Galley Slave

How are you finding the condition of the Volendam?  The reviews are not very good.  We can deal with the usual signs of the ship's age, just concerned when reading about plumbing issues and not being able to use the bathroom in the cabin.  Have you seen or heard of any major issues?

16 hours ago, albingirl said:

There is some sudden hysteria about some new covid virus out there.  I think we are all tired of protocols and hope there aren't new regulations put in place.  If everyone uses some common sense, and washes their hands frequently, well that will go a long way.  I know that I won't get in crowded elevators, but then, I never did. Get shots, don't get shots, it's all a big mystery as to what's coming down the line.  Except the guy behind you in the line in Lido.  Watch out, lol!

We just returned from Europe with Covid.  We were fully vaccinated, wore masks in crowds, planes, trains, trams, washed our hands frequently.  We both have ended up in the ER at home.  We now have terrible rebound cases from taking Paxlovid.  We had test kits and Paxlovid with us, made the process seamless.  This variant is different from the previous, based upon all of our friends who have had earlier variants.

The Fairmount Olympic Hotel is near the downtown Sheraton.  It has a nice remodeled lobby with a bar that also serves food.  It is on 4th Avenue and University.  The Four Seasons Hotel is on 1st Avenue and Union.  It has a nice restaurant with a view of the water and the Olympics.  There is an Anthony's Restaurant along the waterfront, near the port for cruise ships.

9 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Lets put all in perspective   We have long recommended the Rick Steves books, primarily for fellow DIY/independent travelers.  But we always added a caveat which was to generally avoid his restaurant recommendations.  Muchj of his advice and excellent walking guides are simply about the major and most popular tourist destinations.  Nothing wrong with that and it is what most travelers (especially first time visitors) expect.  Go to Rome for the first time and you will probably want to go to the Vatican Msuesms, St Peters, Coluseum, Piazale Roma, etc.  HIs books do a good job telling folks how to get to these places, the hours,and some decent tips.  

 

Also keep in mind that major tourist sites are not just "overun with American tourists" but are often crowded with tourists from all over the world (including many Europeans.  When folks ask DW and I where to go in Paris (a city we know very well) we can give them lots of suggestions, but most first (or even 2nd) time visitors want to go to the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, Notre Dame, the Louvre etc.  I can certainly tell them our personal preference for the Musee d'Orsay...but that place will also be packed with tourists/art lovers.  Even the lesser known Marmotten will be crowded..year round.

 

Lets be honest, many of the most popular tourist places are crowded because they are good places to visit.  We can certainly advise somebody who has no interest in the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, etc, but that is what most folks want to see!  Going to Barcelona for the first time and not seeing Sagrada Famila might be considered a crime!  And yes, that place will be packed (year round).  The reality is that when you want to see the famous places you will have lots of company.

 

Yes, there are ways to enjoy less touristy places, and very well seasoned travelers will tend to seek out such places.  But if we told many travelers to do as we do, they would be very unhappy and complain that they "missed too much.  My only complaint about Rick Steves is that he has yet to publish guides on much of the world outside of Europe.

 

Hank

Rick was actually in Iceland if you look on his website, filming and writing a guidebook.  We usually take a HAL cruise and do an extension before and after the cruise.  We live near his headquarters and have taken many classes there and talked to him.  We took a cruise to Iceland in 2017 and took his class on Iceland prior to our trip.  We took his 14 day tour of Ireland and saw a lot more than we would, even taking independent excursions from a cruise ship.  His directions to get to a specific sites are very helpful.  We are taking another trip with him in September with a week in Budapest after the tour. His Travel Forum has been a wealth of information.  His guides are fantastic. I have private messaged people on how to get from the train to the hotel, the airport or far off sites.  People answer within minutes.  We cancelled a HAL cruise since we could not imagine being quarantined with Covid.  Rick pays you for the days you leave if you catch Covid and you can stay in a hotel, eat your meals and take walks at least.  I am not sure why he is getting so much criticism from people who may have never taken his tours.  He did a show on cruising in the Mediterranean and he was much easier on the cruise industry than this forum is being on him.  He was able to see the ports and surrounding areas based upon his research.  You never stand in lines on his tours, as the guide has pre-purchased tickets ahead of the tour.  So far, it has worked well considering how hard it has become to plan independent excursions on a cruise.

What have been the experiences of people who organize independent excursions or sign up as a participant if they have tested positive?  I assume the payment to the tour operator can be handled by other participants.  If people are in isolation, are they still obligated to pay their share of the tour?  Does the organizer find a way to transfer the money to someone who is not in isolation?  This makes planning independent excursions even more of a challenge.

You must be doing the 69 day South Pacific and Circumnavigation of Australia on the Noordam!  That should be awesome if that is your plan.

I see that you and Angela have cruised many times during Covid.  Do you wear masks in elevators, shows, hallways or as you enter the dining room?  I am sure that when they are required, you do wear them.  You mentioned being "Covid survivors."  I am just wondering how you handled the mask issue.

Thanks for the advice.  It is finally cooler in Seattle, hope you have a safe trip home.

On 7/30/2022 at 12:08 PM, Nodakboiler said:

We've been to Dublin several times and are thinking about taking a train to an Irish village maybe an hour away to get a pub lunch and walk around. Anyone have any suggestions on a town to visit? TIA

We took the train to the town of Howth.  It is a very scenic town and you can do some of the Coastal Walk.  

We rent bikes every year when we go to Vancouver on our sailboat, pre Covid.  We use Spokes Bicycle on W. Georgia.  You can walk along the waterfront from the cruise port.  We ride through Stanley Park, English Bay, and False Creek.  You can stop on Granville Island for lunch, snacks, crafts.  Then you take the little passenger ferries back to mainland.  It is flat all of the way.  There are good signs along the bike paths.  I would not ride downtown, there are too many cars, no bike lanes.  Look at street map of Vancouver to gauge route based on ability of bikers. You can also walk and take passenger ferries to Granville Island.  We used the bike rate for 3-4 hours if I remember, last time in 2018.

We did this on our laptop, but used our phone to take a picture of the CDC card.  You could download a picture of your card into your laptop from a camera.   We had to send ourselves an email of the picture and downloaded it into the laptop.  You enter your personal info, passport info, vaccination history(dates, type) into the start of the app.  Downloading the CDC card was the hardest part, but they provide a link.  You have to claim if you are entering by land, sea or air.  You also need the name and address of where you will isolate if needed.  At the end, you should get a QR code that you can print  and show at the border.  I think you should have your original CDC card and passport as well.  It is a challenge!  You can enter the basic info, but the last steps have to be within 72 hours of your arrival into Canada.  You can try a dummy trip and just logout at the end.  I found out at the end you can enter all of your party on one application, we ended up with separate accounts.

We stayed in Edinburgh to watch the Tattoo after purchasing our own tickets.  The next stop was Invergordon, so we knew we could take the train and hopefully meet up with the ship.  

The Coast Guard Museum is very interesting.

Since their US office is in Seattle, you can file a complaint with the Attorney General of Washington State.  There is on online form on the Washington State website.  I had to do that with Alaska Airlines at the beginning of the pandemic.  It also scares the company, it is a slow process but it worked.

You can also write to Christopher Elliott, an advocate for travel issues.

About Christopher Elliott – Christopher Elliott (chriselliotts.com)  There is a Help Form on his website.

1 hour ago, Btimmer said:

Throughout the cruise there has been increasing mention of wearing masks at all times except when eating and drinking.  I've heard no mention of COVID being on board.

 

As a comparison, on our 3 week cruise in October, there was little mention of masking.

The ship is in Code Yellow with the CDC, which means there are cases among passengers and crew.  This could be why they are making announcements to wear your masks.

I would keep your masks on everywhere.  The Sky Princess is in Code Orange with the CDC.  It was green when it started the cruise.  Website link, scroll down page for ship status.

Cruise Ship Color Status | Quarantine | CDC

1 hour ago, Colleen @ Sequim said:

Our local Walgreen's and RiteAid only do tests for "symptoms" and "exposure" cases.  

 

The North Star Clinic(Lawrence Ave.) in Port Townsend does testing and you do not need to be a patient of their clinic.  People we know have used them and had results in 48 hours or less.  It sounds like they bill your insurance. 

37 minutes ago, syesmar said:

EDITED

 

I thought the first cruise to require testing was for 8/14.  We are on the 8/7 cruise and have been told only about the mask mandate, not required testing.

For passengers who come into Seattle there are two Walgreen's near Pier 91.  

2438 32nd West  Phone 206-283-9131

1448 NW Market St.  206-676-4062

I am not sure about the timing and waiting for the test results, just close locations.  This could help people coming into Seattle a few days ahead of their cruise.

TA just called back.  Testing not required until 8/14, masks recommended starting 8/7 in public areas. Sorry for the wrong information.  

Our TA just called to tell us we need a test before Saturday. PCR or Antigen Test.

We are on the August 7th sailing and have not heard anything.  We cannot get on the Navigator App to answer the health questionnaire.  Maybe things are going to be updated?

The fact that the NA is still in Code Yellow has taken all of the usual excitement of boarding a ship for a cruise.  If they are not in Code Green by Saturday, they should not be sailing.  I am looking at our departure on Saturday with more of a sense of dreading the whole week.  I wonder how all of their disclaimers apply if they sail without a Code Green status.

Will you let us know if people are wearing masks in places where they can't social distance, like the theater or in lines?  We are on the 8/7 cruise and are concerned about the Delta variant being so contagious.  

We just watched the Nieuw Amsterdam passing Point No Point heading to Port Townsend.  Winds from the west as they enter the Straits of Juan de Fuca are 15-25knots.  It is a beautiful night to be starting out on a cruise!

I just read the thread on Viking Ocean about the vaccinated positive Covid 19 passenger in Iceland.  Someone had a good idea to wear a mask indoors((even if vaccinated) for the 10 days prior to their cruise so that they don't pick up the Delta variant.  This is probably a good idea for all of us leaving on cruises, especially from states with more cases of the Delta variant.