FlyerTalker

In a word: Terrible. It's a lousy value proposition, with poor earning ratios and a very limited redemption plan. One can do much better with a number of other cards. This seems to be a clone of the cards currently offered as co-brands with Royal and Celebrity.

This discussion is missing the most important factor. If you have ANY kind of disruption, misconnect or cancellation -- the FIRST point of contact is directly with the carrier involved. In many cases, arrangements have already been put into place to handle a reroute for you and your bags. Even if it hasn't, the airline is the entity that will ultimately get you to your destination - not FlightEase, the cruiseline, or any kind of emergency number. Those "resources" are for when you can't get any kind of satisfaction from the carrier itself. Thought problem....if you have a misconnect, will introducing an additional layer of communication and process make your rebooking go any faster or smoother? What every savvy traveler should do is to well research, in advance, all of the airports you will be passing through, so you are not frantically trying to figure out things on the ground. One should also have a set of back-up contingency plans with alternate airlines and routings to get you to your destination. Don't just be saying "well, get me there". The more you can help with alternatives, the better. Put the apps for the carriers you are flying onto your phone so you have that resource available. And don't just call FlightEase and wait for them to figure things out for you. While you are waiting, alternative seats are going to the folks who are proactively working to solve their issues. Finally, recognize that FlightEase or any such program, does not have people "monitoring" all flights. Nor do they have standby seats and aircraft just waiting to handle irops. Caveat emptor.

Bet they are angling for a free cruise as compensation for their anguish.

FWIW....a number of luggage manufacturers are now referring to some pieces as "trunks". These are often bags that are larger in the "thickness" dimension, shorter in the "width" and about the same in "length". Here's one example: https://july.com/us/luggage/checked-trunk/?light-sand= You can compare it with their "classic" type luggage.

You missed the most significant key word: "Planning". What did Robert Burns say?

You do not want to be cutting it close at LAX. Traffic into the horseshoe is always congested. Plus, the San Diego Fwy is never anything but busy. Maybe your driver will take a different route. You don't mention which airline you are taking. Even that affects your travel time, as terminals 4 6 and 7 are the most difficult to get to. Fastest into LAX is terminal 1. I would never take a flight before noon.

Which would only work when departing from YYZ. Even when arriving, this would have them on the "wrong" side of security for an arrival.

And folks who ignore the fine print are the ones who get blindsided. Plus, I wonder how much evidentiary weight a judge will accord to "Well, you Honor, Edgee told me that the ship would wait, so...."

I guess you don't consider having flights to Ghana, Gabon, Togo, Angola and Lisbon as ways to end being "stranded". It's not like they were stuck there with Gilligan.

So it will wait for you. Until it doesn't. Some people prefer urban legend. Some prefer the black letter of reality. Everyone can make their own minds up. I'll just say "better to read the fine print in advance, than reading it later"

The more I was referring to was the likely follow-on that they are just blaming the ship. I wonder if you can show me that in black and white in the terms and conditions of your cruise contract. Especially since the Oceania website specifically states (bolding mine): Oceania Cruises accepts no liability or responsibility, whether occasioned by railroad, motor coach, private car, boat, aircraft or any other conveyance, for any injuries, damages, loss, accident, delay or irregularity which may be caused either by reason of defect through the acts or defaults of any company or person or in carrying out the arrangements of the cruise or cruise tour as a result of any cause beyond the control of Oceania Cruises. Guests specifically release Oceania Cruises from any and all claims for loss or damage to baggage or property or from personal injuries or death, or from loss or delay arising out the acts, omissions or negligence of any independent contractors, such as air carriers, hotels, shore excursion operations, restaurateurs, transportation providers, medical personnel or other providers of services or facilities. All arrangements made with independent contractors are made solely for the convenience of guests and are done at the guests' own risk. And be sure to read Section 11, Para i in the cruise contract, found here: https://www.oceaniacruises.com/sites/default/files/2023-11/oceania-guest-ticket-contract.pdf I'll wait for the confirmation of "the ship will wait regardless".

So, if they were off on their own, how does it jive with: "We’re told seven American passengers and two Australian passengers were left on the island. The Campbells say a number of those passengers are elderly with one having a heart condition, one a paraplegic as well as a pregnant woman. They say one of the elderly passengers suffered a concussion, multiple injuries and amnesia while on a Norwegian Cruise Lines-sponsored tour of the island." So one of those left was on a NCL tour? And we had a paraplegic on their own excursion? Doesn't pass the sniff test, IMO. There's more to this story.

FWIW, Viking does a similar thing, but with "free air". The idea is that they get to maintain some degree of price integrity for the cruise pricing, but provide a discount with the inclusion of "free air". Just another way to market a slow-moving product.

Care to look at the date of fgbd's post? (You can thank the fellow who dredged up an almost 8 year old thread rather than start a new one)

And using language like that merely conflates the issue.

I'm on the other side of the coin. I have had nothing but excellent experiences with TK in business class. As a disclaimer, I have also not had any kind of ticketing or operational issue, so I have zero experience with how they handle problems. 6Rugrats would have more knowledge on that than I do. Then again, I tend to book long connections and never fly into a cruise the same day as sailing. So I try to insulate myself against issues. YMMV.

And sometimes there's more to an airline trip than just the price.

Comfort Plus, or Main Cabin Extra, or Economy Plus (for DL, AA and UA respectively) are NOT the same as Premium Economy. Take some time to do research.

Condor had a mediocre business class product in the past. They are now operating A333NEOs, with lie-flat seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. My only concern is that Condor is independent and not a part of any alliance, so you may have some issues with rerouting under irops. But if you have time built into your itinerary, I would have no qualms about flying with them.

And be very sure you understand what is being discussed/offered with "premium economy".

As noted above, you are not going to find actual flight information and pricing loaded into the GDS until late this year. Consequently, you are way too early to be on this decision. One thing you might want to start to consider is using one of the many "free stopover" programs that are available. Since you will be connecting along the way anyhow, why not add in some additional vacation locations. Depending on the airline, you can get everything from a stopover at no increase in airfare, through tours and discounts, to free hotel nights. This gives you some excellent opportunities to leverage one round-trip into additional places to enjoy. European/MEA cities where stopovers are being offered include Istanbul, Lisbon, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Reykjavik, Helsinki, Zurich, Muscat, Dublin, Madrid, Amsterdam and Paris. Personally, I'd be looking at the Istanbul program from Turkish. TK offers some very attractive pricing for their TATL flights, along with hotel and tour benefits. Plus, they offer non-stops from DTW to IST, which means you would be on one-stop itineraries for both Athens and Venice. But in all cases, just do some preliminary considerations -- you are way to far out for anything else.

Which is the nub of the issue. If "The Lounge" is going to remain, let's ask the folks who are "being cheated": Just where are you going to put a casino on Symphony? And what's the tradeoff in that decision?

The current "Jade" on Symphony was the "high roller" room under Genting, and was a disco prior to that. Has had a bar in both incarnations. It was the starboard side entrance into the casino, going from the shops area. There was no public bar next to the Serenity casino. Wonder if the DJ booth could be used as the casino "cage"? It's big enough for a table game or two and a couple of slots. Looking back at the high roller room on Symphony, that only had two tables IIRC and not slots. Way too constrained for anything more. That makes some sense, and points to both a) the Lounge remains for both ships, and b) Pulse gets the reborn casino.

And that happens here as well. But that applies AFTER the priority distributions, which are a flat amount. With the priority distributions, everyone gets the maximum of XXX per person, regardless of the total amount claimed. When it comes time for the general distribution, after all priority claims are settled, it's done on a flat percentage basis for everyone. Or at least that is my understanding. Please don't conflate the priority distributions, which you DID receive, with general distributions that are a completely different animal.

Because blaming an airline is the true national sport of America?