gottagocit

We’ve sailed on the Emerald 3 times I believe and will be on her again in April. Has she had the modification done where the cabins have the auto nightlights located at the outlets on the way to the bathrooms? Anything else changed on her since around 2018? Thanks

Hmm. Interesting. I’m guessing they forgot it was hidden there and didn’t delete it but perhaps someone will try to purchase it and see what happens. Thanks.

It’s very good that you were able to visit the site where your ancestors were from and you were able to pay tribute to them. I know that was a special trip for you. We will be in Riga for a couple days this fall as part of our land based trip to the Baltics and Scandinavia. Looking forward to seeing that area and to traveling to the far north in search of the Northern Lights in Tromso Norway.

1) Yes you can leave your phone in airplane mode and take as many photos as you like without incurring any charges 2) If you leave it in airplane mode but turn WiFi on and connect to the ships WiFi you can (should be able to) make phone calls over WiFi vs cellular. This assumes you disconnect your laptop to free up your one connection at a time 3) Yes while in port in Hawaii you can turn off airplane mode and use your phone as normal just as you would in the “lower 48” assuming your calling plan doesn’t have some odd restrictions. I haven’t seen such restrictions since the 90’s when anything outside you home area was considered roaming. Don’t forget to turn airplane mode back on before leaving port

But why did they end the digital version that completely eliminated that issue did it not? It’s pretty clear it was to sell more the beverage packages. Problem is they didn’t adequately consider the fallout from that terrible decision. And don’t get me started on how it was done…

Thanks for taking the time to post info about your journey. Just noticed they’re calling it the “Patter” again after reading in one of these live from threads they had stopped. Guess it’s making it’s way through the fleet and hasn’t happened on all ships yet.

Is that sort of response really necessary or in any way helpful? That would be a big “NO”.

I don’t think there’s any question about that!

Thank you for taking the time to post these.

Do you know how many fellow passengers will be with you the entire work cruise vs those only doing segments that are sometimes sold?

Sounds like you won’t have much of a problem with it if you’ve skied at those elevations. Have a wonderful trip!

Prepare yourself for the effects you can expect in Cusco due to the high altitude. It’s manageable but just recognize what your body may be telling you as you move about and why. At 11,500 ft it’s the highest commercial airport in the world if I’m not mistaken and you will feel it with the simplest activity. Surprisingly Machu Picchu will be less so as it’s about 8,500 as I recall. On the good side both places are amazing and well worth the impact it may have on you.

I can’t understand why more people don’t bring along a refillable bottle like those used when hiking and fill them with water onboard vs lugging a case of single use ones and contributing to the plastic waste onboard. Or buying them from the ship even. Water is free onboard at stations in the buffet and any lounge etc. The wide mouth bottles can easily be washed inside. I’m no serious green eco tree hugger but this one is pretty easy for us to utilize when cruising.

We did that excursion with Patrick in Feb 2020 just as covid was ramping up and before heading down to Antarctica. That was our last cruise until one coming next month. It was indeed an amazing excursion and one we will never forget. As was the entire voyage for that matter. We worried a bit leading up to the voyage about going so far from off-road and from the port with a non ship excursion and perhaps having trouble or getting stuck etc and missing our ship but was that not an issue. With so many 4x4’s traveling together it was great knowing there was no need for that concern. I have not researched your voyage to see if you’re going to Antarctica as well. I hope you are and enjoy it as much as we did. Have a wonderful trip!

I hadn’t heard about them missing the two ports. Was this caused by bad weather in both areas? We’re visiting both next month and am curious.

Do we know for certain whether or not coffee in the buffet or dining room at breakfast is still “free”?

Sorry but this was a duplicate post

I just wrote them for a second time since this all began to unfold. The first a week or two ago was to simply ask for an answer as to the validity of the rumor of our apparently losing the coffee card as an option. We never received a reply for that one. The most recent one was far more direct and expressed dissatisfaction with losing another elite benefit and the option to even purchase the coffee card and then to add insult to injury the awful way this has been rolled out. What a real cluster this entire thing has been!

Not sure about “passes” but for voyages stoping in Columbia passengers are required to be vaccinated or have a negative test per that country’s entry requirements. Our April voyage was updated recently to include the requirement for either uploaded copy of proof of vaccination or medically observed negative test with a day or two of boarding (forgot how many hours).

We visited Petra on our own several years ago and not part of a cruise excursion. We spent two days in the site and didn’t see it all. There’s no easy way to explore it as there are no autos allowed and it’s quite a long distance to cover if you’re going to see much of it. There are mules and donkeys that can be rented to ride out but your guide would have to arrange them in advance and not sure if the excursions have that option. The excursion details should explain how long you will be at the site. How far in advance are you from your cruise? If those details are not in there now search a different voyage that does Petra to see if it’s excursion has the details in it.

Amen to that! We are not buying a drink package for $60-100 per day (or whatever it’s gone up to) each so I can have specialty coffees even if it includes tips etc. We do not drink soft drinks and only on occasion alcohol so the math simply doesn’t work for us. Get real Princess/Carnival! You can not keep nickel dime’n your customers and expect brand loyalty from them. If some group of “smart people” have told you that repeated moves like this are necessary to turn a profit then either A) they are dead wrong OR B) carnival will never dig itself out of the crater it’s been in for the last 3 years and bankruptcy will be the end result.

Excellent! You’re quite welcome.

I wasn’t sure if you were referring to lack of coverage for the flights or for medical issues so that’s why I indicated my point was related only to flight cost coverage and that I was unsure about the medical coverage.

Exactly. I should have included that. When sailing overseas we often book flights into a different city (or country even sometimes) using easy air and spend time exploring areas we haven’t been to yet. You know…while we’re in the neighborhood. It’s very nice knowing the flights are covered and since we only book hotels that allow cancellation the risk of a large loss due to an unplanned something is minimal.