sanger727

most current news is that it’s not a terrorist attack. A car rammed a check point. Same thing has happened at parades and running races. Should people not attend parades on the 1 in a million chance that someone rams it? The fear of a terrorist attack on a cruise ship is still irrational the media blow things out of proportion. It’s important to keep likelihooods of attack in mind. You can’t let the media drive you nuts. Would you not go to a skyscraper because 20 years ago planes crashes into 2?

My last cruise was a year ago. It was traumatic. I’m sure I’ll cruise again (we are looking at 2025) but I wasn’t in a hurry to get back out there. There was a covid scared… got quarantined in my room… by myself (my roommate was moved)… in vietnam… with no assurances we would be able to leave.

Just food for thought. If you opt to do another med cruise, the greek islands are wonderful for getting off and wandering around. Santorini, mykonos, rhodes, etc.

It's an hour nonstop flight, and there are many per day. I don't think this plan is especially risky.

I think different airlines handle this differently. one example, on Delta, we booked a first class flight to Hawaii with a connection at LAX. Our original flight was delayed to the point where we missed the connection. They got us re-booked on a different flight that didn't have any first class seats available. So we didn't quite get what we paid for. We were compensated with frequent flyer miles and a partial refund On another, on American Airlines, we booked a connecting flight to Jamaica. Our first flight was cancelled and the best they could do was put us on a flight the next day. So again, I didn't feel like we got what we paid for since we would miss a day of our vacation. We ended up being able to take a last minute one way delta flight the same day and were told by the customer service agent that they could cancel the first leg of the flight and get a partial refund. However, when we called them to follow up they refused the refund. In this case our trip insurance compensated us. I don't specifically recall why the Delta flight was delayed. But the American flight was definitely within their control. It was some sort of mechanical issue with the plane and them not able to find a substitute.

To imessage you have to have some type of internet access - either wifi or cellular data. I know that there is a bug that sometimes let you imessage without purchasing wifi on the ship. But they can close that gap at any time. You not being able to imessage without wifi or data is the "fixed" solution (from the cruise line's perspective).

How do you recruit the services of a bed bug dog? I've literally never heard of this but it sounds like it could be a good idea if they have them in airports.

I'm curious if this program can be used after your flights are assigned. The only rationale I can see for someone choosing this over booking their own flights is that 1. they already bought an air promo rate and 2. the flights are horrendous.

One of the facts of this cruise taken into consideration is that they are cruising from NYC to Bermuda. Nowhere near the current conflict. If this was a cruise originally scheduled to visit Israel that was re-routed but would still be in nearby waters - the cause for concern would be a lot easier to justify.

I was a on Celebrity cruise once where there was an early morning coffee station near my room. I am an early riser and liked to go and get a coffee and read there when I got up. There was one guy that came through every morning in his PJ's, robe, and slippers. Personally, it felt uncomfortable to me - but he clearly didn't have a problem treating the ship like his home. I would wear clothes around the ship like I would in a public place at home. I wouldn't wear lounge wear, fitness gear, or swim wear just to walk around. If someone else is comfortable dressing and acting like they are in their family room, go for it.

Will you be using the same airport for entering and leaving South Africa? You may be able to store excess luggage there or at a hotel. If you have a tour company in South Africa they may be able to help with that.

No, the BBB is an American company and it doesn't operate in Belgium. This is so incredibly not true. I've filed issues with the BBB and had a refund within a few days or the owner of the company calling me to find out how to fix the situation so that I tell the BBB it has been resolved. I've used the BBB to work out issues with small travel agents all the way up to Hertz. When you file and issue with them, the business does take notice. They have to earn their rating.

The free at sea is always happening. Whether it’s 50% off, 75% off the second passenger, or prices just drop - don’t feel the need to rush out and book. If prices are ‘50% off’, they increased the prices already they do this for that very reason. To create a sense of urgency to go out and book.

actually, I’ve had great luck with the bbb. That assumes the business operates in the US. But every complaint I’ve filed has resulted in a positive ending. It def helps if do you 1. Are right and 2. Have proof that you are right.

Well, for example, this article that you quoted is a great example of "not news" Terror threat against U.S. at 'whole other level' says FBI (nydailynews.com) Exclamatory title to get people to read it. Once you read it you learn that there are no specific facts, leading the FBI to say that. And if you look at the Homeland Security's terrorism level - we are currently at "heightened threat environment" and have been there since Nov 2021. Much ado about nothing new.

I'm going to guess that your son is not an experienced traveler? While there is no logical thought process to think that a cruise ship from NYC to Bermuda is an increased danger; I'm guessing the thought process is more around holing up at home where he feels safe. I've seen that before in inexperienced travelers where their travel anxiety is much more easily activated by news stories and current events. You said "If I turn off the news I can maybe live with a false sense of security". I vehemently disagree with this. The media of 20 or 30 years ago probably did report newsworthy issues and provided accurate information. The current media is all about selling clicks through overly dramatic headlines. So much of it is speculation and worthless opinions that exist just to sell clicks. I mostly disconnect from the media, not for a false sense of security; but for my own sanity. If you read the news every day, there is always something to be afraid of. I really think it's healthy to determine what the root cause of your son's fear is and work on that. As opposed to using current events to justify an irrational fear.

Ok. Then completely disregard my post. You seem to have a strong reaction to both allegra and bonine so in your case it may be a bad idea to take either of them. I have no side effects to either and have no issues combining them.

We like to use Ft Lauderdale or Miami. The two cities are about 30 minutes apart; so you can fly into either airport and cruise out of either cruise port.

*****NOT MEDICAL ADVICE****** I have taken bonine with allegra and didn't have any issues.

I’m guessing that while you were working you didn’t care for people who had no idea what your job was telling you how you should do it.

Not sure how you can feel ripped off if you don't buy anything. In this case you are investing your time and gas into going to the store, so I can see being miffed. Cruise sales are more like Amazon prime day or cyber monday. Enough advertisement to get you to spend 5 minutes looking at prices. There may be a small amount of very good deals on things you don't really want or need. Very small time investment so no reason to feel ripped off by it.

You have two choices which will dictate how to set your settings. Are you happy having connection while connected to the ship's wifi only, or do you want connection in the ports too? If you are happy with the ship's wifi connection; put your phone in airplane mode and turn the wifi on. You will have no additional charges If you want connection in ports, you'll have to confirm that you sign up with your carrier's international day pass. Then leave your cellular service on and turn on roaming. You will need to turn airplane mode back on when you are at sea so you don't run into any cellular roaming charges. Using the wifi only connections is the safest and easiest way to do this. Otherwise you have to be really careful about turning cellular on and off. Personally, we signed up for the international day pass and also leave our phone in airplane mode. It only charges you if your phone connects to the network. That way if there is an emergency, we can turn cellular on and use our phone in port for a $10 fee. But are sure to turn airplane mode back on once we are finished using our phones.

As far as I know, there isn't really a dress code for breakfast outside of no swimwear. But, yes, I think it would feel awkward to wear PJ's to the MDR. I think going to the buffet or getting room service would be more comfortable.

I've found this to be true only one certain cruise lines. I've never seen a TA fare lower than the cruise line fare on Carnival or NCL. I have seen them on Celebrity and Avalon. I think some cruise lines don't allow TA's to advertise lower fares but the TA can always kick back a portion of their commission in OBC or gifts.

There is no best. Seeing as how you have tried both ways, surely you have figured out which you prefer. TA's may get better pricing and may give you extras like pre-paid gratuities or an extra specialty dinner. And if you have a good TA, that by itself can really help with planning, information, and any cruise changes. However, if you end up with a bad TA you may struggle to get any information or pricing changes since the cruise line will no longer work with you. It really comes down to the quality of TA you are working with.