GeezerCouple

I forgot to mention that we ALWAYS travel with a bunch of GF snacks... things like power bars or snack bars (all individually sealed). We bring a bunch along in suitcases, and we always have a couple with us for excursions, in case there's nothing suitable to eat. This would at least get him through the day, til we get back. Do tell them - if this is correct (and what you just described suggests it is) - if they need to be careful to avoid cross-contamination, so the kitchen(s) know. GC

Welcome to Cruise Critic! Please contact the Princess "special needs" group and have this information added to your reservation. As soon as you board, see someone at the main dining room and tell them you have celiac disease. (Stress that it is "celiac disease" and not just a dietary preference. These days, there should be quite a few GF options, and they'll be marked on the menus. In some cases, chefs will be able - and willing - to make something that is not usually GF, but make it in a GF version. They'll need advance notice, of course. DH has celiac disease, diagnosed very late in life, so we've only recently been getting used to this. There are so many GF choices on regular menus these days (even lots of GF pasta in Italy!! 🙂 ). However, he ALWAYS tells the waitstaff that he NEEDS Gluten Free because he has CELIAC DISEASE (emphasizing some words!). And when he is served, he *always* asks, "This is the GLUTEN FREE <whatever>, correct?" I also keep an eye out to make sure he doesn't reach for bread of a roll from the wrong basket by mistake, for example. If you look at the day's menu and see something you like, there are sometimes easy ways for them to make a small order of something in a GF version, depending upon the recipe. Enjoy! GC

Thanks for mentioning this. It looks like it could be handy in several situations. Question: Does the seat get in the way of the legs/knees? Because it's more of a triangle instead of a cube shape, the seat can't go on "the far side". GC

Yes, taking a photo is an *excellent* idea! Then not only will you better remember exactly what she looks like "today", but you'll be able to show it to others (including Security) if you get separated. Something else, longer term, might be to consider an "ID bracelet", the kind that can be engraved. Sort of like a MedicAlert bracelet, but with contact info, such as your phone number and a special e-address, or something like that... just in case... GC

We just discovered "you" and your posts. Very nice! I don't see a way to contact you by email (and one possible way on your website isn't functional... it leads to the "404" error 😞 ) Could you perhaps contact us at our email below (in our signature)? We are starting to need to deal with more of these issues. [We had been booked on this same cruise, for 2020, so it's nice to "follow along". We booked while we were on the Noordam, in December, 2019. Well... within a month of our arrival home... the world changed... I had been carried off the plane with what turned out to be an extremely bad case of RSV, which we'd never heard about then; now just about everyone knows about it. I was on oxygen for 10 days, and still haven't quite recovered. We did *not* want to risk getting Covid (or the flu, or another round with RSV)! So it's extra nice to see your videos. We still have hopes of being able to do this cruise... or at least get to Hawaii somehow.] Looking forward to looking at more of your videos. Thank you! GC

Ships don't do "bed checks" to make sure each passenger is sleeping in their assigned beds. 😆 When we have some changes, we just ask Guest Services for extra keycards, so each person has their own card(s) to get into whichever cabins they need to get into. The extra cards have never had "charge privileges"; they are just "door access". For charging, the original keycards have been used. Our cruises are with family, so we don't need to track "who spent what", which makes it easier in terms on not worrying about which card is used for which charges. The bills all end up being paid by us 😉 , and most is paid before the cruise, of course. ETA: I just read Essiesmom's reply above. We've never had a problem with getting extra key cards, including when no one is "changing beds". On cruises or in hotels, we *always* want the others to be able to come into our suite at any time. (For the occasional time we don't want company, we'll just bolt the door.) No one at any Guest Services has given us any difficulty getting extra keycards for our suite, or extra cards for the others' rooms. They obviously do need to have the permission of the occupant of any room where extra keycards are given out. And we've never "asked" Guest Services to "move guests". GC

This is one of the ways that using airline awards make a *huge* difference! 🙂 We flew specifically to Newark so we could experience that then-longest non-stop flight, Newark to Singapore. That route didn't have F, but it had Business class, and we had a *very* comfortable flight. One could fly on Singapore in F, from JFK to Singapore instead, but that makes a stop in FRA, so it takes longer. That's the route that has (or at least, had) their inviting F class suites, although I'm not sure if they still allow ticketing using awards for that. They have a "Book The Cook" option, so we ate VERY well indeed, and we slept well, too. I just took a quick look at Business class on the Singapore airlines website, on that non-stop from Newark, and it looked like approximately $10k per person round trip, depending upon dates. Another site showed that other airlines were somewhat less, but they took much longer, varying with the routing and length of connections. (F, from JFK to Singapore, is about $23k round trip.) GC

Exactly. I think that's part of this topic! There can be times that one wouldn't know "how" a situation would be handled IF it occurred... until it occurs. So if one learns that a cruise line IS handling something in a way that one finds inappropriate, yup, make other choices. The same "conditions" could be encountered by different ships/cruiselines, but passengers may not be able to determine in advance how the <whatever> would be handled. Indeed, in some cases, some passengers may not even have thought about <whatever> happening... until it does. There can be some ways that ships/cruiselines handle unexpected problems that give one a sense of how well they consider the passengers' experiences (including, but not restricted to, costs and safety) vs. their own bottom line. Then one has that information for future decision making. And over time, there may be some patterns that emerge... That can be far more informative than single events. GC

Please double check about getting those records from a Ship's Medical Center *after* you have disembarked. That may not be easy... What travel insurer do you have? You sound like it's very "iffy"....? GC

I have a REAL concern about one aspect of the "cruise changed" issue. There are other types of issues that are still very unpleasant in a variety of ways for the passengers/would-be passengers, as discussed above and in lots of other posts here on CC (and elsewhere, too). However, I completely understand that "things happen". There can be weather or a critically ill passenger, or civil unrest... that really necessitate a change in schedule or ports, etc. It's unfortunate, no question. And that's one reason for the recommendation that if there is a destination that one REALLY "must" visit, don't plan to do it via a cruise... or be prepared to make another trip. The thing that I find totally and truly reprehensible? When a cruise line has made a change, especially with respect to schedules or entire changes to a port of call, BEFORE penalty dates and the cruise line does not disclose it in a timely fashion. They don't need to wait for a "replacement" or whatever. Once they know that an advertised port is NOT going to be visited, regardless of the reason, there is no excuse for the cruiseline not to tell passengers and to adjust the schedule on their website (and any other place where they have control). That includes *timely* (e.g., "prompt") notification of ALL passengers and travel agents, etc. [Yes, I realize that there are times when there was not enough advance time to give such notice/etc., before penalties. I 'm *not* referring to those situations.] Waiting until after final payment/when no refunds are allowed (or even significant payments if not "full" payment) to notify passengers of a change when the cruise line has known about it for some time...? It's not okay, and waiting until there is the maximum possible penalty for passengers? NOT OKAY. This becomes willful and in my mind, dishonest. I'm not going to get into exactly how much time a cruiseline should have when they find out about something like this within a relatively short time prior to a payment deadline, be it an intermediate or final deadline. There's obviously some "time" needed to deal with such a change. I'm referring to times when the cruiseline KNEW of itinerary changes or cancellations well in advance and made other plans (or knew they would need to be made), BUT THEY DID NOT TELL PASSENGERS OR CHANGE THE PUBLISHED ITINERARY UNTIL LATER... such as when there would be *more* of a penalty to change or cancel their reservations. IF there is some valid excuse to do that? I'm listening. But at least some of the time, there was NOT any known reason that the cruiseline couldn't have provided notifications sooner, when they already were making - or already had made - other plans, and when passengers would have had *less* of a penalty if they chose to cancel due to the change... but they were left uninformed... Apparently in some cases, this delay could have been quite long. (And meanwhile, others - but not passengers - knew of the changes, such as people in the cancelled/changed port.) GC

Oh, I keep forgetting to ask... On those huuuuge ships, with the long hallways and treks back and forth, is there an extra charge for the bus system or for taxis? Or is that included? 😉

The "other bed" can be just great for unpacking, etc. Need a place for that stack of <whatever>? For the daypack for outings, and all of the things you might put in it? We never have an extra "surface" like that on a cruise, but in hotels, occasionally there are two beds, either 2 queens or 2 kings, and then... what a convenient "surface" to have available! GC

Ask your hotel concierge, or front desk? GC

We have found that travel insurance is not as difficult as some home (USA anyway) health insurance in terms of "covering something". This is just our experience, but if there is a legitimate bill for medical treatment or meds/etc., then the claim was paid without question. But they do need a receipt! Perhaps this depends upon insurers? GC

klfrodo has explained some of the reasons why getting insurance started in certain time periods could be critical for a claim. That also helps you decide which policy is/isn't going to work for your needs. As for when you made the first payment... you have no clue?? Did you use a charge card? If so, can you look at statements of approximately the time frame? Other statements if other financial accounts were used? I'm assuming you didn't walk into some office with a suitcase full of cash...? And even if you did, doesn't the cruise line have a record of when you paid them? Doesn't that show up in your records? GC

I'd suggest that you contace www.TripInsuranceStore.com. But CALL them. Don't rely only on the online summaries of policies (there or anywhere). It's impossible to list all of "the fine print", and there may be issues that apply to you. If you speak with them, you can ask questions, and importantly, they can ask questions of you to try to figure out which types of coverage would be appropriate. (There is no extra charge to use a broker, and TIS does not try to 'upsell'.) Time may make a difference, so I'd suggest you call asap, There are several types of coverage (NOT all coverages!) that it's probably now too late for you to get, but there's still basic good coverage available. So you know in the future, to get the most choices, it's usually (I'm sure there are exceptions somewhere!) important to start the insurance within 10-20 days of making the FIRST payment (it varies by state of residence) and/or when you make the final payment. One good thing about getting coverage from a 3rd party (not the travel vendor such as the cruise line) is that you can get coverage that starts as soon as you walk out the door until you walk back into your house at the end of the trip, not "only" on the cruise/etc. GC

Help us to help you. How much time do you have? When did you book the cruise, meaning when did you make the *first* payment? When does the ship sail, and when do you plan to leave home? GC

Call the cruiseline's Special Needs group and discuss this with them. At the least, that way, the crew will know she is one of the passengers who might need special assistance... for mustering and possible also if they notice any potential issue... (This won't be the first time they have encountered this situation.) Ask if the ship might have some sort of token that the crew would identify immediately as "a passenger who *might* need help", so if they see her alone... etc. Perhaps a bracelet, or maybe a bright sticker on his card, making sure it's on a lanyard and visible at all times, etc. You might want to make sure she keeps hers "on" even when in your cabin, in case she leaves. You can keep yours on, too, so it will seem that "this is the way we do it", etc. The "bells" reminds me of decades ago, when I took my two young children backpacking. Their backpacks included... a stuffed animal, footed pjs, a very small blankie, and a few other things, and each of them had a Sierra cup dangling off, just as the two adults did. Except the two adults' backpacks each included two sleeping bags and a small 2-person tent. I tied bells to the closures on both ends of "their" tent. It work well. Too well! Almost every time one of them turned over, there would be at least some "bell noise". 🙂 But it did work; no one was going anywhere without my noticing!' Enjoy the cruise! GC

Mary229 has said it best. HAL, and other cruise lines, has a "special needs" group, and they deal with all such issues. Contact them well in advance and they can work with you to figure out how to plan and arrange things during your cruise. Each cruiseline may have their own way of handling these needs, but for any major cruiseline, you won't be the first person with an allergy or with *this* allergy. You should check with a contact person (they'll probably have someone ready to speak with you) shortly after boarding. Then you and they can arrange how things will work best. When we travel (DH has a serious allergy, but not as bad as nuts can be), we *always* bring along some appropriate snacks. That way, IF we are delayed somewhere, we'll know there will be something for DH to eat, regardless of what is "available". And we have those on hand for a quick snack, too, occasionally. Just be sure to discuss what precautions *you* need. Not everyone needs the same things. Enjoy your cruise! GC

Have you had a chance to browse through this section of CC on travel insurance? (Yes, that can be difficult to ferret out relevant bits...) We learned about travel insurance right here on CC, before our first major trip other than our honeymoon. We decided to get it, as we are older, and this was higher cost than any other recent trip. And THANK GOODNESS. It was a cruise and land/hotel trip, and we had purchased business class tickets through the cruiseline (BIG mistake) so those were not refundable at all. The total was big, for us, back then... And less than 2 weeks before our planned departure, DH had a medical emergency. Trip cancelled. Fortunately, we purchased the coverage through https://tripinsurancestore.com which we also learned about here. The policy we chose was from Travel Insured. We were focused on medical "stuff". When we finally got around to submitting the claim form and other documentation, we had a check for the full amount in about 2 weeks! We've since had several other claims, and we have had no complaints. But CALL TIS. Don't rely upon the online policy summaries, there or elsewhere. There's just no way that those can capture the "fine print" OR help you determine if they are right for all of *your* specific needs. TIS folks are incredibly patient, and they don't try to upsell. And, IF needed, they can help with a claim as well. There is no extra charge to use an insurance agent or broker. GC

You should probably check carefully with the cruiseline. There *might* be some local regulations about this that are separate from any of the ship or cruiseline policies themselves. GC

I just noticed: Welcome to CruiseCritic! I'll share the "experience" from our first cruise, eons ago. Well, 1974. For some unknown reason (but we are forever grateful!), my parents decided to take 3 generations on a short cruise. We were all clueless about what to expect, but... dare I mention that my parents were probably more "clueless in general" than most people (but I digress! 😉). We had some cheap cabins, which was not a problem at all. My parents had one with a porthole or two. My children joined them in the upper bunks. My brother and I shared a cabin with a single bunk bed, built into the wall; it had the *tiniest* bathroom ever. And I LOVED EVERY MINUTE! Alas, we were apparently right under the band, so we had to put up with those drums well into the wee hours. And that definitely *was* a problem! And we also had to put up with my father's major complaining about that the entire time. 😡 I still LOVED EVERY MINUTE! The next year, we went again, with other family members, and I offered to select the cabins. That was back in the day of glossy brochures and paper deckplans. We had similar cabins, but a few more, but NOT under or near anything noisy. 😄 But I sure learned to make a point of selecting our own cabins or suites and asking for "NO upgrades/changes". We've never had a problem again, thank goodness. I'm not sure what you didn't like about the suites you've been given before, but do study the deck plans, and try to get something with only passengers on each side and also above and below. And lower deck near the middle of the ship IF the motion of the ocean was a problem. Or might be. GC

Yes, this would have been more clear. For us, unless we have the grands with us, we just wouldn't have any interest in those bells and whistles. It should suffice to mention that we were VERY disappointed to find out that Lincoln Center classical music chamber groups every afternoon (or almost?) ending was a major disappointment for us. Our grands did go on one of the huge Icon of the X ships a year or two ago with their parents. The parents reported that the kids had a fantastic time, but even so... the ship was... "just SO big!" They probably will not cruise on another of the huge ships, even though they are probably the target demographic for those ships. But for those who enjoy all the activities and also enjoy - or don't mind(?) - the size, there are obviously plenty of people who are sailing on the largest ships. Something for everyone, etc. GC

If the problem OP is referring to has to do with requesting solo accommodations, is there any (or much?) problem booking as a double (any name/info will do temporarily), and then calling back, maybe even the next day, and "Oh what a shame... I'm going to have to take this trip without my traveling partner" or whatever? Or give no reason for the change. GC

Did you request a specific cabin/suite (or one of several you preferred) and they refused? If so, that's a real surprise, unless they were sold out of what you preferred. We've always been very specific about the suite we prefer, and we even specify NO upgrades. That's because what "they" consider an "upgrade" may well not be an upgrade in our opinions. For example, we love forward views. If someone moved us from our selected forward-view suite to, say, a larger side-view suite, that would definitely *not* be an upgrade; it wouldn't even be equivalent. (Well, I suppose if it were to something "super special", then perhaps, but we'd still want to make the decision in case it wasn't "super enough" for us to forgo the view. 😉 ) GC