sanger727

I've spent more than I had to on a trip before because it was the trip I wanted to take. Hopefully you compared other options prior to booking a $43,000 cruise. And I assume that it is in your budget. I would certainly take out trip insurance given the terms of you companies trip. However, on such an expensive cruise, that will not be an insignificant amount. No one besides you can say if this cruise is worth the price.

Ok. Thanks for the information. Avalon specifically says in our travel documents that an evisa is not acceptable. Good to hear that it is the route used on other river cruises.

while I totally agree with this; what worries me is Avalon stating that an evisa will not be accepted, when it will be. I’m concerned that they would deny boarding over that. I’m going to get something from the consulate in writing and hope for the best I guess. I know that can’t be less restrictive than the ‘authorities’ but pretty sure they can be more restrictive. so far everything about planning this trip has left a really bad taste in my mouth about Avalon so I wouldn’t put anything past them. Hopefully this trip ends up being wonderful; but as things have gone so far, I wouldn’t book them again.

Has anyone experienced bad visa advice from Avalon? We are in a Mekong river cruise in November. Our travel packet specifically says that ‘evisa’s are not permitted. However the crossing location they give does allow e-visas’s and frankly that’s the only visas that Vietnam are issuing now. We can apply for one directly for $30. However, in our travel packet they refer you to a visa service that charges $300 to arrange the ‘allowed’ visa.

I am. So that website says that I need a ‘Visa letter of approval through immigration’ with my application. What is that?

Has anyone does the Mekong River cruise since covid? We are booked for one in November and trying to sort out what we need in terms of visa. We will get our own to fly into cambodia. Our travel packet from Avalon says that we will also need to arrange our own visa for vietnam, and that we can't use an e-visa at a river crossing. They refer you to a visa service. To get an e-visa directly, it's $30; this service charges $300 for a visa. There has to be another way??

Has anyone does the Mekong River cruise since covid? We are booked for one in November and trying to sort out what we need in terms of visa. We will get our own to fly into cambodia. Our travel packet from Avalon says that we will also need to arrange our own visa for vietnam, and that we can't use an e-visa at a river crossing. They refer you to a visa service. To get an e-visa directly, it's $30; this service charges $300 for a visa. There has to be another way??

IF you dock on time you should be ok. The one time we did something like this with a quick pickup in a marina a short walk from the port, we were an hour late to start disembarking. Def check what the cancellation policy is with the company. Make sure you would get a refund or are ok with losing any deposit paid if the ship misses port or is late.

Your onboard account isn't charged out until the end of the cruise. They might put a hold on your card based on charges, but as long as the OBC ends up in your account by the last night, it will pay.

The person posted that they were giving a cash refund plus FCC. That seems more than fair. A bit like airlines when they overbook and offer to pay people to miss the flight. That seems like it would be the best solution, to offer all passengers to voluntarily cancel with a generous bonus. Someone who takes several cruises a year may be happy to take that. Someone who only gets one vacation every year and can't reschedule a new one easily, wouldn't. That's the problem with this situation. Sure, you are getting a refund. But that doesn't mean your work schedule allows you to schedule a new vacation. You may just be missing out for the rest of the year then.

January is a very pleasant time to go to the Caribbean. We like to go in Jan or Feb. So no, early vs late Jan shouldn't make much difference. Some people think the water is cold then. I don't. But if you are used to Florida in August water, it may be too cool for you.

The article said that past 10 days, forecasts are only 50% accurate. They don't become highly accurate until 5-7 days out. There are so many factors at play in weather, no, 2-3 weeks is not very accurate. Certainly not worth using to decide what to wear or pack -beyond, "it's hot in august".

only if by ‘better than a toss of the dart’ you mean it’s probably hot in august and probably cold in January. https://www.wral.com/how-accurate-are-weather-forecasts/19645159/

The ability to do this will be very port specific. Most cruise lines would have let you get on or off early, if it didn't violate local laws, pre-covid. Now, on the cruise you are describing, I can almost guarantee you that they paid for an extra day of vacation that they didn't get. If the cruise was 8 day cruise and you only wanted to be on for 6 days, you paid for the whole 8. Very few cruise lines sell cruises the way you are asking. MSC did, and yes, if you get a smaller branch of a world cruise you could. I'm curious what sparked this. Does it matter to you whether everyone gets on and off at the same port. Doing that certainly simplifies things for the cruise line in terms of selling cabins, muster drills, shows, etc. Wouldn't choosing a cruise with the length you want and ports you want be simpler.

Yes, if they want average temperatures, those are relatively easy to find. If they want to know whether it will be average, warm and sunny, or cool and windy 3 weeks from now; no one knows.

How far away is your trip. No one will have good predictions for something more than a few days out. I like accuweather for a rough estimate and historical data. But that's all it is.

I don’t see much risk booking b2bs on the same ship. But it seems like that may get repetitive! A world cruise would certainly offer a better itinerary. It would really just come down to cost.

Everything the CDC has put out is that this is passed primarily through skin to skin contact, not by touching objects or breathing. Not planning on having sustained skin to skin contact on a cruise, so not too concerned.

We have also rented a car in that situation. Stored our luggage in the trunk and spent the day doing activities. Returned it at the airport for our flight.

Just to point out this sentence: " The CDC said people who test positive again and whose symptoms come back after finishing their antiviral pills should restart their isolation period and isolate for five full days. " I would take this to mean that if you test positive, but your symptoms don't come back, you don't need to isolate again.

Yes, but then that's still the same old infection, not a new infection. In the early days of covid people stayed in isolation until they tested negative, which took months for some. We know testing positive post infection is common. The only question with Paxlovid is whether you are still contagious during the rebound infection. I can certainly understand why people in high profile positions like Fauci and Biden didn't take the risk.

Definitely don't book the second cruise first. While what you want is a cancel and rebook; from the cruise line's perspective, changing the cruise is better. That way they know they get your money still. With an outright cancellation, then yes, the deposit is lost. You have much more leverage to cancel and rebook at the same time.

I've never seen a rate that makes sense to add on the beverage package. The beverage package is really the seller for the "all included" rates. I think of the wifi as a freebie on top.

The CDC has long considered that you are covid free up to 90 days post recovery. Which is why the cruise lines allow the recovery letter. The OP has already had a negative antigen test, so there's no real reason to think they have a new infection, especially if they aren't symptomatic.

Carrying illegal substances into foreign countries is a really bad idea. This isn't just "cruise ship banned", this is drug dog coming on board and being hit with jail time or enormous fines banned.