TX_Wyldcat

It will be interesting.  I normally over tip on room stewards, drinks, and specialty dining, but this could get expensive quick especially the extra on specialty dining.  I just hope they don't start doing like Norwegian and adding on the gratuities for the "free" items like drink packages and dining.  On a Norwegian booking you end up paying $20 a day for the "free" drinks and about $5 a time for "free" specialty dinners.

I buy through tripinsurance.com because it covers everything including flights to and from port that I book and any personally booked shore excursions.  It is also cheaper (about half less) than HAL's plan even at the top tier cancel for any reason coverage.

I do think that you need some form of travel insurance though.  Two years ago my dad tore the ligements in his knee halfway through a Transatlantic. The HAL insurance paid for Business Class tickets for him and my mom from Portugal back to DFW because his knee had to stay extended. This was over $12,000.  

3 hours ago, loonyhiker said:

We are looking at doing a 24 day cruise on the Zuiderdam in May. Does anyone know if these unlimited internet rates are the same on the Zuiderdam? 

I am on the Zuiderdam March 31 and there is an option to pre-order the Premium Internet package for $143.99 for the ten day cruise. No options for the Social or Surf levels. I might have to get it as a trial since I would like to take some longer cruises but can't take that much vacation time. If I can work from the Lido during sea days it could be a great deal.

I am sitting in the DFW airport waiting for my flight to San Juan for this cruise. I planned to kind of wing it with mostly taxi trips. It looks lokl that might have been a good idea since Isaac is aiming straight for the islands and who knows where we will end up.

Is a bottle of port an allowed wine for carry on?

Good to know. I like playing a bit of blackjack but I am far from a high roller. I am probably dating myself, but last time I was in Vegas I played the $3 table.

I just logged onto my Vanguard account and click on the CCL under holdings. I pops a page with just the CCL information and I printed that. I faxed that page and a cover sheet with my cruise and booking number yesterday. I got an email from Carnival a couple hours later stating that the $100 OBC had been applied to my account.

This is us. I never feel pressure to get up to 15. If you like to drink the premium brand spirits during the day and wine at dinner, you can easily make Cheers "worth it."

 

Two glasses of $10 plus wine at dinner and a $12 port with dessert every night and you're 3/5 the way to "breaking even." All it takes then is a latte and a few drinks during the day and you have surpassed the $51.95.

Add a couple Cognacs during the evening shows and you are way over.

Pretty much if you are a beer drinker it is not so useful. If you like high end spirits it doesn't take much.

All it seems to take to "break even" is a couple glasses of okish red wine at dinner and a couple Hennessy XOs afterwards. Anything else earlier in the day, even just some bubbly water or coffee, or an extended night is essentially free.

Do you need to be an AARP member? I might have to get my parents to buy some for me if you do.

This must be one of the reasons to use an independent TA instead of booking directly. I called and while the Carnival TA saw the price $25/PP lower on the website, she said she had no way to change the booking to that rate. I might try again later tonight or tomorrow.

Has anyone done the Chef's Table on Fascination recently?

So if I order a bottle from the Fun Shops could I then transfer part into a flask to mix with my Diet Coke from my bubbles package during the evening or is this an unapproved activity?

Do you just call Carnival (assuming you booked directly) and ask? I just checked and my September Fascination sailing has dropped $50. Not a lot, but if I could get that in OBC that would be nice. They will get it in the end anyway..

This is my first cruise and I am trying to figure out how much insurance I need to get. It is a seven day Caribbean out of San Juan for my brother and I in our 40s. No Preexisting conditions or medical issues. We will be flying from Dallas to San Juan connecting in Miami using Frequent Flyer miles so no real expense there (<$25). Cruise Cost was appx $900 + $100 in fees.

I am not worried really about canceling before the cruise. My main concern is missed connection either getting there, possible over long excursion, or more worrisome is potential hurricane delaying return to San Juan by more than a day since it is a September sailing. Also possible medical evac in case of an accident since that happened to my father last year on his trip to Spain.

Do I just look for a policy with decent trip interruption and medical evac coverage and use $1000 as the trip cost or is there other things I need to consider. I am looking at third party insurance because of the air/cruise connections.

53 on the Fascination

Since Cheers limits you to 15 a day, it could be hard to make it worthwhile unless you are drinking the max constantly or the top end drinks. I was addi g it up for my cruise later this year and I don't think I could do seven days at a rate that would make Cheers worthwhile. Maybe one or two days of the trip would be drinking days, but I can't see a whole cruise worth.

I wouldn't think it would be a problem since as you say it looks like a wine bottle and the alcohol percentage is about half that of wine.

How are your parents getting $500 for two cruises? Are they 14 days or longer?

They are doing a 14 day Alaskan in a couple weeks and then an 18 day to Hawaii in November. They have become hard core cruisers on Holland America and just got back from a six week trip that was three cruises, transatlantic, Nordic, then Celtic Isles. They are doing a transatlantic then two Med cruises next year so far.

My parents just bought 100 shares of CCL and will be getting at least $500 this year and I am still not sure they won't do a December cruise. They have two 2019 cruises already booked for another $500. Now the one possible downer is that last I checked the shareholder program page still hasn't been updated and says it is through 7-31-2018.

Has anyone gotten an MSC status match based on airline FF status? I am a new cruiser, but have lifetime Platinum status on American Airlines from years of 150-200k flight miles for business.

Carnival down to 63.06 so those 100 shares would have lost $130 today. But ... it's all on paper ... it could bounce back up tomorrow. Changes of over $1/share haven't been unusual lately (up and down).

Might be a time to grab a hundred. Time to check out my Vanguard account.

A lot depends on how often you cruise. My parents just started a 49 day three cruise combination transatlantic, Baltic, and Celtuc Odyssey trip. They have a Hawaii cruise, New England, and another Alaska cruise lined up and probably a couple more Caribbean ones thrown in. If you look at the OBC as tax free dividends then it really looks like a winner.

I have to tell my parents about this. They cruise Holland America a lot. Just with the cruises they have booked for the next year they would effectively be getting 30% or more of the purchase price back. Talk about an great untaxable return!

Norwegian Jade

Transatlantic

Miami to Southampton

April 21, 2018

 

Inside guarantee $499 (additional $148.70 fees)

I saw that yesterday. If my passport wasn't in process for renewal I would have jumped on it. I have the FF miles to have gotten back and a job where I could have hunkered down in England with some old coworkers with internet access and worked till I could get a FF flight.