USCcruisecrazy

I think they meant it to read "One of these days the pre-boarding...etc..." not that it was a 1-day pre-boarding test.

Sorry to hear this. Hopefully things work out for you. I recommend looking at hotels, cabins, and B&Bs if you decide to book your own land tour. We will be up there the last week of June and first 10 days of July. We booked rooms in Kenai, Seward, Anchorage, Talkeetna, and Fairbanks 8 months ago and they already had limited availability, but we have a group of 6. May be easier finding something for 2 (if it's 2 of you). Best of luck!!

Plus, pulling a mask up and down...constantly touching it and not washing your hands every time you touch it...seems more risky than not wearing it all. Not to mention, relaxing vacation and mask stuck to one's face don't seem to go together. No thanks!

Long ride. I drove once from Deep Creek to Fairbanks. Realized then how big Alaska really was! 🙂 Great advice on packing cough syrup (as well as other OTC drugs. Hate to have a cough nowadays because everyone freaks out thinking you have covid. LOL! Cough medicine highly recommended at those times!

Thanks for the correction. My real point was that things aren't worse as far as deaths...spread is a useless stat because the strength of the virus is so much weaker. Anyway, I looked at 1 March, the date you say it changed...deaths were at a 7-day average of 1915 on that day. That's still only 15% of the deaths now as of 1 March. So still makes no sense!!!

So, back in January of this year when the 7-day running average of new case was 470,000 a day and deaths were a 7-day average of 2582, they made masks optional except when going through the port. That was a CDC requirement and not a Princess requirement. Move forward to June of 2022 where the 7-day average of new cases is 106,000 (just over 20% of January) and the deaths are 284 (11% of January numbers) and now masks are again being made mandatory. Just another example of how inconsistent and non-science based their decisions are.

Exactly why we leave 29 June for 2 weeks in Alaska...no ship required...no masks required. It's going to be another epic Alaskan vacation!!!

Thanks so much for the information. I will check out Rick Steves Tours for sure. Our last trip to Europe was just before COVID and we did the driving ourselves. We planned everything out in advance, but already had some solid data from the 4 years we lived in Germany. Again, I really appreciate you sharing the information. We look forward to an incredible trip! Cheers!

I don't believe there's any confusion at all. If a veteran wants to wear their medals on their dinner outfit, then good for them. I am glad they are proud to display them. I honored my mother every day of her life, not just Mother's Day. I honor my wife every day of her life, not just our Anniversary and Mother's Day and her birthday. I also honor all military veterans for their service every day as well. For the record, I have a chest full of medals from my many years of service. I don't wear them in public but that's my choice. I honor those that do...or don't...that served!

We like to get two balconies that adjoin...once the divider is folded, it seems much roomier than just doubling the space. I guess maybe not having that wall so close to you. Last trip on the Sky we had 4 balconies all opened up together. 🙂

And there are a bunch of countries (collectively known as Europe) that are very thankful for the wars we fought!!

Good to know the virus doesn't exist in the dining room, bars, or casino! Thanks!

You can wear your medals (miniature or full-size) on your civilian clothing as long as they are worn in the same manner as on your uniform. Meaning, wear them on the same side and in the same basic location/position as if they were on your uniform. I think that's pretty awesome!! I've never done that in the past because I haven't been in position to do that during the recommended holidays or functions. Thanks for your service!!! Wear your medals with pride!!

Absolutely agree 100%. We have been taking all sorts of land based vacations...don't have to worry about failing a test and sending the vacation in disarray. In fact, leaving in 27 days for two weeks in Alaska. Been to Florida numerous times...and MS coast over Easter week. We have a 10 day cruise scheduled for January of 2023, but if they start this mask requirement back up, we will cancel and spend our money elsewhere. The numbers may be going up but at least in SC the deaths are non-existent and hospitalizations are pretty low compared to the past. The virus will never go away...just continue to get weaker so "catching it" is a given. We live with it just like any other virus you may catch!

Since you don't care for the actual prints, can't you still purchase the digital files for one price? I can't imagine they won't let you do that.

Yeah, I got that. I was trying to show how the Princess Rep on the phone may have been confused, because the cruise was purchased based on $40 per day and now the upgraded version is $74 a day...thus the $35 difference. You make a great point, though, that based on the specific cruise, the actual cost may be less than the published difference. Cheers!

The current difference is $25 but the original Princess Plus was $40 not $50. I think that's were the confusion arises.

Is the cruise a 14 day? If so, your $35 PP per day comes out to the $1000 (roughly) that you were quoted. I think the biggest issue I'd have in that case is by suggesting I need to re-book, I'd potentially lose my current location. Of course, it seems like others have been quoted $25 (based on the current difference in the two choices...although it was $40 when we booked). I'd definitely call Princess back and speak with someone else.

Love all the pictures...laughed a bit though...talk about first world problems! LOL!

Yes, it is in the eyes of the beholder. After all, a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. We didn't start cruising on Princess because we thought it was a Premium Line. We started cruising on Princess because of the itineraries, the older crowd (which is usually more reserved), the beauty of the ships, and the atmosphere. That being said, I personally would consider it a premium cruise line.

Well, since my wife and I have had COVID twice with no symptoms, I'll leave the extra meds at home and bring a few things for entertainment...plus pay the small fee for extra bottles of red liquid medication...and the cork screw to get to it!! Do like the laptop idea, too!

https://www.fooddive.com/news/agreement-reached-to-export-more-us-beef-to-the-eu/560288/#:~:text=Under the agreement%2C U.S. beef exports to the,about %24420 million%2C according to Meat %2B Poultry. According to this article, the EU not only gets beef from the US, but they are expanding the amount.

Well, that sounds like a real bummer. Did you speak with someone at Princess? Perhaps get them to at least put you at the top of the list. Or explain why the excursion is still on the site? Do you have any other stops that have excursions to a glacier? You picked some great dates. We are going up to visit some of our kids from 29 June thru 10 July. That's always a nice time of year...less chance of rain...although our years living in Alaska proved rain and summer are a common partnership.

How was Cinque Terra? The wife actually wants to do a land vacation there, the Amalfi Coast, and Rome.

Awesome diagram...but you missed my very simple point...people are arguing that the spread can be stopped by wearing masks on the ships. If that is true, then the person that tests positive with no symptoms should be able to travel the ship with a mask on. Of course, the premise is false (that we some how wouldn't have the issue of spread with masks on) so the real answer is that we treat COVID just like the flu or Noro. If you have symptoms, you quarantine. If not, you don't even get tested.