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Baked Alaska

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  1. Wow
    Baked Alaska got a reaction from CruisingKitty in A Case for Trip Insurance. . . GET IT!   
    Last evening my son and husband went trout fishing. After having caught their limit and cleaned their trout, they walked back to the truck to head home. My husband had thought he had stepped on a stick, breaking it, with part of it snapping and hitting his ankle. He never did see the stick. Just noticed the sharp pain and a little blood about 15 steps later. When they got in the truck, he examined his ankle further and saw two puncture marks. Yep, a snake bite. He went to the emergency room last night and got home around 4:30 AM (today). At that time they did not give him any anti-venom (recall he never saw the snake). Here in the Ozarks, we have many venomous snakes (Copperhead, Rattle snake, and Water Moccasin/Cotton Mouth, to name just a few), but rarely do people get bit by them. My husband is now back in the emergency room as I write this post, with further swelling and nausea.
    We have our Alaska cruise and pre-cruise vacation exactly 365 days from today. The total cost of this YOLO trip approaches $20K. We insure every cruise trip we take with the "Cancel For Any Reason" added to the policy. Had this situation occurred even up to a week before our trip, we would cancel. If you can AFFORD to lose the cost of your trip, whatever the amount, the don't buy trip insurance. Or, if you can afford to lose the cost of your trip, you can afford trip insurance.  If you can't (or can't stand the thought of losing the money), BUY TRIP INSURANCE WITH CANCEL FOR ANY REASON TAGGED ON!
    We need prayers and good thoughts sent our way. Hoping he keeps his leg and we move on from here. Tomorrow is another day. 
  2. Love
    Baked Alaska got a reaction from CraftyCat05 in A Case for Trip Insurance. . . GET IT!   
    Last evening my son and husband went trout fishing. After having caught their limit and cleaned their trout, they walked back to the truck to head home. My husband had thought he had stepped on a stick, breaking it, with part of it snapping and hitting his ankle. He never did see the stick. Just noticed the sharp pain and a little blood about 15 steps later. When they got in the truck, he examined his ankle further and saw two puncture marks. Yep, a snake bite. He went to the emergency room last night and got home around 4:30 AM (today). At that time they did not give him any anti-venom (recall he never saw the snake). Here in the Ozarks, we have many venomous snakes (Copperhead, Rattle snake, and Water Moccasin/Cotton Mouth, to name just a few), but rarely do people get bit by them. My husband is now back in the emergency room as I write this post, with further swelling and nausea.
    We have our Alaska cruise and pre-cruise vacation exactly 365 days from today. The total cost of this YOLO trip approaches $20K. We insure every cruise trip we take with the "Cancel For Any Reason" added to the policy. Had this situation occurred even up to a week before our trip, we would cancel. If you can AFFORD to lose the cost of your trip, whatever the amount, the don't buy trip insurance. Or, if you can afford to lose the cost of your trip, you can afford trip insurance.  If you can't (or can't stand the thought of losing the money), BUY TRIP INSURANCE WITH CANCEL FOR ANY REASON TAGGED ON!
    We need prayers and good thoughts sent our way. Hoping he keeps his leg and we move on from here. Tomorrow is another day. 
  3. Thanks
    Baked Alaska reacted to Matt in New Sale coming this weekend   
    I would never tell any of you that the next sale is the Explore More Sale with up to $200 to spend at sea
    5nights or less: Inside/oceanview: $25, Balcony: $50, Suites: $75
    6 nights or longer: Inside/oceanview: $50, Balcony $75, Suite: $100
    Combinable with non-refundable OBC (which is how you get up to $200).
  4. Love
    Baked Alaska reacted to Lovetocruise2002 in New Sale coming this weekend   
    Does your little birdie know when the next 30% off everyone (or BOGO60) sale will be?  
  5. Like
    Baked Alaska got a reaction from MikeK in Dining room attire for teens   
    For our Alaska sailing, we have the 5 night dining package. Regardless of where we eat, save Windjammer, we will be wearing jeans or Khakis. We will be doing a lot of fishing and as such, would rather pack for fishing excursion weather and not formal night. Weather boots and layered clothing will take a lot of room in our suit cases, already. I agree with @MikeK, "don't worry what the others are wearing." As long as your comfortable. Heck, you will probably not see these people the following week ever again, and really, will you remember what your fellow cruise passengers wore at lunch, let alone the day before? Don't worry, be happy. ?
     
  6. Haha
    Baked Alaska reacted to Mljstr in Dining room attire for teens   
    Along those lines, twenty years ago we were on our second cruise-11 night Hawaii- and the ship was teeming with passengers much older than we were (50). Many had walkers or scooters or canes or assistants. On one of the formal nights   I was mortified I had forgotten my matching shoes and my husband made everything all right when he said, “ Don’t worry about it. Most of these people will be impressed you can walk unassisted.”  LOL
  7. Love
    Baked Alaska reacted to MikeK in Dining room attire for teens   
    I was on the Oasis for the June 17th sailing in a loft suite so we ate in the coastal kitchen every evening.  On formal night a couple in their 30s with young children were dressed in shorts and flip flops, they must have been star class because a genie was talking to them the whole meal.    I dont dress up anymore for formal night so i had on slacks and a button up shirt.  About 25% were in coats and ties, 50% in slacks and shirts and 25% in shorts.  Last year on the Oasis we ate in the MDR and formal night about 50% in coats and ties,  25% in slacks and 25% in shorts.  Basically dress how you feel the most comfortable and dont worry what the others are wearing.
  8. Thanks
    Baked Alaska reacted to CGTLH in Hey Matt   
    On Oasis class ships it will be a limited selection of beer, wine, soda, and bottled water.
    As far as I'm aware on other classes nothing beverage wise is offered outside of the cocktail hour.
    Coffee/espresso machine is available all the time on any ship.
  9. Thanks
    Baked Alaska reacted to KJ1231 in Radiance Sailing 6/22/18 Alaska Southbound   
    The length of the line varied. We did the whale watching and Mendenhall glacier excursion early. When we got back to the pier we walked aroudn town for a little while and then caught up with  my in-laws and then went to Tracy's. The place is not real big but we had not problem getting our own table outside. The turnover is pretty quick since people want to walk around Juneau . While they have a beer, it is not a "bar" so people tend to "eat and run". The tram "terminal" is about a block away so there are people coming and going all over the pier. I guess it will also depend on how many ships are docked that day. We were there with twangster/Explorer and another smaller ship that was using water taxis. If the line is a little long, maybe walk around town and come back.....
  10. Thanks
    Baked Alaska reacted to KJ1231 in Radiance Sailing 6/22/18 Alaska Southbound   
    I'm not sure about the specialty restaurants. We didn't have a lot of time between the time we boarded and muster. We went to our rooms and unpacked our bags by which time the horn blew for muster. We "mustered" and then went directly to the MDR. There was a pretty long line but we were seated pretty quickly. I don't think they were verifying times at that point - just looking to see if you had a reservation at or before the current time. For a specialty restaurant I think you made the right move....
  11. Love
    Baked Alaska reacted to twangster in Radiance Sailing 6/22/18 Alaska Southbound   
    @KJ1231 will likely have a better perspective having just sailed her.  I can weigh in after my cruise at the end of August.  Izumi straight after muster may be a good strategy but getting there with the typical post-muster everyone-in-the-elevator at once thing going on might be a struggle.
    Depending where you are coming from and how long you will be in Alaska before day one, your stomach may be still in a different time zone.  Consider that in making reservations.
  12. Like
    Baked Alaska got a reaction from Galveston Steve in Galveston Nearing Deal On Oasis Class Ship, New Terminal!   
    I am definitely looking forward to this as getting to Texas from Missouri is a breeze! And! An Oasis class ship, no less! Woot!
  13. Love
    Baked Alaska reacted to Adriana in Miami / Ft. Lauderdale   
    I went to grad school at U of Miami and lived in South Beach for all my adult life until coming back home to NJ recently, so ask any questions. What types of activities do you enjoy? Miami has a great opera and you can wear one of your outfits from formal night. In that same complex, they have the ballet, symphony and shows. There are some great restaurants and bars, can do happy hour in Brickell. South Beach is full of things to do and see. Walk down Ocean Dr, just to see it, but do not shop or dine there. The prices are even more astronomical than regular South Beach high prices. Do Lincoln Rd which is a pedestrian mall full of boutiques stores and restaurants, art galleries, hooka bars, symphony, lounges, theater and more. Plenty of clubs. Please note that attire does matter for most venues. Have some authentic Cuban cuisine, go to Little Havana, Versailles (in Miami, it is pronounced in Spanish, Ver-sign-yes), the Gables. Visiting the Everglades is cool. You can take a tour bus to Key West for the day or stray overnight. 
  14. Love
    Baked Alaska reacted to cruiselife in RCL stock down almost 20% this year   
    Sounds like a reason to book a cruise today!
  15. Sad
    Baked Alaska reacted to princevaliantus in RCL stock down almost 20% this year   
    Good point. I guess cruise prices will start going up even more at this point especially since fuel/oil prices are rising.
  16. Love
    Baked Alaska reacted to cruiselife in RCL stock down almost 20% this year   
    I don't think this has much to do with Royal Caribbean's operations. The largest single day stock market dip in history happened in February. The January 29th date you mentioned was about a week before the dip so it's not the best point of reference. I can confirm because my 401k has taken a beating so far this year. I'm also no expert when it comes to the stock market, so this should not be construed as investment advice. haha
     
    Also, as @twangster referenced it appears that the industry as a whole is not doing well in terms of stock value. This article cites rising fuel prices, travel demand, and flat prices as concerns.
    https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/05/cruise-ship-stocks-are-the-worst-performers-in-sp-500.html
     
  17. Love
    Baked Alaska reacted to KJ1231 in Radiance Sailing 6/22/18 Alaska Southbound   
    Day 3 - Juneau. Arrived in port on time. Weather weas overcast and a bit chilly. We dressed in layers for our excursion for got whale watching and Mendenhall glacier (see initial post for exact excursion). We boarded the bus at the pier for a short ride (15-20 mins) to the dock where the whale watching boat was. Driver provided lots of info about Juneau and had to throw in the Sarah Palin line when we went past the the governor's mansion. (Must have heard that one a dozen times). Many bald eagles in the area and seen from the bus. Once on the boat it was a bit chilly as we stayed outside on the deck. We saw 3 different whales as well as sea lions, a sea otter, the Herbert glacier (my father-in-law's name!). Over all the boat ride was good although we only saw 1 whale "tale" and none jumping. From the pier dock we took the same bus over to Mendenhall glacier. it's about a 10-15 minute walk from the bus to the the viewing point for the glacier. Got some nice pictures and then my wife went to the visitor center while I walked the trail over to a beautiful waterfall. We got back to downtown Juneau around 2:30 and met up with my sister-in-law and her husband for crab legs at Tracy's. I also had the chowder and the root beer on tap, all of which was delicious. After lunch my brother-in-law were going to take the tram up to the top but it wasn't running :-(. Se we walked around Juneau before heading back to the ship and watched all the planes coming in and out between the cruise ships. One in particular looked like he was playing "chicken" with the Explorer of the Seas as it was headed right for it at take off and banked right before reaching the ship. We had dinner at the Windjammer this night - not bad - and then went to the show with the Radiance of the Seas dancers which was good.
     Whale watching boat from back of upper deck enclosed. There was a 3rd completely open deck. That's not me in the picture
     Whale fins. I missed the tale. Should have videoed!
     
     Herbert Glacier
      Seal Lions on the bouy that wouldn't let the pup up.  Mendhenhall glacier and waterfall
       Biggest crab legs we've ever seen at Tracy's
     
     Explorer of the Seas next to us in Juneau!
  18. Love
    Baked Alaska reacted to KJ1231 in Radiance Sailing 6/22/18 Alaska Southbound   
    Day 5 - Icy Strait Point/Hoonah. There were a lot of mixed reviews of this stop. We really liked it because (a) our excursions were good and (b) it's a relatively new port and still pretty underdeveloped as far as towns go. No hospital, small population (K-12 school has 110 kids), quite a few Tlingit people there as they "own" the area (or something like that). I went birdwatching for 2 hours. Kassie took us off the beaten path to the only farm on the island where they have about 20 head of cattle. We saw lots of bald eagles and I ticked off a few birds that would never make it to the east coast. But birding in Alaska is hard with all the spruce/pine trees - they are really thick and small bird just get lost in them. Learned from Kassie that pregnant women usually leave for Juneau 3 weeks before their due date so they can deliver in a hospital. One reason why she and her husband have not started a family yet. My wife did the Wild Alaska Kitchne where she learned how to cook salmon and halibut and got a good deal on a case of canned sockeye salmon that happened to arrive today. She can't wait to make salmon burgers, dip, etc! It was an early departure for Ketchikan so we had dinner in the Cascades Dining Room which was delicious. We missed the Piano Man show......
       Belted Kingisher and a pair of bald eagles on/near a nest
     Timber Tiger aka red squirrel
     3 sitka deer runnign ahead of the car....
     
     
  19. Love
    Baked Alaska reacted to KJ1231 in Radiance Sailing 6/22/18 Alaska Southbound   
    Just walked around downtown Anchorage today. Our last stop was the Anchorage Museum. We could have spent a couple days there. Great exhibits, especially the one from the Smithsonian on the native people of Alaska! If you are in Anchorage I think this is a must see. 
    We took an uber from the hotel to the visitor center at F and 4th. Took the Trolley Tour ($20 pp) that was 50 minutes. Stryker, our guide, was great. One fact we learned is that 25% of all small aircraft in the USA is in Anchorage! We went up to the airport where they can takeoff and land on land or sea. It was pretty busy!
    My wife got in 8,800 steps around town and we visited many shops and the museum. We got a picture with Balto, the sled dog and I added two "life" birds to my lifelist - the black-billed magpie and the mew gull which are pretty common around here but never make it to the east coast.
    We finished the day with dinner at Sea Galley at the recommendation of our morning uber driver. Plenty of food with the meal but not worth the $$. Would not go back! 
    Getting ready for our train ride to Seward tomorrow and excited to get our first cruise started!
    Here are some pictures from today......
    Oomingmak - The Qiviut Shop - the visitor center told us this was a must see. It was definitely the softest wool I've ever felt and I really wanted to help the natives that make the hats & scarves but nothing under $100!

    Balto the sled dog for whom the Disney movies was made

    A couple life-sized stuffed animals (not mounted by a taxidemtist). The moose can be had for just $7,999

    And then there was this bear on the corner

    Some of the biggest flowers we've ever seen - must be all the sun and rain!

    And lastly, the magpie and mew gull

  20. Like
    Baked Alaska got a reaction from accio7 in 2020 Itinerary Release Dates?   
    Thank you @princevaliantus.
    It's.                   So.                              Long.                                      Away...........................                                    ugh........................
  21. Love
    Baked Alaska reacted to twangster in Radiance Sailing 6/22/18 Alaska Southbound   
    Following!  We board Explorer in Seattle on Friday for the Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise!
    I did your itinerary on Celebrity last year.  It was an incredible experience. 
    Flying to ANC I had a window seat on the right side and had great view of many glaciers as we got close to ANC.  Have your camera ready.
    My recap blog from last year is here:
    This year on Explorer we get into Juneau on June 24th at noon until 9pm, then Skagway on June 25th from 7am to 8:30pm.  Am I mistaken or do these ports overlap with Radiance?
    If so you'll need to keep an eye for the Royal Caribbean Blog team of eighty plus led by none other than @Matt!
  22. Love
    Baked Alaska reacted to JLMoran in Radiance Sailing 6/22/18 Alaska Southbound   
    If you have time, since you indicated you like bird watching, I have heard that when in Skagway you can take the walkway from the pier into town and wend your way to an old fishery that is absolutely packed with bald eagles. Not sure if you'll be able to work this around your train ride; maybe before it departs?
  23. Love
    Baked Alaska reacted to Sweety in Glacier Tours Lacking   
    Most of the times, I just wait to I get to the ports in Alaska and book on the pier. I met a teacher on one of the excursions many years ago and we still correspond. I wrote a recommendation to college for one his daughter. During the excursion, we met his family. He gave us more than Royal excursion would have.
     
  24. Wow
    Baked Alaska reacted to twangster in Glacier Tours Lacking   
    This Royal excursion offered for Hubbard looks interesting so I've booked it. I assume they pick up from the ship like a tender boat does.  $269 so not cheap, but it is on sale this weekend for $242.
    http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=shorexByPort&ProductCode=HG03&DestinationCode=ALCAN

    I did this identical Radiance itinerary on Celebrity last year.  This excursion was NOT offered, I just looked at the excursion book I kept from last year.  Here is a timelapse of Hubbard from the Celebrity Millennium last year:
    A cruise ship will be restricted from going closer than 1 nautical mile from the glacier.  The massive current a large ship can create would cause large sections of the glacier to calve so ships are kept at a safe distance. 
    Excursion boats like the one above can approach much closer.  You'll also be much closer to the water and dodging the massive chunks of glacier floating by.  They must pick you up straight from the ship which makes this excursion really cool (literally, the water will be cold so I'll dress warmly).
    I'm really excited about this excursion and hope it isn't foggy or we have to skip Hubbard for some other reason.
    Plus it's a three hour tour on the Minnow.  What could go wrong?
  25. Love
    Baked Alaska reacted to DunkelBierJay in What ships to try after Symphony?   
    Totally get that...knowing more about what you're looking for, I would mix it up with a back-to-back possibly on different ships and different ports since it is easy to transfer between Miami and Fort Lauderdale and even Port Canaveral if you drive.
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