Kellie Poodle

It may not help much...but it works the other way too. :) If Elite on Celebrity...you qualify as Diamond on Royal Caribbean and Discoverer on Azamara.

 

However, you do have to "register" with the "sister" cruise line's website. You can then enter your booking reservation number....and things will get much better!:)

Azamara uses your Captains Club number. You get credit for cruises sailed on Azamara on your Captains Club account. It does not work this way for Crown and Anchor, however.

What is the best option?

MDR on sea days when you have plenty of time and buffet on port days when you don't.

Hi All, thank you so much for your responses to my questions. I have decided not to pursue a claim as the charges are not as high as expected and it's not worth the effort.

I hope your husband is doing well.

We did a sailing on deck 4, mid-ship and it was very quiet.

I would gladly give up my accessible cabin for one close to the elevator. DH has congestive heart failure and walking the corridor to the elevator is hard on him.

I booked this cruise less than a week after it was announced and there were no balcony cabins in my price range next to the mid-ship elevator.

The greedy Travel Agents have them all tied up to offer them to their clients. Those of us who don't work with the big box agencies or book on our own are plain out of luck when it comes to premium locations.

I've never used a lanyard out of almost 100 cruises. :D

I have never lost my ID card and have no problem putting it in a pocket or a small wristlet purse or such.

 

How many of you always use the lanyards? I'm curious approximately what percentage? Thanks if you care to say.

 

I always use a lanyard. I have a beaded one and a rhinestone one. I constantly misplace my card so it's pretty necessary for me.

My wife and I are cruising in 12 days on a ten day Alaska cruise on board the Norwegian Pearl. Yesterday she badly hurt her knee and her biggest concern is not her knee... It's our cruise. She will be able to travel but the obstacles in front of us are intimidating. She will have to use a walker the whole time, use a lot of ice bags for swelling and for the most part , stay off of it. I'm worried about everything. Getting through the cruise terminal lines, getting on/off the ship and which excursions should we cancel. Any advice, experience or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. We are normally very active 60 yr olds, new to this kind of situation. Also does anyone know if she will be able to tender in Icy Strait? And what's the best way to handle going to the muster drill?

 

Thanks so much in advance of any helpful advice.

 

P.S. She is very stubborn and resistant to using a wheel chair! Grrrrrrrr

Woman healing from a broken knee cap here.

Does she have her leg in an immobilizer? Can she put any pressure on the foot with the injured knee?

If she can't and has to hop behind a walker as I did for 6 weeks, I don't think she can tender.

The cruise line should provide a wheel chair for boarding in the terminal. You might need to call them in advance. I'm not familiar with NCL's policies. I know for RCI and Celebrity, we file special needs forms requesting the wheel chair.

You might also want to call the cruise line and get the name and number of their wheel chair rental companies and rent a chair on board just to get around easier. I could not imagine myself and my walker getting around a large ship and I am now able to put some pressure on my injured leg.

I'm very stubborn, too, but I found that I can do things in the wheel chair, like move something from one place to another, that I can't do with both hands on a walker.

The baskets for walkers are not helpful as they make the walker harder to use.

I just have to take a few moments to say that I am awed and inspired by those of you with serious disabilities who push on and live your lives to the fullest.

I'm temporarily disabled due to a broken knee cap. I need to use a walker and a wheel chair and I was kind of feeling sorry for myself. You folks gave me the perspective I needed.

You are my heroes. :)

Our B2B next summer will be our first cruise with a wheel chair for DH. I would have preferred a regular cabin near the elevator, for mobility reasons, but there are none available.

Hard to believe this when I booked in February 2014 for an August and a September 2015 cruise, but the big box TAs grab all the better location cabins.

We did have to email a form to them stating the reason we needed the cabin. That was different from the usual special needs form, but it had the other special needs information to check.

I did an 11 day cruise on Grandeur in an ocean view. It was fine. I used the money I saved on a balcony for a couple of private excursions.

Hey Bob, did your TA have to cancel and rebook? I just talked with mine (who is also calling Royal now) and she said that's how they do it - cancel and rebook. I ask because it seems like some folks here on CC are just calling Royal (or their TA) and asking for the discount and getting it applied to a previous booking without cancelling.

Not Bob, but dis not have to cancel and rebook. Kept my OBC for booking on board another ship

Just had both of my B2B cruises adjusted. I did lose an early booking discount, but the final price is still lower. For the B2B, I saved $1,750 (875 pp.).

Your port charges and taxes might change. Mine did.

Here's what confused me: When you go to the RCI web site and do a dummy booking, the first page will show you the price per guest for that category of staterooms. When you go to the next page and click on the explanation of charges, you have to add both base fares together and then subtract the discount on the second guest to come up with the base fare on the first page.

For future references, if the base fare drops, you can get a reduction, but make sure your total cost will be lower as you do lose the discount if you apply a price drop at a later date.

I called for a small price drop and the rep gave me the BOGHO discount, but raised the base price of the cruise by $560 per person. Did not see this until the paperwork came via email. Only saved $430 for two people over the original price. I'm on hold.

Hm thank you for the feedback. I had heard good things about the tour in Bermuda. Where did you take it and what was the problem with it?

Canary Islands. We had been able to book it online before they took it off. My DH was the first person to book it. The staff in the theater first sent them to one side of the ship, then they were told to go to another side of the ship. This was done to people with mobility issues! When they finally got to the van, it was full. Apparently, the original van broke down so they sent a smaller one.

They put him and the people he was with on a regular tour assuring him it would be the same. it was nothing like the "Easy" tour and he found himself at an altitude where breathing was difficult.

Since it's not the cruise line who controls shore excursions, but vendors the cruise ship hires, there are no assurances. If you want a tour that will assure you you won't have problems, book a private one.

The other issue is that the staff in the theater who assigns who goes when don't seem to be aware that the people on the "Easy" tour are mobility challenged. The people taking the "Easy" tours shouldn't even have to congregate in the theater. They should be told where to meet the tour as they are a small group who doesn't need to traipse across the ship.

Four years ago we were in Bermuda and booked a tour with a van. The guide was the husband of the woman who ran the tourist bureau and we had a grand time. Go to the "ports of call" boards of Cruise Critic and get some recommendations. Also the handicapped travel boards can be very, very helpful.

I always feel that tipping the steward before the end of the cruise is like telling him/her that we don't trust them to do their job unless bribed. I think it's insulting to their skills.

My sister's total fare is $4118.38 and the agent told her to insure it for $3518. So even the travel agent isn't recommending insuring it for the entire cost.

Why?

Good luck with those ideas. Selling a $2 glass of wine would likely backfire in a number of ways. First, I think most people who enjoy wine pay the existing prices, so by offering a super cheap wine Celebrity would bring in LESS revenue. Plus, they'd get a reputation for selling lousy wine and the negative PR that goes with that. As for dining options- same thing. They already have plenty of people who pay $30-45 for a specialty restaurant, so adding an upcharge for a "better dining room" would 1) cut into the existing revenue and 2) create more bad PR from people who would think the regular dining room had gone down in quality to force people to eat in the $15 dining room.

There is no corrolation between the price of wine and the drinkability of the wine. There are many excellent inexpensive wines. I would trust Celebrity to have a decent wine for $4

From personal experience with the "Easy" tours, I'd strongly suggest you go with the independent tour company.

Your tour on your terms.

The stairs nearest the aft cabins are crew-only. The nearest stairs available to guests are amidships, near the elevators.

Check the deck plans.

I'm also a "just-in-case" packer. I can't count the times that I've been glad for that fact. I don't consider taking a 29" bag that gets checked, along with a 21" roll-a-board, and a tote bag to be that big a deal. All 3 items match and stack on each other. I've recently thought about ditching the 29" and seeing if I can make do with just the 2 other bags but...nah, what's the point? I'm happy with my style of traveling. However, if they do start charging more than $25 for one checked bag...then maybe I'll have to rethink the situation. Until then, nah I'm good!:D I know some airlines are charging more than $25 to check a bag...but I don't fly them!:D

I travel like you. 29" 'suiter' rolling suitcase to check, 20" roller for boarding and a huge Vera Bradly bag as my personal item. Vera bag has a panel that fits over the handle of the roller so I can drag both together.

I buy Vera Bradley on line and choose the "retired" patterns which are sold at a significant discount. The 'suiter' luggage allows me to bring things on wire hangers and my dresses and gowns fold neatly in the suiter portion.

We generally fly United and we have their credit card through Chase, so we don't pay for the first checked bag. Many of our cruises are international and the first bag is usually free on an international flight.

Western style food was available in both the hotels and on the boat. The dinners on the boat were mostly western style. One of the first things asked in our first briefing was about food allergies and special dietary needs.

 

We have been on 6 Uniworld trips and will take our 3rd AMA trip this Dec--it will be our 20th river cruise. We found the Avalon trip in Vietnam to be on par with them. People on board told us this was not typical of Avalon in Europe--it was better. Pat

Thank you. Good to know.

I'm guessing that the boats in Vietnam are chartered?

I don't like to eat in my stateroom. Can't stand the smell of food where I sleep and it gets inside from the veranda as well so meals in the cabin were out.

I did request a double espresso every morning at 7 AM. After the first 3 days of butler screw ups, I had a little chat with him.

I did get my espresso, but it was always cold even though it was in a cardboard thermal cup. I believe he had to go to Bistro on Five to get it and I was in a sky suite on deck 12.

The one time I asked for a set up of wine glasses and fruit and cheese plates for a party, he was off duty and gave the stand-in the wrong time.

I don't know what is so hard about picking up the phone and making a dinner reservation that one needs a butler to do it.

We just returned from our 5 week journey in SEAsia. The first part was Saigon-Siem Reap with Avalon. It was just wonderful--22 of us on a 30 pax boat. It is a Pandau style boat. The staff knew our names the first day and also drink preferences. Food was excellent. Breakfast was buffet with an egg statin. Lunch had a salad and dessert buffet, entrée ordered from menu. Dinner was ordered from the menu. There was a movie almost every nite relating to the area visiting. One evening children from an Avalon supported village came on board and danced.

 

We had a few meals off the boat--one was a cooking school lunch--ate what we fixed. There were two villages that we visited that were very interesting--one a silk weaving village--gorgeous silk scarves. The other was the silver village in Cambodia. The jewelry was so beautifully made and we actually got to meet the people who made what we bought.

 

We had a cruise director from hotel-hotel--a Kiwi expat now living in the US. We had a local guide for all of Vietnam--he even managed to find me a replacement for a broken watchband. We had a guide for Cambodia and one who met us at the airport in Bangkok---all very knowledgeable and all shared their family history with us.

 

I would highly recommend this trip. Avalon is adding a new boat next year adding a masseuse and a fitness center--still keeping 16 cabins. Happy to answer any other questions

Thank you. I appreciate your taking the time to respond.

Was Western-style food available at the hotel and on the boat? My DH is diabetic and rice and the sugary sauces in a lot of Asian dishes are not good for him.

as I ve cruised with all the above.Remember ea ship in the fleet can be very different.

So its always a very general comparison.

Found AMA to be of higher standards in cabins(love the 2 balcony longships),also in food,service,entertainment...really every category.

Then would list Uniworld as slightly less .Then comes Avalon.Nothing awful and just more on average scale,not above.

But,if the itinerary is only offered by them and you want to go,give it a try.

Not bad,just not great.Sorry,trying to be honest.

Thank you. I appreciate your honesty.

If you take ill for example in an airport just after leaving cruise ship would you contact Celebrity or your Insurance company?

The insurance company, but only if you have not completed the trip by going home. Once you arrive home, you are not traveling.