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CDNPolar
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Looking at the Goose policy language now. Be very careful as the pre-existing condition language of this policy is very specific, and if you are not 100% stable for the 6 months prior to travel, you will be in danger of losing coverage. Also, if you have a test or procedure that you are on a wait list for before you travel and the medical emergency is related to that pending test or procedure, you may not be covered. Very specific and very confusing. I will say that this policy language is clear and complete - much more so than other insurers. Many other insurers are vague which makes it more confusing.
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With all due respect, I was not suggesting that if you are in ICU that an insurance company is going to ship you home - that does not make sense. I am talking about a personal experience of a friend of mine that fell on Christmas Eve, broke her shoulder and arm in several places. She stayed two nights in a Florida hospital, was bound tightly and shipped home on an Air Canada flight in coach to have the surgeries in Canada. She was on a stretcher in the hallway for days. She had a choice to stay in the US, but the insurance would not cover her costs. She was not life threateningly critical, but I will tell you the trip home was extremely painful and uncomfortable for her. My only point was that it is not your choice to stay or go - it is that of the insurance company. Yes, there will be acceptance and all of that in the background.
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I believe that it is the insurance company that makes the decision to move you back to Canada and they do it because it is cheaper to do so than pay for your care in a foreign country. You may be on a stretcher in a hallway, but you will come home to Canada. Don't think this is your choice in the end.
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My husband and I have done 6 Viking cruises to this point and on both River and Ocean. Most have been ocean. We have never had any issue on a Viking Cruise with the crew or guests. We are not a publicly demonstrative couple anyway, but it is obvious that we are a couple. The Viking crew have always been most welcoming and genuine with us. I will say that there are sometimes some sideways glances from some guests who probably don't invite gay friends to their home for dinner, but never anything overt. We have most often observed other gay couples on the cruises that we have been on too. My husband and I are a "few" years apart in age. The only time that there was anything that might be considered off was my husband heard a comment from an older gentleman after I went from the large spa pool to the snow grotto - "That's the sugar daddy." Well, the joke was on him, because I still work and I earn well, but my husband beats me in the salary department so in fact he is the sugar daddy... Here is a link to a post I made in the LGBT forum some time ago. Not a lot of information but there are some comments that you might find useful. A couple of Viking Ocean cruises that I have been on have had a meet-and-greet in the Explorer Lounge for the LGBT guests, but we have never attended so I don't know if they draw anyone out or not. No offence to anyone, but we don't feel the need to find and associate (with intent) with other gay couples on the ship. We prefer to meet others organically as we move about the ship. We tend to be creatures of habit, so that means that we always (or almost always) eat breakfast on the port side of the World Cafe. Many others are the same so you do start to get to know faces and meet people. On our first Viking Cruise we met a couple that will be life-long friends and, on one of our last cruises, similar situation with a single cruiser. The last one we started talking with this woman on an excursion. NOTE: I think that if you wanted to have a meet-and-greet, that you would just have to ask the Cruise Director and they would add it to the agenda... not sure how this happens because some ships have had it and some have not... In general, we highly recommend Viking as long as you are not looking for crazy nightlife and equally over the top entertainment. The Viking evening shows are really enjoyable, but the ship is quiet after the show is over - about 9:45pm. The age demographic is higher on Viking but we have seen a wider age range in the last few cruises. A key point for us however is that there are no children under 18 on the ship. This is a selling point for us. Hope you enjoy and please report back if you do sail with Viking.
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We had a situation from an initial covid cancel where we had 2 future cruises booked with deposits. On the cancel of the cruise, we did not realize that the vouchers would be applied automatically, but they were. We did not find this out however until we had to pay for Cruise #1, and what we found was Viking applied the vouchers to Cruise #2 - not the next cruise, but the one further out. At first Viking did NOT want to move the vouchers, but we argued with them to the point where we finally got a person that understood our concerns... 1st concern being that they applied to the cruise that was furthest out which did not make sense. This was a full payment on a cruise and Viking are now telling me that I have to fully pay for the next cruise and they are going to hold my money now for an additional year? No. Not happening. 2nd concern is that the letter / voucher did not say that they were going to automatically apply the voucher, it indicated that we could use it on any upcoming cruise. It was a frustrating time, but we finally got what we wanted. They moved the voucher. Sometimes it depends on who you speak to when you call in. On a recent cruise because of a major itinerary change we were given a 10% of value voucher. We immediately called and indicated that we did NOT want that voucher applied because the rules say that once used it cannot be moved. These vouchers are apparently sitting on our account and have NOT been applied. In the future, if there is ever a cancellation with Viking that I have the option of a voucher or cash back, I will always take the cash back, regardless of the uplift in the voucher value. Too many hassles in using vouchers. This is one area for me that Viking really fails in flexibility and customer service.
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iMessages to other iPhone users are not necessarily free. Some plans consider these text messages and depending on your plan you may pay for them.
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Thank you for this. My DL is expired and I have just updated the information. Let's hope that this is the missing link to my renewal!
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To me as one that grew up with Christmas Crackers, I get the desire to have these, but I also think that depending on your tradition, the WOW part for us was all pulling at the same time and the POPs that happened together. Why not do this... get small decorated bags and to each one put a small hat and then "prizes" or treats inside. Make everyone different. Kind of like kids party grab bags. Put one of these at each table place setting and still have the tradition, but slightly altered for travel. Who knows, you might start a whole new tradition. As much as this is a tradition for me, I always feel that the small bit of joy in the minute for the cheap prize and hat does not justify the cost of good crackers today. All that waste gets scooped up - prizes, hats and all - and into the garbage.
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I would like to know what the actual name of this package is through Manulife. To my knowledge there is NO package available to those over 60 without a questionnaire. Would you provide a link to the online package?
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I would have gone for annual coverage, but if you have pre-existing conditions, then it may or may not be available.
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I fortunately am a few years from retirement and still have corporate/company travel insurance that covers me regardless of pre-existing conditions. HOWEVER, a year ago, I was faced with potentially leaving my company and started to shop around for medical insurance as we are regular travellers. At the time I started to shop around I was four months from a "heart scare" and on medications. Today thankfully, I am 99%. Because I was under 6 months "stable" and over 60, every online insurance quote that I approached first presented me with a medical questionnaire and then when I did that I would receive an on screen message saying that I need to contact the underwriters directly. I started to get discouraged if I would find medical insurance, and if I could if I could afford it. I get that you feel your husband is stable over two years, but the underwriters job is to look at the potential risk factors based on the sum total of medical conditions you have - diabetes, pace maker, medications, etc. - and what is the risk to the insurance company when you travel. Long story short. I had a lot of experience with Medipac as my Mother was a snowbird and used Medipac for over 17 years. I thought that this would be the company that would insure me. NO - they refused me insurance. I thought that this company insures so many Canadians going to Florida and Arizona, that they would be the one. NO. I had to fill out a massively long questionnaire and mail it in. The day came when the reply was in the mailbox and I felt like it was my admission letter to my preferred university! Oh, how I was disappointed and discouraged with their decline. The two companies that I landed on that WOULD insure me were: Manulife CAA You will have to go through a lengthy telephone question session with an underwriter, but they will eventually get to the premium and hopefully agree to insure you. My personal choice at this stage would be CAA, but I have not purchased insurance through them as yet. Be very careful about the "stable period" as this includes new medication start, dosage adjustment up or down of existing medication, stopping a medication, etc. You also have to be aware of a medical test that has been ordered or suggested on your medical file that has not taken place before you travel. This one is key too. This can be used to deny coverage. Basically, if you are not stable under all categories then you can still get insurance, but it will not cover you if there is an incident that relates to that condition. You are covered if you break your leg, or something else happens, but if it has to do with the stable period of the heart or diabetes, you may be out of luck. All this language in the policy is very confusing and can be different with each insurance company. You must be very careful answering their questions. You may not think it important to say that in the last 3 months the dosage or type of insulin has changed but it can be key. When it comes to health, policies are written to mislead you to think that you have coverage, but you may not.
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Oh, oh... that was a typo missing the 2. We fly December 26th 2022. Haha...
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We fly on December 6th. We are yet to see, but all indicators on US government sites accept Astra and mixed vaccines, so this is a glitch with the Delta site. Delta are still asking for upload of all these documents and proof, but in essence, it is not required for me to fly into the USA.
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Somewhere on the thread you mentioned that your sailing did have positive covid cases? In another discussion here one member stated that last year Hurtigruten cancelled their Antarctica cruise because the previous cruise had 10 positive cases on board. In the end, did you know how many cases your sailing havd and how does Hurtigruten deal with Covid? Thanks!
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Interesting scenario. I never really gave thought to that as a possibility. Hurtigruten are testing us in the hotel the night before leaving for Ushuaia, and indicated that a positive means you are not getting on the charter flight - or the cruise. A previous sailing that had a a semi-live thread on here did indicate that there were positive cases on board but never updated past that. We are still in very uncertain travel times. Being so many days away from full medical care, it does not surprise me if Hurtigruten assessed the risk based on the most recent sailings and decided to cancel.
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As we are prepping for departure and packing, we want to ensure that we are within luggage size and weight limits. We are clear on 17lbs for carry on and 50 lbs for checked bag. What none of the Hurtigruten paperwork mentions is a "personal item" as well as the carry on. Has anyone experience with this? Are we allowed a personal item as well as the carry on?
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Thanks so much for this information! We have been waiting a long time for this. We paid our deposit November 2020 and here we are more than 2 years later about to embark! Hope you continue to enjoy. Stay Safe!
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Taking my own discussion off track... LOL... This is our first time on Hurtigruten and we are packing lighter than normal because we read that the expedition cruises are more casual overall. We will change from our daily landing clothes for dinner but not as "dressy" as we do on other cruises. When you say that laundry is reasonable and overnight - I assume that you mean that the laundry department does the laundry? Or are there self-serve laundry facilities available? Why we asked about boots is that we see many pictures like these below and they kind of encourage us that boots would be a good idea?
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I know that Hurtigruten provide boots for landings, but: Do we need to bring our own winter boots for on the ship decks outside? Do we need to bring our own winter boots for kayaking or do we wear the ship supplied boots? Winter boots are heavy to pack and if we don't have to we don't want to. Thank you to the experienced ones on this forum!
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Starting the research for a Greek/Med. cruise
CDNPolar replied to kctwinmommy's topic in Viking Ocean
Our first cruise with Viking was Empires of the Mediterranean and it was probably our best choice because it started our love for Viking. The variety of ports and cities really interested us and it did not disappoint. We also met what we consider life-long friends on this cruise, so, overall it was very special to us. We chose Athens to Venice and we flew direct to Athens and boarded the same day. You have one night in Athens and to us that was plenty. (Don't hate on me, but Athens was our least favourite port). We stayed three additional nights in Venice in a lovely little hidden gem hotel and that was the icing on the cake. We knew that Venice would be a stretch to get back to because there were so many other cities in Italy that we wanted to see in the future and why not see Venice while there. When we traveled, ships still docked in Venice and I don't see this as a negative now as that was the end of our cruise which means disembarkation day anyway. You don't get any tours or excursions with this port, so stay and explore on your own. Good luck with your planning. -
I have many friends that say: "Oh my, I would never sail Viking because they are so expensive. I have looked at their cost and it is just too much." But for the friend or two that finally agreed to sit down and actually compare what they paid for AFTER the cruise fare that only included their stateroom, then they were amazed at how close the cost was sailing with Viking. It all depends on what you are looking for and how you perceive price vs. value. We have looked at Oceania vs. Viking, and we have looked at Uniworld vs. Viking and it gets complicated because it is not apples to apples - ever - in our opinion. Some of the things that Heidi13 has said, I never considered before as well. I think that the only way to start to compare is to only compare exact itineraries and then do so on a spreadsheet side by side. I have an Excel Spreadsheet that I have designed that I put all costs in to compare. Everything is included in this spreadsheet from our airport transportation to insurance to pre/post stays. The spreadsheet takes into account if there are additional fees to dine in specialty dining rooms, or for specialty coffees. In the end, we can afford to travel on some of these luxury lines, but we do our comparisons, and in some cases we have found HUGE difference with some cruises and we have found Viking to be better value. We have also found other cruises and lines to be better value too. We have also decided that some are virtually the same cost and therefore we choose Viking because we just like Viking very much.
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Yep - that is what we will do. We know that we are compliant with all requirements - in fact, we do not have to prove vaccination to anyone before boarding the ship. It is just the frustration that we have to now go and have the paperwork validated by a person and cannot just drop our bags and go through security. However, because there is no requirement now, we may get to check in online and sail through anyway. Yes, we have had other situations where we had to show paper... again, just frustrating that one of us is pre-cleared - so to speak - and the other is not.
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Switch Health Covid Kits - Expired When Shipped
CDNPolar replied to CDNPolar's topic in Canadian Cruisers
We have both had covid. We have supply of home test kits and have used them many times. The home test kits and antigen test kits are unreliable IMO. Most stats that I have read say that if the home antigen test is positive, you are positive, but a negative is only 50% accurate and you could still be positive. The RT-LAMP kits are $119.00 each, but have the same accuracy as the PCR test. We are willing to spend that because if we test positive before flying to Buenos Aires, then at least we preserve the value of the flights (Delta One) that we have. (No cancellation, no change fees). If we fly to BA, and then test positive then we cannot take the cruise, then insurance will only fly you home coach and we lose out... We have many friends that had symptoms, tested negative with Antigen for several days before finally testing positive. -
Switch Health Covid Kits - Expired When Shipped
CDNPolar replied to CDNPolar's topic in Canadian Cruisers
Unfortunately Shoppers only offer Antigen in the time frame that we need the results. These RT-Lamp tests are the equivalent of PCR results in one hour. We are being shipped new tests direct from the manufacturer so all is good. -
I am not suggesting that Switch Health is not a good company, as this is our first experience with them, but I want to post a caution on the expiry dates of the test kits that they sell. (Switch Health sells for Air Canada with an Aeroplan discount) We are leaving for Antarctica starting from YYZ on December 26th. The first night is in Buenos Aires in a hotel and the cruise line has instituted a PCR test that first night and if you are positive you do not continue next day to the ship. Vacation over. We decided that we would test ourselves before getting on the plane, so that if by chance we were positive we could still cancel (insurance covers this) and not even start the travel. Because of the travel date we need to test on December 25 or 26. Who is open? We found that Switch Health has many good options for testing in clinic or at home with video based tests. We decided on the Switch Health RT-LAMP home test kits and after calling they assured us that the video call that we need to make to validate this test is fully available both December 25 and 26. The RT-LAMP are supposed to be equivalent to a PCR result and you can do from home with an internet and video connection. The test kits arrived a couple days later at a cost of $268.94 for the two. I opened the shipping box and there was a very confusing paper insert explaining the expiry date of the kit and how they may appear expired but in actual fact they were still valid kits. The problem was that the pictures on the paper insert did not match the labeling and expiry date info on the kits I received. My kits clearly had an expired date on them. I called the number on the paper insert and I actually reached LUCIRA who is the manufacturer of the kits. The agent that I had reached - Mary - was amazing and after she had me peel Switch Health's expiry sticker off their original expiry, give her that information, then the LOT numbers and expiry on the pouches inside the kit itself, she informed me that what was important was the manufacture date of the kit which she did not have access to. She let me know that she would escalate this to manufacturing and if the kit was not valid they would ship replacements to us. Thank goodness we still have a few weeks before we need them. Next day - yesterday - email from LUCIRA and in fact the kits we have are not good and they are shipping replacements to us. The total CAD value of this trip, cruise hotel extensions, and airfare is about 28K and I was about to put that potential cost in the hands of an expired test kit that came from Switch Health. If you are going to use such a test kit, order early, and question the expiry if it is not clear. I will report all this to Switch Health once I receive the new test kits, and again, this is not a slam against them as a company, just a warning that someone is not watching their expiry dates well.