babs135

I was actually talking about travel insurance not house/building insurance. But to answer your question, yes to some extent once you reach a certain age finding suitable insurance can be very difficult and expensive. Like a lot of people we used to get our travel insurance throuygh our bank but they have a cut off point for accepting people of 75 or some banks will go up to the age of 80. After this point you find you are loaded, even if your health, circumstances haven't changed. Or as we found out they make it clear they don't really want to insure you; DH had a mini stroke a few years ago which completely resolved but when it came time to renew our insurance the bank suddenly decided they wouldn't cover him for any of his other previously reported complaints, ie diabetes! We had to go elsewhere and pay a hefty premium. We joke that now we are retired and can afford to go on holiday any time we want to we can't, and why, because we can't afford the insurance! I don't know how it works in America, but here in the UK the minute you say you want to travel to the States (and for some odd reason the Caribbean) the premium goes up, add on the fact that you are cruising and the price goes up again. It's a minefield out there but with due diligence (and a lot of patience) there is insurance out there for everyone and I would urge everyone, even the young, not to even contemplate for a second travelling without insurance. We had to cancel a holiday recently and our insurance company paid out within 4 weeks of putting in the claim.

Sorry to hear about this. Telling you to wait 19 days is quite simply bizarre and I would have thought extremely unprofessional. Once, a couple of weeks before we were due to board the QM2 I developed a persistent cough. I went to the pharmacist who did say that provided it got no worse I should just let it run its course. Apparently it was 'doing the rounds' and most people recovered after about 3 weeks. When I told him I was going on a cruise in under 2 weeks he did send me to the doctor who prescribed some low dose antibiotics. This, of course, doesn't help or excuse what happened to you. I suggest a strongly worded letter to Cunard and see what they have to say for themselves. Please let us know if you get a response.

Are you saying that if you want to do a World cruise which could be in the region of 110+ days and you're a senior citizen you won't be able to get cover? As I would anticipate that the majority of people doing a long cruise would be more towards the older age scale surely this cannot be right

Still nothing booked, still looking at this thread (why?!) but...…. there is a glimmer of hope for the end of the year. I say no more but offer a silent prayer to any god who is prepared to listen.

I wonder how this thread would have evolved if the female involved had been 25, or even 35? As someone we would expect to be 'older and wiser' would the comments be the same? And what if she was travelling with her parents - would we be asking where were they?

What, if anything, is the difference between the locks? Are they simply just bigger to allow passage for more ships and would someone who has passed through the old locks notice any difference? Thanks.

Not quite the same situation but when we had to cancel our holiday of which a Princess cruise was just one component, all it took was one phone call to our travel agent and one to the insurance company and all monies were refunded no problem. A few days later I suddenly remembered we had booked and paid for a shore excursion through Princess; again one phone call this time direct to Princess and was told that they had been made aware of the cancellation of the whole trip and the money for the excursion would be refunded with 48 to 72 hours. It was actually back in our bank later the same day.

How awful. Go to your local television station and the national newspapers with your story. Firms hate bad publicity. Please let us know what happens.

According to cruisetimetables.com only the Eurodam is doing a partial transit. However, one online travel agent is also showing the Zuiderdam doing a partial.

We are thinking of a partial transit (not enough time for a full transit 🤔) in December but which ship? We definitely want to go through the old locks. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

We've done a full transit with Cunard but this time our DD will be joining us and she is time restricted so I'm looking for the cruise that will offer her the best in the time (possibly a maximum of 14 nights including flights) she will have. That's why I'm looking for the line which offers her the best in a short time. I realise the word 'best' is subjective but from some of the things I've read here some ships offer more viewing areas than others? Of course I should have said all this in my original post but that was too obvious 😊

We're giving consideration to doing a partial transit either in November or December but is one cruise line better than the others or are they all the same. I'm talking about specifically sailing through the canal.

i This is, if I've done it right, a photo of the promenade deck on the new Holland America ships. On the second page of the thread there is also a photo of the QM2 promenade deck. Don't know actual measurements but I'm sure someone will come on here and tell you.

OP, for the cost of a dark suit, smart shirt and a bowtie the whole of the ship will be open to you. Is it worth his reconsidering? It really is a lovely experience to see everyone dressed up and be part of it.

Is there a reason why we in the UK never get these offers?