Essiesmom

There are no pools on Ocean Cay. Just lots of beaches. EM

Yes, Mars has a bridgecam. Go to cruisingearth dot com and choose ship webcams. Lots of ship cams. The NCL Encore has a lovely cam, too. EM

This has been reported before…the lighthouse was hit by lightning.

I believe there is a thread on the Family Cruising board here about cabins for five. I know there are some connecting combinations on MSC with balconies. Carnival has Family deluxe ocean view OV cabins that sleep five on the Dream class and newer ship classes. They have the lower king/twin, a sofa bed and two upper bunks. They also have a split bath, one with toilet, sink, shower and the other with sink and tub/shower. EM

With that one and the Hurtigruten webcams I can briefly pause them by tapping the screen on my iPad, long enough to get a screen shot. Viking Mars transits tomorrow, and again on Thursday (the other direction).

I believe the ship is sailing to the Seychelles from East Africa. EM

I do t think I’m seeing the same bar graph extension, and no notations at the bottom. I am diamond with 17600 points, the first 10000 from status match. What I see for my account looks like the hatched bar represents my status match and the black bar the points I have earned since.

It is ship/class dependent. Any card worked on Divina. On the Seaside and Seashore it had to be a card from that ship. When I needed to leave a card in to keep the a/c set where I wanted it, they told me to get a blank card from guest services. EM

Viking Polaris at Pedro Miguel and Miraflores

They give you a continuing cruiser card which bypasses checkin, although you still have to go through security. I got off to go to my car and get another usb cable, and moved my car closer to the elevators. Easy peasy. EM

Do you still have to go through agricultural inspection before you can check your bags? That can take extra time. EM

Gatun Locks This is not the first time a Viking ship has skipped Colon and done the canal a day early

Top right you can see Viking Polaris heading for Gatun Locks, a day earlier than expected. I will be sneaking looks during Sunday School trying to catch her.

Today Buzz has taken over the shift. Keeping an eye on Viking Polaris upper right, showing up a day earlier than expected.

There is a much underutilized feature of CC, at the top left of most cruise line forums. Click on Select ship, click on the one that interests you, and you will get pages f threads about that ship.

I’ve done 28 days in Alaska in an inside cabin.. those who claim you must have a balcony are often those what won’t take any cruise without a balcony. Aft balconies may be nice, but do you want to see where you are going, or where you have been? Save that balcony money for the expensive excursions. EM

And 50 years ago I was attending that church and singing in the choir…. EM

Ruiz’s ship beds are pretty standard except on some lines in the upper suites. The twins are 33” wide, making the ‘king’ 66” wide. Wider than a queen, but not the 78x80 of the standard American king bed. I have measured… but i don’t travel In suites. EM

That cruise boards /debarks in every port except Malta, so I don’t think any language will predominate. EM

Yes you will. I did this same cruise last Dec. EM

Miraflores Locks

Dr. Zhivago? I read it long ago before it was made into a movie. I was so bored I never finished the last 100 pages. After the movie, everyone raving about it, I thought I must have missed something, so I read it again. Still couldn’t make the last 100 pages. EM

Pedro Miguel Locks

Have an ‘off menu’ transit today. Casually checking Marine Traffic yesterday, I discovered Pacific World, the Peace Boat in Colon. Started life in 1995 as Sun Princess. Checking for an itinerary, her next port is Callao, so a transit in order. Starting with Gatun Locks:

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Flying to Anchorage from the east coast you should always fly in a day early. Transport to Whittier is not easy but can be arranged through your cruise line. I hope you are not sailing at the beginning of the season, as 2025 will be the first year NCL has sailed from Whittier rather than Seward. EM