teacherman

Thank you.  Now I understand the discussion.  I did see some "second passenger flies free" offers.

I thank everyone for the very good information.   However, I just read a long detailed newspaper account of what is currently happening in South Africa with the Covid, and I doubt this cruise will even happen.

I am new to NCL and really don't understand all of this, because I have previously booked air several times through RCCL, Celebrity, and HAL.  We have always been offered choices of flights, airlines, and either main cabin, or first class.   This has always been for long international flights and the prices have always been far less than if I booked direct with the airline.  Hearing all of this about NCL makes me wonder why they are so different.

We are thinking one of the club suites, not a haven suite.  And, my mistake, the cruise is Jan 14 rt from CapeTown.  Our previously scheduled 2021 cruise on Azamara was supposed to be in Feb.  So, for you who have experience with this class of NCL ship, in your opinion, is the Club Suite much different from the regular balcony type cabin for a 12 night more port focused cruise?   Thank you for the responses.

We have never sailed on NCL, but have found an itinerary for Africa that we would like to do.  (S. Africa-Feb, 2022)   We are interested in a suite on deck 11.  I normally would not book a cabin located on a deck which is below so many restaurants and activity rooms.  Would appreciate any advice/information you may have if you have been on this ship/deck.  Did you hear a lot of noise?  Any suites you would recommend or NOT recommend?  ALSO,  is a suite that much better than a regular balcony, as far as space or any perks?   We normally cruise on Celebrity, RCCL, or HAL.   Any advice or information is welcome.   Thank you.

I have never booked air through NCL, but I think you should look at booking on your own.  Use Google Flights and play around with different days, airlines, and departure cities.  I think you are in Nebraska, so if you could book an inexpensive flight to Chicago or some city with several different airlines flying to AMS, you might get a much better choice and price.  Two days in AMS are a good idea, or even three.   AMS is a great city to stroll through without having to rush.  There are many things to see.

Yes, I know.  It was a JOKE.  

I believe we will be able to get the vaccine at the terminal before we board and, of course, we will charge it to our SeaPass card.  😇😎

I don't really remember.  I do remember putting down deposits and then having at least 2 price drops before final payments were due.  I also remember pointing it out on the roll calls and getting some "thank you" drinks from others who took advantage of the drops when I made mention of them.

Best prices I ever received for cruises were in 2008-2009.  Remember those financial times?  We were also getting very large Michigan resident discounts as the car companies were facing bankruptcy.   And there were no mega ships then, just "normal" sized ships.

For those who say "let each person decide what risk to take, whether a cruise, going to the store, or to a rally", the problem appears to be that IF the person should become ill, it may be up to other people to deal with it, whether it is his family members or medical personnel.  If everyone who became ill simply isolated themselves somewhere and did not call for help from anyone for any reason, then they would bare the responsibility for their own decisions.  But that is not how it usually goes.  A person's illness normally affects others.

I love cruising, but am nowhere near going again at this time.

We have 2 non-refundable regular coach RT tickets on Delta.  We originally booked these in early February before all of the Covid changes hit the country.  Some of our flights have been changed twice, non over a 90 minutes difference.  BUT our original flight numbers have disappeared and we have been change to different flight numbers.  It would seem that the original flights have been canceled, and we have been moved to "consolidated" flights.  I have canceled our flights and was told that I can only have e-credits because non of the flight changes are more than 90 minutes.   But when I looked at most recent FAA rules it says that if your original flight is canceled, then you are entitled to a full refund.  So, which is it?  A refund or an e-credit.  The e-credit is through Sept, 2022, but the way things are currently, I need the refund.  I am asking some of you very knowledgeable people what I should do?  Any information is most welcome.   Thank you.

We have cruised from Seattle several times and visited the city for a vacation a couple of times.   My biggest concern with Seattle is the exorbitant prices for a quality hotel room.  There do often seem to be some type of protests going on somewhere in the city over some topic.   But I believe the same thing happens often in Rome, Barcelona, Paris, Washington DC, etc.   So just avoid those few areas in the city and all is well.  If I was planning to visit Seattle this summer, I would go.

If we are still asking "how are day was", ours was great.  We went sailing on Lake St Clair, "The Little Great Lake".  We had 85 degrees, blue skies, and a steady wind.  It was a wonderful sail with very few boats out which makes it even better.  We are glad we have kept our boat, as this may be the only cruising we do for the next year, or so.  

I just answered this question in my posting "Praise for our Insurance Company".

We had a family cruise scheduled for April 5 which was canceled by RCCL. We requested a refund of our payments to RCCL, rather than take the FCC that was offered.  We had also purchased 3 insurance policies through TravelSafe (Trip Insurance Store).  When the cruise was canceled, we immediately contacted TravelSafe and asked for refunds of our policies.  We received a request for confirmation of receiving the refund from RCCL.  It took almost 4 weeks to receive the monies credited back to our credit cards, but when we received the refund, we forwarded the proof to the insurance company.  We have now all received the refunds for our policies from TravelSafe..   

Many times we criticize insurance companies, so I wanted to publicly say that we received great service and very prompt communications throughout the entire process.  We will definitely use this insurance company in the future.

We are finding it a little easier to "stay home" since it is usually too cool to golf, boat, plant, etc.   Maybe that is why there is more push to "re-open" in places where it is significantly warmer.  We might get up to 70 by next week.

Yes, Sandy, we did get charged a cancellation fee.  And a strange thing is that this is the second time we were charged one for the same itinerary.  I originally booked it last November, but then decided not to go so we cancelled.  I did not realize when I booked that there would be a cancellation charge, so we forfeited the money.  Then in early February, I found a really much better price so I booked it again.  I now have paid the fees twice and have never even been on Azamara.  We also got back a credit for 4 rooms I had booked on RCCL for a family cruise this month.  So I  now have a large credit on my CC.  Safe travels.

I had 4 rooms booked on Adventure of the Seas, April 5, for a family cruise.  The cruise was cancelled by RCCL and we were offered 125% FCC or full refund.  I applied for the refund when the on-line form was available, maybe around 5 weeks ago.  I just looked at my CC statement and the money was all refunded on April 19.  I had never called RCCL since filling out the form.  The only problem is the refunds are in about 10 different portions, so I am not sure which is for which reservation.

Just thought I would let people know that we had a deposit on Azamara Journey for next February-South Africa.  AS there is way too much uncertainty, and we are "vulnerable population", we canceled it.  I have received the refund to my credit card.  I canceled about 3 weeks ago.  It would have been our first Azamara cruise.  We have enjoyed many wonderful cruises, but do not know if we will ever cruise again.

You can't cruise.  There are no cruises.  By the time cruises resume, there will be many changes from what we knew cruises to be.  If my state "opens up", it will not be like it was.  Everything will change, and we won't know what we are willing to do until we see what it is.

Each state and city is so different.  I live in the Metro Detroit area.  Our government is getting  a LOT of criticism.  As of today, we have bodies in hospital morgues, refrigerated trucks,  and they are exploring using some ice rinks, if needed.  We are maybe third in the nation for cases and deaths.  We were one of the first to shut down and still we are in this situation.  When the "stay home" was first issued, you could go to groceries, gas stations, pharmacies, and places like Home Depot where you could buy things NECESSARY to repair your homes (plumbing, broken appliances, etc)  Kind of common sense.  BUT people just kind of started going there and walking around looking at things as there was nowhere else to go.  And cases and deaths kept increasing.  So, the governor extended the order to stop the purchase of some items in those stores.  Now, she is severely criticized for trying to slow the infection and death rate.  They say she is power hungry.

I do not agree with all of her actions, but it is on her to decide.  We can't plant our flowers, but let's get real - most people here don't plant things until mid-May, and much of these restrictions will end on May1.  We hope.

All phases appear to be based on tests being available everywhere, all the time,  with extremely quick results.  That way you can quickly identify new outbreaks and quarantine/isolate people to try and keep it from spreading.  Regardless of what our leaders are telling us, after 2 1/2 months of knowing this was coming we have tested about 1% of our population.  I believe I heard we would need to have accurate results on almost 20% to really know what is happening.

I am D+ on RCCL but also cruise on HAL and much prefer their buffet set up.  You are served and there is no more line than on RCCL.  It is also MUCH neater as people are not dropping food on the buffet tables while they reach to get something.  And there are no people taking dinner rolls with their hands and then deciding they don't want that one and then putting it back to get a different one.  Also, I very seldom see people on HAL piling a lot of food on their plate and then trying a few bites, deciding they don't like it, and then just leaving it on the table to be thrown away, which I often see on RCCL.

That is a paraphrase of a quote I have heard many times.  I believe it originated in Hollywood and was said by William Goldman in his book "Adventures in the Screen Trade",  a book about the making of movies.  He was pointing out that many people tell you what will, and will not, work in a screenplay.   The concept is that many writers come up with a "new" idea that they are sure will be successful, but most of the them are not.

I have heard the phrase quoted by television commentators, especially in times like the current one, when so many people have "new" ideas that they are sure will work.  Most of them will not.  😇🤔