Cruizer Diana

We've been using T-Mobile for over 15 years and LOVE THE SERVICE!!! Speaking of service, they are always very helpful, polite, and often point out a better plan that may have been introduced since we last talked with them. They have the best customer service I've encountered post-covid. The only con is that we don't have robust coverage in the sparsely populated areas along Interstate 90 in the West. We expect that to resolve in the near future. Set your phone to wifi-calling to make free calls or pay 25cents/minute using cell. We went to our account online and set our international coverage to the setting that allows international use, but blocks transactions that "are not covered in our plan" (Cellular at Sea). That way, we keep our phones on while at sea to catch every fleeting moment of coverage, but avoid being charged for Cellular at Sea. We've sailed the Norwegian Fjords without cell interruption (except when out-to-sea), off the coast of Spain and Gibraltar on a TA, South America, the Caribbean and throughout French Polynesia. You will be absolutely amazed how far offshore you get a decent signal. Text and data are free. Use free wifi (when safe) to save cell minutes, if you will be burning data. I almost never switch to free wifi on land, since I don't stream. My DH does switch to conserve cell minutes, since he occasionally streams. We were getting a fast 5G (instead of 3G or 4G) signal throughout our October cruise from Amsterdam to Bordeaux to Barcelona. Amazing! We never purchase wifi on a cruise because we do everything we can while near or on land. If you must connect while at sea, then you need to find a solution for that segment.

Thank you very much for a detailed reply. This info helps a lot. Diana

Hello SnorkelAway, We will be in St Maarten next month. Do you have personal experience with Random Wind or Eagle (or Viator) in St Maarten? We were looking at the Random Wind website. I also noticed that Viator appears to book Random Wind excursions. Suggestions? Thank you! Diana

Thank you JYDCruise, Marmaduke, and uktog for your replies. On our last sailing, which was last fall, they provided maps printed from the internet. The maps were often not very crisp. I was hoping to hear that the port reps were starting to show up on board, like in the past. Sounds like that may be returning. We found talking to the reps and seeing crisp maps was very helpful for DIY port visits.

Thank you for your help. We are looking forward to our first visit to Lisbon.

We will be visiting Lisbon on 9/22 and only have from 8:00am to 6:00pm and are planning a DIY Self-Guided tour. We would like to see Rua Augusta Arch, Castelo Sao Jorge (St George Castle), take a loop on the 28E or 12E tram, and then visit the Tower and Mosteiro dos Jeronimos (monastery) in Belem. Since we want to cover so much ground, we were wondering if anyone had a recommendation about the specific route to the Castelo from Rua Augusta Arch, one of the tram stops, or from a Metro (subway) stop. I read that one can take the Elevador do Castelo from Baixa, the Elevador Baixa, and then walk uphill to the Castelo, but I don't see exactly how to do that. I've been trying to determine the route, but haven't been able to do it from the online maps. Is the "Elevador" experience worth the complicated route? Would it be wiser to take the tram loop and then catch the #737 bus that goes closer to the Castelo? Suggestions? Thank you, Diana

We are sailing on 9/6 from Amsterdam to Barcelona on the Pursuit. We will be doing self-guided tours in a few ports and have done research on those ports. However, printed maps are often much more readable than either printed copies from online sources or maps on the cell phone. Has anyone noticed whether maps, brochures are available at Guest Services the night before docking at ports? We've had this information available in the past, but it was very spotty since covid hit. Thank you, Diana

We are on the September 6th sailing Amsterdam to Bordeaux. There is no free/Destination Celebration event listed. I see one for the next leg to Barcelona.

You are correct about discussing the face-mask issue on the snorkeling board. However, we are discussing the reason for age limits. If the limits on an excursion are based on insurance data, it would be useful to see the data.

I'm curious... can you share a link to the insurance data for swimming, snorkeling? Is there data on deaths involving full-face masks?

I didn’t find a current published list of acceptable or non-acceptable masks. The consensus is that low-cost, low quality masks are very dangerous. This article (https://snorkelaroundtheworld.com/2018/03/full-face-snorkel-mask-dangerous/) discusses safety concerns and what to look for in selecting a mask. It primarily says to stick with a high-quality (not cheap) mask. Some of the better brands are mentioned. Those brands publish safety testing results. I suggest you search the internet about the safety of the full-face masks. There is a lot of negative feedback. Perhaps the issue is primarily the large number of deaths from using cheap, defective masks.

There are lists of full-face masks that are dangerous, due to their design. Most snorkel trip providers do not offer the full face mask. Some even ban them for snorkel trips. That might be a more effective solution than banning healthy, active seniors from the joys of snorkeling.

I would agree that diving is a dangerous activity. Snorkeling on a shore excursion rarely involves diving. In fact, divers hire dive boats with dive masters and dive equipment. Snorkelers are swimmers who usually don't go below the surface and use a mask and snorkel to see what is below the surface. Snorkeling is usually no more dangerous than just swimming. The limitation should be whether you can swim, rather than if you are old.