Kellie Poodle

I'd like to see RCI bring back the Panama Canal turn-around cruise that used to sail from Galveston. I believe it was when Rhapsody was still there. Maybe the last one was 2005 or 2006.

I normally cruise for ports, but when I need a quick get-away, I'll find a good price and drive the 6+ hours to Galveston and not get off the ship.

Please for the good of all reading share the name of the company whose policy you purchased. Save us from what happened to you!

 

 

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Travel Guard. They were horrible. I was given the name of a woman in the RCI home office in Miami who was of great assistance. It was she who fought with Travel Guard to get us home.

When he was finally cleared for travel, I overheard the doctor request that DH fly first class, yet the paramedic got him a ticket in business. When I questioned this, the paramedic (who worked for the insurance company), told me that HE didn't think it was medically necessary. It didn't matter what the doctor wanted, the paramedic has the final say.

To add insult to injury, even though we had the same insurance coverage, and they knew that I was his primary caregiver, they put me in coach.

I became a widow in early June. I'm 68. I did my first solo trip on a river cruise in November. It was a small and intimate group and it was very easy to make friends.

The river cruises include most of the excursions and with such a small group of people (under 200), I knew at least two or three people in whatever group I was in.

There is open seating in the dining room, but it's not hard to find a spot with others at a larger table. No one leads you to a table on river cruises. You come in and find your own seat. Many times I preferred to eat alone.

I mention this as it might be less overwhelming for her than a ship with a thousand or more strangers.

My late husband and I booked a B2B for this summer a year ago. I still have the booking. I'm looking for a cabin mate, but I will most likely go alone. Everyone seems to want me to take care of their excursions and I would much rather take care of only myself.:)

I have booked MTD and look forward to being seated with a different group each night, if possible. Then I can meet more people. (Our last few experiences with traditional seating led to some unpleasant table-mates.) I also like the flexibility of MTD, especially on port-intensive sailings.

The suggestion of becoming an active participant in the roll call is an excellent one.

It sounds like your mom is an independent person. I think she'll love traveling alone, but be aware that she will have to pay the costly single supplement.

A few insurance hints:

While the comparative insurance sites on the Internet are a good way to shop, call the insurance company DIRECTLY and review the policy coverage with them. The cost will be the same directly or through the Internet brokerage.

I was given a wrong interpretation of a policy clause by an Insure My Trip customer service representative. I'm glad I called the company directly to verify the information or I would have purchased something that was not suitable for my needs.

Medical evacuation, although covered by travel insurance, may not be what you think it is. Most often it is to a hospital that the insurance company deems appropriate, not the one of your choice or even at your home.

For this reason I have an annual policy with MedJet Assist which bypasses the regular travel insurance company. If your personal physician requires you to be in a hospital at your home and the treating physician clears you for evacuation, they do it. AARP members get a nice discount

I had a horrible experience several years ago with a very expensive and "highly rated" travel insurance company who refused to evacuate my DH even though they were fully aware that the hospital he was in was inadequate to treat him. They refused to communicate with his personal physician or to set up an interpreted conference between the treating physician and the personal physician. The policy stated that they will do this. What they didn't state was that the treating physician (who didn't speak English) had to request it. The insurance company refused my request to notify the treating physician of the clause.

ALL medical decisions, other than direct treatment, were being made by a paramedic in the employ of the insurance company. It is up to the insurance company whether or not they will evacuate you and they are not in business to spend money.

Even if you have personal insurance that covers you in foreign countries, there is a difference in primary and secondary coverage. With secondary coverage you pay the bills and then submit the claims to your company. If the insurance is primary, you can request that they pay the bill and, when you get home, you submit the bills to your personal coverage to reimburse the travel insurance company. Medicare is not good outside of the United States.

These are some reasons why I urge everyone to speak to the actual insurance company for clarification of the policy clauses that concern you the most. Use the online comparison sites to shop, but make certain you know what you are buying.

Also, most reputable insurance companies will give you a full refund within a week if, once you carefully read the policy, you find it's not what you need.

If there is a cruise with pricing that has half-off for the second person in the cabin, will this result in only a 50% single supplement?

Can you tell me what the difference in a D1 and E1 is? Thanks for the information.

 

 

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Generally, it's a sofa cushion. The E cabins have a two-cushion love seat and the D cabins have a three-cushion sofa. There is that little bit of extra room needed for the third cushion.

You do know that you have to call Crown & Anchor and give them your Captain's Club number. The reciprocity is NOT automatic. You have to ask for it and be issued a Crown & Anchor number.

Celebrity and Azamara share the same number so you don't have to ask for that reciprocity, but between Royal and Celebrity, you do.

Did one NCL cruise and will NEVER do another.

Pretty Loyal to Royal but have done Celebrity as well and one Azamara cruise.

I like Celebrity, but I think the food on Royal is better. Food is a highly subjective topic and what pleases me won't necessarily please someone else.

The quality of service on Celebrity and Royal are, in my opinion, equal. I don't need much attention other than good table service and a well-trained cabin attendant.

Did one Azamara cruise just short of a year ago. I was not at all impressed with the dining room. Service was terrible. The food was very, very pretty but not very tasty. The deserts were awful. I am used to small ships as I do some river cruising on high-end lines, so it wasn't the size of the Quest that bothered me. It was more likely the "kitsch" of the over-friendly staff. I thought the "welcome home" when reboarding after a port was tacky. It's not my home it's a cruise ship. The captain went around fist-bumping everyone. Was he ever at the helm or did he just walk around being friendly?

The Azamara experience was just not my thing, however if the ports were interesting and price was right, I'd go back just for that.

I'll do more Celebrity cruises if the ports are interesting and the price is right, too.

My favorite cruise line is still Royal.

Unless there has been a change from last February, there are no fridges/coolers in the Ocean view rooms (other than POV).

We had to get one from special needs in an ocean view cabin on Grandeur. We needed it for medication.

We have seen services scheduled for most all 7 night (or longer) sailings. There has been a sign up book at guest services and, as they generally need a volunteer, there is a place to indicate if you are willing ( and able) to lead the service.

They used to have the sign-up sheet in the library.

The prayer books are Reform.

I've led services several times and no one seemed to mind that I can't carry a tune. :D

I always travel with battery-operated tea lights so I can light candles on Friday night.

Nobody mentioned the covered pool.

When I last sailed Brilliance, in 2007, the adult pool had a cover. I sure hope it's still there as I'm doing a B2B on her this summer and the weather will be quite cool.

She is one of my favorite ships in the line. Just the perfect size for intimacy and privacy.

I am a big fan of the matte jersey synthetics. They pack beautifully, drape well, weigh very little and are dirt cheap in places like Ross Dress for Less. The gowns I buy there are under $40 and look every bit as pretty as those costing hundreds more.

Glad to see them back. I have no stores near me, so I only shopped on line.

There isn't much of a selection on the new online store. I hope, as time continues, they add more.

Even with Freestyle you can reserve the same table same time every night on NCL so it really is not that much different than My Time..

You can't reserve a table if you are only two people. That's another reason I won't go back to NCL.

We were NCL cruisers back then, and there was much discussion when freestyle dining was introduced. Naturally, the traditionalists didn't like the idea at all and swore they would never sail NCL again. I wonder if they ever did??.

I was very happy with NCL when they were traditional. I did one Freestyle cruise and will never set foot on an NCL ship again. It was not so much the change in the dining scheduling (or not scheduling) it was the immediate decline in the quality of the food, the crew and the maintenance of the ship.

I sail on RCI and Celebrity, mostly, and I do MTD or Select dining on those ships, so I'm not at all adverse to unscheduled seating, but I was so disappointed in the cheapening of the entire cruise experience on NCL that I won't sail with them again.

Just pay attention to the sea. If it's choppy, tendering can be a nightmare. We were backed up for several hours trying to get back to the ship because of bad seas.

If the seas are high, get back early.

That's what I figured and what we do in Celebrity's designated Elite/Elite+ lounge too.

 

When we get vouchers on Celebrity (only cruises when a large # of Elite/Elite+ onboard), we know the 15% is included in the lounges, so we usually tip extra to our favorite and most frequent servers at the end of the cruise (a generous extra); they see us 2-4x per day in Cafe al Bacio between the vouchers and our included specialty teas & coffees that we get as an Elite+ benefit (for which they also get the 15% gratuity).

 

You all are giving us great information, and I do so appreciate it. Dh and I just went for a walk and I caught him up on all the information you have provided on this thread.

 

Kathy

One more hint. I like the DL as they have nice little snackie things and sometimes I'm hungry for just a little bite of something. I do MTD, so I'm not limited in time to either first or second seating.

What I do is wait until about 5 minutes before first seating to go into the DL. It's practically empty and service is great.

Also the DL is a quiet place, generally with a nice view, to bring your book and relax in the afternoon if it's too cool and windy to use the balcony.

There is usually fruit available and specialty coffee if the machine is working. There are cold sodas in the fridge under the counter and you can take what you want. I have on several cruises, but it's best to check about the soda with the loyalty ambassador.

Topo Gigio, thank you. If during your cruise you hear vouchers can or cannot be used for bottled water, can you report back? We would use most vouchers for glasses of wine although an occasional bottle of water would be good. We mainly cruise on Celebrity and haven't sailed with RCI since 2012, but we will be on the Grandeur and the Serenade next year so we are attempting to learn information on "changes".

 

Have a wonderful cruise and enjoy those vouchers!

 

Kathy

Hi Jack and Kathy. We loved Grandeur, Sailed on her in 2012 on an Eastern Med cruise.

BTW, Barry passed away on June 1. It was very sudden. I'm still booked for the B2B like the one I missed in 2013. Trying to find someone to sail with me.

I have a couple of cruises booked for 2015 that were booked on board an Azamara ship so there is OBC of $150 on one cruise and $200 on the second. My husband passed away in June and I kept my reservation as I intend to do the cruises even if I have to pay double.

I am Diamond and the balcony discount was applied to the column with my fare. Also, I was able to get the fee reworked for the BOGO sale.

If I can get someone to go with me, here are my questions:

What I am wondering is will I be able to keep the OBC and the price that I have now if I change the name of the second person on the cruise?

I paid $200 per cruise in deposits as we booked aboard the ship. Will RCI require a larger deposit from a new traveler?

Will my fellow traveler get Diamond status because I am Diamond?

I never had to face a situation like this before, so I'd appreciate any advice as well as answers to the questions.

:D LOL

 

Kellie Poodle - The CSA Luxe doesn't need to be purchased until FINAL payment, and it covers pre-existing.

Yes, but it's secondary.

When my DH was in the hospital in Sicily, another woman from the ship was also in there. They had to charge their bill on a credit card because their insurance was secondary. We walked away because ours was primary.

I often book cruises well in advance. I have to purchase insurance rather quickly after making the initial deposit to cover pre-existing conditions.

What I do is insure for the minimum amount and add as I go along. When I book the air, I add it to the insurance and pay the increase in premium. Same thing when I make pre or post-cruise hotel, airport car reservations and final payment.

If I have booked a private excursion with a non-refundable deposit policy, I make sure I have enough insurance to cover that as well.

The insurance premium money is happier staying in my pocket for as long as it can :)

Yes it happened while in Ireland too. But that was just for basic health insurance. and the insurance took their sweet time processing that claim

This is one good reason to check if the travel insurance is "primary" or "secondary". Primary insurance will, if you ask them to, pay the hospital bill. If you get anything back from insurance you reimburse them.

Secondary insurance will have you paying the bill then waiting for your insurance company to either pay or issue a statement that it's not covered, as in people with Medicare.

I can only relate our experiences. A few years ago I came down with an achilles tendon a week before we were supposed to cruise. We would be in Rome right now for a Holy Land cruise, but DW had a heart problem. Thousands of dollars and all of it covered by Travel Guard. Sorry for your experience!

Thank your lucky stars that he didn't get sick in Rome. My DH got sick in Palermo, Sicily. Travel Guard knew that the hospital was inadequate to care for him, but refused to move him or even entertain the one-million dollars worth of air transport insurance he had. Further, the refused to hold a conference call between his physician at home and the treating physician (with interpreter), which was a clause in the policy that we were entitled to because the "treating physician" had to ask for it, but no one told the treating physician, who didn't speak English, that he could.

Though I repeatedly asked to speak to their physician in charge of the case, they would not allow it. I doubt if there was ever a licensed physician reviewing the situation at Travel Guard. The decisions for my DH's care were being made by a paramedic who worked for Travel Guard.

As for getting money back when you cancel a trip, all the companies are good for that. I cancelled a B2B last summer due to cancer treatment and TravelEX had a check for over $9,000 in my hands in less than 3 weeks with out a single problem or question..

To the OP:

If you have any kind of pre-existing condition, it would behoove you to get insurance for it. Many companies require you to get the insurance within two or three weeks after putting down the deposit.

Even if you are being treated for the pre-existing condition a simple change of medication can make you ineligible for coverage unless you have an option for pre-existing condition.

When it comes to insurance companies every pre-existing condition presents an avenue for them to weasel out of paying.

I did extensive research into this as my late husband was Diabetic and had a heart condition.

We always buy Travel Guard. We have had to file claims twice and have gotten great service. Make sure to have your flights booked first.

I'll never, ever deal with Travel Guard again. Their bottom line was more important than the health of the insured. Horrible people to deal with in a medical emergency.