susanstar88

We depart today 8/5 from Chicago to Zurich, then bus to Lucern until 8/8 ... we board Kvasir in Basel heading to Amsterdam. Appreciate any river travel updates or how Viking is handleing route disruptions. So far, we do not have a Kvasir notification on Viking site ... good thing we are both seasoned travelers! We are bringing our adventurous brains .... happy sailing!

Was just reading thru the posts for the Spirit & thought I would toss in my two cents on suite vs cabin thoughts... no matter which ship or which destination -- once you book a suite you will be always looking at a suite. The perks begin when you enter the ship (or before if you book a hotel with NCL) -- normally, the first to jump onto the bus (or boat, when in Venice) and always special embarkation (what a joy).

Then all the other perks .... butler, concierge and complimentary breakfast & lunch at a specialty restaurant - someone to book dinner reservations, movies, special show seating - on & on! It sounds like you are a caregiver at home so why not have the pleasure of letting someone care for you? It's a joy!

Happy Sailing .... our next is getting ready to be booked for 2017! Ten wonderful days on the Spirit, departing from Barcelona for my birthday - very exciting! :D

To see the canal first - we booked a penthouse 9502 - forward.

OMG - it was the best! Plenty of space with a king bed - it was wonderful & maybe the best we've had - except for the Owner's Suite we booked for our Greek Cruse. While many are looking for spots to see the Canal open very early in the morning - we were in our jammies & watching it all unfold with coffee in hand. We turned up the TV to hear the narration & filmed much of the actual opening.

Columbia - we booked the walking tour (great & bought emerald earrings)

Panama - booked the train (went thru Canal on ship & reboarded on other side)

(saw much of the country & it was relaxing - Canal tour was excellent)

Coata Rica - great river tour & chocolate factory (bring bug spray for ground ants - interesting)

Honduras - snorkeling ... even in rain it was GRAND

Belize - River tour & ruins (perfect tour)

Mexico - we booked another ruins & wish we had done something else

(tour was good but one ruins would have been enough & Belize was better)

We cruised over Thanksgiving & my 68th birthday - it was a wonderful cruise and 11-days was NOT long enough! We flew into Miami and stayed in South Beach the day before & also stayed an extra night after at Roommate Hotel. Nice place right in the middle of South Beach....

We are booked (and paid in full) for November 19 cruise --- we've got a nice Roll Call going with several activities to kick-off the week! Hubby & I just ran thru our excursions & we're in the process of the final selections - we've opted for a forward PH suite because we've gotten spoiled with the suite services!

Hope to see you join ... we've traveled extensively with my past event management company (now retired & closed the company) ... but these are all new ports for us to explore! Getting excited and we are under the 65-day mark for sailing away!

We love ocean cruising & are just stating to look at river cruses for 2016 for perhaps a longship with Viking - a new experience for us!

We've never bothered with a heavy power strip but always carry on an extension cord with multiple outlets - they are light & long enough to plug in nearly any place. We've even used at the airport when delayed - thus the carry on idea was born! Happy sails...:D

You will want to go back to Alaska ... we are returning in 2015 & heading farther up this time! Woo Hoo! Please get the waterproof pants, jacket, gloves & don't forget earmuffs - we went in the end of June but used most of these items for our excursions. We didn't bother with an umbrella for excursions because we had binoculars & two cameras (and a small towel in a waterproof backpack with zip-lock bags). We always brought water to share, even if guides said they would have & the day we forgot our hats, the guide had them. Sox that dry easily - cuddle duds (easy dry long undies)... kleenex was a must.

We didn't bring boots but had really great hiking shoes from LL Bean - and that's where we bought our pants, jackets & gloves. We bought NCL sweatshirts (on sale) when we boarded so we didn't have to bring them along. Will do the same for the next Alaska tour... most of all ... have fun & you can search for my site and photos. It was a blast! Hugs & more from another NCL happy face! :D

We didn't go back as many years as some, however they easily were able to check our records back to 2004 & we thought then we wouldn't cruise again because our first was a work trip! Little did we know.... hooked on cruising now!

If you've not tried another service person... I'd certainly give it a try. We were not required to present past papers.... it took her a bit of investigating but the wait was worth receiving our credit. Happy sails... :D

I've been on MFP for a bit over a year now... have just passed the 20+ mark for my loss... don't go jumping around yet because I have really worked at this all my life! At 65 years... I don't know how long it will last but I'm working on it! And call me crazy but I have a hard time eating all my calories each day - so there! This is the first system that keeps me honest & logging food!

My long-on is susanstar88 same as here and would love to have some friends who can share in my losses & accomplishments... as they progress! We depart in 24-days for Venice, then on to the Jade for a 7-day cruise with four more days in Venice. The good news will be all the walking & touring!

I'm not certain how many times I will be able to log into the system so I will drop my days... but will work hard at entering my food on my iPad (even if I don't log the days when I'm not connected).

Happy sails to everyone... :D