willysgrandma

And with that last response by the travel agent threatening a lawsuit, no wonder the OP quit posting.

Perhaps she quit posting because she lied to the reporter about her own credentials and expertise. She said in the article she is a "travel agent" and some type of certified Royal expert, which there is no such designation.

Glad she got her money back but she didn't come off looking good herself in the article.

I read this story on Elliott - why on earth did the woman who posted here tell Elliott she was a travel agent? She bought into an MLM scheme - she is no travel agent. And she also claimed in her story she is a certified Royal Caribbean expert which is untrue.

Why lie to whoever did the story on Elliott?

Happy you received your money back from the unscrupulous "agent" (who is no more an agent than you are- she is a pyramid scheme saleswomen) but by lying you made it seem you two were in cahoots together.

Maybe the bad publicity will put Amy out of business if she is playing with other people's money like this. I would hope the agency she is working through would throw her out for what she pulled.

Columnist Christopher Elliott, who has a website I follow, contacted Princess on behalf of two people who wrote for help on this subject.

The visa is needed, they claim the 144 hour thing doesn't apply. Read the last page.

http://forum.elliott.org/threads/princess-refuses-to-honor-144-hour-visa-free-transit-in-shanghai.3569/#post-44619

When they speak about transit visa, it usually means you are first getting on the ship in Shanghai, or you are permanently disembarking in Shanghai within 144 hours.

If the cruise begins or ends in Shanghai, and you are arriving or leaving within 144 hours, before or after the cruise (arriving or leaving of different flights or cruise ships) you meet those requirements.

If you are merely making a port stop in Shanghai and entering and departing on the same ship, it might not fit the law as it reads. I believe that is where the confusion might be.

I did purchase the cruise insurance through Royal Caribbean. After talking with them on the phone/guest services for hours (and racking up a $400 phone bill charged to the room - which thankfully is free since everyone had to change their plans) nobody could tell me that it was covered...just that it would be covered if I had purchased airfare through RCCL, which I didn't because I had FF points.

When you get home, file a claim with the insurance company for trip interruption. Royal used to brag that their insurance covers air even if you booked on your own. If that has changed I don't recall seeing anything announced. The worst they can do is deny the claim and the best is they will reimburse you.

These poor passengers. I am in NY and we have the storm here now that they just sailed through. Thankfully the wind is nothing like those onboard experienced.

I think no one should be second guessing the Captain and RCCL. They would never knowingly put 5,000 passengers in harms way.

And some of the descriptions of the listing, I totally get. We were on Freedom of the Seas and got caught in wind during a tropical storm. I woke up rolling off the bed and watching everything flying off the desks and shelves and the luggage in the hallway falling down. I was terrified and woke up my husband saying the ship was going to tip over. He was in the Navy, woke up and said "it's a 5 degree roll, go back to sleep".

The Captain came on the loudspeakers after he righted the ship, said we got caught on the wind and took a 5 degree roll. So what Seemed to me for sure to be at least 45 degrees was far from it.

Glad everyone is safe but the news is still reporting the ship is going to Florida. Thanks to all who are updating us and glad you are all safe. You'll have a cruise to talk about for the rest of your lives.

But we should stop being Mondsy morning quarterbacks and not second guess what has happened on board.

Thank you Louise, that is the exact cabin I have booked for Oct. 2016. But you had the full view from both windows.

Spoke to a 3rd rep today who told me that the glass rolls all the way open for two panes. Obviously two of the three were wrong and haven't seen the ships. Thank you for your true information.

Can you tell m e what cabin category you had? I am traveling in a Cat. 6 on 2016 and I am getting conflicting information if the full wall of glass (2 panes) on the Savor open. One rep. said only one pane opens, another says both slide to fully open.

What ultimatum can you give the TA? You certainly can't cancel or you will lose your deposit. OP said the travel agent asked for quotes from the roll call on discounts passengers were receiving - if that is the case, that sounds like the TA wanted it to show NCL what others CLAIM they have gotten.

NCL's policy is that they will honor a lower price if you find it within 48 hours of booking. Anything they offer beyond that is a gift. OP was offered an upgrade and refused it - NCL doesn't owe anything more.

This is the chance you take booking early - getting an early price (which you should ALWAYS re-check before you make your final payment to make sure prices haven't dropped) and the cabin of your choice, or waiting until after final payment to see if prices drop and getting stuck with a lousy cabin.

In my experiences, every cruise I have ever gone on has had a price INCREASE after I booked early, never a decrease. If you were happy with the price you originally paid for your cruise, just go. TA's that may be able to get an OBC for a client may be with a company that books so much NCL that NCL will bend over backwards for that particular agencies clients. Not every agency is large enough to be favored by every cruise like they book. Those are the agencies that can work wonders for their clients - and more agencies CAN'T get those perks than can.

Yes, in that case the amount is within the range of what other passengers say they have received from NCL. The problem is that you have to go through your TA to get it, and your TA seems to have given you a rather definitive response. Unless prices drop further, then maybe you can try again. Or if you feel strongly enough about it, you can give your TA an ultimatum and maybe they will give you $50-$100 out of their own pocket, and then you'll probably want to consider finding a new TA going forward…

 

Thanks for sharing - this is one of the most unusual stories I've ever read here. I assumed you got caught up in the AA pilot slowdown, but this happened almost 2 years ago.

It is a great warning that it is much less expensive to stay one of two nights before your cruise. Thanks for the posting this for the naysayers who think it can't happen to them.

Unfortunately, you were involved in the AA pilot slowdown. I can't wait to hear the rest of the story because you will give everyone a perfect example why you should never fly into a port on the day you are scheduled to depart on a cruise.r

We did this from JFK and specifically left from Rome because we knew one day in Rome on the cruise would not be enough so we are going three days early and touring and then getting on in Civitavecchia.

Check pricing on Aer Lingus - we bought our air in January for our cruise in three weeks and paid $754 p/p round trip with a stopover in Dublin. For that price, I didn't care about the stopover as the price was over $300 p/p less than a direct and it is paying for our hotel. Since we are flying in 3 days before, didn't care about any delays with changing planes and don't care about it going home.

Aer Lingus out of JFK has great prices throughout Europe. It was much more expensive for us to fly to Barcelona than to Rome.

You just answered the disembarkation question my husband had - dont' they allow those with tours off first.

Thanks for the information! You have been really helpful.

You will have a wonderful time on the cruise. Boarding and disembarkation will be a breeze.

 

To answer your questions:

 

They definitely have walk off with luggage - no questions asked. My FIL and MIL walked off with their own luggage. Those passengers disembarking use a different deck then those who are getting off for a tour, and thus the lines were completely empty when we walked off.

 

If I recall correctly, first tender is for 8:00 AM.

 

Regarding VAT, from my understanding, YES they can be recovered but on goods, such as souvenirs and stuff. I don't think it can be recovered on food and beverages, but I could be wrong. I have attached the VAT document that another user posted earlier in the year. Hope this helps.

 

 

We asked RomeInLimo the same question without the photography added to it, and they responded that you will get to visit the places from the outside and can only enter sites if it is open. If you want to do this for photography purposes, I think it might be a good idea. We couldn't do this because we didn't want to exhaust the kids, but you might get some great pictures.

 

Good Luck. I will be more then happy to answer any other questions that you might have.

I am also getting on in Civitavecchia in a few weeks, this has been a valuable post!

I do have a few questions for you. Do they still have walk off disembarkation where you can just walk off with your luggage?

Do you by any chance recall the earliest tender time you could book for Cannes? We do have a private excursion planned and I will make sure I let the other guests know about this, as it is the very first time I ever heard about booking the tender. Thank you.

As far as the VAT for pre-paid specialty restaurants, I am under the impression that the VAT can be recovered. Is that true or not?

We are also flying in to Rome 3 days early and have pre-booked some skip the line tours. I was looking at a night time illuminations tour to see the city at night - would you recommend that or isn't it necessary? DH is a great photographer and I know he'd like to do some night shots.

The prices for drinks on all of NCL's ships are pretty much the same, regardless of what ship you are traveling on.

msmardigra, on the roll call boards you can post information about tours and ask people to join you.

May I ask who you used for your Naples excursion? I am hoping we are using the same company.

Thanks for sharing this - it has been very helpful.

Are you flying to get to the cruise? The cruise line doesn't care but the airlines might. If you are flying, call your airline and ask.

I always bring my prescriptions in bottles, DH brings his in a pill case. We've never been stopped, but when we fly to Europe in Oct., I told him he needs to leave his meds in the original prescription bottles.

Please keep writing! As someone with bi-lateral hip and knee replacements (and needing a shoulder replaced too) and in pain much of the time from foot problem, I am very interesting in hearing how your hubby handles all the traveling.

Yes. The aren't removed, but the dividers will be unlocked so you can go back and forth or prop them open.

We are 3 sisters travelling on the Epic and all have balcony rooms side by side. Does anyone out there no if the Epic has dividers that can be removed? We are in rooms 10116 / 10124 / 10120.....

We haven't had any problems having the stewards open the door between the balconies. Enjoy your cruise.

Loved the Man from Mars on the Gem in November!

I was talking to a photo shop person once and asked what they do with the unsold pics - they told me they bag them up and they are sent off ship. He said they have to actually count how many unsold there are when they are taken wherever they are taken and then they are destroyed.

He said they sell an average of about 20% of all the pics taken. That is a lot of garbage getting thrown out.

I think that is why so many of these lines are going to the new kiosks now that they pics on a screen and you order what you want from the screen. And that they could make available online later on, but I would bet it would cost a fortune to have pictures from every ship and sailing saved online somewhere so people could buy them later.

I bet people would actually buy more pictures if they could do it after they got home. There have been a few times I didn't buy one on the ship and kicked myself when I got home.

And they are going to charge you for it anyway - so there would be nothing gained by having them online.

1 - If they have trouble selling most of the pics while people are emotionally into it (onboard), it would be even harder to sell later.

 

2 - If they posted in online, there would be no way to keep things "private". Anyone could buy anyone else picture.

As a fellow Long Islander, wait until Southwest puts out their fares out of Islip. If you jump on them as soon as they are out, you can usually get a decent price. Fly to FLL and get SAS Transportation to take you to the pier.

Much less stressful going out of Islip if you can.