Shawski

My very first cruise was to Alaska in 2006 on Regent. Can’t recall if it was on Mariner or Voyager. It was 7 days from Vancouver to Seward. Next to last day we were in the Gulf of Alaska in a terrible storm. We had 15 foot waves. Just making the point that you can encounter rough seas just about anywhere. 
 

Just wondering why some posters don’t care for the Seattle itineraries. I’m looking at a 10 day cruise round trip Seattle next summer and the itinerary looks as good as the 7 day itineraries out of Vancouver or Seward. 

Thanks. The people I’m traveling with were trying to call Oceania yesterday and couldn’t get through.  Apparently there was a very long hold time, so I was hoping there was a direct number. They were eventually able to find out what they needed to know. 

Does anyone know if Oceania has a special phone number for passengers with special needs?

Thanks clarcu!

Does anyone know if Vista’s exercise facility has a recumbent bike?

Thanks

Thanks everyone for all your replies. Sorry it took me so long to get back her after my original post. My friends and I have decided on the Rhône. It just seems more interesting with more of a variety than the Bordeaux area. We’ve decided to book on Scenic and hoping it lives up to its reviews. 

Looking at river cruises in France for next year and have narrowed it down to either the Rhône or the Bordeaux area. Does anyone have any thoughts on which is the best?  
 

Earlier this month I was supposed to fly Air France from Atlanta to CDG as one leg of a trip from Florida to Copenhagen. The day before my flight I received an email from Air France informing me my flight was cancelled. After a few minutes of near panic I was able to contact Delta and a wonderful agent was able to book me on a different flight through AMS. What’s really interesting about this is that the same Air France flight had been cancelled earlier in the week. 
 

I would stay away from them. 

Thanks Dolcevita Diva.  I'll check into it.

I would love to be able to handle my luggage myself, but I'm recovering from a broken kneecap and I'll be lucky to get myself and my carryon to and from the cruise😛

Thanks for your responses.  I hadn't realized that Silversea offered a baggage valet service.  I just called them and was told that they now only offer the service for much longer cruises.

I checked with Luggage Forward about the process for picking up the luggage at the end of the cruise.  I was told that I do not need to personally retrieve my bags upon disembarkation.  They will handle it and see it through customs.  Hoping that they are right and I don't end up missing my flight. 

I’m using Luggage Forward for my upcoming cruise round trip Copenhagen. Does anyone know how the luggage is handled when disembarking the ship?  Do I have to retrieve my luggage and pass it on to Luggage Forward or can I just leave for the airport?

Not really such a quick recovery. He’s been sick for two weeks 😫. I have a wonderful pet sitter that I normally leave him with so I’m able to travel, but can’t leave her with a sick dog that is making messes in the house. 

Thanks all.. Thankfully my dog seems to be getting better and I won't have to cancel.  I will have to check out the policy that Dolcevita Diva mentioned and possibly use that in the future.  With an 11 year old pet, one never knows what might happen.  Then there's always CFAR but I've always thought that didn't make sense financially.  You're paying a lot more for the insurance, then only get 75% back. 

I’m scheduled to cruise on Dawn to the Norwegian Fjords on August 5.  I may have to cancel last minute because of a sick dog.  I have trip insurance for myself, but of course it doesn’t cover sick pets.  The cruise has been wait listed in all categories for quite some time now.  I will contact my travel agent next week, but in the meantime I thought I would post here to see if you think Silversea might allow me to transfer this booking to another cruise or give me a FCC.  

Thanks for any advice. 

Lois, I’m booked on the August 5 Norwegian Fjords cruise. Really looking forward to it and so nice to know Silversea is so good to solos. This will be my first solo cruise. I broke my kneecap last month so I’m really hoping I will have recovered enough to go. 

I don’t mean to hijack this thread, but I have a different question about booking. I will be traveling solo on Dawn in August and I was wondering if there is any way to indicate I would like to share a table when I’m booking a reservation only restaurant. 

Thanks to everyone for your helpful replies. I think we will book the PH. My only concern now is possible noise from the pool deck above. Does anyone have any experience with that?  It looks like if I stay pretty far forward it wouldn’t be a problem but right now I’m not sure about the availability of cabins. 

Looking at booking a cruise later this year on Sirena. I’m wondering if it’s worth upgrading to a PH to get more room.  Is the bathroom in a PH substantially larger?  How about closet space?

Is there a problem with noise in the PH from Deck 9?

Thanks for your help. 

I am interested in booking  a Mediterranean cruise on Dawn for next April. I’ve been on Whisper in the past and enjoyed it but I was traveling with my late husband. This would be my first solo cruise and I’m wondering how Silversea is for solo travelers. I’m a bit concerned about the lack of a main dining room on Dawn. If I’m dining at other restaurants will there be an opportunity to join other travelers as there typically is in a main dining room?

 Thanks for your help. 

Just looking for someone to give us a tour of the highlights of the city. We can't do a walking tour because of disability.

Any recommendations for a private tour guide in Boston?

Thanks

As I understand it, trip insurance would not normally cover a pre-existing condition. However, if you purchase the insurance within a specified period, usually 10 to 14 days after deposit, the non-coverage of the preexisting condition is waived and the insurance will cover a pre-existing condition, including such things as Parkinsons.

My DH has Parkinsons, and we have been very careful to purchase our trip insurance within the required period. Thankfully, we have never had to use it.

There is a web site called Tripinsurancestore.com. In addition to being able to purchase trip insurance on that site, there are really good articles on lots of things, including the pre-existing condition waiver.

One thing to be very careful of is to make sure that the entire non-refundable cost of your trip is insured. Otherwise, the waiver will not apply. If you add on things such as non-refundable excursions, airfare, hotel, etc. after you originally purchase the insurance, you need to make sure that those items are reflected in your total cost of trip for insurance purposes. We almost learned the hard way about this. For example, if you originally only insure the cost of your deposit, when you make final payment you need to up the insurance to make sure all of that is covered, and this needs to be done within 10 to 14 days. After final payment, if you book a non-refundable hotel room or an excursion, the cost of the also needs to be added and you need to increase your insurance to cover it. Talk to the people at Tripinsurance store. They are very helpful.

I hope this has not confused you too much.

The ship we are considering does have his favorite station. Just wondering, however, what is the satellite reception like? Are we likely to have reception between LA and Honolulu?

As long as he gets CNBC he will be a happy camper.

We are thinking about booking a cruise from Los Angeles to Hawaii but are concerned about all of the sea days. I am fine with just relaxing, reading a book, going to lectures, etc. However, I think that DH would have a problem if there was no TV. What is the reception like when out there in the Pacific? Is there any reception at all?

Thanks