GeezerCouple

A CC (Ooops, "CruiseCritic") member recently (only 2-3 weeks ago) started this very mysterious thread: "MDR"? Typing the words out "will only take a couple of extra seconds." 😉 GC

When we travelled and had tiny vials of special eye drops (each little vial was for one application only), we asked the hotel to give us two ice buckets. We kept one filled with water and ice, and had the little vials in a double ziploc baggie. I put a few coins in with them to keep it fully submerged. The extra bucket was to request more ice as needed. It worked very well. (Using icepacks/etc., and getting that package through airport security took a lot of extra time, but we were prepared for that.) GC

I was always very curious. My first call to duty arrived about a month before the scheduled Court date. Unfortunately, I was moving in 2 weeks, not far away, but a different county. When I called (no email/etc., back then), I offered to be there anyway, but the clerk's office said that wouldn't be legal if I no longer owned a house there. Next time, I had been ill, and there was too much chance I'd be unable to serve even if postponed a short time. We just couldn't know. And then I guess I aged out? However, DH was called when he was a bit older. He showed up, and surprise... he was selected. He was also voted Foreperson. It was a heavy responsibility, because depending upon the outcome, the person might end up in prison for several-to-many years, and it was apparently a questionable situation. Huge responsibility! GC

Ages ago, this was "orienteering", on foot with a real compass, etc., through assorted forests, etc. I miss those days! (But notice our UserID name...! 🙄 ) GC

This is what I just posted on that other thread: ----------- Here is what our travel insurance policy states, explicitly, about jury duty: "... “Other Covered Reasons” means: a. You or Your Traveling Companion being hijacked, quarantined, required to serve on a jury (notice of jury duty must be received after Your Effective Date), served with a court order to appear as a witness in a legal action in which You or Your Traveling Companion is not a party (except law enforcement officers); ..." [emphasis added] Needless to say, other insurers may handle this differently, and perhaps our insurer handles it differently with other types of travel insurance coverages. This is but one example of why it is *SO* important to read the full terms and conditions (T&Cs) of the specific policy that one is considering! Many (most? all?) travel insurers give a short period of time (e.g., several days) for one to read in more depth or perhaps ask questions of others, during which one could request the policy be cancelled and money refunded. GC -----------

Here is what our travel insurance policy states, explicitly, about jury duty: "... “Other Covered Reasons” means: a. You or Your Traveling Companion being hijacked, quarantined, required to serve on a jury (notice of jury duty must be received after Your Effective Date), served with a court order to appear as a witness in a legal action in which You or Your Traveling Companion is not a party (except law enforcement officers); ..." [emphasis added] Needless to say, other insurers may handle this differently, and perhaps our insurer handles it differently with other types of travel insurance coverages. This is but one example of why it is *SO* important to read the full terms and conditions (T&Cs) of the specific policy that one is considering! Many (most? all?) travel insurers give a short period of time (e.g., several days) for one to read in more depth or perhaps ask questions of others, during which one could request the policy be cancelled and money refunded. GC

I guess if you don't like the civic responsibility that goes along with, well, civilization, you could try to find an island someplace and live like "Lord of the Flies" with some other similarly-minded people. GC

Uh, right. ... just like the Police and Fire Departments are "forced' and we have been "conditioned to just accept" these things. Also, ambulance service, roads, coast guard. Yep, "forced on us". And YES, we've been "conditioned" to "accept" the police, fire, etc.... when needed... 😡 GC

That can get tricky. Make *sure* that the coverages are equivalent, unless it's for part that one doesn't care about. For example, "pre-existing conditions" can cause problems (as in, "denials of claims") for some. But different insurers/policies can define "pre-existing condition" quite differently... or offer a policy where there are no restrictions about pre-existing conditions to start with. GC

Not a chance with that budget. GC

I sometimes wonder about the "pool" of prospective jurors who would/could be available for such an extended time period, and some are even longer. They may not meet every day (but perhaps some do?), but one can't plan regular work around something like that. Who are they likely to be?' Okay, retirees who would/could postpone those cruises and other vacations, but younger folks...? ?? GC

To those posting recently (most of this thread is about a year old), in case you haven't read all of the previous posts... Please consider calling a travel insurance agent or a broker (who deals with several insurance companies and would therefore have a nice variety of policies to discuss). TALK with them. Not only would you get to ask questions, but they can then ask questions of you... to help them decide which policies might be of most use for your specific needs. We are among those here on CC who recommend www.TripInsuranceStore.com They are VERY patient, answer questions (and more questions!), and they do not try to "upsell". And IF it were necessary, they can help with a claim. (We had them review our first claim form, "just in case", as we'd never done anything like that before. After that, we just fill it all out, include receipts/documentation, and send it off. But it's nice to know there is "back up" IF there were to be a problem.) It can be *very* difficult to read/understand ALL of the assorted "fine print" of an insurance policy, all of the Terms & Conditions (T&Cs). It's too late AFTER the fact to find out that something you thought was covered... wasn't... As I've mentioned elsewhere, we've had quite a few claims, including some large claims, and they were paid without nonsense, and *promptly*. Our ONLY "complaint", if that word could be used in this context, is that we needed to file any travel insurance claims, and especially that we needed to file several. 😞 GC

[emphasis added] Whoa. We are not suggesting they stop normal activities! This is about travel insurance. ... and whether there would be coverage should a specific medical event occur. And I can ASSURE you that *IF* OP has another detached retina while traveling (or perhaps other related medical "event") it **WILL** be up to the TRAVEL INSURANCE COMPANY to determine whether there was any related/relevant "pre-existing condition". They won't care what I say, and very *importantly*, they won't care one bit that *you* declared there was not any pre-existing medical condition. (... not unless you happen to be on that particular travel insurer's medical staff, with decision-making authority, etc.) Full stop. And whether there was a pre-existing medical condition will depend in good part on precisely how that particular travel insurance company (that specific insurer, not other insurers, and not other people) defined "pre-existing medical condition". Have you actually read the definition of "pre-existing medical condition" in several of the insurers' policies? Sometimes it is sufficient that one was simply seen within a certain period of time by a medical practitioner about something, or a medicine prescribed... or even a *suggestion* that a medicine be taken, even if the patient declines to get the prescription filled, or some medical test be taken... or even suggested even if the patient doesn't have it done... ... to have it be determined by the insurer that there was indeed a pre-existing condition. GC

Whether it is a "pre-existing condition" would depend upon the wording of the specific insurance policy one has, and also how the insurer "interprets" that. We always get coverage that has NO exclusions for pre-existing conditions, so the possible issue never comes up. GC

Yes, they'd probably need to call to get a no-cost change. However, the airlines often have a required minimum time change to get the freebie. Whether this is enough... I don't know. They'll find out when they call! (We'd never schedule it this close anyway, so a 1 or 2 hour difference wouldn't be a problem. Having the first flight arrive AFTER the second flight already left!?? Uh, yup, PROBLEM!! 😱 We want to relax at the end of a trip! 🙂 ) GC

This sounds like one trip... or have I missed that one of the locations is a stay back at your own home? It sounds like you should just insure this as a "trip", and make sure to get the types of coverages that *you* want. Different policies can have different coverage types, different exclusions, different maximum amounts, etc. I'd suggest contacting a travel insurance broker who could help you select from several options. CALL so they can discuss your specific situation with them to help you find the best fit. We are among many here on CC who use www.TripInsuranceStore.com (But again, CALL; the online policy summaries cannot capture the fine print, and your own situation may have special details.) GC

I'm not quite following. If the airline is changing flight times significantly, it should be possible to have the flights adjusted without change fees. I'm not sure I would have just "waited" if my flight "dissappeared" for a few weeks (rather than a very short time, perhaps while a website was updated) without making sure there were suitable plans in place. (What if that flight had never been "put back"? And the new time certainly does *not* seem suitable!) The longer one waits to contact the airline to make any adjustments, the less likely it might be that seats are still available on a flight at a suitable/preferred time. Unfortunately, airlines do not always notify passengers when there are non-trivial flight time changes. We've had connecting flights, both on the same airline, same ticket, where suddenly the "first flight" was re-scheduled... to arrive several hours *after* the second flight was scheduled to depart. And yet we heard nothing from the airline; we found out by monitoring regularly. Because it was the airline's responsibility, we were then allowed to get ticketed on a different schedule that we preferred, but one that had previously not been allowed. This had involved award travel, so there had been no "award seats" remaining. After the flight time switcheroo, we had our choice of any flight if there were *any* seats at all. But we had to be very pro-active. That shouldn't be necessary, but... it can be. 😠 GC

When we looked into the possibility of getting an annual travel insurance plan, one thing was explained to us that we hadn't thought about (having never before thought about an annual plan at all, so no surprise!): IF one hits the maximum amount that can be covered/paid and still has other trips planned within that year, it may be too late to get any useful coverage for the remaining trip(s). That is, if "single trip" policies required starting the coverage within a certain timing of the first payment, or any other "deadline" of any sort, that may be impossible if one is "caught" suddenly needing to insure a trip that one thought would have been insured with that annual plan. That alone made it a non-starter for us. Also, the maximum total amount of coverage, at least when we investigated annual plans, was woefully low, given the totals that our trips had rather quickly started to cost. [That "total cost" issue was sort of a good news problem, as it meant we were having *such* good times, that we had pretty quickly upped the budget once we started this stage of our lives! 🙂 ] But for some situations, annual plans could be very useful indeed. Just make sure that "all the fine print" would work for you, or that you are willing to be fully/partly unisured for a trip or two at the end of the "coverage year". That could work for "trip costs", which are capped, and mostly predictable... but medical costs could be something else entirely! And *double* check about pre-existing medical conditions (including how the specific policy defines those) and maximum payments if you are looking for that type of coverage. Your questions about whether "trip cancellation/delays or just medical" costs are covered can only be answered by carefully looking at the Terms & Conditions of any policies that YOU are considering. What others have experienced could be very different. Some of that could depend upon where the travelers reside, given how insurance tends to be regulated. GC

Just terrific mental images...! 😱 GC

I can't speak to the differences in specific limits such as medical or medevac/etc., between "cruise line" and "third-party" insurance. For one thing, there are different types of policies of each, so there's no exact comparison like that possible. However, one very important reason we would never get "cruise line" insurance is that it wouldn't cover a lot of our travel. We may stay someplace for a few days prior to the cruise and ditto elsewhere afterwards, and these are *not* likely to be only the two ports. For example, if our cruise ends in Italy, we may spend several more days in other Italian cities, etc. Third party coverage would insure us from the moment we walk out the door to start our trip to the moment we walk back in. And we get to select from a variety of coverage choices. However, in our case, we've found one insurer/policy that works well for our needs AND they have paid without quibbling for several claims, including some large claims. And they've paid within about 2 weeks of our submitting all of the required documentation. Note: RECEIPTS are required; the insurers have a right to prevent/detect fraud, etc. But this has not been a problem. We've never had a receipt questioned, be it for medical costs, extra hotel nights, alternate transportation, or the refund of the full cost of an entire cruise and land trip that was cancelled before it started (twice, alas). [Edit added for full disclosure: We once forgot to get a receipt for the *tip* for avery small taxi fare, so the tip amount was declined. The amount was far too small to fuss over. The taxi fare was paid without question.] We are among those here on CC who work with and recommend www.TripInsuranceStore.com They are a broker (no extra charge to the travelers) who work with several vetted insurers. CALL them, and they'll speak with you and help you figure out what the most appropriate coverage is for your specific needs. (They do not try to upsell; quite the opposite.) We remain grateful to those here on CC who recommended TIS to us just over 10 years ago. Our very first large trip including a luxury celebration cruise, was cancelled at the last minute for medical reasons, and we got every cent back, when otherwise, it would have been a "100% cancellation penalty". GC

We usually get private tours, for both cruises and land-based trips. That's for two reasons. First, I need to rest frequently, and also can't keep up with a fast-walking group (or medium-walking!). Second, we want to customize the itinerary, and also have the ability to say something like, "Oh, this is wonderful, let's stay here longer and skip <whatever>. Can't do that with others! But we've also a few times just gotten off the ship, looked for a taxi, and arranged a half or almost full day of something like, "A tour around the entire island", or "... and please include a couple of nicer hotels we could take a quick look at for when we come back for a longer visit", etc. We've asked to be taken to "a beach with the most gentle surf, please" - and that worked out *very* well! I guess we've had good luck, but the drivers have turned out to be wonderful; that's not guaranteed, of course. Arrange a fee before you get into the taxi, either per hour or 'for the day, until <time>" or such. Arranging a private tour in advance allows you to arrange what you want to see, etc., so that's ideal if possible. Have fun! GC

Welcome to CruiseCritic. Are you able to look at a complete Deck Plan for the QM2 and look at other cabins in the same category? Can you ask your TA to help you find a better cabin, whatever that means to you, from what is available? The TA should be representing *your* interests in selecting accommodations and the cruise in general. Is that not happening? GC

The type of insurance we get, with the coverages that we want, requires that we include ALL non-refundable costs (and also includes the initial deposit even if that was at one time refundable). So we sometimes try to make hotels "guaranteed to a credit card" (and cancellable such as within 48 hours of arrival) but not actually "paid" to keep the insurance costs down. In some cases, it's the full non-refundable airline fare, too. In other cases, if there's a "change fee" or "cancellation fee", then that's all we need to insure. We try to use awards for wonderful premium international flights (best use of awards ever! 🙂 ), and then it's just the fee to return the awards to the account. Yes, any pre-paid but refundable costs do not get included in the total needing to be insured... for *our* policy type. Make sure that you understand how *your* policy works, etc. GC

This is such a good idea! A similar trick that this reminds me of: I have an allergy to a food that could be confused with other items. So now, we take a card (several, of course) that has photos and the word "Allergy" in English and in whatever language we expect to encounter. Now, every time we show it, the person (waiter, chef, etc.) suddenly opens their eyes, smiles, nods, and clearly communicates they understand. Usually, with that level person/staff/crew/etc., they know some English. And yes those bright colors,,,, perfect! Maybe next time, we won't have to take turns so often when a buffet is relatively crowded! Thank you! 🙂 GC

Oh yes... that "modern music" can be VERY strange indeed! 🤣 GC