I was feeling pretty sorry for myself after Princess cancelled our September booking to Alaska because I have to use supplemental O2 during exertion. This was our third try at putting together this cruise. First, we were supposed to go in May 2020, then September 2020, but you know how that turned out. Then the Jones Act threatened to cancel the entire 2021 Alaska season because Canada still won't accept any cruise ships in their ports. Then there was a special waiver of the archaic law so cruise ships didn't have to make an international stop before returning to an American port. We snapped up 4 balcony cabins in a heartbeat, only to have our plans derailed once again. This time by Princess's new post-Covid policy banning passengers who used supplemental O2 or dialysis patients.
It felt like three strikes and we were out.
But our tireless TA, Teresa Skeim of Cruise Specialists, would not give up. She was determined to find a replacement cruise for our family. I told her there were a few things that had made us choose Princess in the first place (aside from being pretty loyal customers of theirs) and these requirements were non-negotiable. We needed a 100% vaccinated cruise in order to feel safe to travel. My parents are in their 80's so this was the #1 requirement. And the itinerary had to include a day of cruising in Glacier Bay National Park. We were so captivated by the experience in 2017, we wanted to share that magical place with our family. A replacement cruise also had to be the same or very nearly the same dates as our Princess cruise.
Teresa pulled a rabbit out of her hat!
We're now booked for the September 25th sailing of the Norwegian Encore round trip out of Seattle! All the working members of our party had to scramble a bit to move their time off up a couple of days and we had to make sure our pet care providers would be available, but this cruise answered all our must haves.
PLUS Norwegian is delighted to welcome me and my Portable Oxygen Concentrator! They have no rules against guests who require supplemental O2. In fact, when Norwegian heard our story, how a three generational family group was being denied boarding over my oxygen needs, they were determined to do something special for us. Teresa tells me Norwegian will have wine and chocolate waiting for us in each cabin and are offering our party additional OBC!
Thank you, Norwegian! WE LOVE YOU, TOO!
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| This will be our 3rd Alaskan cruise, but Icy Strait Point is a "new to us" port of call! |
We've cruised Norwegian several times before, once on the Pride of America, the only USA flagged cruise ship that sails around the Hawaiian islands from Honolulu. In fact, we took my parents and our daughters on that voyage. And then a couple of times the DH and I sailed from Boston to Bermuda when we lived in Medford, MA. (What a luxury it is to be able to take a cab to the port from your own doorstep instead of mucking about with flights or a road trip!) We had wonderful cruises with Norwegian every time!
But we've never been on one of their mega-ships, and the Encore is the newest in their Breakaway Plus class having only been launched in 2019. This mammoth vessel can carry nearly 4000 guests and almost 1800 crewmembers. By Ozarks standards, it's a floating town. In addition to the usual cruising activities, the Encore offers (I kid you not!) the largest go-cart track at sea, a laser tag course based on the lost continent of Atlantis, a virtual reality arcade and water slides whose loops and dips make my knees buckle just to look at them. The younger members of our party will never be bored!
Of course, some of these extras come at an extra price, but unless you sail an all-inclusive line, that's par for the cruising course.
So now our Alaskan adventure is on again! I'll be counting down the days with you, sharing how we'll pack, how we'll get to Seattle, and all the little details we need to take care of as we prepare to briefly leave our land life behind...
Thanks for riding this roller coaster with me!
Glad to hear an alternative cruise was found. We considered doing an inside passage Alaska cruise while we wait for our RV after we ship it from Anchorage back to Tacoma towards the end of July, but we just have too much to do before we head off to Turkey at the beginning of September. So best to get home. I will look forward to reading about your adventure.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you've really made good use of your RV during the pandemic!
ReplyDeleteIf our Viking WC sails in January, we will be visiting Turkey for the first time with a call at Kusadasi for Ephesus and an overnight in Istanbul! Both places captivate my imagination, especially Istanbul. When I was writing novels about vikings, I discovered those early explorers/traders/raiders made it as far as Constantinople, which they called Miklagard. They tried, and failed, to take the heavily fortified city, but their ferocity and determination made the Emperor decide to hire them as his personal bodyguards. They became the Varangian Guards. Naturally, I had to place one of my novels (Silk Dreams https://www.amazon.com/Silk-Dreams-Mia-Marlowe-ebook/dp/B00EA1TITY/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=Silk+Dreams+kindle&qid=1625744240&sr=8-6) in that exotic city and time period. It'll be interesting to see if I can find the viking era graffiti left in the Hagia Sophia.
Can you please reply back with a link to your blog? I seem to have lost the new one on Find Penguins. Thanks, Erin. Your photography is always breathtaking!
Here you go … https://findpenguins.com/8pccjefaitoru/trip/60611551187b31-29440197. I still prefer my old blog format where I can tell longer stories, but at least with these short footprints, I’ve managed to stay on top of the trip.
ReplyDeleteI might have mentioned before that I grew up in İzmir, about 1 hour or so from Kusadasi/Ephesus. Make sure you visit the Terrace Houses at Ephesus (extra admission) … it’s one of the highlights. The Hagia Sophia was converted back into a mosque last year. I know they cover the murals on the walls during prayers, so not sure how that all works for visiting it. Hopefully you’re not in İstanbul on a Friday as visiting the mosques is particularly difficult on that day … considered the holy day. If you have the opportunity to visit the Kariye Museum (Chora Church), which is outside the usual tourist sites, you won’t regret it … the mosaics are incredible.
We do arrive in Istanbul on a Friday, but we have an overnight, so hopefully we'll be able to see the Hagia Sophia on Saturday. We're traveling with Viking this time, so maybe they have worked out a "privileged access" situation. Of course, with the situation the world is in, our itinerary is bound to change...if we go at all. But for the moment Viking says they are fully committed to the 2022 WC, so I'm sure they'll try to take us somewhere!
DeleteThanks for the tip about the Terrace Houses, the Kariye Museum, and for the link to your blog.
Glad that you found an alternative. I have friends that will be doing the same trip in August. I'll let you know if they have any hints after their trip.
ReplyDeleteI'm thrilled the trip is still on! We can't wait to share Alaska with our loved ones.
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