catspaw1

The Eclipse & they let us preselect dining times. They did the same on the summit pre covid & it worked out great.

Hi all Celebrity just canceled all our select dining reservations. We had wait listed for early dining. What does the canceled reservations mean? We were 2 couples - linked reservations . Thanks

I hope not!!

As a long time LIRR on Babylon branch, no way I want to schlep bags on LIRR & carry bags up steps when elevator at Penn don't work. Plus there's some parts you just need to use the escalator & that's hard with Luggage Also Driving easier although parking $30 day. It's the luggage that makes the schlepping harder!

We got $250 in OBC from our TA for a cruise to Bermuda this year. The TA offered a $700 rebate on our Galapagos cruise but when I told them the big box store gave $875 they matched it. That was around the same amount we paid for trip insurance also.

We also have a chase sapphire reserve card. So lots of insurance.

Yes I already saw what they covered & they even included cancel for any reasons- I think it was 50% off. If I have a problem with the carrier, you can bet I will go back to Costco. I have been a Costco member for over 30 years & I trust (& hope) they will do the right thing if there's a problem. I ahve had them intervene with vendors before. i don't need medical as much. Yes I have medicare- it is always primary, but my secondary is Kaiser Permanente & they cover international medical emergencies. I want it for medical evac & trip cancellation.

BW their quotes were significantly less than most other providers.

Costco has travel insurance for members- even if you haven't purchased your cruise through them. Has anyone used them? Any experiences filing a claim? Thanks!

We sailed full time in the Caribbean for 7 years. We love Bonaire- you can easily snorkel off the beach. Walk north from the cruise ship dock & before the marina. Be careful around the sailboats as you need to watch for dinghies in transit. You can easily hear their motor. Diving is great but not as good as it used to be due to coral bleaching with climate change and higher temps.

I just compared prices for an OV selecting a cabin & HAl was $500 cheaper.

I posted this on the Princess site also & everyone said go Princess over HAL. Interesting.

Thanks for the helpful hints. We went to AK before the TV show northern exposure which Talkeetna is based. Loved it then. We also went to Denali & Seward before we went on a week HAL cruise. Wish HAL still sailed our of Seward! We may just take all of your advice so a big thank you. We do like a smaller ship- we don't need bells & whistles!

Thanks. I don't mind kids but it's the ones I have seen running crazy creaming around the ship I dislike. I didn't know Princess has a kids program & that's great. That's a lot better then. I guess we will try for either or- whoever has the best deals!

yes both have similar ports & the same number of hours in each port. fares about the same- Princess gives more with their all inclusive package. My parents did their 50th wedding anniversary trip to AK on Princess & really liked it but that was 15 years ago.

Thanks for the response. Yes I agree that HA seems to have an older crowd- mostly in 70's & 80's. We normally go to bed around 10pm but will stay up to 11pm on cruises. We do like the martini bar that Celebrity has!!! We usually travel off season so are concerned with having lots of kids onboard for early August. Our TA mentioned that's why she thought we might like HAL better. Any thoughts about lots of kids in August? We don't want to cruise with lots of misbehaving kids!

Hi all, We haven't been on a HAL cruise in over 25 years but previously loved AK so much we have decided to return. We are retired 66 & 70 and very active. We can hike up to 5 moderate miles a day. We are doing a bear trip into the bush next July for 3 nights at a bear/fishing lodge. Than will do some inland traveling as we did before & then would like to cruise again. We are looking at the Nieuw Amsterdam or Princess Sapphire for August 2 or 3, 2025 out of Whittier. Both have almost identical itineraries. Which cruise line would you chose and why? We love Glacier bay so want to return.

Hi all, We haven't been on a HAL cruise in over 25 years but previously loved AK so much we have decided to return. We are retired 66 & 70 and very active. We can hike up to 5 moderate miles a day. We are doing a bear trip into the bush next July for 3 nights at a bear/fishing lodge. Than will do some inland traveling as we did before & then would like to cruise again. We are looking at the Nieuw Amsterdam or Princess Sapphire for August 2 or 3, 2025 out of Whittier. Both have almost identical itineraries. Which cruise line would you chose and why? We love Glacier bay so want to return.

Thanks everyone. Haven't taken a cruise since COVID.

great! Are they still running embarkation discounts on specialty dining?

Hi all, we have never eaten in the specialty dining room and are considering it. Can you use the classic and premier beverage package in the specialty dining rooms? Is there an extra gratuity to use it? Or charge for drinks? sailing in July back to Bermuda again.

We ask the cabin attendant to either lock or remove the refrigerator. I bring a cooler bag with us & ask him to put ice in it every day. I get drinks from our drink package & put them in my cooler bag. I bring the cooler bag to the beach to have drinks just like I'm going to the beach at home. I also bring a helinox chair one with me for going to Bermuda. It weighs 2lbs & I have my own beach chair!

Our cruise planner showed flash sales for an upgrade to premium beverage package for our Bermuda cruise this year from $15pp per day to $11. Also a number of excursions also. We booked the upgrade to premium but will keep checking every day to see if it decreases.

Just an FYI on ocean temps in Bermuda in May... they will be cold. We have local friends in Bermuda that told us locals don't go swimming till after Memorial Day as temps are too cold. We did take a Celebrity cruise to Bermuda Memorial day week once & the water was indeed cold. We sailed our boat there in November on the way to the Caribbean & the water was cold then. In January when we returned to our boat, water was frigid.