CarlsbadSally

We are considering the Oct 2 sailing as it’s the farthest in the future. Love Valletta and Malta. I found Viking Air wants about $4600 for business class air from LAX but I can buy it for just over half that.

I’m trying to get my business class air booked and it’s a nightmare. They will only book one airline at what they charged me and want large adder for better airlines and routes. Won’t make that mistake again.

We’ve cruised Regent several times and had little trouble with fully booked excursions even if not booking first day. I also find the Destinations desk is very helpful onboard and will accommodate changes even after deadline if available.

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I shop around on the Internet and use some of the aggregator sites like Squaremouth. By comparing policies and costs I come up with the most cost effective. We have had to cancel cruises twice for medical reasons and had medical issues from a fall on a third. Each time we had a different insurer and all were easy to work with. I would never travel without insurance.

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We had excellent Smithsonian lecturers a year ago in the Middle East on Voyager, and also enjoyed Artful Travelers.

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Have cruised on both Oceania and Regent and we love both. Oceania' newer ship is lovely and the food is at least as good as Regent. We do find that when all is added up the cost is about the same. Oceania' upcharge for business class is very high.

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We used Memphis Tours from Safaga, overnight, for about $250. Stayed in same hotel as Regent tour and basically same itinerary. We had five couples book together and had two vans with two couples in one and three in other. Would highly recommend. Here is the link: https://www.memphistours.com/Egypt/Shore-Excursions/Safaga-Port/overnight-Luxor-trips

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We've done three weeks on a cruise that included four days straight at sea on Voyager. I think you will love it if you find some friends on board with similar interests such as card or Mah jong playing. Also I found I needed good discipline to not overeat at meals or it became too much over time.

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We have purchased travel insurance for about ten years and used it for significant issues twice. One time my SO had a major medical issue and we had to cancel the trip. I received a refund before he was even home from the hospital. The second time he had a bad fall in China. We had to give a credit card to pay the hospital initially, but the travel insurance reimbursed us with no issues. Depending on whether the insurance is primary or secondary they will work with your medicare supplement or other health insurance company. It's critical to have travel insurance if you are on medicare as they do not cover you outside the US. I know F plan supplementary does, but some of the others don't.

We were on the same cruise as Portolan and took a private overnight with two other couples. Stayed in same hotel, same sights, but cost was about $250 pp. I can look up the tour company and post tomorrow, but I would highly recommend.

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Just got back from a 21 day cruise of the region on Regent. Couldn't have felt safer. The cruise line took all necessary precautions. We took both ships tours and privately arranged excursions, including overnight in Luxor. It was an absolutely fantastic itinerary from Istanbul to Dubai. Numerous cruise lines are doing the region and there has been no trouble. I would go without a second thought.

Just back from Dubai ten days ago at the end of a Regent Voyager cruise. We used Oceanair Travels to pick up two couples, do a full day tour, and drop us at our hotel. I would highly recommend them. Our tour hit all the high spots and went two hours over the expected time. The only negative was that we didn't have time for lunch. You can contact the asst. mgr. Naglaa El Sayed at operation@oceanairdubai.com or go to their website http://www.oceanairtravels.com.

Are you familiar with nicknames used for the various Holland America ships or groups of ships? Do you know which ones are referred to as the "middledams" and what the other ones are? Thanks.