NS next Sunday, 5 May, in Rotterdam!

Thanks so much to each of you!

Looking forward to everything.

Thanks for this continuing thread, @kazu

We are looking forward to finding this on the Nieuw Statendam next week. 

When they do this is it announced or in the daily program?

6 hours ago, aliaschief said:

On our world voyage we have had some encounters with some 22-24 foot seas and I used a Eme Term wrist band that send electrical pulse to the brain which sends message to stomach.

Approved by FDA and is effective in 83% of people. People with pacemakers should not use.

I learned about the device when my daughter had morning sickness during her pregnancy and her Dr. told her to get one. It immediately stopped her nausea.

I have used it and have not had motion sickness.

We also bought the ErmTerm and DW will try it on our Baltic cruise in a week.

12 hours ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

 

 

Lenda

 

I wonder how many people in other areas realize how true this really is!

There wasn't actually much rain in Dallas today. This evening we finally got some sprinkles. Looks like it might hit early Sunday morning.

Bon voyage! Enjoy some of the most beautiful views in the world.

Hello all, and thanks for all the work, the posts, and the pictures.

@Seasick Sailor, the bird cartoons are a couple of the funniest in a while. 

Here's another one (not birds):

“Hold on! Never mind! I just got word that the pickleball fad is over.”

2 hours ago, Crew News said:

I will be aboard the Koningsdam B2B the middle of May next year and again whale watching in Juneau the first week.  Perhaps our paths will cross.

I'll let you know once we figure out when we can go.

2 hours ago, Gappleby said:

I did Jayleen’s whale watch in Juneau last July. It was wonderful. 

Good to know that June works, also.

30 minutes ago, Crew News said:

A review of my favorite whale photos and my experience shows that May is both the most whales spotted and the most active month for Alaska.  I think that since whales do not feed while away from Alaska, their first few months (April and May) back to their Alaska feeding grounds make them the most active.  That means more bubble feeding and more visible tails from their deep diving for food.

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!

5 hours ago, Funsun60 said:

Previously, Canadians were able to access medical transdermal patches to alleviate/minimize motion sickness. I understand these patches remain available in the USA. I am not sure if they are available in Europe without RX.  This option is no longer available in Canada. My question: are transdermal patches (not herbal)  available for purchase on board?

Thank you

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). 

On 4/24/2024 at 1:06 PM, Crew News said:

Out of many whale watching excursions in Victoria, Dominica, Santa Barbara, Mexico, Sitka, Prince Rupert, Juneau, and Icy Strait Point, my experience is that Icy Strait Point is by far the most photographic with numerous bubble-feeding events just a short boat ride from the pier.

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)?

10 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

It's also interesting that the other cruise lines are still 10% off including Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity. 

Especially Carnival, since it's the same company.

2 hours ago, NSinMG said:

AARP gift cards for Holland America are back today.  They now are at a savings of 8% instead of 10%.  I waited too long to buy them.

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.

4 hours ago, cruisinsusin said:

The way I read the Amex travel insurance specs is that the entire trip must be paid with the Amex card so gift cards would make me uneasy, whereas the Chase Sapphire reserve travel insurance  specs say "all or part" must be paid with the Chase card. Might be a good question for Steve in the TripInsurance store

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.