Fouremco

I've been taking my MacBook Pro on every cruise since 2013 and have always left it in plain sight in the cabin. If you are concerned, put it in one of your empty suitcases under the bed and lock the suitcase.

I couldn't agree more. I've never flown in on the day of the cruise and never will.

Before making a final decision, take a look at what you would need to do should you miss embarkation in Rome. Where is the next port on the itinerary? How will you get there? Do you sleep in Rome and travel to the port the next day, or do you travel to the port on the day of your flight and find accommodation there? How much would all of this cost? How do you contact HAL to let them know that you will join them at the next port? You need to have a solid Plan "B" if you will be flying in on the day of your cruise.

I've only done one Alaskan cruise, and it passed to the east of Haida Gwaii both heading to and returning from Alaska. These two HAL cruises are illustrative of both routings, but the vast majority of HAL's Alaskan cruise keep to the east side. Maybe other cruiselines take a different approach.

And many people don't bother getting any form of travel insurance for the same reason. The odds favour NOT needing it, but these boards have shown time and time again the foolishness of not being insured. When you consider the overall cost of going on a cruise, the price of a multi-year passport is pretty small potatoes.

As a grandfather of 5, I'm well aware of the potential trouble that young children can get into. With great ease, I might add. I shudder every time that I see a news item about a young child who has drowned because no one had kept a close eye on the poor tyke. As we have a pool, I've spent many, many hours watching over the little ones as they grew up, and a couple of times I've had to grab one about to make a splash landing in the pool. Fortunately, the youngest is 7 now and, like his siblings and cousins, swims like a fish. Like you, I consider a tracking device of some sort to be totally inadequate.

Good point. It is not included with listed OBC on your booking confirmation and is shown elsewhere, under Special Services, as "Shore Excursion Discount HIA".

Yes, airlines restrict who can sit in exit rows. I suspect that @em-sk dropped a word and meant to say "If your (sic) handicapped you are not allowed to sit in the exit rows. Bulkhead yes." From Air Canada: Can anyone sit in an exit row? For safety reasons, not everyone can sit in an exit row. Exit row seating restrictions are detailed in our Terms and Conditions. Exit row seating restrictions It’s important to know that not everyone can sit in an exit row. To sit in an exit row, you must be: 18 years of age or older, or at least 12 years old and accompanied in the exit row by someone from the same booking who is at least 18 years old. Able to read and understand English or French, and provide oral instructions in one of the two languages Able to visually assess if it is safe to open the emergency exit Free from any disability, condition or responsibilities (such as attending to another person) that may prevent you from performing the functions required to open an emergency exit Able to operate and safely evacuate through the emergency exit, and willing to assist in an evacuation in the event of an emergency You must inform Air Canada if, between time of booking and the day of the flight, the above requirements can no longer be met. If, for any reason, you do not inform Air Canada, the passenger(s) will be moved from the exit row seat at departure time Other seating restrictions Passengers may not travel with a pet in the cabin when seated in an exit or bulkhead row You may be moved from your Preferred Seat without notice in the event of an involuntary schedule or airport change (e.g., flight disruption, cancellation) to accommodate a passenger with a disability, or for any other reason that requires Air Canada to move you prior to departure or during the flight If you are moved from your Preferred Seat for one of these reasons, you may request a refund for your Preferred Seat charges

We've booked aft Verandahs multiple times and an aft Vista Suite only once. That particular booking was made when there was an insignificant price difference, so we thought that we'd give it a try. Under the same circumstances ($), we might book one again, but we're in no hurry to do so.

Fortunately, there are other cards with no annual fee, no foreign exchange fees but still paying 1% cash back.

I'm in exactly the same situation as @CaptJerry51. As this will be our first visit to Kauai and we intend to rent a car, your post is most helpful. I do have one question, however, on your suggested turnaround point at Kōkeʻe Lodge. A few websites I've looked at suggest continuing on a bit further, to the Pu’u O Kila Lookout, as the view from there is quite magnificent. I'm wondering if you suggest the earlier turnaround to avoid paying an entrance fee for Kōke'e State Park, or if there's some other reason.

I notice that the transfer form states that "I understand current value-added promotions may not be applicable under the new Travel Agency." Can anyone provide additional details? I've a booking through HAL that includes the Have It All promo, but I'd hate to lose it if I transfer the booking to my usual TA.

Thanks for the reminder. Old age and the lack of a morning coffee clearly affecting my memory. 🥴

With the Rogers Connections Mastercard, while they give you 2% cash back on US purchases, they also charge you a 2.5% foreign currency transaction fee, so you are effectively out of pocket an additional 0.5%. At least with the World Elite card, the 3% cash back more than offsets the transaction fee and leaves you 0.5% to the good. Better yet for US purchases are cards such as the Home Trust Visa that charge no foreign exchange transaction fee at all and give you 1% cash back. As noted above, there are Canadian credit cards that charge no conversion fee. Home Trust Visa is one of several, and there is no annual fee, making it ideal to have simply for US purchases.

Similar to the contract you agree to when booking a cruise, Greyhound has Terms & Conditions of Purchase. https://www.greyhound.com/terms-and-conditions-of-purchase The Terms & Conditions include provisions for a refund in a situation such as the OP's, but state clearly that they are not obliged to reimburse customers for the cost of alternative transportation. While travel insurance might provide some relief, these T&C would seem to negate the possibility of any additional reimbursement from Greyhound, including via small claims court: Any costs for alternative carriage purchased by a customer through a company other than Flix or Greyhound are incurred at the customer's sole expense. Flix and Bus Operators are never obligated to reimburse for such costs.

I have a Rogers World Elite MasterCard that pays 3% in unlimited cash back rewards on all eligible purchases made in U.S. dollars. But it also charges a 2.5% foreign transaction fee on top of the going exchange rate, which means that I'd only get 0.5% back for US purchases. Which of their cards do you have that gives you a 2% cash back?

I've experienced greater issues of this nature with Celebrity than with RCI. The only thing that has saved me is my habit of creating a spreadsheet that captures every financial transaction as soon as we book a cruise.

Yes, there are definitely different rules at play for Australia. Consider Carnival's Australian vs US restrictions. Australia: Multi-plug box outlets/power boards/adapters/extension cords are not permitted on board. However, should you require a multi-plug box outlet/power board/adapter/extension cord, please ask your Stateroom Steward who will be able to supply you one for the duration of your cruise. https://help.carnival.com.au/app/answers/detail/a_id/129/kw/prohibited items Given the plethora of electronics requiring charging brought aboard by passengers, Carnival must have a large supply of these items if they intend to hand them out to everyone who requires them. US: power strips, multi plug box outlets/adaptors, and extension cords (without surge protectors) are allowed when used with proper caution. https://www.carnival.com/help?topicid=1202 Like you, I don't understand why RCCL hasn't addressed the issue as it makes no sense to remain silent. In the mean time, I'll continue to cruise with non-corded, non-surge-protected multi-plug extenders that plug directly into an outlet.

Royal Caribbean: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/aus/en/faq/questions/can-i-bring-an-extension-onboard?country=AUS That's from RCI's Australian site. The US and several other sites' prohibited items lists simply state "Electrical Extension Cords": https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/prohibited-items-onboard-policy

This power strip was designed with cruise ships in mind so it has no surge protection. On other cruise lines it probably would be acceptable, but RCI's rules seem to exclude it:

That's unfortunate, as the Reversing Falls are definitely worth seeing if the tide is right. I'm surprised that there were no cabs around, as visiting ships usually draw them in.

Canadian cruise ports include Saint John, New Brunswick, and St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. There's no St John in the Maritimes, at least none that's a port. I agree that Saint John itself isn't a great port to visit, but there are numerous interesting excursions available beyond city limits.

We too cruise for the itinerary, not the ship. The only time that the ship is taken into consideration is when we take our kids and grandchildren on a cruise and then select something like the Allure or, for our next family cruise, the Symphony. With respect to the Canada-New England cruises, we had a wonderful Boston-Montreal cruise on HAL's Maasdam before she was retired, the smallest cruise ship we've sailed. Also the oldest, but she had been well maintained and was a true pleasure to sail. Of the 7 ports, only Bar Harbor was a tender port, and we enjoyed beautiful mid-September weather throughout, so no difficulty tendering.

I agree, a ship transfer will cost you more and a cab/uber/lyft offer greater flexibility. It's less than 5 miles to Port Everglades.

Yes, most limit the out of province coverage to periods of travel not exceeding a given number of consecutive days. As you say, most would probably be too short for a full world cruise.