headhunterke

You can bring it home. But you'd better not. Because you will miss those things once you've finished the last piece ;)

Not sure how it's in the US, but here in Europe, we have a hard time finding these things. Online is no problem, but I have to pay a ton of delivery fee.

Kidding aside, though, I always keep them in my carry on bag (sealed as other mentioned!) and haven't had one that didn't survive my 12 hour flights home.

I love writing reviews. I'm not a nitpicker nor a difficult guest, but expect good customer service within the possibilities. For my last cruise last year, I wrote a very extensive review of the ship, staff, excursions, etc.

But I have failed to publish it thus far. I think it was just too long :p

I have a great time reading the experience of others as well. It gets me through the "in between cruise" time :D

If an area is closed (like for a M&G), is it listed in the daily On Location Report for the day so other passengers can plan around it?

Every single time a venue was closed off on any of the cruises I was on, it was not mentioned anywhere, except at the venue itself where a sign would indicate a private event was going on.

And of course an unlucky staff who had to deny access to all other guests trying to visit the venue

Thank you for the link, S7S, I will follow that post with high interest.

I've had this happening to me as well on both the Nieuw Amsterdam and Noordam. Last time on the Nieuw Amsterdam, a 14 day cruise, venues were closed restricted to a group (can't remember the name) without any prior notification. There were only about 20-30 people at most.

Crow's Nest, Lido Pool and Seaview Pool all were private venues. Sometimes even 2 at the same time.

Very, very frustrating. I wish there was a way to know if any large groups are onboard, because whenever a large group is on my cruise, a large part of the ship is off limits for the rest for a given time.

While I was a quite frustrated by this, I could go to another venue quickly. But there were some guests I bumped into who were also making their way to that venue, but those people had a hard time getting around and walking. Needless to say they were not so amused when I told them the area was closed.

I think it is very inconsiderate of HAL not to inform fellow guests who also paid a fair amount of money and are being limited in what they could do.

Since it has happened on 2 of my cruises thus far and you have experienced the same now, I am wondering if this is a regular thing.

My mom never sweats either. I think it has something to do with the natural scent of your skin and/or tiny particles of evaporated sweat that comes through your pores.

I once saw a docu that was studying why some people get more biten than others and while it hasn't been fully backed up by science, they could not determine a certain factor that would cause one to be biten more or less.

They also tried the most suggested fables, but all were debunked. (alcohol, sweating, eating sweet food, etc.)

So their conclussion was it was something smelling from inside a person with a unique smell that had to attract the mosquitos, since these little buggers have an extremely developed smelling sense.

whataboutport, looks like you have the same problem as my mom.

She has allergic reactions to a lot of bites, so she's kind of an expert on how to protect yourself.

We can be in the same room, and she'll be full of bites while I might not have a single one. It's strange.

Here in Belgium we say: you must have sweet blood :)

How about both?

 

If DEET helps me, there's no way I'm wearing long sleeves in the Caribbean this time of year.

Even when you wear long sleeves and pants, there's still enough space for these little pricks to bite you.

No matter what my mom does to cover herself, they always find a way to get her. So loading up on DEET instead of covering yourself up, has my preference.

You will get both boarding cards upon departure at the US.

I'd take the flight. Yes, chances are you might miss it, but AMS has so many options to get your to anywhere within Europe, specially when you arrive in the morning.

If the price difference is significant (and it often is on shorter connections), I'd take it.

Your bags will be checked through to Stockholm as well.

With that experience in mind, JVilleGal, I'd like to add I arrived 1.30 hours early from DTW last year, so that's absolutely not a reference whatsoever. On the other hand, because of a turn in the jet stream above the Atlantic, east bound flights tend to arrive early over the last couple of weeks/months. Of course, that's not taken any technical or operational delay into account.

AMS is also one of my favorite airports to connect through when I'm not taking a direct flight to my home airport.

Normally, I am not in favor of booking short connections, but I'd take this one if the prices are really lower. And in case you miss your connecting flight, KLM will rerout you and your bags in a minute. KLM alone has 4 daily flights to Stockholm, so there's enough flights as an alternative.

You might end up getting on the flight you'd wanted to choose in the first place, but with quite some $$ saved.

50 minutes is the legal minimum connecting time, but it's possible.

Hu luxil, finally, a fellow Belgian member :)

I've taken a 1.30pm flight before, but I prefer to stay the night in FLL.

But you should be fine.

You should treat this as a domestic flight. Your bags will be checked through, and you'll be able to obtain both boarding passes (FLL-EWR & EWR-BRU) at FLL, if all is issued as 1 ticket.

When you arrive 2 hours before your flight, you should be fine.

FLL can be a real zoo, specially at days when there's quite some ships in port, but the airport is a short taxi/shuttle ride away from the airport (about 10-15 min.)

FLL isn't too big either, but plan time well ahead of time because of the mass crowds.

Your itinerary leaves me to believe you'll be flying United on both legs. If that's the case, you'll be fine when it comes to your bags and boarding cards and will be able to check in even before the 2 hour mark. The latest you'll be need to check your bags with UA will be 45 minutes before departure time at FLL.

Enjoy your cruise and the beautiful Fort Lauderdale.

This is a pretty specific question to a certain cruise line.

I think you'll find more and better help at the NCL boards:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=107

I do understand your question. Severe allergies are life threatening and I would not want to be responsible for it. I have a friend with severe reactions to celery. I know what it takes to avoid any contamination. Having a drop of celery juice on a knife, plate or anything else can be enough to send him into shock.

But, how can any one on a cruise ship guarantee there will be no cross contamination?

I'm very eager to hear that answer as well.

Those are some clear answers. Thank you very much!

I've done a quick search there, but didn't find anything.

Tomorrow, I'll have a more extensive search, since I have to go to work in an hour.

Hi all

I've posted this question as part of another thread on the Cozumel boards, but people there were not sure what the answer was.

I'm probably taking the Chichen Itza shorex but I have read no professional camera's, video equipment and tripods are allowed.

Now, I have a Canon Eos 650D, in my opninion, far from a professional camera, but it has been refused in a few spots, mostly sports events. But at other times, it did pass without any questions asked.

Does any of you have any experience with the policies at the ruins?

I had good travel insurance (Travelguard Gold policy) and Travelguard has told me I can file a claim, but probably won't receive any reimbursement, as a cancellation, even with a doctor's recommendation because of Zika, is not covered.

 

So, OP could have had great travel insurance, and still not be covered for his cancellation.

Any insurance that does not let you cancel for what reason you want is not a good travel insurance.

I don't know the products in the US, but here in Europe there are some products that will allow you to cancel your travel plans up to a certain date and up to €10k covered. Of course, those are not the cheapest ones, but you have few limitations.

As always, an insurance only pays off when you need it. If you don't need it, it's money that's gone to waste a bit.

I will book this one directly with the cruiseline since it invloves too many possible issues to get back on time.

I'll get back with my question regarding the camera on my cruiseline's board, thanks for the sound advice.

Thanks for the suggestions, unfortunately I din't choose travel insurance when booking and my credit card company says the Zika virus doesn't fall under their trip cancellation policy.

 

I didn't necessarily expect a full refund - a future credit would have sufficed. But I'm really annoyed at MSC's customer service, they were extremely unsympathetic to the point of being rude and not really willing to work with us. Don't think I'd ever look to travel with them again.

I am truly sorry to hear your pickle. But this is EXACTLY why you should always make sure you are covered when purchasing a vacation. Why people still go without and then are not satisfied with the limitations they are presented, is beyond my comprehension.

Do not get me wrong, I feel your pain for the hard choice, but I'm pretty sure this will be the last time you will travel without proper travel insurance.

But please, let money not be a deciding factor for the high risk your wife and baby will be exposed to.

Stay safe at all times. A healthy life is much more valuable than any vacation.

Let this be a life lesson, albeit an expensive one.

Hi all

I've booked a last minute cruise which departs in 3 weeks and I'm looking for great excursions at Cozumel. It'll be my first time at the island and I saw there are a lot of excursions that include Mayan ruins.

I'm very interested in archeology and history and was wondering if any of you had any experiences.

At the moment shorexs for the following ruins are available:

Tulum, Coba, Chichen Itza.

I know the last one is the most famous one, but I'm looking for some personal experiences and first hand feedback.

Thanks in advance!

PS. I have read tripods/professional camera's are not allowed at many of the sites. What is labelled as professional equipment? For example, I have a Canon EOS 650d and it has been refused in some venues (specially sport events) but many others saw no problem in it.

Iirc, domestic first class does not grant you lounge access, except on some transcon flights. This trip will not get you in if you have no status with their frequent flyer program or have a credit card which will give you access.

If you really want to get in the lounge, I think paying for it will be about the only option.

I would opt for the Amsterdam transfer to Southampton as well.

Both LHR and LGW are notorious for their ATC delays. While this may be the case in pretty much any airport, a connecting flight from Amsterdam (served with quite a lot of routes by Delta and KLM and also American and United)

Avoiding London can be a good thing, specially since you will need to have transportation from London down to Southampton.

If you insist on flying into London (price or other reasons) I really don't have any preference. LHR is a lot bigger and can be a zoo, but LGW is often jammed and has a lot of ATC delays since it only has 1 runway

Sorry but you are wrong, as usual.

This is false information.

I can confirm from the timatic (official use to determine the need and validity of travel documents; I use this at work on a daily basis) Brasilian visas in expired passports if carried with a new passport. And only if the page that contains the visa has not been voided.

This quote is directly from the Timatic, updates mid January 2016:

"Passengers registered in passport of companion must hold an individual visa.

A valid visa in an expired passport is accepted if:

- page containing the valid visa has not been invalidated or mutilated and visa is clearly legible;

- passenger holds a valid passport of the same nationality;

- a handwritten annotation does not appear in the passport that passenger has been advised to obtain a new visa in valid passport."

This was a specific for US nationals, but goes for many other countries as well.

Instead of being snarky, you could check your resources because they're wrong.

I am not even going to give any advice on this post. This selfish behaviour is a real winner, though. Congratulations. If work's that important, stay at home or go on a holiday when work's not interupting.

Or just stay of cruise ships. Everyone will thank you for that.

ETA is actually free:

 

http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Fees

 

The fee that you are charged is set by the owners of the service that you use to submit your application. The official government site charges $20, other sites like EasyETA set their own prices.

 

I'd be interested to see if anyone can show an example of a case where EasyETA hasn't worked.

I haven't heard of EasyEta, but I can tell you on the flights I oversee at work, we have about 2-3 people a week who filled in everything, paid a 3rd party and never got the approval to travel.

I just don't see why people would use a 3rd party, pay a higher fee for something they can do the official way.

Because in both cases, you need to give your passport and personal information, so the argument of paying a little extra for the service is invalid imo.

Yes, there are perfectly valid companies that handle the requests just fine. But if they make 1 little error in the name and this has to be corrected, rest assured that whenever we call Australian Immigration, they refuse to correct it and that person has to apply for a brand new ETA. When you fill in the application through the official website, the Immigration Supervisor on the other end of the line is more likely to allow a change instead of a new ETA.

But, yes, there have been many cases 3rd party sites or agencies have screwed up or simply "forgot" to apply. But, as we say in Belgium, it's your money, your call.