Rusty Scupper

Another question: When you buy the card on the AARP site, is the payee HAL or AARP on the credit card statement? This could affect insurance coverage for me.

24 minutes ago, Nodakboiler said:

Yes, we saved $2000 by using AARP gift cards on a long SA cruise 

OK. Good to go. Thanks.

19 minutes ago, disneyochem said:

Yes, but AARP sends digital cards not physical ones.

Perfect. Thanks.

So, I can buy gift cards and use them to make final payment? Let's say I had $4,000 in cards toward a $4,333 final: Could I just send  my travel agent the card numbers when payment is due, plus the rest? I'm assuming AARP sends physical cards. Thanks.

U.S. is official currency onboard, so no problem for crew to exchange them. Use them often onboard for servers.

We've redeemed our Holland Visa Card points toward onboard credits for our upcoming cruise.

Barclaycard sent HAL the transaction details a month ago, but the credits don't show up yet--although credits from other sources do.

Does anyone know what the process normally is? Should we be seeing them now?

We've redeemed our Holland Visa Card points to get onboard credits for our upcoming cruise.

Barclaycard sent HAL the transaction a month ago, but the credits don't show up yet--although credits from other sources do.

Does anyone know what the process normally is?

We did it on our own with Mop Top Tours, which was excellent for serious Beatles fans. Stevie T. picked us up at the ship.

Overall,  loved the river cruises, not so much the ocean, but would do it again.

Ocean rundown:

• Dining service very professional, but friendlier  and warmer on river and other cruise lines.
• Entertainment better than river, and found it more enjoyable (just an opinion) than on cruise lines with bigger productions.
• Space  better than river and blows away most cruise lines -- so much public area and a full promenade. 
• Food's been excellent on river, but Ocean is sumptuous, beats other lines. 
• Lectures better, but held at dinner time on our cruise.
• The free spa area is a thermal wonderland.
• Included daily tour works better on river;  you can get stuck with a midday departure  that kills doing anything else in port.
• Too many tender ports -- even in large cities --on our cruise 
• Incredible amount of reading material, but sea days are an endangered species on Viking.
• Free wifi much better than on river.
• Front desk efficiency on questions and requests didn't wow me--but could just be that cruise.

So, the luxury of the ship could get me on Viking Ocean again after weighing other options. I'Il book my next river cruse  without much thinking. 

3 hours ago, rljan said:

This will be our firstSan Diego to Hawaii, but have done the L.A. to Hawaii several times.  Each was different, but on average, one day before reaching the islands was when the weather was warm.  This year it's anybody's guess.

This is what we experienced out of San Diego in January.

3 hours ago, Cruise NH said:

What kind of coverage does the Chase Sapphire provide?  Just medical or do they cover, for example cancelling a trip because of health?  I've been looking for alternatives as we've gotten older (and insurance is way more expensive) also DH has a pre-existing condition now.

Chase Sapphire  insures trip expense, no medical expense, up to $10,000 per person, but would reimburse a trip cancelation or interruption for medical reasons. . All travel payments should go on only that card. We had a medical emergency and evacuation. Four insurers were involved. Three paid immediately with minimal documentation. Chase required several pages of documentation, kept asking for more and  took two months to pay. It is an option, but be prepared to dot your i's and cross your t's. Chase, however, did quickly provide a bilingual medical doctor to consult by phone with the local physicians, who spoke very limited English,  and advise us on the best course of action, which was invaluable.

On our recent Viking cruise, missed two ports, substituted one. Did not get the impression Viking tried as hard to find alternatives as other lines, especially since the decisions to skip were made very early. But that was only one cruise without any deep explanation.

Unlike other lines, Viking did not refund port charge or make a peace offering, like a special event or freebie for missed call--not that I need one, but compared to what usually happens. (Actually, I'd enjoy more sea days on Viking.)

Excellent review. My thoughts after a recent Mars cruise: Vessel, food tops of any cruise (except Chef's Table). Ship cast shows better than any other, but range of entertainment, indeed,  less. Overall service good, but not as friendly or competent as on river cruises. Included excursion model works great on river, not same ease or quality on ocean.  Viking app: C-. 

Can anyone help with information on the Belfast call? 

Does the included Historic Belfast City tour give you the option of leaving the bus to stay in the city instead of returning to the port? If so, where in the city would it be? Also, where does the ship dock -- is it near anything? Thanks

Check out coverage directly from insurance companies and compare. You would get a cash refund on those policies. Our credit card provides trip cancellation--although not for any reason-- so we only purchase medical.

By my understanding, high blood pressure would not negate coverage for  heart attack. If you were diabetic and had to be hospitalized, then you could be nailed on the pre-existing condition exclusion. But don't go by that. Call the  insurance provider and get a sure answer regarding any specific condition.

We sailed on the Rotterdam in January for two weeks, then immediately sailed on her slightly younger sister, the Volendam.

It was hard to believe these  ships were twins operated by the same line.

The Rotterdam showed extensive wear, shoddy repairs,  cracked tile and plenty of rust. There was a mix of deck chairs, many like my Costco patio loungers, not teak. Worst looking Holland ship we've ever seen, by far.

By comparison, the Volendam was as gorgeous as when we sailed on it 17 years earlier. 

That said, Rotterdam's cosmetic defects did not concern us, and the ship's staff was far more efficient than the Volendam's, making the Rotterdam the better cruise.

Four and five-star Mariners have priority at tender ports and can leave at will. However, on some cruises, there are so

many ranking Mariners aoard that they dispense with the priority system and make everyone get a ticket. 

On our past four long cruises, the gym opened at 6 a.m., sometimes earlier, usually by

the head of the staff.

By 7 a.m. on those sailings, the gym was packed, with no free machines, annoying the

sleepyheads.

Actually, I prefer to walk the deck, but 5:30 a.m. to  7 a.m. is almost always when they hose

down the lower promenade. 

Opening the gym later would not be good, I'm afraid.

NO

In January, we sailed 21 days on the Rotterdam and a week later boarded the Volendam for a cruise that ends tomorrow.    I had no problem with the Rotterdam, but it really was trending toward  shabby, with a lot of rust, chips and sloppy repairs, while the Volendam is remarkably well-kept. Even the mix of deck chairs on the Rotterdam was eclectic, with the traditional wood chairs only present outside the lanai cabins. The   outside doors on the Rotterdam's lanai cabins showed a lot of wear with makeshift repairs and patches. Overall, there was nothing terrible, but it was hard to believe that the two ships of similar age  belonged to the same fleet. We sailed on the Statendam shortly before she was sold, and she was in better shape.  On the other hand, the Rotterdam's crew and operations functioned better than the Volendam.

For the past four years, we've done a Viking River fall cruise and then spent 30 days or more  on Holland during January and February. In my estimation, Viking food and service are superior to Holland. The Viking dinner selection is not as wide, but there always seems to be something good. The portions are ample, and on some local-themed nights, there are endless platters of food. We've  also  opted for the casual alternative, which is just as good-- pretty much the same menu as in the main room, but you can have a table for two and be done quickly.

If I went to a local restaurant and was offered either a Viking meal or Holland meal, I'd always choose Viking, although I certainly

am fine with Holland's fare.

The shows are excellent -- some of the best entertainment onboard -- and just as good as the TV shows. After the first day, when we were on the Oosterdam, you had to go half an hour early to get a seat.  A chef makes a couple of dishes and gives a detailed and entertaining dialogue. They distribute recipes for what they demonstrate. Classes are free. There were one or two on every sea day. There was not audience participation -- and there were no, unfortunately, samples of the finished product. Thanks to the shows, we now enjoy perfect baked potatoes.

Maybe someone here has the answer, as the Barkley's Holland Visa card center isn't any help.

The Holland Visa card offers up to $1,500 in trip cancellation coverage per traveler.

So, if you booked a $9,000 cruise and put $1,500 on the Holland card but paid the rest on another card, would they reimburse you for the $1,500 if you had to cancel?

Or, would they deny the claim because you didn't put the entire $9,000 on their card?

The language in the Cardholder Guide to Benefits is unclear to me. If you've dealt with this or are a legal or insurance expert who understands the language of the guide, I'd appreciate your help.

We had a cruise on the Maasdam immediately after a drydock.

Boarding was extremely late, a couple hours as I recall, because of a lot of finishing work and multiple inspections.

The first two days, workers had to access our cabin a couple of times to work on the electrical. During the cruise, many of the veranda cabins had water coming in the outside doors, and a few people had to be relocated. But this may have been due to extremely heavy rain and not necessarily drydock problems. We received a shipboard credit and wine to compensate for the inconvenience. It was not something I felt was necessary for the slight leakage we experienced; others, though, did have carpet issues that took a couple days to remedy..

.

The forward and aft outside stairwells were filled with equipment, so access was limited, but very few people use these. During most of the cruise, I noticed a lot of outside contractors coming and going to mechanical rooms.

Beyond the embarkation delay, these were minor nuisances and did not detract from our vacation experience, not enough to deter me from booking a ship returning to service.

It seems as if you must use a minimum of $750. The daily service charge would erase $350. That leaves $400 to burn. Nice shore excursions, some specialty dining and a spa visit booked once on board could wipe out that in a hurry. Or am I missing something?

On our last cruise, we had a similar situation, and that's how we drew down what we had to, while taking about $250 back on the credit card.

During the cruise, I frequently checked with the front desk to affirm we were drawing down correctly. By the way, the Maasdam encountered problems, and twice we were awarded additional credits during the 49-day cruise. It's nice to have them pay you when you get off the ship.