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Post by tiffany on Oct 26, 2016 11:43:17 GMT
That’s what I did last time, but I still lost money because I cancelled after the time limit. With Trafalgar, in order to get all of your money back, you have to cancel 45 days prior to the tour date. If you cancel after that, you have to pay a penalty. As I may have to cancel at any time, even as close as a day or two before the trip, I need to have extra insurance, just in case. Right now, I’m planning on paying for both trips before January 12, in order to get the early booking discount of 10%, however, I found out on Monday that Trafalgar stopped offering the early payment discounts on their cost-saver tours last year. I’ll still get the return customer discount of 5% on the Croatia tour, but I’ll only get the 10% early payment discount on the Northern Spain tour. I guess Trafalgar feels like their cost-saver tours are already cheap enough!
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Post by tiffany on Oct 31, 2016 11:13:11 GMT
I got Trafalgar’s Europe Brochure last week, and looked through it. There’s a “first class” tour that’s almost identical to the cost-saver tour of Croatia that we are thinking about book for the spring, and we may book the first class tour instead. It’s two days longer and has more included. I’m going to compare the tours in more detail shortly, to see if it’s worth paying the extra money for the first class tour, and, if it is, I think we are going to go with that tour instead. I’ve only done one cost-saver tour, and I remember not being that impressed it with.
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Post by chech on Nov 1, 2016 18:34:37 GMT
I booked the storm chasing tour for next year and today I had my travel agent call the insurance to ensure they didn't have an exclusion for more extreme activities. The response? Yes because they don't have a dumb ass exclusion clause. I bought the insurance now just in case they decided to add one.
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Post by bet on Nov 2, 2016 9:20:54 GMT
I got Trafalgar’s Europe Brochure last week, and looked through it. There’s a “first class” tour that’s almost identical to the cost-saver tour of Croatia that we are thinking about book for the spring, and we may book the first class tour instead. It’s two days longer and has more included. I’m going to compare the tours in more detail shortly, to see if it’s worth paying the extra money for the first class tour, and, if it is, I think we are going to go with that tour instead. I’ve only done one cost-saver tour, and I remember not being that impressed it with. Im interested in hearing about your Croatia tour regardless of which one you pick. I'm really keen to see Croatia, unfortunately it won't be anytime soon. I picked up both the First Class and Costsaver brochures last week and I noticed Costsaver has a few new tours, I like the new Greece tour which includes Corfu. I had the opposite experience with my one and only Costsaver tour, good inclusions, good hotels, great TD, overall was great value for money. No doubt that was because Spain, Morocco & Portugal are quite cheap so your $$ goes further. On the other hand my First Class Christmas Market tour was disappointing, there was a real lack of inclusions, hotels were nice but some were poorly located (40mins from the city centre) and the TD was a complete bore, just as well the Christmas markets were fantastic. I hope to still write a short tale one day. Not being made of money I would choose Costsaver again as for me the price difference isn't worth it even when factoring in the optionals. I'd rather have more spending money or travel longer, but it depends on the itinerary, I'll pick a First Class if the itinerary was worth it.
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Post by bet on Nov 2, 2016 9:26:50 GMT
I booked the storm chasing tour for next year and today I had my travel agent call the insurance to ensure they didn't have an exclusion for more extreme activities. The response? Yes because they don't have a dumb ass exclusion clause. I bought the insurance now just in case they decided to add one. Your brave Chech, it's storm season here now and I used to love storms until I moved here, the winds and hail are frightening.
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Post by tiffany on Nov 2, 2016 11:34:25 GMT
I got Trafalgar’s Europe Brochure last week, and looked through it. There’s a “first class” tour that’s almost identical to the cost-saver tour of Croatia that we are thinking about book for the spring, and we may book the first class tour instead. It’s two days longer and has more included. I’m going to compare the tours in more detail shortly, to see if it’s worth paying the extra money for the first class tour, and, if it is, I think we are going to go with that tour instead. I’ve only done one cost-saver tour, and I remember not being that impressed it with. Im interested in hearing about your Croatia tour regardless of which one you pick. I'm really keen to see Croatia, unfortunately it won't be anytime soon. I picked up both the First Class and Costsaver brochures last week and I noticed Costsaver has a few new tours, I like the new Greece tour which includes Corfu. I had the opposite experience with my one and only Costsaver tour, good inclusions, good hotels, great TD, overall was great value for money. No doubt that was because Spain, Morocco & Portugal are quite cheap so your $$ goes further. On the other hand my First Class Christmas Market tour was disappointing, there was a real lack of inclusions, hotels were nice but some were poorly located (40mins from the city centre) and the TD was a complete bore, just as well the Christmas markets were fantastic. I hope to still write a short tale one day. Not being made of money I would choose Costsaver again as for me the price difference isn't worth it even when factoring in the optionals. I'd rather have more spending money or travel longer, but it depends on the itinerary, I'll pick a First Class if the itinerary was worth it. I’m sure I will write a tour tale of the Croatia tour once I get back. My friend, who is a nurse, got her work schedule for next year, and we had to reorganize our tour dates. This took a while, as we have to revolve our tours around her work dates and my treatment dates. It now looks like we will be going to Northern Spain in April and Croatia at the end of September. The April date is not ideal to me, but it’s the only date that works for the both of us. I hope these dates work for our other friends, as I haven’t emailed them the new dates yet. I enjoyed the cost-saver tour I did of Germany, but did notice the differences between the first class and cost-saver tour. In this case, I prefer the itinerary of the first class tour of Croatia, as it spends two nights in Split and three nights in Dubrovnik. We still don’t know for such what tour we will be doing yet, and probably won’t decide until January.
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Post by Tulips on Nov 2, 2016 17:00:19 GMT
So, I wanted something different for next year that was between January and May. After much hemming and hawing I chose this: Malaga to Malta
My TA was able to get me a free upgrade and an onboard credit, free gratuities and $300 towards airfare that I could book myself. For the rest of the year, the call of Africa was too strong to ignore. I wanted Kenya Tanzania, but the tour I wanted wasn't guaranteed and I can't book non-guaranteed tours. I found this and I'm so excited.... Gorillas
I got a 5% discount off this one.
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Post by chech on Nov 2, 2016 21:31:52 GMT
Oh....a clipper ship! That would be awesome!
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denise
Junior Member
Posts: 86
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Post by denise on Nov 6, 2016 6:46:41 GMT
Russia, Warsaw and the Baltic States (Insight) dep 7 May 2017. I chose this tour because if has 4 nights in St Petersburg. I didn't just want to go to St Petersburg and Moscow so the opportunity to also see the Baltic states fits in well. I've always wanted to go to Russia and am really looking forward to St Petersburg.
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Post by plane2catch on Nov 6, 2016 8:10:27 GMT
Denise I highly recommend taking the optional to see the Russian ballet. Our group saw Swan Lake in St. Petersburg and it was truly a memorable evening .
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Post by tiffany on Nov 9, 2016 12:24:55 GMT
My friend told me yesterday that they she went over her budget, and that she can’t afford to go on both the Northern Spain and Croatia tours next year. She prefers the Northern Spain tour, and will be joining us on that tour, but she will not be able to join us in Croatia. This means that we will have to book the cost-saver tour, as the single supplement on the first class tour is over $700. I can’t afford to book the first class tour of Croatia, as well as the Northern Spain tour. The does mean, however, that we can go to Croatia in the spring instead of the fall. The only reason we changed the order was to accommodate my friend’s work schedules, but, since she can’t join us anymore, we are able to select another date.
_________________________________ Tours I’ve been on to Date:
Trafalgar’s Italian Holiday – 2007 Insight’s Spain and Portugal – 2008 Trafalgar’s Italy and Sicily – 2009 Trafalgar’s The Grand Tour of Great Britain and Ireland – 2010 Trafalgar’s Best of Turkey – 2011 Trafalgar’s Best of Holland – 2011 Insight’s Best of Morocco – 2012 Trafalgar’s Best of France – 2012 Trafalgar’s’ Highlights of Germany – 2013 Trafalgar’s Best of Portugal – 2014 Trafalgar’s Switzerland and Austria – 2014 Trafalgar’s Best of Greece with Four Day Aegean Cruise - 2015
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Post by solaria on Nov 22, 2016 2:31:33 GMT
I just received an email re: a special tour to Ireland as a Trafalgar anniversary special people who have been there before. Did anyone else get this? This is a website details. www.trafalgar.com/nz/70th-birthday-promotion?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=NZ_eSpecial_Tier3_70thBirthdayExclusive_112016 Though I notice its on the NZ site so maybe just for kiwis? Anyway I am interested as they stay one night at Ashford Castle and I recently finished reading a series of novels by Nora Roberts that are set there and the local village of Cong and I said at the time I would love to go there as they do Falconry, which appeals to me. one issue though. As the Castle is 'posh' they say that men have to wear a jacket at dinner. Eddie doesn't possess a dinner jacket. Would his leather one be OK? It does not mention what ladies should wear, so anything goes? I said to Eddie I could wear my 'onsie' as t could be chilly at night LOL
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Post by purvis on Nov 22, 2016 3:43:28 GMT
Solari: It just might be for Kiwis only as I didn't receive any email from Trafalgar and have been on a previous Irish tour with Trafalgar. I have been looking at that tour and as a solo traveler it is quite expensive . Purvis
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Post by chech on Nov 22, 2016 12:32:26 GMT
Solaria...I got the same email. Apparently, Tollman will be on the tour. The timing is no good for me as I'll just be back from my storm chasing tour.
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Post by tiffany on Nov 22, 2016 12:47:07 GMT
I didn’t get an email from Trafalgar, and I’ve been to Ireland with them before. I wonder how they are determining who to send the email to, since Chech is Canadian.
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Post by chech on Nov 22, 2016 14:57:36 GMT
On my Switzerland tour, the TD once said that Insight and TT will send out special invites to past guests. How they pick, I don't know. This is the first one I've gotten.
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Post by solaria on Nov 22, 2016 19:49:21 GMT
And we were only in Ireland for a few days as part of the British panorama tour. I really liked what we saw of Ireland so it very tempting to return. Eddie is not so keen, so I will have to work on that. First step - passports 🤗
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Post by tiffany on Nov 23, 2016 12:50:32 GMT
I hope you can convince him Solaria. It sounds like a great tour, and Ireland is a beautiful country.
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Post by tiffany on Nov 25, 2016 12:35:44 GMT
A friend of mine just got accepted into school in London, and she’s moving there next year. She invited me to go for a visit in the spring, so I’m thinking I may fly to London for a few days after my Croatia tour. It won’t be that expensive since I’ll have a place to stay. I love London and can’t wait to go back!
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Post by tiffany on Dec 1, 2016 12:46:36 GMT
My friend and I booked our Northern Spain tour last Friday, and we are thinking of booking a nine day tour of Southern Spain. My friend has four weeks off of work, and the tours almost fit perfectly together. The first tour ends on September 24, and our second tour starts on September 23, so we would have to miss out on the Farwell dinner on our first tour, but that’s not a big deal. I reviewed both tours, and the only overlap in sightseeing and optionals is in Barcelona. I figured we could do the sightseeing in Barcelona on the first tour, and the optional on the morning of Sept 23, and then go back to the hotel to pack up and transfer to our new hotel for the second tour. We can then skip the included sightseeing and optional offered on day two of the second tour, and do our own thing. The only downside for me about doing both tours, is that I won’t be able to add any extra days in Madrid at the end of the second tour, as it would mean taking over three weeks’ vacation, and my boss would prefer it if I limit my vacation to under three weeks. The good thing is, the tours do different things in Madrid, and, as I’ve been to Segovia before (the optional offered in Madrid), I can skip that and do my own thing.
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Post by tiffany on Dec 7, 2016 12:45:56 GMT
I spoke to my friend the other day, and we confirmed that we will do the Southern Spain before the Northern Spain tour, and I’m going to see my travel agent today to put down my deposit! I can’t wait unitl April and then Sept in order to go to Croatia and then Spain. I really missed not travelling this year.
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Post by tiffany on Dec 9, 2016 20:23:59 GMT
When I went to book the Southern Spain tour, my travel agent pointed out that the Northern Spain tour we booked (leaving Sept 23) is no longer a definite departure (it was when we booked). We can still book this tour, but, if the coach is not half full 45 days prior to when we leave, the tour will be canceled, and we will get our money back for the tour, or be transferred to another tour. As I really want to go on the Northern Spain tour, I don’t want this to happen, so our options are to wait it out, or move the dates. So now, we are looking at booking the Southern Spain tour from Sept 23-Oct 1 (which is guaranteed) and then transferring to the Northern Spain tour leaving Sept 30-Oct10 (which is also guaranteed). Let’s hope that these dates stay guaranteed!
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Post by chech on Dec 9, 2016 21:21:17 GMT
And it's still really early. We have a long cold winter to go through yet...and spring.
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Post by tiffany on Dec 12, 2016 12:29:07 GMT
I think the travel industry is suffering right now, and I think they are trying to limit the amount of tours they do by getting everyone on the same tour. My tour was guaranteed when I booked it, but, they decided to make the tour dates before and after guaranteed, and removed my tour from the definite deposit list. Now we are having to rearrange our tour dates in order to book a guaranteed tour. We are still waiting for two of our friends to let us know if the new dates work for us, and then we will book.
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Post by tiffany on Dec 14, 2016 12:45:02 GMT
All three tours are booked for next year, and I’m ready to go! Trafalgar has changed how its return customer and back-to-back tour discounts work though. Because I booked the two Spain tours back-to-back, I should my 5% return customer discount on both tours, and then 2.5% off the cheaper tour for booking two tours back-to-back (this used to be 5%). It seems that is not the case anymore. My travel agent told me that I will only get my 5% return customer discount on the more expensive tour, and that I will get the 2.5% discount on the cheaper tour, but no return customer discount. This doesn’t make sense to me, because if I had booked the tours at two different times, I would get the 5% discount on both tours. She said she discussed it with her Trafalgar representative twice, and that this is the way they set it up. I told her not to bother giving me the 2.5% back-to-back discount, and to just give me the return customer discount on both tours as it’s worth more. On a positive note, my travel agent’s representative told her to give me a birthday discount on the cost-saver tour, which saved me $150. He also said he’d give me a few gift certificates to be used towards the optionals tours. I guess any little bit helps!
I also got a response from my insurance company yesterday, regarding the claim I made to get the money I lost by canceling my trip at the last minute. They gave me a cheque for a little under half of what I claimed. They only reimbursed me for the money I paid towards the trip before I was diagnosed with cancer, but anything I paid towards the trip after I was diagnosed was rejected because I had a pre-existing condition. It was my understanding that traveling with a pre-existing condition was fine, as long as you were diagnosed 90 days prior to when you were traveling, but I guess not. It’s a good thing I’m getting extra insurance for my next year’s trips, although it’s going to cost me an extra $600 to 800! It’s worth it though.
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Post by purvis on Dec 14, 2016 14:59:06 GMT
Insurance companies make con-artists look like saints. There is a reason they print all the catches in small print. Purvis
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joyb
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by joyb on Dec 14, 2016 15:44:59 GMT
Insurance companies make con-artists look like saints. There is a reason they print all the catches in small print. Purvis So true! I'm going to be looking for medical coverage for my river cruise in June next year and I'm sure will be paying extra due to pre existing condition.
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Post by tiffany on Dec 14, 2016 16:41:52 GMT
With the insurance I’m getting for these three trips, I can cancel at any time for any reason, and get 75% of my money back, and, if I cancel with a medical reason, I get 100% back. I’m supposed to still be covered with a pre-existing condition, as I was diagnosed more than 90 days prior to my trip, but that’s what I was told when I bought my current insurance, and it wasn’t the case, so we shall se. Hopefully I won’t need to use the insurance this time around!
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Post by chech on Dec 14, 2016 19:09:32 GMT
The term that RBC uses when I talk to them is that any condition has to be "stable" for that period of time prior to departure. (Might be six months with them). So, once you were diagnosed, they might consider your condition as not being stable. It's why I didn't travel once my gall bladder acted up. If I had needed surgery while away, I would not have been covered because it was diagnosed as needing to be removed, so in the 3 or 4 months I waited for my date, I couldn't travel because my condition would not have been considered stable. (Granted, it wasn't urgent and I could wait the few months no problem, but insurance wouldn't see it that way for sure). I'm 51, so I'm not answering medical questions when I book insurance yet. That can be tricky as they can look at routine examinations and twist it into the "pre-existing" category like one man whose routine EKG (which was normal) was the reason insurance didn't pay out after he had a heart attack while away. Pretty crummy of them.
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Post by Tulips on Dec 14, 2016 22:38:44 GMT
I use RBC Insurance as well. There are quite a few exclusions. It does mention about the condition be stable for 90 days prior as Chech said. This often means no new medications or change in treatment, no new symptoms etc. RBC posts the policies online so you can see the exclusions.
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