Little Rascal

Following your travels. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. 🦃 

Thank you!  I’m so excited to hear about your trip. We go in March and taking the pre and post trips. Enjoy and safe travels. 

29 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Probably if you book direct you will still get an obc. But you won't get a cash rebate,  something that many TA's provide. In our case it's about $10k (for two.)

Wow!  That’s a great deal. I think my agent said $1,000. Maybe I need to look for a new agent. ☺️  We were wondering how much the travel insurance would be for the W/C. Thank you now we have an idea. We will for sure buy the travel insurance. The cost is so high it’s silly not too. Thank you both for your replies. 

That's what I have been doing as well.  🙂  

We are considering a World cruise when my hubby retires and trying to figure which cabin we would like. We are thinking DV1 either aft view of wake deck 3,4,5 or up top on Deck 7 or 8 closer to the Explorers lounge. ( no laundry on these floors is s negative). Any thoughts on which deck. Are there any cabin reviews other than reading every review here?  I thought they had cabin reviews but can’t find it.   

2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

This is our 2nd World Cruise, with the first one being in 2015. I will be completing daily blog posts, if you wish to follow the adventure and gain a perspective of life aboard - www.andyandjudi.com

 

I will!  Thank you. 

Thank you!  We do have Allianz here in Ca. I’ll look 👀 not it. I’ve used Travelguard  also and am heir prices for trip insurance was good. 

Thank you. That’s good to know. No more TA questions. 

Oh sorry. I thought if they did I could ask them to Private message me their name. 

On 8/3/2019 at 9:54 PM, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

Little Rascal, fellow San Clemente-ite here!  Talega specifically.

 

Best to wait until you make sure that that bad hombre Jim is not going to book that WC 😜

Hi Ragnar. We love living in San Clemente. Talega is beautiful. We live in Sea Summit. It’s hard being a planner. 😏. There is so much to plan for a W/C and if you want a certain cabin you need to book early. Do you have a local TA that you use?  

23 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

We found it very difficult to buy cancellation insurance here in Canada for our WC.  In fact, only about 2/3's of the cost will be covered.  This was after a very extensive search.  The agent said it had nothing to do with our age or health, but was entirely because of the cost of the trip.

 

Fortunately we have travel medical coverage separately, through my husband's work pension, including evacuation.  (This makes spending 6 months a year in Florida much simpler and cheaper, btw.)

 

Our cruise line will provide routine medical care on this cruise, included in the price.  But obviously major medical events that require hospitalization would happen off the ship.

I have heard of those policies. I guess it’s worth  looking into. Who do you have your policy with?  As I get older (56) I tend to not take the gamble of not having insurance. 

Thank you!  It’s good to know we can split into two policies. 

On 8/3/2019 at 7:33 PM, Heidi13 said:

We are taking the 2020 Viking WC, which is the 2nd half of the Ultimate 245-day WC. We booked in April 2018, which was about 20 months before departure.

 

Contacting Viking directly we received a provisional booking, which I had 3 weeks to confirm. During this period I contacted local insurance brokers and the online outfits frequently mentioned on Cruise Critic. My insurance requirements were Trip Cancellation/Interruption and also Medical Insurance. I required the deposit covered from day 1 and full fare upon payment at 6-months before departure. No broker was prepared to accept that value of risk, so far in advance.

 

To receive insurance coverage we had to purchase the Viking plan. The cruise line covers the trip cancellation/interruption & a insurance company covers the medical and a few other benefits. While expensive, it does have some benefits - pre-existing conditions clause waived if purchased with the cruise, cost of insurance is based on cost of cruise and is not based on age and medical history.

 

Viking, similar to many cruise line's policies only provide $100K of medical benefits, so we will also purchase supplementary medical insurance to $5M to $10M.

 

We had our TA transfer the provisional booking to her and then confirm the booking. Viking restricts the amount of benefits that TA can provide, based on the length of the cruise. Over 15 days they permit $500 pp. 

Thank you Heidi. I’ll be looking forward to your post if you do while on your trip. The trip your taking is the one we would be interested in also. I wonder how they decide where they are going?  The insurance sounds complicated. 😏. I’m glad we are 4 years out. 😳. ( not really, I want to go now). My hubby will retire then we will go. Is this your first W/C?  It sounds like it’s addicting. 

On 8/3/2019 at 6:56 PM, ArtsyCraftsy said:

Lots of questions there -- I'll try to focus just on the insurance questions.

 

I'm currently booked on the Regent Seven Seas 2020 World Cruise (131 days) so I'm dealing with this at the moment.  

 

There are two types of insurance you need to consider:  

1) Trip cancellation insurance -- what happens if, after you've paid your fare, you can't make the trip?  Cruise contracts offer a sliding rebate depending on how close you are to embarkation but let's say your house burned down or you were in an accident the day before you were to leave.  How do you get your money back?  

2)  Medical insurance -- what happens if you get sick on the ship and need medical care in the ship's medical office?  Are you covered for expenses incurred onboard? How about if you have to see a doctor or go to a hospital in port -- are you covered?  How about if you need to fly home for treatment?  And worst-case scenario, what about if it's an emergency and you need to be medically evacuated from the ship in the middle of nowhere?

 

A LOT depends on your particular circumstances -- your age, employment status, current insurance, etc.  I'm retired and on Medicare -- Medicare doesn't cover me outside the US, so I need to carry separate medical insurance when I cruise.  If you're still employed, your specific employer-funded insurance may cover you outside the country with some limits, or you may have another policy that provides some coverage.  Just make sure it's enough to cover the worst-case scenario (medical evacuation from a ship can cost over $125K).

 

Also, some credit cards have built-in travel insurance, but again, there may be limitations on total amount.  World cruises tend to be pricey -- especially for the cruise lines you're considering (Viking and Oceania).

 

The Regent world cruise is a huge investment for me -- and I want to be protected in case the worst happens.  I had to split the coverage between two policies:  there's usually a limit as to what a single policy will cover and my cost exceeded that limit, so ... two policies.

 

I'll be working out the details of the medical insurance in the next month or so.  The Regent world cruise includes free onboard medical -- anything they can do onboard will have no charge associated with it.  So I need to make sure I'm covered for the more serious stuff.  There are also some special limitations pertaining to pre-existing conditions that may cause problems -- there's a "window" within which you have to purchase your medical in order for pre-existing conditions to be covered based on when you booked your cruise.  I'm well beyond that window but it shouldn't be a problem for me.

 

There are a couple of good travel insurance companies who specialize in cruise travel that are excellent at sourcing the best policy(ies) for your specific situation.  I use TripInsuranceStore and have been very happy with them.

 

I think that's all -- sorry for the length, but as I said, I'm right in the middle of sorting all this out for my cruise next January.

 

Lana in Bellingham, WA

Laura,

thank you for your reply and answer. Your trip sounds amazing. I did hear about a woman who bought the insurance from Viking and got hurt on the ship a few days in. They only refunded $30,000 out of $80,000. I believe she got $50,000 after hiring an attorney. 😏. Yes, it’s a huge investment so that’s why I’m trying to learn what I need. I buy trip insurance for my cruises now but a W/C you have so many more things to consider like you stated. I hope you have a wonderful voyage. Did your travel agent help you at all with your insurance?  

We are considering a World cruise for 2023. We would like to know the itinerary that they are planning. I think we would have to book a few years out.  

We are considering a World cruise for 2023. Do you buy travel insurance and does it cover your medical in case you get sick?  I read that Oceania offers medical 🏥 insurance with their world cruise price. When do the 2023 World cruises itinerary come out?  I’m thinking Viking or Oceania. Also, does your travel agent offer any incentives to transfer the booking to them?  

Jew are considering a World cruise for 2023. Do you buy travel insurance and does it cover your medical in case you get sick?  I read that Oceania offers medical 🏥 insurance with their world cruise price. When do the 2023 World cruises itinerary come out?  I’m thinking Viking or Oceania. Also, does your travel agent offer any incentives to transfer the booking to them?  

24 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

Might not have time to post much on cruise critic, but I do maintain a daily travel blog - address is in our signature.

I’ll check that out. Thank you. 

10 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Negative on getting a discount on our last WC, as the WC wasn't available on the Friends & Family program. We wouldn't have booked it anyway, as paying the higher rate was worth the internet & laundry benefits, especially for 4 months. The best discounts are available, if your family member actually works on the ship. Did this a few times with our son, but it also has downsides.

 

When researching our upcoming WC, we also shortlisted to Viking & Oceania. Selected Viking, mostly because of route, but also seemed a better fit for us - all ships the same, no kids & no casino.

That’s what I like about Viking also. I’m looking at Regent also. Please post about your trip. 

Wow!  You worked for Princess as well. You must of gotten a nice discount on your WC. We have friends that get a great discount on their cruises because they have a family member that works  for them. We are considering Princess but I don’t care for all the additional charges they have. I like Viking and Oceania and am considering both of them. Regent sounds nice but I’ll have to look at their prices for their WC. 

On 4/16/2018 at 11:47 PM, Keith1010 said:

Before jumping into a world cruise I would take a cruise of say 18 days to see if you like it.

 

All ships and cruise lines are not the same and therefore the World Cruises are not the same so research is key. With that said even with all the research I would not book a world cruise on a specific ship or line until I experienced it on a shorter cruise. I have met people on past world cruises who didn't try out the line and ship in advance and for most of them they were happy on the world cruise but I just think it is wise to check it out.

 

As to several back to back voyages versus a world cruise I would select the world cruise.

 

It can be life changing.

 

On a world cruise a portion of those on board will be on for the entire World Cruise versus say the typical back to back cruises so there is the opportunity to develop life long friendships, to see a lot of areas over the course of a few months and to enjoy the many special events that cruise lines offer during the world cruise on and off the ship.

 

Keith

Hi Keith,  Which World Cruise did you take?  Do you have a favorite cruise line?  We are trying to decide on which cruise line.  It's hard to pick.  

On 7/14/2019 at 6:20 AM, Heidi13 said:

We are booked on Viking Ocean, departing L/A on 4th Jan 2020 for 119 nights. While our 1st cruise with Viking, it is our 2nd World Cruise.

 

Looking forward to a few new ports and returning to others after many years. We will also enjoy small ship cruising with no kids, no casino and no formal nights.

Hi Heidi,

Can you tell me what cruise line you took your first world cruise on?  My hubby and I are looking at taking one and having a hard time deciding on which cruise line.  I have been on Viking only once and loved it. 

W We are also on this cruise but were not offered any move deal.  We booked with a travel agent maybe 8 months ago. We like to pick our rooms ourselves and like the back of the ship.  We would of not changed any ways. We wanted to celebrate Valentine's Day on the ship. Sounds like a good deal though. I have never heard of this before. Good to know they offer them. 

Agree that the SB Urban Wine Trail is a fun inexpensive wine tasting experience & only about a mile walk from the tender boat’s dock. Our favorite tasting was at Santa Barbara Winery which at that time included their logo wine glass which we used in our cabin & brought it home. Their wine tastings are just off State Street where other sites such as the beautiful courthouse are located.

 

If preferring to go to the Santa Ynez Valley wineries we had a great experience with Dee Tours rAstro Flyer, Did you enjoy the wine tastings that were close by? We have been to the Santa Ynez Valley three times so maybe trying some of the Santa Barbara wineries would be nice. Was it really crowded? Did the ship allow you to bring on any wine? I know you are allowed two are boarding but not sure if you stop? I wonder if we bought some wine if they would allow us to store it till off the cruise?

We have used Cloud Climbers they met us at the train station and it was us with 1 other couple. http://www.ccjeeps.com

 

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We had used them before too and they picked us up from our hotel. Hmmmm I may have to give them a call and see if they would pick up from the ship. I really liked them.