BBsails

Agree that Steve and his staff at tripinsurancestore.com are knowledgeable and helpful. I have no connection to his business other than satisfied customer.

Our Senior Advantage Medicare plan covers us worldwide. In addition, the evidence of coverage indicates that covered ambulance services include fixed wing, rotary wing, and ground services to the nearest appropriate facility. They also cover the services of a licensed ambulance worldwide without prior authorization if one of the following is true 1) You reasonably believe you have an emergency medical condition and reasonably believe that your condition requires the clinical support of ambulance transport services 2) Your treating physician determines that you must be transported to another facility because your emergency medical condition is not stabilized and the care you need is not available at the treating facility.

Would appreciate input from you, ghstudio, regarding the paragraph above. Do you think Medjet, or other evac insurance is necessary? Not asking for a recommendation, but welcome any comments you may have.

Be sure to check the coverage provided by your credit card(s). Our Chase Sapphire Preferred provides excellent travel insurance benefits. Coupled with our employer-provided medical insurance coverage, the credit card insurance is all we need. YMMV. Some cards require the cost of your entire trip be placed on the card, others don't. Read the fine print very carefully, and phone the customer relations number associated with your credit card if you have and questions at all.

Bon voyage

Question: If we were to catch a ferry from the port in Salerno to another point on the Amalfi coast, would we avoid the congestion at the port?

Hear, hear! We docked in Naples a few years ago and walked across the pier to catch the hydrofoil to Capri where we spend a lovely day. In October of this year we'll dock in Salerno. Not looking forward to that, particularly after reading this thread.

Maybe we could take up a collection among the passengers to subsidize docking in Naples instead of Salerno? (Tongue in cheek, folks).

Betsy

I have a long straight black linen skirt and a pair plain black silk pants that I wear on formal nights. I take along a couple of dressy tops to mix and match with the pants and skirt and toss in a couple of "statement" pieces of jewelry. Everything is light weight and easy to pack. No worries about anything dressier unless that's something you're really into.

ClaudiaB, we must have been in college at the same time! :D

We did Patrick's tour, without the optional land portion, in April 2013 when we were on the Solstice. We had booked it before seeing him on Amazing Race (not as a contestant): Me to DH when viewing the episode: "Isn't that who we booked with on BoraBora?" I can recommend it wholeheartedly. Probably the very best experience of the entire B2B2B cruise. Take lots of sunscreen!

Betsy

Thanks for your report, cle-guy. Some of the changes you report sadden me. DH and I are booked B2B on the Equinox this fall, and I'm hoping for the same great =X= experience we've always enjoyed.

BTW, my father worked in the Terminal Tower Building in the early 70s, he and my mother lived in Lakewood.

Betsy

We did this itinerary two years ago as part of a B2B2B, starting in Sydney and ending in Seattle. Amazing cruise on the Solstice and amazing ports, especially Bora Bora.

Prior to the trip DH and I both got the Hyatt Visa through Chase. One of the perks was two free nights each in any Hyatt worldwide. The Park Hyatt in Sydney was being renovated and was closed when we got the card, but I waited patiently and was able to book four nights prior to the cruise there. We had rooms looking out at Circular Quay and were able to see the Solstice docked right by the hotel. There were fireworks over the quay each night. All in all a wonderful experience and a great start to the cruise. Only consider the Visa if you can pay it off each month. BTW, I don't have any other affiliation with Chase other than that of a happy customer.

https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/hyatt-card.aspx

Bon Voyage

I believe the shareholder benefit is combinable with the military rate. As gormless recommended, phone a couple of times if you're told it the two rates are not combinable.

If the shareholder benefit is greater than your OBC, RCCL will let you have the credit while rescinding the OBC. Don't think you'll get both, but please report back and let us know.

I see you found our roll call. Looks like we better take rain gear!

Betsy

Go to the =X= website and pretend to make a booking for a specific cruise. You'll see a drop drop down that asks for your residency. I just did that as a CA resident for an AK cruise, and there is a resident rate that discounts the fare by $800. Not too shabby!

I don't think my bare feet have ever touched the carpet in our cabin, or for that matter, in a hotel room. I take my trusty, nearly weightless, Crocs along to make sure they never do. I am not at all a germ freak, but my imagination runs rampant when thinking about what may be imbedded in the carpet. YMMV.

Be sure to check the benefits provided by your credit card(s); many do give you some coverage. We rely on credit card benefits and buy a yearly Medjet Assist policy in case one of us has to be medivaced--I consider it buying peace of mind. We have seen people carted off the ship in helicopters on several of our cruises. Knowing about how to buy travel insurance has a learning curve. Make sure you understand each aspect of your policy.

Bon voyage

You have nothing to lose by trying! If you phone =X= and are turned down, phone again and talk with another rep as the policies are sometimes inconsistently enforced. If you are a Captain's Club member, contact them with your question. Good luck. Let us know what happens.

Betsy

This is a cool video! We watched it on our TV screen and found it very interesting, especially being able to view the crew living areas, cafeteria(s), and recreation facilities. The tone of this training video is very positive and supportive of new crew members. Celebrity HR people seem to realize how overwhelming joining an S-class ship might be for a newbie who may have never even traveled outside his/her home country.

Thanks for the water info, huskerc.

Would someone please explain the difference between the brands of non-premium bottled water offered in the classic package and the brands of the premium bottled purified water offered in the premium package.

Thanks for the link posted below.

Betsy

Our 12-nght October cruise in Europe has gone up $300pp with no perks (we have 123GO) since we booked almost three weeks ago. Just sayin'.

It's beautiful!

I believe cb is correct. I read somewhere on the =X= site that each person is allowed 200 lbs. We met a couple on a TA who were going from their summer home in France to their home in the US. They had packed a huge crate of wine. How they were able to get that much wine into the US, I don't know, but it must have been heavy.

Hmmm...I transferred our booking from =X= to a TA yesterday. Not within final payment, so she had me cancel the original booking, and she rebooked at a lower rate and with a higher balcony category on the same cruise. I was able to keep all three "Go" perks.

A fully functioning website and better trained reps who answer the phone. I love the =X= experience on board, but the website and less than knowledgeable reps are a pain.

We'll be returning to FtL on a TA later this year. Although I'd like to fly the same day of our return, I booked a flight for the next day to avoid experiencing stress due to any delay getting off the ship. Don't want to spend the last few hours of a relaxing cruise wondering if we'll make the flight.

Betsy