FredT
-
Posts
761 -
Joined
Content Type
Forums
Store
Blogs
Downloads
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by FredT
-
-
10 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:
Would the 25% refund cover 3 nights at a hotel?
Probably....., maybe......
But the interesting thing is this is far less than they gave us earlier (without being prodded) when they shortened the cruise from 22 to 21 days.....
-
Just tried that..... Nope, not covered.
Again, just a bit of moaning & groaning. The thing is that this is the SECOND time that NCL has changed this trip. The first was shortening it from a 22 to a 21 day cruise (And eliminating Turkey)... For that they prorated the cruise fare, AND gave us a $300.00 OBC to compansate for our added hotel costs.... This time, ..........nothing...........
-
1
-
-
1 minute ago, njkate said:
Wow that's awful!! Why in the world would you book excursions that can't be canceled and refunded?
I had to cancel our Star TA when NCL pushed it up by ten days but anything I had booked non NCL was refunded, the one had a 4% cancel fee but in the grand scheme it was peanuts.
Passengers need to flood NCL with emails for the $300 airfare change and compensation for extra hotel days.
Because we hate NCL shore excursions, (60 sardines in a sweaty tour bus, herded like cattle) so we booked a number of "one on one" tours, most of which are non refundable within 30 days....... Oh yeah, and TAP Air Potugal wants $900.00 a PERSON to change our flights by 3 days, so NCL's offer of $300.00 does not go very far.
But you know? All things considered with whats going on in the far east, we are not going to throw a temper tantrum.... (Just ***** and moan a bit as I sit here at the computer trying to change hotels, transfers, and shore excursions at the last minute.) And I thought cruises were supposed to be relaxing!
-
3
-
-
As the saying goes, "Shall we live in interesting times"
We are booked on the Spirit for a 21 day mid east cruise departing Rome on Tuesday... Like most passangers we know, we are departing FOR Rome tomorrow. TODAY we get an email from NCL. Opps, sorry but the ship will not be out of the shipyard until next FRIDAY, so we are shortening your cruise by 4 days, and eliminating 4 of 9 ports. Your choices are to take a 25% refund, or cancel your cruise. On the surface this does not sound bad... Until you consider that most of us are on non-refundable airline flights, and now we have to pay for 3 more days hotel and food in Rome, AND we are loosing non refundable shore excursions from the 4 canceled stops. Reaction from NCL? "Sorry, but not our problem" Way to go guys!
-
I know we had put down a deposit on this particular cruise last summer, then backed out and switched it for a mideast cruise on NCL. I was not too sure about the switch then... But am smiling now! (We leave for Rome on the 4th.) Of course having said THAT, in a weeks time this thing could blow up everywhere, so who knows?????
-
2
-
-
Again... The "Puerto Rico" we know as cruise passangers has not been TOUCHED. All damage and effected areas are on the far side of this (LARGE) Island.
The ONLY effects in the San Juan area are sporadic power outages which are normally short in duration. Remember that the "media" is looking for a story... the jucier the better, so take all of that with a grain of salt.
See here for a map:
https://www.recommend.com/destinations/puerto-rico-open-tourism/
-
As someone who was raised in San Juan I still have a number of friends on the island (50 years later) I have spoken to a couple of them over the last few days (including this morning), and got the following:
1) Many aftershocks. and after each the power goes out. (Is purposefully shut down) The power company then checks facilities, trunk lines and local lines and the power comes on little by little as they see it's safe to do so. This can take anywhere from an hour to 24 hours. It has happened EVERY day for 4 days now.
2) The earthquakes are centered off the opposite side of the island from San Juan, so while they felt the tremors in San Juan, no damage in that area. (Or at the airport ).
-
2
-
-
On 12/27/2019 at 8:56 AM, dandee2 said:
Note the "update " to the article. "The courts have put on hold any sale, as arbitration continues"
And so the drama continues......
-
Of the Mass Market lines, (Read reasonable costs) HAL has by far the least "hard sell"..... But then again, it has the worst entertainment. BUT, it has some of the best itineraries.... BUT the ships are absolutely dead after 9 pm..... BUT it ships are smaller (overall)
You see where I am going here? Many, MANY variables Yes, my wife and I do prefer HAL, but are not limited to them. 3 out of our last 6 cruises. (the others on CMV, Star Clippers, and Celebrity)
-
Been there, done that. More asking about iteneraries with smaller ports that do not CATER to the larger cruise ships.
-
OK, for all those "more experienced" with the Star Clipper Med sailings, I have a question. If we are interested in either a 7 or 14 day Med cruise that maximises the number of "smaller" ports, (Please read here, ports WITHOUT any large cruise ships to contend with) which itenerary would you choose? We are just fed up with masses of humanity, crowds, (and diamond shops!)
PS: Looking at summer 2021, and cruise could be any of the three ships, (We have sailed on all of them)
-
We also have been waiting for the 2021 european iteneraries. When they came out last week we were stunned. Very high. A quick perusal of the other options out there for similar Norwegian trips turned up HAH's sister company (P & O) with prices literally HALF of HAL's. While we are still looking, I can guess where we are going!
-
One more (late) comment. I understand that those who are not "worldly" travelers may not want to fly to San Juan on their own. Having said THAT, remind them that Puerto Rico IS part of the USA, EVERYONE around the airport will be fluent in english, and that transportation to either a hotel (If they fly in a day early) or the cruise piers is SIMPLE, either by using the cruise lines transfer bus or taxi.
PS:.... Add me to the long list of those who firmly recomend flying out a day early. On at least two occasions we have had flights cancel on the way to cruises, and if we had NOT booked a day early we would have missed the cruise.
PPS: Yeah, I like the Delta options the best. They get you there early, and even if the FIRST leg gets canceled, they can alway reroute you through a bunch of cities with daily flights to San Juan.
-
Just spent the night at the TWA hotel. Yes, It looks a LOT like the old terminal. Yes the old "tunnels" to the gates are still there... Yes the Connie is DAMN cool. Remember that the rooftop bar is NOT open during the winter, but the pool is there, and it it IS heated, (and damn cool to sit in and watch planes from!) and while the bar is not open, the area is so you can wander up there. Yes the rooms are REALLY quiet, (Even when an A380 is rolling by 100' from your window........
One last comment. They do have a real restaurant there, and what makes it interesting is that it seems to be the only "upscale" restaurant on the airport property that is outside of security. (With the exception of the diner in terminal 4... and THAT food is absolute crap) This place has REALLY good food, (although REALLY pricey) and is a lot more upscale than it looks like at first glance.
-
Well...... If the OP was simply interested in cruising both ways, I would simply join on the Cunard bandwagon. If however they are looking for a great deal (As of course you can find with many re positioning cruises) it gets a bit harder, as almost every "cheap" re positioning cruise in the fall is going west bound, and every one in the spring is going eastbound.
I know both my wife and daughter have used the "cheap re positioning " cruises to get back from European trips in the fall, both times scoring 12 days trips that were cheaper than any TA flights at the time. But going over? Not in the fall!
-
2
-
-
4 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:
Does a cruise line not need to file taxes for customers who don't show/cancel after full payment? I thought people post about getting taxes and fees refunded.
In both Connecticut and NY (Where I file sales tax returns) The tax the cruise line owed would be based on how much it took in, NOT on weather you actually took the trip or not.
In other words, if the cruise line KEPT your fare (You canceled after the final payment window) the cruise line would be liable to pay the sales tax on the fare. If for some extraordinary reason they refunded you your money, they would NOT be liable to pay the taxing authority the applicable sales tax.
Now fees, I know nothing about.......
-
11 hours ago, parothd0320 said:
Is this bar hop through a private tour group? It sounds like fun
Yes it's a private company...
-
The Mariott mentioned above is the only hotel "on the property", but the airport is surrounded by "name brand" hotels, all with shuttles running 24-7. Having said THAT, the Mariott IS the best quality hotel of the bunch (but certainly not the cheapest) We have stayed at many of those "ring hotels" at one time or another as most offer parking"deals" if you spend at least one night there.
-
The last time I saw a "bunch" of public restrooms closed on a cruise ship it was because it WAS rough out, and a number of passengers did not make it to the stalls before loosing it...... That was on a Cruise and Maritime Voyages trip (Also canceled most of the ports due to weather.) ((ALSO resulted in a "riot" of upset passangers, but then again they were mostly Brits.. ))
-
1
-
-
3 hours ago, Travelicious said:
If they are drinkers, the Cozumel Bar Hop is a lot of fun.
I'll second this one... Absolutely increadable time! (And not more than a dozen people on any one trip)
-
LOL... After reading this thread, I was struck how similar it was to a trip we took in March of 2 years ago on Cruise and Maritime Voyages around the British Isles. Not only did we miss 5 of 6 ports, but we ended up in the same Scottish port ( Greenock ) that they did. (And yes, it was snowing, and yes it was on s Sunday, so yes it was abandoned.). For the guy who made the "they must be Americans" comment, our trip was 90% Brits, and they were JUST as furious! For anyone curious what we went through for 4 days, her is a short vid of a rescue off our ship on day 3.
-
2
-
2
-
-
I tried looking up the story but either it was not widely reported or is buried super deep amongst the more recent news. But since I didn't come across any repeated situations it probably means it wasn't that profitable a business model.
Don't know of it was ever publicized. I got the story from a neighbor who is a (recently retired) NY/NJ Port Authority Detective. (Police officer) The subject came up at a dinner party when he ADAMANTLY said never to put your home address on your luggage tags.
-
About five years ago a baggage handler at JFK was caught photographing luggage tags of passengers on their way to the far east. Every night he would upload the photographs to a group that paid him for the information so they could check out the homes. If my memory serves me he was paid about $100.00 a day for this information. Take it how you want.....
-
14 hours ago, crunchii said:
We're in our 50's, but we prefer peace and quiet and go to our room at 9 pm to relax, so HAL is a perfect fit for us. We've only been on 2 HAL cruises since 2018, so we don't know what it used to be like. Maybe that's why, but we're VERY happy with HAL so far and have two more cruises booked (and one unused FCD).
What we love about HAL:
- Smaller ships with fewer passengers.
- Not too many children.
- Older and mellower fellow passengers. (Yes, it's POSITIVE for us.)
- Quiet, relaxed, and elegant atmosphere without any pool parties, silly game shows, vulgar comedians, loud and obnoxious music in public areas, etc.
- Affordable (meaning, not owner's suite-level price) aft-corner suites.
- Lincoln Center Stage.Lack of entertainment doesn't bother us, since we cruise to see and feel the ocean, so we'll happily spend hours on our aft-wrap balcony watching the wake, instead of sitting in dark, window-less main theater.
We'll probably start looking for other lines when they start playing hip hop and rap to attract the generations younger than us, but for now, we're happy with HAL and don't feel any need to try other lines.
Yes, yes YES...... Add to that interesting UNUSUAL itineraries, and you have our "fall back" cruise line. While 3 of our last 4 cruises have been on other lines, almost all of the itineraries we are looking at (after this one on NCL) are HAL.... Not saying that they will be ON HAL, but if everything is equal...............
Spirit Last Minute Changes
in Norwegian Cruise Line
Posted
We've traveled waaaay to much to let something like this get in our way..... And if we did I just remind myself that origionally, we were booked on HAL's Westerdam to depart on February 1 out of Shanghai.......