OMG - What have I done?

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Eddie99 said:

NW cruise cover is £40pa.  I don’t know the missed port compensation but the confined to cabin comp. is £100pppd up to a maximum of £1500pp

 

I don’t think there is an additional premium for worldwide

 

Cover also includes car breakdown and mobile phone insurance, so that makes it even more of a bargain

 

There are stipulations about the Flexplus a/c on which the UK Insurance policy is predicated.  You’ll need to do some jiggling (unless you actually switch your main bank account).  £1000 has to enter the account each month

 

As above - give them a ring via the number on the NW website.  They’ve always been very helpful to me, though the recorded spiel before you get to speak to a human is a bit of a trial

 

 

I was informed that there is nothing further needed for the account to be valid than paying the £13 pm fee. But I would be prepared to switch some activity to it, if that is required.

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

The space in those accessible rooms and bathrooms is amazing

It is but I would swap back to a narrow one in a heartbeat if I could.

[Eddie99]

Thanks John and bobstheboy 

I must be behind the times - there was a minimum deposit per month  when we started with NW.

Whatever … it’s all looking good for Selbourne and the rest of us can sit back and enjoy the journey

[Dermotsgirl]

58 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Thank you Jane 😂 We are a bit anxious about being out of touch for so long, especially as I won’t get the usual free included data that I get in Europe and I’ve no idea how easy it is to get free WiFi in the Caribbean, but I’ve just looked at the cost of the WiFi package 😱 Might have to do one of those Crowd Funding thingamys if a blog is going to be in demand 🤣 

Wow, you have been running amok since I last checked in ! 😂

 

Regarding the Internet, when we did longer cruises outside of Europe, we found it to be a pain looking for the Internet in port, and it was often quite ropey, even in the terminal building. This was from 2016 to 2018, so it may have improved since then.

 

What we did, to stop wasting time in port, was to periodically (once a week in our case) buy 24 hours of ship Wi-Fi, starting in the afternoon. We could then use it for the rest of the day, and the following morning, so it felt like we had two days of Internet. We’d binge the Internet over the 24 hours, and then forget it until the next time. (It was good to have a digital detox).  This approach worked well for us, and it it was amazing to browse our normal websites in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. 

 

Have a great cruise! 

[Selbourne]

36 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I was informed that there is nothing further needed for the account to be valid than paying the £13 pm fee. But I would be prepared to switch some activity to it, if that is required.

That was in my specific list of questions when I opened the account and, as you say, zero obligation beyond the £13 a month. 

[Peanut006]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Sincere thanks to @terrierjohn @bobstheboy @Megabear2 and others for tips on insurance. I broke into a sweat earlier as the first few places I tried wouldn’t cover us, and takes of £5k and above were giving me a nervous twitch, but the tip about Nationwide FlexPlus account has been a life saver. 
 

Long story short (as I’ve been on the phone for hours sorting it all out) but I have now opened an account having first phoned their insurers to check the upgrade prices. The lady couldn’t have been more helpful.

 

Worldwide cover including everywhere that we go is included as standard. Cruise cover was, as you said John, £40. This is a result as I don’t have that at the moment, so we don’t get missed port compensation, which we now will for all our future cruises (starting in 2 weeks time). To extend the maximum time to 65 days was £86.40 (it’s actually cover for 69 days as that was the max for that price) and my wife’s MS is covered for an additional £109.49 so total for add ons is £235.89. Added to the £156 a year for the account that’s a grand total of £391.89. That’s £230 more than our current annual policy but that was for Europe only, excluded long holidays and didn’t have the specific cruise cover for missed ports etc. I think that’s a result. 
 

Still smarting at the £1,500 price drop (I know, that’s just plain greedy) but so relieved to get the insurance done and dusted at a sensible price and the CPS parking was another plus point today.

I am going to look into this as I have MS too. Staysure quoted me an extra £290 to upgrade from Europe to Worldwide cover up to April next year

 

Michelle

[Peanut006]

35 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

It is but I would swap back to a narrow one in a heartbeat if I could.

Me too

 

Michelle

[solentsam]

 

1 minute ago, Peanut006 said:

I am going to look into this as I have MS too. Staysure quoted me an extra £290 to upgrade from Europe to Worldwide cover up to April next year

 

Me too my wife also has MS, this year we paid around 800  for worldwide and cruise cover. will definitely be open a NW flex account before it runs out next year

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Sincere thanks to @terrierjohn @bobstheboy @Megabear2 and others for tips on insurance. I broke into a sweat earlier as the first few places I tried wouldn’t cover us, and takes of £5k and above were giving me a nervous twitch, but the tip about Nationwide FlexPlus account has been a life saver. 
 

Long story short (as I’ve been on the phone for hours sorting it all out) but I have now opened an account having first phoned their insurers to check the upgrade prices. The lady couldn’t have been more helpful.

 

Worldwide cover including everywhere that we go is included as standard. Cruise cover was, as you said John, £40. This is a result as I don’t have that at the moment, so we don’t get missed port compensation, which we now will for all our future cruises (starting in 2 weeks time). To extend the maximum time to 65 days was £86.40 (it’s actually cover for 69 days as that was the max for that price) and my wife’s MS is covered for an additional £109.49 so total for add ons is £235.89. Added to the £156 a year for the account that’s a grand total of £391.89. That’s £230 more than our current annual policy but that was for Europe only, excluded long holidays and didn’t have the specific cruise cover for missed ports etc. I think that’s a result. 
 

Still smarting at the £1,500 price drop (I know, that’s just plain greedy) but so relieved to get the insurance done and dusted at a sensible price and the CPS parking was another plus point today.

Great result! Don't smart about the price. As there was only one cabin to meet your requirements, it really is very possible that it may have sold if you waited just one more day. Just focus on having got a decent price and that you have a fantastic adventure to look forward to.

[Selbourne]

30 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

Wow, you have been running amok since I last checked in ! 😂

 

Regarding the Internet, when we did longer cruises outside of Europe, we found it to be a pain looking for the Internet in port, and it was often quite ropey, even in the terminal building. This was from 2016 to 2018, so it may have improved since then.

 

What we did, to stop wasting time in port, was to periodically (once a week in our case) buy 24 hours of ship Wi-Fi, starting in the afternoon. We could then use it for the rest of the day, and the following morning, so it felt like we had two days of Internet. We’d binge the Internet over the 24 hours, and then forget it until the next time. (It was good to have a digital detox).  This approach worked well for us, and it it was amazing to browse our normal websites in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. 

 

Have a great cruise! 

That’s very useful. We have never paid for a single days WiFi coverage in all our years of cruising, even on our 24 night USA & Canada one (with 6 sea days each way 🥱) as we used free WiFi in the towns we visited, but 65 days is another level and I’ve no idea what the Caribbean and Central America is like. 
 

As the TVs on Aurora aren’t great (smaller in the accessible cabins) and have no on demand films etc I had wondered whether we’d be able to download stuff into iPad (using the WiFi) and then watch through the cabin TV on sea days, but I don’t know if that’s even possible. Might have to start another thread on Caribbean first timer questions 😂 All I do know is that the top levels WiFi package, even with advance and loyalty discounts, is £700 for the 65 nights 😱

[Son of Anarchy]

Re travel insurance, we're opening a Nationwide Flex Account and paying for relevant upgrades for our forthcoming worldie.

 

For pre-existing med stuff, the 99 days and cruise cover, including the monthy fee, the cost overall is what we paid Staysure for 30 days cover for our current policy.  And of course the vehicle breakdown cover means I don't have to renew RAC, so a win win.

 

The upgrade to cover the actual cost of our cruise is  £200 (gives £15K cover pp).  I don't think Staysure had this as an upgrade, the max cover was £5K pp.  So will probably go for that as well.   Not often that I say this, but hopefully this upgrade will be a waste of money.

[Selbourne]

Just had a response from Aviva (our current insurers) and to upgrade to Worldwide cover and for the longer cruise would be £280. There’s only 6 months of the policy left, so presumably that’s half what it would cost for a year 😱. Also, they don’t do separate cruise cover. They consider it to be a normal holiday, so cover all the medical emergency stuff, but they don’t cover missed ports, cabin confinement etc. So that’s a no and, once again, my thanks to @terrierjohn for the excellent tip, reinforced by others. John - if ever we meet on a cruise I most definitely owe you a drink for this one 👍

[Interestedcruisefan]

3 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Thank you Jane 😂 We are a bit anxious about being out of touch for so long, especially as I won’t get the usual free included data that I get in Europe and I’ve no idea how easy it is to get free WiFi in the Caribbean, but I’ve just looked at the cost of the WiFi package 😱 Might have to do one of those Crowd Funding thingamys if a blog is going to be in demand 🤣 

Whats the cost for 65 days selbourne?

 

Edit - ignore that I've just read your subsequent post

Edited October 14, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Interestedcruisefan]

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

That’s very useful. We have never paid for a single days WiFi coverage in all our years of cruising, even on our 24 night USA & Canada one (with 6 sea days each way 🥱) as we used free WiFi in the towns we visited, but 65 days is another level and I’ve no idea what the Caribbean and Central America is like. 
 

As the TVs on Aurora aren’t great (smaller in the accessible cabins) and have no on demand films etc I had wondered whether we’d be able to download stuff into iPad (using the WiFi) and then watch through the cabin TV on sea days, but I don’t know if that’s even possible. Might have to start another thread on Caribbean first timer questions 😂 All I do know is that the top levels WiFi package, even with advance and loyalty discounts, is £700 for the 65 nights 😱

Is that 700 per person or for both of you together?

Edited October 14, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Selbourne]

42 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Is that 700 per person or for both of you together?

I read it as per person, but we could both use the one subscription as long as only one of us was using a device at the same time. 

[gsmt47471015]

3 hours ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Re travel insurance, we're opening a Nationwide Flex Account and paying for relevant upgrades for our forthcoming worldie.

 

For pre-existing med stuff, the 99 days and cruise cover, including the monthy fee, the cost overall is what we paid Staysure for 30 days cover for our current policy.  And of course the vehicle breakdown cover means I don't have to renew RAC, so a win win.

 

The upgrade to cover the actual cost of our cruise is  £200 (gives £15K cover pp).  I don't think Staysure had this as an upgrade, the max cover was £5K pp.  So will probably go for that as well.   Not often that I say this, but hopefully this upgrade will be a waste of money.

We paid for the upgrade yesterday with NW for the worldie ,similar figures that you quoted , the £200 for cancelation appeared a lot but when you consider how much the cruise cost we too also hope it will be money wasted ,Abeit giving us peace of mind should the worst occur, heaven forbid at this late stage 

[Interestedcruisefan]

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

I read it as per person, but we could both use the one subscription as long as only one of us was using a device at the same time. 

Isn't that only if it's the same device?

 

Ie your phone or your wife's phone?

 

Can't swap between the 2?

[Selbourne]

38 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Isn't that only if it's the same device?

 

Ie your phone or your wife's phone?

 

Can't swap between the 2?

In all honesty I don’t know. The T’s and Cs state;

 

“You may use multiple devices on one package but can only use a single device at any one time. If you wish to use multiple devices simultaneously, you will need to buy additional packages”.

 

That sounds to me like I could use the WiFi on my phone or iPad and my wife could also use it on hers, as long as it’s at different times. I guess she’d have to log on as me? 

[Interestedcruisefan]

30 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

In all honesty I don’t know. The T’s and Cs state;

 

“You may use multiple devices on one package but can only use a single device at any one time. If you wish to use multiple devices simultaneously, you will need to buy additional packages”.

 

That sounds to me like I could use the WiFi on my phone or iPad and my wife could also use it on hers, as long as it’s at different times. I guess she’d have to log on as me? 

Not sure either?

 

When we go on shorter cruises we normally both purchase 

 

But as I have said before the prices charged are extortionate

Edited October 14, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Isn't that only if it's the same device?

 

Ie your phone or your wife's phone?

 

Can't swap between the 2?

You can swap between as many devices as you wish but you can only log in one person at a time. You need to log off to give access to the second person.

 

We swap in and out all the time. Set up one account and use that log in as required.

Edited October 14, 2023 by Megabear2

[Winifred 22]

11 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

The Nationwide travel insurance only has a small daily add on for cruises over 31 days. A friend of ours used this top up for her 35 night Caribbean and US earlier this 

Yes I was quoted £ 100 for 78  nights on Queen Victoria USA, South America and Caribbean. The other advantage is if you use your card abroad there are no fees per transaction. You get very advantageous exchange rates. I opened my account just for holidays. Just pay in enough each month to cover account fee then transfer money over when going cruising. You also get mobile phone insurance as well. I can confirm too there is definitely no monthly minimum pay in amount.

[Ardennais]

What a great thread! So pleased for you Selbourne and Mrs S. Looking forward to hearing more about your great adventure, 

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Isn't that only if it's the same device?

 

Ie your phone or your wife's phone?

 

Can't swap between the 2?

No you can use different devices, but not at the same time.

[jh1809]

On 10/13/2023 at 10:02 PM, Selbourne said:

Yes it crossed my mind that I’d need to do something about insurance. Might even take the opportunity to take out a new policy with missed port cover, as with 28 ports there’s a fair chance that we might not make it to some of them!

Don't forget to check your home insurance as well as your travel insurance. My own policy has a limit of 35 consecutive nights when the house can be left empty, for instance.

[Selbourne]

16 minutes ago, jh1809 said:

Don't forget to check your home insurance as well as your travel insurance. My own policy has a limit of 35 consecutive nights when the house can be left empty, for instance.

Our home insurance is 60 days unoccupied. There doesn’t appear to be any option to extend that (it would only be by 5 days). I’ve checked the policy document and there are no clauses saying that certain things such as family staying for a period don’t count, so one of our daughters is going to come and stay for a period during the time we are away so that the house isn’t occupied for 60 days, as well as checking on the house regularly. I also intend to leave the heating on, but at a low temperature, to hopefully remove any risk of pipes freezing. The only internally exposed pipes are by the stop tap in the kitchen and I shall leave the cupboard door open so that they don’t get too cold. I will lag the outside tap (as I do in the winter anyway). If there are any other tips I’d be grateful, but my sense is that all of that might be a better approach than calling the insurers and running the risk that they remove cover, especially as we are not contravening the wording of the policy and, as I say, there are no ‘conditions’ beyond the simple 60 day unoccupied.