donaldsc

I would disagree w you on your bus versus car logic. How much would a car rental cost? How long are you going to wait for buses and how much faster would it be to get from one place to another by car versus bus. How much time will you waste walking from the nearest bus stop to where you want to be. Do you want your short visit in Fairbanks to be limited by where you can get to by bus. When are you going to get back to Fairbanks - probably never. Just think about it before you make a decision. You can go onto Google Maps and work out you bus route options. You can always reserve a car and cancel it later. I am sure that Northern Aurora can provide her thoughts on this subject. DON

All 3 ports for Symphony are worse, worser and worserest!! DON

If you are into cars Fairbanks has one of the best car museum anywhere - https://www.fountainheadmuseum.com/. One of the neat things that they do is to combine great cars with period appropriate fashions. I hit the museum every time I am in Fairbanks. DON

I assume that you are going on an aurora cruise. I am doing the same cruise. I hope that you can set things up so they will notify you to wake up and go outside in the middle of the night if there are aurora out this. This means that you should leave your warm clothing easily accessible so you can get dressed quickly to get outside. At least that is my plan. DON

We are doing a aurora cruise in a few weeks. We have several days that they call "scenic cruising" as we go up and then down the Norwegian coast. I have done this in the summer and will now be doing it during the winter. My point is that there is a difference between scenic cruising at sea and sea days. Scenic cruising is OK. To me sea days on any line without any scenic aspects or other redeeming features are a total bore. DON

My wife worked in the nuclear field and she had a significant security clearance level. Basically she was not allowed to discuss exactly what she was doing at any time with anyone including me. Her answer to what her job was would be either made up or "I am not allowed to tell you" depending upon her mood at the time. In my case I was the laboratory manager at the Las Vegas wastewater treatment plant. I was tempted to respond w "I work with s**t" when asked. DON

What intrigues me is that I do not suffer when I am off the ship on a port day. It just happens after we get home. Go figure. DON

That happened to us once coming into either Seattle or San Francisco of all places. I forget which one. They stopped the first dinner service in the middle of dinner and cancelled the 2nd service. They told everyone to stay in their rooms. Around 10 PM they came around w sandwiches. DON

Any real tea (not herbal which is what my wife drinks) that comes in bags will not be good tea. If you are fussy about your tea you have to bring your own. The other problem which has not been discussed is the fact that the tea will probably be prepared w 212 degree (boiling water) is is correct for black teas but not for other types. Different teas require different temperature waters. Now don't get me started about the swill that cruise lines claim is coffee. DON

You did not say how old you and your husband is but you can make dreams come true if you work at it. After we retired my wife and I drove from Las Vegas to AK on the Alcan Highway; spent 2 1/2 months driving almost every driveable road in AK and then took the Marine Highway back to Vegas. I think that we put about 12,000 miles on the car. It was one of the best vacations of our life. Even more amazing at the end of 2 1/2 months in a Honda Accord and living out of suitcases we were still talking to each other. Don't kill his dreams. DON

Anyone who is uncertain about a tour should make note of the portion of the part of this post highlighted by me in red. DON

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24796-mal-de-debarquement-syndrome-mdds https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/mal-de-debarquement/#disease-overview-main https://www.webmd.com/brain/mal-de-debarquement-syndrome https://vestibular.org/article/diagnosis-treatment/types-of-vestibular-disorders/mal-de-debarquement/ DON

Please take this reply in the spirit that it was offered and we all know that the moderators work very hard and receive no thanks for the work that they do - this change looks like an "improvement" to something that already works well and is designed by the Princess Cruise IT group. LOL!!! DON

All that I can tell you is that we have used Major Marine 4 times and had excellent trips each time. This is not a negative on Kenai Fjords as we have never used them but a positive on Major Marine. DON

Looking at it from a different viewpoint we have had at least 2 times when issues arose as we were waiting to board for our flight to the cruise port. One time we actually called our TA from the airplane before it took off. Our TA had the issues resolved before the plane landed. I doubt if a cruise company sales agent would have been so helpful in dealing w a problem that had to be solved immediately. The trick is that you need to find a GOOD TA. I understand that some people have issues with the fact that the TA and not you own your cruise but that has never been a problem with us. DON

The new format is awful. What does it supposedly do that is better than the old format. DON

The TA has invested time to set up your cruise. If you cancel they get no return for the invested time. You may not like it but I don't see the problem with them holding money back if you cancel. Most TAs will not do this but whether they do this is just a business decision. DON

I doubt it. Some people just figure out that even though they are going to a casual place they need 10 pairs of shoes and a several changes of clothing per day including a different outfit for each dinner. Now I do take more electronics and photo gear than I really need which is something that my wife reminds me every time we leave. My camera bag is a pain literally and figuratively to carry. DON

That isn't much money for good coffee. I pay $25 for 12 oz of espresso beans at my local roaster and I use about 16 grams of coffee per cup. If my math is correct that works to to $1.17 per cup of coffee. DON

I am retired. Often I have to look at my phone to see what day of the week it is. Now if the airfare was different on different days of the week it might matter. DON

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=blue+mountain+coffee&crid=2W4LJ0B3CU9C0&sprefix=blue+mountain+coffee%2Caps%2C161&ref=nb_sb_noss_1. 254 hits if you want unground whole beans. This place also looks good - https://bluemountaincoffee.com/ Google and Amazon are your friend. No need to get off the ship to get your coffee. DON

It is whatever the payment agreement that you guys agree to. Just decide ahead of time. DON

If you do this make sure that your insurance covers your costs if you miss the 2nd cruise because the 1st one came in too late. DON

I am not going to use it myself but I posted because it might help someone else. Again - my post is not a recommendation but a FYI post. DON

Have you asked your TA or tried to book a suite for 4 people to see what happens. You should get an answer really quickly. Now the question as to whether it is practical is up to you. DON