GenghisQuan

Addendum:

Anyone ever try to match IGH Platinum (acquirable from credit card), Wyndham Diamond (matchable from various hotel statuses), or Caesar's Diamond (matchable from Wyndham Diamond)?

Hug the puppies.

Hug all the puppies.

2 minutes ago, mktgmaven said:

IHG Gold Elite matched to Classic/Silver this week. Oh well...lol

Ah...does that mean there were two Gold statuses submitted and one matched to Classic and the other to Silver?

On 6/20/2019 at 7:24 PM, jblackler said:

just did a gold elite from ihg ill let you know what that equates to 

Any update as to what they matched you to?

What I'm currently seeing is that flights in and out of LAX run somewhere between 100-190 per person, which sometimes results in a price differential that makes the flight cheaper, although there are still baggage fees and fuel surcharges to account for. The total trip time is somewhat similar due to needing to get to the airport early and also waiting to get out of the airport.

On the other hand, driving down to LA incurs both a cost for parking/gas and also wear and tear on the car.

Does leaving out of LA actually give you that much extra time in a port? From what I recall it's about an hour or two at most?

Choppy waters along the Pacific from SD to Seattle is definitely something for us to think about. To what extent is that not the case from Cabo to LA?

I'd argue that balconies are actually pretty good to have for Alaska cruises, where you can get good views of glaciers and such without having to push your way in front of lots of people (and also without a window in the way of good photos).

So basically, it seems like balcony isn't completely necessary if there aren't places specifically known for "omg byootiful coastlines" and also if getting the occasional breath of fresh air isn't a hard need.

We may try one of those for Mexican Riviera or Caribbean.

On 6/21/2019 at 3:54 PM, Hlitner said:

What MSC does get you is a 5% discount (at any level).  Since we cruise in the YC the other perks have very little value to us.  We did attend one of the Black Club parties and nearly everyone we talked with said it was their first cruise on MSC :).

 

Hank

Do you find that this 5% discount is generally better than whatever discounts/kickbacks/perks are obtained from using a booking portal or travel agent?

On 6/22/2019 at 12:08 AM, caribill said:

 

a) Effect of the Cuba ban is several cents a share. Many people booked those cruises specifically because of the Cuba stop(s). Cancellations are being allowed with full refunds and a future cruise credit given even if past final payment time. Also, many of the cruises with a stop in Cuba were shorter than seven days and there is not a big demand for those shorter cruises without Cuba on the itinerary.

 

b) The propulsion problem with one of their newest Carnival ships is costing about eight cents a share. Several voyages are cancelled with full refunds and future cruise credits also given. Two voyages had an extra day added to them at no cost to passengers including daily gratuities and any beverage or internet package that had been purchased. Also, being a very new ship the pricing is higher than normal and the operating cost is lower, so profit lost by the outage is more than if an older ship had the same problem.

 

c) The Corporation has 18 ships in Alaska this season and Alaska continues to be a "high-yielding" market, but currently pricing is lower than the pricing of last year. Also, although passenger count of the cruise ship is higher, participation on the pre- or post-cruise land extensions cannot go up because the infrastructure is not there to accommodate such growth.

 

d) Although bookings and pricing are up for the North American brands, they are down for the European brands. So far Brexit is not a negative factor,

Hi Caribill, could you share with us  how you came by the valuations for how many cents/share a, b, c, and d should actually be worth? Probably going in on another 50 shares to make my 100 soon.

If we are looking at the luxury lines, Seabourn awards levels based on days sailed. 140 to get to a complimentary cruise.

http://staging.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/seabourn/clubpointsbenefits2017/stage.php?device=accessible

https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/faq.about.904.html

Current close at 46.63. Any bets as to whether it'll continue sinking?

I notice that some of the itineraries have airfare included, just wondering if that's from anywhere or only if you are flying from the UK?

Quick question for those of you who've used it before:
"anyone cruising on a reduced-rate or complimentary basis are excluded from this offer."

What is considered a reduced-rate offer? If I book through some third part site that also promises some rebate or OBC, or during a sale/promo, does that mean the OBC is no longer available?

Quick question for those of you who've used it before:
"anyone cruising on a reduced-rate or complimentary basis are excluded from this offer."

What is considered a reduced-rate offer? If I book through some third part site that also promises some rebate or OBC, or during a sale/promo, does that mean the OBC is no longer available?

Currently trading at a little over 48/share. Debating jumping in on it (already have 50 shares from other points in time).

Currently trading at a little under $48/share, for those interested.

15 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

 

Have sailed a couple of times on Nieuw Amsterdam, and are booked on it for next year. Your description of the lay out of the ship doesn't match reality. 

 

I am assuming you expect the ship to entertain you for all of your waking hours. Many people don't feel that way, including us. Perhaps that is why we enjoy sea days.

Curious as to which reality you think is not the one that was my sailing from a month ago.

And why wouldn't I expect the ship to at least have things to do that are not bars or PowerPoint presentations? Okay, sure, I used the gym on occasion too, and that's what, 3-4 hours across the entire week?

I mean, nothing about sea days prevents them from being inherently not enjoyable. But obviously that depends on the ship's programming, and it's hardly the cruise line's credit if I am bringing my own enjoyment.

On 6/18/2019 at 3:03 PM, scottca075 said:

No such thing as a boring sea day.

Got off the Nieuw Amsterdam about a month ago, beg to differ. Half the public spaces sat unused for most of the cruise, or were used for shopping presentations and PowerPoint presentations. Other half were bars.

Hmm. Wondering if they're partnering with Hilton or something, because it's really weird that Marriott Titanium is also being matched to MSC Silver, but Hilton Diamond gets you Black.

LA itineraries are generally 6-7 nights vs the 9-10 from SF. The amount of hours at each port is actually similar, but the SF one has one more port.

So the gist I'm getting is that of course there are ways to keep myself entertained on the ship if I so choose, but it's definitely going to be dependent on whether I find the ship's activities fun as well as whether I brought stuff to do.

Plus we are working young adults just entering our 30s, thus shorter is actually sometimes more valuable due to using up less of our PTO...

Hi there,

I live in the SF Bay Area and am looking at cruises to the Mexican Riviera. Noticing that I can either leave out of SF on one of the Princess ships for a 10-day, or fly down to LA and do a similar itinerary there. It looks like travel costs ends up running similar, the cruises are about 100-200 cheaper per person from LA, but it requires an additional 100 per person plus luggage costs to fly down there as well.

Anyone do either and have thoughts about which is better? Do the multiple sea days in a row from SF stack up into boredom? Are there additional things to see along the California coast?

Some places, like Alaska, you want a balcony because you want to be able to see that rugged coastline, and you also want to have your own private glacier viewing deck.

Are there any places where you think an oceanview window or even just an inside cabin is fine, as a couple of glances at the port from one of the weather decks when you're pulling in or leaving is sufficient?

Are new itineraries out for ships that would have gone to Cuba? If so, anyone notice any pricing differences? I'd think that they should be going for a bit cheaper as lines would probably want to fill in cabins from all the people that chose to cancel.

19 hours ago, Fogfog said:

I have the old chart downloaded

and from the new postings it looks like no one is being matched Black anymore as compared to the old matching.

 

 

 

Seems like much fewer, although someone has gotten Black from Platinum and also from Hilton Diamond.

1 hour ago, twodaywonder said:

MSC will match whatever you have on any other line also. Thanks for clearing that up. You are correct on the points match. Reciprocal status. Almost the same as a points match but it is not.

Yep, and as I'm finding out from that thread, MSC also gives you the points for whatever status they match.

Although MSC Black doesn't really get you a whole lot.

Also, MSC status doesn't stay forever, need to keep cruising with them at least once every 3 years to maintain it.

4 minutes ago, twodaywonder said:

Problem with Carnival, cruise on any of there other cruise lines and the Diamond means nothing. You start all over. Unlike Royal Caribbean. They honor the points among there cruise lines.

As I understand, RCI gives you reciprocal status along their lines according to a table, but not the points. Celebrity and Azamara tiers match with each other, but RCI can only get you up to Celebrity Elite (which still has a bunch of nice goodies), and if you want to continue earning status, you still start at 0 points.

That's the impression I got from the terms, anyway. Did they give you points on Celebrity in addition to status also when you booked them?

On 6/5/2019 at 9:53 AM, twodaywonder said:

A small cruise line out of Port of Palm Beach Florida ,Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line just started a points program. 

Grand Celebration...are those the guys that did the old "congratulations, you've won a free cruise" robocalls?

On 6/2/2019 at 6:32 AM, Luckiestmanonearth said:

We are Platinum on Carnival and ice you get to that point, it seems forever to get to Diamond so we’re cutting our losses and trying Celebrity for a change

VIFP doesn't really seem give you a lot for the 125 extra cruise nights it takes to get from Platinum to Diamond. One specialty restaurant meal, unlimited laundry (but you already have 2 bags from Plat), some captain invite event, and then it's just stuff like guaranteed seating and priority reservations but that's not really useful if the MDR generally has capacity to seat you anyways. It looks like it's mainly going up to Platinum that consistently gives you a bit more icing on the cake at each level.

Has anyone used the "dedicated sales/service/concierge desk" type amenities and found it to be better than normal customer service?

Similarly, has anyone noticed the past passenger discount rate being actually better than what you can get by booking through a third party agency?