**Golden Princess May 14, 2011 - Vancouver To Seattle**

[LEtue]

The thread sure is quiet lately.....

 

I'm off to Disney in the morning to enjoy the International Food & Wine Festival at Epcot. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

 

Michigan has a bye week so no disappointments for me on Saturday :rolleyes:

[bellebaby]

Hi, Linda

 

Have a good weekend.

 

Did anyone else read about Celebrity cancelling the Century's cruise on day 2 and disembarking everyone in Nice, France? The passengers had to make their own arrangements to get home.

 

While I would be irritated, we would be capable of dealing with the situation. But, for some of the elderly passengers, it must have been quite stressful.

 

Mary

[hmstins]

Mary, I read many posts about that on Cruise Critic - thanks for the heads up! I can't imagine what a nightmare that must have been. I can't even imagine tendering everyone ashore, getting all the luggage together and nevermind Blue 7 or whatever luggage tags, getting how many people to a bus for a SEVEN-HOUR RIDE to Barcelona?.

 

I'm not sure what I would have done, but I do know I will be looking at mechanical failure coverage on the next cruise insurance I purchase. I have been taking the Princess coverage because Platinum pax get the upgraded version which covers cancellation for any reason and reasonable medivac coverage, my two main concerns. Now I will have to SURELY look, read the fine print, and make sure cancellation for mechanical failures is covered. What a nightmare that must have been for those poor people.

 

I still learn something new every day, you know?

[bellebaby]

Mary, I read many posts about that on Cruise Critic - thanks for the heads up! I can't imagine what a nightmare that must have been. I can't even imagine tendering everyone ashore, getting all the luggage together and nevermind Blue 7 or whatever luggage tags, getting how many people to a bus for a SEVEN-HOUR RIDE to Barcelona?.

 

I'm not sure what I would have done, but I do know I will be looking at mechanical failure coverage on the next cruise insurance I purchase. I have been taking the Princess coverage because Platinum pax get the upgraded version which covers cancellation for any reason and reasonable medivac coverage, my two main concerns. Now I will have to SURELY look, read the fine print, and make sure cancellation for mechanical failures is covered. What a nightmare that must have been for those poor people.

 

I still learn something new every day, you know?

 

The first thing I did after reading some of the posts was check the insurance I've purchased for our upcoming Golden Princess and our Noordam cruise to Greece/Italy in October of 2011. It says it covers Additional Transportation costs to return home in the event of Trip Interruption when You are prevented from completing your trip due to mechanical breakdown of your common carrier that lasts more than 12 hours.

 

That is good, but I do not see coverage for lodging in the event a flight home is not readily available. Will have to read the policy in more detail.

 

The other issue that concerns me is spending $1,000 + dollars for airfare to Europe to turn around and go home after day 2-3. That's money down the drain. Celebrity is refunding the cruisefare and giving a 25% FCC for the inconvenience, but what about the airfare to Europe? Not really adequate compensation, IMO.

 

I don't imagine there would be that many flights from say Skagway to Anchorage, Vancouver or Seattle. It might take several days to get everyone out or maybe long bus rides..

 

So many "what ifs" to consider!

 

Margie... is it as hot in Katy as it is in Sugar Land?

 

Mary

[hmstins]

Grin -- yes, it is just as hot here in Katy as it is in Sugar Land! I'm really ready for some cooler weather, for sure.

 

Let's look at the options if you get dumped off in Villefranche. Not a major hub, so maybe some train options if you don't want to ride a bus for SEVEN hours to Barcelona! I would think maybe a train to a major city such as Paris (if possible, I didn't look at the map). If you buy the return ticket for that day/tomorrow, the price is going to be horrendous. But if you stay a week, then possibly you get a better price with 7-day advance purchase and the difference is enough to pay for the week you stay in Europe? Might be a somewhat free vacation. I think this is where the relationship with a good travel agent (hard to find) comes into play as they will know many options we might not consider. Getting to a major airport is probably the biggest concern, and if your trip insurance would cover it, possibly renting a car and driving could be the easiest solution.

 

Just for grins, what would the rest of you do if we got dumped off the ship unexpectedly in some foreign port?

[hmstins]

And another thought -- I would buy a round trip ticket and try to use the other half for a repositioning cruise later on. The cost for the RT ticket is sometimes LESS than a one-way ticket, believe it or not.

[bellebaby]

Grin -- yes, it is just as hot here in Katy as it is in Sugar Land! I'm really ready for some cooler weather, for sure.

 

Let's look at the options if you get dumped off in Villefranche. Not a major hub, so maybe some train options if you don't want to ride a bus for SEVEN hours to Barcelona! I would think maybe a train to a major city such as Paris (if possible, I didn't look at the map). If you buy the return ticket for that day/tomorrow, the price is going to be horrendous. But if you stay a week, then possibly you get a better price with 7-day advance purchase and the difference is enough to pay for the week you stay in Europe? Might be a somewhat free vacation. I think this is where the relationship with a good travel agent (hard to find) comes into play as they will know many options we might not consider. Getting to a major airport is probably the biggest concern, and if your trip insurance would cover it, possibly renting a car and driving could be the easiest solution.

 

Just for grins, what would the rest of you do if we got dumped off the ship unexpectedly in some foreign port?

 

Depending on where the originally planned disembarkation port was, I would try to fly/drive/take a train and spend the duration of the trip there. Use the refunded cruise fare for hotel/food. Take my original flight home. Wouldn't be a bad plan if the flight home was from London, Rome, Paris, Venice, etc. Only problem is European hotels and meals are very expensive. I think I'd just bite the bullet and enjoy.

 

Mary

[jbeb]

Depending on where the originally planned disembarkation port was, I would try to fly/drive/take a train and spend the duration of the trip there. Use the refunded cruise fare for hotel/food. Take my original flight home. Wouldn't be a bad plan if the flight home was from London, Rome, Paris, Venice, etc. Only problem is European hotels and meals are very expensive. I think I'd just bite the bullet and enjoy.

 

Mary

While I would like to think I'd make lemonaide out of a lemon experience... I do not think France's big cities are very welcoming to travelers right now. They seem pretty focused on rioting for retirement rights and vacation time than entertaining travelers needs. I am a "make the best of it traveler". I would never consider going home early from a planned rest. There are so many more appealing options for vacation than pouting or quitting.

Jan

[LEtue]

Good morning all.

 

I'm back from Epcot and the International Food & Wine Festival. It was a lot of fun and all the tasty food was yummy :D Didn't do too much wine tasting since it was pretty warm yesterday (about 87 or so). It was more crowded than I thought it would be....aren't we in a recession :confused:

 

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!!

[LEtue]

So who is responsible for pushing all of the warm weather from TX to FL? The last 2 days have been near 90 and I can't wait for the next cool front that is due here on Friday.

 

Michigan travels to Penn State this weekend for a night game :)

[hmstins]

I SOLD MY HOUSE!!!!!

I re-listed my house on Saturday, a young couple came to look on Sunday, and I had a contract on Monday. Just finished up the paperwork today. YEA!!!!!!

Now what am I going to do?????

[travelcoupletoo]

I SOLD MY HOUSE!!!!!

 

I re-listed my house on Saturday, a young couple came to look on Sunday, and I had a contract on Monday. Just finished up the paperwork today. YEA!!!!!!

 

Now what am I going to do?????

 

Congrats.... how about another cruise. - Lisa

[hmstins]

You're right, Lisa! This means I definitely can go to Alaska, and then Hawaii next year. Yoo hoo!!!

[travelcoupletoo]

Good for you Margie, my kind of person!!!! I have to tell you thanks also... after reading your comments of your cruise to the NE, we decided that cruise could wait quite sometime for us. We were planning it as DH's retirement cruise.... instead we going to the south pacific. Yeah, L

[jbeb]

I SOLD MY HOUSE!!!!!

I re-listed my house on Saturday, a young couple came to look on Sunday, and I had a contract on Monday. Just finished up the paperwork today. YEA!!!!!!

Now what am I going to do?????

Way to go!! Have a garage sale it is easier than packing it up and moving!! LOL

Jan

[bellebaby]

I SOLD MY HOUSE!!!!!

I re-listed my house on Saturday, a young couple came to look on Sunday, and I had a contract on Monday. Just finished up the paperwork today. YEA!!!!!!

Now what am I going to do?????

 

That's great! Staying in Houston?

 

Mary

[bellebaby]

Question for anyone...

 

We are thinking of changing our Noordam Greek Isles cruise in Nov. 2011 to a Celebrity Silhouette sailing that is R/T from Rome and includes Mykonos, but also stops in Haifa (excursion to the Sea of Gallilee) and Jerusalem as well as a few Italian ports.

 

Has anyone sailed to Israeli ports? What did you experience?

 

Thanks.

 

Mary

[LEtue]

I SOLD MY HOUSE!!!!!

 

I re-listed my house on Saturday, a young couple came to look on Sunday, and I had a contract on Monday. Just finished up the paperwork today. YEA!!!!!!

 

Now what am I going to do?????

 

A Big YEA from Florida :D:D:D

[hmstins]

Jan, you are SO right about the garage sale! Unfortunately our master-planned community has restrictions against garage sales, so it's either Craigslist or donate to a local charity. I usually go the donation route because I can get rid of stuff quickly and easily, and I get the tax deduction. How does one person accumulate so much junk????

 

Lisa, don't let my experiences deter you from Canada/NE! We just had the misfortune to catch the tail end of some bad weather and rough seas. I have done that cruise twice, once in Aug 09 and this time Oct 10. Both times we had fallout from tropical storms, but the Aug 09 trip had much nicer weather. I will go again some day, and I think I prefer the earlier sailing when the weather is warmer. Somehow it felt colder than Alaska has EVER felt!

 

Mary, I don't know yet if I'm staying in Houston or moving to Austin. There are several balls in the air and I'm waiting to see where they all fall. I just know I have to pack, no matter where I move!

[travelcoupletoo]

Lisa, don't let my experiences deter you from Canada/NE! We just had the misfortune to catch the tail end of some bad weather and rough seas. I have done that cruise twice, once in Aug 09 and this time Oct 10. Both times we had fallout from tropical storms, but the Aug 09 trip had much nicer weather. I will go again some day, and I think I prefer the earlier sailing when the weather is warmer. Somehow it felt colder than Alaska has EVER felt!

 

We won't, I think we might do it via land though (with a side cruise down the St. Lawerence). Since we are looking for a place to relocate to after next July when DH retires, it will be a good excuse to see a good portion of the eastern US/Canada. Though we are not interested in moving that far north. Too use to the San Diego weather. Texas is on our list, so who knows we might be neighbor's one day. :D L

[hmstins]

Well, I would suggest Texas but you better be ready for some hot weather. We don't have much winter (depending on which part of Texas you choose). No matter where you choose, each part of the country has its weather issues. Landslides/mudslides, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, snow/ice, heat, humidity, mosquitos -- everywhere has something. At least we don't have a state income tax and housing is less expensive compared to lots of places. Plus the people are great!

[bellebaby]

Well, I would suggest Texas but you better be ready for some hot weather. We don't have much winter (depending on which part of Texas you choose). No matter where you choose, each part of the country has its weather issues. Landslides/mudslides, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, snow/ice, heat, humidity, mosquitos -- everywhere has something. At least we don't have a state income tax and housing is less expensive compared to lots of places. Plus the people are great!

 

 

Compared to San Diego, you'll find it is REALLY HOT!!!

 

I just looked at my Princess Cruise Personalizer... We've broken 200 days until sailing.... 198 to be exact.... YEAH~~~ :D

 

Mary

[travelcoupletoo]

Well I'm from Oklahoma and lived in Arizona for awhile, so San Diego is much cooler most of the time than Arizona. DH has never been much of anywhere in the states, so it's just a time for discovery right now. Besides selling our house looks like it will be some time away....

 

198 days, yippee.... doesn't sound that far off. Does anyone have ideas on what you are going to do in each port yet? L

[LEtue]

Yes, my countdown clock says 197 days and 4 hours to go :D

 

Margie and I are booked with Harv & Marv's in Juneau and have the option to be dropped off at Mendenhall Glacier on the return. No other plans have been made.

 

There are some great options in Skagway and Ketchikan on the Princess site. Since the port time is short in Ketchikan I would like to opt for a cruise line excursion here.....

[bellebaby]

What a glorious morning here! Nice and cool!

 

Mary