Shorex

First, forget the terms "duped", "bait and switch", and "false advertising."  This situation is known as a "mistake fare." Mistake fares happen when a business, not infrequently a cruise line or an airline, posts publicly an erroneous fare, also known as "fat-finger" error. Experienced cruisers, such as the OP, should have recognized this as a pricing mistake.

The first consideration: is the cruise line legally obligated to honor what is obviously a mistake fare? No. Sometimes a cruise line will honor a mistake fare for the sake of customer goodwill, other times, not.

I suggest everyone posting here have a look at a similar situation where a cruiser thought he was being ripped off when Azamara would not honor a mistake fare and he sought help from consumer advocate Chris Elliott:

https://www.elliott.org/cruises/cruise-pricing-mistake-fare-error/

Bottom line, cruisers are not entitled to take advantage of advertised pricing errors.

OP,  did you lock in the lower fare? If so, then no worries. Be happy.

When I first read the OP's post, my only surprise was that an offered price of $794 for SFO-MEL and AKL-SFO was so low. I would have snapped that up and not looked back. Playing the waiting is game is always a gamble, now OP's options are to cut the losses at $1349 or risk paying even more. IMO, $1349 is still a decent price for a round trip trans-pac journey of over 14,000 total air miles.

Not that it matters at this point, but November is the start of tourist season in Australia and New Zealand. OP has likely missed the sweet spot for the lowest fare buckets.

We're happy if you're happy. Occasionally, Southwest is right for us. Most often, it isn't.

8 minutes ago, Cruise4Twos said:

Twice the cruise ship confiscated our passports. Once on a European cruise and once on a South Pacific cruise. On the European cruise, we misjudged how far away we were from the port. We had an hour. We just missed the previous hop on hop off bus. The next one took 15 minutes, it took 15 minutes to get to our stop and 10 minutes to run back to the ship. You're supposed to be back on the ship a half hour before sailing but we arrived 20 minutes b4 sailing. Luckily they let us back on the ship with a stern warning. Of course now we plan better. Regardless it's not just about having a passport. It's insane that they confiscate US passports sometimes until the end of the cruise but they do.

When the ship holds your passport it is neither confiscation nor insane, nor is just to annoy you. When practical, the ship's staff  will manage the immigration formalities for every guest. This actually spares you (and everyone else) from presenting themselves physically for immigration inspection, which can happen, oh, maybe at 4 am. The process is thus seamless for you, while the staff does the work.

Yes, occasionally, guests must physically present themselves(and their passports) for immigration formalities while on-board, but only when required according to local officials.

Just do a search on youtube for "packing cubes for travel" and watch a few videos - then decide if they work for you. Personally, we wouldn't travel without them. As you have read, they are not for everyone. What is important is to do your own research, pack however suits you, and not worry or care about what anyone else does.

As of now, visas continue to be required for US passport holders visiting VN for tourism.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Vietnam.html

If doing just ocean cruise port stop/s in VN, the cruise line may obtain your tourist visa for you. Our ocean cruise line did not charge for this service, other cruise lines may have a different policy.

However, if the OP is FLYING into VN (Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, or Da Nang airports) for a land/river cruise combo, what the ocean cruise lines do is not relevant. Acquiring either a visa or VOA (visa on arrival) prior to leaving the US is mandatory. Actually, the airline in the US will check for his visa docs before allowing him to board the plane. The options are 1) to obtain a visa from an embassy or consulate of VN, 2) to use a visa service such as CIBT (convenience for a surcharge), or 3) to obtain a VOA online.

Personally, we found the VOA process to be the best option for convenience and price. Additionally, we did not have to surrender control of our passports during the process.

If you are flying into Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Hanoi, or Da Nang, you can use the Visa On Arrival process. We have obtained the VOA several times using https://www.vietnam-evisa.org/

Your needs would be met by the "1 month multiple entries visa"

Read all the fine print and the FAQ carefully. Then read it again. Have the correct amount of US cash on hand (new or nearly new bills) to pay for the stamp at the airport when you arrive. Have all the paperwork including the visa approval letter ready. The approval letter will list other applicants for the VOA. Don't worry about it.

The VOA will be effective on the date you specify.

All other questions can be answered on the website, including how soon you can begin the process.

2 hours ago, ducklite said:

This was touched on earlier, but my guess is that the cruise lines insurance company won't indemnify against theft or destruction of cash in large quantities.  Being realistic, a ship carrying 2500 passengers who were paying in cash would probably take in someplace between half and a million dollars a week.

Additionally, a cash based cruise would require a large secure cash room, people to count and track that cash, and a lot more accounting which can't be automated in general.  

This. Add to that the guests who want to pay in (and get change in) euros, British pounds, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars, rand, yen, etc. etc. What a mess. No way is this going to happen - it would a terrible business model.

I suppose the companion question to "how to avoid politics at the dinner table" is "how to avoid politics on cruise critic." It seems that there are some people who just can't do either. May they all be seated together on every cruise.

12 minutes ago, JimnKaren said:

OR...call customer service at the cruise line where you want to use. It is their business to know things like this.

Jim

Sure. They should, and sometimes you will actually get an answer, often a correct answer. But somewhere in the fine print of the cruise contract it is specified that it is totally and completely and without exception and unconditionally the responsibility of the cruiser to obtain and carry all necessary documentation. I've been on a cruise where a couple had to leave the ship in Buenos Aires and rejoin on the first port after Brazil (at their own expense) because they failed to get Brazilian visas. On another cruise a fellow didn't get the required simple online visa for Turkey and the staff had to do it for him. He didn't know his own email password to receive the online visa, but that's another story. Bottom line: the buck stops with the cruiser -- even with anecdotal example where the cruise line helped.

It's very tight. You will go through security, immigration and customs for the U.S. in Montreal. If you have a Nexis and/or Global Entry card be sure to bring it.

https://www.admtl.com/en/guide/customs-imigration-united-states

Or consider an Icelandair vacation package that includes air, 3 hotel nights, a night time search and another tour such as a visit to the Blue Lagoon or taking the Golden Circle trip. Right now it's running about $600-$800 per person. Yes, for air, hotel and tours. Of course the price varies according to your home airport.

https://www.icelandair.com/vacations/northern-lights/

A few years ago we took advantage of such a package to go to Iceland in January. The Blue Lagoon wasn't crowded at all, and we saw the lights!

Personally I wouldn't walk on ice without some form of traction cleats. For a glacier walk in Iceland the tour leader provided them (or we would have had our own).  Small investment to minimize the risk of serious injury.

Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Shanghai, Capetown, Dubai, Sydney, Auckland, Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, and Reykjavik come to mind immediately. Within a year we'll be back to several of these ports. First visit to Istanbul was as a cruise port, later we made a dedicated trip to Turkey to include a side trip to Cappadocia - to say it's amazing is an understatement.

Trade offs. One phone call will answer the question of whether they accept AmEx for payment. If yes, then do the cost/benefit analysis pertaining to your situation. If no, then list your options and make a business decision that is best for the corporation of Barrheadlass.

Of course, as mentioned, it's a profit center. The art supplier (usually Park West) gets a cut, the cruise line gets a cut, the "auctioneer" gets a cut, and the buyer gets a glass of cheap champagne (or prosecco) and a piece of "art." It's a very lucrative business for everyone in the supply chain.

But you do have the choice to patronize a cruise line that doesn't do these silly auctions. And you will pay more for the privilege.

I'm sure

4 hours ago, JudiB123 said:

Does anyone bring a small bottle of liquid detergent (e.g., dish), to hand wash an item of clothing in their room sink?

I'm sure some/many have washed an item of clothing in their room sink. However, what someone else has done is quite irrelevant to what you might wish to do. If it pleases you, do it.

1 hour ago, paul929207 said:

On every ship there is a photo department. I am sure they would be happy to take pictures of you. They will not be cheap.

True. But OP,  don't worry about being "weird." Folks will be delighted to see a happy bride and groom laughing and smiling and having some unique photos taken that you will cherish forever. Walk into the surf in your fancy clothes. Be creative!

April is the cruellest month, at least the first day. So glad when it's over.

13 minutes ago, Pushka said:

In the case of the Concordia and now Sky, they were unable to use the lifeboats. So it does beg the question of what they can actually be used for in emergency situations like these two. 

Most of Concordia's lifeboats were used. The problems lay elsewhere. The captain's dereliction and lack of training and guidance of the crew. No wait, let's just go with the captain's dereliction.

In our recent muster drills, part of the message has been that lifeboats can be launched even if the ship is at an tilt.

14 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

 

...digital demigod discontents.... 😀

I just enjoyed your turn of phrase. Truly, it is right up there with "nattering nabobs of negativism" for creativity. 😃

Wouldn't travel without them - whether for a cruise, a road trip, or a flight to stay wherever. Best way to learn how they might benefit your packing is to watch some youtube videos. Here's one to start:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8Aw-DNzbCo

This video is from ebags, a great source of all things travel. But there are tons of others, just search youtube.

We usually buy from ebags when they have sales, the quality is excellent. But there are many other options to buy, again just do your googling.

https://www.ebags.com/category/travel-accessories/packing-aids/packing-cubes?sort=featuredproduct

That's a great itinerary. You will have multiple time changes (forward). One day the ship time moved 1 hour forward overnight and another hour forward in the afternoon.

There are some unique shore excursions on the Kamchatka peninsula, the Russian far east. I'd do this itinerary again in a blink if the timing was right.

A careful reading of the links will specify the effective date, as well as provide a signup for you to receive an email when the ETIAS online application is available. That's as much as I know.