GeezerCouple

This is so disappointing. Just before Covid arrived, we had our first HAL cruise, an Auckland to Sydney itinerary. We booked it on relatively short notice because of the itinerary, thinking that HAL was a line that we might like (at least, not on our no-sail list!). I had read here on CC about the "Lincoln Center" plans, and that definitely intrigued us, given we are serious classical music lovers. (We have been taking Italian opera lessons for the past few years... having never spoken Italian other than an occasional "Ciao!") And we LOVED it. Unbelievable. I'd arrive early with a book to get two good seats (the room was always overflowing - didn't that tell someone something!?), and DH would arrive closer to the start time. The musicians were wonderful, as were the music selections. Heavenly! We decided we'd found a new home on the sea! And then... and then... 😡 We will no longer look *first* at HAL, unfortunately. That excellent classical music (regularly performed, not an occasional add-on) put HAL in a class of its own. Something we could count on... What a disappointment! GC

I'm not sure where you are looking, but it doesn't look like that is the website of the actual cruise line you are interested in. Try going to their own website, which should be up to date. GC

This, if you really think a crime has been committed. But why would you wait to ask here? Just call! (Yes, it would be a $$ phone call, but if you think a crime has been committed .. and against a child..!?) And now you have the suggestion to call the FBI. Do that, too. GC

And here is a link to the CC section on Travel Insurance: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/? It's a good place to ask questions and also just to browse if one isn't familiar with the types of travel insurance/coverage, etc. And also to learn about the differences between "cruise line" insurance and "3rd party" insurance, which typically starts the moment you walk out your door and ends when you walk back in again. We "don't leave home without it". We've had quite a few claims, including a few large ones, and all were paid without any aggravation at all. GC

I think there might be a relatively short time limit from the original deposit date for some cruise lines. And I wasn't aware of requiring the first agent's permission, but that may vary from line to line also. GC

Agree! And here is the CC section for Travel Insurance. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/ Browse through that for a feel for the types of policies. Or call an insurance broker like www.TripInsuranceStore.com who deal with several vetted travel insurers, each with a choice of policies. But CALL; the fine print in the online summaries cannot possibly cover all of the "what about this" questions, and they can make the difference between having a policy that does pay, vs. one that does not. GC

Mattress comfort is soooo subjective! Once on the ship, if you have a problem with the mattress (perhaps take a nap the first afternoon, so you know before a full night of bad sleep if that might happen to you?), explain to your steward. They can probably help with a mattress that is too hard or too soft. You won't be the first person with such a request! Enjoy your cruise! GC

VERY glad your injury had such a positive outcome, and you were even able to continue the cruise (despite the airport follies, etc.!). However, I think you are viewing this through the "successful outcome" view. That's fine, but may not help when considering planning. Where you wrote: "I could have easily gone alone from the hospital to the airport, flown to Marseille, and boarded the ship with just a small carry-on bag." Yes, THIS time! But what about the *pre*-surgical situation, or any difficulties that might have arisen? The last thing I would recommend for someone traveling with a companion when surgery is needed in a foreign country is to ... send the companion away if that is not absolutely necessary! What if there had been surgical or post-operative complications? Having an alert, awake advocate can be critical for even the best medical/surgical situations, but in a foreign country, without knowing even one other person... no one who specifically cares about you...? Perhaps you are more of an adventurer that we are (likely), and probably you have had fewer adverse outcomes from "surgical episodes" (I hope that's the case!). Those may be uncommon, but they do happen, and they can be life-threatening or life-altering... Thanks for sharing, and again, so glad there was a good outcome! GC

I wrote "IF one gets "secondary" third party coverage"... and then gave some issues to consider. I did not suggest that you personally would or should get it. There are some issues that many aren't aware of. Even "IF" you don't decide to get 3rd party coverage, others might. What medical coverage do airlines offer? GC

We use www.TripInsuranceStore.com also. Check with them and ask this question specifically in terms of which policy would suit your needs; they'll likely also address other possible issues that might help you decide among policies. GC

As others have said, just ASK your Butler. That's what they "do" (well, some of what they do!). And have you browsed through some of the threads and posts here on the NCL section of CC about the "Butler Letter"? There are many variations, but the main thing is: Ask for what you wish, or even ask what's available if you need some suggestions. We preferred fresh fruit, and had huge platters of it arriving. We finally had to ask for "less". We also loved having breakfast arriving such that we'd often wake up to the aroma of fresh coffee and crispy bacon... Yum! GC

We took the later train, on our own, for a few reasons. Mainly, we wanted to spend some extra time in Seward. We went on one of the all-day boat tours down along the Kenai Peninsula the day after we arrived in Seward. https://majormarine.com/full-day-tours/ That was just beautiful. The captain was in touch with others on the water there, so we made a few detours to find/follow some of the marine wildlife. The longer day trip goes just a bit further, and has some especially nice scenery compared with the half-day tour. We also ate a *LOT* of very fresh halibut. 🙂 Amazing! It was some of the best fish we have ever eaten. And through the window of the restaurant right in the small-boat dock area, we could see some of the halibut. That was quite a sight; those fish can be *huge*. They had information posted about the heaviest ever halibut caught there (well, relatively recently, anyway), and ditto for "this year", etc. We also wanted to take the regular (non-cruise) train, because it has the "gold service" (I think that's the name) where one sits in an observation car, with very high domed windows, so it's almost full overhead visibility (not quite, but incredible viewing), plus a small outside area at the back of the car. This next part may be for all trains including the cruise train, but it stopped several times for photo opportunities. We happened to catch a "bore tide", which was a treat even though it was a relatively small vore tide. https://www.alaska.org/advice/alaska-bore-tide What we saw was not at all as dramatic as the photo in the above link, but it was still a fascinating phenomenon to see. We hadn't realized we'd actually be able to see it from the train. Nice surprise! We had also been fortunate to catch some very active calving at Hubbard Glacier en route to Seward, another major treat. It was a very special trip from start to finish. GC

That $50k lifetime limit on overseas medical coverage on some of the Medicare add-on policies is one reason that people who get additional travel insurance often make sure they get *primary* coverage. IF one gets "secondary" third party coverage, then the claim must be processed by any other appropriate policy first, and whatever was *not* covered by that other policy would be paid by the separate travel insurance. If one gets "primary" coverage, then there is no need to submit a claim to the "other" insurer. This has at least two benefits: First, Medicare itself almost never pays anything for out-of-country medical costs, but it can be quite slow in getting back to the traveler with a formal denial of coverage. And until one has that denial, one can't get the travel insurance to consider the claim unless you have primary coverage. Second, if one is going to purchase extra third party travel insurance, let IT pay for all of the costs. Why "waste" any of the $50k Medicare-related coverage if one has another policy that would pay for "everything"...? GC

Read the definition of "pre-existing conditions" for the specific policy/policies that you are considering. That is all that matters. And as mentioned, "pre-existing condition" typically has a definition in most travel insurance policies that is quite different from how we use the terminology elsewhere. GC

We learned about Steve and TIS here on CC almost 10 years ago, for our first major vacation, loooong overdue! We felt we were really splurging! Steve was so patient with all of my "what if this or what if that" questions. We bought a policy from Travel Insured through him/TIS. And less than 2 weeks before our planned departure (with 100% penalties for everything, the way we had arranged it back then, being novices, etc.), DH had a medical emergency. Bottom line... we got 100% of our money back, in cash, about 2 weeks after we finally filed the claim (the medical issues came first, then). NOT a credit, and no time limit to spend the cash, obviously. Importantly, during all of the driving to/from medical appointments of various types for several weeks, we often mumbled how glad we were to have that insurance, "So we won't have to pay a *again* to take that trip!" Because that trip was costly (in our minds back then 😉 ), IF we had lost that money, we probably would NOT have taken another "nice" trip again. But we didn't lose the money, and fortunately we've taken many *very* nice trips since then, many that were more expensive because we were enjoying the traveling so much. We've had absolutely wonderful trips! And we've had several other claims, including other large claims. All were through Steve and his associates at TIS, and all with Travel Insured. NOTE: Although we strongly recommend TIS without any reservations, we can't speak about whether the specific policy *we* selected for our needs is what would be the best selection for someone else. That is what Steve et al., can help you determine... what you might need/want covered, and which insurer and policy would be most suitable. Obviously, we'd rather *not* have had all of those unfortunate reasons to need to file travel insurance claims. But we did, and we did. So we have more "experience" with the claims process than we wish we had. However, we have zero complaints with any of the process! And Steve can help with claims IF help is desired. GC

There are so many different types of coverages. Do you know for sure that "your TA's provided travel insurance" covers the potential issues that you specifically need? (This could be things like serious illness/death of non-traveling family members; not everyone even has such a concern, but some do. Is "the closest adequate hospital" for however long needed okay with you for treatment, or might you want to be moved to a better facility if appropriate? There are obviously other "conditions"...) Obviously what matters is if it meets all of *your* potential needs! GC

I should have added: We *always* have copies of the actual scripts and in a couple of cases, a letter from our physician (on proper letterhead) stating that "<Patient> needs to take X for medical reasons" or such. AND... there are copies of all of this in the cloud as backup. This includes any country-specific permissions. (Same as with certain travel docs: copies with us and in the cloud...) We always keep the meds in a carry on, and one of us almost always has "hands on" that bag, or it's positioned between the legs of one of us, etc. And... we have some back up supplies of the meds in the 'other' carryon bag, but that one isn't protected like the first (someone might think we've got the crown jewels inside!). And for anything really critical (meaning a brief delay would cause harm or discomfort), there are small supplies in my purse and also in regular luggage. That for the meds where, if we really lost them, we would probably need to go home, or at the least to a local hospital for temporary care, etc. It was easier when we would just toss a few OTC meds into a bag, and not that many of each. Heh, a lot of "things were easier" back then.... 😉 GC

There are quite a few threads about this on the Disabled Travel thread of CC: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/114-disabled-cruise-travel/ I've posted this next bit there a few times, but we ask our pharmacist for extra labels, and then attach them to mini ziplock bags, so the containers have proper, original Rx labels. We know this can be done... because a few years ago, one of our regular prescriptions was handed to us by a pharmacist in a regular pharmacy just like this. Bingo! 🙂 So just close the ziplock up, and they are relatively flat and don't take up all the room of those often mainly empty plastic bottles. But it's crossing international borders that is the main concern. So we always double check to make sure if there are any prohibited substances. It's not always what one would expect. In Japan, NO original formulation of Sudafed. None. Full stop. Other items might need permission. But with email, this is accomplished within 24 hours, so it's quite easy. Our approach is: Better Safe Than Sorry! GC

Or call tomorrow and leave a message; mention that you are concerned about the timing. (Whether it is 10 or 20 days/etc., is usually state dependent.) They often return calls on weekends. They also can help with claims, if needed. (We've purchased quite a few policies from them since learning about them here on CC almost 10 years ago. And we've had several claims, including a few large ones. All were paid promptly, which is the point, of course.) GC

What does this have to do with a "Butler Letter"? You might get a lot more eyeballs looking at your question - and thus more answers - if you post a new thread titled about your particular question... including "Internet Access on NCL Escape" or "Pre-paying gratuities" or such. GC

Our thoughts have been with you. What a comforting thought and imagery! GC

mk-ray may not be in the USA. Regardless of their location, when not in the USA, there are definitely insurers (not the cruise line) who require disclosure of health conditions before deciding upon coverage. GC

If sodium (or anything else) is a real concern, TALK with the person assigned by Special Needs. The cooks can and will make special preparations. They are excellent about that. But please then show up for the meal! 🙂 GC

😉 ! GC

How much detail can you see on those balconies from a webcam someplace? Another possibility: I often enjoy sitting outside late into the evening, reading a book. That is especially the case when the weather is nice and warm outside. (If there isn't already a lounger on the balcony, we request one the first or perhaps second day.) I've been known to fall asleep out there, and... no one disturbs me. DH will leave me in peace if he's ready to turn out the lights, and I'm already "out". 🙂 Sometimes I've just nodded off briefly and will soon start reading again. Other times, I'm asleep for hours. It's actually very nice to enjoy those warm breezes... it's a part of sailing that I love! (I do this even when I'm in plain view of the Bridge - we like forward cabins - and the officers don't seem compelled to send someone to make sure I go inside and sleep in some more conventional way. Or turn out the light.) GC