GeezerCouple

We took the Newark-Singapore flight at the end of November, 2019. That flight is closer to 18-19 hours. At the time, it was the longest non-stop passenger flight, which is why we routed ourselves that way. (A couple other slightly longer flights are gearing up; not sure if they've started yet.) Now that we have more time to travel, we are trying to make the flights themselves part of the experience, even if it takes longer - as long as it is flat bed. (Yes, really!) We went business class, thanks to awards, and it was wonderful. The bed was slightly odd; it was more square than rectangular, so to get the most length, one might want to be diagonal. Neither of us is especially tall, so it was no problem. Also, we are very spoiled, also thanks to awards, so we do compare premium seats/beds to F in Cathay Pacific or JAL. (The CX F beds are ~33 inches wide, almost like a regular twin bed... amazing!) Singapore has a "Book The Cook" available for J (business) and F, so we took advantage of that. I had The Best Airline Food Ever, although that isn't necessarily saying much. The first "dinner" type meal was a sort of short ribs, and it was SO flavorful (difficult to do at altitude) and tender that I would have been *delighted* to have it at a fancy restaurant. Yes, really. There were a couple of choices available for F that weren't on the "J list", but I couldn't have enjoyed anything else more! It was an extremely pleasant flight. 🙂 The main surprise was that we flew EAST; we had assumed we'd go WEST. Next thing we knew, we are over the Atlantic, and then... Moscow is below us (this was 2019; no way is that the same route now!). And watching the flight map, then I noticed we were passing a bit north of Kabul! Eerie feelings being over that area... I'm not sure what the exact flight path is now. At our ages, we can no longer fly long-haul "sitting up". It becomes absolutely *painful* (not just "uncomfortable"), and then we need a few days to recover. Given we can fly with awards, we can easily avoid anything less than Business. (Thus far, at least.) Note: The sign up bonus points really add to the totals quickly! We wanted to try Singapore Suites, but I don't think it's likely using awards nowadays, and we sure aren't paying cash for *that* level! Even Cathay now seems to restrict F to one award per flight, so no more "GeezerCouple in CX F"! However, we are glad we had the experience. 😉 GC

This ^^ - definitely! GC

We are with CDNpolar! (It seems that's becoming a 'thing' here! 😉 ). If the price isn't a dealbreaker, then do try Oceania, although we haven't been on them since pre-Covid. And we have not been on the smaller ships. Those cabins just seem too, too small, and even the PH... still quite small, especially for the price. We love the Riviera (yes, the coast of France and Italy, too, so you might get double - heh!). That seems "right sized" to us, including "places to go and sit", restaurants, and even the therapy pool in the Spa (certain cabins/suites have access, others may need to pay a daily fee). But that's "us"; I cannot stand cold water, so very few regular pools ever appeal. The T pool isn't large enough for swimming, but it's bigger than a hot tub... and just as warm! We did take a Christmas/NYE cruise in the Caribbean on one cruise on the Riviera, so there were some children there. O even set off a little area for them. But we NEVER saw even one of them, except at the NYE festivities, and even then, they were hardly noticeable. That's not surprising, I suppose. (Compare that to our ONLY mass-market holiday cruise... NEVER again, and I'll stop there! 😱) Our last cruise, just before Covid was on HAL, and we weren't sure what to expect, and our expectations weren't high. But DH saw an ad for a NZ/Australia cruise on somewhat short notice at a very nice price, so we got our air tickets (F and business, thanks to awards... no way that distance sitting up anymore, not at our ages) and booked. It may well have been because of the distance AND it not being a holiday time, but I'm not remembering any children at all. We were very impressed with the ship as well as the itinerary. Point is, the passenger mix probably reflects the dates, the length, and the region of the cruise. Now, we'd still prefer Oceania's Riviera, but we wouldn't hesitate to sail with HAL again as long as it wasn't a short holiday-time cruise from an "easy to get to" port (e.g., Miami, etc.). However, we have pretty much decided NOT to travel during major holiday times, regardless of where or how. (We've found the sweet spot is after Thanksgiving through about a week before Christmas. DH's birthday is the end of November, so that has worked out nicely.) Or we go in mid/late May, before the full tourist season (and that gets us close to our anniversary!). Double check and compare the ports of call, as those can certainly be high points of a Med cruise. ENJOY!! [Do at least consider travel insurance. We learned about that here on CC before our first "big cruise trip", and... we used that travel insurance instead of losing 100% of everything! So we "don't leave home/go overseas without it..." 😉 At least make sure you have sufficient medical coverage; that's not particularly expensive if you aren't also insuring a big trip cost.] GC

🤣 In which case, "not to worry"! It will take years and years and YEARS to be implemented... if ever! GC

Oh my!!! (A private fear come to life, but not with huge luggage.) You certainly made the right decision! Thank you for being so observant *and* thoughtful! GC

We are among the many here on CC who have been pleased with the services of TIS. We've had several claims, and all have been paid promptly. Especially because you have some possible complications (medical conditions) and want coverage for several trips and types of trips, it would behoove you to discuss all of this with Steve or someone else at TIS. IF you rely upon travel insurance offered by any charge cards, please double check any exclusions to see if they apply to you. GC

Once again, this is probably something that is different in the USA vs in Canada. [We've never viewed any sort of regular Canadian travel insurance policy, so we can't really make informed comparisons. And much of what we have managed to understand, which admittedly isn't much, is courtesy of @CDNPolar .] However, we do know what many USA-based travel insurance policies do. And the CFAR is often (usually?) part of the main policy, but the traveler may need to have paid extra for that coverage. The CFAR may pay 75% in cash back, while some other policies (e.g., through a travel vendor) may only offer a cruise credit and possibly with a time limit. I think there IS at least one cruise line policy that may offer "money back" (??). So the third-party CFAR coverage would usually not have anything to do with whether one had used "medical coverage" or not, especially if both coverages are from the same insurer/same policy. (They'd presumably *prefer* to pay 75% for the CFAR, rather than 100% of losses for the regular coverage! Again, this seems to be an Canadia-USA travel insurance difference?) If the cruise line also has some coverage to get the CFAR, I'd think one would have had to also pay for the cruise line coverage, which often has a "lesser" coverage than third-party policies. I can't imagine many USA-based travelers wanting - or needing - to buy a third party policy AND also paying for a full cruise line police, but there might be times when that is useful and cost-effective (?). And I agree that @Buckimion should be able to have the physician state that there should be NO travel (or not X far from home, etc.) while on the waiting list. And that should then be the regular, medical full coverage (meaning 100% of all losses). This isn't a discretionary, "change of mind" type of cancellation by any means! Ask the insurer for their medical claim cancellation form. Do this ASAP, so it is "timely", especially if it is not yet 100% penalty. The insurer has the right to be able to pay the losses at the time of the known loss, rather than waiting til the very last minute, long after the need to cancel was known, when the losses might be greater. [If it isn't definite that the trip must be cancelled, that's different. But that doesn't seem to be the case here.] And Buckimion, GOOD LUCK and hope your place on the list gets you what you need soon and that you have a comfortable recovery! GC

I'm glad you got travel insurance. And although it's not helpful when "others" chime in when they may not have all the answers, etc., to be fair, most people who "chime in" are trying to be helpful (I am, right here, right now! 😉 ) and many may have no idea that they don't know, and that they don't know what they don't know, etc. I suspect that you have "chimed in" on some other topics on other occasions, trying to be helpful. Rarely are we "experts" in the field we are discussing, or where we are trying to give advice. [I think one general time that people who are responding DO make some sort of clarifying comment is when attorneys include the familiar "IANAL" = "I Am Not A Lawyer", or sometimes "IANYL" = I Am Not Your Lawyer"... And some online forums specifically prohibit any type of medical advice, for obvious reasons: Most of us are not physicians, and probably none of us is a physician with medical knowledge about the person asking...] I think the best "take away" from this is to read and absorb what others post, but without relying upon most (or even much!) of it as though it was "accurate". Absorb the generalities, or perhaps use some of the information to help you ask better questions of those who are more qualified. Or... learn even to KNOW that there might be others who "know more". For example, we NEVER thought about travel insurance (!) until shortly after joining CC, as startling as I find that now. But... we didn't know what we didn't know. 😲 So as soon as it was mentioned, and during the critical several weeks while we were planning a major cruise (+ fancy hotel stay + first ever business class long-haul air travel), I quickly looked into it, and we contacted www.TripInsuranceStore.com because a lot of people here seemed to be recommending them. ==>> And less than 2 weeks before our planned departure date, DH had a medical emergency. We were at the 100% penalty for everything stage. The only travel we did for several weeks was local, among assorted physician and hospital appointments. (Fortunately, he recovered well, almost fully.) And there were *so* many times one of us mumbled something like, "I'm SO glad we got that travel insurance so we won't have to pay AGAIN when we finally do take this trip!" Yes, we could "afford" the loss; the money was long since paid, etc. And we could have "afforded" to pay again. However, this was by far the most expensive trip since our honeymoon, meant to celebrate a major birthday and an advance celebration of a retirement. IF we had "lost" that money, we have zero question that we'd have been *so* ticked off that we simply wouldn't have planned anything "fancy" again. And what a SHAME that would have been! We've since had some wonderful trips (cruises and land, or both), almost all of them costing *more* than that "very special trip"... because we had such a good time when we DID start traveling again. 🙂 We've had several other claims, including a few more large claims, and all were paid without any quarrelling. Pay careful attention to the TERMS of your policy and HOW to file a claim, including the need for receipts and notes from any relevant physicians, etc. Without the necessary documentation... claims probably won't be paid. This is where working with an agent or broker helped a *lot*, especially that first time. And also another time, some years later, when we needed help figuring out how to 'continue' with our plans after time in hospital, rather than heading home, which would have been easier. Sorry for the length. But it's worth it to do the reading and, in our opinion, to find experts and work with them (e.g., a travel insurance agent or broker). Now... we understand a great deal, but *then*? Almost zippo! And we still usually "double check" with the travel insurance experts about whether, say, our "regular policy" is still appropriate for this new trip..." GC

Do continue to ask questions here... and don't rely upon those "others" who may not understand your question or the appropriate answer. WHY would your friends "lose "thousands" if they had to cancel" so they are going even though she "fractured her ankle"? This is exactly a reason that one gets travel insurance, and "CFAR" isn't needed for something that is regularly covered. And a "fractured ankle" would be covered in any regular travel insurance policy that I'm familiar with (although, to be clear, I'm not an expert on ALL such policies!). CFAR is needed when one wants to cancel for some NON-covered reason. That might include wanting/needing to attend someone's graduation (that one didn't know about when one booked, probably). Or "not liking the weather forecast" even though there are no "official storms" being tracked. Or even "not liking a major change in the itinerary"... Did you get travel insurance yet, or not? I'm not familiar with Canadian coverages, but others here are. You may still be able to get it, but probably not with CFAR. Do double check about pre-existing condition coverage, so you know what you are/are not getting. Note: I went on a 12 day cruise shortly after having found out how horribly bad a torn rotator cuff feels! Yes, we could have gotten a full refund due to insurance, but we decided it would be nicer to do some of the recovery on a cruise. So DH had to help me dress, and the waitstaff quickly realized that cutting up some of my food was appreciated, so DH had just a bit less that *he* needed to do, etc. And I saw a lot of the hair salon! Also, knowing that we *could* get our money back took some pressure off, and made the decision truly "our choice" without much pressure of any kind. We were VERY glad we went! We do always get CFAR, but we have never needed to use it... yet. However, there have been times when it was nice to know we had CFAR *IF* we wanted to use it. (In our policies, CFAR pays 75%, not 100%, but that's a lot better than losing the entire cost. We've had several claims, including a few large ones, but never quite needed the CFAR, although once it came very close.) ENJOY your cruise! GC

You need to double check, carefully, the AC requirements/restrictions on luggage size and weight. It's usually *not* simply "number of pieces". ETA: And don't rely upon others' reports about "what is allowed". Check online yourself. It wouldn't do any good if you show up at the airport to check a huge bag, find it's too big (or has a big surcharge because it's too big), and then say something like, "... but my sister's travel agent said..." You should be able to find this information on their website. It may be different for domestic vs. international, and also for coach vs. business or first. GC

I'd definitely suggest you work with a broker. We've been using www.TripInsuranceStore.com - and one of our "big trips" was much more expensive than any other of our trips. (It wasn't a cruise, but it was much more than even our most expensive cruise, and we cruise in suites.) They helped us get the coverage we needed. CALL them, so they can help you with your specific situation. (I might suggest speaking with Steve, the owner; he's the one who helped us with that particular policy.) Note: We've also had claims on some of the policies they sold us (not for the 'big trip'), and all were paid promptly. ENJOY your trip!! GC

I forgot to mention, but to make the best use of their comparisons for *your* purposes, CALL them. Don't rely upon the online search, which just can't be specific enough, given all of the many choices and different personal situations. And the personal situations might even be different from one trip to another... They are incredibly patient with questions like "What about if... or what about if...?" And they can help with claims if desired. Note: We have NO relationship with them other than that we learned about them here on CC just over 10 years ago, and we've had excellent service, including with *claims* (not just purchasing policies that may not be used for a claim, which is the hope, of course). GC

Here is a link to the CC section on Travel Insurance: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/ Also, don't just compare prices! Double check what IS covered, and, importantly, what is NOT covered. There can be very big differences in the coverages, in ways that may make the difference between being paid for a claim or not. We *always* purchase travel insurance from a third party. In our case, it's from www.TripInsuranceStore.com, but there are other brokers, agents, and insurers, etc. (We've had many claims, including some large ones, and all have been paid without quarrel.) GC

DEFINITELY preferable, if it is at all affordable. (Consider all costs, including transportation to the cruise, any supplies, time off, etc... then... how much extra would this add vs 4 sharing one cabin?) IF you do this, make *sure* to ask for "internally connecting" cabins. We found out the hard way, a long time ago (at a hotel, but it's the same on a cruise ship) that sometimes "adjoining" or "adjacent" rooms in interpreted to be a request for "two rooms that are next to each other". But "internally connecting rooms" have an interior door on a common wall. No need to go into a hallway to access the other cabin. And you can just leave the common door open, if desired, and make it almost like a little suite. And you've got the second bathroom, which some smaller "suites" don't always have. Indeed, there are some ships that have deck plans that include something like a balcony cabin that with an interior door to a non-balcony cabin that is much less expensive. 🙂 (That's especially convenient for a family, btw! Put the children in the non-balcony cabin at night, etc.) Enjoy your cruise! GC

I'm not familiar with the UK travel insurance policies, but the key question should be: "What doe AVIVA say about this situation?" Either in their policy wording or call them (and then get a name, and ask for the specific sentences in the policy that are what the rep is saying). It doesn't matter at all what "people think" in cases like this, and I can't emphasize this enough. I do know that with our apparently similar policy here in the USA, once we get that coverage, if new health issues arise, that alone isn't a problem. Indeed, that was the purpose of the initial deadline to get coverage that did *not* exclude pre-existing condtions. However, one would still need to be "fit to travel", which is a related, but different issue. GC

Thanks! GC

I assume you had a suite on POA? A group of new suites was added to Deck 13 circa 2015 (+/-). And like other suites, they have Butler service, and I assume also Concierge service. (We use the Butlers a *lot*, but almost never use the Concierge, so I don't pay so much attention to the latter service.) And the Concierge or Butler may very well have escorted you. [On a different NCL ship also with suites but no Haven, we were met in the Suite waiting area by our Butler who then personally escorted us to our OS. He quickly grabbed my carry-on and walked much faster than I can, so we had a bit of a skirmish when I requested - and then *demanded* - my carry-on back, and he tried to insist he'd take it for me. DH was getting ready to chase after him. Not an auspicious start... (I have critical meds in that bag, and it does NOT leave me!) Turned out he was, overall, the worst Butler we have ever had, and just "not good" regardless of any comparison. 😡 I'm very glad we didn't let that experience turn us off about cruise ship butlers in general!] So having "a gentleman escorted us off the ship at the end of our cruise" absolutely does not mean there was a Haven (or a Haven restaurant). On ships without Havens, or with Havens but no dedicated Haven restaurant, there may be other restaurants that are re-purposed for breakfast or lunch for "suites" or "Haven and non-Haven suites", but they have other purposes for dinner, often as specialty restaurants that are open to any passenger who wishes to reserve a meal at them (and pay the extra). So yes, you may well have had use of a "separate restaurant", but it wasn't a "Haven" restaurant. It was probably a restaurant that was used as a "suite restaurant"; I'm not sure precisely how that works on POA. @dexddd may have more information about that. Different ships can have somewhat different arrangements, albeit generally with similar perks. One big difference from the overall similarities are the ships that have a Haven, but withOUT a dedicated Haven restaurant. GC

Along this line... my first cruise was back in 1974 and the second in 1975! Loved it!! And I admit, I loved the chocolate buffet, but I was younger then, and a lot thinner... However, what I especially did NOT like was the assigned dining times. We were apparently supposed to be hungry at X time, no matter what, each evening. The assigned seating & companions wasn't great, but "they" were probably less happy than we were. We were a 3-generation family, and in retrospect, "they" were sort of stuck with us more than the other way around. I definitely found the assigned dining TIME to be a problem. DH and I have always selected some version of variable dining time. Often, early in a cruise, we find some waitstaff who are especially pleasant, helpful, etc. And then we ask the maître d' if we could sit at one of "those" tables. After about 2 nights, they remember. So we had the best of both worlds. GC

Read the Terms & Conditions *carefully* to make sure you understand what is covered and what is excluded. Separate independent travel insurance is usually better for most people, but that depends upon what coverages you want and are included (or "not excluded"... such as pre-existing condtions). We are among those who get private travel insurance; "charge card" coverage would not work for us. GC

I'm not sure about this, but in some (many? few? none??) ports, don't the local immigration officials work with the cruise ship staff to sort of pre-clear everyone from the paperwork on file with the ship? In some places, I think the local officials come on board, but I also think in some... they don't. And, of course, I also think I could be entirely wrong about this! 😲 GC

Welcome to CruiseCritic! Keep in mind that this always depends upon just how rough the seas actually are, or not, as well as the specific heading/speed/etc., of the ship. We love forward facing suites. Love to see where we are going, etc. 🙂 Yes, even when it's just "more water"! We've never had any "trouble" with rough seas in any forward facing suite, but we've never encountered really heavy seas when in those suites, and that last fact is important. OTOH, the most "movement" we ever had was when we were in an aft suite (no forward suites on that ship). We were off the coast of Norway, in winter, and one afternoon, the Captain made an announcement that starting at some point in the evening, we should expect a lot of ocean motion and to plan to stay in our cabins. So... "it" started rather abruptly, and we were in our LR. We thought, this is okay, no problem. Ha! It then got worse, fast. We tried to get to our bedroom, and couldn't walk, not even holding on to the furniture or walls. We ended up *crawling* on hands and knees and struggled to get to the bed... where we climbed in and stayed there until morning. We had the bow camera TV on, and WOW!! What a scene. I knew I didn't get seasick, but had always been worried about being scared. However, nope... for whatever reason, I didn't worry (er, not too much...!). Accommodations in the front of the ship probably had a much more dramatic "Wild Mouse amusement park type ride". Anyway, it's impossible to guarantee "no wild ride" in bad weather, no matter where on a ship one is, although certain locations will experience any "ride" more or less than other areas. Are you concerned about getting sick or worried/scared (and it may not matter which!)? GC

This is how many of us do it with 3rd party travel insurance. But double check with the insurer or the agent/broker about that "15 days" criterion you mention. That could vary by state, and be something between 10 to 20 days, to get the best coverage. You then have that same window for each time you increase the travel costs above the "range" of the current coverage (by $thousands, etc.). And depending upon insurer and type of coverage, you might need to insure ALL costs, including refundable, or perhaps just non-refundable. Double check that, too. Our policies give us a chance to change to a different trip, within a time window, if we change plans and there were no losses on the initial trip. We are among those who use and recommend www.TripInsuranceStore.com for travel insurance. But CALL them to discuss details; there is a lot of fine print! GC

Here is a link to the CC travel insurance section: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/ LOTS of information there, and a good place to ask specific questions. We use www.TripInsuranceStore.com to purchase travel insurance. CALL them to discuss your particular situation so they can help you get a good policy for your needs and preferences. We've had several claims including some large ones, and all have been paid promptly with no nonsense. GC

Do any policies ever give a "minimum originally planned connection time", or similar guideline? That is, if someone allowed a 10 minute connection (say, purchasing two separate tickets, because an airline wouldn't issue that type of ticketing), and someone "missed" the connection [Surprise!😲]... would any costs/losses be covered? I mean, that's predictably very likely to cause a problem, although how bad/costly the problem is might not be known in advance. So are there any written "mimumum" connection times or other similar guidelines required, such that the traveler has to allow for somewhat "reasonable" timing for insurance to cover the costs of any subsequent problem? This isn't quite the same thing as "how long the delay must be", although it's related. If the delay was, say, 10 or even 24 hours (or other covered time period), but the traveler had only planned for a very short connection time... ?? GC

When we went to Japan, that was the place that seemed to have the most strict, and varied, complicated med restrictions. However, they were *very* easy to deal with, and they responded to email queries very promptly. Given the assortment of meds that we needed to take with us (some "all the time", others, "just in case"), I ended up sending along a list of what I wanted to bring for myself and a separate list for DH. They wrote back that most were fine, but a couple were in quantities that would be problematic. (Note that in many cases, the "quantity" was actually "number of days' worth", not necessarily "number of pills", so that left flexibility for the actual meds and packaging/labeling.) The only odd thing was that their form required that we announce the quantity we'd be arriving with, and also the quantity we'd be leaving with. We were continuing on with our travels, so we definitely expected to have some "left". Plus we ALWAYS travel with extras, in case of delays, etc. And some of the meds are always the same per day, but others are PRN, so... "who knows" what we'd actually need to take. So I just guessed and sort of made up numbers for the "exit" list. No one ever bothered us about any of it... just handed in the previously approved forms. (Some controlled substances required a special permission, which was also approved very promptly. It was all done almost by return email. Very easy.) Remember, NO original formulation Sudafed. None! But the newer formulation that is on the shelf (not behind the counter) is allowed. Alas, it doesn't work in tablet form, and I'm not sure it's even still available that way (but is/will be as a nasal spray). GC