CruisingAlong4Now

I never said that Milan was a waste of time, but I would consider sitting in a bus for several hours a waste of a vacation day if my priority was seeing Venice and the lagoon islands. I've done all these trips, including Lake Como and the Swiss and Italian Alps. As was said, different strokes for different folks. It's very interesting that people are very positive and encouraging about being bused from one destination to another destination on this pseudo-river cruise (Milan to Venice) but when water levels are low on the Danube, people agitate for a refund when they are bused from a central site on the Danube.

Based on your post, I infer that the aide is an employee of a contracting company and covered under the company's standard worker's compensation policy for injuries incurred on the job and within the scope of the job. The company has indicated that they do not believe that the worker's compensation policy will cover the aide during your extraterritorial travel. As has been mentioned above, this probably is not a valid assumption. Most state workers' compensation laws provide short-term coverage for workers who travel outside the state or country temporarily. Coverage varies by state and there are instances where overseas injuries may not be covered. It may be a disease that is routinely excluded in the home territory or some other exclusion in the company's insurance policy or a statutory exclusion under state law. The contracting company should contact their insurance broker to determine the limits of the worker's compensation policy and possible exclusions based on the aide's state of hire. Someone should also address evacuation policies which is routinely covered under travel insurance but which the aide may not have unless you purchase one for this person.

I would write to one of the senior executives at Carnival and be specific in your inquiry. Request a reply in writing. When you are closer to sailing, confirm their response. Provide the letter to ship management when you board.

Female stewards on Seabourn were excellent. Many were from English speaking Africa. Olga Austin - Stewardess - Seabourn Cruise Line | LinkedIn

One of the major takeaways from this discussion regarding lost luggage is the concept of primary or secondary insurance: With whom do you file a claim for benefits whether it's for lost luggage or a medical claim outside your home area. When purchasing travel insurance, especially medical insurance, you should be aware if the policy is primary or secondary to your US medical insurance. If it is primary, it will quite often guarantee or pay the deposit required by many foreign hospitals. If it is secondary, you will probably have to post cash bond yourself or accept an immediate charge on your credit card before getting treated in some ports. You will then have to submit the claim to your home medical insurer, get the confirmation of claim denial, and then submit to the travel insurance company for adjudication. Because of this upfront payment necessity, many people buy travel medical insurance that is primary since these could be quite large and in excess of some people's credit card limit.

If you are interested in seeing Venice, why not stay at a hotel in Vencie? There are many hotels in which to stay. Also, there is certainly no shortage of very interesting and excellent restaurants in the city. Why limit your meals to the ship? The bus trip from Milan to Venice is 150 miles. Yes, you stop in Verona, but otherwise it's a waste of a day. Also, the stops that the boat makes in the Venice lagoon can easily be accomplished with local water transport.

My best cruises were on the Seabourn triplets: Pride, Legend, and Spirit. Wonderfully small and intimate. Truly felt like a private yacht. Gratuities, all beverages included. Wonderful ports, interesting cruisers, fantastic food, well-trained and high performing staff. Only 210 passengers. I still bemoan their sale to Windstar.

Steinbeck had it all figured out: "“Once Adam had remarked on the quiet splendor of Lee’s clothes, and Lee had grinned at him. “I have to do it,” he said. “One must be very rich to dress as badly as you do. The poor are forced to dress well.”― John Steinbeck, East of Eden"

Thank you all for your replies.

I will be on the Epic in the Western Med in July. I will need speedy communications back to the US. If the wi-fi on the Epic adequate for emails and the life. I'm not looking to stream movies, but I need good wi-fi for business reasons. I am looking into the AT&T International Day Pass for usage on land. Has anyone used the AT&T Cruise Package on board? is it reliable or am I better off using the ship's wi-fi for my internet needs?