DCThunder

Thanks to both of you. This is the information I need. I would plan to book through a TA, but wanted to be clear on the "official" policy.

Apologies in advance if the answer to this question is on the website somewhere, but what is the deposit policy on booking an Azamara cruise? I'm totally new to Azamara and am looking at a cruise in October 2024 and from what I can see, the website is asking for full payment at time of booking. Is that normal? I'm reluctant to tie up a lot of money for over 16 months by pre-paying, obviously. Thanks for any information/advice.

I understand how that works, but thanks. 😎

I just quoted the figure from CruiseDeckPlans, so take that up with them. ROTTERDAM DECK PLAN VIEW AT CRUISEDECKPLANS SHOWING THE NEWEST DECK PLAN LAYOUTS, PUBLIC VENUES AND STATEROOM PICTURES AND OUR OWN DECK PLAN PDF (PRINTABLE VERSION). ROTTERDAM CRUISE SHIP DECK PLAN HAS 1339 STATEROOMS FOR UP TO 3214 PASSENGERS SERVED BY 1025 CREW. THERE ARE 13 PASSENGER DECKS, 8 WITH CABINS. YOU CAN EXPECT A SPACE RATIO OF 31% ON THIS SHIP.

That would be Rotterdam. But while Rotterdam is "small" compared to the "Monstrosity of the Seas" class ships of other lines, it still has a capacity of around 3200 passengers.

I'm not aware of HAL building ANY new ships, let alone small ones. Many HAL cruisers think they should do so, and perhaps they are, but so far none are publicly announced.

You can always wear Tevas, Keens, or Birkenstocks and thick wool socks. That would be the height of Alaskan fashion.

Depending on the excursion, there might be a waiting list, so they might let you cancel because others will take the slot(s). Talk to the Shore Excursion desk on board and see what they can do for you.

My ex-wife was the same way. That's one of the reasons she's my ex-wife!.😉

This may be why I don't remember going down and up any stairs to get to the shuttle.

Frankly, I don't totally remember. I think we were able to just get off the train and walk out to the parking lot where the shuttle was, but I could be wrong.

When I was in Rome last fall, I took the train from Rome to Civi. It cost $12 (1 pax) , the seat I got was great and comfortable, and while getting a rolling bag over the gap was necessary, it was nothing I couldn't handle. There was a shuttle bus from the Civi station to the cruise port for another dollar or two (IIRC). There were probably a dozen or so cruise passengers on the train/shuttle bus that I was on. Now I stayed at a hotel in the Termini district of Rome, so I was able to walk several blocks and didn't need a cab in Rome. But as a solo traveler, taking the train was a major savings over a cab or limo from Rome to Civi. I will be back in Italy this November and may do the same thing again, although I'll be with two other people, so we may do a different type of transfer.

I refuse to use body wash, so always bring bar soap. I know the youngin's like their body wash, but I'm a bar soap man!

I think that's a smart bet, but still...🤷‍♂️

As someone else mentioned up-thread, when over 50% of the passengers are Elite, the benefit of the perk starts to decline a bit. Perhaps on a run-of-the-mill 7 day Caribbean cruise with lots of lowly Rubys or, heaven forbid, NO COLOR medallions, it's a big deal to have tender priority, but otherwise, NBD.

How do you miss the ship in Skagway? Their ain't that much to do there.

Hey, the title of the thread got me to check it out. That's why they call it "click bait".

I also find it hard to believe that HAL would have leaned into the "150th Anniversary of HAL Celebration" if the plan was to sell or otherwise shutter the line within 5 years. I realize that the unexpected happens, but doing so seems counterintuitive to me.

I'm sure there will be a friendly (although slightly disheveled looking) person hanging around Fisherman's Wharf who'd be more than happy to watch your luggage for you while you went off and had lunch and toured the area. Just leave it with them. It'll be perfectly safe...😁

All cruisers will welcome our Saudi overlords!😎

In Vigo, look into an excursion to Santiago de Compostela. It's about a 90 minute bus ride through the beautiful Galician countryside, which culminates in the famous Cathedral of St. James de Compostela, the terminus of countless pilgrimages to the supposed location of the death of St. James the Great, one of the disciples of Jesus. Whether or not you are religious or are bored of cathedrals in Europe, seeing this one is worth the time. The main square outside the entrance has a specific marker as to the end of the various pilgrimage trails with the distance to major European cities where they start. When I was there in early May, there were many hikers who'd just completed their treks and were all taking photos with the Cathedral in the background. The area round the main square is full of little shops selling a lot of schlock, but there are some gems to be found if you look hard enough. Our tour had lunch at a restaurant that was in the lower level of a 5 star hotel that had been operating in one form or another for several hundred years. The lunch was one of the best meals I had on the entire cruise. BTW, the weather in early May was sunny and got quite warm in the afternoon. I'd say in the mid-80s F.

I was looking at GeoBlue Trekker coverages. One thing I noticed was that medical expense coverage dropped from $1M to $100K when you turn 70 up until age 94. So you can't just look at the top line coverages, and not consider the fine print. I'm no insurance expert, but I'd also wonder about the subrogation of the Princess coverage and then the GeoBlue coverage for a medical or medevac situation.

Remember too, that Medicare provides no coverage outside of the USA. I'm not sure about Medicare supplemental plans, but I'd suspect the don't either. So if your only US health insurance is some blend of Medicare and Medicare supplemental, you'd absolutely need travel insurance for medical. I thought I'd never need insurance coverage. A slip and fall taking all of 2 seconds changed my mind about that once and for all.

Just FYI, the Australia ETA visa site doesn't list travel in 2025 on its drop down menu, so coolest thy jets on Australian visas. It's only June 2023.

I was looking at a flight from ATL to FCO, preferrably non-stop.. EZAir offered a routing of ATL>LAX>FCO. A 30 hour flight with layovers included...