sandycruzr

I’m sorry this happened to you. Out of 120 cruises it happened to me once. It stinks! 
I’ve also had items stolen from my bag once..it occurred sometime between me leaving my suitcase in the hallway and pickup in the terminal.  
Sadly, it’s rare but does happen.  

23 hours ago, fla33023 said:

You're not going to find a Pinnacle level member acting like they work on the ship. 

Omg!! That’s what I thought.  It was so strange to see this man behaving so poorly and acting like he was a manager of some sort. He was even approaching random guests and saying “get out there and dance… pretend like you’re having fun!” at one point he ended up interrupting a game that a crewmember was conducting to give the contestant the answers! The whole thing was just weird.

I was on Spirit recently and there were several guests with NCL name tags. I thought this was really strange. One passenger was acting like he worked on the ship…he did not! I asked the CD and he said he had no idea where these passengers got the name tags but guests were complaining about one name tag wearing guest because they thought he was an employee acting badly! 
Has anyone else ever seen this?

How do you book Club Orange?  I don’t see it on the app. Thanks

8 hours ago, Adi12982 said:

Hi there - I know its been years since you posted but would you care to share who your taxi driver was/info about them?  Would this be appropriate for taking kids?  Thanks!

Unfortunately I can’t find the business card for the driver but there are always lots of taxis there.  Get off the ship early and you will be fine.  I would not recommend this for very young children because it can be strenuous. And if you go after a heavy rain it can be very slippery.  Have fun!

On 7/14/2022 at 2:28 PM, trivia addict said:

As a  Buffalo, NY native, I can explain what a true “Beef on Weck” sandwich is. It is a delicious sandwich served as bar food in nearly every tavern in the city.

It consists of thinly sliced, tender roast beef, covered with au jus, and served on a kummelwick bun, with lots of horseradish. A kummelwick bun is a hard roll with rye seeds and salt crystals on top. Don’t know what the sandwich tastes like on RCC, but an authentic one is one you will truly enjoy.

Also a Buffalonian here. The RCL kümmel wick sandwich is not as good as our authentic sandwiches here in Buffalo. I will

say I’ve had very good ones on Athem, Symphony and Oasis and very bad ones on Independence this year.  Very inconsistent across the cruise line. 

22 hours ago, Hlitner said:

That is terrific news but would agree it is quite strange.  So lets have some fun and toss out a couple of theories.   Perhaps a supervisor happened to review your case and quickly realized your case had been improperly settled.  (I will admit I find this scenario hard to believe).  or..... perhaps somebody at Allianz watches CC and saw this thread :).  The Internet and Social Media can sometimes be a powerful weapon for the good.   I

 

Hank

I also wondered if the sudden about face was due to my post here on cc.  Either way, I am so happy it has been resolved.  I was in the process of finding a new annual policy and couldn’t find any other policies for NY residents. Now that this claim is settled I will most likely renew the policy. 
Thanks again!

On 6/21/2022 at 4:56 PM, BND said:

Pretty sure this has more to do with the op not knowing/reading what the policy actually covers.  If it's spelled out in the policy, then the co is not trying to "squirm out of paying".  They're honoring the actual policy.  It's as the headline says, "buyer beware" but as in be aware of what you're buying.

 

We had a claim against the policy we buy through Royal almost 3 years ago.  I had an accident and was injured and had surgery.  My OS said that I could not travel. Cruise insurance reimbursed us everything that Royal did not.  Our travel expenses (Amtrak) weren't on the policy, but we canceled and had used points which we got back.  Our hotel was also canceled by us at no cost.  You have to know what you are buying and why.  

Nope I have a great policy which I have read.  They definitely tried to squirm out of paying us It clearly states I’m entitled to a payout.  
The good news is that the powers that be at Allianz finally realized this and are now paying my claim in full! 
Persistence pays

off

Hank thank you so much for all the great information.  The strangest thing happened today….I received an email from Allianz saying they are now paying my claim in full.  No explanation for why they changed course…just we are sending you a check.  I’m pretty shocked but really happy.  I am wondering if they have a lot of new inexperienced employees that made a mistake with my claim.  I spoke with 7 different people at the company and I was given 7 different answers over the past few months. I was not about to give up because I really felt that I was making a valid claim. 
thanks again to everyone on this

board that gave

me so many great suggestions ❤️

14 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

That stinks, I am sorry 

Thank you for your kind words.Thank you for your kind words.

1 hour ago, Jersey42 said:

I’m sorry for your bad experience.  Unfortunately all policies have “covered reasons”, and if you can’t demonstrate your losses were due to a covered reason, insurance companies will deny the claim. But I think there may be some hope under Trip Interruption. 

 

Trip Cancelation – Mechanical breakdown is not a covered reason for trip cancellation in your policy. Many other policies do cover mechanical breakdown.  In addition, assuming you flew from Buffalo to JFK, you had already begun your trip before you had the airline problem.  So trip cancelation coverage would not apply.

 

Schedule Changes – Was this denial because you elected to take another cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale? If not, did they explain why?

 

Travel Delay – I see no exclusion of mechanical breakdown under travel delay. This coverage is for expenses while you are delayed such as hotels and meals up to $300/day. It also should cover pre-paid expenses during the delay period.  If you were delayed for several days and Allianz considered this a “schedule change”, then they should at least cover your expenses during those days.

 

Trip Interruption – This could be your best bet for an appeal or a complaint to the state insurance commissioner as I see no exclusion for mechanical breakdown under trip interruption. How long was your original scheduled trip including the multiple back-to-back Barbados cruises?  How long was your new trip with the last minute Ft. Lauderdale cruise?  If you had not taken the Ft. Lauderdale trip, you would (should) have been covered.  But, if you missed at least 50% of the length of your original trip due a travel carrier delay you should also be covered. If the new trip did not meet the 50% threshold, I would still fight.  Your original trip was ended early due to a covered reason, and any choices you made to take a different cruise, at your own expense, should not impact your coverage for the original trip. 

 

Perhaps one of the frequent posters to this forum with much more knowledge than me can offer additional insights. Good luck and please let us know when you have a final resolution as it may help others.

1 hour ago, Jersey42 said:

I’m sorry for your bad experience.  Unfortunately all policies have “covered reasons”, and if you can’t demonstrate your losses were due to a covered reason, insurance companies will deny the claim. But I think there may be some hope under Trip Interruption. 

 

Trip Cancelation – Mechanical breakdown is not a covered reason for trip cancellation in your policy. Many other policies do cover mechanical breakdown.  In addition, assuming you flew from Buffalo to JFK, you had already begun your trip before you had the airline problem.  So trip cancelation coverage would not apply. Yes, after a 14 hour delay we did finally fly from BUF to JFK , Because of that 14 hour delay we missed our original flight from JFK to Barbados. The rescheduled flight to Barbados was then canceled due to schedule changes.

 

Schedule Changes – Was this denial because you elected to take another cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale? If not, did they explain why? No actually I didn’t even tell them I booked a last minute cruise because it wasn’t relevant. 

 

Travel Delay – I see no exclusion of mechanical breakdown under travel delay. This coverage is for expenses while you are delayed such as hotels and meals up to $300/day. It also should cover pre-paid expenses during the delay period.  If you were delayed for several days and Allianz considered this a “schedule change”, then they should at least cover your expenses during those days.

 

Trip Interruption – This could be your best bet for an appeal or a complaint to the state insurance commissioner as I see no exclusion for mechanical breakdown under trip interruption. How long was your original scheduled trip including the multiple back-to-back Barbados cruises?  How long was your new trip with the last minute Ft. Lauderdale cruise?  If you had not taken the Ft. Lauderdale trip, you would (should) have been covered.  But, if you missed at least 50% of the length of your original trip due a travel carrier delay you should also be covered. If the new trip did not meet the 50% threshold, I would still fight.  Your original trip was ended early due to a covered reason, and any choices you made to take a different cruise, at your own expense, should not impact your coverage for the original trip. 

Thank you! That is exactly what I said to them… Our trip was supposed to be 19 days and we missed 18 days so we did miss at least 50% of our trip. That is why I assumed I would be covered but they reiterated to me that prepaid expenses are not covered under trip interruption. I really appreciate hearing from you, I’ve never made an insurance claim in my life so this is all pretty surprising to me. Thank you so much

Perhaps one of the frequent posters to this forum with much more knowledge than me can offer additional insights. Good luck and please let us know when you have a final resolution as it may help others.

3 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Unfortunately, @BNDhit it on the head i believe.  My annual policy has 3 different levels, the most basic does not cover many things that the "premium level" plan does.

 

Sorry you had to deal with this.

Yep I purchased the premium. 

2 hours ago, karena1 said:

We use the annual policy on Allianz all the time, but we also do not have the basic.  So far, only have had to use it once, but no issues at all.

I have the premium policy 

2 hours ago, pghflyer said:

Travel insurance is just like commercial (US style) health insurance, they market it really well but when it comes to using it, they will do everything they can to squirm out of paying a cent.....and if they do have to pay a cent, they will make you jump through as many hoops as possible so that they can keep the money longer.  These are all businesses that exist to make profit, and only profit by not paying.

 

Vast majority of affordable flight insurance only covers weather delays/ strikes/ injury/ jury duty.  And you will have to get a letter from the airline proving these things too.

 

Very sorry to hear about your trip problems, sure it is incredibly disappointing and frustrating.

Thank you so much.  I bought the top of the line policy which was marketed to me in an ad stated “Don’t let travel delays ruin your trip…we have you covered!”😂. I actually just read my policy from 3 years ago and now realize A LOT  has changed with this years policy. Since it was a renewal I didn’t read the

entire policy this time. 

2 hours ago, pghflyer said:

Because I had to have a policy with my name on it for a European cruise, I bought Travel Insured multi-trip annual policy - it was very cheap and does cover common carrier delay. Never had to use it so would expect they would be as difficult to get money out of as they all are but FWIW:

 

https://www.travelinsured.com/multitrip/

Thanks!

1 hour ago, klfrodo said:

have you sought help from the New York State Department of Financial Services?

Allianz has to be approved by them for their insurance to be sold to NY residents. If you are sure you have a valid claim and Allianz is just messing with you, file a complaint.

 

File a Complaint | Department of Financial Services (ny.gov)

Thanks for your reply… I filed a complaint today🤞

2 hours ago, BND said:

Had you read the policy?  Aren't there different levels of coverage you can buy?

I bought the highest level

most expensive policy.  Yes I read it and it clearly states coverage for airline delays.  They are now saying only delays for very limited reasons. 

I hope this post can help other people that are trying to make decisions regarding annual travel policies. For a long time I have had a Allianz Annual Policy. I cruise alot and it’s always giving me a sense of security. Apparently it’s a been a false sense of security! During Easter week we were scheduled to fly to Barbados to take a few back to back cruises.   We were to arrive three days prior to leaving on the first cruise. Unfortunately everything went haywire with JetBlue airlines! First they had a mechanical issue and delayed our flight by 14 hours to JFK. We finally arrived at JFK after having missed her first connection to Barbados and were rescheduled and a flight to Barbados the following day. The next morning we woke up to the bad news that the new flight was canceled due to scheduling changes and they now could not get us to Barbados for four days… long after our

ship would have already left. There were no other alternative flights out of any airport in New York City or New Jersey to get us to our ship in time. Unfortunately we were forced to cancel our cruise. I contacted Royal and was told they will refund my taxes and port fees but it was now within 48 hours of sailing,  so there was nothing else they could do for me. They would not refund the cruise cost, which I completely understood. They also would not allow us to catch up with the ship at a later port due to Covid restrictions. Basically we were stuck at JFK… We couldn’t even get home for four days! A few days later we found a flight to Fort Lauderdale and we booked a last-minute cruise.  
All during this time, I was in touch with the insurance company and they said submit a claim.  I waited over two months for a response to my claim.  Today, I find out the insurance company determined that they will not pay us anything at all for the cost of the missed cruise because the policy doesn’t cover “schedule changes” or mechanical problems with flights.   They also inform me that under the travel delay portion of the policy they will not pay for prepaid expenses… I just think that’s ridiculous! Many expenses like hotel, tours, cruises have to be prepaid. What is the point of having a travel insurance policy if you have no protection whatsoever against these unforeseen circumstances? Needless to say I will not be renewing my annual policy and I’m now shopping for a new insurance company. I’m posting this because I’m hoping that my bad experience may help others. 

17 hours ago, Yorkshire Voyagers said:

I did the following 12 night cruise - sailed on the Vision many times and had no problem with the ship and the staff were excellent, although obviously the numbers were depleted.

 

The food, however, was another matter - it was the worst I can remember in any main dining room.  I put this on the post-cruise survey but had already taken this up with the staff on board

Agreed! Worst food ever! 

Lots of people currently in quarantine on the vision of the sea. They will not give an exact count but everyday crew members are missing and I’ve personally seen 12 people removed from their cabins on my floor. 5 days ago we were told by RCL that they had 72 people in quarantine but now they will not tell us.  They are making quite a few announcements looking for passengers that have tested positive to contact medical immediately. Lots of different names.

27 minutes ago, bama4cruisin said:

Lunch at Le Grande Bistro- worth the added fee!  
Eden Cafe for breakfast or lunch is a quiet, hidden gem.  

Caravan in The Club.

Rockumentary!

Lunch in the Oceanview on the last sea day!!

The Chandalier Show at the Martini Bar each night (on the TA, it was twice each night at 8:30 and 10:30)

 

ENJOY!!!

Thank you so much❤️

24 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Brownies and cookies at Eden Cafe only available at lunchtime and these wonderful treats are not found any where else on the ship. Eden Cafe is only available for lunch on sea days. 

 

Yum!! Thanks 

I just booked  last minute and I’m leaving on Saturday.  I am a planner and usually have lots of time to research and familiarize myself with a new ship long before the cruise begins. 
I sure could use some advise from the “pros”!

 Thanks for your help❤️❤️

23 hours ago, sammylou said:

31st is 5 stops 

 PUERTO RICO,, ST. MAARTEN , ANTIGUA , ST. LUCIA, ST KITTS & NEVIS 

If we lose more than one port I won’t be happy because that will spoil the cruise for us as coming all the way from U.K. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It seems very unlikely that you will be stopping in St Lucia and San Juan.. you may

want to reschedule. 

Damn! I LOVED priority embarkation…this will definitely make me rethink my future cruise plans. Why not keep a quality perk like this that costs ncl NOTHING?  Makes no sense!!

6 minutes ago, JessyCruises said:

 

I assume so.  It makes sense (easier to fumigate etc).  It would be interesting to see what the other ships are like!  Hopefully I never get to see one live again 🤣

Thanks for sharing all this great information. We are preparing to embark on a back to back to back cruise and I had so many questions about quarantine and testing positive. You’re very graciously answered them all with your very thorough posting of your situation! I wish your husband a very speedy recovery and I hope you stay Covid free. Enjoy your time in Florida as much as possible and have safe travels back to CanadaWe are preparing to embark on a back to back to back cruise and I had so many questions about quarantine and testing positive. You’re very graciously answered them all with your very thorough posting of your situation! I wish your husband a very speedy recovery and I hope you stay Covid free. Enjoy your time in Florida as much as possible and have safe travels back to Canada