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Cruise noob - where to start?

Cruise noob - where to start?

Old Sep 15, 2015, 5:07 am
  #16  
 
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To me vacationstogo.com is almost the worst choice you can make when booking a cruise. You pay full brochure price, have virtually no post-booking support, and usually no incentives like on-board credits, reduced or free insurance, etc. If you're going to book through an Internet agency, and I fully support and do that myself and have for 11 years now, then go with one that specializes in cruises and offers discounts or other major incentives. Personally I save 10-12% on every cruise and the agency I use rebates that savings in cash.
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Old Sep 15, 2015, 9:44 am
  #17  
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When you guys quote a percent "saved", what is your basis? I see ads that say "80% off!!" I realize those may be a complete joke, but how do you estimate the baseline value when you know that neither the 80% off or the absurdly high rack rate represent reality?

Refinements as we've discussed this further:

- One big thing we want to avoid is nickel-and-diming once we're on board. We don't need ultrapremium liquor or a 5-star dinner every night, but I don't want to be relegated to Miller Lite, cheap wine, and buffet food either. Some of the references to drink credits or numbers of meals permitted in certain restaurants leads me to believe that some ships lure you in with low rates and then every is extra onboard. I'd probably pay a higher base rate and accept a 1-2 day shorter cruise to have a more truly all-inclusive price.

- We realize we'd have to pay extra for guided tours and other types of shore excursions, but we're also hoping we have a few ports where there are ways to escape the cruise crowd. When my wife and I have traveled in tropical places before, we've purposely avoided places with a lot of cruise traffic. Now we're going to be in the midst of it - I know this might not be easy - but we're going to want to get away from it for a day or two where possible.

One of our family members shot out a link to a bunch of potential cruises. I noticed it was from vacationstogo.com. This whole travel agent thing is going to be a hard point for me - I frankly do not trust any of them whatsoever. Full stop. I'm going to have to get over that, maybe the site where you get 4-5 of them to basically bid for your business will help.
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Old Sep 15, 2015, 10:32 am
  #18  
 
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Heh, I actually use vacationstogo myself, but I've been working with a specific travel agent there for quite a while. I could find a different one if I wanted to take the effort, but I'm satisfied, even knowing I'm probably leaving some money on the table. That said, I do generally end up with some onboard credit from them on my cruises.
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Old Sep 15, 2015, 11:28 am
  #19  
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Originally Posted by pinniped
- We realize we'd have to pay extra for guided tours and other types of shore excursions, but we're also hoping we have a few ports where there are ways to escape the cruise crowd. When my wife and I have traveled in tropical places before, we've purposely avoided places with a lot of cruise traffic. Now we're going to be in the midst of it - I know this might not be easy - but we're going to want to get away from it for a day or two where possible.
This is exactly why I recommend a sailing out of San Juan, especially during spring break. The typical Western Caribbean and Eastern Caribbean ports are packed during the week as all the 7 night cruises from Florida and the Gulf Coasts are going to the same ports, but the Southern Caribbean islands tend to get less ships so are less crowded even during the winter when all the ships are back in the Caribbean instead of Europe or Alaska.

As to shore excursions, you do not have to buy shore excursions through the cruise lines. Typical cruise line shore excursions are going to be more expensive, more crowded, and not necessarily as good as an independent excursion. Search the port of call boards on Cruise Critic for recommendations of tour guides or do it yourself trips (taxis, rental cars, etc). Also Trip Advisor is a good place to search. www.shoretrips.com as well is a good aggregator of shore excursions.

I use a travel agent that specializes in cruises (she's a friend), and have several other friends that are travel agents specializing in cruises. I typically tell my agent when I want to go, my budget, etc and she comes back with a list of options - based on what she knows about me. I would never recommend vacationstogo.com, especially for a first time cruiser who has no clue about the differences between cruise lines.
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Old Sep 15, 2015, 11:58 am
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by pinniped
When you guys quote a percent "saved", what is your basis? I see ads that say "80% off!!" I realize those may be a complete joke, but how do you estimate the baseline value when you know that neither the 80% off or the absurdly high rack rate represent reality?

Refinements as we've discussed this further:

- One big thing we want to avoid is nickel-and-diming once we're on board. We don't need ultrapremium liquor or a 5-star dinner every night, but I don't want to be relegated to Miller Lite, cheap wine, and buffet food either. Some of the references to drink credits or numbers of meals permitted in certain restaurants leads me to believe that some ships lure you in with low rates and then every is extra onboard. I'd probably pay a higher base rate and accept a 1-2 day shorter cruise to have a more truly all-inclusive price.

- We realize we'd have to pay extra for guided tours and other types of shore excursions, but we're also hoping we have a few ports where there are ways to escape the cruise crowd. When my wife and I have traveled in tropical places before, we've purposely avoided places with a lot of cruise traffic. Now we're going to be in the midst of it - I know this might not be easy - but we're going to want to get away from it for a day or two where possible.

One of our family members shot out a link to a bunch of potential cruises. I noticed it was from vacationstogo.com. This whole travel agent thing is going to be a hard point for me - I frankly do not trust any of them whatsoever. Full stop. I'm going to have to get over that, maybe the site where you get 4-5 of them to basically bid for your business will help.
Cruise lines, unlike hotels, really don't have "rack rates" and then actually wind up selling the majority of their cabins at substantially lower prices. The vast majority of cabins actually are sold at the published price you see on the cruise line websites. When I say I saved 10-12% I take the fare I actually pay against the published fare. For example, say I book a $10,000 cruise on an all-inclusive line. At final payment the TA I'm using now sends me a check for $1,000. Simple math.

As for getting "nickeled and dimed", well to some extent that's going to happen unless you buy your way up to a much more expensive all-inclusive line. Now there are cruisers on strict budgets who buy absolutely nothing on board. No sodas, bottled water, wine, beer, specialty coffees, etc. They buy nothing in the ship's shops, they don't eat in any of the specialty restaurants, and they don't go on any ship run tours. There are others who lose track of their spending and get the famous shocking end of cruise bill that can and often does exceed the fare they paid. Outside of the strict budget folks it really is a case of "pay me now or pay me later" when considering a mass market line ship versus an all-inclusive line ship. One way or the other you're going to pay. By the way, all cruise lines are "cashless", you can't pay cash for anything on the ship during the cruise except for casino play. The rest has to go on a shipboard account backed up by a credit card you have to present at embarkation. Every cabin will have to have it's own account so say 10 cabins you're talking 10 credit cards and the holds the ship will put against those cards.

I can't speak to your adversity to travel agencies or agents. As I shared with you before I have used some good ones. I do all my own research and planning so all I need or want is the best price and for sure I'm not going to get that directly from any cruise line.

Last edited by Randyk47; Sep 15, 2015 at 12:28 pm
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Old Sep 15, 2015, 2:31 pm
  #21  
 
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Just to throw my two bits in even though many of the questions have been answered...

Sometimes you can get group discounts. Not sure if 10 people / 5 cabins will meet the thresholds.

Christmas/New Years is one of the most expensive times to cruise. The decorations on the ship are nice though.

IMO, the standard Eastern or Western Caribbean cruises are ok for a standard 7 day cruise. There are some more interesting itineraries for the Caribbean nowadays.

Cruise Critic is the FT equivalent for cruises. Lots of newbie questions are asked. Lots of cruise veterans to help answer even the most quirky questions (sometimes even better than TA's and cruiselines themselves).

An extremely rough baseline we use for initial pricing of a cruise is $100/person/night double occupancy inside cabin. But that gets thrown out the window for high seasons. One of the more interesting times to book is Wave Season that runs roughly January to March each year. Its a period where theres a big push to sell cruises. However, you might see some deals trickle out in December too. This isnt necessarily the cheapest time to book (as some itineraries may end up being discounted if they arent selling) but its typically decent pricing but with a bunch of value added perks thrown in such as included gratuities, drink packages, Internet packages, onboard credit, etc.

IMO, I think its fine cruising without status. The perks are really nice to haves than something that would impact your experience without them.

Booking through a Travel Agent is nice as they can help identify some of the deals going on, provide you with additional perks like onboard credits (OBC), have blocks of cabins booked to give you a better deal. Alternatively, some TAs just end up being middlemen and bottleneck you with regards to questions and issues that you need to get addressed directly with the cruiseline.
Id also suggest trying CruiseComptete. Youll get quotes with no obligations.

The biggies that generally arent covered are gratuities, alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, specialty dining/foods, shore excursions, some activities, etc. If you get enough of OBCs, it might cover a chunk of your extra spend. Personally, Id recommend booking/organizing your own excursions since it relatively easy and way cheaper. You just have to be organized to get back to the ship on time. Theres a lot of Do It Yourself (DIY) info on the destination forums on Cruise Critic.

IMO, a newer Royal Caribbean ship will likely fit bill for the wide range of family. Havent cruised Disney but its a bit pricey but very highly rated. Personally, I like Celebrity. My friends who cruised with us just tried Princess and found it very comparable.
Note: The class of ship within the line is potentially important too as some of the newer ships may have amenities and facilities that aren't/haven't been retrofitted on the older ships.
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Old Sep 15, 2015, 5:08 pm
  #22  
 
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OP, get over your feeling for TAs. You may not realize it but your amount of people gets you a group discount which a cruise line will never give you if book direct. Get a good agent, that does a lot with the cruise line you are interested in and ask them to negotiate with the BDM for a lower T/C. For example. If you can negotiate a 1 for 9 TC the 10th bed is free. A lot of time triples don't count, as they get a reduced rate, but it's something to consider. It helps if your sailing is not in a prime time when the cruise line knows they will sail full and doesn't negotiate.

You will be nickled and dimed Unless you do all inclusive which is probably out of the family budget. You will be signing for everything and each member of your group will have Gratuties added (unless your TA can negotiate prepaid Gratuties as a group concession)

I am not a travel agent and have been on over 100 cruises. Much as I love FT the level of great information you get on CruiseCritic is amazing. Go there.
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Old Sep 15, 2015, 6:35 pm
  #23  
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Originally Posted by pinniped
- Given that price range, I know we won't be looking at any kind of ultra-luxe ship, but are some boats a cut above others in terms of level of services, type of clientele attracted, richness/uniqueness of excursions offered, etc.? My in-laws have traveled to six continents and enjoy a wide variety of cultures, but I know they *don't* just want to dock in Cancun and go pound beers at the TGI Friday's on shore. So I guess we'd want a semi-upscale (perhaps smaller) ship that had a little more sophistication than floating Spring Break. Am I dreaming here? Do I have to jump up to a $5,000-a-head cruise to get this?
You and I may have similar tastes. For our Alaska cruise next year, I wanted the closest thing to a Four Seasons Resort on water (i.e., upscale but catering to families/children). The experience on most mainstream cruise lines just sounds tacky IMHO, and I imagine most luxury brands are not kid-friendly.

Having never been on a cruise, my research led me to Crystal Cruises. Unfortunately, both their ships will be on longer trips over Christmas, and thus will blow your budget. But if you're flexible on dates you might consider this voyage: http://www.crystalcruises.com/caribb...ip-miami--7301. They also have some nice packages for larger groups, like the "Crystal Family Memories" program.

Agreed that cruisecritic.com is the FT of cruising. Good luck!
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Old Sep 15, 2015, 8:59 pm
  #24  
 
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OP,
Once again I encourage you to sit down and talk to a cruise travel agent. Arrangements will fall into place with professional guidance.
There are too many options to choose from and far too mind boggling choices for a first time cruiser to plan a cruise for multiple family members with your price point. You have no idea about cabins, their sizes (small in your price point), deck, location on any given deck (there's a reason forward and some aft cabins may be less expensive than cabins in the middle of a deck), the difference between connecting and adjoining cabins, family cabins....and the list goes on and on.
After your first cruise you should have a feel for taking the bull by the horns and booking on line by yourself. Don't forget this a family cruise and the dynamics will be far different than if you were booking for yourselves.
FYI, even a Crystal heavily discounted cruise is probably beyond your budget. This is also the least kid friendly line mentioned.
While I love to cruise out of San Juan if you are adding air into the overall vacation price you'd best check the air price too.
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 9:04 am
  #25  
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Now I'm starting to wonder if we shouldn't just grab one of these rock-bottom options (the ubiquitous "80% off!!" deals) and then prep ourselves for a *lot* of extra expenses on the boat. (Wholly embrace the ULCC model!) The digging I've done so far looking for family suites and such usually leads to much higher prices than simply booking 5 of the cheapest cabins possible...

Crystal looks great, and I'd certainly be willing to pony up the funds to do it, but I don't think the rest of the group will.

I'm beginning to think I should spend more time figuring out which islands in the Caribbean interest us most, and then just find the best deal that covers the majority of those. We've been to Belize and Mexico already...so probably something farther east would be our target. St. Maarten, etc.

I did talk to one friend who said they always book a basic cabin because they rarely spend much time in it anyway. Sort of like a Vegas hotel room...

And yes, I'm diligently reading and digesting Cruise Critic. And I've now read and heard enough to know that we will book third-party as opposed to direct with the cruise line. Taking some notes, reading some FAQs and long threads for n00bs. Lots of great stuff there, although it's still quite overwhelming.
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 10:11 am
  #26  
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Originally Posted by pinniped
- One big thing we want to avoid is nickel-and-diming once we're on board. We don't need ultrapremium liquor or a 5-star dinner every night, but I don't want to be relegated to Miller Lite, cheap wine, and buffet food either. Some of the references to drink credits or numbers of meals permitted in certain restaurants leads me to believe that some ships lure you in with low rates and then every is extra onboard. I'd probably pay a higher base rate and accept a 1-2 day shorter cruise to have a more truly all-inclusive price.
Let's be real: it's not nickel-and-diming if you prepare/budget pre-cruise for expected on-board costs.

I think the biggest source of "nickel-and-diming" will be with drinks. Many cruise blogs have done break-even analyses on adult drink packages. In short, you're going to have to drink. A lot. Like 7-8 drinks a day (beer, wine, cocktails). If you're up for the challenge, then by all means go nuts with it. My recommendation is that you either pre-purchase a drink package (sometimes there are discounts if you purchase in advance), or simply budget that amount (don't forget to add 18% to the cost) per person in your cost calculations. If you drink less, you've saved some money. Soda packages for kids are also pricey, but break-even is a bit lower. Another warning: espresso-based coffees like lattes and cappuccinos also cost extra and may or may not be included with drink packages. High-end cruiselines typically include everything listed in this paragraph in the base fare except maybe very high-end liquors and wines.

Would any of the ladies want to go to the spa? You can find the pricelist on the cruiseline's website. Maybe budget for each adult female to have one or two spa treatments. No high-end cruiseline I'm aware of includes spa services.

Buffet food is good for a quick breakfast or lunch, especially on port days. If you want a slightly better (and more relaxing) meal, then eat in the main dining room for breakfast or lunch. Almost all cruiselines have "specialty restaurants" where they serve more upscale meals compared to the dining room. Again, it won't be 5-star, but it will be better food. The typical upcharge is $25/person. Whether you want to bring the kids is another question. If you don't, then feed them at the buffet then drop them off at the kid's club before heading to dinner. If you so choose, budget one or two nights in a specialty restaurant. Some mainstream cruiselines also have other specialty restaurants such as Johnny Rocket's--smaller upcharge. High-end cruiselines don't have specialty restaurants because, hey, you're paying good money for good food.

If you do room service, you are expected to tip the server a few dollars upon delivery. Probably n/a on high-end cruiselines.

Since this will be a large family affair, perhaps you want to take family pictures on-board? Photographers will be around especially before dinner. Some will even have prepared backdrops. It's always free to get your picture taken; naturally, it costs money to buy them. Not sure of prices. I'm sure high-end cruiselines also have photographers, but unsure if they charge extra (they probably do).

Casino. 'nuff said.

Gift shop and on-board duty free. 'nuff said.

You can also budget for shore excursions by looking up prices on-line. Heck, you can even budget for per-person taxi fares at each port--there is plenty of information available on-line, especially on Cruise Critic.

Edited to add: already mentioned, but don't forget to budget for gratuities. High-end cruiselines incorporate gratuities into the base fare; and the employees are not allowed to accept cash from guests (at least, officially).

Last edited by pseudoswede; Sep 16, 2015 at 10:22 am
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 10:36 am
  #27  
 
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Originally Posted by pinniped
Now I'm starting to wonder if we shouldn't just grab one of these rock-bottom options (the ubiquitous "80% off!!" deals) and then prep ourselves for a *lot* of extra expenses on the boat. (Wholly embrace the ULCC model!) The digging I've done so far looking for family suites and such usually leads to much higher prices than simply booking 5 of the cheapest cabins possible...

Crystal looks great, and I'd certainly be willing to pony up the funds to do it, but I don't think the rest of the group will.

I'm beginning to think I should spend more time figuring out which islands in the Caribbean interest us most, and then just find the best deal that covers the majority of those. We've been to Belize and Mexico already...so probably something farther east would be our target. St. Maarten, etc.

I did talk to one friend who said they always book a basic cabin because they rarely spend much time in it anyway. Sort of like a Vegas hotel room...

And yes, I'm diligently reading and digesting Cruise Critic. And I've now read and heard enough to know that we will book third-party as opposed to direct with the cruise line. Taking some notes, reading some FAQs and long threads for n00bs. Lots of great stuff there, although it's still quite overwhelming.
I actually understand and sympathize with you. We started years and years ago with a 4-day "try it, you'll like it" cruise on Carnival and then adjusted our expectations and choices from there and over a dozen plus cruises since. You're jumping in the "deep end" for kind of a once in a lifetime cruise for a large group. Even for the experienced cruiser pulling that all together within a certain budget and trying to meet everybody's expectations is a daunting task. Heck I tried to do that for three couples last year and we've been cruising 22 years and it quite honestly was a pain in the backside. It was like herding cats. This year I said "Look. This is the cruise we're taking next year. Join us if you want to."
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Old Sep 24, 2015, 4:23 am
  #28  
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Originally Posted by pinniped
Now I'm starting to wonder if we shouldn't just grab one of these rock-bottom options (the ubiquitous "80% off!!" deals) and then prep ourselves for a *lot* of extra expenses on the boat. (Wholly embrace the ULCC model!) The digging I've done so far looking for family suites and such usually leads to much higher prices than simply booking 5 of the cheapest cabins possible...

Crystal looks great, and I'd certainly be willing to pony up the funds to do it, but I don't think the rest of the group will.

I'm beginning to think I should spend more time figuring out which islands in the Caribbean interest us most, and then just find the best deal that covers the majority of those. We've been to Belize and Mexico already...so probably something farther east would be our target. St. Maarten, etc.

I did talk to one friend who said they always book a basic cabin because they rarely spend much time in it anyway. Sort of like a Vegas hotel room...

And yes, I'm diligently reading and digesting Cruise Critic. And I've now read and heard enough to know that we will book third-party as opposed to direct with the cruise line. Taking some notes, reading some FAQs and long threads for n00bs. Lots of great stuff there, although it's still quite overwhelming.
You will pay the nickels and dimes regardless of the discount. Cruise pricing is very much tied to demand. I have taken the same cruise at 2 different times of the year and paid 50% more for one. You will pay for port fees, tips, drinks, excursions, specialty dining, etc. on NCL or RCCL regardless of the base price. If you go to a cruise line website, select a cruise and then look at how the price changes over time. We have mostly avoided summer and holiday periods to save money. IIRC, our lowest price cruise was after Christmas when everyone else was using their cash to pay off their credit cards, maybe second week of January.

Get familiar with the cruise lines promotions. Everything I said you will pay extra for will at times be offered free of charge. My next cruise will feature unlimited alcoholic beverages. There were several other choices but that one offers the best value for a couple of lushes likes Mrs BV and me.

I agree that you need to spend time on cruisecritic (you'll find several of us FTers there with the same handle) and lack of status on the most common lines will not noticeably diminish the experience.

I never thought cruising would be for me but I was wrong. My bias was based on outdated ideas. If you keep an open mind, not only will you likely enjoy the experience but you just might be back on your own.
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Old Sep 24, 2015, 3:19 pm
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by piper28
Heh, I actually use vacationstogo myself, but I've been working with a specific travel agent there for quite a while. I could find a different one if I wanted to take the effort, but I'm satisfied, even knowing I'm probably leaving some money on the table. That said, I do generally end up with some onboard credit from them on my cruises.
Same here. I have used a very good cruise travel agent here in Orlando for our last 5-6 cruises and can give you her contact information if you PM me. Remember, it costs you nothing to use this service.

Originally Posted by pinniped
I'm beginning to think I should spend more time figuring out which islands in the Caribbean interest us most, and then just find the best deal that covers the majority of those. We've been to Belize and Mexico already...so probably something farther east would be our target. St. Maarten, etc.

I did talk to one friend who said they always book a basic cabin because they rarely spend much time in it anyway. Sort of like a Vegas hotel room...

We always book a balcony cabin for the added views. Going through the Panama Canal, we only had to step out on our balcony, sit down and soak it all up. No need to leave the cabin and go to another deck with lots of other people competing for the view. Also, if you feel like celebrating a special occasion, you can have brunch or dinner served to you on your balcony.

And yes, I'm diligently reading and digesting Cruise Critic. And I've now read and heard enough to know that we will book third-party as opposed to direct with the cruise line. Taking some notes, reading some FAQs and long threads for n00bs. Lots of great stuff there, although it's still quite overwhelming.
I know it's overwhelming, but it gives you some ideas of what questions you want answered. To repeat, a good travel agent can answer those questions for you.
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Old Sep 26, 2015, 6:06 pm
  #30  
 
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group travel specialist

In reading this trail....get a group travel specialist.

We used Erica (her website is below) for my parents 50th anniversary cruise. We had 50 family members/guests. She handled all arrangements and gave us free cabins that the cruise line (Royal Caribbean) gave her for every 8 cabins booked. She also arranged an on board party.

http://www.vacation.com/travel-agent...a-papley/41929
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