Anarinya

11 minutes ago, cscurlock said:

6) There is some news regarding some people in Louisiana getting covid again and going back into the hospital after leaving the hospital without covid so this anti body theory might be hocus pocus we will see.  So until a vaccine is developed the people sailing need to understand the risks. If the antibody theory is good then a antibody passport is a good idea. 

 

One needs to keep in mind, a vaccine does nothing else than induce the same protective antibodies that going through the infection in the first place induces? 
If the antibodies after infection aren’t good enough to prevent or at least ameliorate a second infection, then it’s highly likely a vaccine won’t confer immunity. 

The ferry is the only DIY way to get to Delos from Mykonos. 

Schedule can be found on the website that was mentioned. Tickets can be prebooked, but have to be picked up at their counter the day of. Cost was 20€ pP 2 or 3 years ago.

there are some guides on the island that will provide narration. I think they charged 10€ pP, and tried to assemble a group of 10 people or so. There is also a small entrance fee to the archeological zone on the island, but I don’t remember how much (as students from a EU country, we could enter for free). 

Pay attention to when the return ferries are leaving once on the island. When we were there, they canceled the last ferry in the afternoon due to high winds, so try to catch one of the earlier ferries in order to have enough time on delos. Also, the ride over can be quite rocky, just sth to keep in mind. 

Delos itself is great and definitely worth the trip. If not hiring a guide, make sure to read beforehand or bring a guide book. While there are a few explanation posts around, they are few and far between. And make sure to check out the beautiful mosaics! 

Hi everyone, 

just a quick update, since we cannot find a proper insurance plan for our situation, we have decided to cancel the trip altogether before final payment. His training office won’t guarantee him leave for the time period, and cancel for any reason is too costly an option given that most of them don’t refund 100% of the trip costs. In the end we may be well over 1000 Dollar out of pocket for nothing and that’s too great of a risk. Very disappointing though 😞 especially since we had gotten a great deal on the trip. 

Thanks anyway again to everyone who answered. I have learned a lot about trip insurance in the US and will be better prepared next time. 

Hi everyone, 

thanks a lot for the insights. I will look for cancel for any reason then.

Thanks again, much appreciated! 

A

Hi, thanks a lot for your replies! 

I guess I should have updated my profile, I live in Massachusetts since earlier this year. That’s also why I am asking, I am familiar with EU insurance policies, but this is the first cruise we booked since moving to the States. 

I thought buying the insurance close to making the deposit was only important to cover pre-existing medical conditions. (Since we don’t have any to cover, I didn’t want to buy insurance before committing to the trip by final payment, as otherwise we may be paying insurance for a trip we cancel at 3 months out.)

So is my understanding correct that a  cancel for work reasons policy would require a prior confirmation from his training office that at this point, the training is scheduled to conclude in November? 

Or would the training not count as work anyway? It is kind of his full time job at this point. 

What kind of policy would work for someone who has to take a college exam during the previously free time? That situation would be closest to ours at the moment, I think.... 

Thank you for all your replies, they are very much appreciated! 

A

Hi everyone, 

I have done a bit of research but I can’t seem to find specific answers to my questions. Maybe I am using the wrong search terms (English isn’t my first language), so I’d appreciate any insights or pointers on how I may get better search results. 

The issue is the following: we have booked a cruise In December, final payment is in 2,5 weeks, so I am looking for trip insurance. My husband is currently doing a professional training course (to get licensed as a commercial airline pilot) that is supposed to run through the end of November, however, the exact end date is not fixed at this point, as it depends on progress, weather conditions and other factors not in our control. While currently he is ahead of schedule, there is a slim chance his graduation may be delayed and we may have to cancel the trip. 

In in order to get coverage for the event we need to cancel, which kind of coverage do I need to look for? Would these be covered under a “cancel for work reasons” policy? Or is there something like a “cancel for education reasons” policy? I have been reading through details of several policies but I can’t seem to figure out if our situation would be covered. 

Thanks a lot in advance for any comment or insights! 

Interested as we are booked in 7173 on Summit in December! 

While no first hand experience yet, I have done some research and noise doesn’t seem to be a concern for most people. Apparently sometimes the elevator dings can be heard faintly in the cabin. But of course noise perception varies between people. 

We have stayed very close to the elevator lobby on Equinox and never noticed any noise (but then, we don’t go to bed at 10 normally) 

I am curious how much bigger the balcony is? Is it similar to the sweet 16 or somewhere in between the sweet 16 and a regular balcony? 

I’ll weigh in here with a different perspective: over the past few cruises, we have always brought a particular kind of chocolate candy that’s a specialty of our home country Austria. We used it as a carrier for an additional monetary tip, but we’ve realized that the chocolates themselves were a great hit especially with staff members from Eastern European countries. It’s a treat they know from home, that just can’t be easily bought on any other Caribbean island. 

We‘ve had a group of Serbian staff members meet at our table in the dining room since they had heard we were the ones with the Austrian chocolates. We had a waitress from Bosnia literally jump with delight when we gave her another box at the end of the cruise. (She said it reminded her of Sunday tea time at her grandmothers house.) 

Sometimes the taste of home can be worth more than an additional 5 bucks. Anyone who has lived far away from home for an extended period of time understands that. 

Don’t worry. Airlines usually allow up to 3 characters difference towards the name in the passport, as long as other information (date of birth etc) matches, I wouldn’t lose sleep over this. 

My name contains a special character that doesn’t exist in English, so it gets misspelled often or international spelling doesn’t match the spelling in my passport. I’ve been asked several times but never refused from security.

We‘ve seen this on most our X cruises. It’s usually offered from half an hour before the main breakfast service in the MDR starts (so eg. from 6:30 on if breakfast starts at 7)

its really quick and efficient. You let the host know you want to do express breakfast and they will notify the waiters. We did it once before an early excursion, within a minute from sitting down, several waiters descended upon us with plates, juice, coffee, toast, etc. The breakfast contains scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and maybe a  grilled tomatoe (not sure about that one).

Its a great option to have a quick hearty breakfast before an early excursion.

My bad, I just looked it up on a map. The bus station is to the right from the stairs and cable car station, behind the museum and the cathedral (which is a domed building so easy to spot). It’s a short walk from the top of the stairs, should be easy to find using a maps app. 

We did this hike in 2016. Great views along the way, so definitely worth it. 

We took the public bus from Fira to Oia, it cost only 2 Euros pP or less. We decided to use the stairs to get up to town, and it wasn’t as bad as everyone claims to be. Took us 15 minutes to the top and then another 5 to the bus station so that’s an option to save time if the lines are long for the cable car. I seem to remember we walked left and into town to the bus station, but should be easy to plan this using google maps. The busses left from a large plaza with many busses lined up, we just asked an attendant and he pointed us to the correct bus. You pay the fare on the Bus after it gets underway, as someone comes through, so be sure to have some euro coins  or small bills (5s) ready. 

Once in Oia we walked around town for a bit, and then started the hike back towards Fira. There were some signs at the start of the trail, but basically just follow the rim of the cliffs. The trail is mainly gravel and has some steeper portions, so be sure to wear closed shoes with proper tread. We saw another couple in flip flops, they weren’t having a great time. 

Also there is little shade along portions of the trail, so bring sunscreen, a hat and enough water. Once you reach the outskirts of Fira there are also small convenience shops close to the trail to get a cold beverage. 

The entire hike took us 3 hours or so, but we took some breaks along the way enjoying the views and a cold beer, so you could maybe do it in two without stopping.

once back in Fira we had some more time to walk around town, and once done we took the stairs back down again. 

The logistics of taking the bus to Oia was really fairly easy and cheap, so I would totally suggest that option. I have no idea if there are taxis available in either town in a large number. I am not sure if we got lucky, but I seem to remember the bus left within like ten minutes of us getting there. Get on the bus when you arrive though to get a seat, as it  fills up. I also seem to remember I had perused bus schedules beforehand, so maybe our luck was also just great planning 🙂

let me know if you have other questions, I can go back to find my notes from back then.

We had that scenario two years ago in Athens. Muster drill was on the second day, about 2 or 1,5 hours before scheduled departure. All aboard time on the second day was 4:30 pm for a 7pm departure if I recall correctly.

We visited Muscat in january on a Arabian Sea and India cruise. While before we had been unsure about what to expect, Muscat was easily one of the best port stops on the cruise. We were totally enchanted with the rugged landscape.

We decided to tour on our own and took a taxi to the newly opened national museum, which is just opposite the sultans palace. The museum is well laid out and very interesting, and best of all, we shared it with maybe 10 other visitors.

Most people visit the Bait al Zubair mentioned above, and while I cannot compare the two, I have to say that we had a wonderful visit to the national museum, we learned so much about the country and its culture. Afterwards we strolled around the area and enjoyed the sunlight reflecting off the cliffs - fantastic. The day was topped off with a visit to the souk, which is walking distance from the port.

Since our ship only docked at midday, we didn't get to visit the grand mosque, since it's only open to tourists in the mornings, so keep that in mind when planning your day.

If you decide to venture out using taxis, be sure to agree on a price before getting in the car, since the taxis are not metered (in contrast to the UAE where all taxis are metered). Also, have some idea how much you're willing to pay for the ride and stay adamant, it took us quite some haggling.

I found a taxi fare calculator for Muscat online by googling, so you can estimate beforehand what price to expect and haggle your way there, as we were quoted two times that price.

At the port entrance, you will meet a lot of taxi drivers trying to offer you a two hour tour, and for some reason they tried to discourage us from going to the national museum and offering to drive us to the Bait al Zubair instead, even lying to us saying the national museum was closed (while I knew for a fact that it wasn't) - not sure if they receive some sort of kick back from the other one...

The haggling with the taxi drivers aside, we had a fantastic day in Muscat, and Oman snuck its way to the top of the list of countries we want to visit again, this time to explore the countryside and landscapes away from the coast.

It depends where in the world you are. I know that in parts of Europe (Austria, Germany) the final amount isn't due until 30 days out. Seeing you are in the Netherlands so it could very well be true.

We were once assigned a guarantee cabin while it was still on courtesy hold :D (3 days here in Europe). Obviously we were very happy, as changing cabins is not an option in European bookings if I am correct, and we were very pleased though with the 1C we got for a balcony guarantee rate. This was a non sold out sailing though, so this may have expedited the assignment. On another note, the cabin we got assigned was not showing available on the scanning site that lists all available cabins - so X is likely keeping a group of cabins back for guarantee assignment that are not available to book for the public. Just sth to keep in mind if your category shows sold out. ;)

My fiancé just proposed to me on our recent Abu Dhabi and India cruise (on the constellation, the same ship you will be on)

He did it on a chic night, so we were all nicely dressed up. Since the band was a bit lame, he asked if I wanted to get a champagne and walk on deck a little bit before dinner. We went to one of the new cabana like couches on the aft top deck, on the side, super nice comfortable private location, and there he asked the question. It was perfect! I also wouldn't have liked a big public display in the dining room or whatever, so it was just perfect that way!

So why not keep it simple? Will also save you your nerves if you don't involve too many people. The more people, the more can go wrong... just get a drink, find a nice quiet and romantic place and if the feeling is right, ask the question. You will be in control and if something's not right that night you can always postpone to the next day.

Fun thing, when we were getting the champagne at the bar, one of the officers walked by, saw us all dressed up (he in a tux, I was in a long evening dress) and said "are you getting married or what??" I laughed but he later said he almost had a heart attack. Now we both laugh about it.

And our stateroom attendant (Noreen who was an absolute star) organized a little flower bouquet for our cabin after she found out, which was a very nice touch!

Oh and of course I said yes!

Wishing you two all the best for the future and hope your engagement goes the way you picture it!

We walked the steps on our trip back in 2016. It is nowhere near as bad as everyone makes it sound. We went up as well and it took us a little under 15 minutes (ok we sped up because we had bet with our friends we would beat their time) but with a few breaks to enjoy the view it would be feasible in 20 to 25 minutes.

On the way back it took us again around 10 to 15 minutes.

The steps were clean and there was no smell of donkey except in the areas where donkeys were waiting (some reports make it sound as if you're wading ankle deep through donkey poo the whole time - that's not what we experienced.)

So if you are at least somewhat fit, the walk up the stairs is really not an issue, just make sure you wear proper shoes (we were in our hiking boots because we did the hike from Oia to Fira along the caldera edge, but running or training shoes with a good grip would be equally appropriate - I wouldn't attempt it in flipflops though.)

Just our experience... ymmv

But don't be afraid of the steps, since everyone makes it sound more horrible than it is.

We just returned from a similar cruise 2 weeks ago.

In Goa, we used GoaMagic as our Tour Company. We could plan the day ahead and I communicated a lot with them planning out our itinerary. We had a private tour with a guide from the company, Senhor Mendes, and a driver, both delivered excellent service. We had a great day and saw everything we wanted to see and more. It was a bit pricey but definitely worth it.

In Mumbai, we booked our tours via viator, and the company that delivered them was AmazeTours. Again, fantastic service. We booked a private tour of Mumbai including food sampling for one day in Mumbai and we covered so much! Price was also very good and we enjoyed the time our guide Akshay! He was amazing! For the second day in Mumbai, we booked a Join-in tour to Elephanta Island, that turned out to be a private tour, as we were the only ones booked. They even adjusted the time for the tour to suit better our needs! Again our guide Haresh (not sure about the spelling), a native of the island, took good care of us and explained us a lot about what we saw in the caves - all this explanation made it much more worthwhile!

I would thoroughly recommend both these companies without hesitation.

In Oman we only visited Muscat, there we went without an organized tour, and used taxis instead to where we wanted to go. Be sure to agree to a price before you get in, as even official taxis don't use meters. You could also hire a cab for an hour or two for I think 20 Rial/hour for a city tour but we just visited the National museum and the area around it as well as the souk. Both were just a short taxi ride away, no need for a tour.

In Abu Dhabi and Dubai we also found that getting around was easy with taxis and hiring them as we went. We didn't feel the need to hire a cab for a day or so, but I am sure they would certainly do that. In the emirates, it is very easy to use taxis and they are all metered (they have to by law) so it's very transparent. Just make sure you take an official taxi and not some kind of Limo service (they tried to trick us into one in Dubai, but we realized before getting in the car and refused).

These were our experiences, we were very happy with the cruise and all our choices. Feel free to ask in case you have questions

We are on the same sailing, and got the full multiple entry tourist visa.

The problem seems to be the seaport in Mumbai, since technically when leaving Goa, you exit India and you need to re-enter the next day at Mumbai, where entry with the e-visa is not possible. Hence the requirement for a full visa.

For us, the Indian Visa Process was relatively painless, despite all the horror stories you read online. Yes, it requires careful reading of the requirements (picture format and how to fill out the online form), but once that was completed it couldn't have been easier.

Dropped the passports at the consulate, paid the fee and two days later went back to pick them up with visa inside. There was really no problem, no wait times, nothing, and we were kept informed of the status of the visa application via emails and text messages. We are German citizens, but live in Austria, so I was expecting some extra hassle because of that, but it was all smooth.

So, OP, I don't know how many days you have in the UK before leaving to Abu Dhabi, but according to our experience it would be very possible to obtain the full visa within a week, even in a country different from your own, once you have the forms and pictures sorted and if you are within driving distance of the Indian consulate. Better this than worrying up until day of boarding whether you will be allowed on.

It may also depend on where you are. Recently tried to request the 1 cat upgrade while booking but that was apparently not combinable with the drink package promotion for European bookings. Was bummed at first, especially after reading here that others were able to combine it all the time. But a few days later a sweet 16 cabin opened up that we were able to switch to, so now we're quite happy with the category :D

You can get the upgrade in the UK and combine it with the Go Big pricing. Unless you're on a holiday sailing or part of a special group rate, you would be able to get it here - have to say I'm unsure about the rest of Europe though :confused:.

I am booking from Austria, but via a German TA.

I don't think it's a group rate, since my TA is offering the same base price as celebrity. Well, whatever it is, they told us no. It's ok, we're still happy with the cabin we got :) and bookings seem slow, so maybe we can snag a (paid) upgrade along the way. It's just very annoying that so many different booking rules exist depending on where you live.

If you are Captain's Club, you can get a one cat upgrade. However, that is useless now with the perk system since it can't be combined with other offers. That's why we really don't talk about it these days. It will be applicable on cruises where there are no offers, like transatlantics.

This seems to be true, at least for European bookings. Just booked a constellation cruise today, hoping for a 2B at the price of the 2C, however, Upgrade was apparently not combinable with the go big pricing we had chosen. Doublechecked this with celebrity as well. Pity, as there was a significant price difference between the categories and we liked the location of some of the 2Bs.

We were on the same sailing. We disembarked at around quarter to 10 without any pre-arranged transfer. There was a short line for unbooked cabs, but I think we waited for just about 5 minutes, so it was breeze. There were many cabs available and the wait was more due to people getting into the cabs than actually waiting for cabs to arrive.

The fare from the port to the airport is a flat 54 € (per car, not per person), from what I read when researching for the trip, also if you pre-book a transfer. We opted to be let out at a bus stop in central Pireaus (a 10 € cab fare) and then took the X96 bus to the airport (only 3 pp, or 6 for full fare). We are students, so we have to budget, and this worked very well for us

While in Europe places of interest are considerably closer to each other than in other countries, those are quite some distances you want to cover.

I would suggest you focus on a couple of those destinations. From personal experience, I see a nice north to south route there. Start in Krakow, spend two days, go to Prague, spend 3 days, proceed to Vienna, spend 3 days, continue on to Slovenia, spend some time (I am not familiar with Lake Bled, so not sure how much time you would like to allocate to that stop), then continue on to Budapest and spend another 3 days there. The distances between those places can be easily covered within 4-5 hours for each leg of the route, and as most of them are major cities, there would be good railway or bus connections. So I think it is feasible with focusing on some of the places.

This itinerary would allow you to spend three days in most of the places you mentioned, however, it would not include Croatia, Greece or Turkey. I think they are too far away to include them unless you want to rush from one place to another. To put things into perspective, Athens is a 2.5 hour flight from Vienna, for example.

Of course you would have to fly from Barcelona to Krakow and back from Budapest to Barcelona. Those will be 2-3 hour flights each. I don't think these distances can be easily done by ground transportation.

Hope that gives you a bit of an idea. Enjoy planning! And also look into bus connections between those cities as in parts of eastern Europe it is more common to travel by bus than by train. Buses are often cheaper than trains and equally comfortable.