donaldsc

Exactly what the name implies. You are covered for any and all travel for 365 days from the date of issue up to the total level of the insurance you purchase. I always buy it and it has worked for me. Just read the details of the policy before you buy. DON

My impression of Gary's review on Viking cruises is that he appears to be out of touch with reality. Based on what he has said about Viking I can imagine what types of cruises he likes and they are definitely not what Viking offers. Some people cruise to learn about and enjoy other cultures. Count me in that group. I do believe that one statement he made was completely wrong. He stated that you have to book through Viking and not a TA. My TA was very happy to book my Viking cruises w/o any problems. As far as décor is concerned, there are a lot of us who prefer the classic Scandinavian to the overly plush décor on other ships. One other thing. Viking ships are a reasonable size as compared to the oversized tubs that are used by most of the other cruise lines. There are a lot of us who prefer small ships and the other lines have completely ignored that market. I have cruises on 3 lines scheduled this year - Viking Ocean w ~900 passengers; an Alaska cruise on a ship w ~200 passengers and a Clipper sailboat w ~160 passengers. One last thought. Viking does not allow children under 18. I like that. DON

What does your doctor say? DON

I was at the Alamo a whole bunch of years ago. I knew the history. Even with that, I would give it a rating of at most 1 on a scale of 1 to 10. DON

Google Maps should always be your reference for questions on how to get from point A to point B at any port stop. DON

Meant to say "I have not not had this problem". What I posted makes no sense. DON

Does anyone here actually believe that Princess or for that matter care about complaints. They are selling mass market cruises. They don't care at all about a few complaints from CC members as long as their cabin counts stay up. How many cabins are there on a ship. How many of them are occupied by CC members. DON

I have had this problem but I have a friend who regularly does 60 to 150 day cruises. They manage w their meds do it is doable. Talk to your insurance provider. DON

I agree w the Glacier Bay comments. However, port times in AK can be interesting in the very negative sense. Finally, I would not worry about what cabin I was in. On an AK cruise, it is what is outside of the ship and not what is on the ship that counts. You can save your money on cabin upgrades and spend the money on excursions which tend to be pricy in AK. I know that you said that this will be your first cruise but I find that people who are trying to pick their cruise or their cabin based on their past Caribbean 20 cruises get it wrong on their 1st AK cruise. The 2 primary selection factors on an AK cruise should be itinerary and port times. DON

Yes. Check it out on the internet. DON

I guess that if the arrival times are indefinite can I at least assume that the departure times will be more definite. I know that in some parts of the world it is easy to pick up a tour or maybe a taxi tour at the dock. Does picking up a tour at the dock also work on the Greek Islands. My problem or I should say my worry is that most of the tours listed on the Clipper WEB site appear to be bus tours. The problem that I have w bus tours is that they are too regimented and one or two slowpoke people on the bus mess it up for everyone else. DON

According to the internet, Sitka has a bus line w 3 routes. DON

The only time we went on the Amazon, we visited an "authentic" native village where the "authentic" natives wore "authentic" clothing. At the end of the day I assume that they went back to the "authentic" homes that we saw which had "authentic" satellite dishes on them. DON

Depends upon the tour and the boat. We did a whale on an excursion that could hold 15 people and there were I think 8 of us. You need to research the boat size w the tour operator. DON

On July 4? LOL!!! That said we have had CC cruisers who are doing a summer cruise who have asked about aurora. DON

You left out "if there isn't a minor accident anywhere on the route between the airport and the cruise port". Finally, I may have missed it but did the OP say if their flight was non stop or that they have to change planes. DON

I am going to be doing a couple of Star Flyer Greek cruises. I am trying to arrange some independent tours but I can't seem to find the arrival and departure times for the ports that we will be visiting. Is that because you just can't be certain on a sailboat or is Clipper Lines just being difficult. DON

I am going to be on these 2 cruises. If anyone is interested in sharing independent tours get back to me. I am posting here as opposed to posting the cruise roll calls as the roll calls are dead. Also it is hard to figure out what tours to pick as the cruise documents do not list port arrival and departure times. Is that because the ships are sail boats and they can't predict exact schedules or just because Clipper Lines is just disorganized. DON

I am usually pretty good at finding stuff on the internet but I have been been unsuccessful in this search. We are going to be in Sitka for several days prior top the start of our cruise. We have been to AK several times and we almost always find a good bear tour to do. I know that there a good number of bears on Baranof Island and I was hoping to find a tour that would give me a good chance to see bears and hopefully brown bears in the wild. I am not interested in seeing bears at the Fortress of the Bears in Sitka. I have been to a number of enclosure type bear places in the US and AK. Although I may be wrong, Fortress sounds like a very depressing example of that genre. I would like to find a tour out of Sitka that gets me into the rest of Baranof Island where I might see bears. I can allot a full day for the tour if necessary. Am I missing something or does the tour that I am looking for not exist. I should add that we will be in Sitka in early July so if the salmon are not running in the streams at that time, such a tour might be a waste of my time and money. DON