drsel

14 hours ago, sanger727 said:

I can't see the spa wanting those installed. It would compete with their employees. Why would they want a lower cost alternative to be available?

13 hours ago, mom says said:

What Sanger said. Given that the Spa is a contracted service, and the cruiseline gets a cut of every sale, I doubt that either one would be in favor of such a move.

I agree, but remember that very few are willing to pay the exhorbitant fees (over $100) charged for a massage by a  spa employee. I often see the masseurs sitting idle on so many cruises, simply because the massages are too expensive, unaffordable or simply not great value.

This move would bring in additional business from those who cant afford, or are not willing to spend so much for a regular massage.

The rich folk who are anyway happy to pay high prices will not be deterred from doing so.

Just check out the things to see and do at all ports on toms port guide and whatsinport.

There are maps and details about public transport etc

43 minutes ago, pookel said:

First - I know we're not allowed to name specific agents/agencies.

 

I live in a smaller city and there are very few local travel agents. I also prefer to do everything online via email or text. But I'm interested in finding a travel agent who will get to know me personally and who can handle everything for me (hotel, airline, cruise). Every google search I've tried just gets me a ton of results from the large online booking agencies, which isn't what I want.

 

So - what methods could I use to find someone? Are there reputable websites that list agencies? Or sites that post agent reviews? Any advice?

 

I am in the US fwiw.

You can find out by personally asking all people you come into contact with on your next Cruise.

Or visit any nearby regular travel agent and ask him to find out and get you the contact info of an offline cruise specialist travel agent.

I do all my bookings online, so I have not personally met any of the agents.

4 hours ago, Hlitner said:

It is difficult not to notice the ridiculous pricie points of some excursions.  We are currently in a Seabourn cruise where even simple “walking tours” are usually priced around $80 (with some above $100) which generally are 2 hour walks (from the ship) around parts of a port city.    These tours are easy to DIY.  Many other excursions are priced in the hundreds of dollars (per person).  
 

While many experienced cruisers routinely book private tours (easily done online) and others hire taxis or use Hop on Hop Off buses, there are still many passengers who pay the big bucks for the cruise line excursions which are often priced 2, 3 or more times the price of alternatives.

 

What do you think?  Are the cruise lines pricing their excursions too high?

 

Hank

They are not just overpriced, but ridiculously overpriced.

the markup is easily 100% or more for almost all tours

Wouldn't it be beneficial for all cruisers if the cruise lines installed  the following automatic machines in the spa and/or gym?

1) Foot massagers 

2) Full body chair massagers

3) Back massagers 

Charges for these could be a fraction of the charges for typical massages offered in the spa.

These machines wouldn't cost a lot, but the earning potential is huge!

Because I am sure that they would be in heavy demand and also be very profitable for the cruise line.

What do you think?

On 8/10/2023 at 12:04 PM, maryann2 said:

I can confirm that the Costa app does not work on North American phones.

I usually use the whattsapp plan on board to keep in touch with people at home. Works well with excellent connection. Just cannot access Costa app.

I suppose it does not work well on Apple iPhones.

Although they have a new app for iOS also, it has very poor reviews (only 8 reviews, rated 2.5/5.0)

https://apps.apple.com/be/app/costa-cruises/id1252963680

On 6/23/2023 at 12:25 AM, Essiesmom said:

I just added it to my iPad ….hope it works.  I never visit forums on my phone…screen is too small and typing near impossible.  EM

Use voice typing or voice to text.

you talk and your phone will type automatically

If you are using a Google Android phone (OnePlus ,Samsung, etc),

All you need to do is put on airplane mode (to switch off mobile data),  and then put on Wi-Fi and connect to the free MSC or Costa open Wi-Fi network (free Wi-Fi is only for using the app).

both MSC or Costa app will work very well with their respective free Wi-Fi on board.

On MSC you sometimes get the easy plus premium alcoholic beverage package with unlimited Wi-Fi for two devices for only $99 per person for a 7 night cruise 

Both MSC & Costa apps work very well on android mobiles. I've not tried them on any tablet

Just released!

The internet opinion of the worst 3 Cruise lines.

This is quite incredible, I just can't believe it

Norwegian Cruises are highly enjoyable, but there is a huge difference in the prices before and after Covid.

The increase is nearly 100% , so I strongly feel that they have priced themselves out of the mass cruise market.

The free at sea perks are priced into the cruise fare, and.the added gratuities make it even more expensive

Still, you may just get a last minute deal or a sailaway deal without perks

Another superb comparison with great video shots of each cruise line!

Visit cruiseplum and put your departure port as Southampton and your dates and cabin category.

You will see all cruises available.

You can rank by date or cheapest price per night including all port fees taxes and gratuity.

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

. Maybe the wife would prefer to stay home and put more time into her expanding business. 

Are you kidding she would love to see both Australia and Japan

it's a once in a lifetime trip, we can't keep going again and again

10 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

I'm still wondering why this is only being delt with in the penalty stage.

I understand that it wasn't known when the original reservation was made.

But wasn't there a time when it was known, and could have been solved (= changed/fixed!) for a relatively modest fee such that both of them could have gone, or perhaps left it for just the second cruise together and maybe get some credit to change the first?

Was this really the "best that could have been done" if addressed sooner?

 

However, different people/couples have different patterns.  For us, if one couldn't go, the other wouldn't either.  I suppose there might be a situation where we'd do that, but I can't imagine it, and it's never come up, yet.

If the money is "gone" whether we go or stay home, if we'd need to split up such that only one had the nice trip... that's a no-brainer.  The money is "gone".  That's a sunk cost.  The situation then becomes:  Will we be happier with one away on the trip and one staying home, or both home?

Very easy answer!

 

And if even a small bit of the money could be recovered, all the better. 🙂 

 

GC

We would have done these two Carnival sailings in Feb 2023 along with the Princess cruise from Brisbane to Hong Kong, but Princess cancelled Mar 2023 and postponed it to Apr 2024.

Princess gave us complimentary extra days and lengthened the cruise to a grand voyage in April 2024 (from Brisbane to Hong Kong to Taiwan to Tokyo) at the same price !!

So we were forced to again transfer the two Carnival Cruises to Mar 2024, just before The Princess cruise left Brisbane to go to Hong Kong and Japan.

We had to bunch all three Cruises together in 2024 because we couldn't afford to make two trips to Australia both in 2023 and 2024.

And we did not want to waste the grand voyage that Princess was offering us at the same price of a regular cruise.

An absolutely complete, fair and unbiased comparison.

I also recommend Emma cruises and Gary Bembridge's Tips for Travellers. Both are unbiased.

26 minutes ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

When I checked out Cruiseplum, I found that it does not include many cruise lines. Do you know of another comparable site?

Yes, but it's a  travel agent

You will have to search on Google because we cannot name it.

It lists almost all the cruise lines including the very expensive ones. It has the option of price per night, but without port fees and taxes.

Another website lists  Cruises by price per night including port fees and taxes.

It also has charts of the price movement and tell you when the price is the lowest.

but there are only 10-11  cruise lines available on this website, Including 8 of the main mass market cruise lines

33 minutes ago, Mike981 said:

 

Thank you again, much appreciated.

Cruiseplum is not a travel agent but it's a good site to rank Cruises by price per night,  including port fees and taxes and gratuity.

They have a lot of filters and customisations.

You can choose the date, month, cabin category, region, starting and/or ending port, cruise line, ship, etc

Once you decided all your custom filters and personalisations, you will get the price per night ( including all port fees, taxes and gratuity) and you will notice that there are huge differences.

If you don't have any preferences then you can just rank ALL cruises by price per night.

Even that will work well.

Cruiseplum is not a travel agent and doesn't try to sell you any cruises, so it can be named 

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

The issue with Princess (and most cruise lines) is that when you set-up your online account (which is become a necessity) they generally ask for your full mailing address.  And even if that was not required, you will need to use your address when you enter a credit card.  The Princess "Ocean Ready" app requires your zip code when adding any credit card.

I am not sure how my Aussie friend deals with the credit card issue and I cannot reach him at this time.  

Hank

can't you choose to pay by cash and avoid giving your credit card information ?

16 minutes ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

No. Well, I'm trying to give a simple answer. No agent has ever checked the address or even studied the passport. The check in is actually done by scan of the page with your picture.

Thanks what about Princess, is it the same?

On 7/9/2023 at 9:32 PM, Hlitner said:

That may or may not be the case on a specific booking.  There is a lot of competition here in the USA, and this means different agencies (especially so-called discount cruise agencies) sometimes offer different deals.  There are times when an agency will offer pre-paid gratuities and/or generous on board credits (OBCs).  On some cruises our perks (tips and OBCs) have been in the thousands of dollars.  That is why we have long suggested that wise cruisers "shop around" among multiple high volume reputable cruise agencies.

 

There are also some cruise lines (HAL is one example) that may have restrictions on cruisers, from outside North America, booking with a North American agency.  We have an Australian friend who is a very frequent HAL cruiser.  Aussies are not normally permitted to book HAL cruises through North American agencies.  But our friend simply uses a Canadian address (it belongs to a friend) for his bookings in order to get the much better deals and he has been doing this for many years.

Hank

This is one of the important terms and conditions mentioned on the booking invoice by a US travel agent--

NON-US/CANADIAN CLIENTS READ IMMEDIATELY:

The following cruise lines, HOLLAND AMERICA, OCEANIA, PRINCESS, MSC and COSTA now prohibit all travel agencies located in the United States from selling cruises to citizens of certain countries other than the United States and Canada, UNLESS they have a residence in the U.S. or Canada at the time of purchase and can provide documentation of such.

Also, your past passenger account number must have a US address listed in the cruise line record.

PLEASE BE ADVISED, if you do not meet these requirements, the cruise line and / or (US travel agents name) will cancel your booking and any penalties will be solely your responsibility, and (US travel agent) will not bear any costs or responsibilities.

When you booked this reservation, you checked (online bookings) you were a US or Canadian resident and / or citizen; or you gave your booking agent (phone bookings) a US or Canadian address.

If you now have a residence in the US or Canada but your past passenger record at the cruise line does not, it is your responsibility to change it, or the cruise line will cancel your booking when they check your past passenger information against this reservation and have the right to assess a penalty.

11 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

I think the only problem with HAL would be that you would be issued a different 'Mariner Number' for the US address and lose out on any benefits already accrued. 

Passport details are not required for making a booking and only for check in.  But not all those living in US have US passports, so I do not see a problem there.  At check in the agents are only checking that you have a valid passport, it is not an interrogation.  As a fallbacky ou could send a mail (post) to yourself at the friend/relative's US address and ask them to mail you back the stamped envelope, which you could keep in your wallet as 'proof' of living at US address.

Looks like a good idea,  but I'm not sure if the HAL agents will ask for any US address proof at the time of boarding.

(Maybe any non North American who has sailed on HAL can enlighten us)

On 7/9/2023 at 9:32 PM, Hlitner said:

There are also some cruise lines (HAL is one example) that may have restrictions on cruisers, from outside North America, booking with a North American agency.  We have an Australian friend who is a very frequent HAL cruiser.  Aussies are not normally permitted to book HAL cruises through North American agencies.  But our friend simply uses a Canadian address (it belongs to a friend) for his bookings in order to get the much better deals and he has been doing this for many years.

Hank

What if a passenger from a country outside North America books a Holland America cruise with a North American travel agent 

BUT 

His passport clearly mentions his/her address outside North America?

Then how can he use the North American address of a friend or relative on the booking ?

It will be completely different from the address on his passport!

29 minutes ago, Mike981 said:

I've never thought about it this way.

I am also looking for that unicorn. For me; in today's world when things can go sideways in an hour, I need more help than I did in the past. For my next trip I am doing it solo, but I plan to connect with someone at Celebrity to at least have a contact person.

If you want a high discount travel agent or you want to use the bidding site to find one, then you have to be sure which particular cruise and cabin you want.

You can't just say

"I want a Mediterranean Cruise, which one do you recommend?"

because there are hundreds to choose from.

Even the choice of cabin is your personal decision, the agent cannot decide for you.

However there is a website which ranks the Cruises according to price per day including port fees and taxes. 

If you book through a travel agent then the cruise line has to pay that agent 10 to 16% of the commissionable base fare.

In which case, the cruise line representative will not help you .

you have to talk with the travel agent only

20 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I think she did, he just doesn’t like the answer 

Yes you are right, she decided that she will miss the first cruise and join me for the second one. (back to back, same cabin same ship, different itinerary)

But I am still trying to convince her to follow the good advice of so many on this group and give early deliveries (12 days earlier) in zip lock plastic pouches in sealed containers, so as to keep the marzipan fresh.

I also requested her to make some marzipan now and taste it everyday and see if there is any change in taste or appearance over 12-14 days.

Thanks everyone for your valuable advice and good wishes  🙏