Appalachian Mountain Mama

13 minutes ago, Appalachian Mountain Mama said:

 

I feel terrible, I'm just read thru sequentially from the start and here I am just reading this news and my silly comments are showing up in the middle of sad news when 6 people are missing.  Praying for a good outcome.

9 hours ago, Brentt_M said:

We are at Ketchikan and we have a kayaking excursion booked here shortly.  Our last port of the cruise 😞

 

We will have to go back to the real world soon and I am not ready for that!

You have that backwards... Cruising is the REAL world... all this other stuff is just to make money so we can cruise more!😂

On 8/4/2021 at 4:22 PM, Coffeeluvr05 said:

I’m on that sailing and have heard nothing of the sort. 

Check your spam folder, I'm on the 8/21 sailing and I received the email yesterday afternoon and it specifically says that proof of a negative covid test within 72 hours of embarkation will be required on all cruises starting with the 8/14 cruise.  It says no tests will be done at the port and those without proof of a negative test will be denied boarding.

On 8/3/2021 at 9:59 PM, Brentt_M said:

Kind of, but it was a challenge sometimes.  However, you can have it broadcast on your tv if you want.

Another great piece of info, I did not know that.

On 8/1/2021 at 2:30 PM, Brentt_M said:

Single pass for the week.  Got it for 139 online in advance.  199 on the ship and they only had 7 left by 5pm yesterday.

Please accept my condolences on your wife's passing.  I'm enjoying reading your comments and looking at your pics.  I'm on the 8/21 sailing so lots of helpful comments here.  I was debating on buying the thermal pass online or waiting until I boarded, your comment made my decision for me... thank you!  I'm also going to ask if they charged you a corkage fee for your wine?  I've always brought my own free bottle in the past but reading now that all wine will be charged corkage is making me think I won't bring any this trip.  Hope you and your children continue to have a great cruise.

Waiting for the bus to the cruise port... WE ARE HERE!

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Unbelievable. This is long before time, I was just going to check the map and there she was.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, what map? Does this show where the different ships are? My family would love it if they could track me on my cruise.

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Pay now or pay later, the bill is the same! Whatever works for you.

True, but I booked almost a year ago and spread all the payments out over the last 10 months, same amount at the end, it just didn't hurt as bad as one giant bill!

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Thanks guys... I'm so excited I'm ready to pop and the Northern Lights forecast is for excellent viewing from the 27th to the 30th so that is just icing on the cake!

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Speaking for myself only, I will never cruise the big floating shopping malls/amusement parks. I don't care what their itinerary is, I don't care how cheap the fare is, I cruise to relax and just don't find crowds of loud people (kids and adults) rushing from one activity to another to make sure they "do everything" relaxing.

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That's 6 months from now, unless half the population was killed in the storm everything should be cleaned up by then.

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I don't want to spend my vacation logging into the internet either but it is nice to have it available if you really need it... and just because it's there doesn't mean you have to log on constantly, have some self control! Lol. That being said I like the Navigator idea, it's not the internet, it's the shipnet, lets you keep informed without having to go back to your cabin to check the TV a dozen times a day.

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Keep in mind that the different packages (Explore4/Ready, Set, Sail) do change so WHEN you book can make a difference. I booked under Explore4 last Oct and received OBC, internet credit, SBP, Pinnacle Grill dinner, free gratuities and would have had the discounted 3rd/4th passenger if we had an extra passenger. The current Explore4 offer does not include the free gratuities or the internet credit so it is possible for 2 different people to have different perks under the same package name based on when they booked the package.

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Sorry if this isn't the right place for this. Leaving in 2 weeks for my first Alaska cruise. One of my "must do" plans was salmon fishing in Ketchikan. Despite my research and multiple calls/emails to multiple salmon charter services in Ketchikan I've had to accept that I may not get to fish. I use a walker so I like to book my own excursions so I'm not having to deal with a bus load of people who think I'm in their way and I am on my own for this, which is what causes the problem... no one will book me solo, they will not add another person to the charter even if there is only a small group already booked and they have room on their boat. I like doing my own excursions but I may have to bite the bullet on this one, book thru the ship and put up with the bus load of people. Anyone had a similar experience and have advice or solutions?

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Does anyone have something similar for the Nieuw Amsterdam? Or how likely is the NA to be fairly similar to the Eurodam? Thanks for posting Mom, interesting to see what goes on even if it isn't my ship!

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Here's my off the wall food question. Will things like Dijon mustard, peanut butter, celery, nuts, salsa, chips and hummus be available on the ship? I know they can't carry everything but hoping some of my goto snacks will be available.

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Did a search for this but didn't find much info and nothing within the last couple years. I want a 'DAM ship tee shirt... where are they available? On the ships?

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We booked our Sept cruise back in Oct last year when Explore4 was last offered. I think it was a much better deal then. We got the SBP, a Pinnacle Grill dinner, prepaid gratuities, $250 OBC and $200 "internet" credit for booking a suite but it's my understanding that HAL simply puts it in your account and you may spend it on anything. The 3rd/4th passenger offer was also included but we didn't use it. We could have passed on the Explore4 and paid roughly $800 less per person but we would have been giving about $815 per person in "perks" so for us it was an easy decision. I wasn't impressed with current Explore4, I don't consider the "reduced deposit" to be worth anything... the total fare is the same no matter what, so paying less now just means you pay more later.

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Anyone with recent experience of FlyOver Canada in Vancouver? We would like to take the ride but not sure about time involved. We will be arriving fairly early on our departure day, wondering if it's feasible to take the ride after dropping off luggage but before boarding or is it better to take it post cruise when we have more time? We have transportation back to our hotel, where our car will be parked during the cruise but wondering if there is someplace secure at the cruise terminal to store luggage while we ride.

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Crew News and POA1, thanks for that info!

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LVSue, careful, it appears that $200 OBC is only for suites.

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g&g may I ask what cruise you booked? The only OBC offer I am seeing is $200 per suite, not per person and not for lower category staterooms.

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POA, thanks for that list. Must admit I was a bit surprised that on cruises to Alaska they don't offer Alaskan Amber and Hopothermia. [emoji22]

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I had read so much about this excursion that I wanted to take it and when I booked the TA stop was listed in our itinerary but has since disappeared, there was some notice given about the expected weather being bad... maybe if I'm lucky and the weather isn't too bad they will add it back... but I'm not holding my breath.

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Sorry hit the wrong button and posted before I was done with my comment. I priced everything out when I booked and bottom line for us at the time was about (IIRC) $60 per person cheaper to take the Explore4 promotion. I factored in the larger amount of OBC we got for paying a fare that was a bit higher. After we booked the gratuity went up so that added a bit to our savings. Beverage package worked for us because it was part of our "free" Explore4 but we would likely buy it anyway, 3 or 4 glasses of wine with meals, 2 or 3 cocktails in the evening, a couple fancy coffees and you've already covered the daily cost. But if you don't drink alcohol at all it's a waste, most of the other drinks are either free or not that expensive.

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