mapgirl34

6 hours ago, JM0115 said:

No snorkeling but some swimming and holding onto the trampoline or mats or sitting on them. Still great fun! Too deep to see anything underwater.

Thanks so much.  That helps a lot!

'la ora na everyone,

We are getting ready to set sail on Star Breeze through Tahiti/Tuamotu.  I may be completely misguided in assuming I can spend many of my days using the ship's watersports platform.  Can anyone shed some light on this?  From my short time reviewing the forums here, it seems like you have to book snorkel tours to get the best snorkeling.  Does that mean where the ships anchor is no good?  Common sense tells me the water must be deeper and thus not as clear where the boat is, so I should expect to do more paddleboarding and above water sports than snorkeling, but it would be lovely to hear from some of the regulars here.
Thanks!

Thanks for this post.  For those of you who've completed your trips, how did it turn out?  I'm going Feb 4 (2024) on Star Breeze and I'm really considering using the watersports platform for most of the days it's available.  Since we go to quite a few atolls, obviously I'll get off and stretch my legs on the islands.  But I'm curious for those who've already completed your trips, what did you love about any specific tour?
Can you help explain to me why I should book a snorkeling tour vs jumping right off the Star Breeze and enjoying the day where we're anchored?

Thanks again!

I'm late to the party, but I just used a $500 gift card on my upcoming Celebrity cruise.  The agent at Celebrity told me that there used to be a limit on gift cards but there isn't one anymore.  It is convoluted in that 80% gets applied as gift card and 10% gets applied as a discount on the cruise.
For anyone interested, I buy my gift cards on Raise and there's a promo code: TRIP right now for 3% off travel cards.  It was $436.50 for a $500 gift card.

Here's my referral link to save a little more: https://geta.raise.com/CJACOBS9280 

For those who have cruised Norway or those planning Norway, I can't get over the cancellation policies for private on-shore tours.  I've read a few reports of folks who didn't get their money back for a pre-booked tour because the ship changed course and they didn't go to the port as expected.  I understand that I can't change the policy of Norway.  I'm just a bit befuddled by it.  Example below is what I'm seeing just about everywhere in Norway.  And yet, I went to Honduras in April and booked a tour that only required cash on arrival.  What is everyone else doing to avoid these cancellation fees?  I have notes on what I want to do in each location and I'm just hoping that I can walk up to a tourist center and book same day.  I've also checked and most of our port days, our ship is in the only one in port.  So if we can't book on arrival, we'll walk around the respective towns instead.  It's either risk losing the entire payment for tours or paying double the price for much more crowded and shorter tours through the ship.

• Cancellation more than 7 days before: 100 percent refund
• Cancellation less than 7 days before: 50 percent refund
• Cancellation 19 hours before, or less: No refund

Interested to hear what others are doing or have done.
For reference, we are on MSC Preziosa in August.
In Molde, I'd like to rent a car. In Honningsvag, I'd like to do the bird safari tour. In Stavanger, I'm interested in the Lysefijord cruise.
Thanks for reading.

Thank you for both suggestions!

Anyone?  I'm looking at renting a car to do the same, but we only have a port day 1pm-9pm.  All I can find are cars at the airport and expensive taxis to get to the airport.

Hi everyone, 
We're caught between a rock and a hard place.  We're cruising to Norway including Svalbard, and offship excursions are slim, since it's a small port and two ships are there that day.  After speaking with many tour companies, I learned that the ships buy up the excursions forcing passengers to do MSC excursions.

My choice is (same price) offshore adventure that meets 2 hours after docking, but cancellation fee starts at 5% (standard for the location) and goes up to 100% cancellation fee within 2 weeks, or book with MSC, which requires 80 people to participate in order to operate.

We like both excursion options, but we don't typically do ship options simply because of the crowds.  The offline one is a risk of losing the money if for any reason our ship doesn't make it to port, or if we're late and can't make the tour, but there would only be 12 people on that excursion (the main pro).

Vs the MSC option which I would assume would get 80 takers (their ships carry 4000+ passengers), but I won't know until we're there.  If they cancel, I assume we get our money back (we'll probably be fighting for a refund as we always do with MSC), but more importantly, what if it cancels and we end up getting to do nothing or get moved to a less desirable tour?

I guess my questions are, has anyone had experience with getting a refund from an MSC canceled excursion?  Does it become OBC?  
Have anyone experienced a Norway cruise where the Svalbard landing was canceled/late due to weather?

Thanks in advance.

Thanks guys!  Now at least I know where to look for my OBC.

Can anyone tell me where I can see OBC either online in my booking or on the app?  I filed for the stock OBC last week, still haven't received an email and I've been checking my reservation, but I don't know where to look.  Also, the stock is in my traveler #2's name.  Would that explain why I can't see it?  Does he have to log in to see it on his side?  We're in the same stateroom.  Thanks in advance!

lol, I came online for the same reason.  I just found the sloth tour on TripAdvisor with Roatan Getaway Tours.  So I'll be following to see what people have to say.

On 5/4/2022 at 2:33 AM, oilsand said:

I have replied to another thread on the subject

I was denied boarding in dubai on March 26 because the insurance policy i purchased through TUGO ( partner company of MSC cruises Canada ) did not specifically mention covid insurance

I was assured I had this coverage but was denied boarding

Just be careful.

Oh my gosh, what did you do?  Was there insurance onsite you could buy?  Did you grab another policy online via your phone? 

Thank you for such detailed results.  It may work out that the $30 airport test will help us get home at the end of the trip.  Though we connect overnight through LHR and I was looking at testing options there also.  Do you know if we need an appointment for airport testing?
 

As for the beginning of the trip, I think we'll have the same problem we're having in the states.  Testing must be done less than 48 hours prior to boarding, but results arrive 2-4 days.  So I hope to test right at that 48 hour mark before we fly, and then pray for results.  My brother-in-law is a pharmacist and says results are coming much quicker now, but in the case of us not getting results in time, I assume the PCR tests (that's what's required per the ship) in CPH are the same 2-4 days? So it won't really help us to test once we arrive in CPH either.

I need to do some more digging to find PCR tests that provide results in 1-2 days.

One more question for anyone... are cruise ships providing testing for those having to travel back to the US?  We are on MSC.

On 4/13/2022 at 3:45 AM, hallasm said:

Thanks for the update  @Travelntanya. At Copenhagen Airport, there are still two providers of Coronatest:

Falck's test center in terminal 2 - offers antigen test, PCR test and antibody test for a fee - Falck offers antigen test for DKK 199 (US$ 30).  Response time for certificate is  30 minutes.

Alternatively The Capital Region of Denmark's has a test center in P5 car park area offering a free PCR tests. People without a Danish ID can get a test without an appointment, but must register in advance  on covidresults.dk.  Response time for certificate Is 24 hours.

Thanks for this info.  I've registered with covidresults.dk, and the closest testing site to town looks to be at Vingelodden 6, which isn't in the Capital Region.  Can you shed a little more light on this?  Maybe I'm missing something?
Our goal is to test prior to leaving the states, but I like having a backup option.

Thank you!  We take our tests tomorrow (Tuesday) and our ship sails Thursday.

Amazing how we have to be locked in to bubble tours or can't leave the ship, but embarkation is crowded and disorganized.  I agree with you.  If someone showed up positive, it negates all the pre-cruise testing.  Seems a bit silly to me.  But I imagine they're still working out the kinks.

I'm stunned when you say crowded.  I really thought ships would be a half capacity!

Just checking back in to see how the billing went as far as charging for Covid testing onboard.

Thanks for sharing so much detail.

Hi, thanks for all the detail.  I just found your review while searching bubble tour info.  Did they charge you $150/kid for pre-cruise testing?

• Presenting a negative PCR COVID-19 test at check-in, taken between 72 and 24 hours prior to the sailing date (for example, if the sailing is on Saturday, the test may be taken any time from Wednesday through Friday, but not on the morning of embarkation). Unvaccinated guests must take an additional antigen test at embarkation, and test again within 24 hours of debarkation on all cruises longer than 4 days. A US$150 per person charge will be assessed to the guest’s onboard Sail and Sign account to cover the cost of testing, reporting and health and safety screenings. Children under two are exempt from testing requirements.

I've been stressing about the mandated ship excursions for a while now.  Our 2020 Baltic cruise was April 2020 and postponed to May 2021.  We ended up saving money on the change, with the 125% FCC (MSC) and got what I consider better dates (later into Spring).  But, originally, I booked a local vendor for a 2 day Russia tour for $212pp.  MSC is offering a 2 day tour for $379pp.  And I 100% believe it's about using Covid to increase profits, rather than passenger safety. 

I fully understand that the cruise lines are busy and don't have the staff to update excursion descriptions, but most of the ones I'm reading include "time in port to shop local vendors."  So how is a supervised tour any safer than if I simply exit the ship on my own, wearing my mask to walk to that same vendor?

My issue is only half about price.  I spent months planning our days, all on foot, walking for miles.  We're a young couple that cover a lot of ground in very short port days and being tied to a charter bus and a tour guide and moving at everyone else's pace is always very difficult for us.

We both desperately want to go, since this trip has been planned for over 2 years, but even with some OBC from not using the full 125% FCC, we won't come close to covering even the 2 days in Russia.  Bare minimum, we're looking at $702 in excursions per person.  And that's giving up a port we've already been to.  This was our chance to see 9 countries in 12 days.  So our decision (assuming it is our decision) is to either go, and enjoy the chance to have a slightly empty/quiet ship, but with a high cost of cruise excursions, or wait it out for who knows how many years until we can explore on our own... and that's assuming cruise ship excursions don't become the new norm once the lines see how much money they're bringing in. 
 

Thanks to the OP for the topic.  If nothing else, I feel less alone in my thoughts about all this.

I'm the OP.  I can cancel but because I paid with gift cards, it's not cash back in my pocket.  It's still essentially a FCC.  And by canceling, I give up my $600 OBC bc now I'm canceling a 5 day cruise, rather than my original 9 day, so I drop down to a $300 OBC if that's even still offered.

Everyone has a story, here's mine.  I booked an amazing deal, approx $1000 for 2 of us for 9 days Bermuda/Bahamas out of NYC.  It was canceled.  I was offered $600 OBC and FCC.  I took it, rebooked for Nov 2, 5 days (Bahamas for family of 4), essentially same price.  Now I'm in for $600, $500 of which was gift cards ( I saved about $50 by buying discounted gift cards).  $100 was on my Carnival credit card, which I had the points to cover.  So out of pocket, I've spent maybe $450, plus 10,000 points.  I owe $412, $200 of which will be covered by 20,000 points.

But why would my ship on Nov 2 be sailing, if ships through Oct 31 are canceled.  I read that I could ask for a delayed final payment, but of course, I attempted to deal with a TA this time to score some OBC, (all I got was $25, but way back at the first booking, that was exciting for a 9 day $1000 cruise).  Now, I'm at the mercy of what I consider an inexperienced TA who doesn't respond to my emails all day.  Yes, I know, they're all busy.  Here's his canned response:
"Sorry for thee delayed response. According to Carnival, as of right now, they are planning on cruising after October 31^st. If you don’t pay by final payment, Carnival will automatically cancel it and you will be assigned penalties and you may get very little back from your Deposit or they may hold the entire deposit amount. If you willingly decide to cancel before final payment, then you will get 100% of your deposit back. You may also pick any other sailing if you decide to move your sailing to a future date."

So what really happens if I don't make my final payment in time?  It's not like there are people lined up waiting to book my room.  No one is booking cruises in November, unless they're using FCC from this whole virus debacle.  It's not like they're going to find someone that wants my room.

Furthermore, if this cruise gets canceled by Carnival, am I losing my $600 original OBC offer, because I booked a shorter 5 day cruise to take the family?

Since my original payment was gift cards, I know I'm going to get yet another FCC when this cruise is canceled, so is it worth just paying the final payment, since I'll then have an FCC of $1000 vs $600... it's not as though I'm going to find a cruise for $600 anyway.

I know we're all in the same boat (pun intended), but what to do?!

We are booked with City Break Tours for April 26-27. This tour: 2-Day Group Shore Excursion in St Petersburg with Faberge Museum & Boat Cruise. 

Within just days of booking, we received the following email that there are no tickets for Catherine's Palace:

"I also would like to inform you that on some travel dates in the high season there are no available tickets to Catherine's Palace from our company. The days that your cruise ship docks in St Petersburg are one of such dates. The group will visit the Grand Palace of Pavlovsk which is also one of the Imperial palaces of Russia. We inform you very long beforehand to understand the situation."
 

I don't have a problem with this, but should I be concerned that I chose the wrong company?  After reading through all the reviews on this thread, no one mentions City Break Tours, but they've received 134 Excellent reviews, so I thought we were good.   I assumed that if I tried another company, I'd still end up not being able to see Catherine's anyway.  Also, is April really the high season?

Barring any arrival emergencies, has anyone ever missed a ship in port due to being out on your own for the day?

Just curious as to how often this actually happens? I'd love to hear about the adventures.

I'm preparing for my 11th cruise and I've done plenty of non-ship excursions/ solo-exploring and I've yet to miss my departure.

Yeah, that is a problem. The French do not like to work long hours, they love their weekends off, and really love their many holidays. In your position we would try contacting

https://www.francecars.fr/agences/agence-cherbourg-a92.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=mybusiness

 

This location does show its open from 8-noon on Saturdays. You would probably need to contact them directly (via e-mail of phone call) to find out if its possible to drop a car after hours (most rental agencies have a drop box for this sort of thing). Getting any agency to open an hour early (because a cruise ship is in port) is unlikely in France :(. Believe it or not, but we have had luck getting Italian rental car companies to open early (or deliver a car early) but in France it would take more than a miracle.

 

Hank

Thank you! France Cars got back to me right away and they'll allow us after hours drop off. We are reserved so fingers crossed it all works out!

I'm seeing all these folks who've rented cars in Cherbourg, but I'm having trouble finding a car rental agency that opens before 9. Our ship ports at 7 and with the long ride and tour buses, we'd like to be on the road by 8, not waiting to get a car. I've reached out to AutoEurope to see if they open their ferry location earlier when ships are in port. Both Avis and Thrifty come up in searches but when you go to reserve them, errors occur because the locations aren't open. Unfortunately we'll be in port on a Saturday and some have hours as limited as 9-12. Help!

I'm wondering the same thing. I'm just about 3 months from being in Cherbourg and I'm struggling to find a rental car agency open on Saturday May 5 before 9 til 3... we want to drive to Mont St. Michel with 4 people on our own. Rental car agencies open at 9, some close at noon because it's a Saturday, some have their nap time hours, which puts us tight for returning to the ship after drop off. Ship is in port 7-4. I would love to find out that we can just get off the ship and there will be someone there we can negotiate with to take us.