Flatbush Flyer

Glad you brought this up. I partially disagree with ChadnKate about airline cards - in particular United’s. If you fly a lot, which we do annually for long/complex trips, the air specific perks (e.g., 70 lb + multiple bag allowances, priority boarding, access to more FF points flights, discounts on flight related purchases, United club passes and, of course, use of the acquired points on Star Alliance partners’s flights, etc. are hard to beat. I also take issue with booking as soon as flights open at 330 days out. Many airlines on many routes start with far higher prices during the first couple of weeks after opening for booking (to snag business fliers whose employer pays the tab). If you don’t believe me, check a RT NYC (any airport)-SFO price at 330 days out and then again two weeks later.

Lovingly referred to as “stitch and bit*h.”

Gee folks- asked and answered many times here on CC - including quotes from the T&Cs of various cruise lines (even as recently as last week) that clearly state their air department will “assist/work with/etc” airlines to find you other flights. Who PAYS for any extra airfare or related catch-up travel costs (if it’s an airline issue) is conveniently left out because, elsewhere in those cruise T&Cs and Ticket Contracts, there’s often the explanatory language denying cruise line responsibility for the COST of any transportation issues not specifically related to the ship’s operation. And we all know that credit card provided insurance claim limits for “trip interrupt” are woefully inadequate when it comes to long and/or expensive cruises and/or biz class air tix -particularly intercontinental ones. FWIW, picking airlines (and their consortia partners) and buying tix (even for their partner carriers) direct from those carriers that do refunds for cancels (or significant changes) they cause or, at least, FFCs/ETCs (if you need to cancel) is way more important than most folks realize. It’s one of the reasons we prefer United Airlines - even though their tix may not be the cheapest. Back to cruises - the long/expensive/complicated ones: Even at a premium equal to 10% of the cost of the cruise (or, in some cases, the entire trip door-to-door), the right trip insurance brokers can get you covered correctly. Of course, you can always self insure. But a $12-5k +\- pp cruise plus “5 figures” for biz class tix is a real bite for most folks.

On Demand movies - decent selections and no charge.

Plan B: SF pre-Cruise; CA north coast post-Cruise.

It was a “mistake” (perhaps intentional as a nice gesture - it happens). FWIW: I’ve had wine corkage fees occasionally waived.

It’s the Pacific: smooth as silk unless it’s not. That said, do add a land stay at both ends. SF has plenty to see, do and eat. And once you’ve tasted Hawaii, you won’t want to leave (my advice: add some days on Kauai.

Must be on the “by the glass” menu which, except for the occasional “loss leader” is full of truly mediocre wines. if you want to drink ( mand spirits are your preference), consider upgrading to “prestige package” of mostly unlimited booze (but the same “per glass” wine menu) for $20 pp/day over the O life booze option.

Just to be clear: the only difference between included and extra cost wifi internet on any Oceania ship is the streaming block. The “speed” on both is exactly the same and dependent in large part on satellite signal latency rather than the ship’s network setup for passengers.

One of our criteria for a preferred cruise line is no self-served food. All it take is seeing the same guy who didn’t wash his hands in the bathroom then proceed to the casual cafeteria style restaurant (or buffet) and start touching food items that he doesn’t end up taking. That is gross beyond any definition of abhorrent behavior.

Agreed on all items you mentioned. Of course, the multiple $150 spa credits for certain O Club levels would help ease anyone’s perceived $ charge pains.

If the recent ATW cruise (just ended in NYC) is any indication, you can expect a fair number of unmasked folks some of whom will end up quarantined due to getting Covid onboard or ashore (more so than masked folks though some of them will get Covid too). Of particular concern to us (as we joined for the last two segments) was the significant number of those folks who had served their onboard Covid quarantine (unverified reports that 50% of the approx 200 ATW passengers infected) and erroneously believed they were now immune to Covid (quite a number then even stopped wearing masks altogether). Also of concern was the practice of some individuals who would cough/sneeze into their hands and then touch everything in sight (and, as expected, those who use the restrooms and do not wash their hands). Somewhat fortunately for the crew, they are still required to wear masks. At least, O wants to keep them healthy.

Of course, he’ll be fine (unless he’s not, in which case he’s screwed). You seem to be forgetting that not everyone who is considering a cruise combs social media. For example, far less than 10% of cruisers use CC. Add to that the reality that not everyone who has had a DUI wants to share that info.

FWIW: Never hurts to keep pointing this out to folks who either don’t read the fine print or don’t understand that “work with the airline” does NOT mean that the cruise line will pay for anything that is a problem it (the cruise line) did not directly cause.

Don’t shoot the messenger. Many prices for the most desirable itineraries went up while hard to sell stuff went down.

Was a 1K pre-retirement. Still call that number and they take the call. Wish United had never done away with Silver Wings (good pricing for geezers). Lufthansa euro short hops are often on sale. But the United website does not display those prices. Another reason to call and ask.

When you call United, you can always purchase additionally required miles. Remember too that United now uses dynamic pricing even for FF flights. That 275k today could be 175k tomorrow.

Better scenario: you test positive and are denied boarding. One less disease spreader on the ship. Not rocket science.

Preventing embarkation of those who test positive is hardly meaningless.

This is a sad decision - particularly with yet another omicron variant recently spreading. While vaccination/boosters has certainly lessened the symptoms/hospitalization for some, “long Covid” and increasing evidence of lingering/new issues for those who have supposedly “recovered” from Covid is mountin quickly. Recently returned from the final two segments of Oceania’s ATW cruise. Though unverified, some CC users on that cruise have reported that 50% of the 200+ full ATW passengers had Covid during the cruise. Optional mask wearing and no social distancing requirement certainly contributed to that statistic. Worse still was the proven erroneous belief among some (not all) of them that having had Covid made them immune. Fortunately for the crew, O’s continuing mask requirement for crew protects them from clueless/maskless passengers.

If Antigen test is acceptable to your cruise line/embarkation port, check out OnPoint Testing. One of their services is BYO test and they supply the internet lab proctoring and lab certificate at about $29 per person.

Didn’t know that. Interesting item.

This is one of the reasons why I use ITA Matrix for a basic idea of flight options then call United (most often on a phone other than the one associated with my FF account) when ready to buy and ask for cheapest bizclass tix (starting with non-stops) as multi-city, OW and/or RT (depending on cruise/land plans). BTW: easy to get the $25 phone fee waived. Other United caveats: If using their search engine, setting it for an entire day without selecting a time span will never give you all the flights. You need to do a time span search (don’t choose “United only” to see all Star Alliance flights) within that span. AND you also need to look at the difference between multi-city and one-way fares (this can be very surprising!). Yet another reason to call and often save $ thousands on intercontinental bizclass (no exaggeration).

Deviation fee.

Unnecessary keystrokes for the obvious.