GeezerCouple

I don't think Elliot "sues" anyone. His is a "consumer help" site. That can include just about any "issue", not just cruise lines, and not just travel, either. Recently, there have been some vacation rental issues mentioned. But it can also be just purchases of <something>. They apparently can make a huge difference. That's part of the good news. What we don't/can't know is what percentage they even help with, or, importantly, help with *successfully*. But I'd certainly give them a try! GC

Bow thruster? Isn't that ... forward? On the Riviera, the Owners Suites are aft. Did you mean the Vista Suites? GC

Welcome to CruiseCritic! And SO sorry that this is your "introduction to cruising"! Hopefully, you will indeed have a chance to take a cruise in the future (maybe next year?) all together. And please do ask here, step by step, if you have ANY concerns or questions, given your experience. It would make sense for you to be extra cautious, given your unfortunate experience. None of this sounds okay; you are right to be concerned. It's hard to keep track of everything you wrote, and all of the "warning signs". I'm not sure why you relied upon Reddit. My understanding is that there is a lot of sketchy "things" that go on there (on Reddit). (We do not ever use Reddit; I am relying only upon what I've read in several places, which is why we don't deal with them. At all. And one part of DH's work involves considerable "social media", but *not* Reddit. This is a "bit late" (as in, "too late", unfortunately), but especially given that she did accept regular credit cards, why did you use something like Venmo? It's probably good to learn from this just "don't use Venmo", and especially not when it is possible to use a regular charge card. Also, if you were checking that she was licensed, was she *really* licensed or did you just accept her statement that she was? (Current licensing can be verified through the appropriate licensing agency/etc.) Please note: I am NOT trying to "dump" on you here. This is a very important learning experience for others, too. And perhaps you'll also become aware of other ways fraudsters can operate. It's very unfortunate that this happens, but... it does... And it's far too easy for some people to think "this would never happen to me", until something like this *does* happen. Honest people aren't constantly thinking, "What kind of scam could be hidden here!?" And whenever doing something new - cruising for all of you - it isn't always obvious what the "regular routines" are, etc. [See below; I'm hoping there will be a way for you to get your money back... maybe.] For one thing, what/who is a "host"? If that is a legitimate travel AGENCY where this so-called TA works, then you should be in touch with them... yesterday... And what is this about *previous* agency? She's worked with two of them recently? Note that the TA is continuing to engage in those "shenanigans". IF everything truly is fine, and the reservations are still "safe", then why in the world would she need to involve her E&O insurance, which I assume is "errors and omissions". She's claiming there are NOT any "errors" or "omissions"! A HUGE red flag (well, one of them, alas) is the statement that "the Princess app is new and they have asked her not to let all of us into the app at once". Say what? Princess is a very, very large company. If their website or app can't handle your family group, how in the world are they dealing with tens of thousands of passengers who sail on their many ships every day, every week, every month..., with each ship holding thousands of passengers!? What evidence do you have, still, that the TA really does have a "legitimate business"? That would actually be encouraging, given some protections that might be involved. Do you know that she *really* works for an "agency"? If so, again, there should be some protections there, but not if she was only masquerading as being affiliated there. This amount of money is probably well beyond small claims court. I'd suggest a single, quick meeting with an attorney, to find out how you can go after this "TA". The amount of money you mention may put this into a serious legal category. (IANAL, so I won't speculate about categories or names of crimes, etc.) It is possible (maybe not probable, but *possible*) that a letter from an attorney will get her to take action that will at least make your family whole, even if it doesn't help others who may have been scammed. And you all SHOULD file complaints with assorted regulatory agencies, including her state's Attorney General's office. There may be other victims, but the AG/etc., can't see a pattern if victims don't report. Good luck, and we hope that you all do end up spending special time with Grandmother! And a cruise, eventually. 🙂 GC

[emphasis added] Hmmm... This must be something specific to the UK? Or at least, not necessarily done for/by USA-based passengers. Or perhaps it is the specific cruise line or travel vendor that might not do business in the USA? I don't think we've ever provided any cruise line about our travel insurance, or even whether we had any (we always have, since joining CruiseCritic!). Yes, it's possible that we did provide such information but I've forgotten about it... However, I think that for some of the more intensive expedition-type cruises/trips we considered or read about, the vendor does require evidence of some level of coverage. But we have not actually signed up for any of those expedition type trips, and by now, very unfortunately, at our ages/conditions, we suspect we probably won't. GC

Welcome to CC (or, your first post, anyway!). When you repost this query in the France Port section of CC, as suggested, try putting the specifics in your TITLE, such as: "Transfer from CDG Paris to Le Havre" instead of "Airport to Cruiseport Transfers". You want to attract the most eyes, and the eyes that are most familiar with *your* specific issue, from the list of topics. The general header could sound like someone is asking about general transfer strategies (e.g., cruise line vs private, or whatever). And what you want to know is about a very specific route, from one airport to one cruiseport. It tends to help if the header jumps off the page with a few key words for those who are most familiar with the specifics. Enjoy your cruise! GC

Welcome to CruiseCritic (or your first post, anyway)! That's a very interesting question. Others will chime in here, but in this situation, I would definitely want something IN WRITING that "the food allergy is not a pre-existing condition", or *preferably* get a policy that does not exclude pre-existing conditions. We always get that waiver, so if there were something like this lurking that we hadn't thought about, it would still be covered. We have a few other mild conditions, but we worry that IF something major happened, it could be linked back to some mild condition. It's just easier not to worry about it. And most of our claims *have* been based upon medical emergency (although the claims themselves were mostly for cancelled/interrupted trip costs). As I've mentioned elsewhere, given that we do have possible pre-existing conditions, and some definite ones, we want the guaranteed coverage for the SWAN effect: Sleep Well At Night! 😉 Another likely advantage of having that waiver, although probably not worth the extra cost if this were to be the only reason (it isn't, for us) is that it may expedite some claims payments. That is, when we've had claims that were based upon some medical situation, the insurer didn't need to comb through old medical records to see if there was indeed some pre-existing condition that might have been involved. That could probably take considerably time in some cases. I don't think we'd have had the claims, including large ones, paid within about 2 weeks if that had been necessary. GC

How long a drive is it, in hours/miles, approximately? Depending upon how many people, you might want to consider, or at least get an estimate so you know *whether* it's worth considering, hiring a vehicle and driver. Then they just drive the vehicle back, without you, while you continue on your adventures. The more people sharing, the less "per person", for any vehicle type, etc. You might contact an "executive car service" type of company for starters. Or a "limo" company. Those aren't always technically "limousines" anymore; they can use sedans, SUVs, classic "stretch limo" types, or vans. You'd want a larger company so they actively are using a variety, plus professional drivers who are accustomed to the vehicles. Does Uber offer the larger vehicles? I'm wary of Uber, but DH uses it occasionally. However, he's been using their "black" or "luxe" (?) service/vehicles, and I've now joined him on a few. Most recently, when we were traveling, we unexpectedly needed to pick up two young grandsons and bring them back to our hotel for the weekend, and it wasn't a short drive. We got a VERY nice large SUV, the type with three full rows. The driver was just as good as "back in the day" and had a very late-model [very clean!] vehicle, like when I occasionally took car services for business purposes. We ended up talking and laughing and having a great time during the drive back with the boys. We could have rented a regular SUV, but it was a *vacation*, and I didn't think DH should be dealing with driving and traffic, and he agreed pretty quickly. It was a major metro area we had never driven in before, and it wouldn't have been a fun drive, to put in mildly! In our case, it obviously did not save money, but if it had been a larger group, it may have, etc. At least check prices and compare with other choices. GC

Welcome to CruiseCritic! Here is a link to the Princess section: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/119-princess-cruises/ You'll get lots of answers there. And here is the full TOC (Table of Contents) for other topics: https://boards.cruisecritic.com Enjoy!! GC

Heh! We more often sandwich a cruise between some sort of land trip before and after. Often we have a larger "trip" after the cruise, while having a shorter <something> prior to the cruise. And we also use those pre-cruise days as a buffer in case we end up delayed in our arrival. We'd rather miss a few days near the port than to miss the ship! GC

So true; it's not only for "cruising"! Several (many?) of the topics on CC can be very useful to those not cruising, or not even interested at all in cruising. And who knows, by doing some browsing, maybe an occasional person not previous thinking about cruising... will decide it might sound interesting after all. But if not, that doesn't matter, of course. On another forum, I sometimes recommend that the person asking a question also read or post on CC (and give a link, etc.) about that topic, mentioning something like "a lot of the issues are not cruise specific". This is especially true of air travel, travel insurance, traveling with a disability, and local sightseeing/tours in various locations (ports of call). The latter can be useful for local guides or local hotels, or even suggestions for before/after cruises. CruiseCritic is an incredible resource! GC

Thanks. You are the "real deal" here! When you wrote: "...we follow the requirements for the various countries that the ship will visit or end up in." Where do you/you associates/etc., get this information? And is that source (or sources) available to the general public? Thanks again! GC

Welcome to CruiseCritic! Here is a link to the section about NCL: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/64-norwegian-cruise-line/ There will be many there who are knowledgeable about the assorted amenties. You should also give the specific ship, as the amenities can vary from ship to ship, sometimes significant differences, so keep that in mind when reading. Enjoy! GC

This doesn't make sense either. I still wonder if there is some other circumstance that is affecting their (her?) statements. Keep in mind that we here on CC are very unlikely to have all the information you would have given TIS or any other insurance agent/broker. GC

That makes sense. However, if that's what you meant, then what did "take my chances on the rest" mean? GC

I'm surprised that TIS simply said to insure the full cost far in advance. That's who we use, and we ALWAYS start with insuring just the deposit, or whatever payment we've needed to make at the time. And then we up the coverage as we up the *non* refundable costs. Why pay for the insurance for the full cost of the trip so far in advance? There may be some good reason(s) they suggested that, so please ask them directly. I don't know what you mean by "I'm inclined to just insure the cruise since it's so far away and take my chances on the rest." If it's "so far" in the future, why pay the insurance premiums now... unless there is something specific that is affecting this? And WHY take your chances with the rest of the costs, unless those are negligible. Or refundable, of course. GC