donaldsc

If you had picked it up at the dock it would have added maybe 2 - 3 minutes to your embarkation time. Why did you bother to wait on line. DON

I doubt that it is going to be so cold that you need the chemical hand warmers. If you get cold hands just take a pair of gloves. I am sure that you have checked the long range weather forecasts for the posts you will be visiting at least once, If not there are many good sites that have long range forecasts. DON

I am glad that you said this as I did not want to and stir things up more. I realize that the idea that many Americans have that everyone else in the world has to be able to speak to us in English is ridiculous and self centered. However we definitely found that when we were clearly lost and had no idea of what or where to go next the people in France were definitely less helpful that people in other countries. There were people who did help but many did not as compared with other countries we visited. DON

No but the name of the file folder makes things obvious. File folder "1998"; Sub folder "Grand Canyon"; sub sub folder "Day 2_Phantom Ranch" defines exactly where and when the photos were taken. These photos are obviously different from the contents of the file folder "2024"; subfolder "Norway"; sub sub folder "Feb 23_Trondheim" folder. The advantage of this system is that I can tell you exactly what cruises I did in 1995 and I can also easily find photos from that cruise. Each subfolder can also contain cruise notes, PDF copies of brochures and anything else of importance. What I like about this system is that it is very easy to maintain. DON

I will add that once you take the shuttle into Talkeetna there is not that much to do there besides the aforementioned flightseeing and riverboat trip. Basically your stay at the lodge is a totally wasted day on your trip. DON

Very simple. I take lots of pictures. I have my pictures organized by year; then cruise; then cruise date. DON

I assume that you know that the Wilderness Lodge is in the middle of nowhere and 99 miles from Denali Village. Google maps which notoriously underestimates AK travel times says that it 1 1/2 hours to get from the hotel to Denali. That's 3 hours of travel time. DON

I can't speak about this particular guide but I have done many ToursbyLocals tours in many places around the world and I have never had a bad ToursbyLocals guides. Most of them have been wonderful. DON

Also a dumb idea. Just leave him alone. He is trying to show some independence and all is mother is trying to embarrass him. Doesn't she realize that kids can be cruel. How is she going to behave when he goes off to college - call him every night. DON

How long are you in port - not port time but disembarkment to last boarding time? According to RometoRio it is going to take you 1 hr 30 m to get to Rome and another 1 h 30 m to het back and this does not include the time to get to and from the time from the ship to the CV transport hub. How much time would you have to see anything in Rome. Just my opinion but it just ain't worth it. You live in Manchester so you can fly from there to Rome for a reasonable amount of money. Spend several days in Rome. Then take the train to Florence. That gives you time to see both cities without rushing around. DON

Was there anything at all during the entire day that you ate that she did not eat. "Textbook food poisoning". Are you an expert on the subject? DON

Try ToursbyLocals. Have used them for lots of excursions and they were all excellent. DON

How important is it that the tour be private. The cruise ships offer larger boat whale watching excursions and also whale watching excursions on boats that hold maybe 10 or 12 people. We have done the latter several times and they work well. DON

Seems like we have had this discussion many times on CC. I would suggest that the OP should review the previous posts to see if they can add something new to the subject before they continue this thread. Most of the threads seem to cover almost everything that can be said on the subject. DON

Just my opinion and I am into photography but it seems to me that you are a bit over doing things. My idea of traveling in scenic areas is to see things and experience the areas and not to see everything from behind the camera viewfinder. DON

I am looking at a B2B on the CroisiEurope La Belle des Oceans ship. It would combine their 8 day Magnificant Murdejar Art from the Andalusian Flatlands to Morocco's Imperial Cities cruise with their 8 day Cruise through the Canary Island Archipelago, eternal Springtime cruise for a total of 16 days. I don't know anything at all about CroisiEurope except that most of their cruises are river boat cruises and these are not riverboats nor is this a riverboat cruise. I can't find out anything at all about these specific cruises except that it is difficult to find any cruise that focuses on these areas. The ships aree about 150 passengers which is a good size. The price at about $500 per day is not bad. One potential problem is that the company and the cruise sounds very French and we all know what the French people can be like. Some people who have done river boat cruises with this company have said that almost everyone on the ship was French. Has anyone out there done any trips with this company and especially trips on their non-riverboat ships. DON

Suppose it is true that you will not get a refund if no whales are seen. This leaves you w 2 choices. 1) Cancel. Then you will have a 100% certainty that you will NOT see whales. 2) Take the tour. You will probably see whales but even if you don't you will have had an enjoyable scenic cruise in the harbor and you might see other stuff. The right choice seems obvious to me. DON

Las Vegas Hard Water Rating. According to Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD)1, Las Vegas has a hardness rating of 278 parts per million or 16 grains per gallon. This level of hardness is considered to be “extremely hard.” In fact, Las Vegas has some of the hardest water in the country! DON

I agree. The showers on Azamara ships are very small. DON

All of the Viking ocean ships are essentially identical so it doesn't matter which one you cruise on. Makes it easier as you can just pick your itinerary. DON

Why don't you verify just to be sure by contacting the tour operator directly. DON

See if you can figure out who is actually doing the tour from the Celebrity tour description and contact them directly., DON

I arbitrarily picked one of the ships in the Princess fleet and had no problem finding out who he is on the internet. DON

Viking Ocean should also be on your list. DON

NYC water is very good. Southern Florida water tastes of sulphur. DON