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Windstar Cruises has announced the expansion of its fleet with the addition of the Star Seeker and Star Explorer. The Star Seeker was originally ordered by Mystic and slated for its Atlas brand. This doesn't seem to make sense unless Atlas is under some financial distress and is cutting back its expansion plans. Windstar Cruises Welcomes Two New Ships to Fleet - Cruise Industry News | Cruise News

There are aways some analysts who are predicting a looming recession. Perma-bears. I think the general consensus is that we are not currently on the brink of a recession. All cruise line stocks have been volatile lately. I've given up trying to make heads or tails out of them. I reduced my cruise line holding to a minimum a while back. I don't like investing in stocks that have wild price swings for no discernable reason.

I agree completely with this reply. Simply put... if you're a non-suite passenger on Celebrity, you will probably not be happy as a non-Yacht Club passenger on MSC.

I honestly wasn't aware that TAs didn't get commissions for air and hotel bookings. Makes me wonder how they make money booking land vacations. I make my own travel arrangements, but my brother recently returned from a land vacation in France that was booked by a TA. The entire thing consisted of air, hotel and train reservations. Why would a TA take on such a trip if they aren't getting paid any commissions? Seems strange.

I've previously sailed on the Windstar Pride (motor yacht) in Iceland. The small ship experience is certainly different. I found that people who like a lot of different night-time entertainment options don't fit in well with Windstar, but those who enjoy good food, an intimate environment (you will know, and be known by, most every crew member and fellow passengers), a complete lack of crowds, and focus on ports, will love it. I've just recently booked this cruise aboard the Windstar Spirit (an even smaller sailing ship). overview (windstarcruises.com) The only potential disconnect I see with your requirements may be the cabin size. If you can live with that, Windstar may be a good option. If cabin size is really important, and you would like more night-time options, you can't go wrong with either Azamara or Oceania.

From the FAQs on the Celebrity website... How do I contact a friend or family member aboard a Celebrity cruise ship? For all Celebrity ships: • Dial: 1-877-266-1020(applicable country code)+1-321-953-9002 (outside the United States) • Dial the appropriate number above. • The caller will be asked to enter the credit card number and expiration date. • The system obtains a real-time hold for $79.50 ($7.95 x 10 minutes) and initiates the call to the ship. The $79.50 hold is the maximum that will be held. Actual charges will be calculated based on the number of minutes used on the call. • A voice prompt directs the caller to the specific ship. • The call is connected to the ship. • The call rings through to the designated department onboard (Radio Station or Purser Desk). The call is then routed to the guest's stateroom. • The PBX monitors the call. If there is no answer, the call will ring back at the designated department onboard (Radio Station or Purser Desk) and a written message is taken for delivery to the guest's stateroom.

To be honest, I haven't looked into how CSR handles pre-existing conditions. I (fortunately) don't have that concern (yet). Hopefully, someone here can chime in.

I'm in complete agreement that CSR is a great travel card. As for $100,000 evacuation insurance, I had no idea if that is adequate or not. I noticed that GeoBlue offers $500,000 coverage. Your comment prompted me to investigate the cost of medical evacuation a bit, and here's what was said in a Forbes article... emergency medical transportation to the U.S. from the following countries can cost the following: Caribbean and Mexico: $15,000 to $25,000 South America: $40,000 to $75,000 Parts of Europe: $65,000 to $90,000 Asia, Australia and the Middle East: $165,000 to $225,000 Emergency Medical Evacuation Insurance In Travel Insurance Plans – Forbes Advisor I would guess if one is on an African safari it might cost even more! So once again, for most travel purposes CSR is more than adequate for trip cancelation and medical evacuation.

CSR is a great travel card, but you need to understand what it is, and isn't, good for. If you're often looking for trip cancelation insurance for trips that fit within the $10K person/ $20K maximum limit, it's a great solution. These limits fit the needs of much of my travel, and in those rare instances where it doesn't, I can either buy an additional policy or self-insure the excess. Where if falls short is medical (and possibly evacuation) coverage. As mentioned, $2,500 is really inadequate for covering all but the most basic medical incidents. Therefore if you don't have a health insurance policy that covers out-of-country care (note: while Medicare does not, some Medicare Advantage policies do), it's wise to purchase medical coverage for international travel. I've used GeoBlue. These policies typically offer $500K - $1M evacuation coverage whereas CSR is only $100K. So I find CSR to be a great solution for my trip cancelation needs, and since I've gotten a Medicare Advantage policy that covers me during international travel - I'm pretty much set. Plus the points I've earned are very nice too🙂

Well this would certainly be disappointing since I'm booked for August☹️

Point taken. You have more experience with Seabourn👍

I would rank them from highest to lowest in terms of formality of dress code and fellow passengers expectations of compliance as follows... Silversea Seabourn Regent Oceana, Azamara (similar) I will say that some Regent passengers would actually comment directly to the person if they felt their dress fell short of their standards. Not many, but I'd never seen this happen before.

I'm actually doing the 14-night Norway cruise on the Preziosa at the beginning of August. I'm also wondering what the YC is like on that ship. Hopefully someone will chime in.

My parents took my brother and I on our first cruise in the early 60's on Cunard. Yep, I remember our clothes were packed in a large steamer trunk. Times certainly have changed.

I think sometimes people complain about Starlink simply because of who owns it. As @Pcardad said, reports from passengers on ships with Starlink almost always give very positive reports.

Here's a great app for aurora forecasts My Aurora Forecast & Alerts - Apps on Google Play Also, on some ships they will notify passengers if/when the northern lights appear. Sometimes you have to ask at customer service to have them call your cabin phone. They are hesitant to make a ship wide announcement to all cabins since the lights often appear in the wee hours of the morning. I should add that I don't know if MSC does this.

I had no idea this was a thing. Do hospital blood supplies actually include the sex of the donor and do they match that with the recipient? I just never heard of it.

Some people love communities with HOAs. I avoid them like the plague. I hadn't heard the FIP label before - kinda like it, but my experience the one time I lived in a townhouse with a HOA was that the board members were generally people who desired power and liked telling other people what they could, and couldn't, do. Patrolling the community for violations was an enjoyable pastime for them. Not my kind of people - not my kind of community. I know many feel differently. jmho

Yeah, I gave a well known bidding site a try once. Waste of time. I find that using the travel agency at a well-known big box store works well for me. They give store credit for booking with them and I've never had a problem with the quality of service.

Funny you mentioned that. I stayed there many (many, many, many) years ago for my honeymoon. I remember there was this much touted snorkeling cove - you had to park on the road and take this hike down a rather steep hillside/cliff to get to the beach. We were a ways out in the cove when all of a sudden I saw this moray eel sticking up from the rocks/coral with its mouth wide open and sharp teeth on display. Scared the daylight out of me.

I've never thought of Hawaii as having particularly clear water. Snorkeling there was fine, but not nearly as nice as other places - especially the South Pacific islands.

Setting itineraries aside, I applaud your openness to trying different cruise lines. Especially as someone new to cruising, it's so important to try different cruise lines and ships for yourself. It seems many people become loyal to a single cruise line and never stray. People also tend to put too much weight on reviews and ship ages. Nothing replaces first-hand experience when it comes to finding what lines & ships best fit your style.

I'm doing this one in August. I was so looking forward to Longyearbyen, but strangely the excursions there are a bit disappointing. It actually seems like despite the cold, winter may be a better time to visit. Still it's Longyearbyen!

It's been 4 years since I was in the YC for a Caribbean cruise. One thing I really appreciated was that the pool area was far from crowded. It sounds like that has changed. I'm not sure why, since they didn't add anymore YC cabins☹️

And that's where we differ. If I use a TA, I expect them to answer the phone when I call. If, for example, my flight is delayed/canceled at the last minute, I need a TA who is available to make alternate arrangements immediately. Since they booked the flight, the airline won't even talk to me - I have to go through the TA. Since many cruise "specialists" are one-man franchises, you really can't expect them to be available at a moment's notice. For that reason alone, I am hesitant to book flights through TAs. There's really no savings and you lose control of your booking.