BBsails

A little off topic, but here goes: I read about this on a recent CC thread--for a footstool, remove the life jackets from the basket beneath the bed, take the basket out to your balcony, turn it upside down, and voila! you have a footstool that's probably big enough to share.

Bon voyage

Betsy

Check the rates two or three times per day. Sometimes price drops last for only a few hours. Good luck!

We did the Infinity east bound TA in April 2014 and had a fabulous crossing. Absolutely not one complaint and would sail on her again at the drop of a hat.

Bon voyage

DH and I were on the Infinity on the transatlantic in April of this year. A+ cruise in all aspects--best waiter and assistant of all of our nine =X= cruises, fine cabin attendant and assistant. All staff seemed to do backflips in order to provide outstanding service. The ship was shipshape, well maybe there was a bit of rust around the window next to our seat in the MDR, but we didn't fret. Oh yes, the crossing was very smooth.

Betsy

If you aren't happy with the OV cabin that you're assigned, you may change to any available cabin in the category that you booked. Just contact =X= or your TA.

Shareholder benefit is combinable with senior and military rates.

If you transfer to a TA and see a price drop on the =X= website over a weekend when the TA is closed, just take a screen shot of the =X= page showing the reduction. Phone the TA on Monday. The TA will have you send a copy of the screenshot to him/her and will contact =X= on your behalf. This has worked for me a couple of times.

I read that one of the big online TAs plans to be open on Saturdays soon.

Betsy

You demanded compensation? Whatever happened to discussing a problem in a civilized manner? If your approach was as you made it sound, and you demanded compensation, I think you should be counting your lucky stars that you were given anything at all.

Great minds, Cindy. I posted this a little earlier:

You demanded compensation for the suffering and discomfort? Just a guess, but asking politely may have resulted in a more favorable response from the rep at Guest Services. This suggestion is applicable to a wide range of situations in your life.

Betsy

You demanded compensation for the suffering and discomfort? Just a guess, but asking politely may have resulted in a more favorable response from the rep at Guest Services. This suggestion is applicable to a wide range of situations in your life.

I agree with the post above. You'll get more response with a more specific title. Most everyone who uses the board comes here for help. Try reposting with a title such as "Difficulty with option to print thread" or something similar.

When I click that option, nothing happens, so I guess it's not working for me either. Using Chrome. However, if I want to print just one post on the thread by clicking its number on the upper right-hand side, it works fine.

Betsy

On our Baltics cruise in late May on the Constellation we docked at Langelinie. Luck of the draw, I guess. We could see several cruise ships docked farther out at the new pier. We found it a pleasant walk past the Little Mermaid (almost covered by climbing tourists despite the keep off sign) through the park and into the center. There are a couple of places to stop along the way for coffee. We mastered the public transit system easily and took a bus back to the ship.

Betsy

Type insurance into the search box. There are many threads that you may find helpful. There's a lot to know about buying trip insurance, and it's important to understand exactly what's covered and what's not.

Try http://www.tripinsurancestore.com They're great about answering questions.

Here's a section of Cruise Critic devoted to trip insurance:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=635

Betsy

Chiming in regarding the need for rubles: We were on the Constellation to the Baltics in May/June of this year. We paid for our StP tour with TJ tours with our US credit card. No problem at all. Exchange rate is better with your credit card than if you do an exchange on your own.

Betsy

I got my OBC-N on three cruises in Solstice in March and April.

 

I would question how they could make that work to only give you cash to use in casino. Take the cash, walk through the casino and out the other four, what are they going to do?

Interesting, cruisestitch. This was definitely not my experience on the Infinity and Constellation in April and May. I asked early in each of our cruises so was able to use the OBC-NR, which was the shareholder benefit. Had I not asked, I could have lost the benefit.

Betsy

I was told twice this spring that non-refundable (with a 5% fee) OBC is no longer issued through the casino. I inquired specifically on the Infinity and on the Constellation and was told it had to be spent on board. Same story on both ships. Has anyone received OBC-NR (with the fee) through the casino recently?

Betsy

Oops, in retrospect I'm not sure I should have mentioned the name of our tour operator on Cruise Critic. I have no business relationship with them at all. There are at least four, and maybe more, big tour companies in StP who have great reputations.

Betsy

I see you're on the Constellation. We did the same trip in May-June of this year. Pay close attention to the St. Petersburg visa requirements. We booked a two-day tour with TJ tours with nine other people on our roll call, and had a great time despite pouring rain, wind, and cold on both days.

Betsy

Welcome to Cruise Critic! There are many of us who think that the ship's excursions are overpriced and who prefer not to be hauled around in a huge bus. We have booked many a private excursion, and have never ever come close to missing the ship. The private excursion owners can't risk their reputations and livelihood on getting passengers back to the ship late.

Go to the ports section of Cruise Critic and start reading:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

You can "meet" your fellow passengers on your cruise by checking out your Roll Call. If you will type in your ship and date of embarkation someone will direct you to the Roll Call. We've always had fabulous excursions by booking privately with people on our roll call.

Betsy

If you find a price drop and your TA is closed over the weekend, simply take a screen shot showing the price drop. Phone your TA on Monday and explain. The TA may or may not ask you to send the screen shot in an email as an attachment. I've done this several times and have always been able to get the price drop.

Betsy

We, too, bring them home as little reminders of a good time. I adored the flavored ones of the past. The Belgian ones taste like wax to me. I'm wondering if they're even made in Belgium. After all not all Swiss cheese is made in Switzerland. The last few nights of our recent Baltics cruise, we got little 10gr Milka milk chocolate bars, which were nice.

Gangplanker, suggest you respond to the email that denied the benefit and ask them to explain the reason for the denial. They will review your request and get back to you within a few days. I'm guessing that your TA booked you with a group fare (which may not be combinable with the shareholder credit), and others booked at the same rate but a different fare class (that may be combinable with the shareholder credit). Let us know how it turns out. Good luck.

Betsy

LOL, DDCruiser1960.

ghstudio's explanation probably nailed it. We've done 13 cruises with =X= and have had TA OBC on each, shareholder benefit on some. Never had either reduced because of the other.

Recent stats: Constellation TA Miami to Harwich in late April this year: Fare was $819 (balcony/military rate), OBC from TA was $150, shareholder credit was $200. Bottom line was $39.08 pp/per night, excluding taxes and fees. No complaints.

Betsy

We were on the Constellation Baltics cruise in late May-early June this year. The weather was gorgeous (mid- to high- 70sF) until we reached St. Petersburg, where the high both days was in the low 40sF, with lots of rain and wind both days. The first StP day, I wore five layers and was still cold. The windows of our tour van were fogged over much of the time :-(. The weather was also rainy and cold in Tallin but not as bad as StP. I think I might have seen one child on the ship. Fantastic cruise despite the weather.

Bon voyage

Betsy

We were on the same cruise as Iamthesea--Constellation to the Baltics in May/June of this year. Helsinki was interesting but was our least favorite port of the cruise. If we could do it again, we'd do an excursion to Porvoo. Others may disagree, and that's fine.