Eastern Med with 84 year old Dad--how much is too much

[Twickenham]

Have you double checked that you are covered for travel OUTSIDE CANADA? And would that be just health coverage?

 

Here in the U.S. I have good health medical coverage, but it doesn't go outside the U.S. when I travel. And it wouldn't cover cancellation, trip interruption, or transportation home (if needed), so I always purchase a travel policy.

 

Count me as another that has trip cancellation/medical insurance thru work. And yes, it's good outside of Canada, because of course within Canada, we're already covered with universal healthcare.

Back on the OP's topic: while I could probably put together a trip with your parameters, it would probably have to involve lots of travel loyalty points to keep costs down (not that hard to acquire, as I've recently discovered). But for your purposes, I like the Hawaii suggestion - much easier pace for your father, and really spectacular views.

[Mom2008]

Talked to my Dad tonight. He's seeing his doctor tomorrow so will ask about the risk of deep vein thrombosis on a long flight. He's also going to ask the Archbishop if he can now find out more about the Pope's itinerary. I tried talking about considering an alternative itinerary but he's very excited about visiting Rome, whether the Pope is there or not. He studied to be a Jesuit, so this would be a great opportunity for him. He's very well read, and culturally, this would be the trip of a lifetime for him.

 

And he's said he'd be happy, if he's not feeling well,to stay on the ship when it's in port, even in Eastern Europe. Oh, and he does have a lot of points, which could help pay for his flight and some hotel costs.

 

Remember, he's offered this to each of his six kids,everyone is choosing different destinations over the next 2-3 years. It's a way of doing something special. We grew up on the prairies with very little luxury and we know how to stretch a dollar; I'll need to do some serious number crunching if we do end up choosing eastern Europe.

 

Thank you to everyone who filled in about health coverage. My sister has the same coverage as I do and had her appendix out while in Mexico and had great care, didn't cost her a dime. I'll have to check about trip cancellation coverage though.

 

So, I'll wait to hear back from my Dad and take all your feedback under advisement. Thank you.

[Mom2008]

With you being in Vancouver I would imagine, like me, you have done a lot of looking at snow covered mountains, hiling over glaciers and browsing through dense forest, so an Akaska cruise wouldn't hold the same appeal to your family as it would to most. Has your dad spent much time on the west coast? Would he enjoy something like that?

Hawaii would be good , it has a lot of sea days or the Caribbean, it is more port intensive. Oh! oh! I know (sorry just thought of this), look into a Panama Canal cruise. It could be one that pleases everyone.

Personally I would ditch all land tours and do a Med cruise which included Croatia; one of your dads wishes.

I bet you have more input than you ever thought. Good luck deciding what to do.

Cheers, h.

Living a half hour walk from the cruise ship terminal, and having already thoroughly enjoyed an Alaska cruise, my plan is to do more last-minute, deep-discounted ones leaving from Vancouver after I retire in 8-10 years.

 

My Dad has done Alaska and Panama canal with Mom before she died, he was telling me how much he enjoyed the latter. Mom was Croatian, but born in Canada, so being able to visit Croatia holds meaning for him (for me too).

[cruiseryyc]

One more thing to take note of is that a lot European ports are not in the actual city you will be visiting. For instance the port for Rome is actually about 90 minutes outside of Rome so if wouldn't be that easy for your Dad to just go back to the ship to rest after a bit of a tour.

 

Good luck with your planning and hope the trip goes well for you.

[buggins0402]

Since you are set on Europe (and most importantly it's Dad's choice), I took the approach of trying to find reasonable priced cruises that might work using a online TA's search engine (try to find one that has an advanced search function, allowing you to put in a range of dates across months and ports desired). Believe it or not the Cunard Queen Elizabeth might be a great choice. Insides start at around $1,000. Goes from Rome to Venice - saving the train ride.

 

FriJul25Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 9:00pmSatJul26At SeaSunJul27Corfu, Greece 9:00am5:00pmMonJul28Kotor, Montenegro 8:00am6:00pmTueJul29Dubrovnik, Croatia 8:00am5:00pmWedJul30At SeaThuJul31Venice, Italy 8:00amFriAug1Venice, Italy Disembark

 

If you did a your transatlantic flights into Rome and out of Paris, and add a one way flight from Venice to Paris - you just might be able to pull it off. You'd definitely have to throw in some money because the budget won't be enough.

Edited November 28, 2013 by buggins0402

[Twickenham]

And he's said he'd be happy, if he's not feeling well,to stay on the ship when it's in port, even in Eastern Europe. Oh, and he does have a lot of points, which could help pay for his flight and some hotel costs.

 

OK, you need to find out what points he has and how you can maximise their use. Do not underestimate the value of those points, but you also have to know how to use them so as to get the maximum value. Last year, we did a pre-cruise week in Italy and didn't pay for a single hotel.

Also consider what other points you need/can acquire. There are some very nice bonus offers for Canadians right now.

[Gloria Mundi]

If you're thinking of Croatia, the Hilton in Dubrovnik is fantastic and it's conveniently located right off the town square. We used Hilton points there. You could use Dubrovnik as a base for some wonderful day trips- there are ferries to the islands along the coast (e.g. Hvar where Marco Polo was born) and even an airfoil to Albania. I was SO tempted to do that trip but I suspected that since Albania hasn't gotten very far since it was freed from communism it would be more for bragging rights than anything else. Instead we took a ferry to Lokrum Island, where Napoleon had a fort at the top. Remnants are still there and the rest is a nature preserve with a nude beach at one end. It's only about an hour ride.

[Mom2008]

Since you are set on Europe (and most importantly it's Dad's choice), I took the approach of trying to find reasonable priced cruises that might work using a online TA's search engine (try to find one that has an advanced search function, allowing you to put in a range of dates across months and ports desired). Believe it or not the Cunard Queen Elizabeth might be a great choice. Insides start at around $1,000. Goes from Rome to Venice - saving the train ride.

 

FriJul25Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 9:00pmSatJul26At SeaSunJul27Corfu, Greece 9:00am5:00pmMonJul28Kotor, Montenegro 8:00am6:00pmTueJul29Dubrovnik, Croatia 8:00am5:00pmWedJul30At SeaThuJul31Venice, Italy 8:00amFriAug1Venice, Italy Disembark

 

If you did a your transatlantic flights into Rome and out of Paris, and add a one way flight from Venice to Paris - you just might be able to pull it off. You'd definitely have to throw in some money because the budget won't be enough.

 

Thank you for that research. Looks good. Thinking still that Paris might be too much though, energy wise for my Dad.

 

Just wondering, I see great prices for Norwegian Cruise Lines, usually Norwegian Jade, starting at $799 for inside, $899 for ocean view. Do cruise lines differ much in offering third and fourth persons free, and is that only if you all share the same cabin? We'd probably do three cabins, though for deep discounts, we might try two. My fear of starting to call is that I'll be offered this great price, and then be forced to make a decision before I'm ready as it will be a limited time offer.

[buggins0402]

Thank you for that research. Looks good. Thinking still that Paris might be too much though, energy wise for my Dad.

 

Just wondering, I see great prices for Norwegian Cruise Lines, usually Norwegian Jade, starting at $799 for inside, $899 for ocean view. Do cruise lines differ much in offering third and fourth persons free, and is that only if you all share the same cabin? We'd probably do three cabins, though for deep discounts, we might try two. My fear of starting to call is that I'll be offered this great price, and then be forced to make a decision before I'm ready as it will be a limited time offer.

 

The NCL prices are good and they frequently run sales, sometimes offering 3rd and 4th, sometimes OBC - they seem to rotate. 3rd and 4th is only in same cabin. Cunards current rates include prepaid gratuities and some decent OBC even for insides ($350) - so price is pretty close to NCL. No free extra passenger offers that I see. MSC also does a couple low priced Eastern Meds out of Venice. Only your 11 year old would be free. NCL itinerary out of Venice has a plus in that it does both Split and Dubrovnik in Croatia. I've sailed the Jade and liked her. Not spiffy new, but has a great friendly crew. If you go with NCL try and negotiate some OBC since you'll be booking a number of cabins. RCI also has a ship doing a 7 day out of Venice. Cunard was the only reasonably priced ship that I saw that went into the Adriatic out of Rome. The QE does a back and forth 7 day Rome to Venice (or reverse) through the summer.

Edited November 28, 2013 by buggins0402

[taglovestocruise]

We're back at square one asking some very hard questions about whether Europe is the best choice for us.

 

As for insurance, I'm lucky my family of five is covered 100% through my work. Not sure what coverage my Dad has, then there's the boyfriend.

 

DO NOT plan a trip like this without trip insurance. You should even consider paying a little extra and getting the cancel for any reason plan. happy cruising.

[Twickenham]

Thank you for that research. Looks good. Thinking still that Paris might be too much though, energy wise for my Dad.

 

While I'm firmly in the 'don't be overly ambitious' camp, don't discount Paris just yet. It might be significantly cheaper to fly there, and then you can take a TGV train straight to Milan, from which you can transfer to a train to either Rome or Venice.

 

 

Do cruise lines differ much in offering third and fourth persons free, and is that only if you all share the same cabin?

 

Yes, there are great variations both in terms of which cruise lines offer discounted/free 3rd/4th person rates, and which cruises they're offered on. In general, the best offers are on NCL, HAL and MSC (how's that for your fill of TLAs :D). No need to call - you can do a dummy booking at an online TA to compare pricing.Remember, when comparing prices, you need to look at the total, not just the lead '10 days for $799' prices.

[middlehaitch]

The Norwegian Jade looks good to me as far as itenerary goes and the pricing is realy reasonable. Look at the ocean view family cabins if you are wanting to get 3 in a cabin. If there is no price break for the 3rd person you may as well do 2 to a cabin. You do know that there is a single suppliment that can be anywhere up to 100%.

Glad you are back on the Europe and admire your dad for spending your inheritance on you while he can enjoy it too ;). What a lucky extended family you are.

Cheers, h.

[hsaroya]

I'm very interested to read what kind of trip/cruise you decide on. My DH, 16 and 14 year old children, and I are going on a Princess Med cruise next Aug. Our air from Edmonton to Munich and then from London to Edm on Icelandair is $1250 per person, with another $200 per person for the local flights (Munich to Venice where the cruise starts and Barcelona to Lon. Flying to Munich was a lot cheaper than into Italy.). We're doing 3 nights after the cruise in Barcelona and two in London. I have researched like crazy and the minimum that this trip will cost is $4700 per person. (I also grew up on the Prairies and the $ is harder to stretch when it's at .9440 US! Yikes). However, our cruise is 12 nights, so it is $1700 per person. I am a jr high school teacher/admin and am not able to go in off peak times. Also, my kids, too, would not want to miss school. We are porting in Dubrovnik and I'm quite excited about it!

 

Good luck with your decision making! Come back and tell us what you decide.

[Mom2008]

The NCL prices are good and they frequently run sales, sometimes offering 3rd and 4th, sometimes OBC - they seem to rotate. 3rd and 4th is only in same cabin. Cunards current rates include prepaid gratuities and some decent OBC even for insides ($350) - so price is pretty close to NCL. No free extra passenger offers that I see. MSC also does a couple low priced Eastern Meds out of Venice. Only your 11 year old would be free. NCL itinerary out of Venice has a plus in that it does both Split and Dubrovnik in Croatia. I've sailed the Jade and liked her. Not spiffy new, but has a great friendly crew. If you go with NCL try and negotiate some OBC since you'll be booking a number of cabins. RCI also has a ship doing a 7 day out of Venice. Cunard was the only reasonably priced ship that I saw that went into the Adriatic out of Rome. The QE does a back and forth 7 day Rome to Venice (or reverse) through the summer.

 

That's great. Thanks for all the research, very helpful. OBC could come in very handy. Good to know you enjoyed the Jade.

[Mom2008]

The Norwegian Jade looks good to me as far as itenerary goes and the pricing is realy reasonable. Look at the ocean view family cabins if you are wanting to get 3 in a cabin. If there is no price break for the 3rd person you may as well do 2 to a cabin. You do know that there is a single suppliment that can be anywhere up to 100%.

Glad you are back on the Europe and admire your dad for spending your inheritance on you while he can enjoy it too ;). What a lucky extended family you are.

Cheers, h.

 

Yes, if no price break for three, then we'd do two cabins with two people and one with three. And yes, it's spending the inheritance so we can all share in the luxury together, and spend some quality time too. Thank you.

[Mom2008]

While I'm firmly in the 'don't be overly ambitious' camp, don't discount Paris just yet. It might be significantly cheaper to fly there, and then you can take a TGV train straight to Milan, from which you can transfer to a train to either Rome or Venice.

 

Yes, there are great variations both in terms of which cruise lines offer discounted/free 3rd/4th person rates, and which cruises they're offered on. In general, the best offers are on NCL, HAL and MSC (how's that for your fill of TLAs :D). No need to call - you can do a dummy booking at an online TA to compare pricing.Remember, when comparing prices, you need to look at the total, not just the lead '10 days for $799' prices.

 

We'll see about Paris, it's energy more than cost that's a deterrent at this point.

 

LOL! I got the first three then had to look up what TLA means (3-letter acronym). And yes, totals do make a difference. I do remember that HAL included gratuities. There can be lots of "hidden" costs.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

Edited November 29, 2013 by Mom2008

[Mom2008]

I'm very interested to read what kind of trip/cruise you decide on. My DH, 16 and 14 year old children, and I are going on a Princess Med cruise next Aug. Our air from Edmonton to Munich and then from London to Edm on Icelandair is $1250 per person, with another $200 per person for the local flights (Munich to Venice where the cruise starts and Barcelona to Lon. Flying to Munich was a lot cheaper than into Italy.). We're doing 3 nights after the cruise in Barcelona and two in London. I have researched like crazy and the minimum that this trip will cost is $4700 per person. (I also grew up on the Prairies and the $ is harder to stretch when it's at .9440 US! Yikes). However, our cruise is 12 nights, so it is $1700 per person. I am a jr high school teacher/admin and am not able to go in off peak times. Also, my kids, too, would not want to miss school. We are porting in Dubrovnik and I'm quite excited about it!

 

Good luck with your decision making! Come back and tell us what you decide.

 

Wow! Sounds like you've planned the trip of a lifetime. Would love to hear how your trip turns out.

 

Good old Prairie stock, we can always find the best deals. Yes, I will check back in when we've finalized the plans, and afterwards, I'll try to find the energy to give an update on how it turned out.

[KCcruisin07]

I think you've gotten valuable suggestions about simplifying your itinerary and concentrating on the places your dad really wants to see while enjoying family and creating special memories. This is so generous of him to offer this to your family.

Because of logistics and costs of transfers, hotels, tours, I agree with your plan to start in Rome, hopefully allowing a little time to rest before seeing the Pope. A scooter will help, but as others have mentioned, it will be difficult in Venice because of the canals and steps. You may need to rely on the wheelchair with some help from the young men.

I would project all the expenses: airfare, transfer to Rome and then to the port, hotels in Rome and Venice, cruise cost, tips and other on board costs, independent tours (and food) in most ports, admissions to sites in Venice, and transfer to airport in Venice. You can find some information on a Jade roll call with a similar itinerary and in the port message boards (if not here!)

If you shop around, you may find a better price for Jade. Also theoretically at least you may be lucky and get OBC or an upgrade!

The good news is that you will be paying for these at different times, e.g. Cruise deposit, then airfare, then cruise balance, then hotels, and so on.

Wishing you a wonderful time!

Edited November 30, 2013 by KCcruisin07

[boulders]

We'll see about Paris, it's energy more than cost that's a deterrent at this point.

 

LOL! I got the first three then had to look up what TLA means (3-letter acronym). And yes, totals do make a difference. I do remember that HAL included gratuities. There can be lots of "hidden" costs.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

 

None of the major cruise lines, including HAL, include gratuities. HAL calls it a service charge. Sometimes you will find travel agent deals where they will include the gratuities for the first and second in a cabin. Otherwise, budget $12 per person per day for gratuities.

 

Another thing that I've found in scheduling and rescheduling cruises is that although the shore excursions are pretty much the same from cruise line to cruise line, the prices can vary a lot. For example, an excursion on my upcoming cruise is quoted at $170 for HAL. Another cruiser is on Celebrity the same month, was asking about the same excursion on their sailing. Celebrity was charging $99. It's often difficult to find out pricing until you've booked. So, try and do some research on what those costs would be.

[zoncom]

It is too early to get real DEALs on 2014 Euro cruises. Maybe starting in January Wave Sale season.Europe is in poor shape financially.Should be good rates later. My last few Spring cruises have had extensive rain, especially in Italy. Consider Fall; late Sept. or early Oct. Seems to me NCL has family cabins sleeping 5. Anyone know which lines have large basic family cabins? .Definetely leave the BF at home. Its a family situation. Its going to be very stressful on you. Someone mentioned getting it down to your husband, Father and you. Great idea. One city of your Fathers choosing since he is paying.3-5 days. Stick with American oriented ships; Princess, RCL,NCL or Celebrity. Celebrity takes very good care of elderly cruisers. Spend some time with cruise/port reviews here and with travel books from your library.Discount cruise only travel agencies on the web offer discount rates often with OBC. Somone on CC has a spreadsheet. Look at top of this page under search. for this and other info.

Edited December 1, 2013 by zoncom

[Mom2008]

None of the major cruise lines, including HAL, include gratuities. HAL calls it a service charge. Sometimes you will find travel agent deals where they will include the gratuities for the first and second in a cabin. Otherwise, budget $12 per person per day for gratuities.

 

Another thing that I've found in scheduling and rescheduling cruises is that although the shore excursions are pretty much the same from cruise line to cruise line, the prices can vary a lot. For example, an excursion on my upcoming cruise is quoted at $170 for HAL. Another cruiser is on Celebrity the same month, was asking about the same excursion on their sailing. Celebrity was charging $99. It's often difficult to find out pricing until you've booked. So, try and do some research on what those costs would be.

 

After the first two shore excursions in Alaska with HAL, we figured out we were better off booking our own on shore, and have been very happy doing that. We had already booked a gold panning and salmon bake which was fun, but were surprised to see that we could have bought a bus ticket for $6/person to see the glacier, and the bus was parked right off the dock.

 

For this trip we would most likely look at hiring a private taxi or driver when we'd disembark, which is what we did in Mexico where 12 of us fit into a big van and we had the driver for a few hours.

[Mom2008]

It is too early to get real DEALs on 2014 Euro cruises. Maybe starting in January Wave Sale season.Europe is in poor shape financially.Should be good rates later. My last few Spring cruises have had extensive rain, especially in Italy. Consider Fall; late Sept. or early Oct. Seems to me NCL has family cabins sleeping 5. Anyone know which lines have large basic family cabins? .Definetely leave the BF at home. Its a family situation. Its going to be very stressful on you. Someone mentioned getting it down to your husband, Father and you. Great idea. One city of your Fathers choosing since he is paying.3-5 days. Stick with American oriented ships; Princess, RCL,NCL or Celebrity. Celebrity takes very good care of elderly cruisers. Spend some time with cruise/port reviews here and with travel books from your library.Discount cruise only travel agencies on the web offer discount rates often with OBC. Somone on CC has a spreadsheet. Look at top of this page under search. for this and other info.

 

Turns out HAL doesn't have shorter (7 day) eastern Med cruises, so for now it doesn't look like we'll be cruising with them this time. Thanks for the tip about waiting until January for better deals.

 

A spring trip would likely be May. My son has provincial exams in June so we must be back for that. We could do September, but not October as we have a wedding to attend in Winnipeg on Thanksgiving, October 11.

 

FWIW, BF is a big part of our family, much loved by all, his absence would be deeply felt. He engages with all three kids, and he acts very much as a peacekeeper. Even if my Dad didn't pay for him, we all agreed we'd find a way of bringing him along.

 

This thread isn't about who is or isn't coming, that's already firmly established. But I do appreciate all the wonderful advice about time of year to travel, cruise ref's, tips to make it easier on my Dad, and how best to plan this trip realistically and economically.

[Mom2008]

Update: just got off the phone with my little brother. He's helping my Dad manage his money, and doing a great job of it.

 

Bottom line now is, maximum contribution from my Dad is down to $2,000 per person. That makes a lot more for us to make up the difference in cost for us to get to Europe, probably too much.

 

Sooooo, re-grouping and figuring out what to do from here. Perhaps a warm vacation the last two weeks of March will be the best option after all, and my Dad can go to Rome some other time. Too bad there weren't any ships sailing out of Vancouver in March, we'd save on airfare.

 

Again, thank you for all the advice and feedback. I'll keep you posted.

[middlehaitch]

`Hello again,

This is a wonderful friendly thread. you really have got a lot of us rooting for you.

If you are now thinking warm in March have a look at Celebrity they have their 123 deal on at the moment and there may be incentives that appeal to you. Mind you, it looks as though this weekend may be the time to book any cruise line as black friday prices apply even north of the border.

I am doing the Caribbean with Celebrity on the 22 March.

I am sorry the Med is no longer happening but looking on the bright side; a nice bit of Caribbean sun after the wet left coast winter is everso enjoyable. I know we have decided Feb-Apr is our favourite time of the year to cruise.

Your dad sounds like a great guy so I am sure hewill be happy with the idea that the people are more important than the destination.

Do, please, keep us all up to date with your decisions.

Cheers, h.

[ducklite]

If you are thinking about heading to the Caribbean instead, I would figure out which ports you can get to with reasonable airfare first, and then find a cruise that fits your travel dates. There are plenty to choose from. Coming from Canada it might be cost effective to fly into St. Maarten or another Caribbean departure port instead of Florida/NOLA/Texas, keep that in mind. It might also be more cost effective to so ply take a land-based vacation at an all-inclusive, Cuba might be a terrific option for you.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...