May 24th departure from Seattle in my example.

igraf

I am looking at 2024 Celebrity Alaskan cruises and Juneau is often not mentioned as a stop in the quick summary.  Looking at the more detailed itinerary shows that Juneau is indeed a stop.  Any reason for this omission?  Example below, where Juneau is an actual stop on the same day as the Endicott Arm cruising.

igraf

On 8/7/2022 at 10:34 AM, Skoogs said:

...

Due to all the activities that we do, my DW and I usually lose a couple of pounds on each cruise. 
Somebody once said to take the stairs everywhere you go on a cruise ship and eat what you want. Words to live by…hahaha…

This has been our experience as well.  My wife and I are much more active on a ship than at home or at the office.  And we also usually take the stairs on a ship.

igraf

12 hours ago, Mary229 said:

People need to read the terms and conditions of Flight Ease carefully.  It does not replace travel insurance.  If your flight is cancelled or delayed significantly no one is holding the ship for you, you  need trip interruption insurance for that.   

We used Flight Ease once to arrive at the ship at night.  We did not request this; it just happened the that the flight was scheduled.  I think that the plane actually landed at 6:30pm.  We were so late that the boarding process occurred on the ship as the terminal was closed. It was a strange experience, but completely with HAL's blessing.

Obviously there is something when booking through Flight Ease.

igraf

1 hour ago, FlorenceItaly said:

IMO, you should have been refunded your daily rate paid for every day you did not have a working toilet.  I am disappointed that HAL thinks 2 Pinnacle dinners would be adequate compensation.

HAL may see this situation differently as the problem was caused by the deliberate action of a passenger.  Do people flush down towels at home?

igraf

The usual deal is that someone tips for service that was done directly for them, often in their presence.  The problem is that there are a lot of crew members going "above and beyond" behind the scenes.  What about them?  This is why HAL has the overall hotel service charge.

If you want to tip more, then up the hotel service charge.

igraf

We have cruised to Alaska with HAL several times and something that made a big difference to me was port schedules.  You should find out how many other ships will be at your ports on your days.  A good strategy is to take a cruise from Vancouver BC that leaves mid-week as this often results in having port stops just for your ship alone.  This also makes for easier flights and hotel stays.

igraf

Or, just cancel the cruise and book another.  Vacations are supposed to be fun.

I am assuming that you get a full refund if HAL turns you away.

igraf

On 1/31/2022 at 8:40 AM, icedearth15324 said:

So although not full-on ultra premium, HAL at least is classified as above the likes of NCL and RC?

I understand your question as I often wondered about this myself.  HAL is not an expensive cruise line, at least for the common 7-day cruises.  They do , however, offer more elaborate longer cruises on smaller ships which might be part of the reason that they are considered "premium".  The other reason is perhaps the more serene experience on board.  Older passengers, quiet sea days and not so much drinking and partying at night.

igraf

13 hours ago, 0106 said:

..

 

Probably going to cancel our 2/13 Panama Canal cruise. One of us is very nervous about being forced into a 10 day asymptomatic quarantine after being tested in order to transit the canal.  

 

 

Very smart.  I would avoid any Panama Canal cruise at this time like, well, the plague!

igraf

19 hours ago, willoL said:

 

 

Happily, we are a family of mostly introverts, so quiet time in a stateroom is no real hardship, especially if it has a balcony for fresh air and sunshine. If I can order what I like from room service--and I now know enough to pack a set of stainless cutlery and a real cup for my own happiness--I'm reassured.

 

I....

 

--willo

You should check to see if a knife can be brought onboard through ship security.  This may sound strange given that knives are provided, though I suspect that the waiters make sure that all sharp knives are accounted for after dinner.

igraf

Zuiderdam on the left and Koningsdam on the right on a beautiful day (after a lot of cloudy days).

January 2, 2022

igraf

I am happy to hear that the food was regarded so well by experienced cruisers.

igraf

On 12/21/2021 at 4:58 AM, Babr said:

From my perspective, I’m not worried about dying from this virus. I don’t want to spend a lot of money for a substandard experience - testing at every turn, masking, quarantining, perhaps closed ports or limited excursions. 

 

 

We’ve been dealing with this pandemic for nearly two years. Why would I think travel in general or cruising will be vastly different in a few months?  
 

 

As I posted on a similar topic, I just returned from a 2-week business trip to Europe during a big COVID spike.  I dealt with COVID procedures from the airport to restaurants, but it did not prevent me doing what I needed to do and I even managed a little sight seeing on the side.

Wearing a mask in winter weather was a bonus as it kept me warm.  The quick antigen test (to return to the USA) is nothing; a $25 fee and I had the results in 10 minutes.  You will need your vaccine card for just about everything.

In my case the trip was critical for my job, for others a cruise now may be one of the last few opportunities before old age kicks in.  Some people just can't wait for years for COVID to go away and in fact it probably never will.

Get vaccinated with booster, take precautions (N95 mask) and go!

igraf

I just went on a two-week business trip from the USA to Europe right during the big December COVID peak.  Four flights, three train rides, 14 taxi rides and all meals in restaurants.  I had my booster vaccination shot, brought good quality N95 masks and returned home healthy.

Go on the cruise.

igraf

On 11/11/2021 at 10:36 AM, KirkNC said:

500 mb is not a lot.

500MB per day is about 15GB per month, more than many cellular plans.  Even "unlimited" plans will throttle customers that use too much data.

Obviously, one can't compare data service on a ship with thousands of people at sea to wired/wifi internet in a large city.

igraf

1 hour ago, Altamira said:

....

But anybody who reads HAL’s policy as clearly stated, that now and at least until the date stated, that all guests must be vaccinated, and farther down runs across the statements about unvaccinated guests will, if paying attention, notice and question the discrepancy. 

Vaccination policy enforcement will never be perfect.  For example, there will always be people with fake vaccination cards.  Take comfort in the fact that you are vaccinated, with a booster shot, and that you will be surrounded by mostly vaccinated people.  Furthermore there is an antiviral pill from Pfizer that will be approved soon should the worst happen. 

Enjoy the cruise.

igraf

15 hours ago, Mary229 said:

That is the PCR test which has proven to be problematic.  

False positives have been a problem with LFT tests in Britain, as opposed to the PCR tests.  Of greater concern are false negatives, which are more prevalent, as this allows actively infected passengers on to the ship. 

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-10-covid-people-positive-lateral-negative.html

Previously infection or vaccination does not preclude a new infection (just less sickness), and so the reported "false positive" tests may have been accurate.

igraf

5 hours ago, Mary229 said:

 

You can still use an unsupported phone for basic phone calls, texts and internet.  What does happen when a phone becomes unsupported is it no longer has security updates and financial and other security apps may disallow their usage and that may affect downloading boarding passes and other QR codes

 

Time line iPhone 6 - 2014, iPhone 7 2016,  iPhone 8 2017, iPhone 12 2020 and now the 13

I tend to keep older Android phones, though one must be aware of a couple issues.  The first is which frequencies are supported (or more importantly, not supported) by the phone.  This is more than just a question of 4G/5G.  There many frequencies (or bands) within 4G that may or may not be supported by an older phone.  Service will of course suffer if your phone does not support the appropriate newer bands for your particular service provider, especially when the older bands are shut down. 

I recently had to switch from ATT to T-Mobile towers because of this reason.   My service was poor, and I discovered that I was down to one working frequency band on ATT!   Fortunately, my phone still supports multiple T-Mobile bands and my service improved quite a bit after I switched services.

The other issue is the support of current operating system versions.  This is a bigger problem with Android than with Apple.  Many popular software apps (like Slack) will simply stop working if the OS is too old, and some Android manufacturers do not offer very many OS updates. 

igraf

2 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

I have an iPhone, but I don't have a phone or data plan.  If there's free wifi, I use it, if there isn't, I usually have a backup - I photograph everything I might need and have it in my "library".  The European QR codes, and my BC QR code (for my vaccinations) are all there to show anyone who needs to see them.  I also have my BC QR code printed out and laminated in my wallet.   When we were on Eurodam recently, we needed to download a form on the ArriveCanada app, but the ship's internet just could not do it, even the Front Desk couldn't get it to go.  In Barcelona Airport it took all of 5 seconds to download.   

 

 

It is true that one can do a lot with a smartphone without a paid service.  Still, it is nice to be able to make or receive a call, navigate (with traffic reports) while driving a rental car or get a quick answer to a question.  There are several good options at around $15 per month.  I managed to set my wife up with unlimited voice and unlimited data with Verizon Visible for $25 per month, including taxes and fees.

igraf

5 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

 

The CDC advises that vaccines are "effective at preventing most infections" and uses the terminology "breakthrough":

• COVID-19 vaccines protect people from getting infected and severely ill, and significantly reduce the likelihood of hospitalization and death.
• Getting vaccinated is the best way to slow the spread of COVID-19 and to prevent infection by Delta or other variants.
• A vaccine breakthrough infection happens when a fully vaccinated person gets infected with COVID-19. People with vaccine breakthrough infections may spread COVID-19 to others. etc.....
• Vaccine breakthrough infections are expected. COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing most infections. However, like other vaccines, they are not 100% effective. etc.....

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/effectiveness/why-measure-effectiveness/breakthrough-cases.html

 

The first bullet has it right  It does not say not getting infected, it says not getting infected AND severely ill.  The other bullets are just sloppy public relations.  Yes, this can happen from the CDC.  They have to get the message quickly across to frightened people with no medical knowledge.

It comes down to definitions.  If a virus enters my body and my boosted immune system immediately destroys the virus, then I was infected but did not get sick.  If I beat off the virus more slowly and feel sick during the process then this is a "breakthrough" infection.  If I am forever protected inside a plastic bubble or live alone on an island, then and only then will I never get infected.

igraf

1 hour ago, Caribbean Chris said:

I don’t think anyone here is claiming that vaccines will prevent all infections - it’s common knowledge that there are breakthrough cases. 
 

 

 

Vaccines do not prevent ANY infections.  You will still get infected if vaccinated.  Vaccines will reduce or eliminate sickness if infected.  But the vaccine does not prevent the infection.  I don't know how to say this any more clearly.

The term "breakthrough" is just some nonsense propagated in the media.  It just means that a person exhibited some symptoms when infected after being vaccinated.  The symptoms would have been a lot worse had they not been vaccinated.

igraf

28 minutes ago, Caribbean Chris said:

Around pages 20 -22, I wish the ships were named, not just as Cruise Ship A,B, etc.

 

The most hair-raising episode for me was the passenger (fully vaccinated and had tested negative three days before sailing) on Cruise Ship F who WAS symptomatic but denied having symptoms upon boarding and died three days later.  The ship was supposedly 100% vaccinated and yet had 112 cases over four sailings from August 21 to September 7.

 

Unfortunately, it’s a reality that our fellow passengers may lie about feeling ill because they want to take a cruise. 

A common misconception that will probably never go away.   Vaccines do not prevent infections.  There is no protective shield around one's body.   Rather, a vaccine will boost one's immune system so that the infection can be effectively fought off without serious illness.

It is sad, but there is nothing new about passengers dying on cruise ships.

igraf

16 hours ago, RuthC said:

Except for the J & J shot recipients, there are no covid booster shots available to everyone over age 12 without restrictions. For those who received the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, only those who are over age 65, or have other compromising conditions, are approved for the boosters. 

I wouldn't expect any change in cruising policy until shots are opened to more people, including residents of the lands visited. 

Yes and no.  I am under 65 and my only "condition" is upcoming business travel.  I walked into my county COVID center and they gave me a Pfizer booster shot.

igraf

2 hours ago, DanBoy said:

Ok.. I am a bit of a Pollyanna-Dreamer.. But wouldn't it be great  if since Booster shots are now available for Covid (Getting mine Wed).. The CdC would announce a new 'Protocal whereas if you have a booster no more pre testing 2 days before the cruise etc?.. Like I said just a hoping and a wishing

It is premature to abandon all safeguards.  Just look at the current COVID statistics for the UK.  Then there are the types who get a fake vaccination card.

An alternative point of view is to apply what we have learned to eliminate the norovirus on cruises.

igraf