Jersey42

They are quoting ONLY 13 weeks for standard service ☹️. You can shorten that to 7-9 weeks for an extra $60. Times do not include the time in the mail. Crazy. We just mailed our renewals off this morning as we have no international travel planned for the next four months.

Good question, and I don't know. But I think he is very familiar with what the AARP printouts look like. When I did a little research on the TA, I found out that all cruise payments were made on line and you could not call in with your credit card number. That is why I asked him about gift cards, because you can not typically enter a gift card number and PIN when a website asks for a credit card, expiration date and CVV. I never asked him specifically about the AARP gift cards. He just told me cruise line issued cards were fine, but others such as the ones from AARP were not. He said, they look like a gift card, they smell like a gift card but they are treated differently. My current TA has never asked to see any printouts. I just gave him the numbers and PINs. Something does not smell right here, I am just not sure what.

He said they will take cruise line issued gift cards without a problem, but the AARP gift cards are treated differently for commissions, so the policy is different. Neither has mine, so I am not sure why this TA is specifically excluding the AARP cards, unless what he is telling me is true. But if it is true, why are other TAs accepting them without issue?

Has anyone ever had a problem getting their TA to accept the AARP gift cards? I have used them successfully on several cruises both with my regular TA and once when I booked directly with Princess. I have also used them onboard as well with no problems. I just recently found a TA recommended to me by someone on my last cruise. They offer better discounts than my regular TA, and it is often as significantly lower cruise price instead of OBCs or other credits. However they will not accept AARP gift cards as full payment for the cruise because they said most cruise lines do not pay a commission on payments made with the AARP cards. We did not specifically discuss Princess. The TA will compromise a bit on a portion of the payment for goodwill, but I still end up giving up most of the AARP discount. In the future I will compare total cost after any discounts to see who offers the better deal. I have a feeling my regular TA's small discount + OBCs + 10% AARP discount will usually be better, unless the other one has a great group booking price.

In the portion of my post you quoted, I was quoting from Road Scholar's Trip Protection Plan. Even though the wording is a little different ("cruise vacation" instead of "program" and "credit for a future cruise" instead of "credit for a future trip" I still stand by my statement that "my comments are applicable to most cruise line vacation protection plans as well." I am not aware of any of these plans that require a 48 hour notice. Most let you cancel up until the scheduled ship departure and all state their requirements in the policy document. Third party CFAR insurance is different. Most require advance notice (such as 48 hours), and all will give you a cash refund instead of a credit. The cash refund is typically only 75%, and I have never seen 100%.The CFAR benefits with these plans are usually actual insurance, so a state insurance commission will get involved if necessary. Third party CFAR plans also let you insure the entire trip including pre-post cruise stays and transportation. I totally agree that you should always read any policy you are considering. I use the words "most" and "typical" to set expectations. But the specific plan someone is considering may deviate from most or typical plans. Many plans also have state specific language, so that is another good reason to read the policy. I still believe trip insurance is way more complicated than it should be. There are too many nuances, that may make one policy great for one person and poor for someone else. The websites that let you compare policy summaries can be helpful, but some critical items are often "hidden" in the policy language, and those items often don't appear in the summary charts. A good broker that you can talk to is better. But most of the brokers will never discuss a cruise line policy, even when it may be a better choice in a particular situation.

Thanks for posting the summary of the plan you were able to purchase. It looks like all of the amounts are identical to those in the plan you get if you purchased the trip through the big box store. The only difference I see is $500K vs $1 million in emergency evacuation. For all practical purposes there is no difference, as $500K is more than adequate in virtually any scenario. The devil is still always in the details. Does your plan provide: Medical evacuation to a hospital of your choice 50% Cancel For Any Reason benefit Primary medical coverage Waiver of pre-existing conditions if purchased within 21 days of initial trip deposit If so, and the premium is reasonable for your age bracket, it still seems like an excellent plan.

We were on the 5/27-6/3 and we had an enjoyable cruise. Was everything perfect - No. Would we sail on her again - Yes. Would we prefer a Royal class ship if the itinerary suited us - Probably. We did not experience most of the negatives posted on the recent "Caribbean Princess Review" thread. See the link below for my comments on that thread. I agree with most of the comments in @Meekos7's post above. We experienced all of the positives and thankfully for us we did not experience all of the negatives. Some comments: Air Conditioning - Our room AC was excellent and we needed to use the comforter at night. But - we were in an oceanview, which can help. Balconies can sometimes be a lot worse especially when nearby cabins leave the balcony door open. Location on the ship can also make a big difference as a defective AC unit can affect insides and oceanviews as well. I can only speak for our cabin. Crown Grill - We ate there once. Service was excellent, food was OK. But it is not like it use to be. I have no proof, but I don't believe they use the same grade of beef as they did a few years ago. We used to love the desert samples which has been gone for a while. They used to ask if you would like a lobster tail with your steak. That is all extra now. This is fleet wide, not just on the Caribbean. The steaks certainly did not compare to our excellent local steakhouse, but the price was not comparable either. A home it is $66 for a 12oz NY strip with potato and house salad. Everything else at home is a la carte. MDR - We had a table for two or four all nights but one. We easily made the 7:30 show with a 6:00 reservation all all nights except when we had a table for 8. We never had the same waiter twice. More comments:

We were on the Caribbean Princess last week (5/27 - 6/3), and our experience was different from that of the OP. I don't doubt any of what the OP has reported, but I do not think it is a systemic problem with the Caribbean Princess and I would not hesitate to sail on her again. We were on Emerald deck forward, port in an obstructed oceanview. Here is some of what we experienced. Roaches - We never noticed any, nor did any of the many passengers we interacted with ever mention roaches. We have also never noticed a roach on any previous cruise. Hair in food - We have never noticed a hair in any of our food on this or any ship. We did not eat this cruise at the Salty Dog. Plumbing problems - We had none in our cabin on this cruise. We have occasionally had temporary blocked toilets on other cruises on various ships that were usually solved fairly quickly. The only plumbing problems we experienced on this cruise were was an unusable sink in a public bathroom because of a broken sensor, and a temporarily out of order urinal. Staffing - We did not notice that they were short staffed. If they were, we were not impacted by it. MDR - We had a 6:00 reservation in the Coral or Island dining room every night but one. We easily made the 7:30 show every night except one when we ate with a group of eight. One couple left a few minutes early and they found one of the last few show seats just before show time. Luggage - Ours arrived within an hour after boarding. The OP mentioned on another thread that their room was upgraded at the last minute and they were told their luggage would be delivered to the new room. Sounds like it worked for two bags and Princess blew it on the third piece. Should Princess have held it until the next morning, or called them at midnight? Without Princess knowing if there was anything critical in the luggage, it is hard to tell what was the best approach. Entertainment - I agree that the Princess Theater and Club Fusion shows were a mixed bag and could have been better. I am also sure different people have different opinions. There were only two production shows, unlike the three we used to see on seven day cruises in the past. The first was Bravo which we have seen many times, and it is not one of our favorites. We really enjoyed comedienne Cory Kahaney. She started off a little slow on the first night, but finished strong. Her Club Fusion show was excellent. Comedy Magician Eric Buss also had two shows. We liked him enough to go to his second show, but we certainly have seen better. The Madonna imitator was not our favorite - probably because we are not big Madonna fans as opposed to her singing ability. We skipped the last two nights. One was a male soul singer and the other was the Princess orchestra with a solo from cruise director Jody Miles. This cruise had a lot more "game shows" that we have seen before. Our favorite show of the entire cruise may have been one of the game shows which

I also hope you fully recovered and you eventually ended up getting the reimbursements you deserved. You have said a number of things in your post which are probably not completely accurate. Some of those may have at least partially contributed to the claim issues, although Aon Affinity very well could have been the entire problem. None of it will make a difference now, but some of it may help you or other the next time they purchase insurance or a "trip protection plan". Based on some of what you said, I am going to guess you purchased the Road Scholar Trip Protection Plan. But my comments are applicable to most cruise line vacation protection plans as well. Cancel For Any Reason - As @klfrodo mentioned, it is Cancel for any reason, not Interrupt for any reason. It is valid (as a credit for a future trip) up until the day your program begins. There is no coverage after that (i.e. if you get sick during the trip). In addition CFAR is not insurance, it is a benefit offered by Road Scholar (or a cruise line), so state insurance commissioners will rarely get involved with issues related to CFAR. My guess is you never received a CRAR benefit. Trip Interruption - Your illness should have qualified as a covered reason for trip interruption benefits. The downside is this coverage excludes pre-existing conditions, just like almost all cruise line policies. The good news is Road Scholar waives the pre-existing exclusion if you purchased the Trip Protection Plan within 14 days of your initial trip deposit. Cruise line plans usually do not offer any pre-existing condition waivers. The other good news is this is true insurance, so a state insurance commission will typical intervene when necessary. I will guess that your claim was (mostly) settled under this provision. Medical Coverage - Good thing you had excellent medical coverage. I bet the final bill was significant. I don't believe Road Scholar offers any medical coverage. Cruise line policies offer some coverage, but most offer $10-$20K and I am aware of only one that goes beyond $25K. Others, without good foreign coverage may have had a large out of pocket expense. You also say Medicare and Kaiser reimbursed you everything, but I would bet it all came from Kaiser. Medicare rarely reimburses anything outside of the USA, and once you sign up with a Medicare Advantage plan like Kaiser, all of your coverage is from Kaiser. For others, it is important to know exactly what your home insurance plan covers when traveling internationally. Aon Affinity - Aon Affinity is not the insurance company. They are actually the administrator for Road Scholar and most of the cruise line plans. These vacation protection plans typically have two or more components - actual insurance offered through an insurance company, and non-insurance benefits such as CFAR offered by Road Scholar or the cruise line. The insurance company is typically Nationwide or Arch. You deal with Aon and they coordinate with the insurance company or the travel company (or cruise line). Aon is the administrator for Carnival, Celebrity, Disney, Holland America, Princess, Oceania, NCL, Royal Caribbean and probably others. If you purchase true travel insurance from Nationwide or Arch, you do not deal with Aon. I have never had to deal with Aon Affinity, but I have seen more than a few negative comments on these boards. Bottom Line - The devil is in the nitty gritty details. Always read the policy and always keep very detailed receipts. Also keep records on any claim submissions and follow-ups. Sometime claims take months, but if you are not getting satisfaction, you should not hesitate to contact your state insurance commission.

Last week there I had no problem purchasing internet access through the MedallionClass app on the first day of the cruise. It recognized my status and showed the 50% discount before I completed the purchase.

What are the slight differences in benefits? Is it only amounts or is it different coverages/terms? Have you found a sample policy online that you can link to? When I read the original sample policy, some of the attractive features to me included: Great price and not age dependent Medical evacuation is to a hospital of your choice 50% Cancel For Any Reason benefit Primary medical coverage $200K medical, $1 million evacuation and $15K medical/hospital guarantee Waiver of pre-existing conditions if purchased within 21 days of initial trip deposit I am curious if all of these items remain the same on the other version of the policy except for the no age dependent premium.

Slightly different situation. We departed Port Everglades the other day on the Caribbean Princess without the Plus package. We were charged the same $10 for a Mojito in port as we were the next day at sea. But they reduced the drink price in port and added another line for tax, so the two together added up to $10. In both of our cases they did not add in the 18% tip while in port. Once we were at sea everything was back to normal - list pice, no tax, 18% tip. Here is an example while on port. Same drink the next day:

Current Caribbean Princess. No ED this cruise.

I am on a ship right now and I do not have everything in front of me, but here are a few things to consider. Many people would take the reverse approach. Get good medical coverage and gamble about cancelation. Medical could be a big unplanned expense. Cancelation would only cost you what you have already planned to spend. You may not be happy about missing a long cruise, but it would not affect you financially. If you don't take any prescriptions and never go to a doctor for anything other than an annual physical, you probably do not have any "pre-existing" conditions. If not, be sure to read what the insurance policy defines as a pre-existing condition. We sometimes have a pre-existing condition and other time do not. How can that be? It's all in the definition and look back period. If indeed you have no pre-existing conditions, what about non traveling family members? Some cruise line policies exclude pre-existing conditions for non traveling family members. So that "death in the family" may not be covered. I just noticed your signature and it looks like you are traveling on Holland America. The good news is the last two points don't pertain to you. I left them anyway for others who might read this. Holland America treats all cancelations as Cancel For Any Reason with on pre-existing conditions clause. They pay up to 90% in cash. So if all you really want is cancelation insurance for the cruise, it is a viable approach. In my opinion, if you have no other medical insurance that covers you out of the country, I would look for something instead of or in addition to the Holland plan.

I'm on the Caribbean Princess now and I attempted to test some of the things people mentioned that you might be able to do without purchasing an internet package. WhatsApp Messages did not work to/from users on the ship or off of the ship when only connected to the INTRAnet. They worked fine when connected to the INTERnet. I was able to compose a message when I was not connected to the INTERnet and actually hit the send button. They were not actually sent until I connected to the INTERnet. There was one weird exception. I was able to receive a message from someone off the ship shortly after I disconnected from the INTERnet (perhaps 30 seconds). I tried again a few minutes later and it did not work. Perhaps a timing issue? I did not try voice calls, but I expect the same results. iMessage One of us has an iPhone and the other an Android, so I was only able to test messaging with someone off the ship. Same results as with WhatsApp. Works fine when connected to the INTERnet and does not work when connected to the INTRAnet. You can still compose the message, but it does not get sent until you are connected to the INTERnet. I may be able to find someone on the ship to test with later in the cruise. I'm the Android user, but based on everything I have read about iMessage, I can't understand how it would work between people on the ship without an INTERnet connection (either paid or because of a "hole" in the ship's firewall). If anyone who has iMessage work between users on the ship without having a paid internet connection and knows HOW it works, please enlighten me. For testing purposes I was always in Airplane mode to insure I was not connected to the ship's cell service for data or SMS. I was always connected to the ships INTRAnet. I connected and disconnected from the paid INTERnet by visiting "login.com" in my web browser.

I "misremembered". I no longer see and free news source websites in the internet cafe or on the MedallionClass app. I was probably thinking of a different cruise line, or perhaps it existed before the Medallion rollout???

TO UPDATE THIS LIST: DO NOT push the "Quote" button. It creates a copy that the next person cannot properly update. DO select and copy ALL of the text (including the instructions and the list) up to COPY TO THIS LINE . . . from the most up-to-date list (the most recent reply with the list).  Go to the bottom of the latest post, to the "Reply to this Topic..." box to create a new post. Paste your copied text into that box. Make your modifications to the list. Add change notes at the bottom. Click the "Submit Reply" button just below the list you are modifying. Confirm that everything is correct! You can edit for up to 20 minutes. Ship Captain Cruise Director Entertainment Director Director Restaurant Ops Caribbean Princess Vincenzo Lubrano Jody Miles Robert Boyd Oscar Perego Coral Princess Gavin Pears Aaron Hawkins Sara Romera Joachim Rothe Crown Princess Tony Ruggero Olivia Guthrie Michael Kujawski Mariusz Czemarmazowicz Diamond Princess Stefano Ravera Natalie Costa & Mikiko Ikemoto Samantha McDonough Discovery Princess John Smith DuVaul Gamble Matt Thompson Silvio Zampieri Emerald Princess Martin Stenzel Fernando Duran Geof O'Rourke Ruji Pereira Enchanted Princess Mario Ciruzzi Gary Golding Ron Goodman Francisco Patricio Grand Princess Michele Bartolome Jayson Douglass Callie Smit Neville Saldanha Island Princess Paul Slight Karen Rogers Sue Rawlings Daniele Rosafio Majestic Princess Tony Draper Kevin Tugwell Marissa Wurms Douw Steyl Regal Princess Tim Stringer Allie Ambriano Martyn Moss Nicola Furlan Royal Princess Andrea Spinardi Corinne Steel Caitlin Messerschmidt Claudio Giuliani Ruby Princess Mario Tani Cole Bockman Lauren Meyer Jacques Ghennai Sapphire Princess Paolo Ravera Fernando Cunha Matthew Joseph Francesco Ciorfito Sky Princess Marco Fortezze Dan France Matt Barnard Ciprian Hoidreag <COPY TO THIS LINE SO THERE IS SPACE TO TYPE CHANGE NOTES AFTER THE CHART> Updated Sky Princess CD and Regal Princess Captain.

My math assumed that I used onboard credits to purchase WiFi and Staff Appreciation and I could not use onboard credits to purchase Plus. We usually have a few hundred dollars of OBCs on every cruise so it is like getting free Staff Appreciation and WiFi on a 7 day cruise. Can I now purchase Plus on embarkation day using my OBCs? On my last cruise in January, I could not. But I understand there was a change in late February that may make this possible. If I can use my OBCs toward the Plus package, then your calculation make sense and we only need to drink $80.50 a day to break even. If not, I would end up "wasting" the OBCs in something like the shops, and then paying for items in the Plus package that were essentially free for us. Thus my comment that we need to drink $120 per day to break even.

You are right. I successfully put a cabin for two on hold, but the single cabin eventually errored out. In any case, there are not a lot of cabins available for this sailing (single or double occupancy) on the princess website. It is mostly guarantees. Edit - I also tried booking on my TA's website. Like the OP's TA, it said no cabins are available for singles. I suspect the original information given to the OP was probably correct.

I just tried a mock booking for a single on that cruise. I found inside, oceanview and balconies available, but most were guarantees. There were a small number of specific cabins available across those cabin types. When I tried booking a cabin for two, the results were the same. edit - Just noticed the prior post. I went as far as the credit card page with no problem as a single but I did not attempt to go any further.

Buying a comprehensive annual travel policy does not offer the same coverage as buying a policy for each trip, but it is almost always a lot cheaper. All of the comprehensive annual travel plans have "holes". I don't think they are a good choice for many people. But they can be an excellent value if the "holes" have minimal impact for your personal situation. Personal situation includes: How does your existing medical insurance work outside of the US? If you need the annual policy to cover gaps such as deductibles and co-pays, you are fine. If the annual policy is your only coverage, be careful. What types of trips do you usually take? If it is several relatively inexpensive trips each year, an annual policy can work well. If you take longer and/or more expensive trips, be sure to understand the terms and conditions. Most plans limit trips to 45 days or less. The annual cancelation/interruption benefit is usually fairly small. Allianz offers the most coverage that I have seen for a couple at $10K per person. If you use up the benefit early in the policy period, you can not buy more coverage and it is sometimes too late to purchase a trip specific plan. What is your risk tolerance? Are you willing to "self insure" losses above the policy limits? What are the chances of a large medical bill? What are the real chances of cancelling or interrupting more than one trip in a year? We have limited foreign emergency medical coverage, so we always purchase an annual GeoBlue Trekker policy. Good coverage (especially under 70) at a good price. We then deal with each trip on a case by case basis. Credit card coverage, buy a policy, self insure. It all depends on the situation. If you end up buying a comprehensive annual travel policy, can you share with us which one and why. Good luck.

I chuckle at reading some of the arguments because too many people can’t understand that there are other cruisers with a different cruise style than theirs. If you do the math (pertinent to your situation), it is probably pretty easy for the large majority of people to make the decision between Plus and Standard. The hard part is when the numbers are close. Only you know how having the package vs not might affect how much you drink. I have always suggested people try Plus if the numbers are close, then see how it works out and it should be an easier choice for their next cruise. Here are our typical per day numbers for a seven day cruise. Plus - $120 Staff Appreciation - $32 WiFi - $7.50 (We don’t use it a lot, so we share. We also get the platinum/elite discount) Non refundable onboard credit - $39.50 (Varies, but usually enough to cover Staff Appreciation and WiFi) So we need to drink $120 per day just to break even with Plus over Standard. We get the elite minibar in the room. We drive to the port, so we usually bring one case of soda. We don’t drink wine. One of us drinks no alcohol, nor any of the sugary non-alcoholic drinks – but may order 1-2 diet cokes and one coffee and one water per day. Let’s call this $15 per day. So the other person needs to drink $105 or an average of about 8** drinks every day beyond the minibar and the captain’s circle party. Even more drinks if beer and non-alcoholic drinks are averaged in. We will never reach that number in one day, no less average that over 7 days. So the decision for us is simple. Now, when our son cruises with his wife and friends, they all will usually reach the 8 drink average before dinner. So the decision for them is also very simple too. 😁 ** The drink prices have increased since our last cruise. I guessed at $11 plus tip as an average, to get the 8 per day. YMMV

Unless something has changed, once you are on the ship I believe there is a place in the Medallion Class app that lets you access some designated free sites. You can also access them for free directly from your web browser if you know what they are. If someone does not post the current info, I will post here when I am sailing the end of next week. I believe they did this a while back sometime after they stopped printing the daily news sheets. I think this was pre Medallion, so I may be misremembering they continued this practice after the Medallions were introduced.😀 This surprises me because you need Internet access for WhatsApp. If this has worked for anyone on a particular sailing, the IT people may have (unintentionally) poked a hole in the firewall. If people definitely know that it works on a regular basis, I hope they will chime in. Again, I will be happy to test and report back when I am on the ship.

You can use any of the features except those that require internet access (such as browsing the web, accessing email or using social media apps). Princess also allows access to a few web sites such as princess.com and a few news sources for free. So yes, you can use the locate your companions feature for free. By the way, no one "purchases the ship's WiFi". Everyone gets access to the ship's internal WiFi for free. People can purchase internet access. But yes, I understood what you meant,

Here is a set from a March Caribbean cruise.