Sunriseatsea

I wouldn’t consider any cruise unless 100% of the crew & passengers were vaccinated. 
Otherwise, if any of the 5% unvaccinated ended up with COVID-19, 100% of the ship would likely be barred from any further ports. Cruise to nowhere- no thanks!

Makes about as much sense as promoting 95% reliable condoms 😲!

Facebook? Really? Used to be worth visiting...

I will always remember several long voyages with Debbie Bacon years ago. Special lady, special memories! Hoping she is well and happy.
 

Yes!

Hank - I know you can’t name the high volume discount cruise agency, but a few clever hints would be appreciated 😉!

Copper John, I truly believe acts of kindness do come back and bless you when you find yourself in need. You’ll be a most deserving man!

No call yet here, either. Just wondering- deposit of $5,000 is fully refundable, correct? 

I’ve had great success using my iPad. I've got the same “thing” that I believe Kazu mentioned and it works like promised, easily downloading photos from my camera memory card to my iPad :

Apple - Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader - White

Model:MJYT2AM/A 

SKU:4803100. $29.99 at Best Buy

I compose my text off line at leisure then cut & paste when I go online. 

Photos are stored as always in my Photos library and easily accessed.

Have fun!

What happened to Tanzania? Am I missing it? We were looking forward to visiting there.

Farewell, Prinsendam! We will always treasure our time aboard and the special  places you could take us.

We contacted them and were able to place a refundable deposit ($100 pp). 

No additional information about itineraries or dates, yet. But it does guarantee you 

will have the initial distribution of a cabin in the category you specify. You can accept/reject it or tweak it once details are available. All before reservations are open to the general public. Now, we just have to wait! Hoping those aboard this year’s GWV will get an advance sneak peek and share it with us!

Warning!! Avoid embarkation in Warnemunde/Rostock. Cruise ships historically must 

cancel that port at the last minute if storm winds are too strong. We had a disastrous experience last August; arrived at a precruise resort hotel anticipating 3 days of relaxation before embarkation. Notified by NCL that the ship would not be stopping there, and we would have to get to Copenhagen to board! Absolutely no assistance from NCL. Because it was last minute and Rostock/Warnemunde is remote, we had to scramble for train and ferry connections and barely made it. Two senior citizens, lugging and transferring suitcases between trains, etc. and unable to obtain reserved seats. Standing between train cars for 6 hours with our luggage sitting in other cars unattended. Worst travel experience ever.

We would love a HAL Grand Africa in 2020 - especially if it was round trip from the USA! If anyone aboard the Amsterdam on the 2019 Grand World Voyage hears any news about such an itinerary, please let us know. We have found future voyages are often first revealed there. Here’s hoping...

For those who booked this cruise before Amsterdam was dropped: I know NCL notified us that we would receive $200 somehow. Has anyone received it? I can’t locate the email or letter just now. Can you? Please post a link or scan of the email or letter or email me privately. Thank you!

Wondering if anyone has experience with the $50 per port shore excursion credit. Specifically, how it works with your onboard account. Say your cruise has 5 ports. Can you use $150 in one port and $100 in another, totaling the $250 but not spread out over 5 ports? Or at an extreme, do no excursions with NCL; do you still get $250 credited to your account that can offset expenditures for other things onboard? Maybe it never hits your general account and only shows up internally for the shore excursion desk? Happy to hear any thoughts or experiences!

If your prime consideration is visiting Easter Island, I agree with previous posters that flying is your best alternative. Our 2 scariest tender ports over the years were Easter Island and St. Helena. We were lucky to actually get ashore; even crew members said their ships had to skip these ports multiple times because of rough seas. Unloading from a tender between rocks to a pier moving from above our heads to below our feet was dangerous and frightening! Insure your ability to actually visit Easter Island by flying in. Enjoy!

We are so happy we took the opportunity to sail up the Amazon to Manaus on the Prinsendam. One of our all time favorite ships! As to the Amazon: just go with realistic expectations. It is a great experience to travel for days on the Amazon, but the river itself will rarely provide a "WOW!" moment. It is long and sometimes very wide, usually brown, and most of the shoreline scenery is just hours of trees and muddy root banks. Don't expect much in the way of wildlife or exotic sights from the ship. The few "cities" you will stop at are sad relics from the obscenely wealthy rubber barons of old. But don't get me wrong; you will have wonderful lifetime memories from this journey - naturally the sense of how vast and essential the Amazon is as the only means of transportation and commerce for this whole interior region of Brazil. I will never forget the endless stream of ferries laden with produce, live animals, and hundreds of people waiting for hours/days in their hammocks onboard as the schedule is only to leave once the ferry is filled; the "meeting of the waters"; the river fishermen in their fragile boats, etc. But beyond that, our most real experiences of the Amazon were in the excursions we took away from the main river and cities and into the jungle/in dugouts along the small tributaries/walking among the huts in isolated villages, etc. I strongly urge you to embrace any of these types of experiences. Combined with the warmth of the Brazilians you meet and the company of your fellow passengers, you have lots to look forward to!

My newest version: 1 long day of trains, then 1 full day in Lubeck and 1 full day in Schwerin concluding with 1 day in Rostock and then a quick hop to Warnemunde. I'd welcome any thoughts!

Yes, Hamburg would be the most direct/efficient connecting train hub. I was hoping, however, to avoid staying in another big city and hopefully structure 1-2 stops to stay in a smaller town(s) that would be interesting as well as easy to access. I thought Lubeck might fit, but we are open for any suggestions!

We will be departing a River Cruise next Sept. In Amsterdam and need to join a Baltic cruise departing from Warnemunde 4 days later. We will be visiting Prague and Berlin earlier in our travels. So far, my best thoughts are train to Bremen or Hannover and then to Lubeck, with final leg Lubeck to Rostock /Warnemunde. Hanseatic towns seem more interesting than big cities. Suggestions for 2 good (but 70 yrs. old with luggage) travelers?

Revisiting my search for a replacement for Travelpod. Have reviewed the older posts, but wondering if any former Travelpod devotees have had experience/success with any substitute system. How I miss the versatility and ease of use of Travelpod!

By far, from our experience, upper respiratory infections are the biggest unavoidable risk. Airborne and long lasting. On one of our world cruises, the "Cunard Cough" was so vile and widespread - the ship doctors ran out of some meds 3 weeks into the voyage. At one port alone, 8 passengers had to leave for home with severe pneumonia. Those of us lucky enough to continue suffered for at least another month after overcoming the fevers, chills, aches, etc. Regardless of care you take washing hands, avoiding public handholds and utensils, not touching your face, etc. - if someone coughs in your direction, you are very vulnerable. Sad to say, you just may have to be lucky! :(

Or women! Debbie on the Amsterdam Grand World Voyage was always a big draw. So very talented, creative, and willing to entertain any requests.

Our experience ranks India's visa application process among the most frustrating. In the USA, the online portion of the application, which must be filled out EXACTLY, is almost unintelligible. The questions have double negatives, etc that constantly make you wonder what they are really asking and how you should answer. Good luck, take your time, but don't wait til the last minute!

Thanks for all the good advise! Guess that just means I will have room for more

shoes...