GeezerCouple

I've already made it clear what we think of how Oceania has handled this unfortunate situation, so... moving right along... THIS is an excellent example, albeit an unexpected one, of why we buy Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) travel insurance from a third party. We call it SWAN insurance (Sleep Well At Night). We'd "only" get back 75%, but it would be in cash, and obviously with no limitations about where to apply it or by when. In a case like this, 75% cash back would be sounding pretty darned good at this point! Losing 25% (max, if no other reimbursement ever arrived) would seem one of the better "deals" ever. (No, the "reasons" don't matter. CFAR really means "Cancel For NO Reason At All". Who can read our minds when/if we say something like, "Oh, A just can't get away from work after all", or "B has to babysit the grands part of that time... what a darned shame the timing is interferring with this wonderful cruise..." or such.) As an aside, although we always get CFAR, we've had quite a few travel insurance claims (unfortunately), and none of them has involved CFAR. There were a couple of times we thought about it, such as when an un-named storm was intensifying as it seemed to be approaching what our path was going to be... Also, CFAR now includes "Interrupt For Any Reason", too, another nice backup plan "just in case". GC

We always put a lot (a LOT) of really obnoxious, bold tape on the various sides of our luggage. And we have a bunch of frilly-but-short streamers attached to the sides of the handles. The current tape is bright reflective silvery, with multi-colored day-glow stars. JUST what any 5- or 6-year old little girl would love! 😆 AND... our handles have special padded wraps "for comfort", but they are also very heavily textured. There is NO way someone could accidently grab one of those and not realize instantly "something is *wrong*, even without looking! 😉 Yes, with those appearances, sometimes checking in at top hotels gets a sideways glance or ten... Nevertheless, we are about to buy some Airtags for extra peace of mind. They aren't that expensive for what they do. We've only lost (and only temporarily) one bag thus far (knocking VERY hard on wood as I type these possibly doomed words!???). DH got off a flight from a short consulting trip, so he only had a foldover checked bag, and not a huge one. It was still back in the "plain black bag" days. He found "his" plain black foldover bag. He had to make a couple of phone calls. By then, there was nothing else left for luggage for his flight but "his bag". So he grabbed it and came home. And worse, he didn't unpack immediately, being exhausted from travel and presentations, etc. And then... and then... he went to unpack, a day or two later. OOOPS! NOT HIS BAG! 😱 We found some ID inside, thank goodness. Called the number, and "that guy" was still at his conference near our town. So we drove out to the conference center, and swapped bags. That guy, at a professional conference, still seemed unaware he had the wrong bag when he got DH's call. "Whatever..." We've been lucky all these years, and don't want to tempt fate. Paying about $100 for a few Airtags seems like a rather inexpensive extra sacrificial offering to the Travel Gods... GC

This ^^ It's the protection of a credit card, and *especially* when there are more than average chances that there might be a problem, and a cruise way in the future...... "Things could happen...." The few times we pay cash, we write a check (or have online banking right the check). When the bank does it, our account information never shows up; the bank uses an intermediary account/routing. And Viking has a good reputation... until maybe someday it doesn't. Who knows what the future of cruising will be... what if Covid V10 arrives...? Or whatever else *might* happen far in the future. (Well, we usually book our cruises close to 2 years in advance.) This is not a case where one worries "Is this a scam?" [If we are ever purchasing that odd item that might be a bit sketchy, then we try to use American Express, which tends to be most card-holder friendly. Right... we try to avoid "sketchy things", but occasionally, one just isn't sure.....] As for travel insurance, please browse through the travel insurance section of CC: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/ Also pay attention to any restrictions in ANY policy ("the fine print"), although there's likely to be more of that with charge card insurance, vs. 3rd party insurance. Double check about "pre-existing conditions": when are they excluded, when are they *not* excluded? 😉 GC

Could you share more information about that "offer"? It's impossible for us to know what you are referring to, how it supposedly works, or if it even applies... GC

Welcome to CruiseCritic! Where are you located? Many of these money or insurance issues vary by country. I don't hear much about getting a cash discount in general. Is that from a specific cruiseline, or a travel agent? NOTE: Mentioning names of travel agents is NOT allowed on CC, so if that's part of it, just mention "travel agent" or "TA". GC

There will be an almost full spectrum of "dress style" on board. If by formal, you mean white tie/tails for any gents and gowns for any women, you may be the only ones in that type of attire, but you'll probably get a lot of smiles. If you mean slightly lesser formal, you'll still probably get a lot of smiles. Perhaps be prepared for an occasional query about whether you are celebrating anything, so maybe have a nice answer, accurate or not. 😉 Enjoy the cruise with "your style"! 🙂 GC

It's not quite as "iffy" as your worries suggest. A "guarantee" means you *will* get a cabin (of the level guaranteed or better), vs. a "waitlist", where... maybe/maybe not, They don't know what your cabin assignment will be "now" (when you reserved the "guarantee" accommodations) because... they really do no know. Assuming nothing seriously untoward happens and the ship sails as planned, the cruise line will do some adjusting IF NEEDED to get everyone with a confirmed reservation on board, but that's not the case with a "waitlist". Now, how do they do this? A variety of ways. One, as you have suggested, some people will probably cancel, and the cruiselines have pretty good data to help them estimate how many... but that's obviously not exact. Yes, they CAN overbook: the cabins/suites are like produce: "perishable". Once the ship sails, any empty cabin will never be sold, and that revenue is lost forever. Or... they can bump people up a catergory, perhaps sequentially. Too many booked with "guarantees" for insides? Offer some of the lower cost balcony cabin passengers an upgrade to a better balcony (preferably with a surcharge)..... etc., as needed. A final option; Make some passengers "an offer too good to resist". 🙂 That can include something like the following: "If you will change from this cruise to <some other specified cruise and cabin/suite category>, we'll transfer your reservation, and also offer you $XXXX." We had an offer like that from one cruise line. It would have been an AMAZING "deal"... *IF* we wanted/were able to take "Cruise B" instead of Cruise A, but we weren't able to make that switch. So a similar offer was no doubt passed along to someone else. You may not find out until just about the very last moment just what your assignment will be. Please re-read the terms and conditions of the "Guarantee" of the cruiseline you are sailing for more specific information. If you wanted to know at the time of your booking which accommodation you will have, then don't book a guarantee. Choose another category or a different cruise date/etc. GC

Are you looking only at the "travel insurance" that is provided by the cruise company? If so, in your country do you have anything similar to independent or third-party travel insurance? This is insurance sold by an insurance company that is NOT linked to any specific travel vendor (not cruise, air, or hotel, etc.). Can you Google "travel insurance + <your country (Phillipines?)>" and see if you get any leads? Try to avoid calling anyone that appears affiliated with a travel provider. GC

If that information is from the link at the beginning of this thread, here is a key sentence from it: "...Some of the passengers who booked the 111 cabins sold are still in Istanbul, having made their way there ahead of the original departure date..." I'm not at all sure how many of the 111 were EVER actually in Istanbul such that they could "still" be there. That is, how many really "made their way there ahead of the original departure date"? There are a few other bits like: "...Would-be cruisers – who wanted to remain anonymous until their refunds come through – have told CNN of their shock and dismay that the trip has been canceled. Some had sold their homes or wound up businesses to join the cruise..." And then there seem to be quotes from a variety of stranded passengers, making it seem like maybe it is ~100, or at least, "many". But then... "...A third, speaking just before the cruise was confirmed as canceled, said they were feeling “let down, deceived and betrayed”..." So are there just three poor souls (or maybe couples), rather than perhaps scores or even more than 100? The CNN writer, Julia Buckley... is she just hyping this to get good click and reading numbers? (Wouldn't be the first time someone has done that, eh?) If I've missed this type of information, I'd love a pointer. It would be reassuring to find out that there were *not* approximately 100 people who had bags packed, waiting in Istanbul for a non-existent ship. It seems outrageous how "Miray Cruises" has handled this, PER THE REPORTING. And it seems very likely that much of it is reasonably accurate. But the parts about people selling homes, shipping things to Istanbul, and... apparently never heading to Amsterdam? That's not really clear. I hope it is very few. GC

[emphasis added] Yup, that's the question. Is there any indication of "how many" passengers are/were really waiting for that ship to arrive? (Or whether they were still really in Istanbul or in Amsterdam?) I find it very hard to believe that many (more than one or two, if that!) would really leave home, bags packed (and SELL homes!?), when there was zero indication there would be an actual ship to meet them at the dock. It's all very, very odd, and just doesn't sound right. GC

There are some "consumer protection laws" in the USA, but many (most?) of them are state-specific. Among other things, this would probably not work to enforce action or collect refunds or penalties for a company not only out of state, but in another country entirely. I'm not sure whether 3rd-party USA-based travel insurance would even be available for this. There are several reasons I can think of, although there may indeed be some policies I've never looked into, etc. Usually, the coverage is from when you leave home until you return. So... what is "home" with a cruise like this? And in the USA, insurance is regulated by each state... Also, there are usually time limits, such as trips no longer than, say, 90 days. I know there have been concerns voiced here on CC about getting travel insurance that would work for some of the longer ATW (Around The World) cruises, and those always seem to be less than a year long, usually not even close to a year... and yet some passengers reported having trouble getting 3rd-party coverage. But mostly, what were the paid passengers really told that got them to actually sell homes and actually fly to Istanbul, given no ship was actually purchased yet!? * Presumably that would have been something a bit (a lot!?) more encouraging than "We're still trying to buy a ship..." 😡 * Or... Were those reports of people who sold homes and who were faithfully waiting in Istanbul... while the ship was going to sail from Amsterdam.... maybe, just maybe, not quite accurate? (I have no idea, but is this a possibility?) GC

Yes. There has been SO MUCH UNCERTAINTY about which ship... or any ship... or when, not to mention what about time for renovations, what about crew/training, and who knows what else... It *NEVER* made sense that there would be a ship sailing in a matter of months, or, worse, a matter of weeks, when they were still dealing with the purchase of the ship, or even the purchase of *which* ship!? No, it has never made sense. So when I first read that people had not just planned to sell homes in anticipation of a multi-year cruise, but... some had already done so... and ... WERE IN ISTANBUL WAITING TO BOARD... uh, waiting to board WHAT? I was... flabbergasted is perhaps a good word to use. Were some of the supposed passengers being given different information? Are there even *really* passengers in Istanbul who have sold homes? (I'm losing track: Has anyone posted who *personally* sold their home and went to Istanbul to "meet The Ship"?) And the nonsense about the quickly changing stories very recently. As I described this to DH earlier today, I prefaced it with, "Yes, I know this will sound like a skit from Saturday Night Live..." Befuddled is another good word... GC

That's only part of the "problem" in terms of ... what... "situational awareness", if not more general "issues", ahem. It was already announced that "The Ship" would be sailing from... ... AMSTERDAM: "...The cruise was originally due to depart Istanbul, Turkey, on November 1, but shortly before that date, departure was postponed to November 11 and relocated to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and then to November 30, again from Amsterdam..." Why were any of them still in Istanbul if they were told a few weeks ago that the ship would be sailing on November 11th, and from Amsterdam? GC

Agreed, not word salad! However, how about something like an "Executive Summary" for those of us with, uh, limited attention spans? 😉 That would truly be appreciated... the real highs/lows/etc. Maybe a few bullet points? Thanks! GC

Right. *How* could people sell their homes, pack up and head for the cruise when there still wasn't an actual ship ready to go? Apparently some sent "pods" of their belongings to bring along for the multi-year trip. And if even part of the linked story above can be believed (??), the nonsense continued (continues?) with short-lived promises/assurances of "another ship" or even a completely new company that presumably will have a ship ready to board in a couple of weeks. Really!? GC

Oh my.... that 3-year cruise is finally cancelled. They never actually got a ship! https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/three-year-cruise-canceled/index.html "...Some of the passengers who booked the 111 cabins sold are still in Istanbul, having made their way there ahead of the original departure date. Others say they have nowhere to return to, having sold or rented out their homes in anticipation of the round-the-world voyage, as well as jettisoning their possessions..." I can't even begin to imagine those who not only are already ready to board (but where!? when!?), but especially those who, even very early, SOLD homes so they could take the multi-year cruise. "What now!?" 😱 GC

Thanks again. I knew that crew costs were much higher (from your previous posts - thanks! 😉 ), but I had no idea they were *that* much higher! I also didn't realize that Mississippi River cruising was that popular, enough to add another boat, and one that is even more expensive to operate. All very interesting. GC

Ah, thanks very much. This is cost-effective for them, obviously (or so they hope). Is this an arrangement that isn't possible for ocean-going ships so the passenger cruises wouldn't need to have the foreign port or distant foreign port requirements, and there might be more like the NCL POA? I thought part of the problem was the prohibitive cost of ship-building in the USA. Thanks as always for your input! And Happy Thanksgiving. 🙂 GC

You mean that 2022 was "YEARS ago" and Google couldn't find it (it did find it), or there was another Viking cruise ship and car cargo ship collision that was indeed "YEARS" ago? GC

That article mentioned several problems Viking has had (and didn't mention that Viking Sky problem a few years ago!). But it also mentioned a Viking cruise ship on the Mississippi River. How is a foreign ship sailing and transporting passengers within the USA? Curious! GC

To get a quick start about how to transfer to airline partners, use Google for whichever card/award/points you have plus "airline partners". That won't show all the possible ways to shift and use points, but it will show the major ways to do this. Then click through to see how many points would be needed for each partner. Many of the cards are actually airline-affiliated cards, such as the American Airlines linked AAdvantage CitiCard Visa charge card. Those points are already logged with AA. However, when one gets points with Amex Membership Rewards, those aren't yet with any specific airline; those can be transferred to Amex's partner airlines. Note that in a some cases, one has more choice of use of points if they were gathered via that airline itself rather than transferred over (airlines might want to reward travelers who regularly fly with *them*). But you can get a very good starting overview just looking for the partners. One other trick (and this could change) is that at least with AAdvantage awards, one could sometimes fly on a partner airline in the same class (e.g., Business class) for *fewer* AA points than one would need to fly that class on American Airlines itself. Given that we much prefer the top international airlines anyway, this has been a win/win for us in the past! 🙂 GC

Yikes. I had not heard about that. How long did it take for those Navy experts to arrive on the ship? Gasp! GC

We *strongly* recommend that one speak with a travel insurance broker who can help you compare various third-party policy coverages. They will also be able to discuss (and answer any specific questions) how "pre-existing conditions" are handled with each type of policy. (The definitions are very different than what we usually think of in "everyday life". Further, different insurers/policies may have different requirements, so be very careful about the definitions for any policy that you plan to use.) If one starts the travel insurance within 10-20 days (state specific) and one is fit to travel on the day the insurance is started (nope, can't call from that hospital room...! 😱 Not even for a trip far in the future), then it is usually possible to get a policy that does NOT exclude any pre-existing conditions. This is what we always do. We make a reservation, pay the deposit, and same day, call to start the travel insurance, which means insuring just that deposit amount, so it's not like paying for the insurance for the entire trip months - or years - in advance. Then, as we make additional payments, or add other non-refundable costs, we add that coverage and pay a bit more for the extra insurance. We *do* get the Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage, for peace of mind. With third-party insurers, this does cost extra, and it usually [but check *your* policy!] provides 75% cash back, *not* a credit that must be used on a specific cruise line within some time limit. We are among many here on CC who recommend that you at least speak with someone at www.TripInsuranceStore.com - they can help with questions about a variety of policies from a variety of insurers. There is no extra charge to the traveler for using a broker/agent. But please CALL them. The online policy summaries simply don't provide enough detail, and the discussions will help them to find the best policy for your specific needs (frail elderly relative not traveling with you? Work concerns? Pets?....). We have had several claims (alas), but all were paid promptly, with no nonsense, including a few large claims. GC

Note: To be safe, make sure your passports do not expire until at least 6 months after your scheduled *departure* from each country (not your arrival date). If there is a shorter requirement, not problem, but you don't want the reverse situation... (You might be denied boarding at the initial embarkation port, where they check passports along with other documents.) GC

Welcome to CC! Once you are onboard, there are no "bed checks" at night. 😆 As long as there are no noise problems (or underage issues...), there is no interest in who is where, etc. So the only "problems", to the extent there are problems at all, is how to get access for everyone for the cabins and also how to get the charges charged to the right person (and thus charge card). We've never had any difficulty asking at Guest Services (or a Concierge or whomever) for extra keycards so that "our friends/relatives could come to our room whenever they wish with our permission". We then get extra keycards that will open the "other" door, but do not have charge privileges, but I assume that those could be assigned with permission, too. We NEVER put a cabin number on the card, lest it be lost and someone else finds it... We'll mark cards with a permanent marker, perhaps something like, "Grandpa's cabin" or "Mary's cabin", etc., so they don't get all mixed up. Then we can sort of re-assign who sleeps where... the grandkids can sleep in the suite with the grandparents instead of in the family cabin with the parents or whatever... We *always* tell the steward (or butler, too, if there is one) about any change in "who is in the cabin", and IF this results in extra work, we tip appropriately (including something up front while we thank them for their extra help). This might be if sleep sofas are being used that weren't expected from the official number of passengers in the cabin, etc. Or if we request an extra crib (where no wee ones were listed), etc. Keep in mind that the original "Muster Stations" for the lifeboat drill will need to remain the same as the original ticketing, or the headcounts might not work. (And for official drills, like the first afternoon/evening, they DO check that everyone shows up at the right station, so don't try to change those assignments.) In your situation, it seems it would be even more simple: two adults per cabin booked, two adults per cabin as used. (And in case one person/couple is picking up all of the expenses, then the issue of which keycard goes to which charge card doesn't matter anyway; there's no need to split charges differently, etc.) First get settled as the reservations, and then get the extra "guest" keycards. This isn't uncommon, even if "sleeping" is the same as the reservations. Guest keycards can be just so the "others" can come and go as they please. (And by the way, when we have family members with "guest keycards", we usually tell them jus to knock and unlock the door and come right in... but if we are sleeping [one perk of Geezerdom is lots of naps!] and we don't want to be interrupted, then we'll just bolt the door, although that's rarely an issue.) Enjoy your cruise! GC