For our Ketchikan day I had arranged a private shore excursion Nature tour with Wild Wolf Tours. This was the 2nd time I had used her services.  With no hesitation at all I recommend future cruisers book a tour with Tracy Wild's company.  She is great. She was not able to be our driver/guide today but promised that Zach would be excellent.  He was!

We visited a tide pool, did a hike in part of the rainforest,  saw truly wonderful waterfall, and  payed at Herring Cove took for bears. No bears today, or whales, but we saw Stellar Blue Jays, and eagles.

Wild Wolf Tours has additional tours available.  Of course they guarantee they will get visitors back to the ship in time.

Here is the website: https://www.wildwolftours.com

Susan (xLibLabLady)

1 hour ago, cruisin'teach said:

Beautiful day in Cabo!

Yes it was!   Sunny and warm but not hot.  Annnnd there was a fireworks show!

DH Jerry and I wil be on the cruise with you!

1 minute ago, broberts said:

 

A number of people have had odd issues today and had to clear CC browser data.

Aha!  Thanks for that information.

8 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

That depends on your browser. I deleted the cookie in Safari and then had to log back in. Are you using Safari? I can’t tell you if you are using another browser. 

Hi Charles, I use Safari.  As it happens,  I did find how to delete cookies for Cruise Critic, then indeed as you said,  had to log back in.   Thank you again sooooo much!  You are a life saver!     I really don't know what happened to start this whole problem but all is well once more.

Susan  (xLibLabLady)

10 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Delete your Cruise Critic cookie.

Wow!  Thanks for the quick response!. So simple! 

HELP!    Suddenly the roll call board is not working at all on my other laptop computer.  In Notifications I had clicked  on a link to the comment made on one of the forums  I am following.   Instead of taking me to that page, a blank screen appeared with the  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/admin/install/  in the upper right.      

Nothing I have tried has worked:

• resetting the camputer in hopes of re-setting something
• typing in Cruise Critic
• deleting the admin/install/ part of the web address
• clicked on comments in history/bookmarks

This is disastrous because I really need to see and make posts in number of roll calls.

Hi everyone,

DH Jerry and I have decided to cancel this cruise.  May you have a great time.

Susan (xLibLabLady)

7 minutes ago, Daisi said:

Yes, I've seen some YouTube videos as well, that's what got me interested.  So many plans, so little time.  The more I have to "plan" our trip, the more I find to do!

 

Daisi,  Isn't that the truth!

By any chance do you live in British Columbia?    We may be neighbours.

Susan

1 hour ago, Daisi said:

Prague's architecture is varied, from the historical astronomical clock and old buildings to the more modern Dancing House. There is the Art Nouveau Municipal House,  old churches like St. Georges Basilica and St. Nicholas Church, and of course the Old Town Square.  We are also looking into a cruise on the "Devil's Channel", to see the older buildings.  There are walking tours you can book for various histories - Jewish, general etc.  

Hi Daisi,  That's very helpful.

The cruise on the "Devil''s Channel" sounds great!.   Check out the pictures and descriptions on this page I found:  https://www.amazingczechia.com/sights/certovka/

Susan

1 hour ago, Daisi said:

Hi @xLibLabLady, we are doing Avalon Bud - Prague Sept 2023.  I haven't researched much on Prague, as we will only really have 1 1/2 day there, and the morning of our full day will be partly taken up with the "orientation" tour.  What interests do you have?  There is lots to see (and to little time), and knowing what you are interested in, I could maybe offer some suggestions I have thought of.

 

Avalon is a great line, casual, but still delivers the full experience.  We appreciated the fact that it wasn't "fussy".  Our first cruise was the Rhine, and we pre-booked all our excursions and pre-paid our tips, so other than 2 beers that we purchased the day we toured the Middle Rhine, we had no surprise expenses at the end.  We did give some extra to the crew we felt went above and beyond to ensure our vacation was tops, but that was just an extra thanks.  River cruising if done to the max is not a relaxing holiday, but one that most wish to repeat.  Not a lot of evening entertainment, but if you are ok with that (it's your "quiet time" maybe spending some time meeting up with new friends over a drink in the lounge with the pianist playing quietly in the background), and willing to go with the flow, you will probably have a great time.

 

I guess the best advice I ever received is be prepared for anything, high/low water, broken locks etc,, and be prepared to have a good time not matter what.  Hope you enjoy yours as much as we enjoyed our first one.

Thank you very much, Daisi, for all the much appreciated advice.   We are very much okay with there not being much evening entertainment.   Going with the flow literally and figuratively works for us! In terms of interests:  architecture, human history, geology, the numerous geocaches.

Susan(xLibLabLady)

5 hours ago, TMLAalum said:

Just booked our 2nd Avalon cruise, the Romantic Rhine on the Expression, but we don't sail until the end of  August 2023! We are a group of 6 couples- could be more- and really appreciate Avalon's generous group discounts + most of us save $100 each for being past cruisers.

 

We disembark in Basel and from there will DIY a land trip in Switzerland via rail that includes Lucerne, the Jungfrau region, Lugano and possible Zermatt.

 

@xLibLabLady Our previous cruise ended in Budapest and rather than go with the Avalon add-on stayed at the Hotel Palazzo Zichy taking time to see the sights the included city tour merely drove by.

 

Great sounding plans for August!     Thanks for your recommendation for Budapest.

Hi all,  

I just found this forum today.

My husband and I are booked on the Envision with 2 nights in Prague pre-cruise beginning May 24 of next year then boarding the ship in Nuremberg. This will be our first river cruise EVER.  Does anyone have advice for "newbies?

We will be disembarking in Budapest.   The tips about Budapest are very useful.    Does anyone have tips for the Avalon pre-cruise in Prague?  

Susan (xLibLabLady)

Eurodam is on its way from southern England to a port near Amsterdam, according to CruiseMapper.

IJMUIDEN

33 minutes ago, jakers said:

A great deal of thread creep here. Getting back on topic, we were scheduled on the Eurodam for the July 24th Alaska cruise. I spoke with my PCC last week and he was surprised to hear that the Eurodam is in Europe. We spoke about final payment which is scheduled for the 25th of this month. At the time he had no new information to offer other that they are trying to get Canada to let us anchor outside Victoria without anybody going ashore. I received an email today saying that our cruise has been transferred to the Nieuw Amsterdam. It was scheduled to do north and south sailings out of Vancouver which were cancelled months ago. Currently the ship is located outside of La Paz, Mexico. The email stated that we will be assigned new cabins within thirty days. A new ship, a new room, and a different itinerary. Sounds like a triple guarantee to me. I will probably go ahead and make final payment since we are scheduled for an Antarctica cruise on the Westerdam in December. When the Alaska cruise is cancelled, we will roll the money forward. I'm waiting to see if the FCC will be 100%, 110%, or 125%. 

Thank you for getting this thread back on topic. I am not surprised that your PCC was surprised to hear the Eurodam is in Europe, so no way will it be doing the Alaska cruise if Victoria is allowed for foreign port purposes.   When I told our PCC that Westerdam was hanging out near Los Angeles she expressed surprise. HAL does not tell the PCCs these things clearly.  The last time I talked to her she said that officially HAL had not decided yet about Venice or Athens, nor if the Eurodam would replace Westerdam for our September eastern Med cruise.

That's really something about the new ship, a new room, and a different itinerary for your Alaska cruise originally on the Eurodam.  I agree with your assumption that it will be cancelled.   It's only a question of WHEN.

9 minutes ago, bajakiter said:

Turkey would be nice but here in BC (Canada) we are being asked to not even leave our neighborhoods.

Every time we think things are improving, they seem to go in the opposite direction.

Patiently waiting.....still.

 

Oh my, that is fierce, being asked not to leave your neighborhood.   In Israel, not so long ago, they were restricted even more than that.

We hope things will soon improve big time for you, and stay that way.

In Greece as well as Turkey they are facing severe restrictions as well.

1 hour ago, iancal said:

Covid cases are surging in Turkey.  Latest seven day numbers:

 

https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/turkey/

 

It is unclear to me how anyone can tell what will be open, what will be closed, or what restrictions will be in place.   Covid is far from over.  We simply do not know.  Clearly the cruise lines want as many people as possible to book. IF only to get them on the FCC treadmill if the cruise is cancelled.

 

There continues to be a huge gulf between rhetoric from Government, industry/tourism folk and the hard reality of the numbers. 

 

Over the past 7 days the US has logged an average of 110 new covid daily  cases per 100K population. 

 

Turkey has logged an average of 433 daily new cases per 100K population.

 

 Greece is something like 185 average daily cases per 100K population.

 

All three  are going the wrong way...UP.  The numbers reflect reality vs wishful thinking.

Sad but realistic words.  

Hi all,   I contacted Sado at  Ephesus Shuttles, with whom I have arranged a number of private tours in Turkey.   Here is what I asked, and his answer:  

Question:   has any department of the Turkish government issued an order about cruise lines not being allowed operate this year?   One person on one of the Cruise Critic forum has said this.   Me and others don’t think it is correct.    One of the reasons I think it is false is that the embassy site indicates entry is allowed by sea as well as by air.   They do not mention cruise ships, it is true.

Everyone can enter Turkey by showing their negative test result through airports, borders or through ports. So, there is no such a decision about not allowing the cruise operations. At least, till now. If there will be any decision taken, I will inform you. But, I do not think (hope) it will be necessarry.

Susan (xLibLabLady)

35 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

The Cruise Critic "Nancy Drew's" have been sleuthing and searching the Port schedules for places like Athens, which has become the hot new homeport for redeployed vessels this summer.  Just like during normal deployment season these port schedules often give an indication of things to come. 

 

HAL is also notoriously late to any party, so not surprised noting actually released by them if indeed they plan on homeporting Eurodam in Athens this summer

Wise observations!

59 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

 

I looked extensively, including on official Turkey tourism site and on the US Consulate for Turkey site but could not find anything. I also am curious about that -- as I see there are a few ships scheduled to visit in summer/fall 2021.

My researches showed the same thing.  I looked at those two, and also Cruisemapper.  (PS:  I am the friend referred to by Cruising-along)

Being open to Americans who have been vaccinated  may have changed just within the last day.   to the The U.S. embassy in Greece website updated April 7 of this year is very helpful.   Among other things, it shows the Movements Restrictions as well as giving a link to the Greek government's site.  https://gr.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/

1 minute ago, Kwaj girl said:

 

Only for cruises thru JUNE.  Theh are going in July and as of this afternoon HAL is still saying they hope it's a "go."

If your cruise is a "go" MAYBE they are working out some sort of special arrangement with the Canadian government.   

Good luck!

5 hours ago, Kwaj girl said:

Uh-oh....I have a family of 26 paid-in-full for Alaska  7/3/21 roundtrip from Seattle.  We kinda know it won't sail but HAL required final payment last Sunday!  😡

According to the Holland America website, since all  Alaskan cruises have been cancelled for this year,  all have been transferred to 2022 at the same price as you will have paid for this year.  You should have received a booking notification.  If not, call  your travel agent, your Personal Cruise Consultant at Holland America if you have one. Be sure to give them your booking number.

25 minutes ago, izmeeh said:

Cancelled through June?

Yes,  that's right.  Soonest Holland America cruises in Europe will be July 1st.

Just now, kristapb said:

Nope - I'll take a look and sign up.  Thanks for reminding me!

Yes, Kristin, please do take a look and sign up!