Toofarfromthesea

They seem normal as far as I can tell. They have switched to using the Expedia back office engine a while ago. As an alternative to using their portal you can convert the points Into miles for a variety of airlines frequent flyer programs. They cover over at 1 mile per point.

True, but to me that is an essential of EVERY credit card. A credit card is for convenience and perks. Anyone who uses it as a source of actual credit is a peawit. IMO

Americans are regularly excoriated for not knowing and observing the cultural differences when going to other countries. Including those cultures on tipping. Responsible American travelers inform themselves and act accordingly. It would be nice if people in other countries would be held to the same standard when they are in America and on mass market cruiselines (which each have a completely different tipping cultures).

All I ever really wanted from the butler, other than getting on and off priority, is good service in the Topsail lounge. Got in on Divina last year in the Med. On Meraviglia in the Baltic last April, not so much.

I had just read the whole thread and didn't see the travel credit mentioned, although of course it has been mentioned in many prior thread. The global entry 100 credit is a one-time thing so it helps against the initial annual fee but not every year, like the 300 travel credit. The Priority pass did come up in this thread. Great feature, but hard to put a $ value on it. And of course there are lots of other benefits that make this, or something like it, a virtual no-brainer for someone who travels. I was just trying to focus on making people less afraid of the 450 annual fee by showing that at worst it is really a 150 annual fee. And since I was fortunate enough to get the card when the bonus was 100,000 points, those points are worth roughly $1,000 or, if used through the Chase portal, $1,500. So that covers my 150 effective annual fee for 10 years. So, looked at that way the card is free, yet provides amazing benefits.

I don't the whole thing where people have to be forced to do the right thing.

One thing that I didn't see mentioned about the CSR card in the thread is that while the annual fee is 450, your first 300 in travel expenses each year are credited back to you, reducing the effective annual fee to 150.

And in an environment where tipping is expected and makes up a significant amount of someone's income, not tipping because you come from a non-tipping culture is worse than rude because while rude hurts feelings, this hurts feelings AND pocketbook.

When we were on MSC Divina in the Mediterranean, crew members were excited at the prospect of the move to the Caribbean. Because they would get a higher proportion of Americans who tipped beyond the autogratuities and weren't as likely to remove them.

When was it decided that a discount that is not offered to everyone is not actually a discount? And who made the determination? I'm simple minded. If I pay less than the stated cruiseline price it is a discount, no matter what semantically games are played.

So, basically, no rational reason. They didn't have automatic gratuities in 1973.

Well then you are absolutely correct. Once we eliminate all of the actual existing discounts that hundreds of people have reported getting on cruisecritic, it is true that there are no discounts. /sarcasm. You are just playing a semantics game.

The cruiseline has a DUTY to warn passengers that sexual assault is possible? When and where is there a situation where sexual assault is impossible? Anywhere? It happens in homes, schools, workplaces, social settings, etc., and none of those situations require any such warning. Until you are dead sexual assault is ALWAYS possible. That is why it is stupid for someone to put themself into situations where the risk is significantly higher than the everpresent risk level.

So, group booking prices of large agencies don't exist? Even though hundreds of posters and TAs say they exist?

No. It is more like the difference between people who walk into a new car lot and pay full sticker price vs. people who negotiate and save hundreds, or thousands, of dollars. And then having the list price payer lament that they still don't understand why people negotiate.