travelglobetrotter

Well, we prefer private tours, too, and I have arranged them as well as taken advantage of tours others have arranged, and always been pleased.

But....for our upcoming 7 day Med cruise, there are only a few on the roll call, and nearly all have said, been there, done that, not doing it again. So we are planning on booking the Unlimited the day we board. My contact at O has emailed me confirmation that we can book it on board then, at a 10% premium, using our on board credit. Seems like a good deal to us, since our status level gets us a 10% discount. These ports are new to us, or ones we have visited in the 80s, so after planning our 4 days in Nice prior to the cruise, I'm ready to let someone else do the planning. Marlene

Some of you have experience with the Unlimited Collection purchase, which we plan on using for our Nov. 7 day Med. cruise. My contact at Oceania told me that we could purchase the Unlimited the first day on board, thus using our OBC, for a 10 % surcharge, and I have that in writing. Have any of you done that? Seems to make sense to us to wait til be board to book it. Marlene

Reminds me of the days when our 20 something daughter told us she was too old to be traveling with her parents, but when we were looking at a European land trip, she wanted in, saying but Mom, it's EUROPE! We have wonderful memories of traveling with her, and cruising with her from about age 9. It's paid off for her, as she is now a travel writer, who counts luxury travel and first rate spas as part of her usual life. Maybe I should say something similar to her? She does have some grand trips, and sometimes cruises. Marlene

Well, just to muddy the waters further....Len and I are booked on the WC segment and among the amenities listed is "complimentary...transfer", so yes, I will expect the transfers if we arrive in Shanghai the day of boarding, which is highly possible due to other obligations, and when we leave Papeete the day of debarkation. I would not expect the complimentary transfers if we were doing an air deviation and arriving early or leaving late, but if it's not so, what's the point of adding it to the amenity package? Marlene

We are actually looking at the unlimited package for an upcoming 7 day cruise, since there is so little participation on our roll call. Just 3 posters, all of whom have been to the ports before.

I talked with my contact at O about this, and she assured me that we could book the unlimited package on our first day aboard, but pay an extra 10%, still get the 10% discount due to our amenity package, AND pay for it with shipboard credit.

Has anyone done this? I admit to being a bit skeptical, but I do have her email reply verifying that we can do this.

Twice we have taken a small bottle of Jim Beam in a flatish plastic bottle, with no problems. It was packed in our checked luggage. We're not big drinkers, but we do enjoy an occasional bourbon on the balcony.

I think I understand, but I could be wrong. We're sailing B2B from Monaco to BCN to Miami. On the firsts leg, we have several stops in Italy before arriving in BCN. I expect that the 10% will be applied when in Spanish waters only, unless there is an Italian fee first. On the T/A, we have 2 more ports in Spain before arriving on day 5 in Tenerife. So I think that the fees would apply only to that point. Am I right, wrong, or just hopelessly confused? Will the info as to the fees be spelled out in Currents?

Flipper, can you share your private tour info? Were you pleased with it? Thanks.

you might not anticipate because they affect other people. When our daughter, a travel and fitness writer, legally changed her name to a shortened version of our long last name, she had a fairly easy time of it. Otoh, we had a lot more to do, because her prior name was on many of our legal documents, all of which had to be changed. For us, several hours with our attorney, lots of new paper, and a big bill. Is she happy? Yes, and she does think it was worth it. And we're OK with her new name, too.

because we sailed X's Solstice in early May, and it took over 2 hours to check in in mid afternoon. Just one of the reasons we're looking forward to being back on any O ship. Very eager to see the updates on Regatta.

My DH and I booked 2 cabins on an upcoming Alaska cruise, for ourselves and our guests, sis and BIL. Our TA booked one cabin for the men, and the other for the women, I think to take advantage of our CC discount.

Can we make a change at check in, sorting out the couples, or should we just let it stand as is, and simply occupy the cabins as we wish?

We've never done this before on any line, and will appreciate your knowledge and advice. Marlene

We're not on the entire world cruise, just 55 days, but have idly wondered about CD and crew changes during the 180 days. I don't recall how long the contracts are, but hope that Dottie will be there for us. She's our very favorite, and we are so happy she is back on O anywhere. Marlene

Upon reading the title of this thread, I was taken aback, but I do think, upon reading the entire thread, that there is a clear policy stated. It's always good to know the policies. Here in Phoenix, at the city owned theaters, the only service animals allowed are dogs and miniature horses. As a volunteer usher, I have seen only service dogs, and while there are ample accommodations for patrons with disabilities, the box office cannot ask whether a patron is disabled when he/she is buying seats that cater to those with disabilities. I'm not sure just how a miniature horse service animal would actually work out with the seating arrangements available, but it's interesting to speculate.

Thanks for the feedback - just to clarify - you're saying the Tracy Arm Fjord Explorer was one of the best things you have ever done, or the trekking? Just want to make sure :)

Have not done trekking at all. Doesn't interest me, but really loved Tracy Arm, and you don't get to see much from your big cruise ship.

The bus tour is one of the optional excursions available on the Princess website.

Check out the tours of Chilkoot Charters.

Guess that only works if you're sailing Princess, which we're not. Thanks.

Have not trekked on the glaciers, not my cup of tea. We're weather wimps from Arizona, and just don't want to spend hours in the cold. I'm sure that's a great experience as well. We love Tracy Arm, the scenery is spectacular, and that's what we wanted. If your budget is limited, pick what you like better, hiking or scenery, and enjoy your choice.

Secondly, in Skagway, we want to take a trip up to White Pass. However, we are undecided about whether to take the train or the bus. The train is obviously a fun way to travel, but it doesn't make photo stops and it costs significantly more. On the other hand, the bus is not as elegant as the train, but it stops frequently and only costs $39. Any thoughts?

Where can I find info on this bus tour? That seems like an unbelievably low price. Thanks. Marlene

We booked this with Oceania 4 years ago, probably for about the same price. It was 6 hours of amazing scenes, a half hour at Sawyer Glacier, with quite a few calvings, which we could see, hear and feel. On the journey back we saw black bears, dozens of bald eagles, and a whale or 2. It's a lot of bang for the buck, and the experience sailing close to the ice strewn water is truly memorable. We'd do it again on this year's return visit, but we're going in May, and the pontoon boat excursion is not offered until June. We did the bus/rail trip in Skagway, and once was enough. It's a very long day. Whatever you choose, though, Alaska is just a fabulous experience, worth our going back for the 4th time. Enjoy!!!

I use a combination of several things discussed already, but still manage to confuse myself when I'm juggling 3 or 4 trips. I use a 3 ring binder for the closest trip, with tabs for my at a glance calendar, tours in each port and docs for cruise, any hotels, air etc. My calendar lists whatever I know about that day. Port and time in port, any other ships in port that day, tours I've booked, dinner reservations, etc. I transfer all my info to a flat 3 ring folder, then purge as we go along. I have colored folders for the other trips, and just stuff them with papers as I go along, transferring the next trip to my 3 ring binder.

I also have folders in my Favorites for on line materials that I can access on my netbook, but I just like having hard copies. I haven't figured out how to use Excel or Word templates for this process.

Marlene

We did this in early May 4 years ago, from Oceania's Regatta, and it was a truly fantastic experience. Our captain did a seemingly impossible sail through a multitude of small bergs, we saw hundreds of waterfalls (even rinsed our hands in one) and during our half hour or so close to Sawyer Glacier witnessed half a dozen calvings, hearing the crack, and feeling the boat move under our feet. On the way back, we saw brown bears, more than a dozen bald eagles roosting on a fallen tree, and even a whale or two. I'd love to do it again this year on X's Solstice, but can't find it offered. This was the best of all our Alaskan excursions in 3 visits. We did enter the boat from the tender deck, and sailed to Juneau to reboard Regatta. Marlene

In October "09 I found a tiny paragraph about Cruise Critic in our Arizona Republic, and decided to investigate the site. I found my cruise Roll Call, and spent a long afternoon catching up on posts, joined, and was able to participate in a number of private tours, and make new friends.

I think CC has saved my DH and me thousands, and given me more travel education than I had previously found anywhere. So thanks to you all, we love private tours, and I have arranged them myself, we have Global Entry, and have learned a lot with the recent discussions on credit card churning, cancellation coverage, and lots of hotel and tour info for ports. We now need preexisting condition coverage, and your discussions about only paying for what is actually nonrefundable, then changing the amount when making further payments, was a revelation, and especially timely, as we've booked 55 days of the world cruise in 2015.

Bless you all for taking the time to write and help us all. I don't post often, but I do read the threads on a weekly basis, and I know we have reaped the benefits from your expertise. I've been a CC cheerleader since 2009. Thank you, and Happy New Year to all, may you all have smooth sailings, and happy memories. Marlene

Thanks, Lyn. That's what I thought. Marlene

No, all my credit cards are fine and I didn't use any on the cruise. Someone somehow got my SS# and used it along with my name, address and birthdate to apply for credit 9 separate times in a week. They went to the USPS website had had all my personal mail forwarded so the credit cards would come to them. Needless to say it has been a nightmare and one that is far from over.

 

So sorry to read about your ID theft problems. What a huge chore you face. With your good attitude you will get through it though. Besides notifications you've already thought of and done, you should probably check with your tax adviser about notifying the IRS that you have been a victim of identity theft, if you haven't already done so. They will issue you a letter with a pin number which will go on your tax return. My DH and I are volunteer instructors for the AARP tax service, and ID theft is really being emphasized. We are required to ask each taxpayer whether they have been a victim. Best of luck to you in sorting out this mess. Marlene

We've used the air deviation several times, always beginning at 270 days out, and have been very pleased. However, we will be doing our first B2B in November. Can we still request the deviation at 270 days out from the first cruise, or do we have to wait until 270 days out from our second sail date? I know many of you will have experience in booking deviations for a B2B, and will have the answer. Thanks, Marlene

We're sailing to Alaska for the 4th time in early May on Celebrity. We've sailed twice round trip San Francisco, and encountered some rough seas going north to Vancouver. These were 14 day cruises, one on Princess, the latest 4 years ago on Oceania. If you are sailing Tracy Arm, and if the excursion via pontoon boat is available, I highly recommend it, as it is an amazing journey up the fjord to Sawyer Glacier. We couldn't believe our captain was able to pilot us through all the ice chunks in the water, and we were so close to Sawyer Glacier as it calved that we could not only see it, hear it, but feel it. We stopped near a waterfall, and were able to rinse our hands in it, and on the ride back, we saw quite a few bears, lots of bald eagles, just lined up on a fallen tree, ready for their closeups. We didn't see a lot of whales, but there were a few. We thought it was one of the most memorable excursions ever, and a very good value for about a 6 hour tour. Snap it up if it's offered on your cruise.