plane2port

The quick answer is NO.

You can redeem SkyMiles for Air Tahiti Nui flights, but can't credit these flights into your SkyMiles account.

Have you considered looking at Air France? You could credit your flight with Delta since they are both belong to the same alliance--SkyTeam.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised. The in flight service is quite nice on Turkish.

You were very lucky. When flights are canceled due to weather, the airlines really aren't under any obligation to do anything other than refund your ticket, because the cause of the cancellation is out of their control. I'm really surprised they rebooked you on another airline in this case.

They usually try to book you on their own metal, or with one of their alliance partners. But if there is no availability, they will use other airlines with whom they have reciprocal agreements.

I would have to say that it is not an unusual occurrence.

The only problem I had with them is that I found them to be uncomfortably claustrophobic.

That's why I started my blog--so that when I'm not actually traveling I'm researching or writing about it. It helps somewhat but it's no substitution for the real thing!

If you are flying on an award ticket, and that ticket gets transferred to another airline during IRROPs, you may be able to earn miles on the new ticket.

We had award tickets on United Airlines, and due to bad weather our flight was cancelled. United got us seats on Delta flights, and we were issued new tickets with new ticket numbers.

When we got home, I applied for mileage credit on the Delta website using the Delta ticket numbers. We got the miles a few days later!

The details are in a blog post:

http://www.plane2port.com/how-i-earned-delta-skymiles-on-a-united-award-ticket/

If nothing else, the blog post emphasizes the practicality of flying in a day early for your cruise!

Wonderful detailed review! You are a great writer also. You've made me want to go on this cruise.

I can't find the tour company you recommend when I do a search. Is there another name?? I did a GOOGLE search too :eek:

It's ekoltravel dot com

For anyone interested, I've done the same analysis on cruises out of Miami on Royal Caribbean. As expected, the costs are considerably higher!

http://www.plane2port.com/cost-living-royal-caribbean-cruise-ship/

Do you think the higher price is justified?

I did the calculation on time on HAL's Rotterdam inside cabin and it was about $85,000. Now I would hope you could negotiate a discount on that for an entire year.

Is that for two? That works out to $232/day. I'm working on calculating the costs for Royal Caribbean and the numbers are similar.

The problem is that Carnival is not consistent in the information that they give people.

I had the same experience as the OP. On the Sensation last month, I was told that my balance would be refunded to the gift card that was used.

Upon my return, when I called Carnival, I was told that the refund would be sent as a check. I asked the rep why it said in the FAQ's that any refunds would be sent as a NEW gift card. She said that either scenario could occur (:confused:). In my case I did receive the balance I was owed on a new gift card.

So, basically I was told three different things: 1) the balance would go back on the original gift card; 2)the balance would be sent as a check; or 3) the balance will be applied to a new gift card.

I guess that we can all rest easy knowing that our balances will be refunded in some fashion or another, but we may not know how until it happens!

I agree with previous posters that the way to avoid the hassle is to cash out in the casino.

Two blogs I follow - members of CC as well -

 

Vickie and Bernie Travels- very organized in their writing with pictures

Yellow Fish Cruises - she blogs daily while cruising and it's an interesting read on the daily life on a ship- she's cruising now and does so for the winter months

Thanks! I've enjoyed reading these blogs that you've mentioned. Here's the links in case anyone else is interested:

http://vickieandbernietravel.blogspot.com/

http://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com

Hi, its the OP! Sorry I haven't been back to this thread in awhile. I've been wanting to reply to so many of your comments, but I've been very busy.

I babysit my two grandkids (4-years-old and 1-year-old) while my daughter goes to school, and the 1-year-old has been sick and I just haven't had the time to sit down at the computer.

One thing that several posters have mentioned in the Carnival stock holder credit. I myself own the stock for the shareholder credit, even though I think the stock itself is good in it's own right. I did a blog post on it if you are interested:

http://www.plane2port.com/should-i-buy-carnival-stock-ccl-for-the-shareholder-credit-yes/

In 2014, I spent 21 weeks on cruise ships, 17 cruises, split up throughout the year, several consecutive. I spent less than $25,000 for 2 I have an annual health- travel policy that is very cheap. My travels were in Europe, Alaska, Hawaii, Caribbean.

That works out to be about $170 a day. Good job!

I have edited my blog post to take into account the fact that there is no itinerary offered for the four-day interval from January 16-20. Thanks again to drvmywifeczy for pointing out this omission.

Within a year you'd be Diamond and need not worry about laundry. It would definitely be less expensive than most assisted living communities, BUT you'd need to be in excellent health. The cost of medical care is extremely high on a cruise ship, and many specialized personnel and equipment are not available. The charges must be paid up front (you'd then be responsible to "fight it out" with your insurance company). Also, be certain to include the tips you'd be paying each month.

This issue of medical insurance is a whole 'nother ball of wax.

I have included gratuities in my calculations.

I read your blog about the prices for living aboard Carnival for a month but did you think about calling them to get a discount price? Because I have heard of people staying on the ship btbtbtb and getting a very good rate to do this. Might be something to consider to get a real budget total to base upon.

I agree totally that you should do this if you really were considering living on a cruise ship. I'm quoting the company's website prices so I can have a basis for comparision as I look at different cruiselines.

So the four days starting Jan 16th you live in the port or what? Looks like you missed four days

Thanks for pointing this out. The January 16 date for the Victory didn't show up on the website--that's how I missed it. It must be chartered out for that date. I will edit.

Fun idea! I look forwards o reading more. Book marking your blog.

Thanks! The next thread will be about Royal Caribbean. I will add a link to that blog post on the RC boards after I write it.

Altho you are looking at a bare minimum cost you have to take in to consideration laundry expenses, cell phone data usages and wifi costs, liquor splurged or Sodas.. unless I depend on living on water and ice tea or lemonade all night, tipping personal and access to materials when supplies run low and the cost of inflation of such items in a foreign country unless u wait to restock and buy supplies in the states.

 

I travel and play poker for a living so I know what being all around is about. Better to just pay a mortgage or rent and travel cruises sporadically or as frequently as you can in a year

I'm not sure that I personally would want to do it either, but the concept in intriguing and I've often wondered what it would really cost.

You are right that there would be additional costs, but since these vary so much depending on individual needs/wants, I haven't included them in my analysis.

Recently I read the thread about Egon Landsberg's year long cruise on the MSC Poesia, and it got me to thinking about folks actually living aboard cruise ships. I'm going to be comparing the cost of living/sailing on several lines. I'm first looking at Carnival!

I didn't want to post the whole blog entry here because it would make for a rather lengthy post.

http://www.plane2port.com/cost-of-living-on-a-carnival-cruise-ship/

Let me know what you think!

It's 4:00 am, and I've just finished reading this thread which I discovered two days ago.

What a touching and inspirational tale of a man whose last two years were full of adventure and the search for connection with others.

I'm so thankful I have read this.

Thanks, Egon, Steve, Yellowbird, and others.

Have you checked flights on Delta connecting through Atlanta? I see several possibilities on their website. There are several flights a day SLC-ATL and then several more ATL-FLL. And there's even more ATL-MIA flights.

It has been some time since we flew out of Barcelona post cruise, but I remember it well. We had decided to stay in Barcelona an extra day so that we would not be in your situation.;)

We also had a 10:00 am flight out. We arrived at the airport at 7:00 and were the first in line at the check in counter, which opened about 7:30. When the counter finally opened, the line was about 100 people long! We did not arrive at the gate until after 9:00.

If you do not have any delays with debarkation you will probably make it, but I personally wouldn't chance it.

I didn't know you could buy gift cards on board ship in the Fun Shop. This would be a way to get immediate access to your on board credit. For example if you wanted to book another cruise immediately once you returned. You wouldn't have to wait for a check or a new gift card!