milolii

15 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

Thank you for posting this. That was my choice for Medicare and it is reassuring to read. 

I’m a retired employee.  I once authorized an air ambulance from Cabo back to the SF Bay Area. $ 55,000. That was several years ago.  
 

I’ve used the app to submit for reimbursement for Covid tests(in London) and medications. Very easy and check comes quickly.  Uploaded part of CC statement showing conversion from £ to $.  

Kaiser recommends carrying a small travel medical policy to show if needed at a foreign hospital; clinic, etc.  but will absolutely reimburse. 

On 3/10/2024 at 10:53 AM, Kristelle said:

Thanks for the update. 

We will be staying in Cairns early October and planning to do a day trip to Kuranda.

Whilst sky cable one way, train the other,  would obviously be the best, if we do one way by bus that would be OK.

 

But another 7 months till then.

Hope it works out for you. 

Kurada Railway:  We are in Cairns now as part of a DYI land trip.  I had committed to reporting back on the status of the railway.  There was another slide last night and  the railway is closed again.  We’ve been here two days and  the rain is very heavy with localized flooding.  We took the Skyrail up and bus back down through a private tour company.  Very enjoyable day.  Parts of the road also have heavy damage. Parts were washed away leaving one lane.  

13 hours ago, cherylandtk said:

Delta yes. (Note that American has recently announced changes to their program which will disallow points if booked via a third party.)

AA changes take effect for tickets purchased on May1, 2024 and beyond.  So if you have an EZ Air reservation, and want the miles, you probably will need to actually purchase the tickets by April 30, 2024, and not wait for final payment.
 

 AA has stated that in order to earn miles, tickets must be purchased on its website, a One World Partner website, or one of their approved travel agencies.  The list of approved travel agencies will be published in April.  It’s doubtful EZ Air will be one of them. 

2 hours ago, Teechur said:

In July, I will be flying (EZ Air) from Montreal to Maui on United Airlines. The first flight (co-branded) is operated by Air Canada to Denver, and the second flight is operated by United to Maui. I wonder if I can use United points to upgrade both flights, or even just the second flight? Anyone know? TIA!

Here is a link to United‘s  information on flight upgrades.  At the bottom is the link to Star Alliance upgrades. You can bring up your reservation and  view your  options. You should see offers.  The website will default to money, but click on the miles option.
 
 https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/mileageplus/awards/upgrade.html

We were on the Royal last year and got access to the Enclave.  There was a letter in the cabin that said we had this access.  I haven’t seen that before on the Royal Class ships.  The letter was from the concierge.  I’ve read other reports of people getting access as well, but it’s not a listed perk.  I was surprised. So maybe…? 

You need to check your documents.  For the January 21, 2025 voyage, the departure time is 1600, so would need to be onboard by 1530.  

We’ve sailed on the Enchanted in one of the forward window suites and an aft suite.  The aft suites do have warp around balconies.  The ones on Dolphin and Emerald are quite large.  The aft suites are close to the suite lounge which is Mid aft Riviera deck.  Aloha or Baja, are good choices, if you can’t get Riviera,  I think the owners suite is on Emerald, so not sure about noise from club below.  But all are nice.  The side penthouse cabins are nice and across from the suite lounge.  It’s a good size.  Two balcony cabins, basically with small balconies, but two of them. 
 

The forward suites are near the retreat pool, up a few decks.  Also easy to get down to Sabatini’s for breakfast - deck 5.  It far from other things, like the suite lounge, main dining rooms.

@riffatseathink some are still using this.  
 

Question: what is the latest on how far out you can submit ? I have 2023 dome, but just booked a cruise for January 2024?

@VJWcruiseryes, there are groups of passengers who take this cruise specifically to visit the Falklands.  Evidently on NCL they represent a large guest base. 
 

There are many reports from passengers on the roll calls from the February 2 and February 18 cruises on another social media site.  Many of these reports(over 30) are long, detailed and thoughtful. Some include conversations with the Captain, stating the orders came from Miami.  Many believe the changes were aimed at avoiding (as best as possible) missing the Falklands Islands stop in the future and a repeat of the “gathering” in the Atrium on the January 21 sailing. I think that was the evening of January 30th.  

Passengers from that sailing knew the reason for missing the port was not weather related as they were told.  How?  Folks had communication with passengers on the Sapphire Princess, on island tour operators; and even port staff in Stanley. The Sapphire Princess and the Azamara  Quest both successfully called at the port in what was described as a beautiful calm day.  
 

The changes came a few days later on the Feb 2 sailing, with the Falkland stop being moved up by one day from the second Friday to Thursday.

So, I do think it is possible this had more to do with port congestion at the Falklands than speeds in Antarctic Waters. 

Ah!  Thanks.  We are using Edson, based on your  recommendation.  Yep, I use my Gmail account. 

@MercruiserTy, Yes, Ive been trying to work my way through this.  My Spanish is so so for booking, but relying on it for flight updates … maybe not.   We are on the Sapphire Princess -January, 2025, RT Buenos Aires.  

We want to fly to Rio from the US, then on to IGU.  Overnight on the Argentina side, then on to Buenos Aires from IGR.   I’m having trouble getting the Brazil  flight information for this portion, with all flights changing planes in San Pablo.  Oh well, it’s probably a bit early anyway. I’m sure there are direct flights.  Princess wants an insane amount of money to do this in a 5 day cruise tour. 

I heard from the guide today as I sent him a message through tour by locals. I told him, he was recommended on cruise critic. He can start us in Brazil and end in Argentina. This part seems perfect, Ty. 

 I also  learned about the Visa for Brazil, so looking at that now. The financial document requirements are a little concerning.  But also not sure about the arrival and departure portion. This means I need to purchase the airfare (OK) but not sure how I show departure if in a car.  Maybe if I purchase the tour with Tour by Locals? Hmmmm… 
 

Ideally,  I would like to secure the visa before committing.  
 

Thanks for your expertise. 
 

On 2/16/2024 at 3:01 AM, Mercruiser said:

We booked all of these about about 4 months in advance. Prices may have gone up since 

 

1) RT non-stop air from Buenos Aeries to IGR airport in Argentina We booked on Aerolineas Argentinas. It was about $55 per person one-way. We booked in the Argentina web site in Spanish. It will cost more if you book on the USA site. The seat pitch was the smallest I'd experienced since domestic India flights. If I had to do it all over, I'd pay the upgrade for a roomier seat up front.

 

2) 2 or 3 nights hotel in Iguazu Falls Argentina - ”Secret Garden Iguazu”. I booked on booking.com Check your dates for prices 

 

3) We hired a private guide to take us to both the Aregentina and Brazil side. Brazil side was a day trip. We booked the guide through Tours by Locals. Click the link in post 5 and get a price. I paid about $550 with cancel for any reason option.

 

I really liked having a private tour guide for both days. It really made the trip low-stress, enjoyable, and easy. You can get group tours cheaper of course. But I really liked the private tour. We never had to wait for anyone else, and the tour guide customized the stops according to our wishes.  

 

 

In addition you will have to pay admission fees to both parks. I'm remembering it's around $20 pp x 2 parks. You can check on their web sites.

Wonderful, thanks for this.

On 2/13/2024 at 4:21 PM, Lvntrvl said:

Starting to plan for a pre-cruise trip to the Iguazu Falls. The cruise departs from Buenos Aires. We are considering flying from the US to Rio for a few days, then traveling to the Iguazu Falls for a day or 2, before heading to Buenos Aires. Does anyone who has done this have any suggestions? It appears that the cheapest airfare has us flying into the Brazilian side and out of the Argentinian side. Is there adequate transportation between these two airports to make this a reasonable DIY option? 

This is what we want to do.  What airlines or site are you using for the 2 flight information? 

 .

Yep, my thoughts as well.  We usually book with the airlines, but sometimes use EZ air. 

I’m posting this here as I think it’s possible EZ Air tickets will be affected.  
 

I received  an email this morning from AA.  Effective for Flights Ticketed  after May 1, 2024. It states passengers will only earn award miles when they :

Book directly with American and our eligible partner airlines 

Booked through our preferred travel agencies.

There are also exceptions for some corporate/business travelers.

The list of “preferred travel agencies”  will be released later.  

Will EZ Air be on the list? 
Are United, Delta, SW next? 

Here is an article I found

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/other/american-makes-big-changes-to-earning-miles-jacks-up-bag-fees/ar-BB1iBnTW

1 hour ago, roxievegas said:

I forgot to mention that I had researched non Princess excursions with companies that others had recommended.

one - the price was comparable to Princess or close enough

two - some stated that you had to pay now and no refund if cancelled within 48 hours

 

I do know that sometimes the ship arrives late to port or has to change things around and I didn't want to have to deal with an outside company not being able to use them and lose my money.  At least with Princess, I know that I will be refunded if something goes wrong.

We use the same logic.   I see fewer small private companies offering the full refund if the ship doesn’t make the port.  And as you said the bigger companies have that 24-48 hour cancellation policy.  Many people don’t read this.  
 

Other factors include how far the excursion travels away from the port and if no other option is available. I had a private vendor email me in December that they could not guarantee an on time return; so we went with the similar Princess option. 
 

We book a mixture of Princess sponsored, private groups, and DYI excursions.  
 

 Blackberry cars will pick you up. Contact for a quote

Or you can pre book an Uber.  

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I was wondering why the NCL Star bypassed Port Stanley. Initially someone posted the following on my Sapphire Princess Live From thread at 9:13 am on Jan 31:

 

It looks like the Norwegian Star skips Port Stanley tomorrow, as their AIS destination (on Cruise Mapper) now indicates AR BSAS for Buenos Aires. Earlier, it showed FK PSY for Falkland. Port Stanley was on the Star's itinerary: 01 Feb 06:00 - 16:00

Then I posted this observation around 9:30 pm on Jan 31:

 

Port Stanley does seem like a popular place this evening. The blue ship heading south away from the port is the Oceania Marina while the yellow ship above the island heading in a NNW direction is the NCL Sun. The other blue ship heading in a ENE direction is the Azamara Quest while the other yellow ship heading due north is the NCL Star. According to CM (Cruise Mapper), both the Quest and the Sapphire are still planning to arrive in Port Stanley tomorrow morning while the NCL Star seems to be bypassing the port as @EDVM96 mentioned earlier.

 

But I will also note that the weather was forecasted to turn pretty nasty in Port Stanley around 3 pm, which it actually started getting ugly around noon and peaking around 4 pm. About the same time the Star would be tendering back most of their guests.
 

My unofficial guess from over here in the peanut gallery is the Star’s Captain wanted to start tendering earlier, as note above, so they could leave earlier and avoid the heavy winds and rain that were in the forecast. But I imagine that change would also require a major overhaul to their booked excursion schedules, which is probably why the port authority said no.

 

Anyway, thanks for sharing that little tidbit of information. That explained why the Star passed Port Stanley.

Hi Ken, I started following your thread after I leaned about the NCL Star’s incident at the Falklands (on another media site); and seeing clips of a large, vocal & singing gathering in the  NCL Star’s  atrium the day before, January 31.  Originally, I was following @scubacruiserx2 ‘s January 7, 2024 thread as we booked on the NCL Star for  February, 2025.  

I’ll admit I didn’t know much about sailing to Antarctica other than there are plenty of sea days and it is clear that neither NCL or Princess offer/sell expedition cruises amd no one would be setting foot on the continent.  Due to the costs and time spend to get to BA or Santiago, my guess is most of the passengers on both ships understand these two points very well.  
 

After reading many of the posts here, it appears some posters don’t completely understand the importance of the “sail by” to Antarctica, as I admitted I didn’t until recently.  If posters want to fully appreciate the significance of this type of cruise, I suggest they read your threads or at least glance at all the amazing pics taken during the Antarctica portion postered in both threads. 
 

We sail both Princess and NCL frequently.  Again, Thank you and @scubacruiserx2for your threads. 
 

I just check the website today.  The word “Antarctica”  now again appears on the sailing titles. The original 2 days including Paradise Bay is now replaced with one day at Admiralty Bay and Elephant Island.  The map however, still shows a cruise in Paradise Bay.  This applies to 2024 and 2025 sailings.  So it doesn’t look like the issue will be resolved by next year.  

17 minutes ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

There would not be landings on the peninsula or continent. NCL isn't setup for that. That being said, you still get plenty of amazing views without stepping foot on land. The area is pristine and if you have sunny weather, I have yet to be anywhere on Earth like it.

From some of the pics I’ve seen from this year’s cruises, it looks amazing. 

37 minutes ago, MarciAnn said:

As I understand it based on the size of the ship, there wasn't going to be any landings in Antartica so was it just going to be a sail by, am I correct?  Not downplaying the passengers disappointment but trying to understand exactly what they are missing.  The Shetlands are also amazing!

It wasn’t sold as an Expedition cruise, that is quite clear.  It was sold as 2 full days of scenic cruising  in the  waters around the Antarctic Peninsula, with Paradise Bay as a highlight. 

1 hour ago, Corriegr said:

This now an absolute PR disaster for NCL with Good Morning America now posting on the Star FB page trying to catch up with passengers . 

Yes, I saw this.  The changes also apply to the Feb 18th cruise.  The  cruise departing January 21, also had an issue re: missing Stanley on Feb1; while the Sapphire Princess and Azamara Quest tendered there.  Passengers were initially told (the day before), it was due to weather, but discover differently through contacts on the island (such as their private tour vendors and port authorities), as well as, passengers on the Sapphire Princess.  
 

On that cruise, there was a gathering of a large group of unhappy Argentines in the Atrium.  
 

We were considering the  same cruise for 2025, but now looking at the Sapphire Princess. The words “and Antarctica”, have since been removed from the title of the cruises for 2024 and 2025. That happened this weekend. 

On 2/4/2024 at 4:44 AM, JohnAlleb77 said:

 

From 1st May 2024 buses over 11m will not have access to drive to the top of Aksla. Because of narrow road and chaos on top.  I guess there will be other options available... Ålesund city are starting the work with better access, but that will take several years.

 

 

The Stairs up are quite steep, but doable if you are fit. Aksla is well worth a visit. 

You can see some pictures of the chaos here : 

https://www.nrk.no/mr/turistar-fra-to-cruiseskip-til-kai-i-alesund-forer-til-trafikkaos-pa-byfjellet-aksla-1.16438694

 

 

Yikes, what a mess!  Will the little tourist train be allowed?  Just trying to clarify.  We went up last year early in the morning on a 17 seater  minibus tour.  I remember thinking there isn’t much room here. 

We’ve gotten a kettle on two cruises we've taken outside of those sailing from the UK; one out of San Francisco and one out of Copenhagen.  

These are Princess issued kettles.  Just to be clear these are small electric kettles, most often found on cruises out of the UK, but can be requested on cruises departing other ports. 
 

Gdańsk is a lovely town.  We hired a taxi right outside the port as we wanted to go to a Motorcycle Museum in Gydnia and then over to Gdańsk.  He took us all around for about €100.  It was about 5 hours.  We went to  St.Mary’s church, the wharf along the Motlawa River and a resort on the beach. We really liked Gnask.  Also I think we stopped at a local market. 

You  have a lot of time in port, so @dfilpus suggestions are  also good.  We had a weird 0700-1400 time slot, so opted for the taxi.   

Our roll call formed  a private tour, but it was full by the time we booked the cruise.  It was good according to the 4 people I met. 

https://www.easygdansktours.com/shore-excursions-from-gdansk-and-gdynia/