grsnovi

The referenced video states that the FIRST sailing to Alaska will be booked to 50% and that subsequent sailings will go up from there. It was stated that they don't expect to get to 100%

On 5/23/2021 at 1:02 PM, KirkNC said:

we are booked on the Feb 22 trip you describe, no tux for us.  I will take a sports coat.

Looks like we're too late for 2022 (only inside left) maybe we'll do this in 23?

I'll have to look around some more. Of course, there's always another run up to Alaska...

Thanks all! Wasn't planning on bringing the tux. We've never even used the stuff the laundry bag for $10 or $20 (might have been 10 when we started cruising).

As to whether or not we go, it will depend a lot on what happens with global COVID. I feel the need to be out on the water!!

We certainly wouldn't fill it every day - is there some baseline laundry included on longer cruises?

We've only ever done 7 or 10 day cruises and after not going anywhere I'm really looking hard at the 35 day Z'dam out of San Diego going to Hawaii, Tahiti and the Marquesas. We have never opted for a laundry package but I would imagine that on a 35 day cruise EVERYONE is going to use the laundry. So, is there a strategy? How long is the turn around?

Also, I didn't take my tux on the last AK cruise we did with the kids and grandkids - what are the non-formal formal nights going to look like? 

I'm so ready to break out of lock down!

On 1/19/2021 at 7:39 AM, Roz said:

Viking, AMA, Uniworld, Tauck, etc. all provide vegetarian option at each meal...

Hi Roz, most of our cruising has been with HAL but we're looking at a river option in 22. Do the river operators offer Gluten-Free options (on HAL it's great).

Some folks have to eat GF or they have real problems (even if they are not Celiac). Generally, your lunch and dinner on the first day will require some thought however after that you'll be given the next day's menu and the kitchen will ensure that you're OK. As mentioned - they even do some good GF bread/rolls. Breakfast on the Lido is also usually pretty easy: plenty of fruit, they do have stations that can prepare GF pancakes/waffles. There may also be GF English muffins. In the past you were asked to let them know prior to sailing, we didn't have to do that in 2019 (and we didn't sail last year). Even the specialty restaurants can usually handle making adjustments to their offerings. Enjoy!

On 1/16/2021 at 10:32 AM, zelker said:

They use woven placemats now, no tablecloths.

We've NEVER seen woven placemats on any of our numerous cruises with HAL. Of course, we haven't been out since the last Alaska cruise with the kids in August 2019. Were placemats new since then?

You don't ever want to be under the pool. Made that mistake once - they drag the tables/chairs around when they hose off the deck. It gets pretty noisy for a while.

On our first Alaska cruise (which was in June) we did a helicopter excursion to the Mendenhal Glacier in Juneau. It was 70 degrees at the airport and the kids from Florida were happy in their flip-flops. On top of the glacier it was (winter) cold and they were miserable.

On 9/19/2020 at 12:43 PM, d9704011 said:

Still easily walkable to/from Amsterdam Centraal.

Unless everything is dug up like it was when we were last there. It was still easily walkable but pretty confusing (compared to what it would be if no construction).

BTW - the Mövenpick is certainly convenient and a nice hotel but Amsterdam is full of options. We stayed in Mövenpick when we went out of Amsterdam to Norway with HAL.

Walking from the port downtown probably takes 45 minutes so depending on how you're feeling it may be refreshing or it may be a schlep. Arrival time in Victoria is also always subject to delays (at least it has been on most of our AK cruises). Butchart Gardens is certainly beautiful but once you add bus loading/travel time at both ends you don't end up with much time out there. Other than just wandering around in the downtown area and window shopping I can't think of any "must see/do" activities. We've been several time, Victoria is a beautiful place - maybe a buggy ride?

We got ours and I saw a nice 14 day from Amsterdam to Rome that had a lot of stops in Portugal - which is now high on my bucket list after watching a documentary on Port wine and another on Lisbon. Alas with the 7 day restriction, that isn't going to happen and I'm not sure that August 2021 would be viable anyway - I think things are going to be a mess for a while.

1 hour ago, Vict0riann said:

...Canadian ports will be closed to cruise ships through February. 

I can't think of any Canadian ports that I'd want too visit between now and February 😊

2020 just keeps getting better and better...

Number was up to 12 crew (out of 150 random tests =  about10% of those tested) as of last night around 8pm (according to the Washington Post).

18 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I would remind you...

Thanks Hank, the CDC certainly isn't perfect.

My point was that: the population of individuals on cruise ships that were sick is/was a fraction of the population in the USA who eventually sickened and ultimately passed away. I suspect that those who are still ending up in hospitals are individuals who have decided that they don't need to limit their excursions out of the house and who haven't been wearing masks at all because they feel that being told is infringing on their rights to be self-determining.

I wasn't suggesting that CCL doesn't deserve its poor rating - only that I don't place my faith in either the FOE or the CLIA. Part of me wonders if Disney isn't financing FOE to some degree - they certainly seem to get wonderful numbers (of course their rack rates are way above the rest of the crowd).

In the grand scheme of COVID problems I don't think that the cruise industry was any worse than some countries. What was worse was the hysteria surrounding the ships that were en-route and who were unable to dock to let passengers and crew off. I thought I'd go over to the site and perhaps post a comment however the number and details of the questions seems to suggest that any analysis of the answers will run to years and be irrelevant to any decision. A large % of the population seems to ignore the CDC's guidelines on masks, why should we expect comments on this to carry any more weight? Sorry for being negative, the wild fires here in Oregon are of more concern to me at the moment than the possibility of cruising again in 2022 or 23...

While I suspect there are pieces of the FOE report that are interpreted to show the cruise industry in the worst possible light I would also assume that CLIA's rebuttal is more favorable due to the "follow-the-money" adage. 

You could ask for specifics here although I suspect that a large % may use non-HAL options. We have used HAL's excursions exclusively because they are convenient and the ship waits for a HAL excursion if there is a problem (I'm sure somebody will post that they were on a HAL excursion and got left behind). For the most part we've been happy. There have been one or two stinkers but HAL took care of us afterwards. We've even done several of HAL's Alaska options multiple times. For the most part, we're going someplace that we've never been and often to a country where we don't speak the language so going with HAL is easy. As note above, I'm not sure that I'd attach much value to reviews on HAL site. I'd be more inclined to read reviews on this board (elsewhere) or a place like TripAdvisor where you'd most likely get reviews of the non-HAL excursions.

As I sit here in Oregon looking at the dense smoke outside (and smelling it in the house) I'm thankful that my house hasn't been burned down. I was supposed to have a procedure today that was cancelled due to the fires. I've been trying to have that done for 9 months. We had a 9-day cross country trip planned for April that was yanked out from under us. I haven't even been to the grocery store since March. So, do I miss cruising? You bet! Luckily our last one included all the kids and grand kids and even the scrapbook for that one is done.

Last night we watched a 56 minute The Sinking of the Andrea Doria on Amazon. I don't believe this is the 80 minute one from 2016 called: Andrea Doria: Are the Passengers Saved?

We've gotten caught up in Netflix's ALTA MAR (High Seas) which is set on a very (very) nice ship in the late 1940's.

I tend to enjoy art in general. It's supposed to be a treat. It can simply be beautiful or it can inspire you to think. I've enjoyed the art on the HAL ships over the years. Here is one that I had to photograph on my last visit (since I didn't get one the first time out). It appears to be a scene out of a doll house however the apple on the miniature table is full size. The full size apple has a miniature sword stuck in the apple and there is a miniature apple wedge on a plate. What caught my eye was that the apple skin looks real. Perhaps it is a real apple that has somehow been preserved? I suspect it has simply been painted to appear real. In any case, I love it.