kydems

We used to always book private tours where possible, however on our last cruise we had tons of OBC to spend so we booked ship tours, using the OBC and just paid the difference with the CC and I was so happy that we did. My husband suffered a mild heart attack while docked in Edinburgh, not a killer but enough that we were off the ship for 9 days while he was in hospital. We were able to return to the ship after that time with the co-operation of the travel insurance company and ships medical team. Everyone thought it would be better to recuperate on board instead of a 24-hour flight home. The shore excursion team cancelled and refunded the tours for that time and worked with us to change other excursions that may have been too strenuous for my husband. If we had booked independent tours, I would have had to cancel all these tours myself and probably received no refund. This would have been extra stress that I didn't. need at an already stressful time. I think we will just book ship tours now for the peace of mind

I understand that food is very subjective, but I did not realize what a huge difference a food prep team can make. We recently completed a 21-day Viking River trip from Bucharest to Amsterdam and unfortunately had to change ships halfway due to low water levels. On the first ship the food was very ordinary. Nothing was inedible but nothing special either. When we changed ships some of the menus were repeated but the food was so much better on the second leg. The head chef and the catering team would visit the dining room regularly and seemed very interested in guests feedback.

I don't think it is counted as B2B if you change ships even though the cruise line is the same. It is always worth giving Azamara a call, they may pay out

Catholics are only required to attend Mass if there is one available. The catholic crew on ships are excused from this obligation if there is no Priest on board or Mass is not held

We have 3 B2B booked for next year. The new system does have them all registered under the one booking number and when you log on the three cruises are listed separately but with the one reservation number. We still get the B2B OBC for each cruise and as far as I can see nothing else has changed.

We have had to make 2 claims for the one trip. We have used Allianz, both for individual trips and annual insurance. We had the annual cover for the year that Covid became a problem. We had taken one trip, but others planned for the year were cancelled without cost to us so no need to claim. Allianz refunded a pro-rata portion of the insurance premium as we could not use it due to Australian travel restrictions. We have recently had to make a claim through Allianz for a disastrous 7-week trip to Europe. I was isolated for 5 days in cabin for Covid, my husband had a heart attack (not severe) when docked in Edinburgh and was in hospital for 7 days, we were able to reboard our ship after 9 days and continue our holiday and then we were robbed in Spain. Allianz covered all costs including refunding the cruise fare for the 9 days we were off the ship. Allianz medical team were wonderful to work with and provided much needed support. They also liaised with the ship medical team to ensure they were happy for us to continue with our holiday. We always buy the cruise package that includes medical evacuation from Ship and trip interruptions.

We have used Allianz, both for individual trips and annual insurance. We had the annual cover for the year that Covid became a problem. We had taken one trip, but others planned for the year were cancelled without cost to us so no need to claim. Allianz refunded a portion of the insurance premium as we could not use it due to Australian travel restrictions. We have recently had to make a claim through Allianz for a disastrous 7-week trip to Europe. I was isolated for 5 days in cabin for Covid, my husband had a heart attack (not severe) when docked in Edinburgh and was in hospital for 7 days, we were able to reboard our ship after 9 days and continue our holiday and then we were robbed in Spain. Allianz covered all costs including refunding the cruise fare for the 9 days we were off the ship. Allianz medical team were wonderful to work with and provided much needed support. They also liaised with the ship medical team to ensure they were happy for us to continue with our holiday.

I am not usually one to use ship shore excursions, however we had 4 B2B cruises from Amsterdam to Barcelona last year and a bucket load of OBC to use so we booked all ship tours. Some were not as good as we would have hoped for some were better than expected. My husband had a medical incident on board, and we were off the ship for 9 days during the 40-day cruise while he recuperated in hospital. The shore excursion team refunded all the tours we had booked during that time either to OBC or the credit card if we had paid for it that way. We were then able to discuss all future shore excursions that we had booked with the shore ex team and modify our bookings to suit my husband's needs at that time. The team was marvelous and made my life so much easier. I cannot imagine the problems I would have had if we were cancelling and changing options with private providers. I am not saying that we will book only ship tours in the future, but this experience is something for others to consider.

We are having a quiet 2023 and will be on the Journey in 2024 from March 7th to April 3rd B2B for Japan Intensive from Hong Kong to Tokyo. We haven't been to Japan before and the itineraries look great

I noticed this when trying a booking for a cruise from Australia. Inside cabin Always included was around $1000 more p.p. extra but with balcony cabin was only $400 p.p. extra. Made the price for a balcony all included very attractive