biker1972

Also, for this reason, we may never go to Brazil, due to their absurd requirements.

Their requirements are in answer to what the U.S. requires. If you travel with a UK passport, no visa is required for Brazil. Quid pro quo.

If the stock shares are owned jointly, the benefit will only be applied to one cabin no matter how many shares more than minimum 100 are owned.

Only airports.

When faced with this prepay requirement on Celebrity, I quickly saw that there was an incentive to find private tours that were generally less expensive and much more enjoyable than the ones offered by the cruise line. Not being able to use the OBC is a big negative. Lining up at the shore excursion desk while once board because I didn't prepay is a big negative. Worrying that my first choice excursion will be filled because I didn't prepay is a negative. Boy am I glad I like research and can find great private tours that generally don't require prepayment. Princess may be giving up one of the things that makes it more attractive than some other lines.

ClaireP: Just to let you know, a common way to pass a norovirus from person to person is through food. This is why so much effort is made to control how food is distributed at the buffets on board ships.

The "cancel for any reason" portion of the travel insurance that the cruise lines sell is generally fulfilled with vouchers for a future cruise, and not cash. An outside vendor policy that has a "cancel for any reason" rider would pay cash. The CFAR rider will be an additional cost for most of the comprehensive policies available from companies such as AIG or CSA. These policies generally only pay a portion of the non-refundable costs of a trip.

The major problem will not be the surgery or the doctor, but the physical therapy that will be taking place post op. With BWC injuries, you will be scheduled for therapy. When you start therapy, what kind of exercises you do, and what happens if there is a delay or interruption are all factors that you need to investigate. I missed a cruise because of a broken arm from a fall at work that required shoulder surgery. The break was fixed and I might have traveled, but it was the recommended therapy that stopped me. Investigate your options. My travel insurance paid so it was not a monetary loss.

Sounds like you know what is going on.

I booked a cruise prior to the "3 for free" promotion. When the promotion started I checked pricing and found that the balcony cabins on the cruise had increased $600 or more than enough to pay tips and a specialty dining cover charge. Since pricing was the same for all balcony cabins, the third benefit was pure fluff from Princess.

I have a hybrid b2b booked for June 2016 using Princess for the northbound cruise from Vancouver followed by a land tour (part of the Princess booking) and then the Millennium southbound back to Vancouver. Everything fits almost seamlessly. The last night of the Princess cruise tour is in Anchorage at the Captain Cook Hotel and the next morning the X transfer to Seward starts from the nearby Marriott. I am sure that with all of the various cruises to Alaska, there are many ways to use 2 cruise lines for b2b trips. As noted there are repeated stops but also differences.

We spent 4 weeks in 7206 when we did BA to FL. Awesome cruise and awesome cabin. With so much of the veranda covered it is such a great space and going through the canal was worth every penny extra.

According to the website room service is complimentary for Concierge class and above cabins.

Another consideration are the perks that are included when you book or what you get if you have a TA. With a large amount of OBC and a small need to drink things other than water or coffee, the drink package might not make sense.

If you upgrade to premium, you pay tips on the difference in price.

Tips are included in the drink packages. If you buy a bottle of wine or drinks outside of the package, a tip is added. It is up to you to decide if you want to tip anyone an additional amount.

The cruise lines contract with the airlines for deeply discounted tickets that have many restrictions. They sell these tickets above their costs to make additional profit. When bookings are slow they are able use these tickets as additional fodder to attract cruisers by lowering prices. You can almost always get cheaper airfare from the cruise line but you do get tickets with many hidden restrictions. For a fee, most of he cruise lines will let you choose routing, dates and airlines but they are still selling you restricted tickets. If you are making comparisons between tickets purchased directly from the airlines and those sold by the cruise lines, remember they are not the same tickets. Many questions are answered on the Cruise Air forum.

mamaboss, it is possible to to transfer a booking from one TA to another, but can be a major headache. The issue is the the TA you booked with "owns" the reservation. To prevent poaching by other TA's there are protections in place that allow the transfer to be made only if the "owning" TA gives permission. Sometimes service issues occur and there is a complete breakdown in communication with the TA. In these cases it takes some effort to get the cruise line to release the reservation back to the cruiser. All in all, if it is only pricing or OBC issues, try to prevail on the TA to improve the bottom line and if nothing happens take your business elsewhere next cruise. (Prior to final payment, if there is no cancellation fee due the TA, you can opt to use that club.)

Perhaps the 2B's are booked or very limited and they are holding them for Guarantees. All the blocked cabins that various TA companies should be back in inventory so you might not have choices.

On my next X cruise we have the classic package, $300 on board credit, and included gratuities as well as elite benefits. I will certainly wait until we are on board to decide but I note that the very premium coffee drinks are not listed on the classic menu. It is these special coffee concoctions that make me think about the premium package. I am trying to think of other uses for the OBC. Shore excursions are most likely done ahead using people like Dyea Dave. About the only other use would be one visit to a specialty dining venue. Much to think about.

And what happens if for some weird reason, X puts the OP back in the CS? Hmmm could it happen? OP gets what he paid for. The upgrade fairy made a horrible mistake because X thought someone had failed to pay for their RS and they are just righting their ship. The bonus was the upgrade, and the OP most likely won't get the refund, but he can ask.

So X has changed the itinerary and not updated their website. In X's world this seems to be standard unfortunately. But so far the cruise is taking place. Now when they do a charter and pull the cruise, but won't say anything for several weeks while they are getting the contract signed; that is really concerning. We speculate and worry endlessly, all to no avail. My thought is always, once I board, I am on a cruise and if it is 7 sea days, it is still a cruise and I will make the best of it. Much as I hope to make all the ports on the itinerary, I know that it might not happen. People book September cruises that might go south but sometimes go north to Canada. Do I care and get bent out of shape? No. I would like X to have website that is accurate, but I know they don't always and I try to adjust rather than getting angry about something I have no control over.

The only time to consider Concierge Class cabins is if you are sailing on an M class ship and then only a C1 because of the awesome balconies.

The above answer is from Greatam, whos has a business that allows her to travel all over the world. The full thread is from jwds. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=823976

Greatam generally monitors the Cruise Air forum.

I will give you my experience. Booked Infinity for Carnival 2007. Tickets to the Sambadrome were included. But then it came down to-which tickets, which night??? The cruise lines didn't know early on. In September, I purchased my own Sambadrome tickets-cheaper, MUCH better seats AND I could book specifically for the second night, which normally has the BEST samba schools. X continued to waiver about the Sambadrome tickets-finally stated that it was first come, first served which night you get.

We canceled the cruise. Flew to Rio with family and friends. Our friends and some of our family arrived two days before we did. They had never been to Rio. The "kids" (35+ year old) had a pretty good time sightseeing. They DID NOT mind the crowds, didn't have any "incidents" with the many thieves and muggers and they think they saw what they wanted to see (although our one son was perfectly content to do nothing except watch the almost naked girls on the beach). But our friends-late 50's-early 60's-another story. HATED the crowds, couldn't stand the lines for attractions, missed a lot of stuff and didn't particularly appreciate all the naked people running around, acting VERY "in your face". So two totally different experiences.

I have been to Rio quite a few times. It is a dirty, dangerous city if you don't pay attention and "have your ducks in a row".

JMHO, unless you REALLY want to see the Sambadrome parade and can put up with IMMENSE crowds anyplace else in Rio, take the HAL cruise OUT of Rio and forget Carnival.

You can fly to Rio JUST for Carnival, as we did, if it is REALLY something you want to see. And that is exactly what we did-I wanted to see the parade in the Sambadromo. That is the only thing DH and I did for the entire trip, other than meeting up with our friends and family for dinner. Two nights-about 12 hours per night at the Sambadromo. Then I flew to Chile for work-DH, friends and family flew to Peru and partied.

You decision. This came from Greatam's answer to a question about Carnival. Came in August 2008. Don't know i X will do similar this time around.

The important thing to know is that the OBC coming from the TA is indeed from the TA. There have been promotions where OBC coming from the TA is funded by X and is not refundable. Other than that caveat, everything mentioned above is spot on. With the new BBB promotions it is much more likely that some of your OBC might not be used and will be refunded.