GeezerCouple

I doubt there are any such documents that are "legal" worldwide. But keep in mind, a medical POA/proxy is likely to be needed (at least initially) in an emergency situation. In that case, most emergency medical providers will do whatever they thing is immediately necessary, with the one caveat being some places my require up front payment. Anytime a medical POA/proxy is actually used where there is time to start reading something, chances are probably pretty good [note waffly wording!] that the providers just want *something* to cover themselves. We would always travel with grands (if without parents) with both the custodial permission and a medical permission, both notarized, even if notarization isn't required. We want something as "official" as possible "just in case". It's not hard to arrange in advance, and one can keep it around (plus copies on devices and in the cloud). GC

Welcome to CruiseCritic! How long (#pages) is the "ticket contract"? I'm not sure just which document that is referring to, as we have no cruises currently booked (so can't look). However, why not just bring it along "just in case"? And the "instructions" are to bring it... Our goal when traveling (and when not traveling!) is to try to keep stress to a minimum. So instead of worrying whether we "should have" brought a document along... we'd just bring it. We do that with the full policy for our travel insurance, too. (That way, in case we aren't sure about whether something that happens after we've left home would be coverd... we can check.) And yes, most of the docs we also keep on our laptops and in the cloud (this includes copies of charge cards, passports, tickets, etc.). "Better safe than sorry", and so we can just relax and enjoy. 🙂 Enjoy your cruise! GC

This was terrific! 😁 However, my first thought was: Do any of these organizations actually exist? [The post above from Cruisingagain2022 indicates that at least some do!] ChatGPT has that quirky (!?) tendency to hallucinate and just make things up. On another forum, several members have been asking it to "give sources", and the following is a real example of the type of reply that ChatGPT gave about "sources" that appears after an elaborate response about a person/location: "User: Please cite your sources for the above. "It does not refer to any specific factual sources." 😡 Ouch! (And every time, each biography - some real people, some from major novels - had some accurate information, and some totally... "not accurate" information!) GC

Thanks. I didn't know about the non-stop from JFK-SIN. I thought the JFK-SIN was only the flight that stopped in FRA, and that the only non-stop was from Newark. We never explored the JFK-SIN non-stop. Which plane is the Newark flight on? We'd love to do that again! (Yes, really. And the Book The Cook food was *amazing*!) GC

Doesn't the JFK-SIN stop in FRA? (And I think pax can even get off/on there?) The Newark-SIN is non-stop. I wonder how the routes (and times?) have changed. When we took that flight about 3+ years ago (just before Covid arrived), we also flew East (for some reason I had expected we'd go West), and flew over Moscow and spent a lot of time in Russian airspace. GC

Is the NY (Newark) to Singapore on Singapore Airlines still the longest non-stop passenger flight? GC

OP, you should also check the US State Dept website about a form when a minor is not traveling with both parents. Princess may separately also have their own form. This should be something where the parent not traveling with the minor (in this case, both of them) signs the form >> and has it notarized, to document that the minor has permission to travel with the other adult. This is partly to avoid trafficking, but in the US, it is important to help prevent non-custodial parents taking the child out of the country without the permission of the custodial parent. When a "friend", e.g., you, takes the child out of the country, your name wouldn't match either name on the minor's birth certificate; hence, the notarized statement. If legal guardianship is involved, then that document should be available. Will all of this be required? But IF it is and you don't have the proper documentation, the minor may not be allowed to leave the country/board the ship. And IF Princess has separate requirements about passports being *required*, then that would be necessary, too. From what donaldsc posted above, it seems that Princess does have this requirement. GC

This change has sounded interesting. We need to take a look at the itinerary. (We were on the Trollfjord, and have very fond memories of it.) On the other hand, we were fascinated by the beauty of all the little towns the ship stopped at. It was the towns themselves, the picturesque backgrounds (stunning scenery), plus the water... and the interesting routes the ship took to get to some of the ports. That all turned out to be a very special part of the trip. We did the RT, so we called at each port twice, albeit once during the day and the other direction at night (given the time of year we traveled). We weren't quite sure what to expect, but it turned out to be one of our favorite trips ever. As for the question about the Oslo-Bergen train, yes that was incredible. The middle section of the route especially... that was an almost otherworldly experience, the scenery was so stunning and unusual. We had stayed in Oslo for a few days, and then a few days in Bergen, and we flew home from Bergen the day after the ship returned. GC

Having had what was probably Noro on a cruise about 20 years ago, and it might have been Noro at a hotel ~5-6 years ago, there is NO way I would have been able to "leave the ship" for half a day. I would definitely not have been able to leave the cabin for that amount of time. 😱 The thought of an absolute directive like that, with some passengers ill like that... is actually laughable. The second time, although we also don't know for sure what "it" was, I ended up with the hotel calling an ambulance, per instructions from a physician the hotel arranged to stop by to see me a couple of times. But I kept getting worse... Again, I was NOT going to be "out in town" for a few hours, to put it mildly. We weren't on a cruise, but we had stayed at a hotel the previous week at a hotel where there were a lot of after-cruise travelers. I'm sure that not everyone on the ship who "has it" is in the medical center, or has even told any HAL staff about it... I guess I'd have needed to go to the medical center for the "time out", if we really had to vacate for a while. (oooh... *no* pun intended! 🙄 ) GC

Wine that you carry on board and do not pay corkage... is for enjoyment in your cabin or suite only. The corkage fee is for wine that you drink elsewhere. Please don't abuse Oceania's liberal wine policy by sneaking a glass of your own wine into a public area. If that's done too much, they may change the policy, and that would be a real shame for many. Thank you. GC

That's a very good question. We have responded to many questions about travel insurance, but we have had quite a few policies and several claims (including a few large ones). So we can indeed speak to the process of selecting a policy (with the help of www.TripInsuranceStore.com) and of getting claims paid (from Travel Insured, the insurer that TIS helped us find). It is important to buy "the right policy", but that may not be known or appreciated until/unless one does file a claim. And one can't know if the policy someone helped you to purchase (or simply sold to you, perhaps only online) is indeed satisfactory for your needs unless....... I think the complaints about claims are also problemmatic. Many of those are because the policy never covered the reason for the claim in the first place. Yes, that's a serious problem, but many people seem happy with their online purchases, and so much of the critical "fine print" simply isn't included in the online policy summaries. TIS takes a lot of time to help someone find a policy that best fits *their* needs/interests, although they also have an online process that could bypass the interaction. And they will help with claims if requested. (We had them look over our first claim, which was a biggie, and that made us feel more comfortable when we submitted it, although I'm sure we'd have been fine anyway.) I wish we did not have all the experience with travel insurance claims, but we do. So we can indeed speak from experience, and with quite a few different types of claims. We "won't leave home without it" (or at least, not for foreign trips!). GC

Here is a link to the CC section on travel insurance. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/ You might want to browse through some of the existing threads in addition to asking your question there. GC

Good one! 🤣 GC

THIS! Exactly! Oh, how wonderful that big closet is, for a multitude of sins, er, uses! 😁 So nice to push <whatever> in there quickly, and... shut the door. And voila! It's gone....! And the suite looks just wonderful, all nice and neat. And yes, the luggage, too. So convenient. We will *really* miss that closet, in it's old configuration. GC

Does this mean they no longer offer a choice from either Polo or Toscana at no additional cost, other than the Privee room charge? GC

We definitely prefer the Jacques menu. Some real favorites there! 🙂 We happen to enjoy a nice leisurely dinner. As for the timing, is Ember a set seating time? If not, who is making you "linger" if you don't want to? The way it used to be (in Jacques, or the MDR, etc.), one could linger or not, as one pleased, and also depending upon how much one wanted to eat. GC

Here is how we think about connections, timing, etc.: We think about what happens 'downstream' from any snafu. So for an awards ticket from Australia to the USA... how easy would it be to get on another flight? This may depend upon your class of service. For example, with F (or even business), there may not be a lot of open seats on that next flight. There often aren't a lot of those premium seats to begin with, of course, never mind needing availability at the last moment. For economy, there may be more availability, but these days... is that still true with the apparent travel surge? So in a case like this (and we've been in this situation several times, with awards tickets) we spend the night at/near the connecting airport. That allows a lot of time for a delay on that first flight. Once thus far, we were able to stay at an air-side hotel, which made it a lot easier... no need for customs and immigrations and then security again. Nice! And we will *not* take a "late flight" to the connecting long-haul. We'll try to allow at least 2 additional flights in case of delay, and always at least one... unless there is no way at all to do that. And it depends upon whether it is one ticket, two, or perhaps a family traveling together, etc. Most of our decision making about this depends upon "how difficult it is likely to be to get the next flight" should things go south (heh, instead of north! 😉 ) at the connection. GC

That is a trip I would *NOT* want to take! 😱 GC

You might want to ask your hotel for recommendations, too. GC

There is a complete section of CC devoted to travel insurance: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/ You might start browsing there to get a sense of questions, answers, and types of policies, and also to ask questions. We get our travel insurance from www.TripInsuranceStore.com They are a broker (no extra charge to traveler) and have policies from several vetted travel insurers. And they can help with a claim if necessary. We get coverage through TIS from Travel Insured, and we've had several claims (including some large ones), and all were paid promptly. But *your* insurance needs could be quite different from ours. TIS can help you figure out the best policy for your situation. But CALL them. The online summaries simply can't get into all of the fine print or the details of what your particular insurance concerns/needs are. GC

Glad you liked the cruise so much! We fell in love with Oceania almost immediately on our first cruise on the Riviera. (We do still go on other lines, due to specific itineraries, but we feel "at home" on the Riviera. That particular ship has a lot that appeals to us!) For those smaller, independent tours, do make sure to sign up for the Roll Call for your specific cruise, here in CC. That's where we've organized a few private tours and asked if others wanted to join us. For example, we charted a big catamaran, and instead of having something like 20-24 (not sure what the max is for "public" tours), we had something like 10 or 12. We did that again another time, with about the same number. So you know, we just contacted one of the tour operators that "looked good", asked a bunch of questions, and then asked about chartering the entire afternoon (or full day). In one case it was with a tour operator we had used a few times before, after learning about them here on CC some years ago. Or you can just find your own "private" tour the same way, without including others. We've done that, too, and had excursions with just the two of us. That way, we can plan *our* itinerary, and also *our* speed (and occasional rests), and also spend more time at A and less time at B if we prefer that, etc. Just handle that in advance with the tour operator by email. GC

Sure, it is definitely *possible* that you chose the same 4 digit (was it 4 in your case?) code the previous occupant chose. But they are gone. What's the chance they told the steward what it was "just in case the next occupant happens to select the same 4 digit code"? Really? The point is that YOU selected that code. It doesn't matter if someone else used it 1 year ago, or on the previous cruise. YOU selected it; YOU changed the code for your current use. Full stop. GC

[emphasis added] Right! YOU selected the code. That is, YOU changed it from whatever it was before. GC

?? Well, how did you select a combination...? That's what we are all referring to... selecting a combination to use. What are you referring to? What did you do differently the last time, vs. all the previous times you used a hotel safe? How else could a hotel in-room safe be used? There obviously can't be a combination posted on the wall next to the safe... 😱 GC

If you did *not* set a combination, how did you know what it would be? GC