GeezerCouple

Thanks! I thought it was just announced recently. ETA: Also, I'm fairly sure that on our first Oceania cruise, there was a $150 or maybe even $250 (?) pp "admin" fee or such, that was non-refundable but could be applied to another cruise within a year. I don't remember looking for that wording later. This would have been a bit something like 8 years ago. Was this in fact a policy back then? And was it later relaxed? GC

I would check with your own physician or a travel medicine clinic, rather than a bunch of anony-cruisers. Also, your own personal medical history/condition may lead to one choice or the other. ... As might your age... GC

Wait! This new policy was just announced, is that correct? And Oceania is retroactively applying it to those who booked since September 1st? Sounds a bit like the "you can get a FCC until..." until you accept the offer and then it's, "Oops, sorry, we cancelled that! No FCC for you!" I hope they didn't really do this with the deposits! GC

What should matter is: What was the cancellation policy at the time OP paid their deposit, NOT what was it changed to later! GC

I agree with Meander Ingwa, but I'd suggest asking BOTH your physician and a pharmacist. Unfortunately, at many pharmacies, the only drug interactions that are likely to be caught involve those dispensed by the pharmacist, not the OTC meds such as naprosyn or... Bonine (unless it's actually a regular Rx). The pharmacist does specialize in the "drugs". But your physician specializes a bit more in *you*, and may know how *you* react to things (or don't react). And IF you then decide it's okay, then *please* try BOTH of them at home - together - well before you are leaving. I'd do 2 days in a row, as some of these meds can stay in the system somewhat, and how long they stay can also vary a bit from person to person. GC

I had the same thoughts as leaveitallbehind... I also recommend *calling* someone to get the single fare. Don't even mention what you have seen already. Is it correct to assume you are looking at a fare online somewhere? There are times when the way it displays online can be misleading, or, well, a better word might be "confusing", although I have no idea whether that is happening here. An example of that can be when pricing 3 in a cabin. Depending upon how it is displayed, it could show the regular full price for pax 1 and 2, and that could lead someone to think *each* passenger is paying that same "full price". But if one looks at the total, and divides by 3... "each passenger" is indeed paying less. HOWEVER... "how much each passenger pays" is actually up to the passengers to figure out. They may want to split it evening, or perhaps the person sleeping on the sofa bed pays less... or however they decide. And the cruiseline won't know about that. But at first glance, it might look like it's going to be the same "per person" fare for 2 *or* for 3 in the cabin. I'm guessing something like that is happening with OP's situation. Or it's actually a software glitch (?). I'd call the cruiseline directly. Or you could try a travel agent first to see what they quote. GC

Heh! That's funny, but it makes sense, unfortunately. 😉 I just tried, searching with "hotels in Nice, France", and a bunch showed up, including links to places like Expedia (which seems to be where "all roads lead" these days...). Does that not work for you (or other "conglomerate hotel sites")? Asking here on CC may certainly help, where you can ask specific questions of someone who has stayed someplace, of course. As for "near the beach" or "in town", what are you hoping to do or see while there? GC

Here is information, and a place to ask for more information, about French ports: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/462-france-ports/ Enjoy!! GC

Part of the issue may involve whether you would even have permission to "arrive in Germany and *stay* there" as a tourist rather than as a cruise ship passenger, where you are always there as part of the cruise. Keep in mind that *usually*, when one gets off a cruise ship at an interim port, there may be some sorts of "immigration/customs". But compare that with when one arrives at a foreign airport: There are often questions about "how long are you planning to stay", "Where will you be staying", "What is the purpose of your visit", etc. Walking off a cruise ship and entering the port and then the "city/country" is quite different, and there may *not* be any regular "immigrations/customs" personnel on duty... Or, depending upon the port, maybe there are. NCL would probably need to run interference on this to find out or to make it happen if possible. There may not be appropriate immigrations officials to process someone who is *not* planning to leave with the ship when it sails. (And don't underestimate what might be involved, depending upon location, when staying behind because one "missed the ship"... That's not a "back door" way to arrive and *stay* in a country without going through regular international arrivals procedures.) GC

If you purchased your travel insurance from an agent or broker, that is who you should ask. They will be very familiar with the specific policy that you have. My understanding of the 3rd party travel insurance we get (keep in mind, policies can differ among different states, so it's not necessarily anything generalizable) is that we must be "fit to travel" the day the insurance is started, and also - I think! - on the dates of other cruise and insurance payments. And if it turns out that there is something during the "additional planning/payment" times that interferes, that can become a claim to get a refund of the trip costs that are non-refundable. What we've done (slightly different situation, but similar need) was to have the physician write on letterhead that "Mr. Geezer is fit to travel today without restrictions..." In that particular case, Mr. GC had recovered from a medical emergency that had required a claim for a complete cancellation of a $$$ trip less than 2 weeks before our planned departure. It took a couple of months, but the day he got the OK, we went home, made a reservation, paid a deposit, and started the insurance! All went well, and we had one of our best cruises. 🙂 We did get the guidance of our travel insurance broker (Steve, of TripInsuranceStore, often mentioned here on CC, which is how we learned about him). So first, are you "fit to travel" today, NOW? (not counting what *might* be happening in the future)? If you prefer to cancel, then ask the insurer/agent/broker about cancelling and also getting the travel money back. If you are outside penalty, then you should be able to get your insurance money back (no loss at this time, etc.) and also your deposit. Or... that's how *our* policy would work. ETA: Or maybe we'd get a credit for the premiums for another trip within a certain time period... not quite sure. Contact the insurer if you have no agent/broker, and -->> get the name of the person you speak with and make a note of the number you called, the person(s) you spoke with, and the time. Those calls are recorded, but if you want to rely upon what they told you, you'd want to help them locate the call(s). [We also always ask for a pointer to the precise words in the policy T&C that apply, etc.] Keep in mind that some people make reservations/deposits 2+ years in advance! Obviously, all sorts of things could happen in the meantime that would not interfere with that far-off trip. But maybe some/many/most of the events "might have interfered"... but didn't. Get a note from your physician that you are fit to travel now IF that seems prudent (ask insurer/agent/etc. about this, too). And perhaps that with what is known now, there wouldn't be a problem with the trip or such. Good luck, especially with the medical concerns! GC

Ah, but if your *Butler* is telling you that, at least you do have the option of dining in your suite with your choices of Jacques offerings! We used that quite a lot, and especially if we are a bit tired from an excursion or such, in which case we are definitely *not* in "Jacques-appropriate attire"! 😉 We also order from Red Ginger... but apparently that wonderful sea bass is no more? 😞 (Is it still really sea bass in Jacques, if I'm even remembering correctly?) GC

Yup, we got that!! But the math that works for "them" may NOT yield an outcome that some of us want. No surprise there, but possibly an unfortunate outcome for some of us. GC

Well, I'd certainly assume that they "did the numbers"! But what they expect to work for them, on average, may *not* be what works for us. That was my point. And there are clearly others like us. But O has presumably determined that their new pricing will "work" for them, on average. GC

As far as we are concerned, this new SM pricing is no different (I think?) than some of the luxury/all-inclusive lines. However, before Oceania changed to this type of "all inclusive" model, that was a VERY important factor for us: We'd get the premium service and amenities but *not* pay for beverages and excursions that we would almost never use. [As mentioned above, we drink fine wine, and those bottles are never (almost never!?) included in the "all you can drink" offers; and we prefer our own excursions, just by ourselves or perhaps along with a few other passengers when we are starting from a cruise ship.] Oceania was really almost a perfect match, emphasis on "was". I'm not sure what we'll do. We are getting older, and had already wondered if we should not be too far from good medical facilities. Unfortunate, but that's how things have changed for us. But we wouldn't have hesitated to take Oceania on, for example, many Mediterranean cruises given this concern. But it depends upon the total price, of course... with vague estimates of the approximate extra cost when the booze and excursions are added. Perhaps it would push us into the luxury lines if/when we do cruise? TBD. GC

Perhaps it's due to the fact that Azamara does not *also* have larger ships like the Riviera and Marina? Due to those, the comments on the O forum are more likely to mention (or be based upon, albeit silently?) knowing there are other, larger ("better" for some, not for others) choices with similar (not identical!) levels of service and amenities. And these "other choices" aren't invoking "other cruise lines". GC

I would have thought that "connecting" would be the appropriate terminology... ... until we ended up in a nice hotel with the two "connecting rooms" we had requested. Even the manager insisted that because they had a common wall, they were "connected". I wish I were making that up. The hotel was *full*, so we were stuck with that for the entire week. 😡 We had it all in writing, but it didn't matter, because they *insisted* that they gave us exactly what we had requested. (And this was in a location where there was no place else to go.) Ever since, we try to be as SPECIFIC as possible, including describing what we want in more than one way if possible. And we now try to call a few days to a week in advance, but that works better with hotels than with cruise ships. One can't speak with the "Manager On Duty" of the actual floating hotel/cruise ship as one can at a land hotel. The latter also don't block rooms months or even years in advance. They do have the ability to assign rooms closer to arrival, etc. As for cruise ships, one can see the deck plan which usually shows where there are "interior connecting doors". We also request "no upgrade", because what someone else may think is "better" may well NOT be what we think is better. We select what we want and will be happy with, etc. GC

I'm very sorry for your loss. But about the keycard for someone else's cabin or suite... this is very easy. and done frequently. (Who gave you a "hard time"?) The "extra" guest keycard will allow entry to the relevant cabin/suite, but will not allow any charges. All that is needed (or should be!) is that the occupant in the cabin/suite needs to give permission, obviously. What we've done is to put some sort of code on the extra "guest" keycard with permanent marker (usually at Guest Services, etc., where we get the extra keycard). We then put some code on it, but NOT the actual cabin/suite number. (It could be initials or "Nana G" or whatever is easily identifiable.) Also, cruiser4305, try to get adjoining cabins with INTERIOR connecting doors. (Don't let someone helping you with reservations confuse this with "adjacent" cabins. You want doors between the two rooms such that no one needs to go into a public corridor to go between the rooms. You can keep them locked as needed, but you'll have the ability to open them when it's convenient (which might be most/all of the time). Enjoy! GC

When we were on Trollfjord (wish we could join you!!), I'm pretty sure that only coffee/tea and some plain water were included (aka "free" in some minds) in the fare. I'm guessing that we had an especially talented bartender in the top deck bar, forward (not much behind those wonderful double height forward view seating areas (!). DH is the coffee aficionado and he got lots of cappucinos/etc., but I'm a chocoholic. So I asked about a hot chocolate at the bar we tended to go to (is there more than one?), even though the ones in the little snack shop were... not particularly good... as in, like packets of powdered "Swiss Miss" or whatever. So I did not repeat that little, er, treat at that location. I mentioned to this nice bartender how I really hadn't cared for that one downstairs/etc,, and he offered to make me one. WELL! That was The.Richest.Hot.Chocolate that I have ever had. I do *not* ever want to know how many calories were in it. It was well worth the price, unlike that other one. So of course, to show my appreciation. I felt required to get them frequently and each time to compliment him, right? 😉 So I don't know if those are the standard issue "Hurtigruten/Trollfjord Bar Hot Chocolate" or if that one bartender just made them that way. GC

Very sorry about how this has affected everyone, including those with more difficult situations, etc. But about your credit card being "held up"... are you sure? I take it you are still in the UK, so it may be different there, or perhaps it's one type of card/issuer vs. another, but we've *never* had any interruption in ability to charge while a dispute was being "investigated". However, we've only once had a "high value" dispute, and that was with a debit card (NEVER AGAIN! 😱) and at least that didn't take too long. In case it's any help for the future (not that this nonsense should be recurring!), Amex tends to be incredibly helpful with any disputes. The disputed amount is sort of "returned", until there is a resolution, so no worries about interest either, if it takes time. And they've never sided with the seller or given us grief, which is also nice. I hope you find something else for pleasant you and your daughter to do. Hope all continues to go well. GC

This may be another advantage of third-party travel insurance, not through any vendor, including the cruise line or a charge card that was used to pay for the trip (some/all/?). We've had a claim for a complete cancellation of a cruise (plus some land, but those were mostly refundable), and we booked airfare with points, as we always do. Included in the payments were the fees we paid to "re-bank" the awards points. And in several other claims, the air (with points) wasn't a factor in the claim, but there were claims during the trip. There was never any mention of the fact that we used points to "get there and back" rather than paying cash that was used to figure the total cost of the trip - which was then used to determine the cost of the coverage. GC

Oh... sigh... Without DI Jimmy Perez... 😲 He MADE the show. Farewell, Douglas Henshall! And we really did *not* enjoy Agatha Raisin (watched very little of it), so having that actress isn't a plus for us at all. Thanks for the update anyway. GC

Wow. This is quite a surprise in *any* cabin. However, in an accessible cabin, to *not* have the phone VERY easily - yes - "accessible" - in case of any emergency or urgent need....!?? 😱 Really not okay! GC

I haven't been on either ship. The "Crown Loft" doesn't sound like a tiny cabin. What size it is (and its bathroom)? We are very unlikely to sail on any of the smaller Oceania ships unless there was some extraordinary itinerary, and that could happen. However, in that case, we'd only go if we could get a Vista suite. On Oceania's Riviera, we get a PH, but the PH on the smaller ships is nothing like that. Even the regular veranda cabins on the smaller ships are nothing like the regular veranda type cabins on the larger O ships. Just check the space and setup carefully, especially if you haven't cruised in small cabins before! GC

Please see another thread in the Travel Insurance section of CC: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2971794-trip-cancellation-insurance/#comment-66381888 (Pro Tip: This is a good example of how being more specific in one's question title/header can help a *lot*. Labeling a post/thread "Travel Insurance" or similar in the Travel Insurance section is... not helping you to have the right eyeballs find you... This obviously isn't restricted to the current post/thread/etc. "Help us to help you!" and such. 😉 ) GC ETA: Ooops! Sorry... apparently this initial post was first in the Ask A Cruise Question, which makes a difference. Still, the more specific one can be, the more likely one is to get some input from those familiar with that situation.

I'm not seeing any specific domestic flight change timing. If I'm overlooking it, could you post a more precise link (and many thanks!). As I mentioned, we are NOT headed to Amsterdam. We now know our flight is being cut (thanks again!), but the exact date the flight stops flying could make a huge difference to us. (Er, not that we'd necessarily trust any time table announced now, but it could help us figure "higher risk or lower risk", etc., as we consider alternate plans.) And thanks yet again! 😉 GC