Tkhalaska

We are currently aboard the Crown Princess.  As part of the room steward introducing himself when we first arrived, we asked him how to address dirty dishes.  He told us just to set them aside in the room and he would take care of it.  Maybe stewards have their own preferences, or different ships have their own quirks about doing things.  There is also the room servicing request medallion function outside the door, or the app.

There are quite a few passengers who use wheelchairs or walkers, so while it might not be wrong to leave dirty dishes outside the room I probably would not do it.  Our first 2 days out of HI the weather was an issue, the sea was so rough anything we placed outside the door would have ended up in the hallway.

We are currently on the Crown on the way back from HI and did the tours on our own.  Here's how it worked out for us:

1) Took an Uber ( $25 each way) from the ship to the Bowfin and did the submarine and exhibit tour.  As stated above, you will not be able to bring a backpack or bag.

2) Took the shuttle to the Missouri and did their tour, also did the chief engineer tour (costs extra and offered on a time schedule).  The MO and Aviation Museum are on base, the shuttle is the best way to get over there.  You would not be able to take a rental car there unless you have a military ID.  Even then, I would check to see what the requirements are for rental car documentation.

3) Took the shuttle to the Aircraft Museum.  There is a cafe there to have lunch at. 

4) Shuttle back to the visitor center, Uber back to the ship.

It was a long day with a lot of walking, you would need to be off the ship first thing.  We had been to the AZ memorial on a different trip so did not go again.  We had been to the MO on that same trip but had to cut our time short because we were on an organized tour so we wanted to go back and see more.  We got back to the cruise ship around 1700. Last shuttle out of the Aviation Museum is 1700, last one out of the MO is 1600.  MO closes at 1600, AZ and Aviation close at 1700.  For everything except the AZ you could but wouldn't have to purchase tickets in advance.

There would have been time to go to the beach since the ship wasn't due to leave until 2300, but we were tired and there was some kind of a festival going on in Waikiki when we were there.  If you saw fewer of the museums/memorials you could easily do that in the morning and have the entire afternoon and evening free.

We are sailing on the Crown Princess to Hawaii in a couple of weeks and have the Plus package.  We decided since it is a cruise with a lot of sea days it might be worth it.  This is also my test case as we want to do the 33 day Tahiti/Hawaii cruise next year, which is another heavy sea day cruise.  My math looks like this so far:

Crew appreciation $16 a day x 2 people x 16 days = $512

Wi-fi $15 a day x 2 people x 16 days = $480 (we are not eligible for 1/2 price wi-fi on this cruise but will be eligible on the next one.  We each will have 1 device)

Plus package $60 a day x 2 people x 16 days = $1920

1920 package cost - 512 to the crew - 480 wi-fi = 928

$928 coffee+alcohol budget/ 16 days / 2 people = $29pp/per day

Which works out to essentially 2 alcoholic drinks per day per person to break even.  While we may not do that every day, I do like my morning latte and we also would be getting bottled water and an occasional smoothie.

Our consumption of premium deserts ( 2/day/pp allowed) will not significantly factor in, we may each have 2 or 3 the entire cruise

I will probably utilize the 2 fitness classes/cruise, DH will not.  Not a cost buster.

We only use room service occasionally for breakfast, I believe only meals other than breakfast incur a charge, so room service fees are not a factor either.

Having our usual costs taken care of, I used our $1100 OBC to book excursions, with a little left over in my account for the spa.  In 2 of the ports we have shore activities planned not involving Princess.

So in our case we will likely be slightly better than even with the Plus.  I will see what our actual usage is to determine if it will be worth it for next time, taking into consideration lower internet costs!

Seward is worth an overnight stay.  If I only had 1 day, I would be going to the Sealife Center and going to Exit Glacier.  Pre-Covid there were shuttles to the glacier visitor center, not sure what the situation will be when you go but you will need to arrange some type of transportation.  Any leftover time can be used strolling the harbor or looking in all the funky shops downtown.  If you can't get on an early train the next morning, take a full or half day wildlife viewing cruise or kayak and then take the evening train.

(18) If you are born in 2020 everything looks like a hand sanitizer 😂 - YouTube

Senator Murkowski's virtual visit to Haines.  Not optimistic about workarounds for PVSA- which was not unexpected.  Instead she is focusing on federal aid to affected communities. 

Murkowski pays virtual visit to Haines as Biden approves major disaster declaration after landslides - Alaska Public Media

This is in response to persons with questions regarding HIPAA and access to vaccine records:

What is the HIPAA Privacy Rule?

To implement HIPAA, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued the “Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information” (the “Privacy Rule”), which established a set of national standards to address the use and disclosure of individuals’ health information—called “protected health information” – by organizations subject to the Privacy Rule—called “covered entities” – as well as standards for individuals’ privacy rights to understand and control how their health information is used.

Implications for Public Health

The Privacy Rule strikes a balance between protecting patient information and allowing traditional public health activities to continue. Generally, disclosure of protected health information without the authorization of the individual is permitted for purposes including but not limited to:

1. disclosures required by law (45 CFR § 164.512(a)) or
2. for “public health activities and purposes.” This includes disclosure to “a public health authority that is authorized by law to collect or receive such information for the purpose of preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability, including but not limited to, the reporting of disease, injury, vital events…, and the conduct of public health surveillance,… investigations, and… interventions.” (45 CFR § 164.512(b)(i))

So yes, your vaccination records can be accessed without your explicit consent.  The easiest and least intrusive way for public health agencies to do this will be the state vaccination registries.  

All states have their own electronic registry for vaccinations.  There are designated people at health facilities ( yes I am one) who have credentials to enter data.  This database is different and separate from any other EHR you have. Anything I enter will have my electronic identifier so it can be discovered who put data in if there is a question.  In order to enter a vaccination, you will need the lot number and expiration date.  These are loaded into your facility's electronic account by the vaccine coordinator        ( yes I was one for 6 years) when the vaccines are received by the facility.  You cannot enter a vaccine if it is not in your electronic inventory, and once you do enter a valid vaccine it is deducted from your inventory for supply management.  If a person was entering vaccines in the database that were not actually given, it would eventually reflect as a discrepancy in inventory.  We are allowed 2 weeks to enter the data after a shot is given, although 24 hours is preferred.  We are allowed a 4% wastage to account for things like a dose that was dropped on the floor or a vial that was discarded due to being left at room temperature too long, but you need to document in inventory that the dose was wasted.  There is zero tolerance for discrepancies. If you are having inventory problems, you will lose your contract and no longer be able to procure vaccines.  Covid vaccines are monitored even more strictly than narcotics.  A security guard  escorts me to and from the pharmacy to check out vaccines.  It must be signed out with an RN and a pharmacist, and the freezer can only be opened once every 2 hours due to cold chain issues.  If you do not administer all the doses in a vial, the waste must be witnessed and co-signed by another RN.  In other words, you will not have electronic documentation if you have not actually gotten the vaccine because nobody is going to risk losing their professional license or vaccine contract over falsifying these records.  These state electronic systems do not communicate with each other and currently cannot be consolidated into a national database.  It is only a matter of time before this is worked out.  Having a false paper record may get you by for awhile but I believe there will be severe penalties if/when it is discovered.  Cruise companies could accept the yellow shot card or something similar if their ultimate purpose is to get a passenger on board and not to act with certainty that someone has received a vaccine.  If something like a vaccine passport is created it will rely on these databases for the information, not on a document you provide.  I don’t know what non-US systems are like, I work for the largest hospital chain in the US.

3, it is the same itinerary that was rebooked 3 times.

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

As I've tried to explain the legalities of vaccination mandates are very much up in the air when the vaccines are being administered under an EUA as opposed to being FDA-approved vaccines.

I believe the Covid vaccines will move quickly from EUA into full FDA approval and licensing, probably rapidly enough that the argument about being required if EUA will not even have the chance to be challenged or litigated.  In the meantime, it can be mandated without being mandated.  If there are enough restrictions placed on what you can and cannot do, and difficult hoops you need to jump through to get exemptions, then most people will just go ahead and get the vaccine in order to go back to their usual lives.  This is especially true when Astrazeneca and J&J are available which are produced in traditional methods, differing very little from the usual flu shots.

Students cannot attend classes without documentation of childhood vaccinations.  Many colleges will not let students live in the dormitories without being fully vaccinated.

Hospitals and care facilities "encourage" their staff to get the yearly flu vaccination.  If you do, you get a sticker on your badge that is required to be visible at all times.  If you do not have this sticker you are required to wear a mask ( which we do in these current times anyway).  If you are unvaccinated and are discovered not wearing your mask, you face disciplinary action including termination for repeated occurrences.

People can be placed in involuntary quarantine and be fined if they are found to be infected with certain illnesses but still go out in public (TB and Covid, there may be others).

The bottom line here is that businesses and goverments have the ability and responsibility to act with the greater good of the public as the rationale.  If they stop short of an outright mandate, they can make restrictions so severe and onerous that most people will just choose to comply.

It's not just the Canadian cruise ban, which has put certainty that cruises to AK won't happen this summer.  There are also state and local regulations to abide by.  Alaska has some pretty strict requirements for out-of-state travelers. 

Outbreak-Health-Order-No-6-lnternational-and-Interstate-Travel.pdf (alaska.gov)

We'll be doing the Riviera in November and I would really like to go to the aquarium in Mazatlan. It looks like it is about a 3 mile walk from the cruise port, and while we are physically able to do that, I would rather spend my time having fun. What is the best way to get to and from the aquarium? If we take a taxi or pulmonia, does anyone have any idea on the price, and what would we then do for the return trip? Thanks in advance!

Hi there! Posting not only as a fellow cruiser but also as someone who has lived in AK for 30 years and has had a boat in Whittier harbor for the last 20 years. Would definitely go with Glacier Bay. Also, my personal preference would be May if the choice needed to be May or Sept.