swmichigan cruiser

This is our experience. We were on the Joy in April when I got dehydrated and had to go to the medical center for tests and an IV. Bill was over $1800 and we had to pay then. We have trip insurance and also Blue Cross Medicare coverage we filed first with the trip insurance but found out we needed to file with Blue Cross first because they are primary and the trip insurance should pay anything that wasn't covered. The Blue Cross advantage plan we have has a $50,000 lifetime coverage for urgent/emergency for outside the US. Just got word a few days ago that out claim has been approved by Blue Cross now waiting to get the check and will if anything wasn't covered we with get will trip insurance. I just looked at the paperwork we left the ship with and it was very detailed. Not sure this helps you.

Steve I never looked up original Medicare coverage for outside the US as I always have an Advantage (part C) for no additional cost. What we have is a combined $50.000 lifetime plan coverage for emergency care, urgent care and transportation for services outside the US. There are some small deductibles. And we did have to pay onboard and then file the claim when we got back home. We will need to refile our claim with the our trip insurance company to pay for the deductible. Did you ever find a company you liked for an annual policy? Bob

You might want to check your Medicare insurance if you added Medicare advantage. Of course it would depend on the Medicare Advantage policy added. The one we added there is no additional cost and it has a lifetime $50.000 coverage . I had a problem on the Joy in April and went to the medical center and the bill was over $1,800. Just got word yesterday that the claim was approved.

We bought the six pack of water while onboard the Joy at one of the bars in April and they were going to deliver it to our cabin. About 2 days later it hadn't been delivered so I checked into it and they agreed they would make sure it got to our cabin. Long story short. Finally got it but we ended being billed 5 different times for it. Only got it the one time. They got to credit it 4 times.

Sue We live in Portage. I would think it won't be at full capacity just because of the length of the cruise and not everyone would be able get that much time off work if they are still working. The one we did last year was nowhere near full also because might have something to do with some people not ready to start cruising again. I am not really a pool person but I would think also that with so many days on this cruise and so many ports you should also find a lot of time to be at the pool. The Encore is my favorite ship. Hope this helps if you have any other questions let me know. Bob

That is great for them. I think we saw MDQ on the Getaway about ten times in the past. Last time was the summer of 2019. Funny thing in two weeks we are seeing it again this time on land in a summer stock theatre that helps get the actors their equity cards. We will also being in Europe in August but not on the Getaway.

If I remember correctly wasn't your son Carl Perkins on the Getaway? If so what is he doing now? MDQ was my favorite show on NCL but now Choir of Man beats it out slightly.

No Syd Norman's but there is the Cavern Club which has entertainment every night. Many nights with a Beatles tribute band. As for The Choir of Man I didn't even know what it was before I watched it for the first time. Now I have seen it 10 times on the Encore. Guess you could say I am a fan.

You are right main shows and the other entertainment can be hit and miss. Because the performers change pretty quickly especially on the nonmain shows it is pretty much the luck of the draw. But we have had great luck on the Encore. And also I have to take into account that just because I like or dislike someone else may have a different opinion. Like I already mentioned The Choir of Man is my favorite show I have seen on a cruise ship.

At least a balcony. On the Panama Canal cruise we had done before we ended up with a Club Balcony after booking a regular balcony because the ship had big price drop after final payment. The biggest benefit for us was a bigger bathroom. Other then that nothing to special to us. Funny thing for our upcoming Encore in 2024is because of our status with NCL we got a one time one cabin upgrade so we booked an ocean view and got an upgrade to a balcony. The first time on the Encore on a 7 day cruise we had a balcony and that was fine. But any type cabin we have I look for cabins that have cabins above and below them. They should hopefully be quieter. If the Choir of Man is still on the ship when you go try to see it. It is my favorite show. Hope this helps. Bob

Sorry can't tell you about the Vibe as we have never used it. At our age we gave up sitting out in the sun much. The observation lounge is a better fit for us.

We did the 21night cruise on the Encore this past fall and had a great time. The Encore is now our favorite ship but can't tell you much about the ports we fortunately have cruised a lot and now we cruise more for the ship not the itinerary. We like the Encore so much we have it booked for the 21 night Panama Canal cruise April 7,2024. Should not be to crowded not many can get that much time unless you are retired. If you do book this cruise keep checking for price drops before final payment.

Can't give you any dirt. My favorite ship. Already have done 35 nights on it. Have 21 more booked and very likely will add 7 nights more. Staff is great. Choir of Man is the best show I have seen in my opinion.

I must be getting old we were on the first two cruises on the Encore out of Miami and I thought the other show was Kinky Boots. My favorite show on the Encore was 'The Choir of Man.

We don't always buy them but a lot of time we do. Just used two of them today for a Panama Canal cruise next spring. Actually the two we just used we bought them on Panama Canal cruise this past fall and one reason we bought them was to increase our cash back from our TA for that cruise. We are going to give one of the certificates to our oldest granddaughter.

We saw them also on the first two cruises out of Miami. Saw them 6 times on those two cruises and saw them 4 times last fall on the Panama Canal cruise. So guess you can say I really like that show.

All these posts have been helpful for me. We usually stay in cabins on higher decks but this time we couldn't pick our cabins. We have been on the Encore before for a total of 35 nights but this time as we just made Diamond and get a one cabin upgrade we booked a ocean view and used the upgrade to get a balcony for another 21 night Panama Canal cruise. The cabin we have now is on Deck 9 forward and looks like that will be fine.

We just got off the Joy three days ago and we had an angled balcony cabin 14900 and we had it for 26 nights and it did have a lounger and we liked it.

Polo

If we can't agree on the perks no chance we can agree on hockey.

I always like having discussions. If you go to the meet and greet I might be there.

Guess it depends if the itinerary is more important to you or the Latitude's perks. If the perks are more important to you than probably you won't find to many 7 night B2B2B Panama Canal cruises as in your original quote you mentioned you were looking at a 21 night Panama Canal cruise. We are doing three cruises on the Joy in April totaling 26 nights. Only additional perk that we will probably use is the two additional specialty dinners on the cruises. Other than that once will be enough.

We did a 21 night cruise Panama Canal cruise in the fall on the Encore and only got the same Latitudes benefits as on a 7 night cruise and we knew that before we got on the ship. It has been our experience that doing longer cruises usually has a lower price per day compared to shorter cruises so that is a pretty big benefit to us. Just my thoughts.

I always enjoy meeting the crew as it is more likely I will see them again than any passenger I met on a previous cruise. It worked out pretty good for us as I met a lot of the staff on the Encore Panama Canal cruise this fall and it turned out our oldest granddaughter was going to be on the Encore a few months later and she got to meet some of the staff we had met and they treated her and her boyfriend very well.

We did Chops in January and the food was good and we had a great server her name was Eva. We also ate at Giovannis. One thing to consider about Giovannis is that it is not very big. And we had a group of 18 in there and the noise level was pretty high.