DoomsdayFAN

I feel the same way. Maybe its best you call them and then they can give you a quote for the kind of coverage your looking for. I noticed that with Costco the "cancel for any reason" option is over $300 :eek: I'm going to wait a few months, I have no medical conditions. My husband and I are as "healthy as a horse" according to our doctor. I'm not worried about any waiver...

Yeah, my main concern with travel insurance is "health coverage" for if anything happens or we get sick/injured and need see a doctor. I like the non-Costco one because there you have the option to "double" the medical coverage for only $18 for two people. So that means if I choose the Plantinum option ($50,000 in medical coverage/dental) I have the option to double that, making it $100,000. Sounds great.

But the Costco version doesn't have this upgrade. :cool:

Same company but different plans. Travel Guard has many plans out there, some available to the general public and some limited to clients of specific travel agencies (like Costco). They tend to be generally the same but there can be very important differences so you have to read the fine print carefully of each plan -- you can't assume that if one plan has a certain feature they all do.

It's weird because the non-Costco one has a lot more options for additional add-ons and stuff. The Costco one is super basic and doesn't have as much to choose from.

Depends

Is it your intention to get a policy that waives any pre-existing medical conditions,,, and/or a Cancel For Any Reason rider?

 

If yes to either of the two questions above, then purchase immediately.

If the answer is No to both questions,,, then wait until final payment.

Pre-existing - No.

Cancel for any reason - Too expensive.

So I'll probably hold off then. The only thing I want to add really is "double" the medical coverage for when we're there.

There seem to be TWO different Travel Guards. One directly through Costco, and the other with "AIG" on the front page. Are they the same?

Costco Travel Guard: http://www.travelguard.com/costcotravel/

AIG Travel Guard: http://www.travelguard.com/quickquote/?cmpid=kac-001-IO-Google-8930216&gclid=CJmrucLs2sACFRRhfgodz7UAVQ

Have my cruise pretty much lined up and am about ready to commit with deposit. I have a good idea which travel insurance company I'm gonna go with. Just curious now about WHEN would be the best time to buy?

Since my cruise is more than a year out, would it be ok to just wait a few months before I get the insurance? Perhaps until closer to when I have it PIF?

Deposit - Sometime within the next week from this post.

PIF - Late August 2015

Can it wait until July-September of 2015? Or how would you recommend?

It can mean that your whole itinerary will change to avoid the tropical storm and you might have more days at sea than you planned.

When a tropical storm is approaching your embarkation port, travel conditions (flying or driving) to get there will not be the best.

This is the main reason why it's so very much less expensive to cruise to the Caribbean in the fall. ;)

LuLu

If the ship must alter course or change itinerary, we'd still get the full 7 days right? Perhaps in a new port that wasn't originally on the schedule?

Good to know. I also like how Travel Guard has an option to double medical coverage. So if I choose Platinum Coverage, that's $50k of medical coverage. Then to double it would be $100k. Sounds good to me.

Is that $50/$100k amount per person, or for the both of us together to split?

When you refer to, say, "Costco" as a "TA," does that mean whoever booked through them would have to call the Costco Travel 1-800 number and do things that way? (IE order excursions, etc)

-And then what you odered could be viewed on the DCL website? So that's how you'd verify it?

I'm am thinking about going with Travel Guard, but my main concern is injury or sickness while on vacation. Not so much trip cancelation.

My other concern is when filling out the information on the site, when it asks where you're going, I choose "Caribbean" because that's where my cruise will be going, but does that mean I wont be covered when flying into Florida?

You guys think a 1:00 pm fight would be safe?

 

1. Kennedy Space Center (by port)

This would be interesting. But how would I get transportation to and from Kennedy to the Airport?

It can mean that your whole itinerary will change to avoid the tropical storm and you might have more days at sea than you planned.

When a tropical storm is approaching your embarkation port, travel conditions (flying or driving) to get there will not be the best.

This is the main reason why it's so very much less expensive to cruise to the Caribbean in the fall. ;)

LuLu

It depends. It can result in no change, it can result in a late arrival, it can result in a missed port, it can result in a rescheduling of the ports (same ports as originally scheduled, but on different days than originally scheduled), it can result in substitute ports or in can result in a whole new itinerary.

I assume though that within a month of the trip, you'd have an idea of if any hurricanes are coming, right? Or do those drop out of no where? (No hurricanes where I live, ever)

Tell that to the people on these ships ...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsrEkvmiGfk

 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAhj4UDIm54

 

 

 

The following video is of the captain explaining what happened to the Freedom of the Seas on October 9, 2011 ...

 

Dang! That's nuts. I must admit though, I'm curious to know what it would look like to see Allure or Oasis travel through those waters. :D

When the ships avoids the hurricanes, does that mean they skip out on destinations? Or just take alternate routes?

Man, I can't believe it's hot in November! That's nuts. I thought for sure by then it'd be cool breeze.

lol, I take it then I wont be in need on a coat or sweater. (I run hot anyway)

I just hope the weather isn't so bad that it messes with my planned excursions. I want to Scuba dive in Cozumel and Grand Cayman, and ride jetskis in Castaway Cay. Maybe ride some quads too.

If you just want your stateroom host to take your clothes and have them washed, does that come with the price of the room?

BTW, I DID put my opinion on your Allure vs. Fantasy thread..I disagree a lot with what some say..the food ( very subjective) on Disney in the MDR we thought was much better than RCI..buffet MUCH better..diving shows in Aquatheater fantastic on RCI & ice-skating shows, too...musical production shows on Disney KILLER, Pirate show & fireworks also great & private island Castaway Cay CANNOT be beaten!! Go read my post...you really can't go wrong with either ship, but they ARE different..LOVE rotation dining on Disney!!

 

Big Al

Oh, lol. That's right. I totally missed your name in there. Thanks again for the great info and opinions.

And same to everyone else! :p

Inside or balcony, deck 1 or deck 12.

Know your escape route!

Not only from the Stateroom, but when you are exploring the ship, know how to get to your Assembly Station.

 

ex techie

Are there directions or will they go through a drill to show you where the nearest life boats are? Are the life jackets easy to find?

Well the most likely month as of yet is probably going to be November. So I'm hoping by then it'll be somewhat clear.

How is the humidity out there? It is as bad or worse than Florida?

FYI ..first, good choice! 2nd, there are 3 basic cabin sizes on the Fantasy: Cat 6 are 204 SF, Cat 5 's are 249 SF & Cat 4's are 299 SF..I took a Cat 5, then got a chance to upgrade to Cat 4 for only $39 pp for the 4 nighter..I thought it was worth it..great cabins...remember to make sure cabins are above & below you if you want to minimize noise...any questions on Disney let us know...have a "magical" cruise!!

 

Big Al

As far as picking my exact location, I believe the more desirable ones are even more expensive. Like up to $1000+ more than a basic inside room. The most basic upgrade (to an unobstruced verandah room) is only about $400 more as of yet, but they all appear to be right in the rear of the ship. Looks like 246 sq. ft Catagory 06B, Decks 5, 6, 7. (Not sure what any of this means)

But for only $400 more to be able to get a full verandah, I can live with a few less sq. ft. (Not sure how the rear of the ship is though, or how any of that other info affects the experience in general)

Otherwise, can you tell me in a direct comparison between the Disney Fantasy and Oasis/Allure of the Seas, ship-wise, what you prefered? (This includes, staff, free food options, things to see/do, etc) And also DCL vs RC in general? (For Caribbean Cruises) - Their itineraries look to both be appealing, so that isn't a huge concern for me at this point.

You can reply here if you'd like: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2094690

Otherwise, I may repost that thread to this Disney Cruise forum in the future.

.

I am looking into taking a cruise sometime between Sept-Dec of next year and I was wondering what the weather is like on the Caribbean during those months?

Depending on the cruise I choose, my itinerarie could include: Port Canaveral, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth, St. Thomas, St. Marteen, Nassau, Castaway Key, Labadee, Fort Lauderdale.

I can't expect that time of year to be all sunny and beautiful like summer, but I hope it's not all dreary with gray stormclouds and showers all day long.

If you are flying, I would take that into consideration. Airfare into Orlando has been on the high side. We are flying in this month and November. November was sky high but finally way lower~~not low like it used to be, but lower.

Unfortunately the flights don't show up yet as far ahead as I am looking. So I'll probably have to wait until this Dec/Jan before I can see the following Dec times.

But if the prices in Nov/Dec are the same or similar to the prices in Jan-June (what's posted so far) then it should be too bad.

I don't know if it will let me post this link, but over on the disboards there is a "Shrek takes on Mickey" trip report comparing the two ships. It's an older report and the pictures wouldn't load for me this morning, but you might want to check it out.

 

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2810383

Yeah, it works for me. That is a fantastic thread! Thanks for posting.

Thanks again everyone for more input, and thanks Big Al for linking me to you cabin review. It's very nice.

Right now I'm looking into 7 day Caribbean cruises, most of which only have like 2 sea days. But for the price difference (about $400 so far) it seems like it would be worth it. Like was said.... YOLO. The only way I would outright NOT consider a verandah room is if the price jumped to like $800+ for the upgrade. That may be a little too much for my taste.

Funny you mention that because I am basically a total darkness sleeper. I can sleep without it, but I sleep much better with it.

With all the curtains pulled, how bright is the verandah room?

Thanks for the info. Yeah, I mean, honestly, I'm leaning toward the verandah. I could could make 37 different cases why going with the inside room and saving money would be a good idea, but at the same time, I'm pretty sure that by the time I get there, I'd be a little bummed I didn't get a deck. lol, but it's back and forth because then I'd be conscious of the additional $400 I blew that I could've easily saved.

Vicious cycle of internal debate. :rolleyes:

I'll be going on the 7 day cruise, and judging by the itinerary, it seems there'll be only two seas days total, both spread out by a few days.

On Fantasy.

This is something I've been considering for a while now. For the longest time I've been fairly certain that I will spend a majority of my time outside of my room just wandering the ship. So I figure because of that, I could save some money and just get a basic inside stateroom. I figure I wont even need a window because I'll be out and about most of the time anyway. So it's unnecessary.

But then again, it looks like if I were to pick the right time of year, I could get a nice unobstructed stateroom w/ verandah for only about $400 more. Although I do plan on being outside my room a lot, it is just a ship with only so much to do. So perhaps a verandah wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. The time I am spending in my room, it might be nice to sit out on the deck for a little while. There's potential for some beautiful pictures. And the fact that I don't have to trek a good way in front of everyone else just to go outside is appealing too. I could basically just roll out of bed without a care in the world and see and smell the outside.

But then again, I could put that extra $400 to good use elsewhere. As awesome as the views may be, it's not like they'll be more spectacular than what I could see elsewhere from the ship.

So what say you? Is the verandah worth the extra $400+ more? Or not so much considering the outside views are just a few short steps away anyway?

Either way though, it'll either be one or the other. I'm not even looking at a room w/ window. So it's either full interior, or full verandah.

As far as when the time comes to hand out the envelops to your servers, is there someone that will make an announcement or something on the second to last day that "now is the time to hand out envelops" or something? I don't want to sit there awkwardly wondering when the right time is.

And by "second to last day" (tip handouts) is this on the night before disembarkment? So you go to dinner for the final time and hand out tips then?

As for the envelops for the stateroom host, can you leave this for him/her on the morning of disembarkment? Or is that not common (better to leave it the night before)? (What I do at DL & WDW is on the day that I leave, the last thing I do before I leave the room for the final time is leave a tip on the bed. Not the day before)

I also noticed that you said it's not traditional to tip the breakfast and lunch servers. Why is that?