Guy Gadwa

With the next break in the rain I walked past the harbor heading towards the National Park.





I made it just before more rain came down so I stayed inside for a bit.  The displays do a good job of explaining the various parts found on a totem pole.

My plan was to walk through the National Historical Park lined with totem poles but I kept seeing another line of showers heading our way so I ducked into Bayview Pub right across the street from the shuttle bus stop.


The Beast Burger - Elk, Boar, Buffalo and Wagyu beef topped with wild boar bacon.

The weather radar wasn't friendly today but that's Alaska.


The pier is about 5 miles from downtown.  There is a free shuttle that runs every 10-15 minutes.  The shuttle drops off in downtown Sitka.  Last return shuttle is 30 minutes before all aboard time.
The Raven is very symbolic in Alaskan native culture.  These two were fighting over a small discarded liquor bottle. 

In between waves of showers that passed through I managed to take some pictures of "downtown" Sitka and the general area.

From my aft balcony I spotted an Eagle in the trees.

One benefit of coming early in the season is lots of snow in the peaks.  





Short video of our arrival.
 

Not long after turning inland towards Sitka the seas settled down and it was time for breakfast.  
One nice attribute of Radiance class is lots of glass such as here in the Schooner Bar where we got our first glimpses of the mountains on the way into Sitka sound.


Still pretty rainy at times and overcast yet still very beautiful.

During a break in the rain we were treated to some magnificent views.







 

I'm a little late but following! 🙂

Day Three - Sitka
Time change the morning of day three at 2am.  We are now in the Alaska time zone.
Arrival scheduled for 8:30am.  MDR breakfast hours are 7am to 8:30am and the WJ opens at 6:30am.  
Progress report at 5am:


Typical Alaska weather... wet and overcast.  Here at 5am it's bright enough to read a book outside and getting brighter every minute.

Voom is still pretty slow, that last photo was reduced down to 342kB and took over a minute to upload.
As expected there were some seas last night given that weather system Northwest of us.  I woke up to the night table drawer sliding open and closed. The ship is handling it pretty well.
Temperature outside is 45°F.  

Whales abound.  
The familiar water spout is a dead giveaway.


Not every breath turns into a dive.  They seem to go through a cycle of several breaths before going deep.

When I was a younger man, getting a six pack had a whole different meaning.  
However I am happy to report my eMed six pack has arrived.  Probably the only six pack I'll get at my age.

Couldn't agree more. There is a litany of threads over past 15+ months of people who came onto these boards seeking help because they booked on their own and were lost in dealing with what to do next following a cancellation, billing issue, FCC question, or some other shutdown-related problem.

New terminal construction continues with demolition work over the next 4 weeks... this was posted today on the Port of Galveston's Facebook page:
Harborside Drive traffic notice from the Galveston Wharves Cruise terminal construction at Pier 10 is expected to generate additional truck traffic on Harborside Drive west of 14th Street beginning the week of June 14. The Galveston Wharves said that truck traffic, associated with demolition work at the construction site, is expected during daytime hours Monday - Saturday for about 4 weeks. Royal Caribbean International is building the $110 million cruise terminal, which is scheduled to open in late 2022. The project will generate an estimated 400 construction jobs and 400 operations jobs.

Found it!!  
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/video/cruise-lines-extraordinary-measures-set-sail-73163038

A passenger's personal views.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5572/&ved=2ahUKEwiBmaK6gf3rAhXIo1kKHWQpBAEQx7wDMB96BAgYEAU&usg=AOvVaw3hrScvFcW7B_NUNRnCf-eh

I keep thinking about my Sydney cruise.  Only Star Class had a special meeting point.  Suites/Pinnacle/Key all waited for their appointment time.  The only difference was that the process all started around 11am instead of 2:30pm.
Given the late start at 2:30pm I don't think there is time to grant special status to anyone, especially in the early days of a restart.  I'm fine with that, you won't hear me griping about my status and early appointment times.  The last thing they need are whiners during these crazy times.  Give me a time and get me on board ? 

That's a slippery slope.  How many slots do Full Suites vs. Junior Suites get?  Pinnacles?  The Key?  D+ then D and so on down the chain? 
It's one thing to say if you are checked in and waiting in the terminal, then here is the boarding order.   It's another to reserve slots for arrival because at what point do you they give up on a "class" that hasn't checked in online to get their arrival time?
I suspect they will adopt something like the Sydney, Australia format.  
In Sydney only Star Class really gets priority arrival/check-in at the terminal.   I didn't get a special early arrival time for my C&A status, I think I received what was available when I checked in.  I dropped my bags then went off to walk the Sydney Harbour Bridge and get pictures (to kill time).   Once back I was still too early for my arrival time.  It didn't matter what my C&A status was, I had to wait.  Walking from the ship luggage drop to the bridge, across the bridge and back isn't exactly a "quick" walk. I went to the museum up there too and I was still too early to check in when I got back.  I asked about C&A status ... nope, what time I had was the only thing that mattered.  This was before any pandemic.  
I think initially some Suites/Pinnacle/Key/D+ will be upset when they assume privilege.  Blah, blah, blah.  We'll hear about it without doubt.  But oh well, I'm okay losing this privilege if it means getting back on a ship.  Others will be more vocal but we all have to give in these difficult times.  Trying to appease special status may not work like it did before.  Eventually it will be back. Until then everyone needs a super large dose of "Calm down and cruise on".
 

I will mis the early check-in!...I always always at the port by 10ish and on the ship before 11....one of my fav times for the excitement and also to explore the ship and get some good photo's.....but I would take a cruise with a late check in at this point over no cruise so

Looks like its official... family reunion.

I came across this video today of someone that is onboard one of the ships that has started sailing (MeinSchiff Blaue Reise). He talks about how boarding was different and the procedures they have on the ship. I thought it was interesting and possibly what it would look like when we can start back.
 
 
 

FYI for those who have insured trips and are thinking of Lifting/Shifting.

I searched back a few pages to see if this was talked about.  I found a thread on travel insurance refunds for cancelled cruises, but nothing about shifted cruises.
Anyway, I woke up last night thinking about how we shifted our November 2020 cruise to November 2021 and were able to get a voucher for our flights, but totally forgot about our trip insurance policy.
Allianz will allow you to change your policy to a rebooked trip (within some parameters).  For us, it was as easy as changing the dates on our policy.  I received a confirmation email in less than five minutes.

I have only researched Allianz as they are the company we use, but I would think other companies would do the same.

From their FAQs sections: 
- If I rebook my trip to a later date, can I apply my travel protection plan from my original trip to the rebooked trip?
Yes, we are happy to allow you to move your plan coverage dates to cover a new or rescheduled trip anytime within 770 days from date of initial insurance purchase.  Coverage dates must be updated prior to traveling and prior to any loss for which you seek coverage.  There are two options to take advantage of this opportunity:
If you know the date of your rescheduled trip, please visit our Manage a Policy page to update the travel dates associated with your plan. If you do not yet know your new travel dates, let us know by calling us at the number listed on your plan, and we can hold your plan for you to use later.  Once you know your new travel dates, please contact us to update your plan's travel dates to cover your new trip. https://www.allianztravelinsurance.com/covid-19-faq.htm

Welp...hope my liver makes it. 

Yes and I see that and have seen that for a while now.  
When you listen to the experts and remove the political noise the experts are warning that may not be the case.  
Ten years from now we’ll all be back to old ways talking about what a son of a gun this pandemic was.  
Five years from now we should all be back to old ways talking about what a son of a gun this pandemic was.  
Two years from now we might all be back to old ways talking about what a son of a gun this pandemic was.  
One year from now we will still be dealing with this thing talking about what a son of a gun this pandemic is.  

Good to see you on the blog.  It's been a while !!