Barry ATL

@dides, this is a great chart!  It makes it easy to understand and compare.

Hopefully, it is not serious and is something easily fixed.

When I have had a drink package, I have found that after about three days of "trying to get my money's worth", my body tells me to stop.  I mean that the thought of more alcohol is not appealing. 

That being said, I always carry around a napkin adding up the price of the drinks all day to make sure I am "in the good".  😄

Steve at trip insurance store dot com is great!  They are knowledgeable and will talk to you on the phone.  I always double insure.  I get a policy to cover the cruise cost with some evacuation coverage (you can never have enough of this coverage). 

We also add a GeoBlue policy (the Blue Cross-Blue Shield travel product).  The reason for that is they are the largest insurer of ex-pats and operate like regular USA insurance.  They have a worldwide network of doctors and hospitals.  When you visit one of them, they will bill GeoBlue directly with nothing out of pocket.  I do not have the resources to cover a $10,000 hospital bill and then wait for re-imbursement.  

In all, these two policies together are just a little more than what the cruise companies provide and have MUCH better coverage.

By the way, Steve only represents a few companies because he has vetted them over the years.  He makes sure the companies he represents will pay and have no "gotchas" in the coverage.  His website has many articles that explain the different types of coverage and what they recommend.

In most EU countries supper is a late meal compared to the US.  I do not have kids, but I assume that means kids go to bed later than their US counterparts.  In turn, that would mean kids are up later with the adults.  I am just thinking out  loud, but I could be wrong.

1 minute ago, AZjohn said:

 

 

2.) All the crew members on all the ships (not just Princess) were just left onboard for months without a way to go home or stay safe.

 

I wonder if this plays a part currently with crew shortages?? 

I thought the same thing.  I had forgotten that the cruise line stopped paying them with a promise they would get their pay when the lines started sailing again.  For a lot of those crew, that money goes to their family.

If you treat THOUSANDS of employees badly in a crisis, that might tend to bite you in the a$$.

Streaming service Peacock releases a documentary on the Diamon Princess Covid crisis.  This one is longer than the HBO one released about a year ago. and covers more of what happened off of the ship.  Decider.com has a pretty good review on it at  

https://decider.com/2022/09/14/hell-of-a-cruise-on-peacock-stream-it-or-skip-it/

Here is a couple of partial quotes about the documentary: 

"Hell of a Cruise takes a bigger, broader approach to the topic, roping corporate and political bungling and malfeasance into the narrative, reaching a conclusion that’s harshly critical of decisions made at the top. And to name names, that includes an especially pointy finger pointing at Carnival CEO Arnold Donald – who, per a postscript title card, made $10 and $13 million in 2020 and 2021 respectively..."

"But the overall picture is wholly damning of the Carnival Corporation. Especially egregious: The company concocting a hashtag, #HangInThereDiamondPrincess, to boost morale aboard the quarantined ship."

"But the overall picture is wholly damning of the Carnival Corporation. Especially egregious: The company concocting a hashtag, #HangInThereDiamondPrincess, to boost morale aboard the quarantined ship."

I just finished watching and it is very damning of the cruise lines.

ANDROID:

I am an android user.  I know the OP is iPhone, but wanted to post for others reading this.  The Android world is slowly moving to Google Messages as the default app for text messages.  Samsung and some of the other phone manufacturers have begun loading Google Messages as the default text messaging app on new phones.

That being said, Google Messages will work like iMessage.  It works over the INTERnet to send SMS and MMS (text and picture messages).  If your android phone is using a different default app, it is easy to download Google Messages from the Play Store.

Several comments here mentioned Alaska, Vancouver, etc.  In those areas all cruise ships have to switch over to the high obit satellites.  Service will ALWAYS be dead slow in those areas.  The fast internet is only on the low orbit satellites.  Those are are more in the southern USA and going south (Caribbean, Latin America, Mediterranean, etc.)

We have done two "last cruise" of the season trips.  One on Princess and one on Celebrity.  It is a great time.  Our observations:

Pro:

--One of the few times of the year where kids are back in school in most of the world.  3000+ passengers and only 12 children.

--We experienced the cold and it added to the cruise experience.  Sitting on the balcony wrapped in the bedspread watching the glaciers is one of our best memories.

--The ports were not crazy busy.

--SALES in the stores.  The ships were offloading all of the sweat shirts, etc.  We loaded up on some winter wear that was cheaper than buying on land.  If you are on the last cruise of the season, the ship shops must get rid of all of the winter wear by the last day of the cruise as the next cruise will be in warm weather.  

Con:

--Had to pack for summer and full on winter.  When the cruise starts in Seattle, we were in shorts and t-shirts.  At the northern most point of the cruise we were in winter coats.

--It is an indoor cruise for the most part.  For the glaciers, many people were on deck in coats for the view.  Hot chocolate was available in many places on deck.

These two cruises are our most memorable vacations of our entire life.  You just have to be flexible with the weather.

31 minutes ago, tidecat said:

This passenger embarked in Aruba and debarked in the US. This is a legal itinerary under the PVSA.

 

Bahamas Paradise/Margaritaville at Sea does the same thing - most onboard are doing a roundtrip from Florida to the Bahamas and back, but it is possible to book a one-way voyage, get off in Freeport, and come back on a different sailing.

 

If I am not mistaken, Margaritaville does not operate as a closed loop cruise.  I think there are stricter requirements for closed loop cruises.  I could be wrong.  Hopefully, one of our resident legal experts can jump in.  I am just curious.

I again say, Carnival did a great thing.

This is a great story.  It also is a reminder that cruise ships can be transportation.

I do have a question.  The Passenger Vessel Services Act normally restrict someone getting onboard in another country when the cruise is closed loop?  If so, can the cruise line get exemptions for situations like the one in this article?

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/12/us/autistic-child-family-stranded-aruba/index.html

I hope those on board will tell us a little more about the transfer between ships.  Did they have all of your info already loaded into the computer on the new shop?  What about keycards?  Same cabin numbers?  How did they handle luggage?

I know, a lot of questions.  I am really curious about the process.

I am happy the comments so far have been positive.

This is one of the most practical and helpful threads I have seen in a long time.  🙂

https://www.cruisehive.com/princess-cruises-pleads-guilty-to-violating-probation-for-the-second-time/63756

I thought Carnival Corporation had learned it's lesson.  The judges have been taking no prisoners for several years and I just don't understand what they are thinking.  According to the article, Princess management has been hiding and stalling investigations.

On 11/27/2021 at 6:12 PM, Thrak said:

I have been called "Sir Michael" a number of times - both by room stewards and by IC staff. I'm not sure how that has come about but it's been on more than one ship. I don't mind at all.

It is common for Filipinos to address any male foreigner as "Sir XXXX".  I have several good friends in the Philippines and even after knowing each other for a decade, I am sometimes still called "Sir Barry".

For DH and I, cash is king.  We always get the envelopes from guest services to hand out extra.  Occasionally, we have given gifts.  All of the gifts were bought after asking a crew member if there is something they need from ashore.  We have also shipped something to a crew member whose ship was based out of Tampa at the time.

Cash is king, but we see the gifts as doing something personal.  We never replace cash with a gift.  The gift is on top of the cash.  Since we always ask, we feel better in knowing that we are getting something that person really wants.  

I really like the idea of snack items from the home countries.  I have several friends here in the states who are Filipino.  I gave one a bottle of vinegar from the Philippines.  She was thrilled and re-gifted it to her grandmother who cooked some of their favorite Filipino dishes for the family.  (Note:  LOTS of the Filipino recipes call for vinegar).  The next time we cruise, I will bring a bag of snacks from the usual crew countries (Philippines, India, Malaysia, Eastern Europe).  I can see getting something from home putting a smile on their face.

So I do not get quoted on the cash thing, we never let gifts replace cash.  We absolutely know most are working to send money home to their families.  That is the most important thing you can do for a crew member is cash.

The most recommended on Cruise Critic is tripinsurancestore .  Steve, the owner, gives lots of recommendations and hosts Q&A threads on this site.  Here is the link to the travel insurance forum here on Cruise Critic:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

There is lots of good info there.

Personally, I always go double insured.  My husband is paraplegic and if something happens out of the country, I want to make sure we are not in trouble.

GeoBlu is the Blue Cross travel product.  That have a network of doctors and hospitals all over the world that will bill directly to GeoBlu just like your insurance at home.  So, if something really bad happens and you don't have $20,000.00 in open credit on your credit card, you will still be okay.  Some foreign hospitals require payment before they will treat.  The CON to GeoBlu is they do not have the trip insurance and their evacuation coverage is low.

So, we take a second policy that has usually $500,000 in evacuation insurance and to insure the trip, delays, lost luggage, etc.

Make sure whatever policy you get covers pre-existing conditions.  Most do not unless you buy them in the two week window after you book the trip.  Again, I really suggest going over to the Cruise Critic insurance forum.

Bottom line is the cruise company's product (Celebrity, Princess, Carnival, etc) that they sell with your cruise is usually not good coverage for most people and is more expensive.

As with all free advice, your mileage may vary.  😀

2 minutes ago, EatonDoolittle said:

 

Maybe someone on your roll call who is US based would pick up a bottle for you ahead of time. . 

@EatonDoolittle What a great idea!  Also, a great excuse to meet up with someone new on the ship!

1 minute ago, skynight said:

I have not heard of this on Princess ships. I have read a sign on the medical center door stating that you will be charged for any assistance. I have seen little packages of many different types of OTC medicines sold in one of the shops. Cost wise they are expensive, plus when you require a sea sick pill they may not be open. 

In years past I have seen it on one ship and not another (both Princess).  Same with other cruise lines.  Some have it and some don't.  

Bottom line is don't depend on the ship having anything.  If there are rough seas, then the ship could run out of everything for sea sickness.

1 hour ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Interesting. But it's still OK to use ship water in a humidifier.

We have used ship water on occassion.  It is okay and does not hurt the CPAP.   But, as others stated, you can order in advance or just ask the room steward.  

In a pinch, if we are uncomfortable with the tap water somewhere, we will use regular (name brand) bottled water.

Some ships have a few basic OTC drugs (meclizine, ibuprofen, etc.) offered in little packets for free at the ship medical center.  This is not consistent and your mileage may vary.  

Medallion question:  Does the food menu and drink options change depending on where you are located on the ship?  Princess has hinted that the food and drinks would be offerings from the closest restaurant or bar.

Somewhere in the FAQ it says something to the effect that Elite/Platinum will have access to boarding times on the app 3 or 4 days earlier than the masses.  I read the whole thing yesterday.  Lots of interesting tidbits 

We are booked on the 11/28 Caribbean Princess.  When booked we thought we would be far enough in the fall that we would not be the first cruise.  Now we are booked on CB's first cruise.  However, this makes me think the 11/28 cruise might not go either.  We will see.