twinkletoes4445

I just reviewed my dailies from our Paris-Normandy cruise on Uniworld, and there were gentle walker groups offered. (This confirms what SOShrink wrote earlier)

 

Robin

 

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It's confusing. It's nice they offered that option on your cruise, but it sounds like they don't all have that option now. It's a pricey vacation, so we will not take a chance. Thank you for the info though.😊

I sure hate hearing this news. We love Uniworld but will now have to check out another cruise line.

I recently (Dec 24th) booked a Viking cruise for November 2017. My final payment due date is June 2017, about 4 and a half months from sailing. I didn't ask for that date, it was given to me. Maybe, Viking is starting to bend on that year out for final payment?

They must be bending a bit. 4 1/2 months isn't too bad. A year out is crazy, IMO. :)

I hope you're able to get this worked out.

I don't understand why Viking expects full payment so soon. I know this is a different subject, but I wouldn't book with Viking for that reason alone.

There's an interesting dynamic on a lot of the CC forums: long-time cruisers are vicious toward the cruise line about all the cutbacks since their first cruise with Noah, but let a newbie say one little negative thing and they're all over it defending the mother ship!

That's the truth! It's interesting, that's for sure. :)

I just cancelled my Viking Grand European. We were also going to go by train for a four-day "on-our-own" add-onto Prague. My penalty was $100. Also we will keep the $100 for $200 voucher for a future trip. Not everyone will agree. The probability that something will happen to ME is low, but I just don't feel comfortable travelling to Europe right now. I'm also thinking about So. America. I think I said this before, but I am not interested in being in the "then the terrorists will win" crowd. I don't want to spend thousands of $$ to make a political statement.

I think what's important is you do what works for you the best. To each his own. But I will say, that we're on the same page. Whatever trip you end up booking, have a good time! :)

Thank you! We cruise twice a year and are going to South America for a month in Oct. 2016 and that area does not worry me. Just the hassle involved with security in Europe and feeling apprehensive leading up to the journey is not a vacation for me. I feel quite relieved and am happy with the decision and that is all that really matters.

South America sound exciting! Funny I said the same thing to my hubby today about traveling to South America. I don't worry about going there or any part of the Caribbean. We may even visit Hawaii. I don't know what we'll do, but we will find somewhere to visit. I am with you on the apprehensive leading up to a journey ... it doesn't make for a pleasant vacation.

All that really matters is that each of us are happy with our own decisions. :)

I made my decision today and cancelled both my river cruise with Tauck and ocean cruise with O (Spring 2016) for close to 30 days in Europe.

I have not given up on cruising because I decided to stay closer to home and celebrate my 5 yr old Grandson's birthday on a Disney cruise for the whole family in the Caribbean. I will work on the airfare tomorrow and hope it can be changed to my British Isles cruise on Silversea for 2017. I am very happy with my decision as is my whole family LOL!

We are all different and have different comfort levels when it comes to traveling. The Disney cruise with your grandson sounds wonderful! Our kids will be happy if we cancel, and we most likely will cancel our trip.

So now that the State Dept. has issued a global threat warning what kind of liability do the cruise companies have regarding cancellation...are they now obligated to return all monies paid and allow you to cancel without penalty or not?

I would imagine they'll continue on as business as usual, and it's up to the cruiser to decide if they want to cruise or not. Maybe they'll offer something toward those that decide to cancel during this time because of what's going on. I just have no clue. We have cancel for any reason insurance. Like I said, I think this is a personal choice. Those that want to travel and aren't worried about anything happening ... well, that's their choice. And those that don't want to travel at this time ... well, that's also their choice. Our kids voiced their opinion on this topic today. That's what matters to me. :)

We are scheduled to leave on Thanksgiving day for the Viking Rhine river Christmas market cruise on the Gefjon from Nuremberg to Frankfurt . Is anyone else doing that cruise? What are your thoughts?

I don't know what I'd do. If you are least bit hesitant, then don't go. It will probably be fine, but I'd go with my gut feeling on this one.

While I do understand that we can't let these people win, I also understand where people would be hesitant to travel. There will always be those that travel no matter what and those that choose not to travel. I think it's entirely up to the person and there is no wrong or right thing to do.

We are not completely sure what we are going to do about our cruise. We are going to give it another month or two before we decide.

Since Salzburg is on a lot of land tours, I figured I would stay in Linz since it's on the river. Tasting authentic Linzer torte at a local cafe was worth it.

 

Roz

It was a long day, but worth it to us. We wouldn't do it again though. We enjoyed that itinerary so much, that I'd like to do it again. We look forward to enjoying Linz the next time. :)

It is total madness. We have a trip planned for next year. Right now we're still planning on going on our cruise. It's just so sad when these things happen.

Just finished a fantastic tour in Linz that included lunch at an Austrian family's farm. The freshly grated horseradish cleared out my sinuses, as did the "cider".

 

We only had to be bussed once, and that was a short trip from Bratislava to Hainsburg. The cruise is nearing its end. It's been a wonderful experience. Will write a full review when I get back.

 

Roz

Glad you're having a wonderful time! We did that cruise a few years ago and had so much fun. We also visited Bratislava. Ours also included the bus trip, where we caught up with the boat. Those that didn't do the trip, stayed on the boat and we met up with them in Hainsburg. We enjoyed seeing the countryside.

We hired a private guide in Linz that took us to Salzburg. If we were to do this trip again, I think we'd enjoy the tour you did in Linz. :)

Here is the list of participating cruise lines:

Azamara, Crystal, Cunard, Holland America, Norwegian, Oceania, Paul Gaugin, Princess, Regent, Royal Caribbean, Seabourn, Silversea, Uniworld, Windstar.

[Celebrity used to be a member, but has dropped out. Note that there is only one river cruise line: Uniworld -- although when Crystal starts their river cruises they may also be covered.]

 

And here is the link to the AmericanExpress website:

https://www.americanexpresscruise.com/cruises/promos/amex/cruise_privileges.jsp?cobrand=15558&webpagerecno=2357

It's not going to surprise me one little bit if HAL drops out of this program. So many changes going on with that cruise line. And not for the good...

We leave 4 weeks from today on Uniworld and we are getting $300 OBC, box of chocolates, and a bottle of Champaign from the Amex Plat card. We are also staying at the Mandarin Oriental in Munich pre cruise and are getting the free breakfast($45 each), $75 for a dinner, room upgrade and early checkin. So this one trip easily covers the annual fee. I believe I've also gathered enough points this past year to get about $1000 off our nex airline ticket purchase. We are going to Italy with Uniworld in Sept next year so plan on using the points in Jan when I book the airline tickets. Plus will get all the benefits mentioned above. Amex doesn't give OBC for all cruise lines but certainly does on Uniworld

 

We also used a Priority Pass lounge last Feb in Antigua. Just the air condition during our 2 hour wait and quiet setting with foods and drinks probably was worth the cost of the card LOL

You do have the annual fee covered!

We both just got new cards for the airport lounges outside the US. I need to check and see where they can be used. I am hoping that soon we are traveling enough that I actually know what's going on! Can't wait for hubby to retire or at least cut back! I have BIG plans. :)

Does anyone know if AMEX still does the buy one get one free 1st class? I checked on that time we were on Uniworld, but we were able to get a better deal in business class.

They keep eliminating things and it's a bit of a bummer.

There are a few other places, that have lounges. I know Vegas, think Miami, think, SeaTac, think San Fran, and maybe LaGuardia, and possibly more to come.

 

As far as the $300 OBC, I can literally find no mention of it on their web page, and I have booked with my Amex many times and beyond points, Nada. That said, I have never used them for booking a cruise, I have a TA that I am happy with for the last decade plus. Maybe that is a sometimes thing, IE a special deal for a limited duration? If you are sure it still exists I will look harder!!!!

 

I have not used the fine hotels booking option, but I do know it exists. I am usually too cheap to stay at the really luxurious hotels unless I have some sort of freebie deal. For example from the Hyatt card if you got a card, and did so much business when you first get the card, you get points plus two nights at any hotel. So, after we left Budapest after our four nights there after the River cruise, I booked the Grand Park Hyatt in Vienna for two nights for free, and the going rate was around $800 a night while we were there. I always check it because the DW loves fancy hotels, but she is even cheaper than I am.::D:eek:

 

jc

Our son used AMEX to book a stay at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. It was really a good deal. They were in a suite. A limo picked them up at the airport. They were checked in a private area. He's pretty tight and he was very pleased with what they got for what it cost.

Two free nights in Vienna at that hotel is a heck of a deal! You can't beat free, especially at a place like that. You did good!!

I don't know if they still do it, but we got the $300 and chocolates and usually wine or champagne on our last 4-5 cruises. I think you can also upgrade one level, but we had booked suites so we didn't get that. This was on Holland and Uniworld.

Our TA was able to get it for us. You don't have to book through AMEX to get this particular benefit.

We go to a lot of concerts and the concierge thing hasn't worked well for me so far.

 

Yes they started the Centurion Lounges when they lost the AA lounge. Which saddened me, because that was one of the reasons I got the card. The Centurion Lounge is superior (I really have only visited the DFW Centurion lounge) to any AA lounge I have been to. That said, I wish they still let you visit those lounges. You can use the card and the annual airline credit and get your money back from the day pass, but the day passes are massively overpriced unless you have a massively long layover. The food in the Centurion lounge is very good. The bar is very good, the facilities are very good.

 

Basically Delta is the only lounge that still takes the Amex Platinum, United dropped this year. The Priority Pass gives you the $30 option for a guest to places at O'Hare like the Swissair lounge, which got pretty low ratings, from what I have read. We may go there, but kind of sad.

 

On our upcoming trip, we have such a long layover in Chicago, that we will take the L downtown and shop and eat all day before returning the O'Hare for the overnight flight. On our return we have a 3 hour layover in Dallas, so, we will be hanging happily at the Centurion lounge there.

 

jc

The best seats we got one time for a concert was when the concierge did a three-way call with the ticket people. We were able to pick our seats. The last two Jimmy Buffett concerts we attended (AMEX sponsored and you'd think we would have gotten the same type of thing) but it was done differently. Certain seats popped up and we could take them or decline. I don't know if that's how it's going to be from now or not. I hope not.

We will have to check out the Centurion lounges. It was noce to have access to all those other lounges.

I thought there was only one lounge left on the list. It really is too bad. Most of our flights these days don't allow for much time to hang out in a lounge. It seems like we are running for our connection, or we are stuck there for the day. But mostly, thankfully, we catch our connection.

But for every cruise we've been on, we've gotten $300 OBC and some other stuff, so that alone almost pays for the fees.

Enjoy your trip through Chicago! It sounds like you have a good plan. We're going to have to get with the program and find out what all is available for what are spending, but hubby is still working and it's been busy (thankfully) so we don't travel all that often. He travels on business but most all the time they fly SW. It seems like that airline gets them to where they need to be almost always on time.

Next time we're going through Dallas, we'll have to check the Centurion lounge out there.

I really appreciate you taking the time to post this information. I copied the first post and emailed it to my husband. :) Thanks!!

With the Amex Platinum card, I think the annual fee is $450. You get a refund every 5 years for either global entry or TSA Pre check. I did the TSA pre-check, should have done Global Entry. Which makes getting thru security easier. They offer a $200 a year refund on your chosen airline for any incidental fees (paying for luggage, things ordered on the plane, day pass the AAdmirals club, etc. Not directly for airfare). Little tip if you don't spend all of your $200 during the January thru December time frame, you can buy $50 gift cards from many of the airlines. So, far this year I have paid for $80 worth of things that were refunded on AA this year. If after our upcoming trip, I have leftover funds, I will order gift cards, IE will probably spend $20 on the upcoming trip, and then I will get two $50 gift cards for future AA expenses including to pay for a future flight.

 

Other perks, you become Hilton Gold, and SPG Gold. My favorite perk is the centurion lounge (hope they add more). The food and drinks are very good at DFW, and the lounge is nice. You also get access to lounges with Priority Pass that is a bit anticlimatic, free Boingo wifi, another so so perk. Then they have the regular, rental car insurance, etc, it is also a card that has no foreign exchange fee, many cards have 3% charge when you travel overseas.

 

So, with the preferred airline credit, the card really only costs $250 a year.

 

jc

I am sure that's what we pay. It may have been higher because we at one time had a card for our daughter.

That's interesting about the Global Entry. I thought they only paid for the one time. We need to renew ours after our Paris trip. What I didn't realize was that the TSA pre-check works when you have GE.

We never use all the $200. I was telling hubby about your suggestions (he thanks you).

When we first got the platinum card, there were four or so airlines that you could use their lounges, but they are down to one, aren't they? We don't travel all that much, but when we do, we use, or try to use, as many of these things as possible. So I guess the Centurion Lounge is AMEX's own and replaces those we lost? It seemed like matter what airline we were on, we were always close to a lounge that we could use, but no so with Centurion ones. We need to check it our more and find out exactly what's out there. We don't travel as much as I'd like to, but I am optimistic that he'll cut back at work one of these days. :)

One thing I do is use the concierge to get concert tickets. That is a great service.

We do use this card for anything and everything we can because I love the points! Thank you so much for the info!

AMEX Platinum works for me...on cruises. Both Uniworld and SS give $300 OBC when you deposit and pay with that card (so, yes you can pay for those cruise lines with a CC). More than one cruise per year and you've recouped your membership fee.

 

Agree with you about the Centurion Lounges. Visited the one in Las Vegas a while back and really enjoyed it. Why are you telling everyone else? ;)

 

I've heard on other threads that one of the Chase cards (maybe Sapphire, IIRC) offers travel insurance when you pay with it. No idea of the details of said coverage, though.

 

Jazzbeau - should we make this another thread?

AMEX Platimum rocks. Love the $300 OBC and the little extras that come along with it. We haven't used it in a year or so, but they also had the $200 free luggage allowance. Lately we've been flying business class so we haven't used it, but it was nice to have that extra $200 to use for luggage fees or even purchasing food and drinks on a flight. I think it's $600 a year for our fee, but we more than make it up in free stuff and upgrades. And our AMEX also paid the $200 fee for our Global Entry fees for hubby and me. I don't know if they still do that, but they did a few years back.

Why don't you just go on Uniworld for $1499?

 

http://uniworld.com/en/promotions/2016-savings?utm_source=travelzoo&utm_medium=email&utm_content=2016-savings&utm_campaign=travelzoo_newsflash

Those are some awesome deals!! And we love Uniworld!

I'd love to know which ones too because I have Amex Corporate; Visa, MC and Cap One and none of them offer cancel for any reason trip insurance. Most travel companies will only let you put the deposit on a credit card but not the full trip because the fees are too high. They also won't let you buy a car with a credit card.....I know I tried thinking I'd get a bazilion points...but Toyota said ....nice try...we'll need a bank check please. :D

I don't know about the other cards, but we used our AMEX for our deposit and final payment on Uniworld. I love the points, so I am glad they allow us to do this. I probably would not sail any line that would not allow us to use a credit card. You really have nothing to fall back on should problems come up. That's funny about the car! I would have also tried. One time when we were buying a car (through our company), the car company did let me put the down payment on our company AMEX.

Fair point and if I were working and limited to how much vacation time I had, I would agree....but since I'm no longer working, a bad trip is still a trip and if it's free it's not so bad! You're day will come...hang in there!! :D

Oh, yeah, if hubby wasn't still working I would have a different attitude. I am counting the days until he retires or at least cuts back a little. :)

For those who say "anyone but Viking"--

 

Is it possible that they have more complaints is that they have more ships (and passengers) than everyone else combined?

 

Would it be then correct to say that Viking has more satisfied customers as well?

 

We've never river cruised as yet (probably in 2017 or 2018), so I have no horse in this race, just being devil's advocate.

I know Viking has passengers that love Viking. So they do have satisfied passengers. I think the problems come up when things go wrong and how Viking handles the problem, or doesn't handle it. I don't recall ever reading negative comments about any of the other cruise lines like I do with Viking. I don't care what line people cruise, that's a personal choice. I am not trying to persuade anyone to "jump ship."

It all comes down to how a bad situation is handled and Viking doesn't seem to excel in this area. The pay the total cost of the cruise upfront would stop us from considering Viking. Then add all the other issues ... no thanks. But again, to each his own. I know that a lot of people love Viking. And that's their business. :)

I wouldn't turn down free! :cool:

 

Viking, make me an offer.

Hydrokitty & CPT Trips

I would pass on the free trip because our vacation time is too valuable (and limited) to deal with Viking. I'd rather spend money and get what I want, but that's just me. Now, if it were another line offering up a free cruise, the ones that get the great reviews, I'd take them up on it in a nanosecond!!

From what I've read on this board, you can't. However, were I in your situation I might go to my Viking profile and change my address to ....

an abandoned building or ... use your imagination.;)

That's a great idea!