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My DH and I are about to embark on a cruise, hauling a 3-legged cane with folding seat for the first time. He’s concerned about how those are handled by Delta. My thought is that he carries it on the plane and it gets stored by the cabin crew. Please help me set his mind at ease.

Did you berth at the BICT or the old Portside terminal? We will be at the BICT, which is pretty far from downtown. I hope to find out whether there’s a shuttle and if so, we’re the drop off point is. I spent almost an hour on hold yesterday trying to get an answer from HAL’s World Cruise/Grand Voyage desk!

Did the ship offer a shuttle into Brisbane (assuming you were docked at the BICT)? If so, where did it drop people off?

We are on the upcoming HAL Australia/New Zealand Grand Voyage. For those who have docked at the BICT, did HAL provide a shuttle into the city? If so, where did it drop off/pick up? I'm trying to arrange lunch with a friend while in town and this would be really useful to know.

For those who have cruised to Australia before and had Brisbane as your port of entry into Australia, how did they handle customs? We have our electronic visas set to go, but with only 8-5 in port and some people to visit in Brisbane, we wondered how much time might be lost waiting to clear customs. I really wish we had a later departure, but at least if I have a clue how long it might take us to get off the ship I would be able to make better plans.

Icy Strait is a better option for whale watching than Juneau from our experiences. We went with Icy Strait Adventures and had an amazing time on a smaller boat. It's family owned and they did a very nice tour with great access to the whales and photo ops. We had a whale stick her head up right next to us as the boat sat there.

Even in the 2000s, I recall a night where passengers were encouraged to wear Hawaiian-style outfits to dinner (show off the stuff you bought or brought) on a Circle Hawaii cruise. I don't know if they still do that, but it was fun to see what folks were bringing back from Hilo Hattie's and the like.

Playing "Name that Tune" in the Piano Bar I still have my Dam Dollar from our first cruise, which was the only one before they were discontinued. We also just experienced Dutch Night with the hats on that first cruise. Actual prizes for trivia. Even the pins were something you could trade or give away. I liked having destination pins and ship pins. You could always refuse them if you didn't need one. The coffee cups with the HAL logo and the ship's initial that were given as prizes. I played "Name that Tune" with a couple on their honeymoon one night and gave them ours for a set of 4.

You sign up aboard the ship. It really is a great deal.

How about the "yum yum" man with his uniform and the dates, figs and candied ginger after dinner in the dining room? We received chocolates on the pillow 2 nights on our recent 10 day voyage. I do miss those, even if I didn't need them The bubbly when you got on the ship Real ice cream is still free, but it has to be vanilla, chocolate or strawberry. At least that's true on the Pinnacle Class ships I miss the fruit crumble being listed on the menu. I was told on the final day of our recent voyage that you can get it if you ask for it. I have several of the leather and pleather document pouches and a fabric one. I still use them for my papers, too! The old laminated luggage tags that HAL provided with photos relevant to the cruise. I remember bears on the Alaska tags

We are stopping in Corner Brook on a cruise at the end of July. We have been before, but arranged a private tour (no longer in business) to Gros Morne and had a great day. Do the cruise ships (HAL specifically) offer a shuttle into town? If so, we plan to just take the shuttle and walk the Corner Brook Stream Trail on our own and explore the city a bit. How far is it from the ship to "downtown"?

Just an FYI, we got off the Rotterdam on Feb. 4. Both of us tested positive for COVID on the 7th and still are. My SIL and one of my trivia team also tested postitive. In our family group of 6, those who didn't test positive (some of whom just had COVID in November) still came down with very nasty congestion/cough. So I would suggest that there is a strong likelihood that the bug is on the ship and precautions in the theaters, etc. aren't a bad idea. My spouse and I wore masks during the shows and on bus excursions and still caught the bug. You really can't be masked 100% on a cruise, and we're vaccinated and boosted up the wazoo. We are just starting to feel alive again, so be warned!

Thanks for the live report. We board the Rotterdam next week for our first cruise since we disembarked the Maasdam in San Diego on her final, COVID curtailed voyage. We are looking forward to seeing another Dam ship after so long!

A quick question or two from someone who hasn't sailed since being on the Maasdam ( miss her!) for that final COVID voyage. Do they still do the Orange Party thing? Wondering if we should pack something for that or not. Are people getting at all dressed up in the Caribbean for the Gala (or whatever it is called now) Nights? How many dressy nights on a 10 day cruise? That is all. We are SO ready to get on a Dam ship again in less than 2 weeks!

If you are a bit of a romantic, there' are opportunities for a sunset sail. One late night on a cruise we booked a dinner on the beach (not something we get to do here in Michigan too often). I'm pretty sure it was at Palm Beach, and it was great fun watching the Celebrity ship sail away while we were able to enjoy a beautiful sunset and feel superior for having until 11 PM to enjoy the island.

We are going on a whale watch excursion in the morning in Grand Turk. I have fond memories of our prior visits before the mess I now read about with the beach chairs. If we aren't hitting the beach until around 3 PM, do you think we can find some free seating? Our ship leaves at 5, and I have no desire to pay for lougers for just an hour or so.

While hardly newbies on HAL, it's been a long time since we cruised and this time we have other family members joining us. We are looking to do an evening sail excursion that will have us away from the ship (Rotterdam) roughly from 5-8 PM. I know that will mean no MDR dinner, but I honestly don't remember when the Lido buffet shuts down. Since we'll be on the Rotterdam, anybody know if the Dive-In or pizza would be an option that late? I'm pretty sure the Dive-In is closed, but what about pizza or room service?

Thanks, folks. We're starting to plan for our January cruise, and I'd much prefer this to stopping in Nassau, which was apparently the alternate right after the hurricane.

From what I can see it looks like ships are going to Grand Turk again, but i just want to confirm that HAL is going. I see a cruise leaving Nov. 13 that should be stopping there. It's Veterans' Day so the office is closed. Thanks!

I've seen photos of the dock in Grand Turk looking pretty demolished. We have an upcoming cruise that is going to dock at Amber Cove. Does anyone know the condition of the ports in the DR following Hurricane Fiona?

Our documents arrived Priority Mail yesterday. I'm not sure if the Priority Mail postage is usual, or if they did that because we called several times to ask that we get the info prior to departing 4 days before embarkation. I know most cruise ships have luggage tags available on site, if you forget them or need more. The one truly essential piece that we wouldn't have online is the particulars of the timeline for our cruise regarding the COVID testing hours prior to embarkation, time to check in for the cruise at the hotel, etc. Of course, that could also be emailed to us, but for those who depart from home early and may not have easy access to the internet in the days prior to cruising, it's nice to have that in hand. Now it's time to get packing!

We happened upon the Navigator in Detroit last Friday while waiting to board for a tall ship cruise (it ended up cancelled due to COVID) of the Detroit River. I spoke briefly with a couple off the ship, and they are enjoying the cruise on the Great Lakes, though they said the cabins are small. They said we will love our upcoming first voyage with AQV on the Columbia River. I hope so!

This is becoming a real aggravation for us. We depart on the American Empress on August 1. We booked direct with the line. We are leaving home on July 28 and although we have called a few times, no documents yet. No idea on luggage allowance, COVID protocols, boarding the Empress, etc. Not to mention we have no luggage tags. We've never sailed with this company before, but I'd like at least a week to plan packing, etc. My husband called to see if they would email us the info, but so far they aren't willing. We aren't getting a great first impression here, with less than 10 days until we depart. I'm sure a lot of passengers head out a few days before a sailing to explore the departure port, so it isn't like we're doing anything unusual.

We will be aboard the American Empress from Vancouver to Clarkston at the beginning of August. I was wondering where the boat docks, or how we get ashore, as the cruise ship pier appears to be only for the bigger cruise ships. There's no listing regarding where the Empress is located. We will no doubt spend the morning exploring along the riverfront, but I'd like some idea of where our trek will begin.