Also Mostly Live from the NA 4th Sailing

[Boytjie]

We attended Coffee with the Cruise and Travel Director and Valerie said 1,700 passengers were onboard. It sounds lower than what I think they expected to be at by now. The ship is not packed but it isn’t empty either.  

[12cruise2]

Thank you so much for all the details, pictures.  You're just wonderful to do this for all of us to enjoy.  We can't wait to follow in your footsteps.  Silly, trivial question--is the cruise card pre-punched with a hole in it for a lanyard?  They had just started doing that in 2020 I think, at least they were punched on what was our last cruise.  So nice not to have to head to the front desk. 

[farawaygal]

Great detailed information. Thank you. If you get a minute can you post a pic of your CPAP setup. Did you bring an extension cord?

[cruisewiththekids]

17 minutes ago, Boytjie said:

I have not heard anything about being tested onboard. 

 

This is from the "U.S. Sailings Questions and Answers" on HAL's website:

 

"A complimentary antigen or PCR COVID-19 test will be administered to all guests on board on Day 5 or 6 of the voyage. This test fulfills the requirements for onward travel home in most instances where guests board a flight immediately after their cruise.   

 

Guests who book a post-cruise stay before traveling home should ensure they meet all testing requirements. If the test provided on board does not meet the requirements for onward travel, additional testing is the responsibility of the guest at their expense."

 

I'm not sure if this means it's available to all guests in case it's needed for onward travel, or that it is mandatory for everyone.

[bill/iris]

thanks for your info     did you request wheelchair help before ariving at the pier?  i'm also not walking long distances  coming on board 9/11. 

[12cruise2]

21 minutes ago, cruisewiththekids said:

 

This is from the "U.S. Sailings Questions and Answers" on HAL's website:

 

"A complimentary antigen or PCR COVID-19 test will be administered to all guests on board on Day 5 or 6 of the voyage. This test fulfills the requirements for onward travel home in most instances where guests board a flight immediately after their cruise.   

 

Guests who book a post-cruise stay before traveling home should ensure they meet all testing requirements. If the test provided on board does not meet the requirements for onward travel, additional testing is the responsibility of the guest at their expense."

 

I'm not sure if this means it's available to all guests in case it's needed for onward travel, or that it is mandatory for everyone.

a passenger from the first cruise was asked this question and said that on their cruise, no tests were discussed or given that she heard about.

[idiebabe]

37 minutes ago, 12cruise2 said:

Thank you so much for all the details, pictures.  You're just wonderful to do this for all of us to enjoy.  We can't wait to follow in your footsteps.  Silly, trivial question--is the cruise card pre-punched with a hole in it for a lanyard?  They had just started doing that in 2020 I think, at least they were punched on what was our last cruise.  So nice not to have to head to the front desk. 

Yes, the Cards were already punched!  We were on July 24th.

[cruisewiththekids]

14 minutes ago, 12cruise2 said:

a passenger from the first cruise was asked this question and said that on their cruise, no tests were discussed or given that she heard about.

Yes, I saw that, but since 8/14 began new protocols, I thought this current cruise may be the first one where it applied.

[madera1]

Thank you for your detailed information. I can’t wait for our sailing in 3 weeks! 

[Lido deck main]

Thank you so much for posting.  Love your cabin and balcony.  Flowers are beautiful.  Great information.  Enjoy the cruise.

[zgscl]

3 hours ago, cruisewiththekids said:

Could you possibly find out if the new Covid protocol requires every passenger to be Covid tested on day 5 or 6 of the cruise?    That's how I'm reading the new protocol, but I want to be sure it's not just for those needing a test for international flights or back-to-back cruisers.   But the wording says "all passengers."    Enjoying your report.   Thank you.

I have been wondering this too. Will definitely report back!

[Boytjie]

2 hours ago, 12cruise2 said:

Silly, trivial question--is the cruise card pre-punched with a hole in it for a lanyard?  They had just started doing that in 2020 I think, at least they were punched on what was our last cruise.  So nice not to have to head to the front desk. 

Yes, the are prepunched!  Pack yer lanyards. 🙂 

[RuthC]

Thank you so much for your detailed boarding information. I especially appreciated your comments about how the disabled are boarded. 

I hate needing to transfer from one wheelchair to another wheelchair! When mobility is a problem, changing wheelchairs makes it even harder. I have only found it to be necessary when boarding in the USA.
Did your mother have to also transfer to a chair and wait for the second wheelchair & pusher to become available? 

Dumping the disabled passenger in the elevator lobby is outrageous! What if someone is alone, and can't manage to get to their cabin without assistance---especially when trying to drag carry-ons??? 

You were fortunate that your wheelchair was waiting in your cabin. Too many times my scooter has not been delivered for hours, so I have been trapped in the cabin not able to go anywhere. This would make checking in at the muster station early pretty much impossible. 

Your information has certainly given me much to think about. Thank you again. 

[12cruise2]

Just now, Boytjie said:

Yes, the are prepunched!  Pack yer lanyards. 🙂 

Thank you!  The lanyards are washed, dried and packed.  We put them on when we're headed to the ship to check in--can you tell we're excited to cruise!  Then, in the old days, when we checked in, we could just go ahead and attach the key card then and there.  Oh, I've missed cruising.   In 2015 we did an 89-day cruise on the Ocean Princess, one of its last three cruises before being sold to Oceania and is now named the Sirena, from Dover south around Africa, up the Indian Ocean to Dubai, back around Oman, through the Suez Canal, across the Med. to Miami--28,000 miles and 38 ports.  It was just fabulous.

[Boytjie]

Well, you will have to contain your excitement until you get to your cabin to attach your card! Warning: it is sealed in an envelope which will delay you a few more seconds. 😆

[scubacruiserx2]

 

zgscl thank you for sharing your wealth of information and photos of your trip . We have seen on a blog of a previous visitor that they were supposed to be at the Marjerie Glacier followed by the Grand Pacific at about 11 AM on Tuesday . This should be perfect just before your lunch at the Pinnacle Grille . 🙂😊 We really like the Tamarind . Do you have plans to go there ?

[zgscl]

25 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Thank you so much for your detailed boarding information. I especially appreciated your comments about how the disabled are boarded. 

I hate needing to transfer from one wheelchair to another wheelchair! When mobility is a problem, changing wheelchairs makes it even harder. I have only found it to be necessary when boarding in the USA.
Did your mother have to also transfer to a chair and wait for the second wheelchair & pusher to become available? 

Dumping the disabled passenger in the elevator lobby is outrageous! What if someone is alone, and can't manage to get to their cabin without assistance---especially when trying to drag carry-ons??? 

You were fortunate that your wheelchair was waiting in your cabin. Too many times my scooter has not been delivered for hours, so I have been trapped in the cabin not able to go anywhere. This would make checking in at the muster station early pretty much impossible. 

Your information has certainly given me much to think about. Thank you again. 

 

I totally agree with you. Yes she did have to transfer from the pier wheelchair to the ship wheelchair. They had several chairs and pushers waiting to bring us on the ship so there was not the typical sitting and waiting for someone to take you onboard. I think this was a function of there being so few wheelchairs from the port and the fairly long wait to get through health screening (so essentially we waited on the front end to get a wheelchair). There are a few benches in the area where cars drop off but they are few and far between. There isn't really a designated area for getting a wheelchair so you have to find a porter or the bus dispatch person and get them to track one down for you. For a cruise line with a generally older clientele it is a really poor setup. We are very fortunate that I am able bodied and could help and that she is similarly able to do some walking and standing. 

 

The fact they just dump you at the midship elevator lobby and say good luck is totally unacceptable. If she could not walk at all and was completely reliant on a wheelchair, or was traveling alone this would have been a very difficult situation. 

 

This really is not difficult. They could use all shoreside or all ship wheelchairs and have you wait in the wheelchair for the other pusher to become available. Then they should take you to your stateroom (which was ready by the way). I am sure most folks would be much happier waiting in a wheelchair without having to transfer, and would be willing to wait for an extra few minutes in order to be taken to their cabin where the rental is hopefully waiting for you. The midship elevator is a lot of waiting and standing as always and getting from there to the far end of the ship would absolutely be a problem for some folks. 

 

On top of that the disorganized drop off zones didn't make a single place to go to get a chair. Relying on seeing a porter or other person and getting them to find you a wheelchair and bring it out is just a poor setup. 

 

It is extremely disappointing that they aren't doing a better job for disabled travelers but I am glad to hear this was helpful - I would consider renting on shore or bringing our own equipment and pushing it myself. The couple in the disabled line behind us had their own electric scooter so that is an option also. I also recommend carrying on as little as possible, but I would be hesitant to let go of my CPAP or any of my technological devices or medications. 

[zgscl]

18 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

zgscl thank you for sharing your wealth of information and photos of your trip . We have seen on a blog of a previous visitor that they were supposed to be at the Marjerie Glacier followed by the Grand Pacific at about 11 AM on Tuesday . This should be perfect just before your lunch at the Pinnacle Grille . 🙂😊 We really like the Tamarind . Do you have plans to go there ?

 

I think we set up a 12:45 reservation which should be perfect. Will have to see how early we get there. We may enjoy room service breakfast on our gigantic balcony, or will go to the suite breakfast in Pinnacle and try for a window table. We have seen glacier bay several times and it does not disappoint. 

 

We haven't decided on Tamarind yet. We do have Canaletto later on for sure and probably will go back to the Pinnacle at least one more time for dinner. 

[zgscl]

We had a 9 PM reservation at the pinnacle but wanted to find our table and meet our waiters (we have early seating). For some reason we always get the worst possible table assigned in the dining room – our last cruise we were in the former orchestra pit looking at people’s feet and crammed in with way too many tables. This time we are wedged in by the kitchen where you can’t see out at all and are looking directly at the waiter’s station. Will plan on chatting with our concierge Hector to see if he might be able to put in a good word for us with the Maitre D’. 

 

The dining room has definitely gotten their act together since the first cruise. Everything is running smoothly and efficiently. We had both a waiter and assistant waiter (their names are printed on the table card which is nice). The waiter takes all drink orders and there is a beverage runner who brings drinks from the bar. We aren’t wine people so can’t report on that. 

I started with a tequila sunrise that was very good. We both ordered the Alaskan Crab Seafood Cocktail which was excellent. I had the Caesar salad (forgot to take a picture) which was good. Mom ordered the corn soup with bacon which was not good – flavorless with just a couple pieces of corn and no discernible  bacon. We did not get an entrée or desert as we wanted to save room for the Pinnacle. 

 

After our pre-dinner we went to the meet your naturalist event which was a half hour presentation introducing us to our naturalist, Ross, as well as an overview of some of the animals we are likely to see. Also there will be several wildlife spotting sessions from the deck. The morning of Juneau is reportedly the most likely for actually seeing something

Last time we sailed was 2017 so we had not yet seen the new EXC central area. I was prepared to hate it but it actually is kind of a nice setup. Going in on the starboard side there is the shore excursions area which was closed when we were there. Lots of nice seating in the front of the lounge for viewing the bow. It sort of resembles a boutique coffee shop. On the port side there is a room with theater style seating for presentations and talks. 

Also I stuck my head out on deck and got a couple of pictures of the retreat. It looks like a few  of the cabanas were in use, but 60 degree weather is not really ideal for using this space. 

  
Just off to the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet but will get yesterday's reports finished out when I come back. The internet seems to be a lot better. We paid for the premium speed and I think that was absolutely worthwhile. There have been a few dead zones where it just completely dies but then has come back relatively soon after. TV signal was coming in well today but also has sort of dropped off periodically. 

[scubacruiserx2]

2 minutes ago, zgscl said:

 

I think we set up a 12:45 reservation which should be perfect. Will have to see how early we get there. We may enjoy room service breakfast on our gigantic balcony, or will go to the suite breakfast in Pinnacle and try for a window table. We have seen glacier bay several times and it does not disappoint. 

 

We haven't decided on Tamarind yet. We do have Canaletto later on for sure and probably will go back to the Pinnacle at least one more time for dinner. 

 

We see that you are on the open sea and it seems like the internet is good . How are the seas ? Have a great visit in Juneau . Accuweather calls for a high of 58 F low of 49 F 95% cloud cover and 25% precipitation .

[scubacruiserx2]

4 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

We see that you are on the open sea and it seems like the internet is good . How are the seas ? Have a great visit in Juneau . Accuweather calls for a high of 58 F low of 49 F 95% cloud cover and 25% precipitation . We just noticed the the wildlife spotting is just above you at 8 AM tomorrow . Hopefully you will see a lot of wildlife and have a "private" guide  from your balcony.

 

[0bnxshs]

3 hours ago, cruisewiththekids said:

 

This is from the "U.S. Sailings Questions and Answers" on HAL's website:

 

"A complimentary antigen or PCR COVID-19 test will be administered to all guests on board on Day 5 or 6 of the voyage. This test fulfills the requirements for onward travel home in most instances where guests board a flight immediately after their cruise.   

 

Guests who book a post-cruise stay before traveling home should ensure they meet all testing requirements. If the test provided on board does not meet the requirements for onward travel, additional testing is the responsibility of the guest at their expense."

 

I'm not sure if this means it's available to all guests in case it's needed for onward travel, or that it is mandatory for everyone.

This may be required for international travel, especially for Canadians.

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, zgscl said:

The fact they just dump you at the midship elevator lobby and say good luck is totally unacceptable.

 

I don't recall that happening when I needed to have such service.

 

2 hours ago, zgscl said:

They could use all shoreside or all ship wheelchairs and have you wait in the wheelchair for the other pusher to become available

 

Maybe this transfer depends on the port?  Port Everglades--a Steward was my "pusher" from the terminal to my stateroom.  Boston--a port agent was my "pusher" until I got to the top of the gangway and was on the ship.  Then, a Steward took over and took me to my stateroom.  

[luvteaching]

Hi Everyone, 

We are on this cruise as well. DH needs a scooter and a rollator so we rent from Scootaround. Pre-C0vid this meant they were in the cabin for us when we got wheelchaired onboard and to the cabin. 

This time, mid-afternoon Friday, we had a phone call and email from Scootaround saying that they weren't allowed on the ship (due to Covid) so we had to pick up the items at the kiosk. DH is not good on his legs at the moment so I dropped him and the checked luggage at the pier, parked the car, and came back. I was able to get a wheel chair person from the port wheel him to the kiosk where we picked up the items. I put the backpack on the scooter and the carry-on bag perched on the rollator (which I pushed) and off we went. Everything went well and the screeners put the bags, etc. on the belt for the scanner for me. Checkin was quick and painless. Luggage was in the cabin when we arrived. 

 

Today was our Meet and Greet in the Gallery Bar. I had looked at previous cruise information and we opted for an afternoon time  - 2:30 - 3:30. We had several officers come and we had about 20 Cruise critic members there. It was fun to meet everyone! 

Karen

[nimiq]

Gréât trip report :-).

 

My question is how are you dealing with wearing a mask on vacation and once seated in the theatre can you remove it ? 
 

 

Thanks

sea ya 

Eric