Doh15

Those pictures of the ships looming over the city are terrible, even leaving aside the number of passengers they disgorge. 

That said, in the latest Azamara sale email there is a fantastic itinerary from Venice to Istria, down the Dalmatian coast, around to Sorrento and Corsica and then to Nice. 

If we hadn’t visited most of those places in the last few years I would try to get on that trip (although I guess if we hadn’t been I wouldn’t be so enthusiastic about it...)

FWIW, I don’t think Bacardi Gold is spiced in the sense that Captain Morgan’s is, but it might have more noticeable flavor than a white rum. 

We have always arranged our own air travel, but we also usually don't plan cruises very far in advance.  We are looking at a cruise for next summer and I assumed I'd start shopping airfare this winter but then I decided to check out Choice Air just to see what was on offer.  

There is an economy ticket which is slightly cheaper than what I can get now, and not unreasonably priced based on my past experience ($850 RT US-Europe). It is marked with a green star as "refundable, fees may apply", which I understand means that it is fully refundable up until final payment, and then refundable with $175 fee after that.

Am I right about that refund policy? I was thinking about  booking those flights and then doing my shopping in the winter and if I find something better I could cancel the Choice Air, and if not then I could keep it.

Other questions--

We might want to fly business class if cheaper fares or award tickets become available-- can I upgrade tickets bought through Choice Air?  (Or will they let me buy two one way tickets?)

How easy is it to change dates before final payment on a "refundable fare" (does it require canceling and rebooking based on current pricing, or is it a change fee to move by a day)? 

Any idea how common it is for Choice Air flights to be changed after purchase (absent a change in airline schedules)? 

Am I right to think that if the price is close between Choice Air and the airline I should just book directly with the airline (especially if we are planning to come in a day or two early)?

If my cruise is booked through a TA, do I need to (or should I) go through that TA to book Choice Air?  I was thinking if I am considering not keeping the flights it might be better to do it all myself on their website if I can. 

If you have any other advice about or experience with Choice Air to share, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks!

We had a cruise end in Aruba a few years ago (one of the cruises where they are repositioning from Costa Rica to Europe in the Spring). 

We had to be home that day, but (with the help of an Aruba-specific forum) we found a friendly beach bar only a couple miles from the airport, so we were able to spend the day hanging out there, had some lunch, I think they even had showers we could use and then they called us a taxi. 

Was a great way to spend an afternoon and actually made me think Aruba might be a nice place to spend more time.

Note that the boat is using Messina not Giardini Naxos as the port for Taormina (Taormina is about 30-40 minutes away by car from Messina).  I expect you could find a private transfer and/or tour if you want.  

New email says the new specialty restaurant will be “Cuadro 44”— eclectic Spanish from Anthony Sasso. 

The cabins have DVD players (and the library has DVDs). 

Thanks.  It's not that we'd book a tour that leaves exactly at 8:10, but more that if we could get off at 8:10 we should have no problems, and if we get off at 8:30 our plans would be impossible, so was trying to get a sense of how reasonable it was to plan on being off within 10-15 minutes of scheduled arrival time, but our plans might change anyway.

What about the flip side— if the ship is scheduled to arrive at 8 am, how likely is it that we will be off the boat by, say, 8:10 (in a non-tender port)?

What's the trip?  I feel like there are some trips where the scenery makes a balcony more worthwhile (although sometimes they are colder weather locations which can limit the use).

Very helpful thread, thanks to all the contributors 

I don’t think the premium

package gets you anything for wines, does it? 

I am curious after reading Host Grandma Cruising's live thread on Norway how much difference it makes having a Norwegian captain for Norway cruises? 

Sure I would expect a Norwegian captain to be more knowledgable about Norway and I expect it would a little extra-special, but I would also think things like doing a 360 turn in a fjord (or even shopping for berries) would not be specific to one captain, or would they?

Make a speech, really?  

You like me, you really like me? 

Or,

I'd like to thank my parents, and the academy

Thanks for the smile

1 hour ago, bob278 said:

JUst have to share our "good fortune" with flights.  Our post-cruise trip was not a lot better than the pre-cruise.  Our flight from Edinburgh to JFK was wonderful but that's where it ended.  We had a long layover and about 3 hours into it, we were toldf our flight to Charlotte had been cancelled.  Of course, there were no options for Wednesday and because it was "weather related (so Delta claimed), they gave us no help with dinner or hotel.

 

So we enjoyed another airport hotel overnight.  To top off the entire trip, our bags did not make it to Charlotte.  We are now home (arrived in Charlotte at 1:30 and 2 of our bags are on their way from Atlanta to Charlotte and one is still in the Baggage Services Office at JFK.  We may need drugs before we get on another airplane. 😳

 

But despite the horrors of transportation (and doing without luggage for the first 4 days of the cruise), it was a wonderful cruise. We met really nice people, saw some beautiful scenery and enjoyed an on-board experience that made us book the 2021 trip with Capt. Johannes (but we'll have to get over the flight fiasco to keep that date).

You might investigate whether you are entitled to compensation from Delta under EU 261.

I don’t remember all the details but I do remember that as of 2018 if you fly from the EU and a later connecting flight is delayed or canceled you may be eligible for compensation. 

55 minutes ago, CanEcosse said:

 

Azamara's website is still showing Flam and Geiranger for July 2020.

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/en-ca/voyage/pr17u001/17-nt-norway-intensive-north-cape-voyage

Has something changed that you are aware of?

As hallasm pointed out, it appears one of the ships is going to those ports— I was looking at the itinerary for a different ship. 

I didn’t realize it but it sounds as though OBC from a TA is refundable, so you can always cash it out.

Azamara is not doing Flam or Geiranger but they do have cruises with an overnight in Bergen which should allow a visit to Flam and the fjords. 

For what it’s worth, via a competitive bidding website I was slightly offered more in OBC than I was offered from the big box store but I was afraid I would have more OBC than I knew what to do with (like shopping on the old wheel of fortune)

25 minutes ago, caymancouple said:

Am I crazy.  I thought at one time there was a spread sheet with all these suggestions and comments.  Now I can't seem to find it.  Help please

I think post 501 has it. No guarantee that’s the most recent but it’s only a month old or so. 

Can I ask about enrolling in LCV?  

Will they automatically enroll both people in a cabin (and what’s the easiest way to check if that’s happened)?

There’s a difference, albeit perhaps not always a big one, between offering people advice and criticizing their choices and I think it makes more for a friendlier, more helpful forum if posters aim for the former over the latter (not that anyone asked me).  

As a newcomer to the forum, for whatever it's worth, I will say I am impressed by your presence.

Here's what the website lists--

English butler service

240 complimentary Internet minutes per guest

One free bag of laundry service per suite, each seven days

Complimentary seating in the specialty restaurants dining

Priority embarkation and debarkation

Complimentary in-room spirits

In-suite afternoon tea service

$300 in Onboard Credit per person (Club World Owner’s Suites, Club Ocean Suites, Club Spa Suites categories only)

Thanks for all the updates! 

It looks like you'll be in Bergen in a few days.  Could you let me know if it's reasonable to plan to get from the ship to the train in Bergen by 8:30 am (and whether that would require a taxi or just a brisk walk)? 

From what I can find on the internet it sounds like it's less than a mile from the dock to the train but figured it's worth asking from a practical perspective what time people are actually off the boat and how easy it is to get to the train station.

thanks again

I was curious so I took a look at cruisecare and it looks to me as though it has a standard preexisting condition exclusion