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applequeen

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Cool Cruiser (2/15)

  1. Did you find any options for Valdez. My group is considering a bus tour with this group https://www.valdezkeystonetours.com/ . There isn’t a lot of info available about them but the few reviews I have found are positive. It seems to cover a lot of things for a reasonable ( compared to ship options) price.
  2. Thanks for the advice. There were so many points to consider (and unknown potential travel issues). In the end I dropped the NCL coverage and went with Allianz to cover the entire trip. We are more likely to have issues getting to/ from the cruise compared to the cruise itself. I can't think of anything other than a covered reason that would make us cancel the cruise at the last minute.
  3. Right. My flights were paid using a credit I had. The rest of the family’s flights were new purchases. Flying is a nightmare most of the time and I just want to protect us as best I can. I had to file a complaint with DOT to get a refund last year. AA was refusing to refund a flight I cancelled (I had clearly booked a refundable fare… it was unbelievable. I even confirmed with customer service before I cancelled). The entire experience made me want to cover and cover again all my bases. 🙂 We have high credit limits so paying upfront for anything not filed directly with BCBS is ok. From what I read about the pre existing conditions it applies to the 120 days prior to the plan’s purchase. Other than some urgent care type (cold/ flu stuff) we haven’t had any tests or procedures so it shouldn’t be an issue. everything I read seems to indicate that 3rd party insurance is generally cheaper with better coverage. I am probably overthinking the entire thing.
  4. Thanks! To clarify a few things If I book the Allianz plan I would no longer have the flight policy (which I didn't expect much from anyway). The Allianz plan I would book would replace the airline policy and the NCL policy to cover my entire trip (flights, hotel, cruise, etc.). We'll be in Alaska most of the trip (other than a few days in Vancouver). My insurance (BCBS with out of network option) will likely cover anything that would happen in AK. I also can't think of a single pre-existing condition. We don't really take medications or have any health issues that would impact our ability to travel. I guess it's possible we could be diagnosed with something between now and the trip. I'm mostly worried about something like Covid preventing us from going but it looks like Allianz has epidemic coverage. The NCL "Cancel for any reason" is what gives me pause but as long as the Allianz plan would reimburse for anything NCL doesn't cover (because I won't have coverage with NCL) I think I am ok (aren't I)? That's really my question. Does the Allianz policy cover me? I see that NCL will issue a credit for 75%. I would rather have 100% of my $ refunded and I think that is what I would get from Allianz.
  5. Anyone? I need to move forward with this decision and I would appreciate any advice that can be provided.
  6. We have a cruise planned and I want to make sure we are covered as far as insurance. For several years we declined insurance coverage and (thankfully) had no issues. My medical coverage has decent international benefits and we are generally healthy. After a flight delay almost made us miss a cruise last year we have reconsidered our need for it. We have a fairly complicated itinerary compared to most of our previous trips which were closed loop and usually involved us driving to/ from the port. Our upcoming cruise involves 3 flight connections to get to the departure port, 2 nights pre-cruise hotel, the cruise itself, land travel to departure airport, 2 nights hotel there, and finally 3 connections for flights to get home. I originally booked separate insurance through the airlines for the flights. It was through Allianz. I added the standard NCL coverage to the cruise booking. After considering the total cost of this trip I wondered if it might be best to book a separate policy that would cover the entire trip. I'm way past my date to cancel the flight insurance but Allianz said if I booked another policy through them that they would refund (and cancel) the flight policy. For that reason I'm focused on Allianz since I would otherwise be past the date to cancel and I don't want to lose $. If I cancel the standard coverage from NCL https://affinitytravelcert.com/document/pdfs/NCL_Standard_Generic_COI_7_21.pdf and book the One Trip Prime option from Allianz https://www.allianztravelinsurance.com/find-a-plan/onetrip-prime.htm I could save a couple hundred $. I looked at the annual plans but (for this year) it doesn't make sense for us. There are times when an annual plan might work but for various reasons we likely won't have much non work related travel . Is this a good plan? Should I keep both policies? I really like the potential to save $ with the Allianz policy but not if it's going to put us at risk if we have to cancel. Will there be any issues with NCL if I miss the cruise and have coverage under the Allianz policy?
  7. You are 100% correct about the smoking!!! I was shocked at how bad it was on the pool deck (I stayed on the other side because of it). I noticed it inside around the casino too (and adjacent floors) but the outside area really bothered me. having the smoking area in the middle of deck 15 seemed odd to me. It took up a space that could have been used for shady chairs (something badly needed). The smoke covered that entire side of the pool deck. The wine selection was terrible. I'm normally a wine drinker and the complete lack of pinot noir was odd. On cruises I tend to drink more mixed drinks and only wine at dinner so it wasn't a big deal but I did notice the lack of selection. I made do with the shiraz and malbec options and it was fine for a glass or two each day but it does seem that wine selections are very limited for the package compared to what other lines offer.
  8. Here are my post cruise thoughts... If you purchased the arcade pass you should KEEP IT (I'll explain below). I wish I had bought it before the cruise. I was told by guest services at the beginning of the cruise that I could purchase it once the credit ran out. When I tried to purchase it I was told that I needed to have bought it on the first or second day. Having the pass and the credit is a great combo. The pass pays for the non ticketed games but the credit can be used for anything (including the ticketed games). The arcade was a great place for my kids to make friends and they could go there while we (adults) did something else. Overall the lack of Splash Academy had a small impact on our cruise. Having kids on the older end of the age range made a huge difference. They both met friends and we gave them a small amount of freedom on the ship (we knew exactly where they were going and when they would be finished). The ability to do this obviously depends on the age and responsibility of your kids. The movies and activities in the Atrium were great (not all were family friendly but several were). There were several packs of kids running amok on the ship. It didn't feel any worse than usual although I did yell at a few who almost knocked me down. Parents need to teach their kids how to behave in these situations. These weren't small children who don't know better. These were probably age 8+ and could easily have injured someone. A few times the parent was right behind them and could see how their child acted. These people give all of us parents/ kids a bad name on cruises. We purchased some Future Cruise Credits if that tells you how much we enjoyed the trip. 🙂
  9. I agree with all of us. We all had a wonderful time overall but there were a few little things that could have been better. The extra sea day and the shortened port added a lot of "ship time" with somewhat limited daytime activities (that appealed to my family). There was a good variety but just not things that would work for a family with kids. It was hard to find things we could all do together without someone being bored. We did enjoy the movies in the atrium and some of the games and activities there. The pool/ slides were difficult because it was so crowded. I've been on enough cruises to know it's just part of being on a cruise but I was surprised that it felt so crowded at such limited capacity. Can you imagine how it would be on a normal cruise?!? I am so thankful that my kids were on the older end of the Splash Academy age group. They both met some friends and were allowed small amounts of freedom on the ship. It gave all of us a break from each other. It's a big ship but it's very easy to navigate and so we never had problems finding our group. I agree with the Howl at the Moon comments. I understand that type of behavior is normal for many dueling piano bars but it got a little out of hand on the one (and only) night we attended. I guess it's one of those things where the performers should remember that just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD. I wonder how many decided not to make a request because they were worried someone would outbid them? Harvest Caye is beautiful but the sand is terrible. It was impossible to walk on (shells and rocks). I did love that there were so many umbrellas and places to get shade. I will take the rough sand for the shade! It was pricey but if what I understand is correct, the Belize gov requires that NCL use local vendors/ employees on the island. This is so important as it allows Belize to realize a positive economic impact from our visitation to the island. Tourism is a huge source of revenue for many of these countries and keeping us off the mainland and on an island where everything is controlled by the cruise line isn't smart for Belize. Perhaps NCL could provide information to passengers explaining this (if it's true) and highlighting how spending $ on the island benefits locals. We purchased some Future Cruise Credits so we'll absolutely be sailing with NCL again although I doubt I would do Western Caribbean again unless it was just too good of a deal to pass up. It was a wonderful week overall and definitely worth the price we paid.
  10. My big complaint about not stopping (after learning that it's been 4 weeks) is that it seems like the itinerary needs to be changed to a port that is easier to accommodate. The combination of pier direction and winds (is it a seasonal weather pattern?) seems to make this an iffy stop for the Breakaway. I would love to know the percentage of times it makes it versus when it doesn't and if there is a pattern for certain months. I understand that if winds were too high to dock safely it probably wasn't safe to tender either. The ship felt really crowded on the sea days. I can't imagine what it would have been like at full capacity. Is there nowhere else we could have gone instead? When my Carnival cruise missed the Half Moon Cay stop due to wind we went to Nassau instead. Is there another option close to Roatan that could be a back up port (or replacement port for new itinerary).
  11. I heard someone explaining why the smaller ships can dock despite winds but the larger ships (like Breakaway) can’t. It made it easier to understand why we could see others docking but we couldn’t make it. I guess it’s a “pro” in favor of smaller ships. it’s been a gorgeous day onboard.
  12. Does NCL use the pier? I thought this was a tender port for us.
  13. It shows up as $100 arcade credit. It only works for the arcade (no games at Osheenans). My kids have probably 50 arcade charges from yesterday. Our onboard balance didn’t change so I guess they aren’t quite at their limit. You have to watch because there is no way to know when it is used up. I guess we will know when our balance increases when they play games.
  14. We were sunblocked and ready to go. I had a feeling we weren’t going to make it based on the forecast (and how rough the water was during the night) but was hoping it was wrong. When we saw the turn on the navigation channel we knew it wasn’t happening. 😞 Does anyone know if there are plans to build a pier since this seems to be an ongoing issue?
  15. So it looks like my kids blew through their credits in about an hour today. It’s fine though. There is plenty to keep everyone busy. So far I am pretty impressed with some of the family activities. We have taken advantage of several of the things in the Atrium during the day. The only time I miss Splash Academy is at night. Last night the grownups put the kids to bed and went to Howl at the Moon for about an hour. The kids were passed out but had a phone they could text if they needed us. They are almost 10 and 12 so it wouldn’t be an option for younger kids. Having kids on the older end of the range is definitely a game changer. It would be much more difficult with younger but it’s been a wonderful cruise so far.
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