Clydesmom7865

But if you sail longer cruises like the one you are on, won't you get more people who are retired? Not that I'm knocking being retired as I am, but isn't there also something nice about cruising with younger people?

I too do the longer cruises and you could count the children on one hand. The number of "retired" passengers or older set did not seem to be significantly higher to me and I am in my 40s. I also cruise at off times that are not desirable to those traveling with kids. Less kids around and lower prices.

The iTech guys on Celebrity do a lot more than just sign people up for the internet. They are a great source of information and help, give informative classes/talks. This will give them more time to deal with other requests but I am sure there will still be people that will need help getting signed on lol

Depends on the ship. On my last cruise on the Eclipse the ilounge staff were useless and almost never there. There was a line out the door of people with Kindle's, notebooks, IPads, phones etc. all believing they had to wait for a staff member to set up their internet. The staff was rude when anyone tried to ask a question.

On my second trip down to set up my internet I ended up spending 90 minutes there helping people set theirs up too due to the 2 hour lunch the staff took. I left when one passenger got snotty with me because I had not stopped to help her when SHE wanted me to. The look on her face when I explained I was not a staff member but a passenger who was nice enough to help was priceless. It was even better when she whined "you mean you are not going to help me?" To which I replied "No, once you were rude to me my desire to give up my vacation time evaporated." The other passengers chuckled as I left.

Perhaps that is why the staff was not so helpful: passengers like her.

Let me go through this one more time :)

Lets not because you keep ignoring the obvious because no one can tell you what you want to hear.

So once again...anyone have some real cost numbers on a ship evacuation to that first hospital?

The number of passengers air evacuated off a cruise ship in an emergency is SO small that the odds of you finding someone on cruise critic that has an actual bill is slim to none.

Even if you DO find someone (and so far you have rejected the real world numbers given to you) it doesn't mean that YOUR situation should you need the service will cost the same or less than what they paid.

I gave you a link to a service out of Panama which is but one country and it could be anywhere from $4500 or more depending on what services you need.

I have what I think/hope is enough insurance.

Then let it go already. NO answer is going to satisfy you.

I'm trying to do what everyone should do which is to understand the risk. We're probably not talking a whole lot of dollars here, but this thread has illustrated to me that most everyone has no clue as to what the costs might be so an insurance agent could sell them anything. That's just not good money management....and the folks here are much smarter than that, they just haven't thought about it.

Myself and several others have explained the risk to you several times but it isn't what you want to hear. I think you are insulting those who have responded and many of those who post on CC insinuating we don't understand. We DO understand. The rates are not published and because the charges depend on MULTIPLE variables there is NO WAY to give you a finite number that says you should never need more than X amount of money for an emergency evacuation. Buy the amount of coverage you believe you need to insure your health and your assets are protected. That is ALL anyone can tell you.

FYI for everyone else: I remember this poster from my very first cruise and he argues EVERYTHING to death. It may be time to ask the thread be locked because the question has been asked and answered multiple times over an NO answer is going to satisfy ghstudio.

The two times I did sail the pool butlers were enforcing the 30 minute rule.

Twice I was floating in the pool when one came around and inquired of the person next to me if it was their items on the chair. I spoke up from the pool and claimed them and the pool butler waved and continued on. I watched as he collected unclaimed chair hogging items and freed up the loungers. The greatest amusement was when the woman came back 3 hours later to find her 3 chairs occupied by a new family. The screeching that ensued as she howled about how she should be allowed to roam the ship and return to the pool when ever she felt to her "saved" chairs was priceless. I don't know what happened as an officer escorted her some where private to finish the discussion and get her things.

I have heard that it varies from ship to ship as far as enforcement.

I am going to guess that you didn't read the original post...or my later clarification. This isn't a discussion of whether or not to buy travel insurance, it's a discussion of how much you need to insure for in order to get from the ship to a hospital that can treat your illness/accident.....and trying to get some numbers because I don't know if I am well covered with $50K or need more. I am focused on ship to hospital that can treat the illness/accident...not travel home because I cover that on a separate insurance policy.

 

So the question for everyone should be....do I need a policy with $250K evacuation coverage?

I added your similar question from another post because it ties into my answer.

Here is the problem with your question. You are wanting absolute numbers for a medical evacuation in order to make a decision on insurance and that cannot be predicted. It isn't as though there is a chart out there that says "medical flight from ship to Cartagena Hospital: $45,000" then has a comprehensive list for every possible evacuation scenario within radius of every country. Then all one has to do is access the table based on their ports and select a policy that will cover the most expensive evacuation on the trip.

There are many factors that affect how much a medical evacuation costs and they cannot be predicted ahead of time. Distance, weather, helicopter vs. ambulance, urgency, specialty care, critical care, number of medical personnel needed, support vessel(s) etc. ALL of those will affect the cost of an unplanned emergency evacuation.

Someone 350 miles off shore needing surgery for a broken limb who cannot wait until the ship makes port might spend $25,000 for a helicopter evacuation but someone 275 miles away from skilled medical help in emergency need of cardiac care requiring ICU support and a ventilator could spend $45,000 for a shorter trip with more resources.

In order to decide what coverage YOU need you should do an assessment of your health, financial, and travel circumstances. Do you have any health condition that if a crisis happened the chances of an evacuation being expensive increase by 50% or more? Have you had recent surgery within 90 days of sailing where a complication might arise? What time of year are you cruising, is bad weather a concern? What amount of money out of pocket can you financially absorb after insurance?

Your argument is that purchasing $250,000 in evacuation insurance is over kill and merely marketing by the insurance company. It could be. It could also be they have paid claims that high as well for an evac. You seem to think that purchasing an amount of coverage that allows someone to travel with peace of mind that should the unplanned emergency happen is a waste of money if they don't use it. However, you pay auto insurance every year and most people never file a claim. It isn't a waste of money to have auto or homeowners insurance even if you never have a claim. The same can be said for travel medical insurance.

All anyone can tell you is that should the emergency arise and you are fortunate enough that the US Coast Guard is called you will not be charged no matter what the cost. However, once you are outside the USCG response area there is NO guarantee as to who will respond or what the charge will be and it COULD be as expensive as six figures. It is a risk reward ratio and there is no absolute answer.

But...does anyone have any experience bringing liquor onboard to take home? We both have the Premium package so smuggling would be stupid but I want a bottle of vodka from Hawaii that I can't get at home

 

Thanks

It won't be a problem as lots of passengers purchase alcohol for bringing home after the cruise. I bought two fifths of rum and one of banana liquor and none were confiscated in Barbados/St Maarten and I willingly sent the bags through the scanner with no challenges.

It MIGHT be confiscated and brought to you the last night but it won't be permanently taken if that is your concern.

I'm already covered and I don't care about that cost.

What coverage people have varies WIDELY and to make a blanket statement that you are covered and don't care about the cost will be the exact opposite for a LOT of people.

Similarly, flights in africa, even emergency flights are actually pretty reasonable and they will get you to a hospital...perhaps not where you'd like to be, but one that can provide enough assistance until you can get out of there on MedJet.

"Pretty reasonable" is a subjective term. What price point is pretty reasonable to you may be outrageously unreasonable to someone else. Not everyone has MedJet coverage either.

I guess I should say that I don't plan on being

I made this a partial statement because I would venture a hypothesis that 100% of the passengers on a cruise don't plan on being so ill that they need to be medically evacuated off the ship.

Yes, this is somewhat of an academic discussion...but if folks are buying insurance, they should know the real need and they shouldn't buy based on fear.

The problem is there is NO way to predict the need or the cost. Unlike car insurance where there is an intrinsic value to the car and what is covered you cannot anticipate that for an unplanned emergency on the ocean. You could get lucky and the Coast Guard is able to come to your rescue at no charge. However, what happens when it isn't at no charge? It isn't about purchasing coverage out of fear but out of protection for income and assets while preserving life.

I can't speak for all passengers but I for one would not want my significant other risking their own health worrying about mine because we could not afford to get me off the ship or out of some foreign country because of the cost. If a few hundred dollars takes that risk off the table then I don't have to worry.

My question was how much insurance is really needed for "medical evacuation" from the ship....assuming something happened that required me to be evacuated to a shore facility. I don't have a good feel for how much this could really cost....other than the scare marketing blurbs by the insurance companies, insurance sales sites/people.

 

The answers have been helpful....it certainly appears that I had some bad information and that there can be a cost to get me off the ship....so I'll now care a bit more about that coverage....but I would like to size the exposure because policies have different limits on this.

As has been said: where you are and how far from land are variables that can add to the cost but the one that will add as much as those two combined is how sick are you? The more specialized or critical care you require the higher the cost. While some numbers you read seem to be promotional for the company's insurance product they don't pull them out of thin air.

I personally ensure that I have at least $100,000 in evacuation coverage. If you are going to be traveling in Asia or Africa $250,000 might be more appropriate. The key would be to look at the cost difference. If $250k is only $50-100 more well a saw buck is worth it to me to ensure I am not stuck in the Sahara because I only have half the fee to get out should the emergency arise.

You are presuming that the evacuation is automatically done by the government of the country the patient is evacuated to. That may not be the case. The nearest government medical helicopter may be too far away to arrive in time so a private company would then be the one to conduct the evacuation. It isn't just the helicopter or boat needed for the evacuation but the skilled medical personnel to care for the person during transport.

I did some quick research and there is a company in Panama that does emergency evacuations at a cost of approximately $4500 which includes one paramedic. Specialized care is extra and "international" evacuations start at $15,000 and go up from there. Their site is here: http://www.aircharterpanama.com/html/medical_evac.html

I have never heard of any general agreement to evacuate ill passengers from a cruise ship at no charge. Especially considering that this kind of service is not readily available in many Caribbean countries that are struggling to provide basic medical services in many areas.

While the US Coast Guard does not charge for MEDEVAC services, whether another country would do so is going to depend on the availability of the military to provide the service and the cost involved. Considering that most if not all foreign hospitals will not even treat a patient without payment it stands to logic that they would charge for emergency evacuation that occurred at significant cost to them for doing so.

One last reason to have the insurance: if you need emergency medical evacuation off the ship it is very likely that the nearest medical facility may not be able to provide the care needed and they automatically transfer you which will most likely be at a significant charge. I have encountered patients MEDEVAC transported back from the Caribbean who encountered bills as high as $25,000 or more for the service. I for one don't have that kind of liquid cash laying around. I carry trip insurance for that very reason.

Does Celebrity make it easy to travel with an infant?? If so, how accommodating are they will things like pack and play's and high chairs?

 

Any additional help is welcome

I believe there are a limited number of pack and play's on board and you can request one through guest services in advance. As for high chairs. I think I saw a few in the Oceanview Cafe but do not remember seeing any in the Main Dining Room. The one family with an infant always had her in a stroller in the MDR or sitting on someone's lap.

Its not the batteries it is you. I have only taken two cruises but never heard of anyone having the problems you did with their batteries. :p

But 2 thing though,

- Our card even though it is lnked to a bank account, Outside of Canada it is truly a VISA, all charges are handle by Visa and then sent to our bank.

The MC or VISA logo merely allows you to use it as a credit card for merchants that will process it that way. The first four digits tell the merchant whether it is a debit or credit card. The difference is that for a debit transaction you must enter your PIN. The bank still processes it as a debit to your bank account when you choose "credit" with no PIN regardless of the VISA logo or what network sends the transaction to them.

- we are well past the 10 days for the releases, so I still don't know what to do.

It is standard banking policy that debit cards may take up to 30 days to have a hold released. That is entirely YOUR bank's issue and you would have to address that with them.

As a solo cruiser on Celebrity I can tell you that the only rate I have ever paid is the full cabin price based on two passengers or 200% of the single fare. Celebrity RARELY discounts solo fares and if they do it is only around 10% on teh popular itineraries like Europe and the Caribbean.

Hi,

 

We're taking the Transatlantic voyage in April followed by a three week stay in Europe. Packing light and effectively is going to be an adventure of its own. Saw where the ship offered laundry services, but wondered in the Equinox also had a self-service laundry to ensure we disembarked with clean clothes for the next legs of our journey. Not a big fan of shipboard laundry and drycleaning if I have an option. Would appreciate any info available from recent cruisers. Thanks in advance.

 

Ray

NONE of the Celebrity ships have a guest self-service laundry. Never have. You will either have to use the ship board service or pack heavier. Sorry.

My DH and I have booked a 5 day cruise on the constellation. This is our first cruise with celebrity. It is too late to mail our luggage tags and we wondered how to obtain them when we arrive at the cruise ship terminal? We will eat lunch at the oceanview cafe and wondered if there were any tables outside. We are experiencing a frigid Toronto Canada winter and were looking forward to spending as much time in the sun as possible. Thank you so much for your help.

They will have luggage tags you fill out by hand at the pier when you drop your luggage with the porter.

Oceanview does have outside tables but not many. In embarkation day you could be searching for quite some time for some place to sit outside near the buffet as it is typically packed. One option is to get your plate and drink then head to the pool or another deck to enjoy your meal.

Going on our very first cruise with Celebrity in May, my question is if we choose not to attend the Formal nights, and choose to use another restaurant, will this incur a charge?

 

 

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Other than the buffet: yes. Bistro on 5 is $5 and the specialty restaurants range from $30-45. However there are deals to be had on those so shop around so to speak.

Concierge, Aqua, and suites all get fresh squeezed OJ for free from room service.

My last cruise was 14 days and had 3 formal nights. It was also port intensive. My traveling companions and I skipped 2 of the 3 formal nights and went to Q-Sine instead.

There were not regrets about skipping the formal nights for other activities and as exhausted as I was from some of my port activities I probably should have skipped dinner all together since twice I nearly fell asleep IN my plate. :eek:

It is your vacation do what makes you happy and if that is skipping formal nights for the buffet, room service, or a specialty restaurant, GO FOR IT.

Great idea. I will definitely try this. I would like to bring a 24 pack on but would hate to be turned down due to it being to big though. Its funny searching there website isn't bringing up much info. Thanks again.

It won't be too big. On my last cruise I slapped a luggage tag on a 24 pack of soda and it arrived intact in my stateroom with the luggage. I do slip the porter a slightly larger tip for handling it but beyond that: no troubles at all.

Water or soda, if you want your own feel free to do this because they are used to it.

I have a question for you veterans. My friend and I are booked on the Reflection in April. We are each booked as singles, me in Aqua class and she in a Aqua Suite. We have liked our reservations linked. The question lies in that as a suite guest she gets a complementary dinner in a specialty restaurant. Question is since she's booked as a single is the specialty restaurant dinner just for her or does she get to bring a guest for the price of the suite as most cabins are booked as double occupancy? I'm going to be dining w/ her no matter what but just curious if I will be charged or not.

Because you are in a different cabin you will be charged. If you were in the same suite you would not. While Celebrity charges solos double the fare you do not get double the perks. The occupancy of her stateroom is still one therefore they will only give her one specialty restaurant dining complimentary.

As a solo traveler myself I agree that it isn't right we pay double but get half but there is nothing I can do with it.

This was a concern for us, back in our early-married, always-traveiing days but my friend, you came to the right place. Step into my office and letDr Jedi solve this problem for you and don’t worry, if you like your insurance you can keep it so without adieu, here’s how to lick your problem (no pun intended):

 

1.)Let your Wife talk you into having a baby together.

 

2.)Kaboom! That right there will solve your problem. You’ll be totally cool with your parents in the next room cause you’ll have little to conceal. *But wait, problem not solved totally*

 

3.)Things will normalize. Oh No Dr Jedi! Now I don’t want my parents in the next cabin again! Oh what oh what can I do?

 

*Bracee yourself for the ultimate solution to your quandary…..the piece de resistance (that’s french)…….

 

4.) Let your lovely Wife, and neandrathal in-laws tell you that your “family is not complete without a SECOND child”. And when they drop that bomb, and your lovely Wife uses her charms to disarm you…make sure you are knee-deep in work, and mentally fried where you just can’t argue, and you just go along with the program.

 

5.)BAM! 9 months later be blessed with a healthy lovely little boy….who has COLIC.

 

6.)For over a year, see your daily routine blown to smithereens. Your home an absolute mess. Your lovely wife not sleeping EVER, and life sort being sucky to where you are just thankful you don’t live in Afghanistan, and you gotta watch Shawshank Redemption in the middle of the night, because the story of an innocent man going to a hellish jail replete with inmate-to-inmate-forced-intimacy, and corrupt wardens….INSPIRES you that you too, can make it.

 

7.)Gain a few pounds to add to your already jiggly-chubby-lifelong-BigMac eating body.

 

 

MY FRIEND, MY SON, your problem is SOLVED! At that point…….you won’t mind if your Mom and Dad sleep next to your cabin. You won’t mind if they’re IN your cabin. Heck you’ll be fine if they are in your very bed because nothing, I repeat nothing will be going on that will make you or your parents feel awkward. You’ll be on your cruise, living cleanly in chastitty. (yeah, intentional type-o). You’ll just be laying there, wondering why oh why your teenage self didn’t go forward in time, to just slap you and give you your old Victoria’s Secret Catalog because it will cause you no problems.

 

Admin, this was relevant to OP’s question. I will not even charge for my services even though this is PROVEN perfect advice.

 

See the woman at the front desk on your way out of my office buddy. She’ll give you a note and say that despite all of the above, eventually it settles down and you’ll find balance, and then once again you won’t want Ma and Pa next to your cabin….well, sometimes.

Isn't that the truth. Before kids foreplay consists of music, wine, flowers, romance, candles. After having the first one there is NO time for anything fancy or complicated. Foreplay consists of the phrase "is everyone asleep?"

What used to be a marathon you trained for becomes a sprint that you are just happy you got to race. :D

Perhaps you can start to drop ideas on your parents like:

 

1) I know it's strange sometimes we both scream when sleeping...hope it doesn't bother the folks in the next room.

 

2) Your wife has some neck pain and sometimes moans loudly....but you hope the pills will control it so it doesn't bother the folks in the next room.

 

3) My wife occasionally has a form of Tourette syndrome where she yells out "more, more" and similar phrases.....

 

and so on

 

Then act really surprised to find that they are in the next cabin.

That is just silly and unnecessary. So is panicking because they are in the next cabin.

So my wife and I booked our cruise early Feb. My Parents decided to join us and joined using a different method 2 weeks ago. They were guarnteed rooms, and we just got our assignments. The rooms are right next to each other!! This is not ok, its our 2nd anniversary...

 

i tried to get our stateroom switched, but the cruise is totally booked. Has anyone ever had a successful room number switch after something like that? And seriously, what are the odds of that happening?

 

The company that booked the cruise, found it quite comical, and tried to help, but was unable. Any insight?

EVERY generation believes they are the ones to invent sex. Trust me: you weren't. Your parents did or still do it in their marriage and you weren't purchased from the Monkey Ward catalog. When you have children your parents will know how you conceived them short of having fertility problems or adoption they won't discuss it with you. Someday your kids will be convinced they were conceived through immaculate conception and there is NO WAY you did that EVER. This is nothing new.

The ONLY sound(s) I heard from neighboring cabins was the slamming of doors. No muffled conversations, moans, groans, or pleadings to a deity. The ONLY thing you need to do is ensure the balcony door is closed and latched. If that was wide open during intimate activities and the neighbors are on their balcony then they could hear it.

You are letting this worry you far too much. I had way more problems than the neighbors hearing anything I did in my stateroom when I jumped into the shower as we sailed into port and forgetting to close the drapes. Unfortunately for me we had docked across from ship. I exited the shower sans towel and nekid as a jaybird to discover a lovely couple on their balcony on the neighboring ship! :eek: I couldn't leap back into the shower fast enough, wrap myself in a towel, and close the blinds. Bless their hearts they TRIED to pretend they didn't notice but we both knew. :o

I would be less worried about what a neighbor might HEAR and way more worried about what they might SEE. Pay attention to your drapes! :D NOT who is living in the next cabin.

Sorry rookie mistake:rolleyes:. Anyway if you're getting jacked up about your upcoming cruise, she's getting ready to leave port. That will be me on Sunday!

Yep, lines are pulled and engines going. Have fun on the 24th.

Checked the roll calls, there is a roll call for today and March 24 so everything seems to be normal.

I just checked the site and it indeed does say March 16th on the tab but if you select that cruise it is actually for March 16th of 2015. That is where the confusion is. Everything is fine and she is in port as scheduled.

I'm looking on the web cam and the Equinox is in port. According to Celebrity's website she should still be heading back from a 10 day and taking off again on the 16th. Anyone know whats up?

Celebrity's site must be out of date because the Cruise Port Calendar has her in port today and returning/leaving on the 24th.

The little sailboat parade into the harbor was cute to watch though.