Ken the cruiser

We love not having to cook, clean or do laundry for at least 3-5 weeks at a time. But we also love looking forward to what the next day will bring, whether it's going on an excursion at some cool port or finding things to do around the ship on sea days. And then there's hanging out on the balcony watching the waves go by and hoping to get a glimpse of some ocean life along the way.

Maybe they'll implement a program similar to the one Princess just introduced where you can get free unlimited internet, free drinks and free gratuities for an additional $40 per person per day. This way if you're happy with your loyalty perks, you can always opt for the "cruise only" fare and pay separately for any extras you may want. But if not, you would now have a reasonable option to purchase their AI option. Just a thought ...

Makes a lot of sense. Thanks for clearing this up.

Didn't say it was. We just thought it was weird that HAL was dumping some "white foamy substance" into the Anchorage harbor while in port for the day. To be honest we had NEVER seen that before on any cruise we have been on and just wondered what it was. The comment that it was probably gray water just made sense unless you know what else it might have been. I'm sure if it was illegal the Anchorage port folks would have pointed it out to HAL, but of course we would never know that.

I always wondered what that white bubbly stuff was that we saw from our balcony coming from the Amsterdam when we were docked at Anchorage on one of their 14 day Alaska cruises in July 2017. It just seemed weird as it kept flowing from the ship for a good 10-15 minutes.

Actually, this thread has been quite informative in a variety of ways as we all wait for the first vaccines to be released, whether in the EU or the USA, so we can all get back to cruising. One of the many aspects of this thread, being both the OP as well as someone sitting over in the peanut gallery, is that it keeps me and others informed of the progress of the various COVID vaccines and how they may possibly be disseminated once granted approval. Unfortunately, the vaccine updates have been slow in coming as of late for obvious reasons so news releases have slowed down, but the knowledge most of us continue to gain from the various posts on this thread has for the most part been very well received. However, if you've grown tired of it you can always click the Unfollow button, as I have on many threads when I no longer find them newsworthy. But, for me, I hope this thread continues and the various very knowledgeable folks that have contributed to it so far will continue providing us all with their insights regarding the various COVID vaccines as they hopefully make their way very soon to the finish line and into our arms so we can all start cruising again.

We live just north of Montgomery.

Thanks! Good to know about the Urgent Care option as we have those in our area.

If I might ask, did you have to pay a fee to be tested in your situation?

What I find interesting is that in Alabama most of us normal folks can't even call to get an appointment to get a COVID test unless we have some of the related symptoms. But yet some folks are saying up to 40% of the those that test positive are asymptomatic. Could there be a lot more folks that have had COVID, but didn't get tested because they didn't have any symptoms? Just curious how so many folks think they need to get tested if they aren't displaying any symptoms?

I haven't posted this Johns Hopkins University link in awhile. But if your interested in how well the various US states are dealing with new COVID infections, it gives a good day by day as well as a 3 day rolling average graph. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/new-cases-50-states

Just got a PUP email today for our May 2021 Alaska cruise on the Millennium - 50 pups for pre-booking a Spa treatment and optionally 20 PUPs for pre-ordering a Photograph package. My DW pre-booked a Spa treatment using mostly OBC, but passed on the Photo package.

We used to travel every 3 months in our RV, but discovered cruising about 8 years ago and haven't looked back. Greyhound used to have a saying, "Go Greyhound and leave the driving to us". For us cruising takes that to a whole new level. They do the driving, cooking, cleaning, laundry, provide entertainment and offer optional daytime excursions at every stop along the way. If something unforeseen happens where we need additional assistance to remedy a situation, they have a capable staff ready to help 24 hours a day. What more could one ask for? So, yes, we're two of those folks that are ready to go cruising again and have a variety of bookings in the queue to some really cool places once Celebrity, Princess and Seabourn start sailing again. We have no issues with wearing a mask and social distancing in public areas because, at the same time, we're pretty confident the cruise lines will be doing everything they can once they start back up to also ensure a safe environment for us to enjoy our cruising experience. We really don't see a downside if we follow the rules, just like we recently did when we flew to Seattle to visit family and stayed in a hotel for five days. I have to admit, though, it will be nice when we can put our masks back in the closet. But I will also say a balcony cabin is a must!!

I believe there was a Mediterranean port quiz last month we just got 2 points for. There was another port quiz we took last week, but we shouldn’t get those 2 points until next month.

I believe we got 100 PU points for (re)booking a sky suite.