mnocket

It's really just a tradeoff that each person must judge for themselves. High discount booking sites or travel agents work on a lower margin and count on volume to make money. Because of this they simply don't have the time or resources to offer comprehensive post-booking customer support. Think of them more as order takers than full-service travel agents. For people who value low prices above all else, this is a good option. Just keep in mind that you aren't going to get the same level of service after you book as you will from a full-service and knowledgeable travel agent. On the other extreme are high-end travel agencies that not only don't offer any discounts or additional perks, but actually charge an additional fee for their services. On the plus side, you can expect these agents to be knowledgeable and willing to "hold your hand" throughout your vacation experience. This is valuable for those customers who aren't personally knowledgeable about cruising and the various cruise lines and have no interest in spending time researching their options. These agents are especially helpful when things don't go according to plan. For example, if your flight is cancelled at the last minute, you give them a call and they will handle making alternate arrangements for you. At the end of the day, there isn't a right answer as to whether a discount or full-service TA is better. It simply depends on what a particular customer is looking for. Personally, I often find that a big box retailer's travel department offers a good middle ground. They offer a shopping credit for booking with them, albeit not as large as some high-discount agents will offer, but they also tend to be available, responsive and helpful, if not as knowledgeable as full-service TA who specializes in cruising.

Thanks!

I recall that when I took my first Windstar cruise aboard the Pride last September, free laundry was included due to the length of the cruise despite my not having any Yacht Club status. Does anyone know what the cruise length needs to be for this perk? I've just booked a 17-day cruise on the Wind Spirit. It's really a B2B, but offered and booked as a single cruise. Thanks.

I did the same. At least I think I did, having researched companies that are reported to sell properly certified glasses. I must admit though, I do wonder just how real the issue really is. I mean if there really was a bunch of companies selling ineffective glasses, wouldn't there be a bunch of people suffering vision damage after each eclipse? And if this has indeed been happening, why hasn't the press ever reported a large-scale problem? I'm not willing to take the chance, but I do think it's likely not actually a big issue.

I'm with you, but threads like this just remind me how different people are.

The answer to that question is always yes.

One Piece of Advice (which I didn't follow🙁) When applying for or renewing your US passport, request the large one with 52 pages. If you plan to travel much over the next 10 years, it's easy protection to avoid having to renew early because you ran out of pages. Don't forget, many countries require multiple blank passport pages. I just renewed mine, and I forgot to check the box.

I wasn't aware that there was a daily allocation. So how many drinks are allowed on the package?

I'm guessing "catch" with the drink package is that since drinks are limited to $13.50, a double will exceed that limit and you will wind up paying for the double (less 20%). So ordering a double if you're on the drink package wouldn't make sense.

Great link. Bookmarked. Thanks.

I guess with modern navigation systems it's much easier to drive in countries where you don't speak the language and can't read the road signs. Funny you mentioned a TA to Europe followed by a road trip. Next year I am taking a TA with my brothers & spouses. They then intend to do a road trip in England. My wife has never been to Paris, so I've been pondering splitting off and touring France by car. I've never seen France beyond Paris, so a road trip may well be in our future. Added bonus... we've been watching Escape to the Chateau and she would love to stay in some Chateaus😍

That's actually what has kept me from booking. Their itineraries are not exciting.

Yes. I've watched Youtube videos from travel vlogers who specialize in taking luxury train trips in many countries. India was interesting. There's also one in Peru that looks great. Andean Explorer, A Belmond Train | Luxury Train Travel in Peru They tend to be very expensive, but doing 1 or 2 of these trips is starting to creep onto our bucket list🙂

The luggage situation is what worries me about train travel in Europe. Some 1st class cars have a small luggage areas the end, but some don't. Pretty much you have to store your luggage in the racks above the seats, or if it doesn't fit, in the isle or on a seat and risk the rath of other passengers.

I understand and sympathize with your experience. However, being new to Regent, and most likely this board, you are no doubt learning that almost any complaint or negative comment regarding Regent will be met by a posse of cheerleaders who will leap to defend Regent and attempt to turn the blame back onto the person making the complaint.

It's amazing how peoples attitude towards Covid has changed - even with respect to maintaining their vaccination status. Here's what the CDC says... The percent of the population reporting receipt of the updated 2023-24 COVID-19 vaccine is 13.1% (95% confidence interval: 12.5-13.7) for children and 22.2% (21.7-22.7) for adults 18+, including 41.5% (40.2-42.9) among adults age 65+.

I don't think this is what the OP reported. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think OP said there was any credit for the room - just a 150pp credit and some OBC.

Sometimes it gets a bit depressing seeing product and service deteriorating virtually everywhere. I can't recall the last time I called a customer service number and had the call answered quickly and found the representative knowledgeable and eager to help. It seems it's happening across all kinds of businesses, but it's becoming especially egregious among the cruise lines. It's almost like business majors are being taught that the proper way to manage a business is to raise prices and reduce product and service quality/costs. Maybe I'm just an old foggy. Younger people seem unaffected by this trend.

This is one of the things that turns me off about VV. Having great restaurants is meaningless if you can't get reservations. Same goes for shows, etc. I don't go on vacation to compete with my fellow travelers to get into venues.

I hadn't really given it much thought, but I think you and @Pcardad made an excellent point about we old folks realizing that time is running out and if we don't tick off our bucket list now, we're never going to. Waiting for the value proposition to return to pre-covid levels may never happen, and even if it eventually does - we don't have the luxury of waiting. So yeah, the cruise lines can get away with raising prices and lowering offerings, and we're still going to book.

No you didn't. You stated cost of $5,650 per person for Crystal and $9,600 per couple for Explora (actually didn't say per person or per couple, but it must be per couple for your calculations to make any kind of sense). Please reread your original post and report back. And while we're at it, you may want to also review your inconsistency in comparing an 8-NIGHT cruise and an 8-DAY cruise and calculating per day costs in one case and per night cost in the other. You see, this inconsistency caused you to slip up when trying to compare the costs. You said... "Crystal has an eight night voyage starting at $5500 pp for an oceanview cabin and $5650 for a veranda … about $1375 per couple per day, again in a tiny room." You see an 8-night cruise = a 9-day cruise. Hence the per day cost is $5,600/9 = $628 per person per day or $1,256 per couple per day - not $1375 as you incorrectly calculated. Further, when calculating the Explora costs, your inconsistency in nights and days once again seemed to confuse even you... You said... "On almost the same days, Explora is also offering an 8 day itinerary … for $9600 or $1200 per couple per night" You see an 8-Day cruise = a 7-Night cruise. So the correct calculation for the cost per night is - $9,600/7 = $1,371 per couple per night, not the $1200 figure you incorrectly calculated. And finally, even after correcting your miscalculations, caused no doubt by confusion regarding your inconsistent usage of Nights and Days, we are once again left in a quandary when trying to make sense of your comparison. You see, you leave us with apples and oranges. In one case you present cost per couple per night, and in the other you present cost per couple per day. Two different things. So in the end, can we agree that consistency is in fact a good thing when comparing data? How much simpler, and accurate, it would have been if you had chosen consistent measurements... say settling on either X-Night or X-Day cruise lengths, instead of using both. And either cost per night or cost per day, instead of using both. edit: confusion abounds when using mixed units of measurements. I had originally misstated that an 8-Day cruise = a 9-Night cruise instead of it being a 7-Night cruise. I edited to make this correction.

OK, I figured it out. You listed pricing for Crystal and Explora. In the first case your stated pricing was per person and you so stated. However, for Explora your pricing must have been per cabin, although you didn't so state. That inconsistency was the source of my confusion. Consistency is always a good thing when comparing data, don't you agree?

I wasn't clear. That's the same way it works in Colorado too.

I wasn't clear. You are not banned from serving on a jury. However, if you apply for an exemption, one of the check boxes that grants you an automatic exemption is being age 70+.

Right. You are not banned from serving on a jury, but if you ask to be excused, one of the listed reasons for automatic excusal is age.