Hlitner

Seabourn has hash browns at breakfast and it they are pretty good. Hank

What is interesting about Geoblue is that although they insist on folks have a primary policy, when GeoBlue pays a claim, they handle it as primary and do not coordinate with any other insurance. But they still do require, on the claim form, that you list the specific policy. Over the years we have filed two claims with Geoblue (both in the thousands of dollars) and they have paid both claims (in full) within a month. Hank

We love repo cruises and have often done two a year. Keep in mind that most will have many sea days so you need to consider how you like to spend those lazy days when you choose a ship. We have done repos on RCI, Celebrity, HAL, Seabourn and Princess. As to one way air, it is no problem when you use HAL, Seabourn or Princess, since they all use the same third party company/system to handle cruise air. Those cruise lines do not charge any extra fees for their air (unlike Oceania) and you can get some terrific fares for all classes including Business/First. One-way is not a problem. By the way, years ago when one-way fares were very expensive, we used to do two repos a year (between the USA and Europe). We would buy round trip air and use it to cover both cruises. These days that is no longer necessary. Hank

In regard to the GeoBlue Trekker policy (we have had this for years) you need to keep in mind that it requires you to have another "Primary Medical" policy as a condition of coverage. The OP seemed to imply that he would not have any other medical insurance, so we never mentioned GeoBlue. Hank

This new thing about charging folks to have their Medallions mailed is annoying. The idea of mailing the Medallions in advance is that it simplifies the procedures at embarkation. Those that have their Medallions and complete all the pre-cruise forms will usually be quickly moved through the embarkation process. When we arrived at the terminal (Port Everglades) we were on the ship in about 10 minutes. Those who needed to pick-up Medallions had a significant delay as they had to wait in a queue to get to a counter, and then wait while a staffer had to go search for their Medallions. For those who do not mind the delays (and extra hassles) there is no reason to pay to have the Medallions mailed. Hank

I am wondering if the OP gets to the cruise port by horse and buggy (i.e. Old Fashioned)? But seriously, as a senior who does a lot of cruising and world travel I do get it! All the new technology, apps, medallions, etc. can become overwhelming and even somewhat annoying. But my advice to the OP is "try it....you might like it." I think Princess has overused the "Medallion" term and added to the confusion of many cruisers. We do think that the actual physical Medallion (the size of a coin) is fine and no big deal. It simply replaces the old cruise card and actually has several advantages. But where it gets interesting are the various Princess apps (which keep getting reinvented). So you might call it the "Medallion app" the "Medallion Class App," etc. But it has improved (from the early days) and has become valuable for those that take advantage of the "dine my way" program. So I will explain (for the sake of the OP). Some cruisers (including me) like to enjoy dinner on our own schedule, not the cruise line schedule. Before our cruise we do use the App to book dinner at a specific time (usually 7:45) in one particular MDR. But on most mornings, when we are sitting near the International Cafe enjoying cappuccino, DW and I will look at the daily schedule (which is on the App) and decide when and where we want to eat dinner. I can just go into the app and change our dining time/place without leaving my seat. No need to go the open MDR (if one is open) and talk to a host (who can handle reservations) or call the Dine Line (and often get a busy signal or be on hold for a period of time). The App usually works, is fairly easy to use (once you get a little experience) and is convenient. The truth is that if one does not want to carry their phone (or other device) they will be somewhat at a disadvantage. Another nice app function, for those of us who spend a lot of time in a deck lounger, is the ability to order some items (such as a drink or snack) without needing to find a waiter, wait in a queue at a bar, etc. One morning, on the Enchanted Princess, the ship was docked at a Caribbean port, most folks had gone ashore, and the crew was having a major drill. DW and I had decided to relax aboard and were in loungers on an upper deck. All the outside bars were closed (the crew were involved in the big drill). We did not feel like going all the way down to deck 5 (where we knew there was limited service) and than having to carry our drinks back up to deck 18. So we simply used the app to order our drinks. About 10 min later a waiter (who we knew from the International Cafe) walked over to our loungers carrying the drinks :). She had come up from the bar near the IC (about the only bar open during the drill) and no problem finding us because we had our "Medallions." We do not always order drinks using the app, but there are times when it is a great option. Hank

Listen folks, this is not rocket science. When you take a typical cruise line excursion you will generally be in a large group (50+) and on a very structured tour. Most (not all) cruise lines contract with a third party company to operate their excursion program. These folks contract with various local operators. The local tour company makes a profit, the tour desk company on the ship makes a nice profit, and the cruise line gets a nice cut. Taking the herd (that would be the cruise passengers) to specific stores/factories is simply business. The tour company either owns all/part of the stores/factories or gets a very healthy kick-back on sales (plus a promotional fee). You only have so many hours in port and on excursions and you will spend valuable time at stores (often overpriced for cruise line tour groups), waiting for everyone to go to the restrooms, waiting for the slowest to get on and off the bus, etc. And when you take the long walks through places like Ephesus you will move at the pace of the slowest person in your large group! There is some fun and decent shopping in Kusadasi (within walking distance of the port) and you do not need to go to "recommended" places that pay a fee to be "recommended." There are plenty of other merchants that do not play the fee game and will be very happy when you walk in their store. In most places there are several options other than cruise excursions. Kusadasi has multiple good tour companies and folks can go online and book small group private tours or even do a 2 person tour (we have done this at Ephesus). The small group means you can call some (or all) of the shots! If you want more time in the ruins (Ephesus is truly amazing) than you simply tell your guide, "slow down." You want to visit the Terrace Houses (a MUST when in Ephesus) you make sure that is clear when you book a private tour. You want to skip the usual (and somewhat phony) factories just make sure that is clear when you book a private guide. If you want to join a small group (or organize your own small group) you can usually, do it right here on Cruise Critic by using the Roll Call board for your specific cruise. Hank

Getting back to is X becoming too expensive we think one has to say in "comparison to what." Our own interest is to cruise in "Retreat" suites and we have been completely turned away from X by their cost as compared to some of the smaller ship luxury lines. Just the other day we priced-out some X cruises on E-Class ships for next Nov-Dec. The cost was somewhat higher then we would pay if we booked Seabourn or the Explora Journeys. While X is a decent cruise line it is not a luxury line. And unlike some cruise lines (such as MSC) the "ship within a ship" Retreat suites are not confined to a defined and private section of the ship. Consider that on our recent MSC Seashore cruise in their Yacht Club, the YC was actually a controlled section of the vessel not open to those from outside the YC. We had our own lounge, pool deck, restaurant, buffet, Guest Relations/concierge desk all contained within an expansive section of ship accessed by electronic means. NCL something similar with their Havenin simular with their Haven Suites (on some ships). The Retreat set-up is somewhat different and also more expensive (than MSC). For those not familiar with pricing, it is possible to cruise on Seabourn for under $500 a person/day on some cruises. Explora Journeys can also be booked for around that price range if one does the lower categories. But on lines like Seabourn, the lowest category is still a suite and the only difference from most higher categories is the deck/location. When you start to get up to the $1000 per person day (one can easily spend this on many X Retreat Suites) you can cruise on just about any luxury line including Seabourn. Silverseas, Regent, etc. So, the issue (at least for us) is can one justify paying small ship luxury prices to be on a mega ship with the best of everything? Since we do love small ships, for us the answer is no. I think for folks who prefer mega ships the answer would be yes. Just keep in mid that small luxury ships can go to many places not accessible to mega ships. And tendering ashore on a ship that has 450 passengers is much nicer than tendering off a ship with 3-5000 passengers. Hank

Regarding VAT taxes, this depends on your itinerary. Hank

We have also had some less desirable table mates. But, we always do the various open dining schemes, so if we get a lousy table it is just for that one evening. After a few days we generally have developed several new friendships and tend to dine with those folks on subsequent nights. We also love the "hosted tables" on Seabourn and the staff know that we are usually available when they need volunteers to join those groups. The way it works on Seabourn is that various senior staff and officers routinely host tables for only those that want that experience. We get to meet most of the senior staff/officers and lots of like-minded passengers (singles and couples) that enjoy meeting other folks. Hank

Tips (I strongly dislike the "crew appreciation" term) are always a hotbed issue here on CC. We are generous tippers and have never removed auto tips (we often tip above and beyond when service is good). That being said, there are many folks who come from non-tipping or low tipping cultures. And there are certainly cruisers that will have issues onboard and want to punish everyone within sight. However, my long-time issue is that the mass market cruise industry has created this tipping mess. When Princess first moved the Sun Princess to Sydney, Australia, they quickly realized that the auto tip model would not work in that country. So they did the logical thing which was to increase prices and eliminate auto-tips. On most luxury cruise lines there is no tipping (we have had tips refused by staff on Seabourn) as its included in the price. And therein lies the very simple solution of doing away with the tipping models and simply including that in the cost of the cruise. And for those in North America (the only place that has a firm tipping culture) that would disagree I wonder how they would react if all the airlines suddenly increased prices and called it "crew appreciation." Hank

About 4 years ago, on a whim, DW and I decided to try MSC and booked 3 weeks on the Divina in their Yacht Club. The experience blew us away as we thought it comparable to some of the luxury lines (we also have cruises a few of those) and we immediately booked another Yacht Club cruise. In October we again were in the Yacht Club on the relatively new Seashore and were again blown away by the service and quality which we thought was as good as Seabourn...in some ways. But I caution folks that MSC is like two different cruise lines: 1. The Yacht Club and 2. Everything outside the Yacht Club. Outside the YC the experience is akin to lines like RCI and Carnival with the usual crowded conditions, so-so food, etc. The only time we venture outside the environs of the YC is when we want to enjoy the entertainment that is scattered all over the ship. Hank

We think this is a pretty basic issue. Just like there are some folks who like to vacation at the same place, time after time, there are folks who like the familiarity of the same cruise line (and even ship). There are others (including me) who enjoy lots of variety and prefer to constantly try different things. I sometimes post about having the "spirit of adventure" which simply means expanding one's horizons be it with different cruise lines, trips to different parts of the world, dining in different restaurants, etc. Over the years we have heard the same refrain from many fellow frequent cruisers. It goes something like this, "we are getting bored with cruising," "or we hate these islands," etc. When we suggest they try a completely different cruise line and take a cruise in a different part of the world we will than hear, "but we are loyal to XXX," or "we don't want to go there because they do not speak English," etc. We have been cruising, extensively, for over 50 years. To us, each cruise is like a new adventure. But we attribute that feeling to the fact that we have cruised on 16 (maybe 17) different cruise lines and nearly 70 different ships to (and around) 6 continents. On every cruise we will meet some folks who are unhappy with their favorite/only cruise line but recoil at the idea of trying a different line. Go figure. Hank

I think part of it has to do with the trend towards using social media in place of socialization. A few years ago, a group of us were having dinner at a high-end restaurant in Niagara on the Lake, CA. At the next table was an attractive young couple (20s). DW noticed that those two diners spent their entire time at the table texting (they only put down their phone when they needed two hands to eat). This went on the entire meal (about 2 hours) and it appeared that the couple never actually talked to each other. One other member of our party mentioned they probably did not even know how to actually talk to each other since their generation does most socialization through texting. That has now spread to even many of our older generation. Here on CC, when the topic of sharing tables with strangers comes up, there are always a few who say things like "we don't know what to say to strangers," or "we are uncomfortable eating with strangers," I suspect that many have either lost (or never learned) part of the so-called social graces when dealing face to face with strangers. When we started cruising (in the 70s) sharing large tables was the norm and folks understood that this was part of cruising. In those days, 2-tops were quite rare. To this day we still think of some of our best cruises in terms of who we met and befriended at the dinner table. Many CCers will say that they simply do not like "dining with strangers," want to get in and out of the MDR as quickly as possible, don't know what to say to strangers, etc. We are still old fashioned and enjoy meeting new folks, relaxing at a long dinner (called dining), and interacting with newfound friends. A good table in the MDR can often be the best entertainment of the day...especially on a line that has dark nights and passes off movies as the main entertainment. Hank

Keep in mind that the drink package limitations on Princess only apply to alcohol drinks. Unlike on HAL, they do not count the non-alcohol drinks towards the 15 drink daily limit. As to expecting HAL to simply make adjustments means that HAL would need to use some common sense. HAL has long shown that it can be blind when it comes to using common sense with accounting issues. Hank

The ole "what to do with non-refundable OBC dilemma!" :). I smile because we have been there and it is actually worse when you are luxury lines (i.e. Seabourn, Silverseas, etc) where everything is already included and one has no desire to book a cruise line excursion. Our fall-back is to buy some excellent bottles of wine for some special dinners. On one Seabourn cruise we made friends with the Sommelier because of buying multiple bottles of expensive wine (we did use up our OBC). I do not use the casinos on HAL (we will not go in any casino that allows smoking) but some others can advise you whether you can turn non-refundable OBC into cash via the casino. On MSC I was able to get over $500 in chips charged to my onboard account, do a little gambling, and cash out for real cash! (that is not an option on Seabourn). Hank

Interesting post which seems to go way beyond travel med. If I understand your post, you are looking for Worldwide Medical Insurance (including North America). I am also assuming you would have no other medical insurance so this would be your primary policy to be used anywhere. I assume you understand that such a policy, assuming that you can find it, will be very expensive. Part of the problem is that healthcare in the USA is very expensive and just the logistical problems of dealing with 50 States, each with their own laws/regulations is an expensive proposition. You might want to read the following brochure and contact these folks. I do not know of anyone who has purchased their product so I am just posting this as a reference, not a recommendation global-medical-insurance-brochure.pdf (visitorscoverage.com) Hank P.S. If you do contact these folks, I would appreciate if you post some feedback here on CC so we can all learn from your experience.

We oenophiles tend to get set in our ways and perhaps forget that wine is somewhat of an adventure of the senses. While I understand the reasons for using stem glasses for whites, I would also point out that many folks have found it very acceptable to use the very popular stemless glasses. Companies such as Reidel (established in 1756) now manufacture and market stemless white wine glasses. Some might even argue that allowing whites to gradually warm (in the glass) releases flavors that (both good and not so good) that are missed at the cooler temperatures preferred by many folks. Perhaps there is some wisdom in the idea of opening our minds along with our senses :). Hank

While I understand the tendency of many cruisers to "do excursions" or just go to a beach we will be so bold as to make another suggestion. You are going to several Mexican ports, all of which are major tourist towns. In fact, many of your fellow Canadians live (for all or part of the year) in Mexico. You can certainly go to a beach in most Mexican ports. In fact, you might be able to get a tour (or make your own arrangements) to go to a resort where you will feel like you are in Florida! And therein lies our suggestion. Since you are in Mexico, why not try to see and enjoy some of the local shopping, food/drink, culture, etc? For example, in Puerto Vallarta you can take an inexpensive taxi (no more than $5 per person) into town and stroll along the Malecon (a pedestrian walk way) where you can browse local shops, perhaps admire some Huichol crafts, sample food (Puerto Vallarta is a real foodie paradise). If you start your walk from the Northern end of the Malecon (Rosita Hotel), eventually you will cross a small pedestrian bridge into the Romantic Zone (also called the Old Town) which has more shops, art galleries, and a beach (Los Muertos). If the beach is truly a goal you can easily arrange for loungers or perhaps sit at a seaside restaurant. You will be "annoyed" by vendors selling their wares (a friendly "no gracias" is OK) which some folks enjoy. The vendors are just trying to make a living (they actually have their own Union) and even those of us who live in PV sometimes enjoy the interaction. So, what I am suggesting is to enjoy Mexico rather than try to find something akin to the USA or Canada. That being said, if you really have your heart set on a beach day and excursions, when in Puerto Vallarta you might want to book a cruise line excurison that goes to Las Caletas. It is a lovely place (that you access via a boat ride) where they have food, drink, facilities, and a nice beach. The downside of that excursion is that your only view of Puerto Vallarta will be from the deck of a large catamaran. Hank

This thread got me thinking about some good activities for HAL. 1. Watching a plant grow 2. Finger painting 3. Group crossword puzzle class 4. Monopoly lessons 5. Group people watching 6. Reading class. Don't get me wrong, we have enjoyed most of our more than 500 cruise days on HAL. But DW and I are content to read (we usually have more than 100 books loaded on our Kindles) and socialize. But those who only cruise on HAL may not be aware that many other cruise lines have a much more ambitious activities schedule (and the staff to pull it off). If you look at a daily Princess schedule for a sea day you will find dozens of activities from the sedate things (art and crafts, cocktail making, cooking demos) to more physical such as ping pong. They also do fun things like "egg drops" in their atriums (it is a real hoot) various dance classes, and once they even had a steel drum demo and lessons. You will also find computer classes (with Microsoft certified instructors) on various software such as spreadsheets or simply Windows. In fact, their ships have computer rooms (with about 20 stations) where they can-do hands-on instruction. Celebrity has Apple stores on their ships and also conducts various classes. We have also seen various activities such as passengers vs officers pool volleyball (lots of fun to watch). But on HAL we have done our share of "nodding off" while relaxing in the Crows Nest. At times we have thought that the major activity on HAL is "nodding off" and we would likely be among the winners of that activity :). Hank

My goodness, you are trying to apply logic (is your name really Spock) to the travel industry! Mistakes are made, all too often, throughout the travel world including at embarkation. Sometimes it can be quite humorous and other times it is very sad (such as when a person is incorrectly denied boarding). I will go off topic and tell our recent travel hassle. This past April/May we took a month long cruise from the USA to Monte Carlo. When we disembarked at MC there was no immigration or customs. We literally walked off the gangplank onto a long wharf with no officials. From there we took a limo over to Nice where we spent a few days. We than flew from Nice to Prague (via Amsterdam) where we had planned to spend a few weeks driving around the Czech Republic and Poland. The trip went perfectly until we flew home. We flew a commuter jet from Prague to Munich where we were to connect to a Lufthansa flight back to the States. But in Munich we had to go through an official Passport Check and the German Immigration Officer noticed that we did not have an entry stamp for the EU (nobody did that at Monte Carlo or our other EU ports). The Official gave us a hard time and, at one point I thought we were going to be detained. I explained our itinerary and he asked for proof! Fortunately, I had all of our cruise info and airline boarding passes in my carry-on and tossed all the documents onto the counter. As he worked through all the documents his collegue (who shared the booth) started to laugh at his partner. I finally got annoyed enough to make the point that it was not our fault that immigration in Monte Carlo, France, Netherlands, and Czech Republic had no problem. His collegue laughed harder and finally had some words with our reviewing officer. Finally, after more than 10 minutes our Immigration Officer shrugged and told us to go! The point of my story is that even if a traveler does everything technically correct it may not be enough! In our case the only thing that saved us from missing our flight to the USA was that I just happened to have a lot of hard copy documents in my carry-on (most folks do not even have hard copies of anything these days). Hank

When it comes to school ID, whether or not that is sufficient under the law/regulations (Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WCTI)) and the cruise line's own embarkation rules is not the issue. The problem can happen at the port is if the folks who handle the actual check-in process say "this is not good enough." You are then into an adversarial situation which may or may not work out. Over the years we have witnessed more than a few folks turned away at embarkation (tears and loud voices were a good tip off). The bottom line is that even if you are right (that student ID is sufficient) that does not mean much if the folks at the terminal say no. I should add that an even more common problem is that the birth certificate document gets rejected for various reasons Hank

This ID problem has long been a "hot button" issue here on CC. We come at the issue from the perspective of a person who has cruised and traveled (all over the world) for more than 50 years! I have made no secret of my recommendation that folks should not leave the country without having a valid Passport! I understand that this is expensive and a royal pain for folks just taking a few closed loop cruises, but we have seen, and been personally involved, in multiple situations where having a valid Passport was very important. Most recently, DW was injured on a cruise and sent, off the ship, to a nearby hospital in Mexico. The first thing required at the hospital was our Passports. If we had been forced to stay at the hospital, more than a few hours, and missed our ship we would have been fine since we had Passports and credit cards. Otherwise, things would have become very complicated and likely delayed any departure (back to the USA) as we worked through the bureaucracy of two countries (Mexico and the USA) necessary before we would have been able to fly home. All of us think that these things only happen to others, but that is akin to rolling the dice in a craps game. I will add that even if you do not have a valid Passport, "things will work out" and eventually you would get home. But the process can become very messy, cause multiple delays, and also get expensive. And consider that if you are dealing with a real emergency (which is likely the case in such situations) a delay can be very frustrating and possibly dangerous (i.e. if it delays medical treatment). Hank

I want to caution readers that this thread is about closed loop cruises on Carnival. Cruise lines can (and some do) have the right to impose their own ID standards. Some lines (Oceania is one example) require all passengers to have a valid Passport. Cruisers should also consider that if they must leave a cruise (during the voyage) in other countries, not having a Passport becomes a complicated problem. Why do folks leave cruises early? Personal medical emergency or problems at home (that require folks to quickly return) are just two reasons. Hank

Just one more case of this disturbing trend (for cruisers) of ports trying to limit or ban cruise ships. This is happening all over the world. Why? I think that folks are reacting to the larger capacities of ships and the disruption on the community. Multiple studies have shown that cruisers do not contribute a lot of money to local economies (much less per person than a land-based tourist) and I think that the tendency of many cruisers to use large tour buses, travel in large groups (i.e. cruise line excursions) has been a "turn off" to locals around the world. Since we live in a cruise port (Puerto Vallarta) and are also avid cruisers, we see this issue from both points of view. When most ships carried less than 1000 passengers it was not such a big deal. But now, with some ships carrying over 6000 it has become a major political issue in many communities. Hank