biker1972

Is the OBC being provided by Celebrity or by a TA? Any OBC from Celebrity is non refundable but the OBC coming from a TA could very well be refundable. This would mean that if you did not use all of your OBC you would get a refund to your credit card and thus help pay for the pre-booked excursion. And since Celebrity will draw from the non refundable OBC first, if it is mixed from Celebrity and the TA, you would burn through the non refundable first.

It appears that your Panama Canal cruise leaving 16 Jun is to go to Ocho Rios.

I have been on the Millie around Cape Horn in heavy wind and not felt troubled even though barf bags were placed in the hallways and the elevators. Had a C1 aft cabin and didn't notice the motion to any extent. But walking on an outside deck was a different story!

The old cruise air system has been abandoned by most of the large cruise lines. Viking and many of the of the river lines still employ a system where you can get air through them and they make the decisions about flights and airlines as well as give you a set price.

If you use Choice Air, when flights are available, you will be able to get a short list of flights that work with your itinerary. You can then choose from that list and pay the cost for that flight. The price will vary since X is acting more like a travel agent. The system is opaque in that you do not know the fare rules or restrictions that apply to the ticket that you purchase. Just know that there are restrictions which might include things such as being unable to change routing or airline if things go pear shaped.

Faced with this dilemma and the fact that my favorite cruise line did not go to Glacier Bay or have land tours that excited me, I have opted for a mixed B2B cruise tour. I will get to Glacier Bay and College Fjord on the northbound leg, Hubbard on the southbound, as well as Wrangell-St Elias and Denali on the land tour. The X leg starts in Seward so I am using the RR to make the transfer from Anchorage. And I only fly to and from Vancouver as an added bonus. Plus the fact that I can do several excursions in each of the cities that we will visit along the coast. This only works if you have at least 3 weeks of time available.

My final payment email reminder arrived about 4 weeks prior to the final payment date.The Princess one came about 3 weeks prior.

Because of altitude, the short cruise line excursion can really be very uncomfortable and not very satisfying, especially with the money involved. A suggestion might be to go prior to the cruise and make the arrangements on you own. There are a number of threads about this. One of the best experts in this area of the world was greatam, now deceased, but she answered many questions and these can be found here.

I will be doing a round trip this summer from Vancouver that will include a land tour and 2 different cruise lines. Don't think you can say you have been to Alaska and not include the interior. And there is really no all inclusive single itinerary that covers all of the coastline.

With a senior discount from X an inside guarantee for 8 night Millie for May 12, 2016 (only 8 night Millie) for $1498 for 2 ($749 pp). Perhaps op was looking at a cruise tour or a cabin other than an inside.

we upgraded to GTY balcony and then upgraded again to a GTY Concierge and got a C1 cabin. We weren't happy with the location of our allocated so swapped for a C1 elsewhere on the ship

Other than the 4 C1 cabins on deck 6 of the Connie, the rest of the C1's are aft facing. To get a C1 as a GTY is pretty sweet. Some people just love the C1's on 6 because of the quiet location among the suites. And the aft CC cabins with the amazing verandas are to die for. What did you opt for?

Often arrive early to port and leave later and are soon out of sight of land. Is an aft C1 available? Or even better an FV? We did a b2b BA to Ft Lauderdale in a aft C1 and really enjoyed the veranda. When no wind we could move to the front and when cooler and windier could lounge back near the door. It will be the wind that will be bothersome. The further south we went the worse it got. But a really enjoyable cruise. And do plan on going to Iguazu Falls.

The A2 cabins are larger than the standard balcony cabins on the M class ships.The advantage of the "sweet 16" cabin is the larger balcony since it is otherwise a standard balcony cabin. The tables in Blu are all 2 tops but are close to the neighboring tables. You don't have to be social if you don't want to be but in the MDR you are likely to get a larger table even if you have requested a table for two. If the prices are very close, it is a no brainer decision.

There is more to Alaska than just the coast. The cruise tour, while more costly, gets into areas north of Anchorage, which includes Denali. Nothing more needs to be said. Princess this year has an optional meal plan for all of their land tours, although pricey. Sailing from SF adds 4 sea days to the cruise and if you are spending 10 days on an Alaskan cruise, why not 10 days involving Alaska?

I have not cruised with HAL so I am answering using general information. The distance from Fairbanks to Denali is about 120 miles and will take about 3.5 hours by bus. It appears you will be at the McKinley Chalet Resort outside of Denali. Any excursions, other than the TWT, will be conducted outside of Denali National Park. If you book one through HAL (HAL contracts with local vendors and does not operate the excursions), the timing will fit within the land tour parameters.

The Tundra tour is done through the concessionaire at Denali on "school" buses. http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/bus-tours.htm. HAL should have a time set for your tour to start. It will be a long day on a bus on a gravel road and there is no other way to do this tour. There will be many buses on this single road as this is the main way to see Denali other than hiking.

If HAL works like Princess, excursions booked through them for the land portion are paid for prior to the cruise or charged to your credit card 24 to 48 hours ahead of the excursion. They cannot be paid for by OBC.

Private excursions would include whatever pick up arrangements you make, but would most likely be at a drop off spot near the entrance to your hotel/lodge.

Consider:

1. To get an upgrade there must be a higher category cabin available.

2. Guarantees are given unassigned cabins at the level of the guarantee or above.

3. Upgrades are useful in opening lower priced cabins to new sales. (Everyone wants a deal and were afraid to book early and miss the deal.)

4. Popular dates and itineraries fill up without offering discounts or price manipulations.

5. This one is gut feeling: the more mass market the cruise line, the more free upgrades.

I have done private tours on the end/start day of a b2b. Post to your roll calls and you might find others interested. A small group in a van is preferable to a larger group with a bus. And even one couple and a guide can be rewarding and economical. With the internet and CC it is easy to find tour companies and guides.

I once did a cruise in SA over a holiday where the ship was full of extended families and NO supervision of the kids. Think I would take 400 of the Bears any day. And if the 400 gathered in one spot I could be somewhere else that would now be less crowded.

This information sure tells me why I booked a cruise that is going to Glacier Bay! :D Thanks.

Often the cruise line can get "blanket" visas that cover passengers taking excursions with the cruise line. For Russia, X did tell me that I needed to get my own visa if I planned to do anything other than the ship's tours. Don't know if this is the case for China but certainly worth checking with X.

And while the thought of being able to get "seconds" sounds nice, you will be so full that I doubt that you could attempt another item. For "health" reasons you probably should not. :D

For general cruising I am brand loyal, but for my trip to Alaska this year I am going to do a mixed brand cruise just because I want to see more of Alaska than my favorite brand includes. After carefully studying the itineraries of multiple lines I decided to mix a northbound Princess cruise tour with a southbound Celebrity cruise. Thus both Whittier and Seward are included; Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier and College Fjord as well as Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Denali are visited. I think of it as an ultimate Alaskan cruise vacation.

For Australia start here :http://uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/IMMI_holiday_info_eng.html

Start here: https://www.hcilondon.in/pages.php?id=28

Several years ago RCCL including X wanted to even the playing field for small TA's by establishing a no discounting policy. What X quoted as the price was the only price that could be offered. The way around that was OBC offered by TA's as an incentive to book with them. This was refundable OBC and thus could be pocketed post cruise. Perhaps to stop this practice all OBC coming from TA's will be non refundable. This will mean more spending while on the ship or some other subterfuge to get the money into the cruisers hands.

As mentioned, the cabin size of CC and Aqua on M class is larger than their balcony cabins while the S class ships have the same size cabins in all 3 categories. If you want to try CC, the best option is a C1 cabin on an M class ship where the veranda is like having an extra room attached to your cabin. Otherwise opt for Aqua and Blu.