huskerc

No.

Delta does not require the ticket to be purchased with the Amex Skymiles card. Just that you have the card.

I used to fly American and it's my recollection that they had the same policy about the Citi card, but I could be wrong. With regard to USAir/AA it is only recently that they finished this merger--for some time the card benefits did not apply to USAir flights.

Edit: Now that I think about this, I'm sure it's fine. We booked through Celebrity's equivalent program and got our free bag on AA a few years back.

I would not hesitate to book this flight if my other options were many hours later.

Some people are nervous travelers and just can't stomach the possibility of missing the flight--you certainly need to be prepared for that, although it's very unlikely. I admit that being Diamond with Delta colors my approach a little bit because I know I will be taken care of.

Either way, you have to judge your own tolerance for this. Some people say that they aren't comfortable flying out the day of the cruise at all--that it's too stressful for them. That doesn't make any sense at all to me but to each his own.

Yes. My partner Danny and I will be on board. Our first HAL cruise.

-Chad

Do you have a receipt with a 13 digit ticket number starting with 006? If you don't, then you don't have a ticket - only a reservation. And that means you may very well have a complete change between now and when you eventually are ticketed. Selecting a seat means nothing, especially since those are only requests - not guarantees.

No, as I said, it's not ticketed. And my point isn't just that I can select a seat--it's that I can select the seats that normally are reserved for medallion status. The confirmation for the booking also indicates that the only change in fare would be if taxes and fees are changed before payment is due.

The main point, though, is that I know and can see the precise Delta fare class. Sure, I suppose EZAir could try to change that, but it's refundable until 45 days out.

What kind of ticket you end up with may indeed vary, but in my case for the flexible itineraries I have reserved with Princess, I have a record locator and can see the fare class on Delta's website. I'm also able to select seats allowed by status. This is many months in advance of actual payment and ticketing.

If you would consider renting a car, we often rent at one of the airports (FLL, MIA) and return to the other without paying significantly more.

If you're capable of lugging your luggage a few blocks (uphill!) there's a train that's very inexpensive.

How do I trade my beverage package for this ultimate bed package??

Fairly similar overall. As mentioned, Princess does not really offer the Aqua/Blu experience. However, the flip side of that is that their MDR food is substantially better than Celebrity's.

I have a Rome->Athens cruise booked next Spring that ends at 4AM in Athens. EZ Air allows me to select departures starting at 10AM.

I am someone who has spent a lot of time on Celebrity ships, and I cannot emphasize enough how much better your experience will be, especially if doing a land portion, with Princess. I think Celebrity has a great product overall, but they do not excel in Alaska.

Even with a rush, it won't take long to get off the ship. The ABC pickup is a short walk and there is also a shuttle. I would have no reservations about booking with those times, and you'll have the tour's number to call in case you run late for some reason--trust me, they will be happy to accommodate you for the prices they charge.

Also, once the cruise if booked I dont believe you are permitted to apply the FCC at a later date- my understanding is that you have to apply the FCC at the time of booking as they want to incentivize you to book additional cruises. if someone has had a different experience with that hopefully they will chime in).

A booking may have a different answer from a hold. When we had to reschedule a cruise we had booked with a FCC, I placed the desired booking on hold and called Princess the next day. They easily applied the FCC and OBC to the new cruise. However, I had not put a deposit on that cruise yet (hence the hold), so you might not be able to do it once the booking is past "hold" status.

As an example, for a med cruise next year Rome -> Athens, I am able to book the following itinerary for hundreds less than booking directly, and it's refundable until 45 days out with no payment due now.

IND to CDG (Paris)

- 3 day stay in Paris

CDG to FCO (Rome)

- Start the cruise

ATH to IND

- Heading back home the day after

The Paris stay obviously has nothing to do with the cruise, it's just great that the system is flexible enough to let you do something like that.

I don't know which cruise you are on, but my upcoming Getaway sailing had both its arrival and departure time adjusted back by an hour. I have a private excursion booked, so I don't know what might have happened to ship's excursions, but I would expect those times to be updated.

I've done both and completely agree with the previous poster.

You can never be sure. We prefer to book further in advance. NCL has always worked with us when there are post-final payment price drops. You won't get a refund but you may find you will get a cabin upgrade or some OBC based on the new pricing.

Don't miss this. We did this in a rental convertible, following a popular downloadable app. It was great and really very easy to drive. Do not do a group tour/van.

Hi guys. Looking forward to meeting everyone!

All depends on your "travel tolerance". I'd take the 11AM because even with things not going smoothly, I've walked off and been to FLL by 8AM. It's unlikely you'll miss an 11AM flight if you walk off first thing.

Might you? Yes. If missing that, flying standby, etc. would be too stressful for you, take the later flight.

The Star Princess out of Whittier last month had open seating the first night, due to late embarkation and an 8pm muster drill. No real way to work fixed seating in with that.

On the Star Princess at the end of May, we purchased a total of 6 on one form by dropping it in the box. I never saw the consultant and couldn't have picked him out of a lineup.

I'll admit we've only done one Princess cruise, but the MDR food we had on the Star was easily the best we've had on a cruise ship. This compares against NCL and its specialty restaurants (no contest) as well as Celebrity MDR/Blu (no contest/moderate edge). Celebrity's specialty restaurants are quite good, but they're also ~$50pp.

We were able to re-fare our November Royal reservation to save about $600, and the $100pp OBC shows up as just that on our reservation. There is no difference in how it is listed compared to how the $50pp credit from our FCC is listed.