twangster

Chairs with natural shade will go quickly. There are some palm trees here and there but as the sun shifts throughout the day you will find yourself no longer in the shade. Umbrellas can be rented for the day. They drill a hole in the sand and insert an umbrella for you. Beach loungers are also available for rent for much less than Cabanas. Beach bungalows are also less than Cabanas but more costly compared to beach loungers. Oasis lagoon is the new fresh water pool. There are umbrella areas that may be an option if you want to hang pout by the pool. Depending when you visit these options may be changing from what I've pictured.

You can read about my day in St. Croix last year around this time. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/6002-serenade-33018-10-night-eastern-caribbean/&do=findComment&comment=64382 I didn't have an excursion, I just walked around a bit. Perhaps this will you a bit of an idea what to expect.

Ships and port play a factor. For some ports the customs operations seems to be better prepared to handle large volumes of cruise ship guests. Other ports for what ever reason can be slow. A small ship with 2,000 guests will often be quicker than a mega ship with 6,000 guests. If you are capable of using self-assist you often can get off the ship before massive queues forms at customs. Guests in suites and those with elite status can get lower luggage tag number so they also benefit from getting off earlier. If you "lose the luggage tag lottery" and end up with the later luggage tags it can take longer to reach the taxi stand which might also have a queue of it's own later in the process.

The reduced deposit generally requires NRDB or Non Refundable Deposit Booking. There are some cases where a refundable cruise can be booked with a reduced deposit. Cruises in other regions seem to benefit from this more than North American cruises. You definitely need to ask for and in some cases insist for refundable fares at Next but they often make them unattractive. Loss of OBC, higher fares and higher despots are common for refundable Next bookings. You are often better booking refundable with a land based travel agency.

No proof required other than that check box, not yet anyways. I'm not sure what power an insurance company has to inquire of my travel agency or carrier "Did this guest seek a refund?". I did have to supply the phone number of my travel agency. When I told my travel agent I am calling because my insurance says I have to even though we both know I won't get a refund she seemed to spring into action and placed me on hold while she called Royal to have it all noted properly in the systems. She didn't object or try to evade the request.

In my case hoping to find an alternate flight to a nearby airport and driving was not a solution right from the start. On this day all airlines with inbound flights to Houston appeared to divert to Austin. Austin is roughly a 3 1/2 hour drive to Galveston in good weather. With flooding roads (known feature of the Houston area) or simply driving in torrential rain or hail let's forget that for the moment and say you could do the drive in 3 1/2 hours. Renting a car requires time beyond driving it. Deplaning, walking the terminal to the car rental company, standing in line, finding your car, then the reverse in Galveston - this adds an hour. Working backwards from a 4pm departure you have to be checked in 90 minutes prior or 2:30pm. Take 4 1/2 hours off for the car rental and drive time. Now you are at 10am. That's the time you have to be pulling up to a gate at the Austin airport. It's is a 2 hour flight from Denver to Austin with a 1 hour time change working against me. If I could board a flight at 7am mountain time it would arrive at 10am central time. A 7am flight boards at 6:30am, assuming there was actually a 7am flight with availability scheduled. At 6:30am I was already on board my Houston bound flight thinking I was on time. Not to mention the topic of checked bags and wait times for receiving them. Driving in a hailstorm is no picnic either. These were all the calculations that I played out as I looked to find an alternate. No one offers a 7am departure to Austin on Sunday. Southwest did have a 5:45am flight to Austin. Had I known that Houston airports were going to be the subject of a ground halt before that ground halt was ordered, I could have taken action but even then I don't know if I'd want to drive in a projected hail storm and deal with rental car damage. That would involve a different insurance claim. I've used Air2Sea before and it does offer an "Assured Arrival" guarantee like a form of insurance. They would have have been responsible to fly me to Cozumel. For domestic flights Air2Sea often costs more but you do get some benefits for that increased cost. It's a good point for people to consider about Air2Sea. I last used Air2Sea for a red eye flight to reach Empress on the day of cruise. Knowing Air2Sea would be there in case of an airline or weather delay certainly has value.

When you choose this route the insurance company will cover flights to do so up to a finite amount. The routing and options to reach Cozumel on 1 day notice were not inexpensive and involved a very long day of travel. When they cancel the flight it cancels both legs including the return. That would mean I would also have to file a claim for the cost of a last minute flight home which is another flight at a higher cost. I would also need a hotel, (booked at the last minute) meals and taxis in Cozumel for a night. I would approach or exceed my coverage limit for this type of trip coverage. The cost of the cruise isn't reimbursed and it doesn't change in this scenario. A $2,000 cruise for 7 nights becomes a $2,000 cruise for 5 nights. On a nightly basis that means you are paying significantly more for the 5 night cruise. Airfare was refunded since they cancelled the flight. This makes those funds available for future use. Combine all points and assuming I am reimbursed for my cruise fare, for the same money of airfare and cruise fare I can take a future 7 night cruise and enjoy all 7 nights without paying for nights on the ship where I can't enjoy all the things offered on the ship including shows, food and Diamond happy hour drinks.

The newer 'Royal' app that Symphony uses does not currently have this feature. It is supposed to be come at some point in the future but there is no published scheduled for when it will come to Symphony.

One of the stand out benefits of Next at the moment is reduced deposits. Often just $100 per guest regardless of cruise length. If you are looking to book several long cruises that may be an important perk. I was supposed to board Liberty today but weather dashed my plans. I had planned to inquire at Next with respect to some long cruises in 2020. The reduced deposits attracted me. When I missed the ship (long story) I went ahead and booked those cruises with my travel agent. Even though I have another cruise in a month, by that time prices will rise and any perk of waiting will be lost due to the normal trend of prices increasing over time as ships start to book up.

A car is a car. Four wheels, seats, seatbelts, an engine and turn signals. Yet even within the same consumer sector of the auto industry people develop clear likes, preferences and loyalties. Cruising is no different. The devil is in the details. Seems appropriate. For some people one detail is important. For another person that same detail is minor and not worth considering. Royal does have the best loyalty program. That is consistently acknowledged, but even then not by everyone. For some people a loyalty program is important. For someone else not so much. Is a ship a ship? Each has dining venues included and those that aren't. Each has interior cabins, ocean view, balconies and suites. Each has some sort of show in a theater. In that sense they are all the same. Yet they are different, sometimes in striking ways. A suite on Carnival offers a bigger room but very little if anything once you leave your cabin. A suite on NCL or Royal offers more than just a bigger cabin. Entertainment on ships like Oasis or Quantum class far exceed some other lines, but then again that is a personal opinion. For someone else the cast splashing around a pool or skating on ice is meh. I think everyone should sample different lines. That is the only way to know if the differences have meaning to you, your needs and your expectations. As cruise consumers we are fortunate to have such variety to sample from and find what floats our boat (ship). I sailed Carnival a bunch before leaving them. I tried the newest ships, the oldest and stuff in between. Yet I longed for something different that I can't quantify in words other than to say I wanted a little bit more. I sampled Royal for that very reason. I liked what I saw, even though it tends to be more expensive than Carnival. At least until my loyalty perks finally kicked in and leveled that playing field in Royal's favor. Absent of those perks, Carnival is cheaper. For some people price is the single most important factor. Food is food. A comedian is comedian, a show is a show. Save a few hundred bucks and they overlook details that I can't. I wanted more but that's me.

Counter argument - in shutting down the ride they admit there is a safety concern that could be used (or attempted to be used) against them in the pursuit of a settlement. Bottom line - they aren't in the business of shutting down features for no reason and disappointing guests. If it's been shutdown it is for a reason. When the tidal wave slide on Liberty first was installed they opened it then shut it down for months. With an issue or concern they aren't going to operate anything that has any risk present, valid risk based on evidence or out of an abundance of caution, they will err on the side of safety and caution.

16 knots. Economical cruising speed. Great news.

It's possible another event occurred that hasn't made the news. Perhaps as time progressed they've come to realize there is room for improvements and they are suspending operations until the company that developed the ride can address concerns.

At this point with claim submitted I'm shifting into wait mode for 7 to 10 business days. The purpose of this blog is for anyone to see how insurance can (or might not) cover an unexpected missed cruise. I'll update the thread next when anything notable occurs with my claim. That's a lot of travel for a 5 night cruise. Good point on the annual limits. It's funny. For many years I've had great success with dozens of cruises. This year I nearly needed to file a claim when Brilliance was delayed returning due to fog. Then Navigator and the Oasis transatlantic were cancelled by Royal. Fortunately no need for an insurance claim on those (yet). Now this. Hopefully my bad cruise luck is behind me. My remaining cruises all have a hotel stay the night before. Although the guy next to me on the plane had his Houston flight yesterday cancelled due to weather and he was placed onto my early morning flight so it's possible that even if I did try to fly in the yesterday, I might still be in the same situation.

My policy requires I contact my travel agent and cruise line even though we all know the cancellation policy. I did so anyways, knowing the outcome yet had it noted in the system that I tried to seek any refund or reimbursement they might possibly offer. As expected, none was offered or provided.

The insurance claim person I spoke to on the phone could take a claim on the phone or I could use the website, or an app. I figured the website would have the best interface to work with so I waited until I got home to file my claim. With a description entered the next page offered the ability to upload copies of invoices and other supporting documents. I also had booked a local shuttle for $40 round trip that was non-refundable. Next I accepted the warnings about filing a false claim and provide bank account details for reimbursement. Finally submitted I was presented a summary to print for my records. Seven to ten business days until I hear more.

The heart of the issue: This weather front is moving, sliding left to right and would have been on top of the airport right as we flew into the area. As the pilot put it, no sense taking off only to be placed into a holding pattern waiting for the slow moving storm to roll through. fly.faa.gov conformed the pilots claims. The result: Status: Cancelled While I did look to see what other airlines might offer, the reality is there was no way to reach the ship in time.

Today, April 7, 2019 as I write this I *should* be sipping a beverage having boarded Liberty of the Seas in Galveston, TX. Mother Nature had other plans. Instead of a cruise live blog, I thought I'd do something different. An "OMG I missed my cruise and need to file an insurance claim" live blog. If interested, follow along with me on this journey as I file my first ever insurance claim for missing a cruise, live as it unfolds. Today's Itinerary: 4am Depart home on way to airport 6:15am Board aircraft 6:16am Score awesome 1st row seat on Southwest Airlines with ample legroom 6:20am Begin watching 2nd half of free movie I half watched on last flight a week ago 6:50am PA announcement of one hour air traffic control delay into Houston 7:10am Finish watching 2nd half of free movie I half watched on last flight a week ago 7:35am PA announcement that all morning flights into Houston are cancelled and please deplane 7:45am Discovery that there is no possible way to reach Houston today in time to make the cruise 7:54am Phone call to insurance company 9:22am Back home to ponder life I always advocate flying in the day before a cruise and getting a hotel. I've cruised out of Galveston a couple times before and that has always been my approach. In fact that is my default approach for all cruises that I take. In this case family commitments meant that wasn't an option this time and with a relatively short direct flight arriving into Houston's Hobby airport at 10am on boarding day I thought I'd take the chance. What could go wrong? It's a beautiful sunny day here at home today. Weather? What weather? I have an annual insurance plan with Allianz. Like any insurance policy it has coverage for various events based on "covered reasons" with different coverage limits for each type of event. My initial phone call confirmed this should be a covered event with a coverage limit of $2,000.00 for "Trip Cancellation". That isn't a whole lot compared to the cost of a cruise but as a frequent solo cruiser it's enough to cover the whole cost or at least take a sting out of my losses for most cruises I tend to take. I've never filed to a travel insurance claim before. This is a first for me.

There was an incident with the Mariner Skypad that injured a guest. Not long after that they closed them. Given that, they aren't saying a lot at the moment while it is worked out.

Some ports put up decorations as well. Labadee had decorations. St. Maarten, San Juan, Curaçao all had some decorations or lights up.

Any time your card is swiped the picture shows up. This way if you drop your card and someone tries to buy jewelry in the shop with it, they can see it's not you.

Welcome to the message boards! Yes, I always let them take my picture in the terminal at check in. It takes seconds.

Same. Modify didn't work, no choice but to cancel and re-purchase. I saved nearly $300 across three cruises and 12 excursions so I can see why they don't want it to be easy to check for price drops.

Didn't work for a cruise that's close in but did work a cruise just over 30 days away. I don't think my close in cruise is Royal Up enabled. They still have inventory selling on the website which for a cruise this close is very strange.

That means it's my turn! Timing is perfect! I'm buying 100 tickets...