Fairgarth

4 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

 

Air Canada flights arrive at Terminal 2B at LHR, the satellite terminal which is indeed a long walk to immigration and customs.

 

Aer Lingus flights arrive at Terminal 2A, the main building with significantly less walking and - crucially - no immigration checks.

 

Aha!  Good point, thank you.  Learn something every day.

I arrived at Heathrow from Canada on Monday this week.  Immigration was zero wait with the machines that scan your passport.  (Time of day, maybe?)  Customs?  Pah!  Walk right out.  I believe Aer Lingus also use Terminal 2.  But beware, it's a route march from aircraft to Immigration.  You feel like walking to Trafalgar Square might be quicker.  Your choice, Sir Jack, but I would never fly in day of departure.  Your faith in the airlines is touching and entirely misplaced. 

18 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Question is, has anyone actually made a claim with ToGo?  

 

Were they good to work with?  Did they pay out quickly and efficiently?

 

Rates are one thing, but the ease of working with the insurance company is more of my concern.

Having got fed up with another company I'm also very interested in claims experience.  Most of us are buying travel medical insurance but hopefully very few are having to make a claim.  So almost all the discussion on the boards is about rates and terms.  I think you are quite right to research what is likely to happen when you do have a claim.

Hallelujah!  A check in the mail yesterday, over six months since I incurred the expense.  The claim was over five grand so I have been out-of-pocket all this time and not knowing when or if it would be settled.  The amount of $122 was deemed not eligible but I am very happy to get the settlement.

The point was made earlier about declaring which company this was.  I'm reluctant to say since I expect many others might pile in on this one company.  I'm sure there are more companies just as bad.  Perhaps we need a new thread:  "Report your claims experience with travel medical insurance, good and bad." 

22 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

We probably don’t have the complete story 

If you life medication in your carry on , why would you check it 🤔

 

When I have been asked to check a carry-on, the agent has been very clear that I should first remove and retain any valuables, medications and lithium batteries.  That last is very important since they do not want spontaneous combustion in the belly.  I truly can't believe that any agent would take the carry-on without first advising the passenger.  That has to be mandatory.

11 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

This annual plan has a max payout of $5K per person, BUT you can buy an additional add on plan for the amount above $5K if you wish.  This add on is done trip by trip.

 

I'm of the opinion that a limit of $5000 is hopelessly inadequate.  Here's my evidence.  I had to go to a cruise ship medical centre twice in 24 hours.  The total was $5021.  My mother-in-law was boarding a cruise ship in Ft. Lauderdale when she fell backwards on the escalator and ended up in hospital in intensive care for four days.  The bill was $23,600.  (We were surprised - thought it would be very much higher!)  A friend had an accident in Cuba which could not be fixed locally and was flown home on a private jet.  What did that cost?  When we left New York on QM2 the captain sailed in closer to the Maine coastline and a Coast Guard helicopter lifted off a sick passenger.  What did that cost?  Who pays?

The other thing you must think about is who pays?  In my case, I paid the cruise ship and now it's my job to submit the claim to my insurer.  Until, or indeed if, they settle I'm out five grand.  For my mother-in-law in Ft. Lauderdale, the hospital claimed directly from her insurance and she had nothing to do with it.  If, however, you run up a hospital bill in Albania, Aruba or Argentina are they likely to claim from a Canadian insurer and just let you go?

9 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

I feel that this problem happened because the Gate Agents were negligent and should have made announcements for those that checked a bag to retrieve it.  Because they did not do this, then that bag is now an "unattended" bag sitting at some gate...

 

I will blame this whole incident on the negligence of the gate agents and that this could have, should have been avoided.

Sorry, don't follow your logic.  The gal checked her bag at one gate then the flight was moved.  She did not and should not retrieve it.  In fact as per OP, it was on her aircraft, not "unattended", and that is why it was held up while they went into the belly to find her bag and haul it off.

Folks, don't get hung up on price.  My wife and I have been buying an annual medical travel insurance from the same company for thirty years and never had a claim.  Now I do.  I had to go to the medical centre on a cruise ship.  It has been more than five months since the claim was submitted.  I phone every month but I still don't know if they will pay out, when they will pay out or how much they will pay out.  I am not renewing with them.  Trying to find out which insurer will honour claims in a timely and decent manner is next to impossible.  All the discussions on the boards, including this one, are about price and coverage.   Can anybody shed light on satisfactory claims experience?

1 hour ago, Tracey/Thom said:

I should've been more specific! I want to go from USA to UK on the QM2, but couldn't seem to find a repositioning cruise. Seems like they don't do that, just the one way transatlantic, back and forth all year. Looks fine, but now I"m considering using another cruise line to take that journey as it looks like it'll be cheaper (repositioning) rather than a one-way transatlantic.

Repositioning happens, for example, when ships move from the Caribbean to Europe in spring and then back again in the fall.  QM2 does not do repositioning - it's a trans-Atlantic 'crossing'.  Depends what you want.  QM2 takes seven days to cross the pond.  Everybody else takes 14 or so.  Is that cheaper?  Is your time limited?

11 hours ago, ColdCruise said:

 

 

They feed the stingrays so they know to come when the boat arrives. As far as I could see they are not captive but I’m not 100% sure how they keep the bigger males away if that’s totally true.

 

The stingrays are free, not captive at all.  The guides told me that on days with no tourists they still go out and feed them anyway.

Watch the opening hours.  The ground floor market closes - around 2:00pm?? - but upstairs stays open.

5 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

We will watch the seat maps and even the day of the flight they show open seats - lots of them - and then we are amazed as the people keep coming and coming and coming until every seat is full.

 

 

 

 

 

I now believe that the seat map doesn't tell you anything.  Here's what I think is happening.  The Barcelona flight has 398 seats in economy.  There is a whole range of fares that people may choose.  With higher fares, you may select your seat at booking.  For a lower fare, you may select your seat for an extra charge, which some people decline.  So they are booked but there is no seat blocked.  Then there may be fares where seat selection is delayed until check-in at the airport.  Again, there is a booking but no seat selected.  So you might easily have 398 seats available, 300 people booked but only 200 seats selected.  In which case the seat map shows 198 open seats i.e. the flight is only half full.  T'ain't so.  If anybody else can shed light, please do.

Sorry to rain on your parade but your flight will be full.

My wife and I flew Vancouver to London back in October.  The flight was only two thirds full so that meant there was well over 100 open seats when we did seat selection.  Two together?  Easy, right?  Nope, none.  A and C were all taken and there was a whole row of empty B's the full length of the aircraft on both sides.  I'm disappointed that my fellow Canadians would be so inconsiderate and selfish but there you have it.

Don't know when you get to select your seats but it may already be too late and there's nothing left but singles.  If you find two together grab them, don't get fussy.

You will have fabulous time over there, enjoy!

Have you got one ticket for CDG - YYZ - YHZ?  Or two, one for AF and one for AC?

Here you are:  a QM2 crossing in April 2019.

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

LOL, rent a Ferrari?  Keep in mind you technically need a International Driving Permit (IDP) even to drive a Ferrari :).  I also love that you mentioned the Galileo Museum.  We actually enjoyed that venue more then the Uffizzi (we are not fans of Renaissance art).  I hate to admit that on an upcoming driving trip in Italy we reserved a Jeep Renegade!  Sigh :(.

 

Hank

Yes, indeed, Hank.  Don't know if they still do it, this was pre-Covid.  They had two convertible Ferraris available.  You can have ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes.....  Luigi wrote down details from my Canadian licence and off we went, He comes too.  Of course, you are in city streets so you can't get the thing out of second gear.  Still, bucket list.  Check!

5 hours ago, deb18 said:

 I was thinking of getting a hotel in Florence and going to the Academia and maybe other attractions.  Is this doable?   What other attractions would you recommend?  We want to do a walking tour at night which we have booked.   

Oh my, where to start?  It depends very much on your interests.

Academia, yes.  Uffizzi no, we were bored.  Sorry!  Santa Croce is much more interesting than the Duomo except that if you are up for it, excuse the expression, you must climb to the top of the Brunelleschi dome.  The same ticket will take you to the top of the Campanile.  Palazzo Vecchio is worth the visit.  Walk across the Arno and up to Piazza Michelangelo for a great view back across Florence.  Rent a Ferrari for twenty minutes.  If you have time, go to the top of the hill to San Miniato.  Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli gardens.  There's a super museum, the Galileo, just upstream from Uffizzi if you are interested in science and engineering.  Incredible what these renaissance pioneers got up to.  On the way to Mercato Centrale you will pass through the San Lorenzo street market.  OK, enough, already.

10 hours ago, Starboard Forty said:

Travelling Tokyo to Vancouver aboard Queen Elizabeth in May/Jun.  Would like to disembark in Victoria (home) rather than travel to Vancouver and return by ferry the next day.

I can't iamgine that Cunard could detain you on board against your will.  What if there was some major health emergency and you needed a hospital?  They would get you off PDQ.  I speak from experience.  We were on a ten day cruise from Venice to Athens last October and had to jump ship after four days and fly home to Vancouver.  No problem.  And, since you ask, everything is fine now, thank you.

3 hours ago, MajSteve said:

Got a reservation at the Sofitel T5...Thanks for all of your advice. Expensive yes, but it's only money!

Good decision!  As you walk to the Sofitel, you will pass a row of shops including a Marks & Sparks that has a huge selection of food and drink.  Don't know what time they would close.  If open, you could pick up food items to take to your room and therefore avoid room sevice.

4 hours ago, MajSteve said:

 I will arrive at Terminal 5 from Rome on BA555 at 10:45 PM. I will also leave the next day at 1:10 pm from T-5. Going to Dallas on BA193.

Well, arriving - late - at T5 and then departing from T5 it's the Sofitel.  Case closed!  We have stayed there a few times due to flying out of T5 and it's very nice.  You have already bought a flight from Rome to Dallas.  What is your time worth and the wear and tear on the old body?

9 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

I hesitate to say that our more recent flights with AC we have been impressed with the service, and the efficiency of their service.  Friendly crew overall a good experience.

 

Now I will duck from the responses..... HAHA

Much as Canadians revile Air Canada, the flights I have been on were packed tight.  They can't all be touroids, surely?

5 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

There is not much of note to see and do in Civitavecchia itself, which isn't a very charming town by Italian standards (and mine, lol).

 

If you don't go into Rome, my vote would be to go to nearby Tarquinia for the day. In addition to being a charming small city in its own right, it has a fabulous museum of ancient Etruscan artifacts as well as the world-famous Etruscan painted tombs in a necropolis (cemetery) just outside the old city walls. The tombs are the real star and shouldn't be missed. There are more than a hundred of them (not all of them open to the public) and they date back as far as 500 BC but are remarkably preserved as you can see from the links below.

 

You can get to Tarquinia via local bus from Civitavecchia (easier on weekdays), or you could take a taxi and arrange a later pick-up. It's also possible to get there using the train, although a bit more complicated. Finally, there is at least one tour that departs from Civitavecchia -- see link below.

 

Once you get to the museum, there are charming streets to be walked in one direction, and just outside the museum there is a bus hub where you can catch a short shuttle to the Etruscan tombs. Ask for details in the museum.

 

Basic info on Tarquinia and transportation: 

https://www.marthasitaly.com/articles/20/tarquinia-etruscan-tombs

 

Info about Tarquinia and link to a potential guided tour from Civitavecchia:  

https://www.timetravelturtle.com/italy/etruscan-tombs-tarquinia/.  (I have not taken the tour and have no idea how good it may be....)

 

Detailed info on the painted tombs and a map of the necropolis:  

http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/art/tarquinianecropolises.htm

Good advice, I agree.  On our last cruise out of Civitavecchia we spent three nights in Tarquinia.  It's a medieval, hilltop town.  Lots of atmosphere, very attractive we find.  The ride to the port was only 20 minutes.

On 1/24/2024 at 1:17 PM, rodndonna said:

Will be in Antigua next week (first time) and wondering about walking to a beach. It appears Limerz or Fort James beach would be walkable (albeit a long walk) from the cruise port.

 

I wouldn't.  There are no sidewalks and my personal feeling is that such a walk would be more of a chore and not be enjoyable.

My dear Sir, thank you for this latest GSJ which I stumbled across by accident.  I have enjoyed every page.  I'm sure you will enjoy HAL.  We were on Koningsdam in June and had a good time.  Just a couple of comments.  Your photos remind me that the Princess ships have that gorgeous, expansive, welcoming atrium.  The atrium on Koningsdam was tiny, pathetic and miserable and might as well not have been there.  

I play trumpet and that thing is loud.  When I go to a night club in a confined space on Koningsdam and see a trumpet player with a mic clipped to the bell, I'm outta there t-de-s.  Dear God, really?  Is that necessary?

On 12/27/2023 at 8:02 AM, Hlitner said:

Another great example is how Italy made vast improvements to the cruise port at Venice.  They even added the fabulous "People Mover" designed to make it easier for folks to move between the cruise port (Maritima) and town.  Once they created all this over tourism, they decided to effectively close the cruise port and move ships to other ports which will create an even bigger transportation problem!  It is all true insanity which is part of the reason why DW and I love visiting Italy :).

I find it ironic that Venice actually builds these huge cruise ships at the Fincantieri yard, chases them away and says don't come back.  But I still love visiting Italy 🙂🙂