Wildcatllamas

I had no interest in going to Alaska until I was in Fairbanks last February. The daytime temps were -47 degrees F and nights were worse. But I found the trip exhilarating. The scenery, even though it was snow packed and snow covered was like nothing I had ever experienced, even living in the mountains of Colorado for decades. I jumped on the chance to grab a placeholder for a Sea Terrace on Brilliant Lady since it is fully refundable. So if the itineraries are really not to my liking I can cancel.

With so few suites available it's not surprising how quickly they sell out. There are a lot of folks who love sailing in suites and there are only 78 suites. Those can disappear in the blink of an eye.

Could be the 24 hour hold wasn't acted on.

I was on VV webinar yesterday afternoon and at that time all the suites were sold. This was at 3 PM their time. There were still some Central Sea Terraces left, but not many. Now with the 24 hour hold that was available there could have been some agents who grabbed up some when they became available and things may pop up today.

I got the Nautical Northeast booked early this morning for a client who had expressed interest in it. Just waiting to hear back from them for the deposit. If they don't go I may just keep it myself since it sounds like a great itinerary. I got names put in for the Alaska FRONTier for two of my other clients and myself. I am so glad the friend of mine, who became my agent when I stepped back from it, convinced me to get back in the saddle. Yes the MerMaidens were expensive and I expected that due to all the excitement that has swirled around Brilliant Lady. But the rest of the pricing is very competitive.

Most land based restaurants will have the disclaimer somewhere on their menu that eating meat, eggs and seafood undercooked can lead to serious illness so they can avoid the repercussions of folks eating raw food. In one of my college classes I toured a meat packing plant. That was a real eye opener on ground beef and all meat cuts and the issues of cross contamination. I will not buy hamburger in those solid package tubes. I will only buy it from stores that actually grind their own meat and now that there is a rancher that is selling direct to the public I get his hamburger. So on board a ship or even in a restaurant that doesn't grind their own meat I will order medium rare even though I definitely prefer it rare.

Congratulations!!! If there were options for an extra bed in the suites I would bid on one. I'm good friends with the folks that I travel with, but sharing a bed is definitely not an option.

I may have to check into purchasing a MNVV from someone. Mine all expire in December 2025 and my next cruise isn't until September. I would definitely try to jump on one of the 5 nights and going to do Alaska for sure.

@cantgetin before I became gluten intolerant I liked waffles just like you described. Thick, puffy, crispy on the outside with a nice moist interior. Now I have gluten free frozen waffles that will barely get by and then gluten free mix that doesn't come close and sticks to the waffle iron. So I just watch and drool when others are eating them.

@Gretchendz I will have my computer fired up and ready to go. I would love to get a shot at the cruise that would depart Seattle on May 11. Otherwise I would settle for September.

I have that marked on my calendar. Glad I came out of retirement from being a TA.

I had never been interested in doing an Alaskan cruise. But having spent a week last February in Fairbanks I changed my mind. Now I am thinking what better way to spend my birthday in 2026 then to be on Brilliant going to Alaska.

Alaska - I will definitely be looking at that one.

Nothing is showing in their booking engine at this time. May 8th it will go live.

So far nothing is showing for Alaska or Vancouver for May of 2026.