fredflint

long gone simple to check and the "horses mouth" so to speak is where to look: https://www.gov.bm/coronavirus-travellers-visitors#:~:text=Effective November 14 2022%2C travel,apply for a travel authorization. Visitors Effective November 14 2022, travel authorizations will no longer be required to enter Bermuda. Visitors (arriving by air or yacht) travelling to Bermuda from November 14 onwards do not need to apply for a travel authorization. In its place, the Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) will reinstate the Bermuda Arrival Card, a digital form for visitors only, which was in place before the onset of the pandemic. Cruise visitors are not required to complete any entry form. The online visitor arrivals process can be completed in three easy steps. Go to www.BermudaArrivalCard.com Complete the form accurately and completely with visitor details Download the form and present it to immigration officials for inspection There is no approval process, no fee, and once the required fields have been completed, the form is available as a downloadable link or by email. All non-residents who travel to Bermuda as of November 14 must complete the Bermuda Arrival Card even if they have previously completed a travel authorisation form. Hard copy ‘Pink Forms’ will be available for non-resident travellers who have not completed the digital Bermuda Arrival Card. There is no need to accept a ‘Pink Form’ if you have completed the digital form.

I would give up to tell the truth, they have wiggled and raised prices so much that you just have to realize the house always wins! We had our cruise cancelled too and after looking around at the prices have kind of decided to pause our cruising and see if prices go down or not. We are taking a 7 day trip to Portugal for less than 2K (with airfare) with t does not include as many meals as a cruise would but I can pretty much be assured that the quality of the food will be higher 🙂

You have 4 keys for 2 rooms swap keys, put everything on the same card and just adjust at the end of the cruise!

Alaska can be different as the early season has the risk of too much ice to be able to see the glaciers. I would suggest going after the peak season vs before. I took a cruise that visited Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay the cruise ;left on June 30th and we had great weather and LONG days. We also did a trip to Admiralty island to do bear watching it was fantastic. https://beyondak.com/trips/fortress-of-bears-pack-creek/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=19959590150&utm_content=150335191082&utm_term=pack creek bear viewing&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnrmlBhDHARIsADJ5b_k0kj4By2Woqz0dQKip4Ezz6PHEjzqbfvY_JOK5v9YI2ABxCttU3B8aAh2IEALw_wcB Not cheap but you only do it once!

I would try and add some sightseeing before getting to the port I would prefer 1 or even 2 PM less lines for sure unless some flight just dropped off 200 pax!

You should determine if they will cover out of the country expenses if not you are just spending a lot of time for nothing. This may or may not apply to their coverage but in general it seems it would not be covered. https://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/11037-Medicare-Coverage-Outside-United-States.pdf Medicare Coverage Outside the United States January 2023 Medicare coverage outside the United States is limited. In most situations, Medicare won’t pay for health care or supplies you get outside the U.S. The term “outside the U.S.” means anywhere other than the 50 states of the U.S., the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. There are some exceptions that would allow you to get coverage outside the U.S. under Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) and/or Part B (Medical Insurance)

I would think it is toast other ships are listed! https://www.ncl.com/vacations?cruise-destination=transatlantic&date=apr-2024,may-2024

Book on your own get a credit card from a hotel chain that offers a ton of points and use that for the hotel! credit card offers The hilton for 130K points was my pick, the Hilton there is going to reopen in 2024 from what I have read but plenty of cards to choose from.

surge protectors are usually on the prohibited list.

So does the butler sleep in the suite too?

I have never purchased insurance from a cruise line, I can always get better and more comprehensive coverage buying from a 3rd party.

I think it has to do with the royalties they have to pay for the shows, they are looking to cut costs wherever they can. Right now with the current pricing model I am not really sure if they were making money or just trying to get deposits for working capitol? Prices have gone up but 3 months ago you would save over 2K on a lot of 10+ day cruises pricing NCL vs almost any other line, even without all the "Free" stuff included. All of the EPIC cruises that were cancelled for the 4 month timeframe they offered discounts but the prices are jacked up now so they are really worthless for me. They did get to use all that deposit money for free! Here’s a list of shows who are sadly bidding farewell: -Swing Will on Norwegian Gem -World Beat on Norwegian Spirit and Norwegian Sun -Velvet on Norwegian Jewel -What the World Needs on Norwegian Star -Footloose on Norwegian Joy -Showdown on Norwegian Dawn -SIX on Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Bliss In the letter, NCL said that they understand changes can be difficult but are confident they can create an even more memorable experience.

Put Apple airtags on or in your bags so can know where they are.

My wife and i have done a total of 5 TAs most going East to West in the Winter, great weather almost all of the time, usually not bored except on NCL ships due to lack of increased activities and really poor guest lecturers. The other TAs have been on Celebrity and RCCL, my wife and I enjoy down time and like having the days at sea to just relax. The food menus can be boring but with the different places to eat you can mix it up. We did find breakfast to be the most boring meal but I think that would happen anywhere. Weather has always been good and we always get a port side balcony so we can have the sun. There are basically 2 different TAs those that go to the Azores and those that go to the Canary islands. The Canary Islands are further south so you usually have better weather. If you look at the Azores you will find that there are lost of stories about the port being missed due to weather. Do no do a East to West TA unless you have to, losing and hour of sleep over and over was hard to adjust to and the weather was cooler than cruising in the November-December timeframe. Also if you are living in the US flying back from Florida or some other port is easy and you can fly back on your own if you want.

Ending in Lisbon is a major plus it is a great city to spend an extra day or two, there is a a really nice mall and lots of high end stores if you want to take advantage of the VAT tax refund.

I have had cabins by elevators before on other ships and have never had a noise issue.

Just ask your room steward all kinds of stuff they can do.

I will have to look and see where we went, but I would look to book local and see if you can pay when you arrive or get a refund we had a 6 passenger van and the driver took us all around we asked to stop at a normal grocery store and were able to purchase many unique items for gifts without paying high tourist prices.

It is funny before COVID we had a b2b booked with different cabins for the Med we had chosen an inside since it was so port intensive we figured the cabin would be more like a hotel room. The 2nd part was a Transatlantic with many days at sea so we had a balcony cabin. Most times it would be a plus to keep the same cabin.

Don't forget with Alaska you can book a tour yourself and not worry about a language or insurance issues.

if you have checked bags I strongly suggest using an Apple Air tag for each bag if you have an Apple phone if not there are other tags available. Being a nerd last cruise we used a Tile and Airtag in each bag to keep track of where they were and ensure they were on the same flight we were on. Of course since we had the tags our bags were never missing and were brought right to our door. Check you bag(s) at the dock and enjoy your time on the ship!

Balcony is a plus for days at sea how many do you have?

Sometimes the lifeboats block the view down, and you also want a cabin above you if possible to cut down on noise!

You never are quite sure of coverage but the unlimited is usually a better deal than minutes. Plus you can swap devices by just logging on and kicking the other device off of the plan. The TA I was on people were lined up every day to get minutes back as the internet would go down and they could not log off. You have to have the internet up in order to log off and the internet service along with the manager are a different company. They actually called security to the internet lounge as the internet manager could not handle the line of 40 people lined up about internet problems. On our ship they said they were having issues with they system that kept the dish aimed at the satellite. They should have just credited everyone but you had to go to the lounge to get the credit hence the line.

I would go for as few accounts as possible in any situation to tell the truth!