KEN31VA

I had a similar situation and finally decided to request a refund.  It arrived in 10 days.

Don't try to use logic when it comes to pricing a cruise, or airline ticket.  The challenge for the industry is to maximize their revenue recognizing that a ship or plane that goes with an empty space is revenue forever lost.  Second to keeping their prices competitive, a common technique is to implement a pricing structure that gives the consumer the impression that they are getting a "good deal".  As the time goes by they will continually make adjustments to try and reach their objective.

I am pleased to state that Celebrity refunded the refundable deposit back to my credit card two days after requested.  The credit card company then took 4 days to finalize the credit to my account.

When talking about deposits there is the risk, however small, of a RCCL default where you could lose everything refundable or not.  It's interesting to note that most travel insurance companies have recently eliminated cruise line default as a covered benefit.

Let's see, it works out to $1525 per person including two percs.  I selected the gratuities and OBC $300 from Celebrity and $50 from the travel agency. If you select the classic beverage package that leaves one more perc.  I believe that the gratuities are now $15.50 daily per person which is $186 for a net price of $1339 including beverages, if you so choose.  Also the $450 deposit per person is fully refundable up to final payment next October. So the net cost is less than $100 per diem per person for a balcony room - I fare that I haven't seen is quite a few years.  This is from "the world's largest seller of ocean and river cruises". 

I just booked the Summit for 1/3/22, 12 nights from SJU.  The total 2C (upgraded to 2B) was $3,050 including tips and OBC worth $750.  This is a group rate using one of the largest online cruise agency.

Does anyone remember the first "cruise" ship - SS Nassau?  She was almost 50 years old when converted to single class, cruise only - which was unique in the early 50s.  In August of 52 we did the one-week cruise from New York to Nassau.  I can remember being sea sick from the rough weather only to look out in the morning and see that we were only about 10 miles from the coast.  The ship's pools were converted cargo holds, no balcony cabins and most cabins had bunk beds without private bathrooms.  Even so it was considered a luxury with mostly Italian crew and food.  There were no shows, but the cruise director had a "party" every night which was a big hit.

Requested a refund on Monday and was posted to my credit card on Thursday.  Great service.

We were just on the Divina.  We booked one year ahead requesting early dining.  We were booked in "Fantastica" which is advertised as providing priority in dining seating.  Without any advance notice, the ship had a group that occupied ALL the early dining seating, thus there was only late seating availability.  The worse part was the indifferent and totally non-responsive attitude of of the dining and customer relations staff.

Why not stay in Iguazu Falls for at least one night? My biggest issue with cruises is that you rarely have the opportunity to "experience" a port of call.  It takes a while to walk the falls on BOTH sides, but it is well worth it. 

It appears to me that your agent didn't adequately explain the refundability of purchasing an airline ticket through them - or anyone else for that matter.  It is my understanding that an economy ticket is only fully refundable after 24 hours unless you paid for a "refundable" ticket, which is more expensive.  A typical economy fare ticket can be exchanged for a fee, but some of the new economy fares can not be exchanged for refunded.  A few years ago Choice Air offered some good fares, especially to Europe, that were not available on the airline web site.  Recently, I have found this not to be the case.  The only tangible advantage that I see for using Choice Air is that they say they will "assist you" if there is a problem enroute although I have found it best to deal directly with the airline when something occurs such as a missed connection.

A few additional comments:

- Most importantly, with insurance, one needs to read the "fine print".  Even then you never know for sure if your loss will be covered until you have it, and then it is too late.  

- Look for insurance to cover potential large issues and don't worry about the small stuff.  This is why I usually insure only part of the total cost as long as it still provides the full medical benefit - again check the fine print. Realize that insurance companies are there to make a profit and the major benefit that you are buying is "peace of mind".

- Yes, Citi is cancelling their travel protection, but some other credit cards still do - at least for now.

- Once you have made the decision to buy insurance there are many options and prices.  I have found that if you are up in years and/or have preexisting conditions it is important to purchase the insurance when making your initial deposit.  If you wait until final payment, you may find it advantageous to cancel and make a new reservation to save on the insurance cost.

Two points:

- No one mentioned the insurance that comes with many credit cards.  It doesn't cover medical costs, but will cover other expenses purchased with the card.

- If you decide to purchase travel insurance, it may make sense to NOT insure 100%.  It could reduce you cost significantly and still provide the same medical coverage.  You are only coinsuring the other costs.

My favorite for Cozumel is to rent a car.  It is easy to drive around the island and car rentals are cheap.  While driving around the island there are some beautiful beaches and interesting places to stop and have a snack, etc.   Just a pleasant way to spend the day.

I was able to get an Avis reservation through Costco.

We (4 of us) have decided to fly home from Burlington after spending a night just north of the border.  The one-way car rental from Quebec to Burlington is only about $100 US for one day.  The only minor issue is that we will need to go to the Quebec airport to get the car.

We were on the Armonia last week - first time on MSC.  After almost 50 cruises, I have a few additional comments:

- The dining room for the suite guests was most enjoyable.  Plenty of space and good views, without the excessive noise and background music that I detest on other ships.  On the other side, I found the buffet to be too cramped - although their pizza is quite good.

-  Overall, the ship's service and cleanliness were on par with the others.

-  The quality and selection of food was not quite as good as most other cruises.  

-  The dancers for the shows were very good but were repeated in "different" shows every night with no resident orchester.  The Cuban show on the ship was not for me.

-  If not planning one of the big shows in Havana, consider going into town and having a drink at one of the bars with entertainment.  For a few dollars you get to hear some "real" music and experience the local culture.  

-  I highly recommend a private guide for Havana.  It's cheaper than the ship's tours and much more personal.

-  I always enjoy getting a rental car in Cozumel.  It's easy driving and beautiful.

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Keith has the right idea. As with anything today, you have to check the fine print. In his example, be sure that there is no requirement for the percent of the trip being insured and, as always, watch the pre-existing conditions requirement.

A few words of advise: If you are ever in a situation where you think that you may have an insurance claim, get receipts for everything. I recently had a claim with Travel Insured and had no problem with everything where I had a receipt. A couple of small items where I did not have a receipt were denied.

Uber/Lyft price is $34 for up to 4 people.

Some insurance policies require that the cruise line be notified "as soon as possible" after you know that you can't go.

Check the policy's requirements regarding "co-insurance" limitations and preexisting conditions carefully!! Some policies require 100% coverage of the nonrefundable trip costs for the medical clauses to be in effect, other policies do not. (As for the trip expenses, your policy will cover the cost or the policy limit, whichever is less.) Computing the total trip cost is a little tricky since some "non-refundable" tickets can have value if cancelled in time. Trip insurance is expensive, especially as one gets up in years. It is my opinion that the risk of loss of the cruise and/or air fare is of less concern than the risk of a major medical event, especially if air evacuation is required.

It's too late, now you ask. The problem is, once you get a balcony cabin it's hard to go back to an interior cabin.

We just finished a cruise on the Serenade. Even though we had "reservations" for 6:30 with MTD, the wait was over an hour. I later switched to late seating. Waiting in line, especially to eat, is not my idea of a vacation.

When checking prices on choiceair.com be sure to also look at two one-way fares.