Reduced port stays

[basor]

24 minutes ago, susiesan said:

I'm getting ready to buy an annual policy, comparing Allianz AllTrips Premier and Geo Blue Trekker Choice. Within the year of my policy will be 2 safaris in Africa and one cruise on Oceania. Based on our ages, the geo Blue annual is $460.00 for 2, the Allianz is $485. Both have the same med evacuation coverage of $500K, the main reason I am buying it for. Geo Blue has much more medical expense coverage than Allianz. I do not see anything in the Allianz policy that reimburses for a missed port. I will wait to buy the insurance a few days before I leave for Botswana on May 11 so I get the most time insured from an annual policy.

I just looked at GeoBlue and it appears to be strictly medical and does not have any trip cancelation/interruption, etc. coverage.  Is this correct or am I missing something?  We have a TravelGuard annual policy and it includes both medical and cancelation, etc. coverage.

[sofietucker]

29 minutes ago, susiesan said:

I'm getting ready to buy an annual policy, comparing Allianz AllTrips Premier and Geo Blue Trekker Choice. Within the year of my policy will be 2 safaris in Africa and one cruise on Oceania. Based on our ages, the geo Blue annual is $460.00 for 2, the Allianz is $485. Both have the same med evacuation coverage of $500K, the main reason I am buying it for. Geo Blue has much more medical expense coverage than Allianz. I do not see anything in the Allianz policy that reimburses for a missed port. I will wait to buy the insurance a few days before I leave for Botswana on May 11 so I get the most time insured from an annual policy.

We don't get Allianz for the missed ports fees--we've only lately realized that we can even claim that. But they have covered us for many thousands on medical bills:

~double pneumonia in the Med;

~days and overnights in sick bay on board;

~foot injury on board, xrays, and subsequent minor surgery and attendant care (had to dig out broken glass after stepping on it by pool).

They only pick up what our regular insurance doesn't cover.

Plus travel:

~Snowed in to ATL for 3 days (that first "snowmaggeddon" that paralyzed the country). They covered all hotel costs, meals (glad they had a restaurant as there was no leaving the hotel), airport transport, etc. They would have covered rental car, bus or train if any were to be had.

~We were once given incorrect train instructions for the previous year's schedule by a travel agency in Germany; they covered the cost of the new (faster!) train and taxis.

~Finally and most recently, flights when my mother's injury forced changes in remote Spain: for her to fly home early (plus all ground transport)and for us all ground transport, hotels, meals and added flights in country plus revised flights home.

You never know what will happen.

Edited April 12, 2023 by sofietucker

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 4/11/2023 at 9:33 AM, Wasasalad said:

How accurate are the port charts for ships in port? Regatta according to this arrived at 12pm. Oceania has us arriving at 9am. Originally 8am. 

I'm not sure what chart you posted, or what you mean by the "port charts" and when they were developed/published.  Cruise lines do sometimes (or perhaps often?) change their itineraries from the time they are first announced.  And then of course weather or other operational issues may impact when the ship actually docks at a berth or anchors.  And IF they need to wait for clearance, which lucily doesn't happen often, that can be a little bit of a time killer.

 

Once it arrives in a port, I find Marinetraffic.com helpful in determining when a ship actually docked, though you may have to convert the recorded time from UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) to local time.  And you have to make sure that the time being reported is actual time of arrival at a dock and not a point in the water where official arrival in a port is recorded.  It's a little difficult sometimes to determine just when a ship actually was tied up at the dock, cleared, and ready to open the doors. (I basically only use it to determine roughly when a ship may pass something I want to see - for example, once the ship leaves the dock at Lisbon, when will it pass the Tower of Belem, or the Bridge, or the set of lighthouses out to sea?)

[susiesan]

31 minutes ago, sofietucker said:

We don't get Allianz for the missed ports fees--we've only lately realized that we can even claim that. But they have covered us for many thousands on medical bills:

~double pneumonia in the Med;

~days and overnights in sick bay on board;

~foot injury on board, xrays, and subsequent minor surgery and attendant care (had to dig out broken glass after stepping on it by pool).

They only pick up what our regular insurance doesn't cover.

Plus travel:

~Snowed in to ATL for 3 days (that first "snowmaggeddon" that paralyzed the country). They covered all hotel costs, meals (glad they had a restaurant as there was no leaving the hotel), airport transport, etc. They would have covered rental car, bus or train if any were to be had.

~We were once given incorrect train instructions for the previous year's schedule by a travel agency in Germany; they covered the cost of the new (faster!) train and taxis.

~Finally and most recently, flights when my mother's injury forced changes in remote Spain: for her to fly home early (plus all ground transport)and for us all ground transport, hotels, meals and added flights in country plus revised flights home.

You never know what will happen.

sofietucker: you seem to have a lot of bad luck with cruises😉

 

Are your Allianz policies for each different cruise or an annual policy?

[sofietucker]

Myanmar  this is my final post on the topic, but given that this is current, maybe there will be a port change:

Myanmar military junta airstrike kills 100 people

Myanmar's military bombed a town in the country's Sagaing region on Tuesday, killing about 100 people, according to the shadow government of the ousted administration. The attack killed "scores" of civilians, "injuring many more, including children and pregnant women," the National Unity Government Ministry of Labor said, calling the bombing a "heinous act" constituting a "war crime." The Irrawaddy and other local news outlets said the warplane dropped two bombs and fired on a crowd gathered for the opening of a local government office. The military junta did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN. The junta seized power in a coup against the democratically elected government in February 2021. [CNN]

[sofietucker]

15 minutes ago, susiesan said:

sofietucker: you seem to have a lot of bad luck with cruises😉

 

Are your Allianz policies for each different cruise or an annual policy?

LOL! Actually.

1. several of these trips were land-only (unaffiliated with tour companies

2. We've traveled on land overseas and locally since the 1970s as adults

3. considering that we've been on 35+ cruises

4. I've fallen or tripped from time to time requiring only icing, no insurance filed

We're doing pretty well. Knock on wood!

 

Though there was the time he sliced his hand open cutting a lime in AZ (a G&T requrement), no insurance filed--we were immortal then

Also the river cruise in Belgium where he bonked his head and bled copiously--the EMTs had a magic powder to stop the bleeding. When I went to the desk to get a copy of the medical report to file, they looked at me funny: NO medical bills in that country.

 

But to your second question: we didn't even know there's an annual policy!! I blame my wonderful travel agent--pre-pandemic, we cruised 4x a year plus land trips. (She's already gotten a call from me!) So once again, I owe you folks on CC for excellent information!

Edited April 12, 2023 by sofietucker

[susiesan]

1 hour ago, basor said:

I just looked at GeoBlue and it appears to be strictly medical and does not have any trip cancelation/interruption, etc. coverage.  Is this correct or am I missing something?  We have a TravelGuard annual policy and it includes both medical and cancelation, etc. coverage.

The Travel Guard annual policy would cost me $518. I get trip cancellation/interuption coverage from my credit card, $10,000 max per trip. TG gives $2500 max per trip, Allianz gives $2000 max per year. All of my trips cost way more than the allowable max on the annual policies.

 

GeoBlue has the most coverage for medical expenses incurred while traveling, $1M for me, $100K for hubby due to age. The other 2 have $50k emergency medical per trip.

[basor]

1 minute ago, susiesan said:

The Travel Guard annual policy would cost me $518. I get trip cancellation/interuption coverage from my credit card, $10,000 max per trip. TG gives $2500 max per trip, Allianz gives $2000 max per year. All of my trips cost way more than the allowable max on the annual policies.

 

GeoBlue has the most coverage for medical expenses incurred while traveling, $1M for me, $100K for hubby due to age. The other 2 have $50k emergency medical per trip.

Thank you for clarifying that GeoBlue is only medical...,

[sofietucker]

7 minutes ago, basor said:

Thank you for clarifying that GeoBlue is only medical...,

My TA says that AAA locally only covers Allianz per trip. I rhino its probably cheaper for us to stick with per-trip insurance. Great info though!

[basor]

4 minutes ago, sofietucker said:

My TA says that AAA locally only covers Allianz per trip. I rhino its probably cheaper for us to stick with per-trip insurance. Great info though!

I believe that different states have different insurance rules and not all policies are available in all states..

[1985rz1]

1 hour ago, susiesan said:

The Travel Guard annual policy would cost me $518. I get trip cancellation/interuption coverage from my credit card, $10,000 max per trip. TG gives $2500 max per trip, Allianz gives $2000 max per year. All of my trips cost way more than the allowable max on the annual policies.

 

GeoBlue has the most coverage for medical expenses incurred while traveling, $1M for me, $100K for hubby due to age. The other 2 have $50k emergency medical per trip.

There is an option of $15,000 per year cancellation/interruption coverage in Allianz's annual policy.  We have that version, which along with our CC insurance, gives us pretty good coverage for any trip.

Edited April 12, 2023 by 1985rz1

[the more ports the better]

On 4/12/2023 at 12:12 PM, sofietucker said:

Myanmar  this is my final post on the topic, but given that this is current, maybe there will be a port change:

Myanmar military junta airstrike kills 100 people

Myanmar's military bombed a town in the country's Sagaing region on Tuesday, killing about 100 people, according to the shadow government of the ousted administration. The attack killed "scores" of civilians, "injuring many more, including children and pregnant women," the National Unity Government Ministry of Labor said, calling the bombing a "heinous act" constituting a "war crime." The Irrawaddy and other local news outlets said the warplane dropped two bombs and fired on a crowd gathered for the opening of a local government office. The military junta did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN. The junta seized power in a coup against the democratically elected government in February 2021. [CNN]

 

Sofie, thanks for the info.  I will forward it to my TA who is advocating for an exception to the refund policy.  I did cancel the sailing.  O said they could not consider an exception until I cancelled.

 

I wish they would have just admitted that they were cancelling Myanmar as obviously they are not stopping there for three days.  I am still really frustrated that I’m out 24k because of their less than scrupulous practice of refusing to admit that they are cancelling a port stop in a war zone.  Crazy!

 

Hopefully O will do the right thing.

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest ldtr]

On 4/12/2023 at 10:11 AM, susiesan said:

The Travel Guard annual policy would cost me $518. I get trip cancellation/interuption coverage from my credit card, $10,000 max per trip. TG gives $2500 max per trip, Allianz gives $2000 max per year. All of my trips cost way more than the allowable max on the annual policies.

 

GeoBlue has the most coverage for medical expenses incurred while traveling, $1M for me, $100K for hubby due to age. The other 2 have $50k emergency medical per trip.

We do the same. The amount we save  by not buying insurance covering interruption/cancellation would more than make up any out of pocket loss, even if it was not covered by credit card coverage. Instead we focus on annual coverage with high medical and evacuation amounts for around 300 per year. When you spend over 130 days per year traveling the insurance amounts add up quickly.

 

[Tyskie]

On 4/12/2023 at 1:27 PM, basor said:

I believe that different states have different insurance rules and not all policies are available in all states..

 

Definitely NOT available in New York 

[pinotlover]

So the saga begins.

 

A couple of months ago one of friends tried to join us on O’s land tour in Israel during our upcoming Vista cruise. He was told it was waitlisted and couldn’t book. A month ago was final payment.

 

Today I get an email from Oceania telling us the Land tour didn’t have the minimum number of guests and it was cancelled. First Ouch!  Then, wait for it, if you’ll give us $300 each more, we’ll run the tour!! Second Ouch!! 
 

Oh, the games being played. 

[janecambridge]

8 hours ago, pinotlover said:

So the saga begins.

 

A couple of months ago one of friends tried to join us on O’s land tour in Israel during our upcoming Vista cruise. He was told it was waitlisted and couldn’t book. A month ago was final payment.

 

Today I get an email from Oceania telling us the Land tour didn’t have the minimum number of guests and it was cancelled. First Ouch!  Then, wait for it, if you’ll give us $300 each more, we’ll run the tour!! Second Ouch!! 
 

Oh, the games being played. 

That is dreadful. Another way to ensure more income. We have no more Oceania cruises booked and don’t intend to book anymore in the near future. 

[Pizzasteve]

16 hours ago, pinotlover said:

So the saga begins.

 

A couple of months ago one of friends tried to join us on O’s land tour in Israel during our upcoming Vista cruise. He was told it was waitlisted and couldn’t book. A month ago was final payment.

 

Today I get an email from Oceania telling us the Land tour didn’t have the minimum number of guests and it was cancelled. First Ouch!  Then, wait for it, if you’ll give us $300 each more, we’ll run the tour!! Second Ouch!! 
 

Oh, the games being played. 

I think we are on the same cruise.  We booked a private set of tours for about the Oceania price for the group tour (for the three days in Isreal).  Will be really unhappy if a port time change limits our excursion or delays our departure disembarking.  Trying not to be negative though a lot of $ tied up already on this booking.

Edited April 15, 2023 by Pizzasteve

[PirateShark]

17 hours ago, pinotlover said:

So the saga begins.

 

A couple of months ago one of friends tried to join us on O’s land tour in Israel during our upcoming Vista cruise. He was told it was waitlisted and couldn’t book. A month ago was final payment.

 

Today I get an email from Oceania telling us the Land tour didn’t have the minimum number of guests and it was cancelled. First Ouch!  Then, wait for it, if you’ll give us $300 each more, we’ll run the tour!! Second Ouch!! 
 

Oh, the games being played. 

 

😯. You were at least given a refund for this land tour they "cancelled" I hope?  We're up for final payment next month that has a land tour included and I'd want a refund if they try and pull this stunt.  

[susiesan]

12 hours ago, janecambridge said:

That is dreadful. Another way to ensure more income. We have no more Oceania cruises booked and don’t intend to book anymore in the near future. 

I'm with you, Jane. After my Sept. 2 Sirena cruise that had 4 ports where the time was changed I won't be booking anymore on oceania until they get their act together. I booked with Azamara for a Sept. 2024 Croatia intensive cruise for this reason. Azamara spends hours longer in each port than Oceania does. 

[Jayne E]

29 minutes ago, susiesan said:

I'm with you, Jane. After my Sept. 2 Sirena cruise that had 4 ports where the time was changed I won't be booking anymore on oceania until they get their act together. I booked with Azamara for a Sept. 2024 Croatia intensive cruise for this reason. Azamara spends hours longer in each port than Oceania does. 

Here's another "bait & switch" from O.

Looking at NY-NY to Bermuda for a quick easy cruise and visit to family in NY.

At first glance it appears to be 2 sea days and 4 days in Bermuda.  All good.

Looking closer, one day you arrive at 2 PM.  Not good.

Another day says "Bermuda" and looking closer ship departs at 7:00 AM!!!  Yes....A.M.  THAT IS A SEA DAY AND SHOULD BE LISTED AS SUCH.

So from 4 days in Bermuda, it's actually 2-1/2 and 3 sea days.

Another ploy to add to the shortened port times and cancelled ports.

What's next?

[pinotlover]

It was not a free overland. Cost was $1299 each. Offer was to increase the cost to $1599 each and do the tour. This was only for a two day tour with one overnight.

 

We passed. Oceania to refund our payment for the Overland.

 

I have been too busy to look at what Oceania wants for this Overland on future cruises. I’ll put it on my list.

[sofietucker]

That helps clarify; thanks.

Edited April 16, 2023 by sofietucker

[babydrum]

On 4/12/2023 at 7:10 AM, susiesan said:

I'm getting ready to buy an annual policy, comparing Allianz AllTrips Premier and Geo Blue Trekker Choice. Within the year of my policy will be 2 safaris in Africa and one cruise on Oceania. Based on our ages, the geo Blue annual is $460.00 for 2, the Allianz is $485. Both have the same med evacuation coverage of $500K, the main reason I am buying it for. Geo Blue has much more medical expense coverage than Allianz. I do not see anything in the Allianz policy that reimburses for a missed port. I will wait to buy the insurance a few days before I leave for Botswana on May 11 so I get the most time insured from an annual policy.

How does annual trip insurance work vs insuring a specific trip.  I just looked up a quote and it didn't ask me anything about the amount of my trip, and the cost was about 1/4 of what insuring my trip would be.  Is that typical?

 

[AMHuntFerry]

15 minutes ago, babydrum said:

How does annual trip insurance work vs insuring a specific trip.  I just looked up a quote and it didn't ask me anything about the amount of my trip, and the cost was about 1/4 of what insuring my trip would be.  Is that typical?

 

You probably want to speak with a broker or do a lot of research (the fine print is super important). The annual insurance I have purchased asks for you residence-state and age(s); it then has options for different levels ($ amounts) of coverage (e.g., $5000). Some of the coverage types (e.g., trip interruption, lost luggage, car rental) is per trip maximum, while others are per year maximum and/or per person.

The annual plan I chose cost about the same as the single trip insurance (~10% of cruise fare?) for approximately the same coverage; we are in our 50s (story might be different if older/younger).

Edited July 5, 2023 by AMHuntFerry

[babydrum]

4 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

You probably want to speak with a broker or do a lot of research (the fine print is super important). The annual insurance I have purchased asks for you residence-state and age(s); it then has options for different levels ($ amounts) of coverage (e.g., $5000). Some of the coverage types (e.g., trip interruption, lost luggage, car rental) is per trip maximum, while others are per year maximum and/or per person.

I will.   I just felt like they didn't ask enough information to determine how much to charge me.  Thanks.