Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

taramichel

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    72

  • Joined

 Content Type 

Posts posted by taramichel

    What is the general consensus these days on having the cruise line book your flights?

    in River Cruising

    Posted

    5 hours ago, bundtkate said:

    The short answer here is maybe. Not only do you have to contend with fare class, Viking also seems to book mixed airline itineraries a fair bit. Our current flights are United + Lufthansa to Europe and Delta back so we'll only get United miles going one way, but our flights are a fare class that's eligible for points so I'm hoping to find we both earn points and can use points for an upgrade once our flights are ticketed.

    As @sharkster77 noted, you can still pay for Air Plus with the free air promos (we had the option anyway), but you don't need it in order to pick your own flights and I personally wouldn't recommend it unless you prefer to talk to someone on the phone about flights. It allows you to call Viking for help and may open up other options for itineraries (I don't know since we didn't bother with it), but you have a fair bit of flexibility to change flights (with an upcharge for the fare difference) on My Viking Journey even without it. I wrote a little primer on that for someone else here:


    It's worth mentioning, too, that Viking sells flights as a package. When booking on MVJ you can't individually pick outbound and inbound flights. Each option includes both and most of mine are still mixed airlines for the most part. YMMV based on departure city, I'm sure, but my experience shows you may have some trouble getting United both ways if that's what you want.

     

    ALL great information, MUCH APPRECIATED!

    • Like 1

    What is the general consensus these days on having the cruise line book your flights?

    in River Cruising

    Posted

    I have done many ocean cruises, but am very new to river cruising. Almost always book my own air because I'm one of those who likes to have control. I feel I understand Viking's included/free air process, however I have one question I don't see addressed here.

     

    My husband and I have Gold status with United and usually have to work hard (haha...travel more!) to keep that status which is based on a specific points and flights system. Does anyone know if there is any possibility that our Viking flights will accrue United's "points" and "flights" or do we give that up as the cost of "free" air. My gut tells me that the fare class booked by Viking will preclude the flights from counting toward our status.

     

    Thanks in advance for any knowledge you can share and yes, I know this is a first world problem 🙂 

     

    Patti

    Airfare with Celebrity

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    I usually book my own, but have just booked my first flights online using Celebrity's air. I'm happy with the process and was able to enter the locator number (from my confirmation) into the United website to view my reservation and even select seats. My question is about accruing miles for the flights, as I'm trying to maintain my status with United. Will I receive the miles for these flights? And does anyone know if the flights will count toward my "Premier status?" I know, this is a long shot, very United-specific question! Thank you in advance.    

     

    Patti

     

    snorkeling in Rangiroa

    in Scuba and Snorkeling

    Posted

    Hi,

    We are interested in going on this tour but we are hesitant because of all the walking they talked about. My husband can walk but not for 2 hours to get to the island! Just wondering how accurate they are? Our cruise is coming up here pretty soon so I need to give them my decision.

     

    If you can answer a few questions that would be great!

     

    Thanks,

    Laurie and Don

     

    Hi Laurie and Don, the walking on this trip is by no means strenuous. Walking may occur over the course of 2 hours, but it was very leisurely and involved stops to weave hats out of palm fronds, snorkel for a fair amount of time and explore an area of black volcanic (?) rock formations. Incredibly picturesque! I will add that in order to visit the island where lunch is served, you must cross the beautiful aqua colored water (not far) holding your belongings over your head ;p The parade of cruisers holding their backpacks and tote bags up in the air and on their heads was quite a sight to see! I hope you take this trip and have as much fun as I did!

     

    Patti

    Photos From Two Visits To Phinda Private Game Reserve As Part Of Our Cruises

    in Africa & Middle East

    Posted

    Patti, glad you liked the photos and happy to share them.

     

    I primarily used my Nikon D7100 and had a few lenses with me.

     

    Brought extra batteries.

     

    I also had another Nikon DSLR as a backup and a Lumix Point & Shoot which my wife used.

     

    Keith

     

    Thank you!

     

    Did you have any difficulty charging batteries? I assume with adapters, but were an adequate number of plugs supplied at your lodge?

    snorkeling in Rangiroa

    in Scuba and Snorkeling

    Posted

    Hi, having trouble finding current web addresses for tours specializing in snorkeling on Rangiroa. We will be on Oceania's Marina on 3/21 and are looking for at least a half day trip. Any advice would be appreciated.

     

    Leon or Natasha Revault revaultleon@mail.pf

    They take some time to answer email but their trip is amazing! I took it just a few weeks ago while on Marina.

     

    Here are details:

    We are pleased to send you some informations regarding the full day tour we offer. Reef Islands 1 hour by boat You will go for a walk for around 2 hours on the reef where you will find natural jacuzzi, you can snorkeling. After, you will go back on the motu for the picnic (rice, chicken, fish, raw fish, coconut bread, cake, juice and water will be offer. After the lunch, there will be a shark feeding and you can enjoy the few last minutes before leaving the motu by snorkeling. On the return you will snorkel at the aquarium at the motu NUHI NUHI and to close the tour you will go at the Tiputa Pass to watch the dolphins.

     

    Good luck!

    Using Princess transfer to airport upon disembarking

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted

    Can anyone tell me if taxis are always available at the pier? We have a 10:15am flight and hope to get off ship around 6:30am. Will we find taxis at that early hour? Princess' information suggests that the taxis begin around 8am, however my experience is that the wise ones on Cruise Critic seem to have the most accurate information :p Thank you in advance! Patti

    Cabin Upgrade was a Downgrade, Had Regal M108

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted

    Thank you all for your support and guidance. My daughter spent a good deal of time on the phone with Princess today. Still no progress, but we hope that good customer service will ultimately prevail. Mostly it seems that the reps have been trained to say "....but the ship isn't even built yet!" (Yes, we are aware of this fact :)

     

    At the moment, a supervisor is reviewing the case and has agreed to get back to us. Thank you and I will keep you posted if any progress!

     

    Patti

    Cabin Upgrade was a Downgrade, Had Regal M108

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted

    Hello All,

     

    I'm a frequent lurker, not too frequent poster. The folks here on Cruise Critic are always so helpful and I'm hoping for some of your wisdom, so please bear with me. My dream Mediterranean cruise was calling (Grand Med on Regal 9/11/2014) and I convinced my sister and daughter to come along with me! Being 3 adults rooming together, our cabin selection is a detail we pay close attention to. We are Platinum members and consider ourselves loyal Princess cruisers. In April we booked, within days of the sailing's announcement, and carefully chose cabin M108, mini suite. I had the booking marked for Meta upgrade only. We were overjoyed and thrilled with our wonderful cabin!

     

    On Wednesday I received an upgrade notice which put us in mini suite R519, a much smaller mini. The notice stated that we had 48 hours to refuse the upgrade. We called immediately and we're told that M108 was no longer classified for 3 people and basically it was just too bad for us. We called back that evening and spoke to someone much nicer who said that it was good that we called right away and she would put in an "internal request" to get us back the cabin. Someone was to call us back within 48 hours. They did not. Tonight's frustrating call was more of the "ship is just being built" conversation and ended with asking for a supervisor, which turned out to be voicemail.

     

    I recall reading a while ago where this same thing happened to someone on the Royal who fought and eventually got M108 back for their party of 3. I have usually felt Princess gave good customer service and this is quite disappointing. I guess my question is this...do I keep fighting for my cabin back? Is there any special place or department I should call? Any other possible solutions? Any advice at all is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

     

    Patti

×
×
  • Create New...