kasmca

This may also be relevant to you

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-i-test-positive-for-sars-cov-2-what-is-your-refund-policy-and-costs-covered

5 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

“first 3 days of a trip if you and your spouse are age 65 or older.”

 

this is the line  that isscrewing me about using any credit card , turn 65 this week 

Happy Birthday ! 🥳

Yeah for those over 65 blue cross or manulife from Costco are reasonable options for supplemental health / medical insurance. 

Check your Cruise line policies.  We have a RCCL booked in Aug and they will refund 100% if we catch covid and are unable to board: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-i-test-positive-for-sars-cov-2-what-is-your-refund-policy-and-costs-covered

We have $5 million out-of-province medical insurance with our BRIM credit card. https://brimfinancial.com/pdf_files/Brim-Insurance-Footnotes-1_Final_2018-05-15[2].pdf

We also have trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance with our credit card but they have an exclusion clause for Covid related issues.  We had to call the underwriting insurance company to verify this. I will need to see if I should get extra insurance to cover that for our airfare. TD offers it but it is one third of the cost of the airfare.  

We book hotels and cars with a 100% refundable option so we don't need cancellation or interruption insurance for those.

We have collision and comprehensive insurance for car rentals covered by our credit card as well, but not 3rd party liability, so when renting a car, we opt to pay for that from the car rental.  It is typically not recommended to use your own personal car insurance coverage on vacation as your rates will go up if you file a personal claim on it.

Have things changes after July 18, 2018?

We will be travelling on Carnival next week and just got this email. It states that there is a new Travel Affidavit that came out on July 18 requiring everyone to select People to People. We have a tour scheduled with Blexie and he said to check off Supporting the Cuban People. We are Canadian is that makes a difference.

Here is what was in the Carnival email:

Dear Guest,

In preparation for your amazing adventure to historic Havana, we have prepared a checklist with items relevant to Cuba to review before the big day arrives:

• Passport - All guests require a passport to travel to Cuba, valid for at least six months from your scheduled departure date. Birth certificates and passport cards are not acceptable. If you are a U.S. citizen/resident traveling with a valid Cuban passport, you will still need to bring your American passport or Resident Alien Card to re-enter the U.S.
  

• People-to-People Program - As of November 9, 2017, the U.S. Government revised the regulations applicable to travel to Cuba. All guests who booked their cruise on or after June 16, 2017 are required to participate in a group people-to-people program either sponsored by Carnival or a third-party U.S. sponsored organization. Those who booked prior to this date may still travel under the self-guided people-to-people authorized category of travel. Please visit Carnival.com to view the wide variety of qualified people-to-people tours and secure your preferred excursions today.
   
  
  
• Restricted Businesses - You should also be aware that the revised regulations prohibit all visitors from engaging in direct financial transactions with certain entities in Cuba. We encourage you to review the "Cuba Restricted List" released by the U.S. State Department before you cruise.
  

• Travel Affidavit - According to U.S. travel requirements, all guests must complete a travel affidavit that identifies which authorized category of travel they will be using to enter Cuba. Please print your affidavit (revised travel affidavit dated 07/18/18 - prior versions are no longer valid) when completing your Online Check-in and present a completed copy at embarkation. Guests will be responsible for retaining a copy of their affidavit for their records for five years.
  

• Cuba-Issued Visa - For most guests a tourist visa will be required which Carnival will facilitate at a cost of $75 (this will be added to your onboard Sail & Sign® account). You will receive your visa at embarkation. Cuban-born guests and guests traveling to Cuba for any reason other than standard people-to-people activities (e.g. press, business) must present a Cuban passport and/or special visa at embarkation.
  

• Currency Exchange - The Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) is the currency used by tourists. Guests can exchange money at the terminal in Havana, as well as in hotels, banks and exchange offices for a fee. To expedite the currency exchange process, it is recommended you be prepared to exchange in multiples of $50. Guests are highly encouraged to carry enough cash for the day in Havana since U.S. credit cards and debit cards are not accepted in Cuba.
  

• Packing - We suggest you bring no more than one piece of luggage and pack light weight clothing and plenty of sunscreen . Additionally, please limit gifts for the Cuban people to a handful of items (e.g. toiletries, pencils, candies, toys) that will fit within the personal items you plan on bringing off the ship. Donations are generally discouraged by Cuban officials and may delay your debarkation process.
  

For additional information, we encourage you to visit Cuba FAQs.

We are looking forward to welcoming you aboard for a FUN and memorable cruise vacation.

Sincerely,

Denese Waiters

Sr. Director, Guest Services - Contact Centers

We are a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 early teen girls). We will be stopping in Cuba for 2 days. We have a private tour of Havana scheduled for the first day.

Any suggestions for the 2nd day? Thanks!

How is payment made? At booking, or the day of? What forms of payment are accepted? Thanks

We just got off the POA. Previously we sailed Carnival 3 times and Disney once. While POA was the least favourite ship of our, it is not that bad. The few things that we liked better than Carnival are the fast boarding times (pretty much walked on at noon with no zone cards), the organization of photos in binders for each room, and the location. To be honest, we took this cruise for the location not the ship. It's the only ship, that I know of, that doesn't spend 3 days at sea travelling to or from the mainland. This gives you more time on the islands. 2 of the stops (Maui and Kauai) are overnight stops which gives you so much more flexibility in having late nights out in port. 4 Islands, 6 Port days in 1 week in Hawaii was fantastic. We used the ship as a place to sleep and eat. The food was average, but service was good and the ship was clean. It's also not super large so there were hardly any wait times for anything and the pool / hot tubs were never crowded. I would also recommend extending the stay a day or 2 ahead or after to tour Oahu.

One last recommendation is to stay away from the expensive shore excursions. Instead, rent a car on each island through https://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com and download the Shaka Guides app (iOS or Android - https://www.shakaguide.com/). You will get to see way more of the island on your terms at a fraction of the cost. ($30 for a car and $5 for the app per day vs $150 per person per excursion). We did this on every island and it was like having a personal tour guide. It took us to remote spots only the locals would know, all while providing commentary, driving directions, stories of Hawaiian History / culture / legends, and playing Hawaiian music.

We have an early excursion on Day 2 of our Maui stay from Pride of America and need to get from Kahului to Ma'alaea for 6:15am. Hoping to grab a taxi at 5:30am. If you have had experience with this situation in the past, please post what you did. I know that some Car rentals at the airport open at 5:30am, but shuttles will not be running that early, so I would need to take a taxi anyways.

Does anyone know if taxis will be at the port that early? What is the best way to arrange a taxi ahead of time? Any recommended companies? Will the NCL guest services assist with that? We are a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids) if that makes a difference. The excursion is already booked, so I'm not interested in booking through NCL.

Thanks.

https://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com

Typically has the best prices and no up front commitment.

We've only ever cruised in the Caribbean where taking food off the ship is prohibited. We will be sailing POA later this month and was wondering, since POA is an American Ship sailing in America (Hawaii), do they provide bagged lunches to take ashore during the day? I have heard of people making an extra sandwich from the breakfast buffet to take ashore. Is this practice acceptable and / or common? This would be useful if planning a beach day where restaurants are not plentiful.

Thanks

I believe the one thing that has changed is overnight parking in Maui. From what I've read in the Hawaii forum, there is no longer any parking at the pier.

Is it better to do two - single day rentals on Maui and Kauai, or to do a 2 day rental and try to find overnight parking?

Just booked a 4 star 90% rating hotel in Condado, San Juan, PR from May 9 -10, 2015 for $127 CDN on Hotwire. Used a promo code share25 on my iphone app and got $31 CDN off. Total after taxes and fees was $124.84 CDN. (about $100 US)

Turned out to be the Condado Plaza Hilton.

Amenities: Free Internet, Near beach, Fitness center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business center, Self-service laundry, Internet access, Golf nearby, Spa services, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Accessible parking, Roll-in shower.

Very happy with the results.

Hi there,

I will be cruising next week and we will be flying into Miami a day early. We have two girls ages 8 and 10 with us (family of 4) and would like some suggestions for spending a Saturday afternoon / evening at South Beach.

Unfortunately our budget did not allow us to book a hotel in South Beach so we are staying near the airport. We are planning on cabbing or taking the 150 bus to South Beach.

A few questions: What part of the beach would be the best for a family. I heard 12th street is the area where people are dressed a bit risque so it may not be appropriate for kids. Also beside the beach, are there recommended streets to stroll down or activities for a family?

Thanks!

Are the comedian shows family friendly? I recall 2 years ago on the Valor there was a family comedy session before dinner and the adult ones afterwards. Is this still the case?

Isn't it an additional $15 for use of all the water toys? $3 is admission, $10 is minimum food and drinks. So a total of $28 if you want to use all the water toys?

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