If you’ve ever been to Juneau, then you have some idea how many jewelry stores there are within walking distance of Alaska cruise ships. If you’ve ever gone to a shore-excursion presentation on a ship, you also know how there is almost always one about the jewelry stores. As passengers who generally avoid both, we’re… Continue reading Alaska’s Jewelry Wars Continue
Tag: Norwegian
Norwegian Gratuities Claim Change
In all our cruises, the attention of crew members has been such that we’ve never felt inclined to protest paying the accepted daily gratuities charged to our account. We’ve seen passengers who have, because they felt attention from room stewards or waiters was below the accepted standard. As you know, daily gratuities are about $12… Continue reading Norwegian Gratuities Claim Change
Killing Fields A Chilling Experience
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — It’s hard to imagine this place was a prison, until you experience its contents. Once, it was a school. Then came the Khmer Rouge. Classrooms became cells and torture chambers. Fencing installed for the safety of students was replaced by electrified barbed wire to keep “prisoners” from escaping. In its lifetime,… Continue reading Killing Fields A Chilling Experience
An Education In Cambodian Village
KAMPONG CHHNANG, Cambodia — Taking a river cruise down the Mekong River means taking a trip to many places you never expect to see in your lifetime. Like the small village outside Kampong Chhnang, the first stop on the AmaDara’s trek south from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Most people who cruise… Continue reading An Education In Cambodian Village
New Orleans: Big Growth Not Easy
Anniversaries are always reason for reflection, good or bad. It's now 10 years since Katrina. One word. That's often the case with things that are unforgettable — Hiroshima, Elvis, LeBron — because one word is all it takes. Katrina. It was the last week of August 2005. The hurricane that destroyed a city. In the… Continue reading New Orleans: Big Growth Not Easy