donaldsc

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

I may be wrong but I think that NCL docks at Ward Cove which is outside of Juneau and you have to take a bus into town which cuts into your useful port time. If I am correct I would not pick NCL. DON

Your post is a bit confusing but I will try to help. Kenai and Hubbard are very different. Hubbard is one big glacier which is spectacular. The problem is that often the ships don't get close to Hubbard or even into Hubbard because of bad conditions and you do have a better chance w a smaller boat excursion. However $400 sounds high unless they are also doing something else. Kenai gets you close to 1 or 2 glaciers and a whole lot more including wildlife. A Kenai excursion is usually longer than a Hubbard excursion. If I had to pick one I would pick Kenai. One other thing. Is there any reason why you are doing your Kenai excursion as a ship tour. How long is the NCL excursion. There are 2 companies in Seward that have been in business for years that do excellent Kenai trip. I will also bet that they are longer than the NCL and probably cheaper. If they fits into your port time do one of those instead of the NCL tour and pick the longest one that fits into your port schedule. DON

Hope that you realize that Mt McKinley Lodge is located in the middle of nowhere and near absolutely nothing. It is 49 miles from Talkeetna and 98 miles from Denali Village. DON

I am trying to figure out why anyone cares in either a positive or negative sense if a port or anywhere else in the world does eye scans. Do some people consider it an invasion of privacy or am I missing something. DON

I am already set up for a good support for my cell phone. DON

I am planning to get one of the new Samsung S24 phones to use on my Viking Aurora cruise. Has anyone used one of the late model Samsung phones for this purpose. Any thoughts. I will also be taking my Sony 6400 with a fast wide angle lens so I will not be totally dependent on the cell phone. DON

Glacier Bay is pretty much a sure thing. Hubbard Glacier is less certain depending upon the ice. Prince William Sound is pretty much a sure thing unless it is foggy which it was the last time we were there. Tracy Arm is more uncertain - lot of ships do not get close. See https://www.alaska.org/advice/best-glaciers-on-an-alaska-cruise. DON

Have you carefully read your cruise contract and all the FAQs to see if they address the issue of bear spray. DON

I am not going to try to convince anyone to go anywhere. All I can tell you that I have been to AK maybe 10 or 15 times including an almost 3 month driving trip covering 12,000 miles to and from Las Vegas and driving nearly every drivable road in AK. I take my grandkids on a coming-of-age to AK cruise without their parents and we and the grandkids have loved the trips. My best cruises in AK were on ships that held 50 - 100 people and not several thousand people. I even went to Fairbanks in February to do aurora photography - talk about cold!! I have been to different islands in the Caribbean maybe 3 or 4 times and that is enough for me. My opinion of Caribbean cruises is that they are all sort of boring but obviously many people feel differently about the Caribbean. Different strokes for different folks. It is your decision to make. I will be happy to answer any specific questions you have about AK however, DON

My replies for AK are very simple - 1. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT IS ON THE SHIP SINCE YOU ARE THERE TO SEE WHAT IS OUTSIDE OF THE SHIP!!! 2. ANY SMALL SHIP WILL ALWAYS BE BETTER THAN ANY BIG SHIP!!!!! DON

Are you suggesting that Kinkade's works are not hideous or maybe that they are worse than hideous. For me it is the latter. DON

I have a semi stupid question re transatlantic crossings. I would love to do one but my wife will not. Do they have a deals for single cabins. One other question. I am in good health but in my low 80s so stuff can happen at that age. I worry about needing medical attention in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with only a physician's assistant or a nurse on board. DON

I did a shared room on the Quark Ocean Adventurer. That is the ship I was describing in my post. I booked a shared room figuring that I wouldn't have a problem sharing with a stranger and the saving was significant. DON

Just a quick note. You are not allowed to mention specific TA names on CC. DON

Totally agree with you. Also some people love rough seas. One my first Antarctica trip we had a force 11 gale off Cape Horn. It was a hoot watching them get the pilot on board.. On my most recent trip we had a day of 68 mph winds. DON

I am going to come onto this from a different direction especially as you are trying to keep your costs down or else spend the same amount pf money and get a longer trip and maybe even a trip that does Antarctica and either the Falklands or South Georgia. You have to ask yourself which is more important - what is inside the ship such as luxury stuff or what is outside of the ship such as sea birds, penguins, seal and stuff like that. If you can live with smaller but comfortable cabins, good but not fancy food and a lack of fancy ship amenities you can save money or have more of a trip. That was the route I took the 2 times I went to Antarctica. If you want the 2nd option you will not get a lot of information on CC as it appears that most of the people who post on CC for Antarctica want to go the luxury route. You will also not get a lot of good information by looking at the WEB sites from the different cruise companies since all of them a puff sites. What you need to find a travel agent company that specializes solely in Antarctica trips. Not one that does both polar regions or one that does Antarctica and a bunch of other places. You need one that does just and only the southern Polar regions. They exist. That is where I booked my trips but unfortunately according to CC rules I can't tell who they are. Talk to them on the phone (not internet but phone) about what you want and what your budget is. They will come up with some good options. They also know what bargains there are out there. The ships I ended taking held about 90 people so the 100 people on the continent regulation did not impact us. They had small but functional cabins. After all what do you really need in a cabin but beds, a desk and a bathroom. The dining room was not fancy but the food was good. There was a large lounge where we had our meetings and also where we relaxed. After all what more do you need in Antarctica. The expedition staff was wonderful. We even had the person who was station chief at the Russian Antarctica station Vostok Station (look it up - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vostok_Station) earlier in his career. He had some interesting stories to tell. Hope this helps. DON