sanger727

You can use viator or other websites; but that still leads to a middle man. I personally prefer to do research and book directly with local tour companies. I use TripAdvisor for research and reviews. We have had many spectacular tours going this route. And I feel much more secure than using whatever anonymous company the cruise line or shore excursion company has a contract with

I really think that you are reading a bit more into the ‘invisible’ disability due to insecurity. It seems clear that you have an actual disability that requires special accommodation; which you prefer not to use because you are insecure about it. That just makes it harder for you and everyone around you. Expecting to jump to the front of every line with you husband isn’t fair to the others onboard. Expecting to stand in long lines and pass out repeatedly isn’t fair to you. There’s a middle ground where you can sit in lines to near lines and wait your turn. You just can’t be so concerned with what people think about you. as far as the Disney thing; something had to be done to find that ‘middle ground’. I used to work at an amusement park and sure, there was abuse from people jumping lines. Even people with legitimate disabilities got preferential treatment by jumping lines. What my park settled on what a ride printout. You took it up to the handicap accessible section and employee estimated how long the line was and wrote down a time to return. You couldn’t be in more than one ‘line’ at a time. Perfectly fair.

The answer to this is it depends. Yes, if a cruise is selling poorly a few weeks-months before sail date, they will drop the price to fill the ship. If the cruise is selling well, the cruise could be sold out or the price much higher. It’s always a gamble to wait and book at the last minute. as far as refunds. Up until final payment due date, you can usually reprice is prices change. Once that date passes it’s at the discretion of the cruise. Also, be sure you are comparing apples to apples. A free at sea rate where u can pick your cabin next year vs a guarantee cruise only rate this year isn’t a real comparison.

You won’t be able to get water in your cabin included with your package. There’s also not somewhere you can go to pick up water in bulk. You can stop by bars while walking and pick up water 2 bottles at a time. You can also bring a reusable bottle and fill it at the buffet. That’s what we usually do.

Do you really want to move to another cruise or just more time to pay? I wouldn’t risk losing your deposit and having to reschedule your cruise just to get more time to pay. How much more time do you need? If it’s less than a month, use a credit card and pay the balance off.

does carnival let you use OBC ahead of the cruise? It may be worth them calling to see if a reservation can be made without a charge.

the issue is that the current Maui situation killed many people and ruined many others. We were ‘lucky’ enough to be in hilo during a significant eruption. It scared the crud out of us at the time, but it will be something we remember the rest of our lives. But the eruption occurred in volcano National park; no deaths or damage as far as I am aware. don’t get me wrong. I love sitting on my porch or with a window open listening to a major storm. But the entertainment factor should be off when we are talking about people dying in my job I’ve seen enough death and devastation. There’s no interest there for me.

I haven’t booked a mainstream cruise since covid. I did do two small ships that should have been ‘luxury’ and def ran into some issues. I think I would do a cruise if it was cheap enough; but given the cutbacks I won’t pay a premium price for a cruise. I understand the situation they find themselves in. But it’s not my responsibility to pay for it.

I’m sure they end up in the same gratuity pool as drink package grats, minibar grats, etc.

I would think that 3 reservations for 2 is going to make it a lot harder to sit together than one 6 person reservation. Could you book for everyone and have the other couples venmo you the money?

Why? They charge the 20% gratuity in nearly every on board purchase. We were charge a gratuity on group classes at the gym. Pretty sure they also charge it on minibar purchases.

but the celebrity product BEFORE included the standard cookie. That hasn’t changed. Sure, everyone would like the best product available included in the price they paid. But if a company is getting plenty of bookings, why would they source a higher priced product for free? I’ve thought celebrity was a rip off for some time now and haven’t booked post covid. But a $2 cookie has nothing to do w that but being upset you can’t cancel a booking worth several thousand dollars because the latest and greatest cookie isn’t free, is silly. And it makes it hard to take them seriously.

Typical celebrity crowd. Doesn’t mind paying $13,000 for a cruise. But that extra $2 for a cookie IN ADDITION to the normal free ones, and ready to cancel. I’ve cruised cheap lines and expensive ones. They all have their ways of making extra money. this forum is the definition of cutting of your nose to spite your face. If you are paying $500-$1,000 per night, clearly you like the celebrity product. The extra $2 for a cookie you never expected to get shouldn’t made a bit of difference in the long run.

You should not feel bad for asking for disability access with an invisible disability. But expecting to jump to the front of the line and not have to stand for more than 10 minutes while traveling is irresponsible. You should carry something that will allow you to sit when needed.

It’s really important to note that a passport card IS NOT a passport. It’s similar to the enhanced drivers license where it can be used at land and sea borders. You cannot use a passport card to fly.

maybe your first post was misunderstood. It sounds more like you are saying ‘I never planned to go to hawaii, but facing the reality that it could be uninhabitable someday is causing me to re-consider.’ That I think is a perfectly normal reaction. I think alot of people took you talked about the ‘natural disaster’ to mean you wanted to view the area where the disaster hit

It’s a good point that you are in the UK. 90 day prescriptions are pretty standard in the US. UK people may have a better perspective.

I can kind of see the point @sverigecruiser is making. Like you, I typically cruise for the itinerary and to see the ports. But I also enjoy going to an all inclusive where I may never leave the resort. I’m not wasting each day at the resort; I paid for an easy, relaxing vacation at the resort to use the amenities.

I can elaborate. Our tour included many meals; almost all of them included miso soup, rice, and fish; breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Yes, when we were on our own we grew fond of ramen and some other dishes. But we got really tired of miso soup, rice, and fish 3 meals a day

This depends so much on your medication. Is it a controlled substance? That’s the only time I’ve really seen a prescription limited to 30 days.

Your posts came off as entitled. Maybe that’s not what was meant. But you are essentially confirming that you pursued EU citizenship just so you can say you are one; but looking for ‘benefits’. The main one you seem interested in is health care and you were really argumentative with people who told you that it wasn’t that easy. Instead you insisted that since Bernie Sanders claims coverage was free, you were entitled to some sort of free treatment. Completely disregarding that someone is paying for that and the people who live over there pay quite a lot in taxes for the benefit.

the only people exempt from social security are people who have a government sponsored pension program. I work for city government so have one. I think most federal employees do not have pensions anymore so would still use social security.

I’ve taken some lengthy trips to places that have food that is very different than what I eat at home; after a couple weeks of that, a familiar meal can be really comforting. Japan was our worst trip food wise. The textures and flavors were not to our palate. Slimy miso soup, bland rice, and fish at every meal got old really quickly. funny story on Japan though. We traveled on a group tour with a few days before and after on our own. There was an older couple on the group tour. Every night when the dinner was on our own, they would debate what kind of food to get for dinner: Italian, Chinese, Mexican, etc. getting ‘Japanese’ for dinner never came up.

isn’t this a bit like applying for insurance after you are admitted to a hospital? The health care coverage isn’t a birth right of being a citizen. It’s paid for by taxes that you pay when you live and work there. Not sure why you would expect to get a ‘benefit’ that you haven’t contributed to. while most people in the US take social security as a guaranteed income, that is also a paid benefit. I am in a job where I am exempt from contributing to social security. That also means I don’t get it. While I’m aware of Bernie sanders platform; at the end of the day; any ‘benefit’ provided by the government is ultimately paid by the residents via taxes.

You’ll have the most space and privacy for the price if you book separate rooms. I know Norwegian has higher end suites with multiple bedrooms. I think Celebrity does too.