Daily Reports from the Westerdam to Alaska and Denali

[Crew News]

48 minutes ago, flyrobinfly said:

The embarkation day is fixed but now the Day 2 has gone MIA. Thank you for all your work sharing these great resources with us!

 

Thanks for the updat.  Looks like my gremlin battles are still going.  The Embarkation and Day 02 should now be fixed.

[flyrobinfly]

5 hours ago, Crew News said:

 

Thanks for the updat.  Looks like my gremlin battles are still going.  The Embarkation and Day 02 should now be fixed.

 

You have triumphed and the gremlins are eradicated...menus work beautifully now. Thanks!

[LF23]

Your reports are always informative, as is your website. Thank you for the time and effort.  Very helpful for planning. Glad you enjoyed your trip!  

 

PS, especially love the bundles of helpful facts and absence of superlatives.😉

[PRPLE]

Lots of helpful info.... huge thanks!

[grest]

First I want to thank Roger...we were on the Westerdam with him, spent a lot of time reading information prior to the trip.  On the ship we met him for the initial informal tour....this man knows this ship/this line, and is more than willing, eager really, to share all he knows.  We attended the Meet and Greet where he and my brother discovered their army connection and chatted awhile.  We saw Roger again at Mendelhall Glacier, always with his camera.  Those of you who have not seen his photos, along with so much information about HAL and his adventures, are in for a treat when you wander to his site.  

We loved this cruise.  No complaints.  Really enjoyed the Mariner's luncheon...food terrific...the beer and cheddar chowder with chicken may have been the best thing I ate all week.  Travelled with 4 sibs and spouses, along with my husband.  We had side by side aft cabins on Rotterdam deck, and opened the doors between balconies...fantastic!

Question for you, Roger.  You mention that you have both global entry and tsa...I thought that getting global entry would essentially cover what tsa does....why both?

Thank you again for all you do!  

[Crew News]

9 minutes ago, grest said:

First I want to thank Roger...we were on the Westerdam with him, spent a lot of time reading information prior to the trip.  On the ship we met him for the initial informal tour....this man knows this ship/this line, and is more than willing, eager really, to share all he knows.  We attended the Meet and Greet where he and my brother discovered their army connection and chatted awhile.  We saw Roger again at Mendelhall Glacier, always with his camera.  Those of you who have not seen his photos, along with so much information about HAL and his adventures, are in for a treat when you wander to his site.  

We loved this cruise.  No complaints.  Really enjoyed the Mariner's luncheon...food terrific...the beer and cheddar chowder with chicken may have been the best thing I ate all week.  Travelled with 4 sibs and spouses, along with my husband.  We had side by side aft cabins on Rotterdam deck, and opened the doors between balconies...fantastic!

Question for you, Roger.  You mention that you have both global entry and tsa...I thought that getting global entry would essentially cover what tsa does....why both?

Thank you again for all you do!  

 

It was nice to meet all of you and the chance to share cruise info.  Glad to see you enjoyed your cruise and the aft views.  I will be conducting another informal ship tour on the Maasdam for the first two weeks in Alaska next May (my preferred month).

 

TSA Pre-check is part of the Global Entry package you can purchase. 

 

Global Entry is for getting back into the USA with less hassle and is usuable at only a few ports of entry.  It allows you to create your Customs Declaration Form online and then just show your phone and passport to the agent.  It does get you into a shorter departure line when you are flying out of the Vancouver airport.

 

TSA Pre-check is for internal USA-only and gets you into a much shorter Security Screening line where you don't need to remove belts and shoes.  You also do not need to remove your laptops or liquids from your carry-on luggage.  Empty your pockets into a side pocket of your carry-on luggage, or a coat pocket, push your carry-on luggage into the scanner, and just walk through the metel-detector.  It saves on gettting undressed/dressed for TSA screening.

 

 

[terrydtx]

23 minutes ago, Crew News said:

TSA Pre-check is for internal USA-only and gets you into a much shorter Security Screening line where you don't need to remove belts and shoes.  You also do not need to remove your laptops or liquids from your carry-on luggage.  Empty your pockets into a side pocket of your carry-on luggage, or a coat pocket, push your carry-on luggage into the scanner, and just walk through the metel-detector.  It saves on gettting undressed/dressed for TSA screening.

This last week I flew from Dallas TX to San Antonio on American and the TSA Pre Check line had over 50 people in it while the regular non pre check had less than 5 people in line. I think so many frequent travelers are getting the Pre Check that the lines are now longer. There was even a sign above the security check lines that said General Security less than 2 minute wait and the Pre Check line showed a 5 minute wait.

[terrydtx]

33 minutes ago, Crew News said:

Global Entry is for getting back into the USA with less hassle and is usuable at only a few ports of entry.  It allows you to create your Customs Declaration Form online and then just show your phone and passport to the agent.  It does get you into a shorter departure line when you are flying out of the Vancouver airport.

We have TSA Pre Check, but I thought Global Entry kept you out of the long security lines at most foreign airports. We are flying international next year and I was going to upgrade to Global Entry,

 

Thanks, 

[oakridger]

The Global Entry is used for expedited entry back into the US at US airports and some cruise ports.  There are Global Entry Kiosks at a few non-US airports and some other security arrangements with other partner countries:

 

Look under "Trusted Traveler Programs"- "Global Entry Card" - International Arrangements.

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/locations

Edited June 23, 2019 by oakridger
Added info