buggins0402

What a wonderful sweet ending to a wonderful cruise thread that took us into world adventures and now life adventures. 

2 hours ago, Highpeaklad said:

 

P&O have irons for public use in their laundry rooms. 

Also Oceania.

6 minutes ago, StanandJim said:

That is the thing,  we are good for "cultural immersion"  for 10 to 12 hours per day, then we need a comfortable clean room with American style HVAC and access to good food in a safe atmosphere.

 

Cruises normally tick off most of these boxes for us, YMMV

 

LOL...Agree with the comfortable room with HVAC.  We did stick to high end hotels. I must have a decent fitness center.

On 6/29/2019 at 5:39 PM, clo said:

We were slow learners I guess.  And language can be an issue.  For instance, SE Asia.  I can't imagine doing Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam on our own.  And our Turkey and Israel trips were awesome.  Although even then we started getting the picture.  The Turkey days were long and we were too tired to go out on our own.  Anyway we're hoping that O will give us some of the best of both worlds.

Actually SE Asia was an area where I didn’t think a cruise or guided tour fit the bill for us (looked at both).  It was easy to book flights between, arrange hotel pick ups and customize the time we spent in each area.  We only bought three excursions over three weeks. The rest of the time we hoofed it and immersed ourselves in the culture. The excursion we purchased for Angkor was about $150 for two days with a private guide and separate driver. 

2 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

That is true - we did fly them with a layover in PC and got to see PC.

We did the same thing.  

They are refitting aircraft with lie flats...but for what we used them for it would be over kill.

2 hours ago, Petoonya said:

The credit card also gives 50k points to start and the 3% cash back but want a piece of your cash.

Thanks for all your sharing- late to the party but the game is fascinating.

It’s not too bad with regard to rewards...where it falls short is on redemptions.  It’s 1:1.  That said, redemption valuations where you can leverage the miles earned over $.02 are getting more difficult. It used to be easy to score over $.03 in premium cabins. And, many times when you read a good redemption score...take it with a grain of salt because they are basing that on a one way ticket...which against the $ value is overinflated.

2 hours ago, Paulchili said:

Plus Copa's business is like Business lite - no lie flat seats last time I flew with them ☺️

It is a good product if it works for you to layover a night or two in PC.  Each flight is not too long, in daylight,  so a seat that is better than most domestic first is adequate and the service is pretty decent. 

1 hour ago, clo said:

I also saw that we'll have access to over a thousand lounges around the world.  Some that don't have lounges you get $28 to spend on food.  

In Asia, the Priority Pass lounges are pretty good. We had a long unanticipated connection in Singapore once and there were 5 different lounges to visit....toured them all. And, there is one in Buenos Aires (you are flying back from there, correct?) 

The PP lounges are capacity limited at times. If a regular airline is using the same club for international business class, those passengers are given priority, during capacity limits. 

In Detroit, my home airport, PP uses the Lufthansa lounge, and it us closed entirely to Priority Pass members when the Lufthansa flight is using it. 

I was in the BA lounge recently, but I can’t remember what it was like or if it was going through a capacity control.  

10 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

The secondary user doesn’t show up as all charges by the secondary user go on the primary account. We each have a secondary user on our cards as it offered extra points but no secondary cards are used as we both have a separate card to use.

BTW, you should convert your Preferred card into a Reserve card - you won’t get the promo points but will earn 3X points with Reserve instead of 2X points with Preferred.

Thanks.

I don’t want an extra $450 fee, since DH already has the card.  I’ll just have to start using his number more for the trips and put my bank account as a choice for him to pay.  

This separate account weirdness is just a hangover from our working days. I worked for a bank many years ago, so that’s where my accounts are...he always had his accounts where he did his business banking. 

12 hours ago, Paulchili said:

Yes - between people residing at the same address. That is what we do - put all of our Ultimate Reward points into my account from my & M’s cards and then transfer them to whichever airline we need it for when ready to get tickets.

You should get 2 cards - each in separate names as primary. Sometimes they add extra points if you add a second user to each card

Paul, for you, does the credit card show up only for the primary on the Chase website, or for secondary also?

I have a preferred, dating back to when there was no Reserve. DH has the Reserve. My husband has a secondary on the Preferred, which sits in a drawer, but I don’t think it comes up on Chase when he goes on.  I never went secondary on the Reserve, because I though there was an extra charge and I never saw any extra points given. 

We are kind kind of strange in that we each have joint bank accounts, but manage them separately.  I usually pay for all the travel (that way he cares less about what I’m spending🙂). I would drop the preferred if I could make payments for travel on the Reserve. 

11 hours ago, clo said:

We're each getting a card but not a second one.  There's a charge - $75? maybe.  Each year.  We'll set up all the monthly charges on Bob's and I'll perhaps do things like Amazon, Nordstrom, etc.  We're pretty jazzed about this.  We have a place that we hit every two or three weeks, our favorite Mexican/Margarita.  Lunch with drinks can be about $80.  So before it was 120 points.  and it will be 240.  I do SO love math 🙂 LOL.  Again, thanks for getting me on this path.

You can sometimes find 10X points for Nordstrom in “Shop through Chase”.  It’s clunky to use though.  I usually just use the FF shopping network for whatever airline I’m trying to collect miles. 

10 hours ago, Paulchili said:

No, but I surely enjoy their benefits 😁

When we signed up they offered 100K points.

We signed up for the CSR during the 100K period also (the initial roll out of the card). 

3 hours ago, Paulchili said:

I don’t see why not - as long as Bob was cleared to be flown to a hospital near home. If it wouldn’t be covered, then it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.

I think the patient must be currently hospitalized for Med Jet.  If he was checked out, they wouldn’t send a jet. His regular trip insurance would probably pay for an upgraded seat home. 

Just now, ORV said:

I thought this was going to be another laundry question. 🤣

Guess you have to start visiting the fitness center more.😉

On sister ship Insignia, the class spin bikes were kept  in the same room with the other equipment.  On my cruise, the fitness room director had no issue with using one when no classes were going on. 

13 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Yes they have live music as you can see in daily program i posted. 

 

Buffet is more crowded than Oceania but i definitely wouldn't call it horrible. It can take couple minutes to find a table but was never a real issue so far. Lines in food stations are very reasonable. Even omelette stations are pretty quick. 

Thanks...missed it the first time. I only scanned the daily planning on the left and missed the box in the lower right. 

Buffet sounds like it will work.  My recollection was Celebrity’s was decent for breakfast and lunch, but it has been almost 8 years. 

Wonderful news!!!  Bob looks great.  Such a sweet story, it brought a tear to my eye.

Thanks ak1004 for the comparison to Oceania.  Oceania is our preferred cruise line, but I saw a Reflection Caribbean itinerary which I liked very much,  so I booked it for this December.  It has been a few years since we have sailed Celebrity. It is nice to hear you are enjoying the entertainment on Celebrity.  We usually prefer lounge musicians.  Celebrity used to have a few, do they still? I understand what you mean regarding the entertainment on O.....we usually consider a nice long late dinner the evening’s entertainment on O.

How much more frantic is the buffet compared to Terrace Cafe?  Earlier this year we sailed in a suite on NCL for a South America “around the horn”.  DH loves Indian food, so we attempted skipping the suite lunch dining for the lunch buffet a few times.  It was a horrible experience.  Thankfully, after a few days, the suite dining hostess offered to have some Indian food sent there so we could enjoy a meal in a sane environment. 

1 hour ago, Jay23 said:

This is terrible news.   Please, you wonderful friends, tell him how all these strangers on CC,  are rooting for him and wishing for his full recovery.    J

+2.  Many of us could now recognize Bob and his smile if we ever ran into him on a street or on a cruise.  Wishing him a speedy recovery and thankful that he has such wonderful friends.

Great news. Jim, thank you for letting all those following this thread know.

Rest up and get well soon, Bob.  I am looking forward to seeing your posts.

On 4/7/2019 at 6:16 PM, marylovestotravel said:

We're considering #8000 on the Marina for the Lima to Buenos Aires cruise in 2020. It's an itinerary I've been wanting to travel for years! Does anyone have any experience of the Cape Horn in the bow of the ship? It sounds like it is situated fantastically for the view and experience, but will it be a titch bit rocky in movement? I am interested in  hearing from anyone who has done this transit and had a stateroom in the bow of the ship.

 

Thanks,

Mia

We did this itinerary in an NCL bow suite this past February.  It was very rocky from Santiago to Ushuaia, but wasn’t horrible.  It was well worth it for the views.  On the Atlantic side there were no issues. 

11 hours ago, Shawnino said:

Other posters have touched on this but I'd like to write it large: "Premium Economy" varies widely from airline to airline and even within airlines from plane to plane. Go on Google Flights (I actually prefer ITA Matrix) and use tools like Seat Guru to make sure you know what you're getting.

 

One thing we have found to/from S. America is that Copa Airlines' Business class fits our needs and is pretty reasonably priced. They do fly out of ORD. Now 'Business' can be almost as misleading/wideranging a term as 'Premium Economy', and to be sure, Copa is Business-Class-Minus. No lie-flats (recliners with lots of space), no privacy from your seatmate, no wi-fi, meh food, meh IFE. For us, the value comes in the big recliners and the price point -- and we're OK with the rest. Service has always been friendly. The flights all hub-up in PTY for an hour or two, so there are no super-long flights.

I’ll second this.  Our flight on Copa, this past February was great.  Not lie flat, but a much better seat than domestic first on US airlines.  Service was very good.  

If you have some United miles, you can get creative. We paid one way to PC business on Delta and stayed a few days.  Then flew Copa business to Santiago on miles.  Miles back UA business from BA.  Actually,  the best service was on Copa. We might have been lucky with the best flight attendant we’ve had in the past few years.  But, after that flight,  we decided Copa business would be our “hack” for getting to South America cheaply if we go there again. 

2 hours ago, Jancruz said:

Anyone have any special requests for the missed Cuba trips?? Would love to hear your wish list!

Jancruz1

Celebrity has a nice ABC itinerary, Cartagena and Cayman with an overnight in Aruba...the Jan and Feb cruises are pretty much sold out.  I would love to see this itinerary on O.

1 hour ago, capriccio said:

It is a company that follows established routes.  Passengers buy a day pass.  Check out www.watertaxi.com for details.

Thanks...looks good.

3 hours ago, capriccio said:

When you visit in December all the Christmas decorations will be up.  Take the water taxi after dark and be astonished at the outdoor decorations and the indoor Christmas trees (people leave their shades/curtains open just to show off)!

How does the water taxi work?  Are they private boats or more like a bus on a route similar to Venice or Bangkok?