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C. Everett Koop
Aug 18, 2008
Speaking of making GBS threads on Disney, mom has a milestone birthday at the end of the year and wants to take a Disney cruise. Dad gets seasick, so guess who's been voluntold to be her chaperone?

Questions;

-If Dad gets seasick, how hosed am i?

-I know the beds don't split, so how comfortable is the pullout couch? Is it one of those with the giant metal bars in the middle? We're on the Wish for what that matters.

-What's the water temperature at Castaway in December, pleasant, slightly chilly, or gently caress outta here cold?

-I know people poo poo on Nassau but I've never been and I'm half tempted to check out Atlantis. What's the gambling limits in their casinos, am I gonna have to pay >$10 a hand for any table game? I know there's a WSOP event going on at the time so this assumes I'll even be able to play anything.

-My idea of a good time on vacation doesn't involve wearing pants. Am I gonna be fine wearing shorts in the dining rooms or am I gonna have to suck it up and pack some trousers?

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Doronin
Nov 22, 2002

Don't be scared

C. Everett Koop posted:

Speaking of making GBS threads on Disney, mom has a milestone birthday at the end of the year and wants to take a Disney cruise. Dad gets seasick, so guess who's been voluntold to be her chaperone?

Questions;

-If Dad gets seasick, how hosed am i?

-I know the beds don't split, so how comfortable is the pullout couch? Is it one of those with the giant metal bars in the middle? We're on the Wish for what that matters.

-What's the water temperature at Castaway in December, pleasant, slightly chilly, or gently caress outta here cold?

-I know people poo poo on Nassau but I've never been and I'm half tempted to check out Atlantis. What's the gambling limits in their casinos, am I gonna have to pay >$10 a hand for any table game? I know there's a WSOP event going on at the time so this assumes I'll even be able to play anything.

-My idea of a good time on vacation doesn't involve wearing pants. Am I gonna be fine wearing shorts in the dining rooms or am I gonna have to suck it up and pack some trousers?

-- You won't be. The Wish only sails back and forth between Canaveral and Bahamas where, typically, the seas won't be very rough usually. That said, bring your preferred anti-nausea on board, or just buy some from Mickey's Mainsails gift shop. I forgot which brands they carry, but you'll be covered either way. There's also green apple slices and ginger ale for free on the ship if those help.

-- I haven't tried the pullout couch on the Wish yet, but on the other four ships it is surprisingly comfortable. It's not like a full pullout sofa sleeper you usually have at home. The back of the couch flips down and has a very comfortable twin mattress that your room steward will make up for you each morning and evening.

-- Castaway in December... depends on your tolerance, but it should still water temps in the high 70s-low 80s if we're talking the first couple of weeks of the month. By the end of the month, probably mid-high 70s (slight chill). There's only been one time I've ever stayed out of the water because it was too chilly, and it was the very end of January the day after some thunderstorms moved through. But I've been at the same time on several other cruises and didn't find it uncomfortable.

-- If you've never been to Nassau, I'd actually recommend Atlantis, personally. I really like it. Their water park is wildly overpriced now for entry, even though it has my favorite water slides ever. But the casino, from the times I've been, definitely had options under $10/hand. I played blackjack there for a few hours once doing $5 hands. There's also any and every slot machine you've ever thought existed, if that interests you. The food is also really good that I've had there, albeit pricey.

-- Disney Cruises might actually be the most casual of them all. You can wear shorts and t-shirts the entire time if you want. Formal and semi-formal nights on the ship are completely optional. You'll see some folks dress up, but they're almost always doing that because they're also getting family portraits taken while they're at it. So far, I've never actually dressed up for dinner, and I'm about to go on my 12th DCL sailing in barely a week. However! If your folks decide to do the upcharge dining at Palo Steakhouse or Enchante and bring you along, those DO have a dress code. It's fairly relaxed, requiring slacks or "nice jeans" (read: no holes/tears), and a collared shirt for men. But those spaces are the only ones where any sort of dress code is enforced.

Are you guys doing the 3 or 4 night sailing on the Wish, or splurging for a back-to-back?

Doronin fucked around with this message at 18:28 on Oct 5, 2023

Braksgirl
Dec 25, 2010

Unofficial Goon Disney travel agent since 2014!

Tens of Goons served!


The sofa bed on the Wish is fine. I slept on it. It's slightly narrower than a twin bed, but it's perfectly comfortable for a hobbity plus size person. It's not a pull out sofa bed like you think. The back of the sofa folds down and the mattress is hidden inside the back of the cushions of the sofa. No bars to dig in your back.

You can wear shorts in the dining room and nobody cares about dress up night. Dress up or don't, no one cares.

C. Everett Koop
Aug 18, 2008

Doronin posted:

-- You won't be. The Wish only sails back and forth between Canaveral and Bahamas where, typically, the seas won't be very rough usually. That said, bring your preferred anti-nausea on board, or just buy some from Mickey's Mainsails gift shop. I forgot which brands they carry, but you'll be covered either way. There's also green apple slices and ginger ale for free on the ship if those help.

-- I haven't tried the pullout couch on the Wish yet, but on the other four ships it is surprisingly comfortable. It's not like a full pullout sofa sleeper you usually have at home. The back of the couch flips down and has a very comfortable twin mattress that your room steward will make up for you each morning and evening.

-- Castaway in December... depends on your tolerance, but it should still water temps in the high 70s-low 80s if we're talking the first couple of weeks of the month. By the end of the month, probably mid-high 70s (slight chill). There's only been one time I've ever stayed out of the water because it was too chilly, and it was the very end of January the day after some thunderstorms moved through. But I've been at the same time on several other cruises and didn't find it uncomfortable.

-- If you've never been to Nassau, I'd actually recommend Atlantis, personally. I really like it. Their water park is wildly overpriced now for entry, even though it has my favorite water slides ever. But the casino, from the times I've been, definitely had options under $10/hand. I played blackjack there for a few hours once doing $5 hands. There's also any and every slot machine you've ever thought existed, if that interests you. The food is also really good that I've had there, albeit pricey.

-- Disney Cruises might actually be the most casual of them all. You can wear shorts and t-shirts the entire time if you want. Formal and semi-formal nights on the ship are completely optional. You'll see some folks dress up, but they're almost always doing that because they're also getting family portraits taken while they're at it. So far, I've never actually dressed up for dinner, and I'm about to go on my 12th DCL sailing in barely a week. However! If your folks decide to do the upcharge dining at Palo Steakhouse or Enchante and bring you along, those DO have a dress code. It's fairly relaxed, requiring slacks or "nice jeans" (read: no holes/tears), and a collared shirt for men. But those spaces are the only ones where any sort of dress code is enforced.

Are you guys doing the 3 or 4 night sailing on the Wish, or splurging for a back-to-back?

Thanks for the feedback. I don't have a preferred anti-nausea, any recommendations?

Per Atlantis, as much as I'd like to do the waterpark it's too expensive and there won't be enough time to make it worthwhile. I'm hoping there'll be some cheap games outside of the slots but again, given the WSOP is in town it wouldn't surprise me if the table rates were up.

We're doing a four day early December, before the Christmas rush. Don't have the time off for anything more than that. TBH, if I had to do a cruise I'd wait for that new Royal ship that's doing 3-4 days out of Port Canaveral and is doing Perfect Day since that looks like everything I could ever want, but this is for Mom, not me.

Doronin
Nov 22, 2002

Don't be scared

C. Everett Koop posted:

Thanks for the feedback. I don't have a preferred anti-nausea, any recommendations?

Per Atlantis, as much as I'd like to do the waterpark it's too expensive and there won't be enough time to make it worthwhile. I'm hoping there'll be some cheap games outside of the slots but again, given the WSOP is in town it wouldn't surprise me if the table rates were up.

We're doing a four day early December, before the Christmas rush. Don't have the time off for anything more than that. TBH, if I had to do a cruise I'd wait for that new Royal ship that's doing 3-4 days out of Port Canaveral and is doing Perfect Day since that looks like everything I could ever want, but this is for Mom, not me.

I'd recommend doing some research on the anti-nausea, but the brand standard for that line of products is Dramamine. That's what my mother-in-law uses, and she suffers from vertigo. It seems to keep her in check. Just make sure you grab the non-drowsy formula so you aren't half-asleep all day. Somebody else in this thread may have a more specific suggestion.

Yeah, agree on the Atlantis price. I thought it was just the excursion itself, but no, the walk-up rate for a ticket is just outrageously high. Hopefully you'll be able to find a less expensive table and play for a bit.

tranten
Jan 14, 2003

^pube

FWIW I am at the airport right now departing from an Atlantis vacation. I was there Monday-Friday and the lowest bet I saw was on blackjack at 15/hand, and those tables were crowded. The 100 or 200 tables always had seats tho!

Braksgirl
Dec 25, 2010

Unofficial Goon Disney travel agent since 2014!

Tens of Goons served!


I wonder if you speak to your doctor ahead of time they might be able to prescribe something for nausea like zofran.

Doronin
Nov 22, 2002

Don't be scared

Braksgirl posted:

I wonder if you speak to your doctor ahead of time they might be able to prescribe something for nausea like zofran.

poo poo... I meant to do that this week for my daughter's sake. Thanks for reminding me! Hopefully I can restocked on it in the next 48 hours.

Commander Jebus
Sep 9, 2001

You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought...

Just impulse booked a b2b on Virgin Voyages out of Miami next summer. The med would have been more interesting but we wanted something a relatively close flight to us in the frozen north. Ports are not interesting at all but we intend on treating it like a 9 day floating resort anyway and super interested in the unique vibe that people tend to say is on VV.

Also since its during summer school break massively looking forward to the adults only ship .

I've only got a few NCL cruises under my belt (albeit all of them in the Haven) so it will be neat to see how the better base level dining on VV stacks up, since its supposed to be really good for a cruise line.

Doronin
Nov 22, 2002

Don't be scared
Cross-post, but I wrote a lengthy trip review in the Theme Parks thread for our latest Disney Cruise Line sailing we just took, if anyone is interested. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3544789&pagenumber=849#post535458568

That was our 12th Disney Cruise, so if anyone ever has questions about the line, I'm happy to share anything I know.

poolside toaster
Jul 12, 2008
I'll think about posting a full trip report later, but I wanted to take the opportunity to remind everyone:
PURCHASE ADEQUATE INSURANCE, FOR gently caress'S SAKE!

Short story here is I got in an accident on a moped October 14 in Bermuda and sustained a serious injury. I spent 3 days in the hospital in Bermuda being stabilized and then had to endure two flights to get home, where I went straight into a (U.S.) hospital and into surgery, recovery, and spent a week in a rehabilitation facility. Today is my first day home.

At this point the rack rates for all my care is easily in the hundreds of thousands. Upshot is that insurance is paying for every cost from Bermuda and my only outlay for this nightmare situation will be a couple hundred bucks to top off my Max Out-of-Pocket for my employer's insurance plan.

INSURANCE. Don't gamble with your life/future, especially when travelling.

EL BROMANCE
Jun 10, 2006

COWABUNGA DUDES!
🥷🐢😬



Sorry to hear that man, I hope you get better soon.

More important even than iterating insurance, rule number one of cruises is DO NOT HIRE MOPEDS. It’s such a risk because this happens so often, and people get badly hurt and stuck in a foreign country. The cruise line themselves usually warns against it.

https://allthingscruise.com/cruise-lines-warn-against-moped-and-scooter-rentals-in-bahamas/

poolside toaster
Jul 12, 2008

EL BROMANCE posted:

Sorry to hear that man, I hope you get better soon.

More important even than iterating insurance, rule number one of cruises is DO NOT HIRE MOPEDS. It’s such a risk because this happens so often, and people get badly hurt and stuck in a foreign country. The cruise line themselves usually warns against it.

https://allthingscruise.com/cruise-lines-warn-against-moped-and-scooter-rentals-in-bahamas/

Many thanks!

I remember my youngest sister BEGGING my mother back in the early 80's for a moped, without any luck. When I sent my mother my first message after getting back, I just said "You were right all along, mom!"

I have to say that the cruise line did their absolute best to assist in the whole process and I totally give NCL props for their shore officers.

slidebite
Nov 6, 2005

Good egg
:colbert:

poolside toaster posted:

I'll think about posting a full trip report later, but I wanted to take the opportunity to remind everyone:
PURCHASE ADEQUATE INSURANCE, FOR gently caress'S SAKE!

Short story here is I got in an accident on a moped October 14 in Bermuda and sustained a serious injury. I spent 3 days in the hospital in Bermuda being stabilized and then had to endure two flights to get home, where I went straight into a (U.S.) hospital and into surgery, recovery, and spent a week in a rehabilitation facility. Today is my first day home.

At this point the rack rates for all my care is easily in the hundreds of thousands. Upshot is that insurance is paying for every cost from Bermuda and my only outlay for this nightmare situation will be a couple hundred bucks to top off my Max Out-of-Pocket for my employer's insurance plan.

INSURANCE. Don't gamble with your life/future, especially when travelling.
Oofta. Sorry to hear that. Look forward to the trip report.

We were in Bermuda in April and I asked our tour guide about health care as we drove by the new hospital and he said "Very, very expensive"

Glad you were covered and hope you have a quick recovery!

Did they fly you back commercial or do a medivac flight?

Braksgirl
Dec 25, 2010

Unofficial Goon Disney travel agent since 2014!

Tens of Goons served!


It always makes me nervous when people decline the insurance. I'm sorry you were injured, poolside toaster. I hope your recovery is swift!

Doronin
Nov 22, 2002

Don't be scared
poolside toaster, sorry to hear that but glad to hear it's mostly working out and you're on the mend! Hope you're back at 100% soon.


EL BROMANCE posted:

Sorry to hear that man, I hope you get better soon.

More important even than iterating insurance, rule number one of cruises is DO NOT HIRE MOPEDS. It’s such a risk because this happens so often, and people get badly hurt and stuck in a foreign country. The cruise line themselves usually warns against it.

https://allthingscruise.com/cruise-lines-warn-against-moped-and-scooter-rentals-in-bahamas/

Actually, there was an awful story on this exact topic in September. A couple was cruising out of Tampa, rented mopeds at a Mexican port and were badly injured in a hit and run incident. No insurance, and the hospital was basically demanding a ransom in the form of wildly inflated medical bills to discharge them and return home.

Link: https://wsvn.com/news/us-world/florida-couple-stranded-in-mexican-hospital-after-cruise-pit-stop-takes-a-horrifying-turn/

EL BROMANCE
Jun 10, 2006

COWABUNGA DUDES!
🥷🐢😬



I’m sitting in Port Canaveral as we’re here for a weekend break, and the Wish just sailed by. Slightly jealous, can’t lie.

Just gotta remember that it’s just over 2 weeks til my Celebrity cruise, then a month later my NCL. Very much a fun way to end the year.

Fluue
Jan 2, 2008
Has anyone booked European river cruises before? Are river cruises better to book through with travel agents?

My girlfriend and I are looking to take a trip to somewhere in the French/German/Austrian area in the spring of 2024. We were thinking a river cruise might be a nice way to knock out a few areas in a week or so. We understand the crowd for river cruises skews older (60+), but that's fine by us.

If this is better suited for the Europe thread I'll go ask over there.

tranten
Jan 14, 2003

^pube

A few river cruise brands really like you to use a travel advisor, but I don't think it's mandatory. Travel advisors won't get you a better deal, though there may be some perks like a room credit or something small added if you use one. It's up to you if the convenience of having someone handle it all is worth it (usually travel agents charge for their services, now)

Also, I know of at least one cruise line (AmaWaterways) that includes bicycles on all their Europe ships that you can check out, as well as have organized bicycling excursions included if you so desire. I'm pretty sure there are other lines that offer it as well. So while the crowd might skew older, don't forget they're primarily European olds, so they're as active as 30-40 y/o Americans.

I like river cruising. I recommend it! Great way to see a little slice of Europe while only having to unpack once. River cruise ports aren't like ocean cruise ports in that they're usually just in the middle of the actual city and not surrounded by tourist traps.

Braksgirl
Dec 25, 2010

Unofficial Goon Disney travel agent since 2014!

Tens of Goons served!




tranten posted:

A few river cruise brands really like you to use a travel advisor, but I don't think it's mandatory. Travel advisors won't get you a better deal, though there may be some perks like a room credit or something small added if you use one. It's up to you if the convenience of having someone handle it all is worth it (usually travel agents charge for their services, now)


This isn't accurate. Some travel agents charge fees but not most. Obviously, every agent is going to do things slightly different but I never charge additional fees and most agents I work with don't either. And sometimes travel agents can get you a better deal if they have group space available through their consortium or there are agency specific discounts. It is true that a booking through an agent has to be handled by the agent but there a lot of perks to using the agent above "a small room credit", especially if you're a first time cruiser.

Crust First
May 1, 2013

Wrong lads.
I'm looking to take my mother on a cruise in the next year or two. She's in the US, and I'm in the UK. I recently took my first cruise with P&O, and it was very much the type of thing I think she would enjoy; it felt like it was aimed at a slightly older segment, and there seemed to be a lot of options for people with reduced mobility to still enjoy shore excursions, etc.

The issue I'm finding is that booking P&O cruises for an American seems like it might be more complicated than booking as a UK citizen. I was hoping to be able to book together, with one room for my mom and one for my wife and I, and I'm not sure the best way to approach this. Should I contact the cruise line directly, or a travel agency? If a travel agency, would it need to be a US based one or a UK based one?

It might just be the case that it's too complicated to pursue versus just going with an American cruise line, or maybe I'm overthinking it. Any advice would be appreciated!

WhiteHowler
Apr 3, 2001

I'M HUGE!

Crust First posted:

I'm looking to take my mother on a cruise in the next year or two. She's in the US, and I'm in the UK. I recently took my first cruise with P&O, and it was very much the type of thing I think she would enjoy; it felt like it was aimed at a slightly older segment, and there seemed to be a lot of options for people with reduced mobility to still enjoy shore excursions, etc.

The issue I'm finding is that booking P&O cruises for an American seems like it might be more complicated than booking as a UK citizen. I was hoping to be able to book together, with one room for my mom and one for my wife and I, and I'm not sure the best way to approach this. Should I contact the cruise line directly, or a travel agency? If a travel agency, would it need to be a US based one or a UK based one?

It might just be the case that it's too complicated to pursue versus just going with an American cruise line, or maybe I'm overthinking it. Any advice would be appreciated!

If you're planning to depart from the US, I'd recommend using a US cruise line*. Otherwise just go with whatever's easiest to book from your departure country. Cruise lines handle international passengers all the time; just tell them your situation and they'll help you out. They really want your money.

For what it's worth, many US cruise lines are also aimed at the older crowd and offer mobility assistance of varying degrees. In particular, check out Holland America -- someone here once suggested that their target demographic ranges from geriatric to fresh cadaver. I think Royal Caribbean and Princess trend older too.

You probably don't need a travel agent for a simple cruise, but if you're doing a bunch of stuff (and especially if you're coordinating people traveling from multiple countries with some hotel stays in between), it's not a terrible idea. I have no idea if she handles this type of trip, but Braksgirl handled my Disney vacation several years ago, and many goons in this thread would vouch for her.

* "US cruise line" is a weird one, since the ships are often flagged under other countries. I'm referring to companies that primarily depart from the US and have their main/major business offices in the States.

WhiteHowler fucked around with this message at 21:33 on Nov 12, 2023

WithoutTheFezOn
Aug 28, 2005
Oh no

Crust First posted:

The issue I'm finding is that booking P&O cruises for an American seems like it might be more complicated than booking as a UK citizen.
I’ve never heard of p&o, but I doubt it’s significantly more complicated. They even have a web site for North Americans.

https://www.poamericas.com/

I’d guess getting two cabins right next to each other may require talking to a person.

EL BROMANCE
Jun 10, 2006

COWABUNGA DUDES!
🥷🐢😬



Drove past Celebrity Ascent today on the way to our cruise, looks like she’s in port for a few days before maiden voyage. I still really wanna try Edge class but the itinerary lengths make it hard, just want a reasonably priced 3 day cruise on one of them from Fort Lauderdale really.

First time on Starlink and pretty impressed how smooth it is compared to old fashioned ship internet event without upgrading to ‘premium’ packages or some poo poo. Browsing SA is super fast, and things tend to work great or just not at all (photos in WhatsApp just refuse to send for some reason).

Please donate to my GoFundMe, I don’t have premium beverage package but want to spend my life at the martini bar.

slidebite
Nov 6, 2005

Good egg
:colbert:

Carnival loving over employees as best they can by holding a gun to their heads

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/23/po-cruises-and-cunard-prepares-to-fire-and-rehire-more-than-900-uk-staff?CMP=share_btn_tw

quote:

P&O Cruises and fellow cruise firm Cunard are preparing to fire and rehire more than 900 UK-based crew unless they accept salary cuts and more flexible working arrangements.

The affected crew include officers on the British flagship, the luxury ocean liner Queen Mary 2, and nine other ships operated under Carnival UK, which is part of the $18bn listed Carnival group.

The staff work on ships out of Southampton but are employed via a management company based in Bermuda, with notice of potential redundancies signed off by an operational head based in Mumbai.

A total of 919 professional, managerial and technical staff across the 10 cruise ships in Carnival UK and Cunard’s fleet face dismissal in early 2024 unless they agree to changes in terms and conditions that could reduce their annual earnings by up to 20%.
No fear though, I'm sure the MBAs with Carnival group will be getting big fat bonuses to offset the money not going to the employees, so it will still make it into the economy. :haw:

poolside toaster posted:

I'll think about posting a full trip report later, but I wanted to take the opportunity to remind everyone:
PURCHASE ADEQUATE INSURANCE, FOR gently caress'S SAKE!
Still like to hear about this.

sparkmaster
Apr 1, 2010
Edge class is great, and there have been incremental improvements made on each one. Better bar spaces etc.

On princess right now. I'm no spring chicken but I'm fairly sure I'm at least 20 years younger than anyone in the piazza right now. Aside from the crew.

EL BROMANCE
Jun 10, 2006

COWABUNGA DUDES!
🥷🐢😬



There’s a very real issue I have with Edge class… and it’s that they might have to peel me off on the final day. I have very, very few issues with Solstice class as it is, and Edge appears to resolve essentially all of them while making a ton of other improvements too. The only thing I’m not 100% sold on is the infinite veranda, but that just means saving some money on a porthole or inside cabin.

I just wish they did more 3-4 night sails from my local port.

Definitely intrigued by Princess as never sailed with them, and everyone compares them to Celebrity which can only mean good things.

poolside toaster
Jul 12, 2008
Okay, so here's the full story so far:

We were out on a 5 day cruise from NYC to Bermuda. Lost a full Bermuda day due to poor weather, so we only had about 8 hours to poke around. Since it was a short day, we decided to take the ferry to Hamilton and sightsee. My SO was fixated on renting mopeds and the rest of our party agreed, so we walked from the ferry terminal in Hamilton to the rental place, did our practice runs, and then took off to the North Shore.

Riding a moped wasn't too hard, though a few times we had to remind ourselves to stay on the left side of the road. We stopped at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo, which my SO and I had toured on our previous visit to Bermuda. We then decided to head back to Hamilton and get the shuttle to the Royal Navy Shipyard so we could do a late lunch on the ship (NCL Joy).

About 1/2 km away from rental place, I crashed my moped and slid across a yard. Apparently I was not the first to do so, since a woman ran out of the house and immediately checked me out and called an ambulance. I was lucky; my head stopped about 6" away from a brick wall (we all wore helmets).

People in Bermuda are extremely friendly - neighbors came out to help and a woman stopped her car and directed traffic. When the ambulance arrived, I could not move myself (shock/, so I was loaded onto a stretcher and lifted into the ambulance. I was checked into the hospital and got x-rays showing that I had shattered my tibial crown. We decided that it would be best to stay in Bermuda until I could travel, and then have surgery back home in the U.S.

Our travelling friends had gone back to the ship to let them know what happened, and as expected the cruise ship had emptied our cabin and gotten everything to their dock agent. The agent got our stuff back to us later that day and helped us file the paperwork to make the cruise insurance claim. (ALWAYS HAVE INSURANCE!)

This was a Saturday. I was in the hospital in Bermuda until Wednesday morning and then we took a flight from Hamilton to NYC, sat in JFK for 7 hours, and finally had another flight home. I actually went straight to the hospital and was admitted. Had another day of stabilization, and then had surgery on Friday, spent 5 days in the hospital. I was then discharged to a skilled nursing facility where I spent another week getting physical therapy. I've been home about a month now, and I am getting my external fixator off at the end of this coming week. After that I'll be in a restrictive brace for at least 3 months, and should be out of it by the end of February. Sometime between now and February I'll get out of the wheelchair and will be using crutches instead.

Things that went right through all of this drama:
  • Bought trip insurance
  • The hospital in Bermuda actually took my U.S. insurance (BCBS)
  • We notified the cruise line ASAP of the issue
  • The hospital had a concierge person who helped arrange a hotel for my SO while in Bermuda, booked new flights for us, and got us to the airport
  • The airline (JetBlue) was able to get us into the "handicapped seats" on both flights (first row on the planes)
  • All three airports got us on/off our flights without problems (got to use the "aisle wheelchair" which is OMG tiny)
  • The emergency room got me back almost immediately and got the morphine flowing
  • Surgery was successful and no problems/infections
  • Rehab facility had bed availability
  • Got out of Rehab facility and home with no problems

So I haven't received any of the bills yet (it takes a while), but thankfully insurance will be paying for most, if not all of this. I know the hospital stay at home and surgery was at least $150k, and the Rehab is $400-600/night, so this should be interesting.

WithoutTheFezOn
Aug 28, 2005
Oh no
Ok but I have a question. Since your Blue Cross covers you in foreign countries (ours does too) what benefits have you seen from the extra cruise insurance or whatever it’s called?

poolside toaster
Jul 12, 2008

WithoutTheFezOn posted:

Ok but I have a question. Since your Blue Cross covers you in foreign countries (ours does too) what benefits have you seen from the extra cruise insurance or whatever it’s called?

Cruise insurance paid for the resort my spouse stayed at in Bermuda while I was in the hospital, the flights from Bermuda to NYC (by sheer luck we kept our original flight from NYC back home), food in Bermuda, and my remaining BC deductible for the year.

There may be more, but that's just off the top of my head.

Doronin
Nov 22, 2002

Don't be scared
I meant to bring it up a couple of weeks ago, but Disney Cruise Line updated their Castaway Club terms and conditions. Effective as of Dec. 20, to maintain your earned status on DCL you have to have booked or completed a sailing within five years of your most recent completed DCL saildate.

I don't know how to feel about it. My wife and I get on a ship roughly every 13-18 months on average, so we probably won't be affected in all honesty. But is it common for cruise lines to prune your status after so many years?


Admittedly, the loyalty program for DCL is pretty lacking as it is. It's based on the total number of cruises you've completed instead of days at sea, and the 'perks' don't go very far. You basically get a 10% on-board merchandise discount, earlier excursion booking and check-in windows. If you hit Platinum, you get a $45 credit to Palo Steakhouse, and if you reach Pearl, a complimentary digital photo package. So even if we lost our status, we'd basically just be dealing with perhaps a few less excursions options, and we'll pay a tiny bit more on merch. I also dislike how many cruises you need to achieve higher status.

With 1-4 completed cruises, you're Silver. From 5-9, you're gold, then at 10 you become Platinum. Ok, this progression of every five cruises makes sense. Except to hit Pearl, the highest status, you need to have completed an additional 15 sailings for a total of 25. That would be a minimum of 75 days at sea if you just spammed 3-day sailings like a lot of central Florida retirees like to do. Or if you're like me with an average sailing of 6 days, that works out to probably 150 days at sea.

I know with Carnival, I haven't sailed with them since late-2008, but my Red status is still in tact (18 says at sea). But it's interesting to see that when I did the math, I'd have about the same status with Carnival, by level, as I do with DCL. At 70 days, I'd be Gold on Carnival, and four days shy of Platinum. But would need to sail an additional 125 days with Carnival to finally hit Diamond.

I'm also noticing the perks for Carnival look pretty useless based on what I see on the website.

Which line has the best loyalty perks?

Silly Burrito
Nov 27, 2007

SET A COURSE FOR
THE FLAVOR QUADRANT
One small thing I like about Carnival, and others may do it too, if you have 100 shares of their stock and show them proof before you sail, you get a stateroom credit. I think it’s $50/100/250 depending on the length of the cruise. I bought 100 shares at 11-12 a share a few years ago, and I plan to just keep it for the perks. I think it’s around 16 a share now.

WithoutTheFezOn
Aug 28, 2005
Oh no
Well, yeah, ok but you happened to buy at a historic low, and Carnival's outlook isn’t exactly rosy. May not be the best financial thing to do, but /shrug. It’s $1600 lifetime and we’re talking cruises.

Anyway you got me interested, and it looks like Norwegian and Royal Caribbean have the exact same benefits, and Princess is owned by Carnival so it applies to them, too.

Silly Burrito
Nov 27, 2007

SET A COURSE FOR
THE FLAVOR QUADRANT

WithoutTheFezOn posted:

Well, yeah, ok but you happened to buy at a historic low, and Carnival's outlook isn’t exactly rosy. May not be the best financial thing to do, but /shrug. It’s $1600 lifetime and we’re talking cruises.

Anyway you got me interested, and it looks like Norwegian and Royal Caribbean have the exact same benefits, and Princess is owned by Carnival so it applies to them, too.

Cool. I only found out about it myself on a cruise around 2019 or so when another guy at our dinner table was talking about it. Worst comes to worse, I sell the shares, but we do take a majority of Carnival cruises so it works out for us.

poolside toaster
Jul 12, 2008

Silly Burrito posted:

One small thing I like about Carnival, and others may do it too, if you have 100 shares of their stock and show them proof before you sail, you get a stateroom credit. I think it’s $50/100/250 depending on the length of the cruise. I bought 100 shares at 11-12 a share a few years ago, and I plan to just keep it for the perks. I think it’s around 16 a share now.

The Carnival stock benefit applies to Princess as well, the amount of credit depends on the length of the cruise. Note that only one cruiser gets the credit.

Princess' current loyalty levels are:
2 cruises Gold
3-4 cruises Ruby (or 30 days)
5-14 cruises Platinum (or 50 days)
15+ cruises Elite (or 150 days)

Free WiFi pops in at one of the loyalty levels (75 minutes)
Platinum and Elite guests have a special lounge in the terminal for embarkations, and a special lounge on the ship for debarkations (coffee, water, snacks, pastries provided).
Platinum and Elite guests get special invitations for Captain's Parties during the cruise as well.
Best perk is free laundry (at Elite status).

WithoutTheFezOn
Aug 28, 2005
Oh no

poolside toaster posted:

The Carnival stock benefit applies to Princess as well,
And a similar thing with Celebrity / Royal Caribbean.

Seems like lines consider these “onboard credit”, so I would guess a bargain hunter might potentially run into problems with credits not stacking.

EL BROMANCE
Jun 10, 2006

COWABUNGA DUDES!
🥷🐢😬



It seems NCL have pissed off so many people by calling them relentlessly if you even open their website in a tab that AT&T have added their marketing number to their spam block list.

A Sneaker Broker
Feb 14, 2020

Daily Dose of Internet Brain Rot
If you love drinking, and wanna meet and befriend a bunch of Aussies, I highly recommend the Princess Sydney -> Auckland -> Sydney cruise. I just got off it last week, and I have never drunk so much in my life.

A Sneaker Broker
Feb 14, 2020

Daily Dose of Internet Brain Rot
Also, the Icon of The Seas looks batshit insane. I may have to book a boy's trip for that.

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pastor of muppets
Aug 21, 2007

We were somewhere around the Living Hive, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold...

A Sneaker Broker posted:

Also, the Icon of The Seas looks batshit insane. I may have to book a boy's trip for that.

I’m going on Star Trek: The Cruise next month on Mariner Of The Seas, and I didn’t really have a good sense of scale for Icon until someone in the STTC Facebook group posted this pic of Mariner and Icon docked side by side.



lol

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