sambamama

I went on a 22 night South Pacific cruise RT from Auckland and hit some neat ports. We went to two islands in Tonga, Nieue (a tiny island that doesn't even have its own currency), American Samoa, Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, and 4 stops in Fiji including Dravuni Island where only 200 people leave and has some of the best soft corals in the world! We were supposed to stop at one of the cook islands, but the weather was bad, so we did a scenic cruise instead.

I swear by those bracelets, and have for years. I use them on planes as well. I used to take Bonine as well, but don't any more. I will if it gets really rough. I usually only get motion sickness if there isn't enough ventilation, or if it gets too hot, or if I am breathing in diesel or gasoline fumes, The two TA's I did were both very smooth. I hit 50-70mph winds on my Panama Canal cruise near Columbia and the sea got pretty bouncy there-enough to close the outside decks for 1 1/2 days!

What I should have said is if you are using miles for business or first class, you need to start looking early. If you are looking for economy, there is always more room. But I always start monitoring flights in case a flight pops up at a price I am happy with. And no, I have no idea what NCL Air offers-so my opinion was pure speculation. The only time I used cruise air, we were flown in the morning of the cruise. I would never do that again. I don't really think you are looking for advice as you are criticizing most advice you are given. People have given you excellent advice that you are disregarding and criticizing. I only mentioned the low domestic fare to contrast it to the higher international fare. And go ahead and rely on a third party website. It's fine until you have a problem. Let's see how cheapoair or expedia helps you out.

I never book a cruise without a TA. You have to know what you can live with booking a guarantee. Me, I 've been very happy booking guarantees, and every cabin has worked out well. Many times I get upgraded to an entire category higher long before the ship sails. For example, I booked an L guarantee, and was upgraded to a C 2 weeks ago. If there are any upsells, I am now in position to end up with a balcony!

It's always been $250 for 14 days. However, that is per cabin. So if two people both own stock, they have to split the $250. Every year the announcement about the stock shipboard credit says this is good for the year. However, I have yet to see it get discontinued or lowered. I bought my 100 shares for about $45 a share, and then the stock market took a huge nosedive. My shares have yet to come anywhere close to what I bought them for. However, I've owned them long enought and taken enough two week cruises that I have made up the loss in shipboard credit. It's also good on Carnival, Cunard, Costa, and Princess-if you ever decide to sail those.

So you booked this yourself? You have no travel agent to intercede for you? If you are writing your complaint letters the way you are posting on here, you aren't helping your cause. We all are on your side; we have all had things happen that should not. But ranting madly to the people in authority isn't the way to get things to go your way. A calm, short letter with bullet points gets the job done better. Who have you written to so far? Its very possible that a calm letter written to the Office of the President can get you help. I wrote such a letter myself a couple of weeks ago. I got a canned response where it was obvious that my letter had only been skimmed through, and that briefly addressed one issue I had, and gave an incorrect answer. I wrote back, as the letter was the rudest reply I've ever gotten from any corporation. Two days later, I got a call from a HAL executive who spoke to me for 70 minutes, addressed all my concerns, apologized for the letter, gave me $85 in shipboard credit and upgraded my L guarantee cabin to the highest available outside cabin, a C, on my upcoming, twice canceled Asia cruise. I've been sailing on HAL since 1983, and I've never had a call from HAL personally. It completely changed my mind about the company.

What no one has mentioned is especially with foreign flights you should start looking when the flights open up- - about a year out. So you are coming to the party late. It looks like you could have a JetBlue or an AA nonstop flight for around $650 with a checked bag, or at least a carryon, and other choices that involve 12 or more hours in transit. I don't know how far the port is from Heathrow, and if you will be forced to spend the night or have to take flights after 3pm. I know which one I would pick- a nonstop over a flight with a connection on TAP, Air Lingus, Icelandic. But then I would never be picking a January TA anyway, and I wouldn't be complaining that price was too high. You probably got a great price on the cruise because it was a TA ( they are always cheaper) and its in January. I see it sails out of Miami, and you can fly there with a checked bag for $175. Also, what you may not know is they add lots of taxes flying out of London, too. So its doubtful you will find $300 flights to Europe with $30 checked bag fees.

What you also are not considering is that you are looking at the lowest class fare. The next class fare usually includes a checked bag. And many domestic flights are getting expensive as well. I know that is how JetBlue does it. Or just don't travel to Europe, or do a Europe cruise and fly RT, so the flight is cheaper than one way. You could check to see if its cheaper to fly out of JFK, too. Or possibly Montreal. But the travel costs may negate the cost of the luggage. Or wait and book a cruise that subsidizes your flight or gives free air. If you are going to book cruise air, r then make sure you read the cruise air thread so you completely understand air deviation and what you give up by letting the airline pick.. From what it sounds like, NCL has complete choice and could fly you in that day. That's something I would never do. However, here is another option. Get a credit card and earn enough miles to book an award flight. Then you don't have to pay for a ticket or a bag. Or book two transatlantic cruises.

I got a prescription mask for about $110 at my local dive shop. Best thing I ever did, and I wish I'd done it years ago. It can be totally customized as to color of mask, color of lenses, and size. Even though my prescription changes yearly, the mask has been fine. I recommend buying one and any gear you buy from a dive shop is always top notch!

You just said you won't pay $544 for a one way fare overseas. You may have no choice. First, one way fares are always more expensive! Second, you could find a super cheap airline, but you pay for everything. Airlines like Ryanair for example, make you pay for seat selection, carryons, etc. They frequently cancel flights and then you miss your cruise. I've flown TAP a number of times. TAP and a number of European airlines require a smaller carryon than American airlines do, and they have a metal bin they make you put yours in. If it sticks out in the least, you must pay to check it. They weigh them, too. If it is overweight at all, you pay extra. I imagine your carryon is too big for TAP, and you need to buy a new one. Some of the airline credit cards only get you free luggage for domestic flights, for example American Airlines. And domestic airline prices have shot up in price as well. Look into flying into an alternate airport and taking a train or bus. That could save you money. Start monitoring flight prices. Google flights lets you set up alerts, I think. JetBlue is a good choice, but be aware they don't belong to an alliance, so they won't put you on a different airline if your flight is cancelled. Finally, plan your flight for at least 2-3 days early.

I've only dove once on a cruise and it didn't work out well. I only got one dive in, I didn't get lunch, and I rushed to get back to the ship. This was in Cozumel. I've done lots more snorkeling while cruising. Of course I just got into diving during COVID. I had been doing snorkel tours in Cozumel at a dive ship as the snorkel tours are almost always better through dive shops. I had always been interested in diving, but thought I would be claustrophobic breathing with a regulator. At my resort, they had free diving gear tryout in the pool, so I signed up for a discover scuba dive. After finishing the course and pool work, the harbor was closed because of wind. The dive shop manager suggested signing up for Scuba Diver certification as I would have to come back the next day. I told him I wouldn't have time for the second dive as I was changing hotels. He offered to send me out on my own boat with just the instructor to make the time work. I accepted that and became Scuba Dive certified in February 2021. I already had a trip to Belize booked for June 2021, and changed it to add diving. I did the course work and pool work at home, and got Open Water certified in Belize. Since then I've dove in Egypt, Cozumel several more times, Tulum where I dove 6 cenotes, and this summer in Thailand. Before I went to Thailand, I went back to Cozumel ( I always dive with the same dive shop-Dressel Divers at the Iberostar), got my Advanced Open Water Certification, and dove my 99th and 100th dive with the divemaster who started me off. I now have 130 dives. I dive because I feel like Jacque Costeau underwater. I feel totally at peace-It's totally gorgeous, and I see things I could never see above ground. I love doing swim thrus, I love diving cenotes, I love seeing new things like nudibranches, I love meeting fellow divers, I love seeing how diving is different in different places. One place in Thailand looked like an alien planet. Thailand had huge mushroom shaped corals, Christmas tree worms, more kinds of sea cucumbers than I could shake a stick at, and beign able to swim in the middle of a fish ball of 1000 fish! I am now 66 and I started diving at 64! I only wish I had started diving earlier! I can't imagine not diving, and I will regret when I cna't dive anymore.

I talked to a diver familiar with Greece about this. Greece is a nice place to dive, but not a GREAT place to dive-not a top 30 place to dive. If you are interested in looking into this further, try looking at Matt Barrett's forum about Greece-it has loads of information.

I booked with Linda to dive in Belize, but it is a tender port. So, I missed the dive as my tender ran late, and the other people diving were on an earlier boat. I can only speak about Cozumel. Be aware as a newbie that Cozumel can have very strong currents AND sometimes the harbor closes because of wind. Also, the BEST reefs are on the other side of the island a good 30 minutes away from the town. So it depends on if the boat is picking you up and taking you there, or if you must take a cab. If 3 or boats are in port, town can be a disaster! So, although the best reefs are on the other side of the island, the reefs closer are still pretty darn nice. I would try to book so there are only 4 or so divers with one divemaster. You can Google and find lots of Cozumel dive shops.

Many, if not most, operators require you to wear a life vest if snorkeling. If you are a poor swimmer, I would reccomend you buy one of your own. Also, assess how comfortable you are in the water. It's easy to snorkel when it is calm. But sometimes it isn't. And when boats go by, waves come. This could really scare you, or even worse things could happen. And when diving, water conditions change all the time. I don't advise you learn to dive until you are a better swimmer. For example, this past summer in Thailand, the sea was rough. I jumped in with the divemaster. It was a full 15 minutes before the rest of the other divers came into the water. In the meantime, I was being bounced around on the surface by 2 1/2 foot swells waiting for them to get into the water.If Ididn't own my own BCD that was a full wraparound vest that kept me up on the surface, I could have been in trouble. It was dreadful getting back into the boat as well.

I would offer a different opinion. The BEST reefs are 30 minutes away. But Cozumel is one of the top 10 diving sites in the world, so even their secondary reefs are better than lots of other reefs. For example, I did 22 dives in Thailand this summer, and the visibility was pretty bad for most of those. Granted, still cool dives, but nothing like the 80 + feet in Cozumel. There are many, many dive operators in Cozumel. Some operate right out of San Miguel. I did 4 dives with a shop there and saw a huge turtle, a 7 foot green moray eel, and lots of other great things-and have great pictures of this to boot. So I would contact a local shop that dives out of San Miguel and see if you can arrange a later time. It will probably be cheaper than anything the cruise shop can arrange for yu anyway. And with a bunch of cruise ships in port, you don't want to get stuck in a taxi driving to the other side of the island anyway. I did that on a cruise ship once-no fun-I won't do that again!

Try Tours with Tong. She can probably arrange for a taxi to meet you at the cruise port, and she can certainly arrange a private tour for you. She is very reasonably priced and I did two great tours with her myself. I would look at Booking.com or Agoda for a hotel. A river hotel is a great idea-if you want to splurge-The Chatrium Riverside is lovely. If you want to go cheaper, make sure you get a hotel by a BTS or an MRT station-if you are going to sightsee yourself. You can book cheap airport transfers on Klook. The Grand Hyatt Eragon is also lovely-but pricey, and in a very noisy section of town.

I came very close to missing a cruise once. I live in MA, and a friend and I were flying to Fort Lauderdale for a cruise in February. A big snowstorm was coming. We were the last flight out two nights before the cruise. Everyone else who tried to fly out the day before from NC up missed the cruise, and had to join later.

So in this era when airlines are charging more to check in at the airport than online, charging for you to pick seats ahead, where instead of a meal you get peanuts and a soda, you want an option to upgrade your carryon bag to a checked bag?? Well, I'd like to get upgraded to business class from economy, have meals on flights again, and have all flight connections be at least an hour! Airlines now sell flight connections of 30 minutes! My home airport has no flights to Cozumel where the connection is less than 40 minutes, and if you miss the flight, there is no flight on any airline until the next day! Most all the flights to Cancun have a 40 minute connection aswell.

Matt Barrett has a very useful blog all about Greece. It talks all about the islands, what to see, hotels, ferries, restaurants, how to get around, travel agents, just about everything you need. I have a 7 day Greek cruise booked and am using it to extend my Greece stay to a month or so.

You aren't going to find too many bargains for solos on HAL or Princess. Solo supplements will be 75% or more. Also watch with NCL as the studio cabins can end up higher priced than a regular cabin that you pay double for and they are tiny. Usually the bargains are found 90 days from the cruise and closer in, but that can be tough for air fare. She is right to keep looking at the solo cabin bargains posted in this forum.

My best advice, is if you have the extra time, go to wherever your ship is sailing out of in Spain (I am assuming Barcelona) and stay at least 4-5 days. Barcelona itself is wonderful, and there are numerous great day trips from there-Tarragona ( best Roman ruins in Spain), Girona, the Costa Brava coast, medieval villages, etc. You can do this on your own by the train, or book day tours (which is what I did.) Or if you have even more time, from Barcelona, go off and go to Madrid, or Portugal, or where by train, and then do your cruise. The last week will be totally relaxing, so go see extra places you won't get to see on the cruise. The problem with TA's is the ports are either on the coast, or you spend 2-3 hours on the bus one way driving there to see the sights, and then driving back, which makes for a long day. I remember doing that to go see the Alhambra and the Alcazar-both totally worth it-but still a looong day. All three of my TAs had fabulous weather, but you never know.

So will these changes be on all the ships by December 31?? Or is there a schedule? I have a 15 night Asia cruise on the Westerdam in mid January that's been postponed twice. I would have had Lincoln Center, which I loved, had it sailed in 2021. Hoping this happens for that cruise!

I've arrived at a smallish airport and found TSA pre check swamped! I was at Miami and a woman was foolish enough to send her purse with a long chain handle through the scanner on the belt and not in a bin. The chain handle got wound into the scanners belt and the line ground to a halt for 30 minutes. They would not let us divert to another line. I almost missed my flight. I was at Miami and the business check in line was as long as a regular line, and the regular line was huge! You never know what can happen. Me, I'd rather be early and kill time and see the sunrise at the airport than miss my flight.

Don't do this unless you have at least an hour. Personally, I wouldn't do this without 2 hours. Chicago is very, very busy and your plane could be late, they may not have a runway, a gate, etc. Your next flight is international and that makes it even harder to replace.

I've actually flown on Egypt Air. It was a 5 hour flight in Economy from Casablanca to Cairo. It was great, and the meal delicious! You may not want to cross them off the list if you get a good price.