Flatbush Flyer

Whether it’s the face or the card, no one’s getting off that ship who hasn’t been digitally accounted for.

Priveé is the same fee for 1 or 10 people. For just a couple, that’s quite expensive when all you get is the food from the adjacent specialty restaurants (that’s already included in your fare). Have your butler get you a corner table for two in whichever specialty restaurant interests you the most. With or without a birthday, I suggest that you broaden your horizons with one of the LaReserve dinners. You may find that you’re not as picky as you think and that there’s a wine or two that you’ll enjoy.

You still need the World Card to get in/out of the port gates.

It’s the OE ones that are kept at 10-16 folks. But many of the other O tours (including some OS and even O Life eligible tours often are limited to smaller transports and/or multiple guides. It’s only the panoramic bus tours that will usually top a couple of dozen. FWIW. The combo of O Life included tours and added paid ones may qualify for YWYW discount on the paid ones. Do the math and you will find some situations where your total package of O tours is bottom line priced at close to what you’d have with private group tours (for which YOU had to do all the planning and risk change issues.

Yes. Seldom is the Passport worth the cost when compared to YWYW.

No- bottom line is: what’s published may not be practiced. For example: the “fine print” says ANY tour with abbreviation after the title (not just OS and OE) are NOT eligible for O life pick. But, if they’re under $200 and you select a non-OS/OE abbreviated one like “Go Local” (GL) that’s under $200, it’ll work as an O Life selection! Calling Miami is worthless. Two different people often gets two different answers and, of course, once on the ship, you may get a third different answer. Perhaps the worst of the FUBARs are the itinerary/rules/etc change notice emails that come from Carlos Ortega. So often contradictory, wrong, whatever. My rant for this morning.

I posted a reply yesterday but it disappeared. We had the hot breakfast choice on Riviera in January but not on Insignia a few weeks ago. Doesn’t matter to us. We don’t do full breakfast in the cabin. Perhaps it wasn’t rolled out on Insignia because it was still the ATW cruise that started in December. I really don’t care about this.

This is Plan A on all O ships now. Usually two devices in use.

With the caveat that it was pre-Covid, the deal arranged by the concierge of a very small boutique hotel was $120 euros for a six person van belonging to a colleague. Only downside: driver has one to two other pickups before heading out. $20 pp? Not bad for eliminating the Greyhound factor. Fast forward to this past May. We were doing an embarkation from Stockholm. Our standard practice is to research tour/transfer providers (on or own and via pre/post cruise hotel concierges) in order to put together a custom package of private/semi-private transfers and tours. On this occasion, our full day semi-private tour guide was willing to pick us up at ARN on our arrival and charged only the rate of a taxi. We paid the going rate for two on the semi-private (7 person tour w/ driver/guide) all day tour the next day. On the third day, same guide took us to the ship at a bonus $0 cost. Another example: I once found a great guide in Santiago- similar situation (though this was a private tour - 1/2 day Santiago and next full day Valpo). Transfer to Valpo was discounted since he wanted to visit and stay with family there. And ship dropoff in day 3 was complimentary in his way back to Santiago. Admittedly, this approach takes some research time and negotiating skill. But, it can be done (not every time but enough to make trying it worth while). BTW, the right attitude and interactions while working with these folks can work wonders. Fortunately, having grown up in Brooklyn, had many good benefits not the least of which was learning (at a very young age) to “never pay retail.” Two suggestions for folks wanting to think a bit out of the box: Look for cultural centers in/near your home town that are focused on your destination country. They will often have travel programs and their travel coordinators are willing to share connections when you’re “in transit” to a cruise and are only able to be there a couple of nights. Less available to the “average Joe,” but still doable if your professional endeavors ever have/had you interacting with the Dept. of State, is connecting with the Cultural Attaché of US embassies/consulates wherever you’re headed. Those folks can make all sorts of recommendations that aren’t readily found on Trip Advisor. And let me finish with my favorite travel bus story: Once arrived (work) at Nadi Airport in Fiji and the connecting “puddle jumper” down island to Suva was booked full. Gate guy suggested the bus since it really wasn’t “that” far. Headed over to the bus lady and asked for a ticket to which she said “Local or Express?” I asked what the drive time difference was to Suva. “Exactly the same. They both make the same stops” she answered. “So what’s the difference?” I asked. Her answer: “The Express has no animals.”

Recently finished the last two ATW segments on Insignia in a B cabin. No hot breakfast choice - only the normal continental selections.

Silver Fleet. We’ve used them twice from London to Southampton. Shared van with up to six people.

Pretty sure that was temporary due to reduced capacity. We had the breakfast option in a B cabin in January. Also received two internet accounts.

Allowable O Life tours are those less than $200 and without the OE or OS (and sometimes other similarly abbreviated) designations. You cannot pick a more expensive one and get a $100 discount (which is the base value of each O Life tour. On the plus side: by picking $199 ones that interest you, the perk value can be doubled. Also, your O Life choices count toward the minimum number of tours required to get the YWYW 25% discount on paid ones in your Cart (if YWYW is offered for your cruise. Search here on CC for my (and others’) detailed posts about O Life and YWYW strategies. Also, double check with your TA about the “ultimate” offer. I thought that promo ended on May 30th (unless O is trying to unload some unpopular cruises with much availability). And make sure you see it on your copy of the Oceania invoice (rather than just the TA’s own invoice sent to you).

If you’re staying pre-Cruise in Rome, have your hotel concierge arrange a private transfer.

...which is why I said “can.” My point, which assume you’ll agree with, is that a lot of folks don’t pay attention to the specifics of what they’re buying.

Agree with “personal choice.” Worthless for US. In fact, on Marina and Riviera, Concierge cabins don’t have any extended balcony choices like the B cabins. Also, we don’t need more than continental breakfast nor do we need some “free?” laundry or a bottle of $15 bubbly. Spa Terrace and Concierge lounge? Why? For the often significant price difference, only the possibility of an earlier specialty restaurant reservation window is attractive to us. However, once onboard, we’ve seldom had issues moving (or adding to) our reservations. But, that’s the beauty of Oceania. You can customize your cruise options specifics before you board the ship.

Forget the safety record. Which one answers the phone when the “poop hits the fan?”

Let me rephrase your question: ”Is it OK to lie to the Feds?”

You have said the magic words: “For me” Besides the existing condition of the traveler(s) health, there are so many other factors to consider in choosing a correct travel insurance policy (particularly a comprehensive one, i.e., trip + medical). Among the factors, a most important one is what existing insurance coverages you have that may allow travel related claims. After all, many travel insurance policies are “secondary payers” anyway. So, familiarity with your regular health insurance, homeowners insurance and even Credit Card coverage (often woefully restrictive and inadequate) should be a first step in the research. BTW: I am amazed at how many fellow geezers are unaware that Medicare is useless outside the US (or it’s immediate borders in certain instances). We are then bombarded daily by TV ads for Medicare Part C deals that can be equally worthless for foreign travel. And, sadly, many insurance buyers neither read the fine print or would understand it if they did. Second step in insurance research is understanding that certain terms like PreExistingCondition (PEC) have different meanings in insurance vs healthcare. And, no, Medevac is NOT that first responder helicopter making a “field rescue” from a cruise ship. A good travel insurance broker (e.g., InsureMyTrip.com) licensed agent can walk you through the process of choosing the right protection for YOUR specific needs, preferences and means. A 30 minute phone call can save you many $$$. FWIW: we are extremely fortunate to be CalPERS retirees with what is arguably among the best employer provided health insurance in the US (as Geezers, we now have Medicare supplements that include international coverage which can be coordinated with GeoBlue where applicable). Because our intercontinental travel is extensive, we add a MedJet annual policy. But, we still add a relatively inexpensive comprehensive travel policy - primarily for the Trip Cancel/Interrupt coverage which is hard to find as a free-standing policy needed for longer/expensive cruises (e.g., multiple annual 1-2 months intercontinental trips on premium lines) costing far more than the claim limits on credit cards and/or cumulative limits on annual comprehensive travel policies. And insurance companies know this which is one of the reasons why the difference in cost of a comprehensive policy vs a medical only travel policy is relatively low. Yes, it is definitely a “first world problem.” But, it’s a problem nonetheless. So, do the preliminary research and then talk with multiple licensed experts before deciding how to proceed. Your decision, based on your circumstances may be to rely on your existing coverages and “self-insure” for missing pieces (if practical and possible). But, don’t be “pennywise and pound foolish” when it comes to adding appropriate coverage. After all, “no one needs insurance until they need insurance.”

FWIW: There are “seasoned” travelers here and then there are insurance agents who are specialized in travel and licensed in, at least, your home state with whom you should talk (and not just with one of them). Their informed recommendations are based on significant/current knowledge of the industry and real data - not just anecdotal evidence and/or second hand info. Most importantly, there are way too many unique variables tied to you to make any kind of “one size fits all” suggestion.

Have done two Oceania cruises so far this year and, having done the DIY video (perhaps it sets a browser cookie that stops reminders to do it?) just had to pass by muster station at traditional muster time to show that you could find it

Though there are no longer any hard and fast rules, you’ll find that the same dynamic pricing factor now affects most airlines’ points charge for an FF ticket. Like the fares themselves, high point requirements will be employed when flights are first available and, of course, they can then be all over the map day-to-day after that. As for cancel/rebook for lower dynamic FF point cost, you’ll also find that many airlines now limit “price reduction match” (even for FF points flights) to 30 days. After that, it’s a “crap shoot” on what FFCs/ETCs/fees etc may be in play. Again, in my experience, United and it’s Star Alliance partners appear to be the most flexible. Perhaps even more importantly these days (whether you like their planes or service), United answers their phones! IMO, a far better strategy emphasis than just FF points cost on an ideal/convenient routing (particularly if you’re flying bizclass intercontinentally with a required connection before/after the main long haul) is to do the research (e.g., ITA Matrix) and find the right mix of price, connection times (NEVER less than 3 hours), hub cities for consortia (e.g., Star Alliance). BTW, compare OW ticket combo to RT and multi-city fares. Recently, we’ve found that it is sometimes (not always) less expensive to do OW tix! AND, of course, always call your selected carrier(s) snd have them search alternatives to your initial plan. Why? For example, Lufthansa pricing in a code share with a United ticket (through FRA) found online will generally not display any current sale price for the Lufthansa leg. Calling United will get that sale price. For a OW bizclass ticket SFO-FRA-ARN (of BCN, etc), buying the ticket over the phone could save you $1k+. And, if you’re nice (or point out the web fare difference), the United rep will wave the $25 booking fee. In any case, because of the dynamic pricing gamble now affecting both paid and points tix cost: If you fly often and distant, you may sometimes find that buying a bizclass ticket outright may be the better deal in the long run. That said, however, amassing points has becom as much of a gamble as is funding a voluntary 401k or 403b retirement account. I’ve been seeing some multi-city non-stop bizclass tix for Pacific Rim long hauls easily exceeding 200K points for OW on any given day.

In person muster drills have been replaced by mandatory DIY videos. Also, Laundry room(s) may actually open a bit earlier than the posted time of 7:30AM(?) and a line of folks may already be waiting for the machines - especially on sea days. As for embark day, though the laundry room(s) may be open as usual, the particular port may have CBP requirements to debark all passengers before embark starts. Many continuing passengers will probably get on the ship first - especially if they’ve planned it for a laundry day. Bottom line: always have a Plan B for laundry.

And perhaps I misunderstood. Your post appeared to say the only reason to buy insurance is for death or major medical issue. I was only pointing out that a “non-major” ER visit with diagnostic labs and/or radiology and even just minimal treatment could easily approach five figures. Add a surgery and eventual MedEvac and you’d then have “major” medical. You also didn’t mention whether you just buy travel medical only or a comprehensive policy that covers trip interrupt and cancel. As has already been established, that coverage, which sometimes is provided by your CC issuer, has mostly woeful claim limits and numerous exclusions.

Not a good idea. Check your regular medical insurance EOB next time you have an ER visit or a radiology appt for a CT.