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We plan to do an Alaska cruise back to back...Vancouver to Whittier and Whittier to Vancouver. My TA has information stating that we cannot book a back to back because of the Jones Act. Has anyone ever encountered this? Thanks

Based on our ages...and the cruise was purchased from another TA Trip Cancellation 100% of Trip Cost Trip Interruption 150% of Trip Cost Travel Delay $2,000 ($500/day) Missed Connection – Air & Cruise $1,500 Baggage & Personal Effects $3,000 Baggage Delay $200 Emergency Medical Expense $200,000 Emergency Dental Expense $1,000 Emergency Evacuation & Repatriation $500,000 Common Carrier AD&D $50,000 Travel Assistance Services Included

Hi Cindy, yes, you have to call them direct for the quote if the trip was not booked through Costco. They have 2 insurance programs, one for trips booked thoughnCostco and another for trips that you have booked elsewhere. Slight price difference slight difference inbenefit amount but still a better deal than any others I have found. the phone number is listed in the Costco travel website unter "travel insurance". good luck

Are you sharing a cabin? My understanding is that everyone in your cabin has to purchase HIA package. If that is the case, wouldn't your SO have their own package? Or are you suggesting that you give one of your excursions to him/her as an extra?

I am very happy to have found this thread. I just spoke to Covermore as well a they do have a policy just for Costco members who have booked through another agency (not Costco). The price is a little higher and some of the parameters change slightly ...they also do ask the age of the travelers...only if the cruise was booked elsewhere. if the cruise was booked through Costco, no age needed to report. Still a much better deal than some other company policies.

Mary, we have Costco credit card( we dont book our cruises through Costco) and so we get 3% cash back, but I am curious now, which credit card are you referring to that has insurance worth 10% for people in 55+ category??.

Mine as well. Well, then , this has been an eye-opening discussion. Currently, I have a booking with only partial gift card payments. Can I assume that if I no longer apply anymore that it is only the balance payed for with the gc that is not covered? It would be interesting to know if AARP's travel insurance recognizes the GC. Also will watch for HAL's annual 10% sale of gift cards. Haven't seen one since December. At least with HAL you are paying direct...oh wait, that goes to a 3rd party vendor as well....hmmmm. I like the idea of paying for the other items while on the cruise or pre cruise.

did you find this out by calling TravelGuard or is it in writing on their website. I am looking for written confirmation somewhere that specifically addresses this...making a claim when paying the cruise fare, or some of the cruise fare with gift cards. thanks

Dee, thanks for the repost...not ever having made a claim, is this a question the insurance companies make when /if is a claim is made? ie, what form of payment did you use.....Aside from credit card insurance, i mean...i will ask my TA about this as we generally purchase our Travel insurance through her company, but we have been considering an annual travel policy through one of the other companies

I suggest that you call AARP and ask. Maybe they have a sister company...like AAA/CAA

We do the same!

On the Zaandam in February on embarkation day ,there was a desk on the Lido deck, by the pool. There was someone there to help with MDR reservations . We were on the waitlist for early. We were able to get a fixed time and same table for entire cruise in early dining. There is always cancellations.

It's all about the math. HIA will never work for us as only one of us enjoys a daily glass of wine with dinner and the other of us enjoys a beer once every couple of weeks. The wine package is a better deal for us. We bring our own refillable water bottles (the tap water is just fine) . We dont drink anything else other than coffee , tea, lemonade...no soda, etc. No specialty coffees. Only one of us enjoys the internet on a daily basis. One premium package bought pre-cruise is fine for us..even if crew appreciation is included it is still not worth it monetarily.. Basically, we keep our lifestyle the same on the ship as if at home....when retired, to us it is not exactly vacation, rather change of location. 😉 so..it is all about the math. I chuckle when people say their drinks are free on HIA...far from it! But people on vacation often splurge and thats what HAL wants. I will put the money saved into my next cruise.

Just make sure they don't charge you a corkage fee for the second leg bottles. Gosh knows you will have already paid for that! Enjoy!

Got it..then that should be easy by just talking with the sommelier in the MDR.

Same ship same cabin? or same ship different cabin? referring to my post #33, our side by side bookings were separate booking numbers. Just take the unused with you from cruise #1.

We have all the wine bottles from the package delivered to our stateroom. if any bottle is left over we bring it to dinner and share. Last cruise we were doing a side by side cruise ( disembarking the K-dam and boarding the Zaandam) . Guest services on the K-dam notified the Zaandam that we were bringing one bottle from our package with us and made sure that we were not charged a corkage fee.

Thanks so much. i will check over there.

We were on the Zaandam in February...if the laundry was out out before 9AM, they promised it back in 24 hours. Each time we sent it out before 9AM and it was back in our stateroom by 8PM that same day.

This is probably a stupid question but we are planning on a Baltic /TA cruise next year that sails out of Rotterdam. Do you fly into Rotterdam or Amsterdam to get to Rotterdam for embarkation? Amsterdam seems to have more direct flights from the US ...is this the airport we want? Is it difficult to get to Rotterdam from Amsterdam? thank you

Done and Done...Thanks so much for yours and everyones input to help out this shareholder newbie !

Ok, great, so they do not need to see all those other numbers I assume?

Thank you for both of your help...I have but one more question...I have my shareholder statement. Pages 1,2 and 3 have cash activity summaries, performances summaries, etc.as well as closing balances. Should I black out all that monetary information as well as our address and account number? Thanks, JOAN

Thank you for sharing. Thank must have been very scary for you both. I am glad your mom is okay. and.... you do not look not 54 and 82!!