reader135

Thanks everyone.  Looking forward to lugging our wine aboard without worry.

On 11/7/2018 at 3:35 PM, Bigmike911 said:

If you are a US citizen customs allows one liter per person duty free. Be sure you declare the amount you are bringing in, and prepare to pay the import duty on it to avoid having it seized. 

Thanks, this is the first time we'll be over after spending many years scrupulously only bring 1 Liter.  I was surprised at how low the duty is...why have I been restricting myself all these years?

18 minutes ago, ToadOfToadHall said:

When you board, could you not just them to store it for you ? You have said you want to take it home anyway.

I didn't know you could ask them to store things.  This is our first time on Cunard, thanks.  

We may acquired more wine than we can drink in our travels before boarding the QM2 to return home (too much time riding through wine country).  We'd love to be able to bring some home, but I'm reading conflicting things on here about how much we can bring vs what I see on the Cunard website.  We mostly want to bring the wine home as souvenirs vs. drinking it on board.   What are my options?  I know that when we bought liquor in the Caribbean they just gave it back to us in the end on another line.  If we bring too much wine on board Cunard, will they confiscate it or let us have it back at the end?

We'd like to take the train to London for a few days before our TA from Southampton and don't want to take our formalwear and excess luggage to London if we don't have to. Does anyone know of a place to store 2 suitcases for 5 days? Can I check the luggage in early? Any suggestions welcome.

Thanks, everyone. We are booked across from one another now. The cabins are linked on the reservation, so I hope they won't move either of us.

Thanks, that helps. Yes, it's a cabin that would normally accommodate 3, showing availability if I say I have 3 people in my party, but not showing availability if i have 2 people (seems like it would be the reverse). I'll give them a call tomorrow.

Last minute booking- need 2 cabins but the only ones next to one another are for 3 people each. It shows as bookable when I have 3 people in the room but not bookable when there are 2 people. (We have 5 in our party). If I call would I be allowed to book the 3 person room with 2 people in it? This is for a November cruise, so past final payment date, if that makes a difference. Thanks for any suggestions. I think we are going to end up with 2 cabins down the hall from one another but I thought I'd at least ask.

Absolutely they'll be more to do on Navigator....day & night. We just did our first cruise on X Eclipse and after many cruises with RCI we were bored to death on X and it takes "very little" to entertain us.

We must be easily entertained. :) Give us some trivia, music trivia, karaoke, and the pool, and we're happy.

Thanks so much for taking the time to post the cruise compass.

The sailings will be similar - some of this depends on which Celebrity ship you are comparing against.

It was the Constellation.

I have all the daily planners from Independence TA oct 2018, do you want me to take photos of a sea day for you?

I'd love to see that. Thank you!

We loved our Celebrity TA cruise, and are now considering one on Royal Caribbean because it is so much cheaper. Can anyone compare the 2? This is on Navigator of the Seas. I'd love to see a daily schedule if someone has one for the Navigator of the Seas or a Royal Caribbean sea day schedule on a transatlantic.

According to Cunard’s website, there is karaoke in the Golden Lion. In a thread entitled “proper crossing” there is an entire set of a crossings Daily Programme.

The set of daily programs was what I was trying to find. I'll try searching that thread. Thanks.

Hello,

One of the folks in my party loves karaoke. I have looked for daily sea programs to see if/when it is offered on Transatlantic crossings but been unsuccessful. Can someone enlighten me? Thanks.

We are considering a last minute cruise, either the Norwegian Gem Caribbean or the Norwegian Breakaway Caribbean in December. We have never been to the Caribbean but we have cruised before (Alaska & Transatlantic). Any advice on which one to choose? The Gem ports appeal more than the Breakaway ports but since we've never been to the Caribbean it will all be new and interesting to us.

Gem ports:

New York (New York); Fort-de-France(Martinique); Castries (St. Lucia); Basseterre (St. Kitts); St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands); DISEMBARK New York (New York)

Breakaway Ports

New York (New York); Orlando & Beaches (Port Canaveral); Great Stirrup Cay (Bahamas); Nassau (Bahamas); Costa Maya (Mexico); George Town (Grand Cayman); Ocho Rios(Jamaica); DISEMBARK New York (New York)

Have booked roughly 36 hours out.

Awesome. Good to know!

We might be able to go on a cruise but won't know until a few days before. We'll already be in the departure city. With security these days, I figure there must be some sort of deadline as to how far out a cruise must be booked. 72 hours? 48 hours? Anyone know? (I know I can call but thought there might be some interesting last minute stories to go with this).

We have only cruised with major ocean lines, never a river cruise. In researching a trip to Europe for Christmas markets, I came across the idea of a Christmas Market cruise, which really appeals. However, I'm not finding a website that lists all the options for river cruising, and I am not familiar with any of the lines. Does anyone have recommendations for websites or lines to investigate. I'd be more interested in bargains and family-friendly than luxury lines. Thanks!

Reader135; are you saying you don't wish to use the TA's insurance and you prefer to stay with the cruiseline insurance? (Which you can still do even if booking thru the TA). Or now you want to select third party insurance?

 

In your case, I would suggest that you opt for a policy which does not have a lookback window for PEC, which, as you said, usually means purchasing within 14-20 days from deposit. There are many options, but going with a top brand that has good claim handling is likely your best option. Travel Guard, Travel Insured and CSA are three that I use, and have had good claims experience with the first two. Did not file a claim with the third. There are other good policies and experiences out there, too.

Thanks for these suggestions. Great to hear someone who's filed a claim with Travel Guard and Travel Insured and still recommends them. How do you use the cruise line insurance if you book with a TA? It wasn't given as an option.

I wasn't by a computer yesterday when I posted my earlier comment, so I couldn't provide links. This is the insurance we're now very likely to get:

 

https://travel.nationwide.com/plans-cruise-choice.html

 

I'm very impressed by how many of the questions I have been asking here and and other forums for several days were actually answered right there on the insurance company's website, and in very easily understandable English.

 

https://travel.nationwide.com/support/faqs-cruise.html

 

I couldn't figure out how to get a quote for anything other than the top plan on Nationwide's website, but insuremytrip.com offers Nationwide insurance and allows you to select which policy you wish.

Thanks, I'll look into these.

In the past, we have booked directly with the cruise line for insurance, but we are considering booking through a travel agent this time. The policy offered doesn't cover pre existing conditions within 120 days of sailing...I have a child with a peanut allergy, and though he hasn't had anaphylaxis in years, I'm sure that would fall under the pre-existing condition window. This will be my first time purchasing insurance not through a cruise line. I know I have to purchase insurance fairly close to the deposit, which we haven't made yet. Thanks for any suggestions!

We are booked on a TA in December in 2 rooms (well, on hold until Monday, anyway) that are next to one another, but we would really prefer to be in connecting cabins. Aside from checking the website daily, does anyone have suggestions? I know they have a waitlist for switching category of stateroom, but I don't need to switch category, only switch to a different set of staterooms that connect if they become available. Should I try to have myself put on the waitlist for this? Thanks for any suggestions.

I know that you can get off early as an American citizen on a transatlantic when you get to Europe (because I've seen folks do that), but can you get off early as an American when returning to America? For example, if there is a port stop in New York, can you get off there, or must you wait until you arrive in Miami to debark? Because of time constraints and distance to be traveled, getting off 2 days early in New York is preferable if it is legal.

We had a great experience on Celebrity with Celiac + peanut/tree nut allergy. I wouldn't hesitate to cruise with them again. They were so accommodating for my son. The first night the waiter didn't seem to take me seriously, and I could feel myself getting super stressed out....he kind of smiled and nodded when I told him about the allergies. Finally we got his supervisor over, and his supervisor understood the seriousness of the allergies. His supervisor made sure we were extremely spoiled and taken care of. My son got to try lots of food he'd never tried before thanks to them.