mcrcruiser

also take a close look a muni bonds awhile back , Their insurance companies went belly up & people then found out that thise uni bonds did not have great underlying ratings , We now only buy general obligation muni bonds . Same for trip .travel insurance . In 2008 when I was in a Rome hospital I had travel insurance from American Express .They no longer sell travel insurance , At the time they were more than great & we got every dime including taxi fares , Another critical thing in traveling ovwer thias world , You must have a big line of credit on your Visa Credit Card's . Reason is when I went into the RomeAmerica hospital & no surgery was invlved in 2008 , I had to pony up $15000 .00 . Thus ,if your credit card does not carry enough credit you can not get into a pricvate hospital . They DO NOT TAKE INSURANCE from the USA There are so many things to be aware .another issue which happened to me in the Dublin airport was at a ATM machine . Good thing I carried 2 ATM Debit cards because one did not work in the machine .

One very negative thing I always remembered is what if the cruise line goes bankrupt how do you collect on a insurance policy you buy from them ? nothing in this world is 1000% guaranteed except death & taxes . Research is very very important to get the right coverages & expect that company to be in business . Wonder if any one ever checks the financials of the insurance company they buy from ?

That is 100% correct Mary ;however ,cancel for any reason is a no bargain insurance plan . Most people need coverage against the huge downsides of medical costs & or transporting them back to a home hodpital or their home . I was once hospitalized in Rome Italy . If I was not able to get on a commercial jet I would have been stuck in Rome or be willing to pay over $100,000 medical jet costs . We are both 85 years young & I can buy a yearly policy for as little as $276 .00 for both of us for one year . In our case I onlt need med vac insurance & the least expensive Allianz ins plan gives us that plus more medical & more baggage coverages . We have a Medicare HMO which insures us even out of the USA for emergency medical with a $110 co pay . So in reality it is a total cost of $276 .00 to be completely covered . We can not get med jet assist because we are too old . So we are careful where we travel to .

Candidly ant cruise line insurance us a waste of money . to get the best & least expensive travel insurance : 1. Get the chase Sapphire Credit Card & book your trip with that CC ,you get up to $20,000 in free trip cancellation & interruption plus baggage ins 2 .The go to Allianz Travel insurance not .com & pick the one year insurance that fits your needs from the 3 that arte offered 3 .If you are traveling out of the USA to any foreign nation or nations ,olease be advised that if you are hospitalized in a foreign hospital med vac will never get you tp ypur home hospital or home . Where there are airports you need "Ned Jet Assist: insurance ;which will take you by ambulance to the medical jet . If you do not have this type of medical jet insurance (there are several compnaies that offer it ) it will cost you well into 6 figures to get back home . Remeber unless you can walk onto a commercial jet on toyr own power there is no chance for the average person to get back hoe with out medical jet insurance . This & medical are the most important of all insurances because these 2 can be extremely costly

We have not had any glitches for some time noe . It seems to us that HAL has improved the web site , Knock on wood .

Anycruise ship could feel crowded when they are filled to capacity . The space ratios are published .The larger the number the more space between passengers . Most often the feeling of being crowded is at the Lido & MDR .The luxury cruise lines have the greatest space ratios . Like Seaborn ,Vlking ie

I was curious so I looked at the March 22,2025 HAL cruise on Koningsdam under the $2 deposit & the price for a veranda state room is $2728.00 . when I nooked it with HAL ,it was $2118 .00 & mY TA got it for us @ $1986 .00 with $300 un on board credit 7 vthat is not uet counting the $100 we get from our CCL stock Hmm so it seems that the $2 deposit sale has some higher prices

As I said earlier . Cruise Critic members on this HAL board know what they are doing & for $2 bucks no loss . We will see how successful this promo is down stream . When I looked at some Mexican Riviera & West coastal cruises ,it seemed to me the pricing was higher than I booked earlier paying the usual deposits .. It is alway the test of time whether these promos work or not . BTW . I waant to see all of CCL's cruuse lines do well as I own a lot of their shares . Our CCL shares will leave a good amount when we are gone ,so our adult children can sell or keep them

Agree with what you stated . The other sde of the coin is to get a cabin availability what a person wants they may have to wait to after final payment when those who placed a $1deposit turn in that cabin hold .Then there are enough of those that do not book ,the cruise line may need to drop the price ,like the $49 deal . Yes I own CCL stock & I do not sell my core holding I never liked this $1 deposit ,it benefits aome but most people are not on cruise critic

Crystal then this $1 deposit would work for you . I assume that in some cases this promo is a good deal not to tie up a lot of cash in deposits . however ,too many people will hold a cabin because it only costs $1 pp & then they cancel before final payment . imo it makes a lot of cabins coming back into inventory & then they need to drop the prices to resell those same cabins .does this truly make any sene for many people to cancel before final payment ?

And then try to get home if you did not buy med jet insurance

imo these $1 deposit promotions are to trap people with higher prices . Additionally ,after final payment there will be price drops & good cabins to select from . We checked several cruises & for sure the price has been elevated

The Lido & room service can not do what the MDR does .The night before the ass't mitre 'd gives us a menu & we select the next evening meal so that they can prepare it for us to meet our medical needs

We contacted the shops services department , Because we are in handicap cabins & being diabetic they placed us in early dining on all 3 cruises , We have low salt & no sugar diets .We know that carbs elevate A1C levels . Actually knowledge of what to eat is 80% of the battle .More vefies & lower carbs . I also think that they know I have a electric scooter also maked it better for the early dining slot

We booked a cruise oj HAL & requested early dining . We then get a message that we are wait listed . what does wait lisred actually mean to be able to get early dining ? Being disabled with meals needed at certain times wait listed does not mean any thing to us so can we get HAL to get us on early dining with medical needs ? TIA