Vict0riann

Well, I have been reading the Daily and then procrastinating about posting for the last few days and suddenly the day is over. So today I will fight it. Thanks everyone for the news, Happy Anniversary to @StLouisCruisers, and get well wishes to those ailing! I am packed and ready to leave on Sunday, but procrastinating about deciding whether to do a "Live From"; the Alaska cruise we will be on is very like most, except for the stops in Valdez and Prince Rupert. It is a bit of "comparison shopping" on my part as we booked it with Club Orange although it is only on Nieuw Amsterdam, so I'm interested to see if it's worth it. Actually, it is, cost wise, because we booked the least expensive OV and were upgraded to the most expensive - still an OV though, for less than the price of the room we got. I keep hoping there will be another "upgrade" email that will entice Pat to change to a verandah. Such dreadful and scary news from Saskatchewan, if the second brother has now been seen, hopefully he will be found soon. Drugs do such terrible things to people!

Looking forward to hearing more!

What a disaster! I am so sorry for your experience. Every time we cruise, I figure it's a roll of the dice. Now, with the lack of rules regarding masking, I'm not sure what we would do. We will take some tests with us, perhaps do our own testing if we feel under the weather., and then decide what to do. I was looking at the HAL policy for Covid cases and although it changes on a regular basis, I think you should be able to make some sort of claim for your own expenses. Here is what I see "Shoreside: 1. Reimbursement of expenses for COVID-related care including during any required shoreside quarantine period for guests and their immediate travel party if any such guest(s) test positive for COVID-19 during their cruise. This includes reasonable hotel expense and air change fees in the case onward travel plans need to change. 2. Any shoreside meals will be covered by a per-diem meal allowance as communicated by a letter provided onboard prior to disembarkation. (no receipt retention is required). a. This program is not intended to replace insurance or travel protection there are many non-COVID related reasons for travel protection plans. b. Insurance may allow for refunds in some cases otherwise covered by FCC only. c. Insurance coverage is subject to the applicable policy. General: 1. Due to restrictions at some ports, it may be required that guests who have tested positive and their close contacts disembark and continue isolation ashore instead of on the ship. If you’re required to disembark the ship, we’ll work with the local port authorities to secure the most appropriate accommodation for your period of isolation. In some instances, local authorities require isolation take place at a specific hotel, pre-approved to accommodate positive cases of COVID-19. These hotels could be 2-3 star properties and upgrades are beyond our control. 2. All elements of the Covid-19 Plan are excess over any valid and collectible insurance. Guests will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses, as defined below, incurred but not covered by their insurance meaning that the guest must file a claim with their primary insurer, and submit any excluded or uncovered expense. 3. This program shall not be applicable to a guest or any member(s) of their immediate travel party if such individual makes any false statements to the cruise line as to such individual’s COVID-19 vaccination status. The cruise line reserves the right to revoke any of the goodwill benefits provided in this program in the event of discovery of such false statements. 4. This program is not intended to provide long-term care for issues arising from COVID-19 and there will be no reimbursement of any expenses incurred after guest is medically cleared to travel home. This plan is also designed assist guests who, as a result of governmental travel restrictions put in place within 30 days of embarkation, cannot travel to the country of embarkation for their booked cruise. " That first #1 says they will reimburse expenses incurred for the Covid person and "their immediate travel party" - that would be you, right? I would argue that you should be able to make a claim with them. You may not be "required" to quarantine yourself, but your wife "requires" you be with her!

Two free dinners still included for 5 stars. We used them in Tamarind instead of Pinnacle Grill, though, in July.

Good morning, and thanks to Rich and Roy and all the other Dailyites who post. So sorry about Allen, I'll say a payer for a speedy recovery for him. Great aurora photos! I hope we get a chance to see it on our cruise. Last time they said there was a possibility as we left Anchorage, but was a cloudy night. Bon voyage to Pauline and Graham. 😃 We have the suitcases upstairs now, but haven't started packing. I do plan to pack my manners! Love frittatas, I make them often, as I am useless with pastry, but I just do it on the stove, put a lid on the frying pan. Sometimes the bottom gets a bit darker than planned, but always tasty! We had a Cellar Master Dinner on Nieuw Statendam recently, but it was in Canaletto, organized by the Canaletto chef and the CM. It was excellent, not as many courses at it used to be, but still well worthwhile to book. We booked as soon as we heard about it on board and hope it will appear again on this next cruise.

Thank you for the Bon Voyages! We are looking forward to our fifth cruise in Alaska, after two road trips. Such a beautiful part of the world. 😁

Thanks. I didn’t realize they wouldn’t just update as time passed.

Canada certainly has it in for us cruisers. When we went to make appointments at the drug store for our tests for Sept.11 cruise, the nurse said "oh, you don't need to test", but we do, Here is what the Government of Canada website says about cruises. I check it every few days, in the so far vain hope that things will change.

Yes, thanks, I went partway through the process. I’ll be able to do it next time.

I was hoping to use an existing gift card to purchase OBC. I couldn’t find a spot to do that. It said I could buy crew appreciation but we already had that. I will check again for a future cruise, but for now I’m happy with the shore excursions.

I bought some gift cards a while back when we could do it in Canada at a discount. I wanted to use one for OBC on our upcoming Alaska cruise, but there was nowhere on my "Manage My Booking" area that gave me the opportunity. However, when DH went to buy a shore excursion there was the option to use gift cards to pay, so we did that. Worked like a charm! 😁

We were in 4045 on Koningsdam and loved it. I don't know if they are exactly the same on Nieuw Statendam, but check out Halfacts.com and see if there are any pictures.

Sounds like they plan to feed you? Or maybe just give you the opportunity to feed yourselves...

I wanted to add my congratulations to @marshhawk for all the sales. Quite an accomplishment. My DSIL in Australia makes calls for a polling company all about politics. She has some tales to tell! @lindaler, we will be on the Nieuw Amsterdam on the 11th. Was it you who mentioned a visit to Victoria? I'm sorry if I won't be here to show you around. We get back on the 25th. Now I'm back, curry is simmering, and I can add my photos from this morning. The floating dock... This was not the boat we took our ride in!

Ten days and we will be off to Alaska! Hope it's not too rainy. We've never done it in September. Good morning, all. I think I slept about an hour last night - I guess too much caffeine yesterday. Talking about rabbits, we have been besieged by them, and the deer, of course. DD says she is going to just give up on the dahlias and just plant artichokes. She has about 30 seedlings, and is trying to give some away. She did plant some of them around the edges of her dahlia bed, in the hope that they would deter the deer, but either the deer or the rabbits have now eaten the artichoke plants!. I am preparing a bed in the courtyard that may possibly hold three dahlias and I will transplant my favourites there when we get back, and just hope for the best. The rabbits are eating my asters, every day I find half a dozen stems cut down and leafless, lying on the ground. We are the rabbit buffet. We were in Boca da Valeria in 2019 on the Prinsendam. I was looking to see if I could see Roy in the crowds on the shore. The river was very high, they had had a lot of rain, but we did have a nice (hot) day there. We took school supplies and the ship delivered them to the school. I had ribbons and hair bands for the girls and stickers for the boys, and I was besieged by the children. We were also told we could give them (new!) dollar bills if we had our pictures taken with them. We took a boat ride on the river with another couple. I pulled out some pictures, but will post them later, have to get ready to go to coffee with a neighbour. Pat needs to bank, get some US dollars for the cruise, and I have to organize my Prolia shot at the drug store. TTYL! Oh, Happy Birthday @Cruzin Terri!

Just went back through my pictures, and I think this is the town that made the Panama hats (I like to take pictures of a sewer cover, etc., if it has the name of the town..)

Good morning, Dailyites, and thanks to Rich, Roy, and all the Daily posters! Praying for those with troubles now, and as I think I am back to normal, I will raise a glass this evening to those celebrating - anybody celebrating? Actually, I am, because Pat went to the doctor yesterday, got a few keratoses zapped, and told the doctor about his bee sting in Reykjavik and the doctor prescribed an Epipen. Pat is very nonchalant about the danger, so I will be carrying the Epipen for him! He used to always take one with him on his business travels, but got very lax about it. Now I imagine his histamines are elevated again. Another celebration will be our cruise in 10 days! Just got an itinerary change last night - Sitka for Glacier Bay day and vice versa. Any ideas why they would do this? I wondered if it meant there were too many ships in Glacier Bay on the 19th, so we had to change? We visited Manta in 2017 on the Zaandam. I seem to remember mainly HEAT! We went to the fish market, too, and then to a park to look for monkeys - they were mainly sleeping in the hot and humid jungle. Then the village where they make the Panama hats. I didn't check to see which pictures I posted before, hope I'm not repeating too much. Fish market, I think they were having fun.. Trudging through the jungle I forget the name of the village.. They made hammocks, too I really miss these screens

Just booked our flights to Fort Lauderdale in the Spring! I used Air Miles as I got tired of waiting for a quote from FlightEase. Three flights, but we get in at the respectable hour of 8:30 p.m. And Pat booked our hotel for two nights. I just hope that by then missing bags are a thing of the past. @kochleffel, Pat is often addressed as "Sir Patrick" and I get "Madame Ann", I'm not sure why (do you think it might be our ages? lol). We always tell our room stewards just to call us Pat and Ann, but the wine and MDR stewards are more formal!

In honour of National Beach Day, the beach we landed on in Antarctica, and a few feathered friends landing at the same beach

Good morning, Dailyites, hope everyone is having a good day today. Thanks to Rich and Roy, and all who post. Nice to see Gigianne here! I haven't posted for a few days, but reading when I can. Trying to get my eating habits sorted with this new problem, and thinking about our upcoming cruise in less than two weeks. I did get a call yesterday with a date for my colonoscopy, October 3, good thing it won't interfere with the cruise (cruise comes first!) and I had a phone appointment with my doctor this morning to organize a new prescription for my Prolia shot, due the beginning of next month, which is almost here. On the news the other day was that a cruise ship was stuck in Vancouver harbour overnight as the tugs are on strike and refused to move the bunkering barge that was attached to the ship! Hope that doesn't happen with us. I imagine most of the ships going to Alaska from Vancouver bunker there. We are taking the bus over on the day of departure, so we also have to hope that the ferries are running. At least we won't have to worry about our bags getting lost or flights delayed, but there's always something, isn't there? I grew up with four boy cousins, so read a lot of their science fiction, "ABC"s - Asimov, Bradbury and Clarke. Classics now, I guess! We've been to Bridgetown a few times. And I have not added tomatoes into my diet for the time being, still staying "white" - pretty much the BRAT diet, mashed potatoes, rice, white bread and fish, chicken, etc. If I misbehave, I have problems! Have to get back to normal for the cruise, though. At least I lost 8 lbs., so some good has come out of all this. I'm sorry there are those suffering loss and other ailments on the thread. Everything seems magnified with Covid around. Prayers for all.

Bon voyage! Hope you have a great time and find the time to tell us all about the ship and cruise. 😀

Thanks. My iPhone is newer, so I will do it on that.

It was the best we could find, an upgrade with CO. Very last minute. I voted for a different C, but DH and our PCC both voted for this one. There wasn’t much left.

What app would that be? I'm interested because our next cruise we (again) have a connecting room, and may need some white noise!

I missed her, too. Slept in....