lilybay

The last time I was in Lima which uses Callao for a port, the only way to get off the cruise ship and out of the industrial port was by shuttle which dropped us half way to Lima. This time I want to take a private tour to the palomino islands which requires us getting to their office in Callao. Has anyone had success getting a taxi inside the port? 

On 4/6/2022 at 1:16 PM, breezer said:

After doing some further checking on their website, they are not travel insurance.  Looks like they assist and coordinate care, but I don't see where they actually pay any medical bills.

I had them for a while. They are like medjet and pay for evacuation and such but are not technically insurance. I use to use them in conjunction with my CSR credit card insurance.

I was reading about a new Hurtigruten itinerary that must be in the summer because of where it goes. IT is a north south cruise starting in Alaska and going through the northern passage to the arctic then down through the panama canal, down South america to Antartica. It must start in the summer and end in the late fall. They bill it as a north south type of world cruise. it looked awesome!

On 12/3/2021 at 11:09 AM, '51 Pinot said:

Not exactly new to HAL but have a question. When choosing a cabin, is there still an option for an upgrade? I've always been fairly happy with my choice and afraid that I might get something I don't really want. I've just chosen a cabin that I like as it has a larger balcony and is category V, the highest of the V categories. If I were ask for a possible upgrade would it at least kick me up to the next category which is a Vista Suite? 

upgrade and upsell are two different things. I always refuse the free upgrade by having my PCC check that box. If they upgrade you for free they may do something you dont want like move you from the large verandas on deck 4 of a pinnacle class ship to the smaller verandas of the vista suites or from your preferred location to where you don't want to be. Once they upgrade you, you can't change back. You have no choice. 

upsells get offered to everyone but sometimes seemingly randomly. they are near the last three weeks and if you decide you want to do an upsell you get to pick your room. If you don't like any of the rooms you don't have to do it. If you wait the price may come down. I once got a veranda for 99 that started at $499 by waiting a week or so. the final offer came three days before sailing. This only happens if they are still available. If your reservation is linked to a reservation in another category you will probably not get upsell offers. upsells are not free!

11 hours ago, HAL-Pals said:

Lilybay:  it was a nice surprise to read your post. (Loved your sisters comment about the water taxi.). We were in a 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise on Koningsdam last month  and now are on the 17 day Circle Hawaii.  We were tested two days prior…then at the cruise terminal…then in the ship today— the 3 rd day. This is the new normal. We are comfortable with it, at least as much as we can be.  Today we met with two couples who completed the Eurodam cruise we were all on last Oct/Nov,  so we were able to compare notes on both ends.  I hope we meet again.

just signed up for the NS in Feb with my mother and step dad and sister for my moms 90th! Looking forward to it. 

On 1/17/2022 at 2:47 PM, HAL-Pals said:

I too am sorry to hear about these  turn of events.

We are currently on the Koningsdam 17 day Circle Hawaii cruise, but I can answer your questions about HAL’s  COVID protocol once you test positive aboard ship.  We were on a 27 day transatlantic cruise  on the Eurodam from Venice to FLL (10/18-11/14) and I tested positive on the fifth day during mandatory at sea testing. I was the only  passenger out of 1150 and I was asymptomatic. My husband was negative. I was quickly moved to a COVID a isolation area of the ship with all my luggage while my husband remained quarantined in our veranda stateroom so he could continue to be tested over the next three days.  My new room was also a veranda stateroom just like we had.  I remained isolated there for three days until we got to Livorno, Italy.  I and the only crew member who tested positive but was also asymptomatic were taken (by ambulance haha…no flashing lights or sirens ) to a “COVID” hotel about 45 minutes from Florence. My husband arrived separately by taxi. We each were assigned separate rooms since he was negative but had to quarantine for three more days. After that he could come and go as he pleased.

 

my experience was a positive one, even though I had to remain isolated at the hotel for 19 more days — so a total of 22 days. (Italy has the strictest isolation policy in Europe.)  HAL was amazing in the support they provided: daily checkin calls from Seattles Family Assistance Dept.  All medical and hotel and food expenses fully covered  by HAL — both on the ship and at the hotel. 
 

Because  of the length of isolation ( I continued  to test positive 2 more times) we were not able to rejoin the ship in Barcelona or Lisbon.  So HAL arranged our flight back to San Diego and flew us Business Class from Florence.  Then they reimbursed us in FCCs for the 22 days of the cruise we missed. We did spend four lovely days in Florence before we flew back, but that part was at our own expense. 

 

I just wanted to share a firsthand experience because there seem to be a  lot of assumptions or misinformation or lack of knowledge about HALs policy.  Ours could not have been more positive. In fact , I made a 3 minute video about my experience and posted it on my YouTube travel channel (“mimi murray”). It is called “ Isolated in Italy”.  I invite you to view it.  
 

As for our current cruise on the Koningsdam, there have so many changes in the itinerary, we lost track of the notifications.  But who cares. We are enjoying an experience that is important to us.

 

HI there, Nice to hear the rest of the story. The TA was plagued by having to isolate crew members so restaurants were shut down and service was compromised but It was still an awesome cruise and great to get back to sea. We did miss the Azores but that was due to weather. We also missed you two. Hope to see you again sometime on a cruise. Lee says the taxi ride to the port in Venice was the best part of our trip! I wouldn't go quite so far but I am glad we made the effort to make it possible! It was great. 

On 10/30/2021 at 10:33 PM, KKB said:

What about Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card to pay for your travel?

(the Preferred is almost as good...but Reserve has med evac coverage)

I have used them and they paid out just fine. refunded 100% which is  more than most but it was a short cruise. they have length and cost limits that they will cover. You should call to get the info. A world cruise is too long and too expensive to use their coverage. 

4 hours ago, HAL2pal said:

I still happen to have the exact same flier that I pick up during 2/2/2020 cruise. 

much better prices!

5 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

Well, more strangeness.  I typed a long post and submitted it and it has disappeared.   I will just mention again then that we have booked the Pinnacle Gala dinner (it is evidently $80 without the drinks, but we are going whole hog) and the pop-up Sel de Mer.  This is only, of course, just as the CC guinea pigs…

Thanks for taking a hit for the team! WE look forward to your reports!

Did you find with most people that the boarding pass time was not a solid time. We are now supposed to board at 4:30 but the people we were going to share a water taxi with board at two pm. Do you think they will turn us away?

15 hours ago, Babr said:

Calling is the best way to know for sure. I see three areas of concern: length of trip, cost of trip, and medical coverage. If they won’t allow any coverage because the trip is longer than 60 days, then the decision is made for you. You already know that it will not cover the full cost. That leaves medical. You know what coverage you have with CSR and your supplement. You’ve read the thread here about strategies to combine travel insurance with your supplement. Having all that laid out before you, the question comes down to what you are comfortable with. 
 

Depending on the answers you get and your level of concern, consult a professional like Steve.

Thank you for clarifying in such a succinct manner. It helps. and thank you to all on here who have contributed to this discussion. I really appreciate it. 

21 hours ago, Babr said:

I agree. It does seem too good to be true. It does not make sense to me that Chase would cover everything if you used their card for just a portion of the costs, but it does say that you are covered if part of the eligible expense is charged to the card.

 

The key may be in that definition. It has to be prepaid and non-refundable expenses paid to a travel supplier. That does not include tickets to things like theme parks or performances unless they are part of a package purchased from a travel supplier. It may be a problem to get air fare reimbursed because most airlines issue vouchers for non-refundable tickets. 

There is a cap on the amount paid out per incident and per year, and it is fairly low. I’m guessing they farm out the insurance to an underwriter and pay a relatively low premium for the coverage from the annual fee revenue. That way they can offer an attractive incentive to the cardholder with little cost to them. That is also how they can afford to pay the entire claim even if you just charge part of the cost. They are making their money from fees and interest. The benefits aren’t costing that much. 

 

 

 

 

Just read the 2020 benefits book and it is really confusing and seems to contradict themselves. I will have to call before I count on it but I will use my CSR for everything anyhow. 

On 5/27/2021 at 10:06 AM, wrk2cruise said:

I re-read it today and it does state that there is coverage if any part of the non refundable trip cost is paid with the CSR card. 

 

What I couldn't tell is if the benefit maximum would be the total trip cost or only the portion paid with the card.

It is the total. that is the great perk of the CSR. 

8 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

@lilybay  How long ago was your claim?   I do think they changed in the last 2 years that they only cover what was charged with your CSR card.

probably three years ago. I dont think they have changed. I guess I better check. 

On 5/25/2021 at 9:38 AM, Hlitner said:

I actually have your answer since we did file a major claim when a long/expensive (well over $10,000) was interrupted due to a serious injury to DW.  In the end, after a few months of back and forth on claim details (normal for most insurance claims) we received a check from CSR for exactly $10,000.  Also be aware that CSR only covers to the extent you actually used the card to pay for the expenses.  So, if you only charge $8000 of trip expenses on the card you will not get more then that $8000 in a claim.

 

One big warning about CSR and travel insurance.  The insurance companies are very reluctant to ever reimburse money you lose on airline tickets.  The CSR Claims Examiners simply refused to accept that a non-cancelable airline ticket is truly non-cancelable.  Many airlines will make exceptions to their non-cancelable rules if you can get to the right people and make your case.  The claims examiners really put the onus on the claimant to fight hard with the airline and they will often demand something from the airline saying they will not issue any refund or voucher.  But many airlines will give you a voucher (which can often become worthless) if you push a case.  In our case we got bounced back and forth between the airline, Chase, and Princess over unused Business Class tickets.  This went on for many months and CSR used this as a convenient excuse to hold up the settlement of the major part of the claim.   I have previously posted about this tale, but the key to dealing with claims examiners is patience, charm, documentation, and perseverance.  

 

Hank

Good to know about the 10K. I would just have to decide if I wanted to gamble on that. I assume your trip wasn't over 60 days? I wonder if they would just prorate the cost of the trip to 60 days. Mine is 74.

CSR covers the entire trip even if only a portion is on the card. CSP covers only what was actually charged on the card. When I had to cancel they wanted to know if  they should include my father and stepmother in the claim as they were traveling with, even though they were on another card and another reservation. It never got to that as they had their own insurance but the guy said they would. He also asked if I had any airplane tickets to the port to add to the claim I didn't. The port was too close. 

12 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

What sometimes gets forgotten here is the concept of self insurance.  So, for example, we always carry some kind of high limit travel medical insurance (such as Geoblue) because our liability from a medical emergency is unlimited!  But we do not buy any cancelation insurance (other then the coverage through Chase Sapphire Reserve) because we choose to "self insure" most cancelation risk.  What this means is that over the past 40+ years of extensive cruising we have saved far more then $200,000 in insurance premiums because of all the insurance WE DID NOT BUY.  So, if we ever take a big loss because of something that would have been covered by cancelation insurance we will still be far ahead of the game.   We are much less concerned about cancelation issues (vs medical) because our liability for cancelation is limited.  In fact, we would have spent the money anyway, so financially we would be no worse off (financially) if we lost money on a cancelation vs having taken the trip.

 

By the way, a note for insurance lovers.  We have, so far, had 5 cruises (some of them several months long) cancelled because of COVID.  Our total financial loss for all those expensive trips was $Zero (we got all our money refunded or used credit card charge backs).   If we had purchased cancelation for all those cruises it would have cost us over $15,000 in insurance premiums which we may or may not have fully recovered.

 

Hank

This has sort of been my policy for cancellation. people talk about the perks of CSR and how it pays back the big AF but they never talk about the travel insurance in those cases. For me the amount I have saved in travel insurance each year more than pays back the AF.  Everything else is perks. I dont know, and should call them, if when a trip costs more than 10k and you have to cancel for a covered reason whether they reimburse up to the 10k or they reimburse nothing. It has not been an issue yet but traveling as a solo it is getting there. A trip that costs 5k per person for a couple can cost 10k for a solo. I have had emergency evacuation insurance in the past but really CSR covers it and once I had an annual travel policy that covered more medical but dont know if I need either of those coverages. My medicare supplement covers up to 50k of emergency medical overseas. I cant imagine anything costing more than that overseas. Here it would be nothing but overseas costs are much lower. Another advantage I see of using just CSR is that it covers 100% of costs for the trip even if you only paid for the air with your card it would cover cruise, excursions and anything else. Normal policies won't do that and often won't cover 100%. The big reason I am pondering this is because i am booked on the 2023 Grand South America. A 71 day cruise with HAL. I think I might have to do something to supplement my CSR insurance for that. 

Thens for the input. It covers 2.5k in emergency medical. this is a good point however. I haven't really travelled since I have been on medicare and back when I was going with just the CSR, I had overseas medical in my insurance. Something to check about my medicare coverage. I think it may have a minimal amount. most medical won't cover if you change your mind and cancel for any reason will not cover for 100% like CSR does. They would have covered my travel partners who also had to cancel that cruise if they had not had their own insurance and they were not paid with my card nor were our reservations hooked  together. They were family members and the reason for my cancellation. I do like CSR coverage but something more is always a good idea. trying to figure out what gaps to cover and how to do it. 

I have struggled with this for a while but now with COVID it becomes a more pressing issue. Have others struggled with this? What gaps do you see and how do you fill them? I am coming up to some cruises that are above the 60 day travel limit and 10K cost limit for the insurance. How have you dealt with that. I have often gone exclusively with CSR and even found them good for reimbursing. They reimbursed 100% of a cruise I had to cancel at the last minute because a travel partner and family member needed surgery. 

On 1/28/2020 at 10:23 PM, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

 

I think 3 solo cruises count as "experienced", so...

 

There should be plenty of opportunities for you to meet new people.  I met an incredibly fun group of friends in the piano bar at night.  They liked my off-the-wall comments, so they adopted me, and the rest is history.  There are also karaokes, trivia contests, and so on.  I met them on the second night (the piano bar was closed the first night), so most of my cruise turned out to be being more fun than a barrel on monkeys.  I must give props to the pianist.  He did an awesome job creating a lively social atmosphere.

 

You will have lonely moments even if you make new friends, so mentally prepare yourself.  They're most likely to come up on embarkation night, after dinner and shows ended, but before you meet people to hang out informally with.  You can preempt that by carefully reading through the activity newsletter, to find activities that have high odds of bringing people together.  Or you can just call it a night early on the first night, to avoid putting yourself in a lonely situation in the first place.

 

I wouldn't be able to help you much with dinner, since lack of assigned dining is the main reason I shy away from NCL.  I don't care if I eat breakfast or lunch alone---those meals are "utilitarian" to an extent.  But eating dinner alone feels lonely, because it's more of a social meal. Still, as Lois R pointed out, I believe the maitre d' on NCL gives you an option to share a table when you come to the MDR.  

 

Perhaps you'll find my Carnival Inspiration review useful.  (It's really more of a travelogue than a review.)  Read through it when you can.  I touched heavily on the social aspects of my solo experience, like watching out for lonely moments, filling downtime, and meeting people.  The only difference is that CCL does have assigned dining, which was a big lifesaver for me.

I sail solo quite a bit on HAL and have on NCl. HAL is a solo friendly cruise line. oNly their newer ships have solo cabins but their staff and other passengers are really welcoming and friendly. In the Lido people will ask you to sit with them and everyone is friendly and chatty at breakfast and lunch. At dinner the MDR at open seating always has a shared table going so you can always sit with someone who is interested in meeting new people. I also meet people to dine with at the CC meetups and the first evening sailaway. 

When I have been on NCL at two different times, although they say you can share tables int eh MDR once I get there they tell me no one wants to share which tells me they are not doing their job. AT HAL when anyone come in for a table solo or not the main desk asks if you are interested in sharing. Also there are always tables available if you meet someone and want to go eat with no reservation. 

I have photos sorted in LR by trip but also try to do it by subject. I tagline by subject such as doors or sunset or ruins. At some point I think I will pull the doors together for a book. i have taken pics of them all over the world and as a group they can be very interesting and maybe when I am gone my kids might enjoy looking at that photo book more than the ones I have made of trips. That being said. I make trip books for different reasons. Some are more to display the photos and some are to remember the wildlife and locations. i try to label everything I can because i forget. My book of the Galapagos I have referenced many times because it is so well labeled and it helps me remember names of birds and animals and islands I was on. But it doesn't do real justice to the photos. I also have shared it many times with people who want to do a similar trip. Will  my kids be interested in any of this???? I have no idea but right now I am writing a story worth book from the subscription they gave me on my 65th and I am finding having my photos all tagged in LR has helped immensely in finding pics to add to it. 

just did an amazon and galapagos  trip with Overseas Adventure travel. It was awesome. I wouldn't have missed the amazon for the world, although we booked it for the galapagos. Catamaran had 8 cabins and 12 group members. As a solo I like that they save two spots for no single supplement solos! Very strenuous but my 87 year old mother kept up. Lots of difficult walking, snorkeling every day at least once. Great leaders and food, although you don't take this trip for the food. You could always opt out of activities and there was a siesta time scheduled every day. 

I am wondering what sorts of outlets they have on the Nieuw Statendam. Are there USB's or only regular and how many and where? Thanks for any info. 

I had a very similar situation at dinner time. In 2014, I accidentally ended up going on a cruise as a solo. My friend and I were boarding the Celebrity Reflection and she began to have severe pain and ended up in the Medical Center. She became so sick that they took her by squad to a local hospital (where she stayed for 5 days) and I ended up going on the cruise alone. I always get Anytime Dining and the first night was OK - I was seated at a 8 top table with 6 very nice people. But the next night was a disaster! I was seated at a 10 top, but the others were already eating their appetizers. I had a menu but the waiter never came back to take my order. The people were all friends and they totally ignored me. I got up and went to the host and told him the problem. He said he would sit me at a new table and then put new arrivals with me. Well, he sat me at an empty 8 top, but didn't ever seat anyone else there! I was sitting all alone and noticed that people around me were staring at me. Again, the waiter never came to take my order. By now I was so humiliated and frustrated that I got up and walked out. The host called to me and I told him that I wouldn't be back. I went back to my cabin, got my Kindle and went to the buffet. I ended up eating either there or in my cabin with room service from then on. I was lonely and miserable. I don't think alot of the cruise ship dining rooms are prepared for dealing with singles.

 

Carnival did have a singles table that my friend and I ate at long ago (1989) that was so much fun - there were 8 of us and we had a blast every night.

This is really sad!! I cruise solo and am almost always n Holland America. They do a wonderful job of sharing tables. In fact many cruisers both couples and solos like to share in the anytime seating and I have met so many wonderful people this way. I did try to dine solo on Norwegian once and they looked at me as if they didn’t understand when I said I wanted to share.

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so, what would work best for my parents?

67 and 69 at the time of the cruise. Cruise is 7 nights. Both have Medicare and the usual age related health problems.

I was thinking GeoBlue Voyager Choice Single Trip for $100K or $1M medical. Both of these also have $500K medical evacuation, which I am assuming is different from the $100K or $1M medical expenses.

I don't know whether MedJetAssist is needed on top of GeoBlue. I can't tell what's different about what it offers.

 

I have cancellation insurance through my Visa upto $5K. So do my parents.

 

My family has regular UHC group plan through my work. Do I need travel insurance (we never bought one, but now I am getting paranoid)? Should I just contact my UHC provider and see what it offers in terms of international medical treatment coverage/evac services?

Call your medical insurer. I found out that my medical with BCBS covered overseas medical as well. Some was even in their network. This varies greatly by policy and by insurer.

I used square mouth to help me find an annual plan with medical and evacuation to supplement my chase sapphire reserve card whic already covers almost everything I want including up to $10k of trip cancellation per person for all the normal reasons if any of your trip is charged to them. I ended up with a group called April. Get Blue had some disclaimers that didn't work for me. I don't remember. Maybe the maximum length of trips covered. Anyhow, I chose April because it's medical and evacuation were primary so I don't have to fruitlessly try to bill my home medical before they will pay for it. Anyhow as you can read in this post it is a very personal thing. I did a lot of research on credit cards. I now have a grid of all the benefits of all my cards. I also used a few search engines to check out plans. I did like squaremouth better than insuremytrip. I think they did better quality control and had a better selection of plans.

 

 

 

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I did exactly the same thing with my Chase Reserve and used April because it was a primary insurance. They had a good annual plan. I loved never having to call to let anyone know I was leaving. It just activated every time I was a certain number of miles away form home. I forget how many but it would have covered me if I had travelled to my kids in Oregon or Minnesota. Also I talked to the Chase people numerous times and you don't have to charge the entire trip on their card to have their insurance activated. Just a part of it. I never have had to test that, however. I have seen glowing reviews by people that had to use their travel protections.