merlot101

My friends are going to join the cruise in Aruba.  They are currently on the Crystal Serenity.

I received a flyer for 2020 trips to South America on Mariner.  According to the list posted earlier, the Mariner isn't suppose to cruise until January 2021.  Is this a waist of money on advertising, or is there something wrong with the list!!!

On 5/27/2020 at 4:36 PM, Dolebludger said:

We don’t have a “vacation cottage” because we live in one — just larger than the usual one. It is in the mountains, but only a half hour’s drive from the desert. We are thinking about some national park visits this fall. Mesa Verde is only an hour or so away. The Grand Canyon is a day and a half’s drive away. Zion national park is a day drive away. So these are what we are looking at for fall. I’m not going to go on another anti-airline rant that nobody wants to read, but will say that we are not satisfied with their present onboard distancing policies, and leave it there. But we are fortunate to live in an area where there are many  places to go on vacation that we can reasonably get to by car that we haven't visited lately.

We are going to Durango over the 4th.  Lots of plans for day trips in the area.  Great place to cool off!!

I'm on the bridge cruise, and my husband does not play.  Mornings and afternoons are lessons and  playing.  Evenings some play or go to the entertainment .  I just checked,

our final payment is June 14th.  Restaurants the July date. 

We are scheduled for the Splendor in December.  If we don't get this cruise, I will have the money go toward the Dec. cruise.  I'm not sure if California want's the cruise ship.  They canceled state owned Univ and pro sports for the fall.  I will watch the virus numbers for Mexico.  I do have two tours I want to attend and not play bridge.

Canceled a March 2021 trip April 13th.  Received deposit today, May 15th. 

Oceania March 2020 trip was canceled in March, and haven't seen any money.

I just found out today that the cruise fee is for future cruise credit, but the taxes on that cruise will be credited to my credit card.

On 3/15/2020 at 4:15 PM, wcsdkqh said:

Already inquired about the insurance thru chase sapphire, and was told it specifically excludes cancellations associated with a pandemic.

I was in reference to this comment about chase not covering cancellations regarding the pandemic of corona virus.  Did chase mention the pandemic that we are currently experiencing?

Just now, merlot101 said:

 

Did they mention the current condition with the virus?  Whether they will cover you.

2 hours ago, boblerm said:

OK, I tried a different phone number and was able to speak to a rep.  She verified that the above language is exactly as it appears in regard to multiple Chase accounts.  So if I paid for my trip using my Sapphire Reserve and Chase Freedom card, only the Sapphire Reserve benefits would be paid, which is a max of $20,000.  If I had coverage under a different bank card, then I would be able to combine benefits.  

 

However, the info that you mentioned earlier, that they cover all travel costs even if only part of the cost is charged to the card is quite correct.  So in my case, since I am paying for the cost difference between the 2 cruises with my CSR, I have enough coverage for the uninsurable FCC.

 

All cruises canceled for two months

6 hours ago, crusin7 said:

I heard from my travel advisor that the 2 day cruise after ours has been canceled.  Yikes!  Anyone on the next cruise hear anything??

My agent was suppose to be on that cruise, but it was canceled.  She was very disappointed.

We are scheduled for the 60 day Asian trip in 2021.  What are the chances that there will still be health issues a year from now?

Anyone else worried and thinking of canceling?

On 4/1/2017 at 1:31 PM, UUNetBill said:

To submit your rating and comments, please use the following template and paste the information in a reply - I'll paste the information into the master listings as time allows. Remember, the more folks contribute, the more useful this will be!

 

PLEASE BE SURE AND SPECIFY WHICH SHIP YOU WERE ON! I could probably figure it out but it's a LOT easier to know up front!

CC Rating Template.xls 32.5 kB · 344 downloads

On a recent cruise I went back to get something out of our cabin.  The asst butler had put a bean bag in the doorway of about 8 cabin doors to make cleaning, emptying trash,  linen replacement, etc  easier. No key was necessary to get in any of the cabins.   I got my camera and never saw our attendant.  I went directly to the hotel manager and complained.  He said this was not an approved shortcut.  

We fly out of Phoenix, Arizona and want First/Business air for the entire flight.  We have to use a lot of effort and TA time to get the flights to work for us.  On our next trip we are flying to central Europe for a few weeks before going to London for a Regent cruise ending in Barcelona.  After looking at a lot of alternatives we discovered a $1000 pp saving by flying home a day later from Barcelona.  This brought our total First/Business flight to a little less than the credit but we "have to stay" another night in Barcelona.  We used our Chase Sapphire points to pay for that lodging.  However, air deviation is our preferred choice.  It seems like the Regent air credits are being reduced while the comparable flight costs keep rising. 

This thread has wandered away from its initial question.  I think that a tip is never wrong.  As long as we received satisfaction from the excursion or transfer we offer a tip. If something was amiss we might reduce what we might have tipped.  Many of the excursions are short (3-4 hours) so we often take that into consideration when tipping.  Seldom has anybody refused a tip.

We are also on the same cruise as r0gano but have a Regent excursion.  Be sure to post your request directly on the Roll Call site for the Explorer and this cruise.  Also register for the Mix and Mingle as that will give you another chance to find additional passengers for your scheduled trip.  See you on board!

We have been in suite class on Celebrity.  The only place I could get the quality of alcohol was in Michaels.  Even though we had the upgraded package, we were limited else wear.  We always had to keep our key card handy for drinks in the theater. 

this is terrific.  Now we can do some planning

We don't bother getting local country currency for only a one day visit.  For longer stays such as our ten-day Iceland visit we got their currency for tolls, etc.  We find that the use of credit cards is even more common in foreign countries than in the US.  Every waiter seems to carry a mobile credit card machine.  Might be a problem for a street vendor but every established shop should accept credit cards.  In a few countries (Russia and South Africa, for example) they prefered USD to their country's currency. As for tips, we tip with USD or whatever currency we have or want to get rid of.  We carry "crisp" 1, 5, 10, and 20 USD.  Sometimes it takes our local bank a week to get the crisp money for us.

In January, we did a "free walking tour" by locals in the morning.  Had a quick lunch back on the ship and then in the afternoon took a Regent excursion.  The people that did the Bacardi Tour were disappointed.  Don't forget to do your own rum tasting on the cruise ship.

We are going there on the Explorer leaving England Sept 23, 2019

On my last Regent cruise I had a different vodka martini each night working my way through the bar list.  With more cruise days than vodka selections I started the rotation again.  My first choice was Chopin (to my surprise since I had never tried it before) Tito was second followed by Ketel One.  The more expensive vodkas were down my tasting  list.  Grey Goose didn't have much flavor and I assume it was because it has been filtered too many times.  I guess, on my next Regent cruise I will have to start all over with my tasting.

On 5/4/2019 at 10:47 AM, 1985rz1 said:

Ain't got nothin' against a good tequila.  Did a upscale tequila tasting in San Jose del Cabo, and was amazed by the different flavors...almost like wine tasting.

 

My margarita recipe uses only quality tequila, contreau, and lime juice.  No sweet and sour or margarita mix for me.  But this recipe (on the Contreau bottle) may be too sharp for many. 

 

I did chuckle on your Christmas tree comment, but understood.  We're surrounded by juniper trees, down in elevation a bit from our 7000 ft high town.

I would love to try your margarita.  Next time up the hill!!!

Tito is my favorite vodka.  Very disappointed if it has been dropped.