Goldryder

I extended my Christmas cruise in 2012 to include the New Year one as a B2B, Costa Deliziosa, solo occupancy in a grade I2 twin inside cabin, with flights from/to UK/Genoa included for £2055/USD3350...A total of 17 days on the ship, which for the money is not at all bad considering its one of the new ships, its over Christmas & New Year and as a solo in a twin cabin :)

Looks like the light master switch (or in this case master button). Often I hit the wrong switch when leaving the cabin and it drops the power off to all lights inside (being an inside cabin user, I usually leave a bedside tablelamp on so I don't go base over apex when re-entering the cabin), hitting the cutout makes a clunking sound and all lights, powerpoints etc are turned off...a bit like turning off your electrical switchboard at home.

Managed to find (and book) a pretty good Christmas 2012 cruise today.

Costa Deliziosa, 8 days - Savona, Katakolon, Piraeus, Valletta, Tunis, Civitavecchia & Savona - with two days at sea.

Inside grade I2 cabin - twin/single occupancy - flights from/to UK/Italy....

£930.00/US$1520 :)

Not bad for a newish ship, solo, with flights & over Christmas too :D

As someone who likes to cruise at least eight weeks a year, it is getting harder to find under $100 a day cruises for a solo traveller, but I have booked the 8 weeks again this year. I would suggest that folks also look at Costa for the mediterranean, since about half their ships have a few single cabins. e.g. I did back-to-backs on Costa Fortuna last year out of Venice; one just over $700, but the other just under $700, so not including getting to Venice, the cruising averaged out at $100 a day.

My cruise last year and the one next year with Costa worked out at £70 per day including flights/hotel pre-stay....both over a month long.

Both are in single cabins, no supplement charged.

The cruise booked for 2012 is a bargain imho for a solo like me...

37 days, including flights in a solo cabin (not twin at single rate) for £3090.

Costa Classica, the full itinerary is in my signature below :)

I have been pretty lucky so far with cruise/air arrangements. Due to a variety of reasons - mainly no plastic - I use Costa's own flight & hotel arrangements when I cruise and so far they have been extremely efficient and they have made a note of airlines/airports that I would rather avoid if at all possible and they have in the most part gone with my choices.

Since they use Amadeus GDS, along with my chosen airlines, the flights are up and available for seat allocation within 48 hours of the booking being confirmed (this can be dealyed if the flights are over 50 weeks away, of course).

The prices of the flights & hotels have been under or equal to what I would be paying if booking them independently...so I am happy to let Costa continue with making my arrangements. I know this does not suit everyone, but it does me.

My next cruise is from Buenos Aires, originally I had been put onto BA flights to EZE via LHR & GRU out of MAN, the booking was with a new TA as my original had retired, so I mentioned to the TA to ask for a certain person at Costa and have me taken off the BA flights and to go with my choice of airline, Air France...this was done immediately and without any fuss. Unlike the BA flights, the AF ones are more direct...MAN-CDG-EZE.

Like I said, having the flights & hotels packaged via the cruise line doesn't suit everyone, but if you can get it to work for you, then I see no reason not to stick with it as it really does save alot of hassle when it works well :)

As I have said all along, the Red Sea is extremely limited in regards to alternate ports...even moreso when one country that has 3-4 ports (like Egypt) explodes into political problems.

The calls to Tunis & Alexandria were easy to replace, the Med has a variety of ports to choose from, and they are generally bigger (thus better equipped) for several ships to be diverted to them.

Thomson are virtually following the itinerary that Costa is now using, Kristina Cruises have pulled their ship out early - cancelling the rest of their season in the Red Sea.

Apart from Aqaba & Eilat...there is no other port suitable for cruise ships. Jeddah is a big port but there is not enough there for passengers and there is a visa problem too for some nationalities, so that is a non-starter.

It is such a shame that this has happened...the Egyptian Red Sea ports are a vital source of income in the winter months and the 3 main ones...Safaga, Sokhna & Sharm are all out of bounds - despite the troubles not really affecting the local towns attached to the ports as badly as Cairo & Alexandria.

Costa and all the other cruise lines are literally jammed tween a rock & a hard place...not an enviable position at all.

I have the distinct feeling that since both ships were doing the same itinerary and many passengers may have cancelled due to the Egypt problem & the port changes, Costa have combined the loads of both ships onto the larger Allegra and taken Marina out of the area on purely economic reasons.

Afterall, what point is there in running two ships on exactly the same itinerary on partial loads, might just as well cut one ship out.

Granted that does not make it any easier for those on Marina's now cancelled trips, but as Ron says, if there are any incidental expenses such as independent flights to/from the ship, travel insurance will likely be the best course of action...if covered by force majeure which is the case with Egypt.

Anyone with flights booked through Costa will inevitably get that refunded along with the cruise cost.

Eithe way, this will not have been an easy decision for Costa to make...but with so many cancellations due to Egypt right now, they are not going to be alone in facing upset passengers. Uniworld, A&K, Viking...all have cancelled Nile cruises with literally hours notice.

When countries get choppy, and there is no idea how long it will last, sacrifices have to be made by holiday companies.

Hi everyone, thanks for your kind words and advice.

 

We are quite unhappy that the cruise was cancelled on such a short notice and that costa offers no compensation of any kind.

 

As stated on costa´s website:

IMPORTANT: BY AND NO LATER than Thursday 10 February 2011 (h. 7 pm) all Guests booked for the above mentioned Costa Marina Red Sea cruises have to express their choice to their Travel Agency either for a reprotection to one of the proposed departures or the possible use of a voucher for another 2011 cruise. Alternatively Guests can ask for a refund of the amount paid.

Well, pretty short notice, you have to keep in mind, that my ta does not have any official info from costa as of today.

How do other cruiselines handle cancellation on short notice?

Personally Kasi, I would sit on the phone to your TA...or go to their office if possible...and get them to contact Costa at 9am tomorrow morning and have the TA press them for some sort of decision.

Since you cannot use one of the other cruise dates stated due to committments, your two alternatives would be a replacement cruise later this year or a full refund (as per advice given in your quote).

Being a weekend, getting an answer would be nigh on impossible anyway...but go for it tomorrow and even if the TA tells you they will sort it, stay on their backs.

If you paid with a credit card, you might be able to get them to chase a refund....certainly no harm in asking the bank for advice on that as it could be a quicker way to get the refund should you decide that way to go.

You have 4 days from today til the deadline, that should be ample time for the TA to get in touch and for you to decide which option you want to go for......another cruise later in the year or the refund.

The Costa ships with pure single cabins (ie no pullmans) are on the following...

Allegra

Marina

Classica

Romantica

Fortuna

Magica

Favalosa

Pacifica

I have sailed aboard Allegra twice now and had single cabins on both cruises. They average out at around 155sqft and have all the usual amenities you would expect in any other size cabin. There are both inside and outside cabins to choose from on a variety of decks.

Each ship has tween 4 and 10 single cabins, they are identified as either IS or ES (inside or outside).

The solo supplement is sliding...30% for those like me who book early, to a maximum of 75% for those who book closer to departure. That goes fleetwide regardless as to whether or not the ship has single cabins. I am sailing aboard Costa Victoria in a few weeks, she has no single cabins but I was only charged 30% supplement.

Last year I sailed on Allegra for 33 nights, Singapore to Savona, booked a year out and with flights & 4 nights pre-stay in Singapore, I still got change out of £3100/$4990 :)

Costa posted the new schedules for Marina and Allegra 7 day cruises in the Red Sea.

 

Day 1 : Aqaba Boarding

Day 2: Aqaba

Day 3: Aqaba, Departure at 22h

Day 4: Day art Sea

Day 5: Eilat, arrival at 13h

Day 6: Eilat

Day 7: Eilat

Day 8: Aqaba Departure

 

I´m glad I´m not booked on these cruises and anxiously waiting for the changed schedule for our cruise.

Kasi...I hope that you have been able to replace your cruise without too many problems...really sorry that you have to be on the cruise that got chopped. Do please let us know what you have decided upon....:o

Updated information from Costa

Costa Crociere confirms that for Costa Allegra Red Sea Grand Cruise, Costa Luminosa and Costa Deliziosa Grand Cruise from United Arab Emirates, Costa Romantica Grand Cruise from Indian Ocean, the one day calls at Sharm el Sheik, Safaga and Alexandria (Egypt) have been cancelled and replaced by a two-days call at the renowned Israeli city of Eilat. This call will allow passengers to visit Jerusalem as well as the ancient Masada fortress and the Dead Sea.

 

Any renunciation or cancellation for the above listed Grand Cruises will be regulated as per contractual conditions.

Costa Marina....

Red Sea cruises departing on 10 February 2011, 17 February 2011 and Red Sea Grand Cruise departing on 24 February 2011 are cancelled.

 

All guests booked on the 10 and 17 February Red Sea cruises ,may receive reprotection for the same amount paid, on the following departures:

 

- Costa Allegra, 14 or 21 February 2001, as per new itinerary (Jordan, Israel).

- Costa Pacifica, 19 February, 2 March, 13 March, 24 March 2011, 10-days Mediterranean itinerary (Israel, Greece, Turkey).

 

All the guests booked on 24 February 2011 Red Sea Grand Cruise may receive reprotection for the same amount piad, on the following departures:

 

- Costa Allegra Red Sea Grand Cruise, 28 March 2011, departing from Aqaba (Jordan);

- Costa Luminosa Grand Cruise from United Arab Emirates, 21 March 2011, departing from Dubai (UAE);

- Costa Deliziosa Grand Cruise from United Arab Emirates, 3 April 2011, departing from Dubai (UAE);

- Costa Romantica Grand Cruise from Indian Ocean, 3 April 2011, departing from Port Louis (Mauritius);

- Other available spring 2011 departures for Mediterranean itineraries of Costa Concordia, Costa Magica or Costa Serena.

Costa posted the new schedules for Marina and Allegra 7 day cruises in the Red Sea.

 

Day 1 : Aqaba Boarding

Day 2: Aqaba

Day 3: Aqaba, Departure at 22h

Day 4: Day art Sea

Day 5: Eilat, arrival at 13h

Day 6: Eilat

Day 7: Eilat

Day 8: Aqaba Departure

 

I´m glad I´m not booked on these cruises and anxiously waiting for the changed schedule for our cruise.

As much as the new itinerary isn't what people booked, it does make the best of what is going on. Ulike the Med, the Red Sea has very few port choices outside Egypt....Jeddah in Saudi Arabia is a busy ferry port but is not suited to cruise ships, mainly on security issues...two other Red Sea countries are Ethiopia & Sudan but they have no facilities for cruise ships at all and again there are security issues.

At least Costa have given those booked on the Red Sea cruises that have been chopped about the option to cancel & rebook later in the year....

They are doing their best IMHO in what is an awful situation.

Costa have added this to their website homepage via a clickable link....

Costa Cruises announces that all its cruise itineraries calling in Egypt and Tunisia have been modified, cancelling the calls in these two countries and offering alternative port of calls as follows.

 

In particular:

• for the scheduled Red Sea cruises on the Costa Allegra and Costa Marina, the itinerary will now concentrate on calls in Jordan and Israel, with turnaround operations taking place from Aqaba (Jordan); in order to cater for customers who have already booked on these cruises, Costa Cruises will also offer alternative itineraries and date of departures;

• on Mediterranean cruises on the Costa Pacifica, Costa Allegra, Costa Mediterranea and Costa Atlantica including a one day call at Alexandria, this call has replaced by one day calls in Greece or Israel;

• on Mediterranean 7-day cruises including a one day call at Tunis (Tunisia), this call has been replaced by a one day call at Palma de Mallorca (Spain) Malta or Cagliari (Italy);

 

Accordingly, the Company confirms that all its cruises are operating normally and running to schedule, the only changes to the itineraries being those due to force majeure mentioned above.

 

Costa Cruises will resume its original scheduled programmes and reinstate the port of calls in Egypt and Tunisia when in both Countries the relevant authorities in charge declare the restoration of stability and safety conditions.

 

Costa Cruises considers the safety of its Guests and crew members as a key priority and it is constantly in contact with the local and international Authorities to guarantee the safety of its operations and to carefully monitor the situation evolution in Egypt and Tunisia.

A month or so down the line, it could all be settled again...Costa are playing it safe and who can blame them?

Thomsons, Kristina, MSC...they are all cutting Eqyptian ports right now and since it is a pretty fast moving situation, no-one can really say when it will all end.

According to Inchcape though, the Suez Canal is operating as normal despite the ports being closed in Egypt, so even if you are on a ship due to pass through the canal, you should be OK for the time being at least.

Nadia...I agree, good job we did the trip last year....might well be doing it again next year, not sure yet ;)

As I stated on the rant about the forthcoming Luminosa repositioning back from Dubai, no itinerary is ever set in stone...especially if there are safety concerns. Cruise lines are not in the habit of playing Russian Roulette with their passengers.

More details here....

http://www.travelpulse.com/costa-cancels-all-cruise-calls-to-egypt-and-tunisia.html

Bear in mind the local currencies for workers on a cruise ship when trying to work out wages.

$180 = 8,336.52 rupees or 615.87 Malaysian ringits or 35,918.74 Hungarian forints or 5,441.29 Russian rubles or 5,974.22 Thailand bahts.

So what seems low for us in the western countries is probably a fortune in those countries. Countries like those above also hold ship workers as high earners, many people actually try and get work in cruise lines as those jobs are premier posts for them...the equivalent to high end executive posts for us.

When you look at it in the local currency, and then realise the cost of living is considerably less in those countries, the wages are prety good. But that shouldn't stop anyone adding extra to the service charge/autogratuity if they so wish.

What is the date? March 20th or 30th??

The reduction in supplement applies to any/every cruise booking made for a solo cruiser after December 1st 2009. Bookings made prior to December 1st 2009 are not covered by the change.

The one's given in the article are purely examples of what is available.

Currently they are a flat 80%, from December 1st it will be from 30%...

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2009/08/19/31703/costa-cruises-cuts-single-supplements.html

Absolutely excellent news for those of us who enjoy Costa and going it alone :)

Regal Empress is now awaiting her plot of sand, she was due to be beached yesterday but according to this, it doesn't appear to have been done as yet...

http://www.exim-india.com/newsletter/vesselmove/charts/alang-arrived.htm

:(

Regal Empress is now awaiting her plot of sand, she was due to be beached yesterday but according to this, it doesn't appear to have been done as yet...

http://www.exim-india.com/newsletter/vesselmove/charts/alang-arrived.htm

:(

beachchick...

what a great story...

and that just shows how the spirit of Aloha works....

Hopefully this will be something the op can learn to embrace

Unfortunately, the OP has decided that they are doing nothing wrong and that those of us who point out the problems in his methods are wrong.

I doubt he will ever grasp how to treat his guests with respect in regards to tipping, he will never accept that a tip should be earned and not rightfully his regardless of what he does or says during the tour.

It is very sad, as had he embraced our opinions and guidance, he may well have found himself earning much higher tips...possibly over and above the stated 15%...had he removed the signage and dropped the references to tipping in his spiel. But he knows best apparently, so I guess he will just have to continue as a steering wheel attendant.....he has also tarred his fellow drivers with his brush too, so if there are any decent ones amongst them who now start losing out, they only need to look in the OP's direction as to the reason.

emm... not that much. Seven more posts, three by repeaters.

 

I'm out.

Incase anyone is wondering why there is a problem with the opinion stated by the quoted member, here is their opening post on their original thread..

I am a tour guide in Niagara Falls. After eight years of experimenting I have found routine that produces the highest income for me, but I was wanted to hear from travellers at what point does a guide's mentioning of tips really start to take away from your enjoyment of the trip? By the way, I drive a mini-bus that seats 32, but my average group size is 18. So I am both a driver and a guide. Here's my routine:

 

1. The bus has two small signs (one in front and one in back) that say "If you enjoyed the trip, please don't forget the tip. (15% is customary) Thank You"

2. At the beginning of the trip while I talk about what we will be seeing and doing, I also say, "And just so everyone knows, the tour bus drivers and guides here in Niagara Falls, as with drivers and guides all around the world, really do depend on the tips that they recieve for the lion's share of their income. So I'll trust you to read the signs on the bus and at the end of the trip you can be the judge at how I did at giving you all a great time today."

3. At the end of the trip as I'm saying a bunch of thank yous I say, " So when we get to each of our drop offs please let me step off of the bus first, I'll help you down off of the bus, I'll give you a good handshake, and I'll thank you for your tip at that time."

 

Those three items are the only mention of tips during a 5 hour tour. I have found that if I leave any one of them out, my average tip per person drops from $6.61 to $3.82. If I say nothing many people give nothing and most only give a dollar or two.

 

So would you be bugged on my tour? When would you start to be irritated? I've only had one complaint in 8 years.

There follows over 100 replies, the majority of which are none too impressed with the signage, the content of the signage and especially the handshake comments at the end of the tour given by the member.

After that post was made, around 90 or so people replied, the majority of whom were far from happy with the methods used by this particular member. Later in the thread, the same member posted...

Now, just to stir things up a little: Many of my colleagues have tip signs that say: "Your Driver/Guide is performing TWO important jobs for you today. He insures your safety as a driver and your enjoyment as a guide. It is customarry to tip him a total of 25% for the TWO jobs he is doing for you today." Those guys don't usually mention tipping verbally, but IMHO, the sign is much more guilt driven and greedy than my aproach.

And later still....

I'm not at all ashamed. I'm never begging. I spend thrity five seconds of a five hour tour mentioning tips. I've had local newspapers accompany me on my tour and do fabulous write ups of my total presentation (and yes I did my regular tip talk knowing that they were with me).

 

I actually discussed this thread with my supervisor this afternoon. His exact words were, "most of our drivers make tips a bigger deal than you do. The ones who don't don't last very long because it's not worth it." He sees my presentation of the matter as understated and appropriate.

Now, as I have said on the other thread, I will say again here. This attitude is unprofessional and the majority of those who responded on the other thread also said your were unprofessional and rude.

So before you start throwing your toys out of the playpen, accusing me of misquoting or not understanding you, perhaps you should read what you said in your thread 'When Does Tip Talk On a Tour Get On Your Nerves? ' in the 'Ask a cruise question' section which I posted a link to earlier in this thread.

So you'll lie about the numbers too. There were really only about four people who became grossly disrespectful or mis-stated the facts of my orginal post. There were a total of 47 responders who indicated a problem with some part of the "gratuity education" process, most of whom had no problem with the sign.

 

I put an honest question out in my post and most people responded politely, even as they expressed their negative opinions. And I thanked them for their input; with their help I'm considering rewording a few parts of what I say. A handful characterized my 35 seconds of talk about tips as: constant, incessant, begging, extortion, coersion. My comment to "get a life" was not directed to those who kindly shared their thoughts, it was to that very small number who found it necessary to inslut me. They implied that I am unhappy with my job; I love it. They implied that people are leaving my tour feeling guilted into giving me a few dollars; in eight years, (over 900 tours) I've never had a complaint to me or to my company about any aspect of my service.

 

The only part of my experience with this tip talking post that has upset me are the people who have mis-stated the facts about what I say and do. Honest, feedback has been apprecaited and considered.

erm...your thread has grown some since your last visit to it yesterday.

Now, either your didn't read my post or your are lying about me. The sign does not say "15% required" it says "customary". And I tell people that they will have the opportunity to "be the judge of my service." I NEVER tell them that a tip is even expected, much less required. So get it right.

hmmm...that makes around 90 people who...in your own words on the other thread...'need to get a life' for being critical of your methods.