Sandi3667

Solocanadian/Gail; there is an easy solution to your issue! When HAL instituted the current mandatory pax safety drill, a Medical Officer/Nurse is now stationed at the bottom of the Atrium near the entrances to the 'Boat Deck' (LP Deck on the S and R class vessels and on Prinsendam; Promenade Deck on the Vistas & Signatures) starting at 15 min prior to the commencement of the drill. Contact that medical officer and advise him/her that you are unable to stand for long periods of time during the drill. He/she will contact the Bridge/Staff Captain via portable radio and they will check you off the muster list.

 

There is some good advice here also from Tangerinebunny and Trixiee re: contacting the Infirmary staff ahead of time (after embarking) however, if you contact the medical officer stationed in the Atrium, it's a done deal. He/She will have you take a seat on one of the benches in/near the Atrium for the duration of the drill. Have a great voyage!

Thanks for the info, CopperJohn. Due to recent medical issues, I cannot stand for very long anymore. Hopefully it's resolved by our next planned cruise (Jan or Feb 2014 on the Noordam), but if not, I will keep this info handy.

Thanks for posting - I'll be awaiting the next installment.

One plus about being in separate planes - you can each get photos of the other's plane in such an incredible setting.

Also you do not need to take days before ginger works almost immediately. We take ours once we get on the ship or boat. We go deep sea fishing all the time and I have yet to be sea sick.

I will vouch for this. We were feeling kind of queasy on our sea day from Seattle to Glacier Bay. A few hours before dinner we were wondering if we'd be able to eat that night. Went to the room & snacked on a handful of ginger snap cookies I'd brought on board, and felt fine within the hour.

I'll have a box on my next cruise.

I threw a box of ginger snaps in my suitcase when we sailed. Great late-afternoon snack that also got rid of the 'queasies'.

Your description of cruising as soothing is so far from what I imagine I can't even, well, imagine! What is it you find relaxing? We all have shattered nerves that need tending ; -)

I found I could spend unlimited time just standing at the rail, listening to the sound of the water against the hull. If you head to the rear of the ship, you will have protection from the wind, and there's nothing quite like just watching the wake trail along behind the ship.

I've always lived in the Pacific Northwest, we've got lots of mountains & trees around here, but the scenery in Alaska is beyond words. If your port calls include Juneau (and most cruises do), there is great whale watching there.

Temperatures in July, as others have said, shouldn't be too cold. I was there in May, and we had 75 degree temps in Juneau.

Enjoy the trip & spending a special time with your family.

I was looking into this before our cruise, as one person in our party had had a DUI approx 20-30 years ago. We had a 6-hour stop in Victoria, and there was no mention of the DUI made. We embarked with no issues, and the officials in Victoria didn't even really look at the passports.

If it was more recent, than you may have a different experience, but when I was looking into this issue, the consensus seemed to be that older offenses weren't a concern.

Others with much more experience than I should be along soon, but I'll chime in with my experience. We sailed in late May (returning over Memorial Day weekend). We had rain/overcast in Glacier Bay, sun & highs of 75 in Juneau, overcast weather in Sitka, and rain in Ketchikan. I've been checking the webcams for the Alaska ports throughout the summer, and there's hardly been a week where there hasn't been rain somewhere.

When we booked our cruise, I had to debate the May/September options too. We decided on May because it's historically drier, there's still snow on the mountains, and we were ready to cruise NOW. :D Just the wait between February (when we booked) and May was enough to drive me batty.

Tried to post earlier, but apparently it didn't go through.

First cruise was just 2 months ago, on HAL's Oosterdam to Alaska. First, but definitely not last....we left the ship already planning where to cruise next.

Oosterdam in Sitka, taken from the Centennial Building, while waiting for the New Archangel Dancers performance.

On a rainy day in Ketchikan.

In Ketchikan, with NCL's Pearl behind us.