Nebr.cruiser

46 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Go to the ports of call boards here, and also Google your ports.  EM

That's what we do.  We also just find tours from operators waiting outside the ship.  

New updated ships are fine, but in many ways I like some of the older ships, especially if they have a true promenade deck.  They also seem to have a better connection to the sea.  Some newer ships are more like staying at a hotel;  

Somewhat dated decor doesn't bother me at all, as long as basic upkeep is done.  Some of the newer decor may look snazzy but be almost unusable. (I'm looking at you, Celebrity, with your horrible uncomfortable chairs in certain venues.)

Mahogany Bay for us is mostly a beach day for us since we've been there often.  But, we have taken great tours that had toured the island, ziplining, small zoos, wonderful snorkeling from a catamaran, usually ending with a beach break.

Costa Maya we have had a couple of really nice tours to the ruins, using non-ship tours.  It's also a good port to just take a taxi or bus to the beach area and hang out there.

Cozumel has many, many things to do.  My favorite was a tour where we drove dune buggies around the island, stopping at many places along the way.  We've also gone to beach clubs, done snorkeling and sometimes just walk around the port area since we've been there so many times.

We almost never do ship tours, but we are experienced cruisers.  Some tour we arrange beforehand, others we just pick up on the dock.

I can get by with 3--walking shoes on the plane, wedge sandals for evening, regular sandals.  But I usually add another pair of sandals and dressier heels (wedges) and water shoes if needed.  Sometimes I add a pair of casual flats.  I have fairly small feet, my small carry-on has a nifty shoe compartment that I can get 3 smaller pairs in (sandals, water shoes, flats) and the rest fit easily in 24".

I have found it is better to have at least two pairs of sandals.  I've had problems with blisters wearing even a well broken in pair when wearing for all day touring especially in the heat.

I also had to throw a pair of sandals away in Australia last year due to a very naughty dog that doesn't like us to leave!  Let's just say he left his mark on my shoe bag!

3 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

I just filed my claim yesterday for a pre-cruise (5 days prior to sail) slip and fall. Medical reason - should get refund of cruise fare at the very least, right? - what else?

We cancelled our South America cruise last December with Princess Platinum insurance 3 days before sailing.  My husband had injured his back in October and had numerous dr. appts., epidurals (4), chiropratic treatment and physical therapy in hope he could go.  We made the hard decision to cancel as late as possible as walking was just too painful.

We had a really good experience with the Princess Insurance.  I gathered all the needed documentation and submitted it online.  Less than a week later we had all covered expenses reimbursed. We didn't use Princess flights, hotels or tours.  All of our independent tours we were able to cancel also., even the one that was supposedly non-refundable that close.

1 minute ago, TRLD said:

We have. Wife broke her wrist skiing two weeks before an trip to Australia. Had 2 cruises booked. Had to cancel the first and was reimbursed for anything not funded by the cruise line. We were able to go later for the second cruise, so we were able to shift the flights and hotel so the cruise was the only out of pocket.

 

Like anything else one needs to evaluate cost vs potential loss. As such we carry the annual medical and evacuation policy for the real big expenses. 

 

Travel insurance costs we have found can run from as low as 3% to as high as 10% depending upon company. Since we travel from 120 to 150 days per year, we find that we save atleast $3000 per year in just insurance costs and running over $30,000 in total savings over the l years with having a couple of claims paid by CC plans, and having in total about $4500 in total out of pocket uncovered losses that would most likely not been covered even if we had insurance. Mostly from deposits/credits we have chosen to let expire or write off, mostly due to non cruise travel impacted by covid.

Thanks for the update.  Makes me feel better.  Strangely, we had two cruises and also land touring in Australia and New Zealand last year--spent almost 6 weeks there.  Absolutely wonderful (except, see below)!  Luckily, we didn't have to cancel, although we all came down with Covid and the flu at the very end of the trip. For that trip we counted on Chase Sapphire for the trip insurance and our normal annual plan for the med/evacuation catastrophic type of coverage.

2 minutes ago, TRLD said:

My understanding with Sapphire is that as long as there is a identified event that makes a clear change in status as stated by a physician it is covered event so a family member in bad health having a heart attack or stroke would be a covered cause. Having a family member in ill health and just deciding to cancel the trip without a major change would not be.

That sounds great; all the fine print makes policies hard to understand.  Has anyone used their Chase Sapphire Preferred policy for a cancelled cruise or trip?  How did it work out.  I realize it is secondary insurance.  

4 hours ago, wjfan417 said:

Also good for sending laundry out to be done, rather than spending time in the self-serve laundry room!

Sounds great, especially since we are doing a cruise right before this one, with one day in between.  We'll be going from the Gargantuan of the Seas (oops, I mean Oasis) to the Azamara--quite the difference!

I also need to amend my quote above; I once did buy a hot chocolate on an Alaska Cruise!

1 hour ago, TRLD said:

The three trips you pointed out due to back injury and health crisis of a family member  as you would have also been considered a covered reason for trip cancellation coverage on Sapphire.

True, although I'm not sure about a family member's heart attack when they had a history of heart problems.  Also the first two trips (cancel for family) were mostly land, with some river cruising.  

Of course that doesn't make any difference with most insurance.

We had to cancel a cruise 3 days out with Princess because of a back injury.  We had the Platinum insurance, which paid back everything associated with the cruise within about 5 days of turning in all the paperwork.

We have also had to cancel two major trips because of health crises of elderly parents years ago.  Again, we were reimbursed everything we insured.

Now we are the 'elderly' (late 70's.!  We always get an annual evacuation, etc. policy, such as Geo Blue and if on Princess their Platinum plan, since the upgrade is included because we are at the Platinum loyalty level.

If not on Princess we rely on our Chase Sapphire insurance in case of cancellation or trip delay plus our annual plan.  This involves some risk because the Chase insurance doesn't have a pre-existing conditions waiver, but we are ok with that.  We can (wouldn't like) afford to take a hit on the price of the cruise itself (flights are always booked with airline miles, which can be put back into our account) but if we needed extensive medical treatment and/or evacuation, that would be much harder financially.

There's no right answer for everyone.  In our case, insurance has reimbursed us close to the $20,000 range for the three trips we had to cancel. Worth it to us.

45 minutes ago, laurieb said:

Yes, if cancelled 48 hours before the excursion in general, and yes the OBC would go back to your shipboard account.

You can use your OBC for specialty dining/ Chef's Table, wine, upgraded drink package or individual drinks not already included, the spa, the salon, the shops.  

Thank you everyone.  I am fine with the 48 hour notice.  I was just worried that if using OBC it couldn't be cancelled, ( I mean, the OBC wouldn't be returned)  as I thought I had read that somewhere.

We probably would use OBC on specialty restaurants and upgraded wifi, but honestly the other things like upgraded drinks (we mostly don't drink), spa, etc. aren't items we are interested in. In 50 + cruises I've never bought any kind of drink, coffee, pop, etc.!  I'll probably enjoy the basic drink package, but not a big deal for either of us.

It will be our first time on Azamara in Dec.  We have a lot of OBC, so much I'm not sure how we will spend it and I think it is nonrefundable.  If we pay for excursions now with OBC and later change our minds, can we cancel and the OBC will go back in our accounts?  

Definitely not a first time cruiser but we usually book 3 or so months out. We have booked three days before the cruise and 8 months (longest) before a cruise.  

I actually like booking closer to the cruise date as it just takes too long for the cruise to get here.  I hate waiting month and months.

  We used to get really good deals closer to the cruise date but sometimes that is more difficult now.  

40 minutes ago, Coralc said:

I have seen a few hypnotists. There is always that question about "Is it fake"? I really don't know. I have volunteered, but never been chosen as a participant. 

I know.  On one cruise, one of the participants was wonderfully funny after being hypnotized.  Later we saw the same girl helping with a ship excursion.  An obvious plant--but boy did she do it well!

The Island is not a favorite of mine, but it's okay, I'd sail her again for the right itinerary.  To me, the itinerary and length of the cruise is much better on Princess, and many of the ports will probably be warmer, which is a factor that time of year.  

I'm sure Windstar would be a wonderful experience, but to me itinerary and length top that.

Also, keep your eye on Princess as sometimes they have very cheap single rates, usually on repositioning or shoulder/off season cruises.  My sisters paid only 10% over on a recent cruise, and each got the same amount of OBC as a couple would and their own balcony.

We're not particularly sociable in our at home life and haven't cruised with other couples, although we have taken a couple of vacations with friends.

We do cruise often with my two sisters.  We usually eat dinner together and do tours together but go our own way for other meals and on board, meeting up if we have an activity or entertainment we want to do.  It seems to work out well.

I think it is important to not be joined at the hip for the entire cruise; that way we enjoy our time together more and to be respectful of differences.

7 hours ago, Mike981 said:

I have come to believe that the travel industry is controlled by a few players. When I have done research to see who owns any of the big travel websites, it typically comes down to a couple of the same companies. It is all so intertwined it makes sense that it seems to be an industry wide problem.

 

It is scary for a company to be a leader/changer in an industry, and I am sure they know that it is costing them money, but it isn't enough to change the status quo.

I often research cruises online and get emails about sakes from several.  I've noticed lately that the pricing, format, etc. are exactly the same for several of these sites.  I mean, word for word, graphics, anything.  So I think you are right.  It's not that easy to find a really good TA who isn't bound to some big travel agency.  

I will say that I have mostly had very good service from the agents I do use--I have a couple of favorites, and they do work for big agencies.

The water depth was fine when we went through them; perhaps it would be deeper with a high tide.  The beach area where you come out of the Baths, however, had quite large waves with an undertow.  I'm an experienced swimmer, was a life guard and gave swim lessons and I did not feel safe swimming there.

Also, the trip through the Baths is wonderful, but not for any one with physical or medical problems, especially mobility.  

I feel the logistics of getting from the airport to Galveston is one of the wosrt we've experienced.  We've used the shared shuttle bus, which was ok but just took a long, long time.  Of course, the port is a good distancer from IAH, IT's not a port we want to use often, especially because itineraries from there are so limited and in winter the first and last day tend to be very cool.

On 5/5/2015 at 8:24 AM, Nebr.cruiser said:

We've had around 30 cruises to the Caribbean, the Med, Mexican Riviera, Hawaii, Panama Canal, Transatlantics and South America and have never missed a port--lucky I guess.

 

I'm sure we will sometime.

Updating to 2024 and over 50 cruises, we still haven't had a missed port, knock on wood!

3 hours ago, luvbrady said:

We have traveled with the kids friends several times.  Not only did we take the consent form (which we also brought into port with us), we also had the parents authorize us to make medical decisions and sign waivers on their behalf.  Think rock climbing, ice skating and so on.  We only got questioned 1x while we were disembarking in Jamaica.  They pulled my daughter's friend aside and asked who she was with and who we were to her.  But she had all the docs to back it up.

We've taken minor grandchildren on cruises.  Be sure to take everything they ask for and it doesnt hurt to be overly prepared.  We had 7 grandkids with us and they went over each one's paperwork extremely carefully and asked the kids questions.   I agree with a form to make medical decisions and sign waivers, etc.  Rather safe then left sitting on the pier!

2 hours ago, Coral said:

I don't like Princess's medical coverage (max $20K). That doesn't cover much. Plus they have a 90 day look back window so if you have pre-existing conditions, read carefully about it.

 

I usually buy Allianz. I have had to file a claim - I broke my wrist on vacation and had to fly home. They were amazing to work with. They sent a medical escort (paramedic) to fly home with me. I can't say enough great things about them. One doesn't appreciate how good a company is until you have to use them. Once I called them, they had me approve flights in 24 hours and I was flying Business Class home in 48 hours.

 

If you want increased medical coverage - look at GeoBlue coverage (medical only). 

We usually have a annual travel policy like Geo Blue as well.

We had excellent service using Princess CFR insurance last Dec.  We had to cancel a cruise 3 days before sailing because of a medical problem.  We sent in the required documents and were refunded (to our credit card) within less than a week.  Great experience with them.

On 3/29/2024 at 8:51 PM, RenieRaider said:

Arizona Wildcat, What does that mean, When Near Land? I have never done a TA, or long stretch to land. Is it not nice when way out a sea in a crossing or over to Hawaii? Thanks.

Of course you can always go outside, but cruises to Hawaii, and I have heard to Tahiti, etc. can be quite cool.  Ours to Hawaii was cool and windy enough, with some rain, that sitting outside often wasn't enjoyable.  Of course sitting on a balcony would be the same. Once in Hawaii it was fine.  I had thought cruising the Pacific would be warmer.

As to dressing up for dinner, you absolutely can on NCL and while you may be in the minority, you won't be alone.  You won't be out of place.  In fact, the most fabulous, out of this world ball gown I ever saw was on a NCL cruise--her guy was in a dress kilt outfit.  The dress looked like something from Gone With the Wind.

And despite the casual vibe, the only time I have ever seen anyone turned away from a dining room for wearing jeans was on Norwegian.  I don't think that would happen now.