SoloAlaska

Spending time washing clothes really is only 2-3 minutes. I run the sink while I get undressed for my shower, put clothes in the sink while I am in the shower. When I get out of the shower I squeeze out the clothes and roll them in a towel and hang them to dry. It doesn’t have to take much time at all. There are things I don’t bother washing by hand like jeans etc but I don’t mind paying to send those out. On my 20 day trip I sent one small bag of laundry out. My next trip I’m going carry on only and can’t wait but it’s not for everyone or every trip. Spending time at a laundromat during vacation is such a waste.

I am taking my third Alaskan cruise in 3 years and plan to do some more serious hiking this time. Most ports I plan on doing a multi hour challenging hike solo. note on risk: yes I have seen black bear in Alaska and I’ve seen grizzly scat on a trail. And this was in town or on busy trails. This trip I will be on much quieter trails and hiking solo. Wearing little brass bells is just not smart (bears are habituated to this) but I do talk loudly etc to not sneak up on bears. There have been near fatal attacks on trails nearby in recent years. Also I have been trained in bear safety as part of my college program. Bear Spray is recommended to be carried for this type of situation. Has anyone been able to bring bear spray on their cruise (left with security while on ship of-course)? The plan is to buy it when I land in Anchorage. Hike in Seward, Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan. Afterwards I will leave it with someone I know in Ketchikan who can pass it along to someone she knows. I consider this a $50 insurance policy for over 20 hours of hiking planned. I will be with NCL and it will be one of the last cruises of the season.

We had a flight come in late last year and had the early morning train (got 4 hours sleep) and it was still worth it. We then took a tour with Seward City Tours which was fabulous.

Book a taxi ahead of time. You book your drop off and pick up time and it’s less than booking through the cruise line if there are two of you and much more comfortable.

I loved celebrity but mostly because of Celia Garland the on-board naturalist we had on both my cruises. I like September but I’m weird in that way and don’t mind the rain.

100% agree it’s probably someone who is paranoid and doesn’t understand the whys behind why they shouldn’t be carrying the listed devices. Most people have no experience with those devices.

One potential reason is someone is going on a backcountry trip before or after the cruise. They don’t actually need it during the cruise so it could be handed over to the naughty room probably as long as it’s off. This is something I’ll be looking at since I am planning to cruise, hike, cruise, hike, cruise as a big trip to Australia and New Zealand hopefully in 2026.

Not carrying an EPIRB is really smart, no one needs that stress if it goes off and no one notices. Search and rescue spend already too much time tracking down EPIRBs going off in a fedex truck as is. New IPhones as stated are not going to cause the same issues as these other banned devices. I won’t be able to get my bf to cruise with me unless he can have a sat phone on him probably. His work does not allow him to ever be away from his phone. Guess I’ll continue to travel solo for a while.

This is definetly a cultural thing. I always find it interesting when traveling in the US how little people tolerate temperature variations. Air conditioning is on one day and heat on the next. If it’s a high of 77 I would have the windows open in the morning and close everything up before the heat set in for the day and when I returned air out the room again but would also close things up before the bugs set in. Keep in mind however seasonal shifts in weather were I am is much greater than most so it’s what I am use to, we get highs of 105 and lows of -40. The hotel may very well have air conditioning but just a different cultural attitude towards when it is used.

Well as of last night I finished moving my business out of its 1000sqft commercial space. I can’t wait to be sitting on the plane tomorrow able to start decompressing from such a crazy month. I’ve been staying at my parents for a few days so didn’t weigh in yesterday but from Thursday to Tuesday I lost 1lb. The goal I had set I didn’t quite reach but honestly I am still really happy with my weight loss week after week and am not complaining. i hope everyone has a great few weeks. I probably won’t be checking in as much while I cruise but hopefully will come back with the good news that I didn’t gain any weight.

If I’m home and order (rarely) I always order directly (when possible) but if I’m travelling I’ll sometimes use UberEats.

Haha ok so one should order from a grocery store to hotel room at 10 pm after a long day of work and do what… make ramen noodles because it’s cheap? Life isn’t always about saving a buck but sometimes we treat ourselves. It’s not just about food. It’s about a bowl of hot soup when you’re feeling unwell far from home. It’s about trying a local restaurant even when you just want to stay in your PJs. Life is about more than saving a dollar sometimes. People who pay for the convenience of food delivery are making that choice. That doesn’t make them lazy. If they complain about the price then you can call them foolish because they knew what they were paying for.

The only reason I said this is because I’ve seen it. It’s not the people who are visibly drunk that I am referring to but the people who maybe had 2-3 drinks and think they are fine. There are countries and states/provinces that 0.05 (or less even) is considered drunk driving and a one strong beer can get you to blow that even.

You may believe they are lazy but these services do help keep people from drinking and driving. What about those who don’t have a car or aren’t mobile or a single parent with a sleeping kid. If it’s late in the evening and I’m a solo woman on a business trip in a new city it’s not a bad idea to order food online for delivery to my hotel. I don’t know where is safe necessarily in the area and for example in downtown Chicago I was told by the hotel to not walk outside the hotel at night. At home I never use these services. To say just drive to pick up comes from a place of privilege.

Doesn’t sound like you got a great deal. Deals depend on so many things. RCI is known for an expensive drinks package. My upcoming NCL is about 1400$ solo for 15 nights OV including grats, specialty dinning, wifi (enough to check in a few times a day on sea days), $50 per excursion. The full drinks package would have been another 350$ ish for the whole cruise. That is a good deal in my opinion. Cruising has changed since you last cruised but this was accelerated even more since the pandemic. Many lines don’t offer twice a day room service anymore either. Food quality has changed, menus have changed, no more midnight buffets etc. Formal nights have become more casual on most lines as well. I hope you truly enjoy yourself on your cruise. Just know things have changed.

My friends with small children rarely use a stroller. They all baby wear or use a structured carrier especially while traveling and have a small backpack as a “diaper” bag. This type of setup would make tendering much easier with small children. Those who require a large stroller, messenger type diaper bag etc could be much more of a challenge as I’m sure you’ve seen the struggles. my friend and I are thinking of taking her daughter and future infant on a cruise. As long as new infant is like her daughter we don’t have to worry about packing a bunch of diapers since they were potty trained very very early (we will need to bring the special potty however), no formula, no premade baby food, no disposable wipes, no stroller. Some parents do things differently than the main stream and it can make travel easier.

I use the same technique. People complain about slow service but 1$ and a smile gets me faster service. It’s worth it instead of standing 3 deep at a bar and getting cut off by rude people. I’m a creature of habit so a regular bar tender will remember my order and make it before I even make my way to the bar usually.

There’s a great forum on here for those cruising with kids. You’ll find tons of info and tips. One of the first things is your infant needs to be over 6 months for a cruise and over 12 months if it has 3 consecutive sea days. If I remember no swim diapers in the splash pad.

This is something I’m looking at eventually doing as well. I met a couple who do this full time and they didn’t limit themselves to just one line. They hopped from ship to ship and line to line every once in a while. I’m looking at NCL primarily but am looking to try MSC and sprinkle in some Celebrity as well. It all depends who has the best deal and the right itinerary. For me it’s not about a vacation though so I wouldn’t be spending quite as much time in ports doing big excursions. I want experience the cities, visit shops that carry my product, get inspired for my work, see some museums etc. I’d be working from my stateroom for a chunk of each day making content, creating new products, and dealing with business stuff. The hardest part for me to figure out is prescription medication for long trips.

It will change things. It will allow younger cruisers to travel a lot more. Instead of waiting till retirement we can work from our stateroom during the day and enjoy the ship the rest of the time. I am looking at eventually cruising for 3-4 months a year and working as I travel. I think you’ll see a lot more middle age cruisers who aren’t just on a one week vacation when they can get away from the office. So the change could very well be reducing the average age by a few years.

Actually this is being discussed on the RCI board right now. 11 staterooms that were guaranteed were bumped at the terminal. Still details needed for the full story but it seems it does sometimes happen last minute.

No extra videos here either…. Yet. Who knows maybe while I’m flying across the Atlantic they’ll spam me. Boarding Gem in 6 days.

Yes so you’re right. We don’t have those in Canada so a passport is a passport. Either way the couple in question brought neither even with repeated reminders on the ship if you were on a tour going to Canada.

I completely agree with this strategy. Plus honestly a smart phone will take better pictures than a camera that takes AA batteries. That type of camera isn’t even worth carrying really. I don’t carry a second battery anymore because I’ll just switch to my phone. My fully charged battery on my DSLR can take over 4 hours of continuous video. A flash can suck up a good amount of power but it’s easy and cheaper to carry an external light. Plus that light is a great flashlight if there is an emergency, can be used for video calls, lighting at an angle etc.

Not only do some ports require it but also some excursions. In Alaska some excursions go to Canada and you need your passport. Ofcourse the people who were late getting to the bus were the ones who had to run back to the ship because they didn’t bring their passports. Italy I believe requires passports be carried at all times. i always carry my passport in a secure place. I am very aware of pickpockets and anyone being in my personal space. Don’t have your passport sticking out or in an easy to access spot. Honestly it takes me a minute or two to reach where I store my passport which is in a zippered pocket against my body, under a bunch of stuff, deep in the bottom, in a snapped pocket, and the entire bag I usually wear under my arm with my arm leaning on it. My passport is as safe as can be there.