likeadisguise

11 hours ago, ncmrs said:

Does anyone remember back in 2022 when the Celebrity Eclipse had barnacle issues causing all their port stops in Alaska to have reduced times? I think some of the times in port were reduced to 4 hours. I would think barnacles would be a regular maintenance issue. 

 

Off topic, but this was a problem for a lot of ships on a lot of lines after the pandemic, both because ships missed their every-two-year dry dock schedule, and also because the ships were kind of floating around more than usual rather than traveling at higher speeds, giving the barnacles more of a chance to grow and spread. You pretty much have to grind them off to remove them, and most ships didn't have a dry dock before return to service.  

16 minutes ago, BDevilCruiser said:

I think he said October.  You can probably check online and search for future cruises on the Sapphire and find the “blank” weeks.

 

Sapphire last went into dry dock in 2023, so normally wouldn't be scheduled for its next one until 2025. 

9 minutes ago, Hollyann said:

I wonder why some people on the February 18th cruise received an email offering them a $1000 on board credit with a future cruise and some people received 50% off a future cruise?  (see email notices received on page 75) $1000 on board credit is not very much compensation for having a years worth of dreams, planning and saving up your vacation time only to have it yanked out from under you with 4 days notice (not that 50% off a future cruise compensates you fully - but better than $1000 for sure)

 

It's likely the $1,000 was for guests on special fares, like Casino bookings, who wouldn't have received much if it was based on their cruise fare.

On the plus side, you'll have a visa that's good for the next 10 years!

The people on the collector are probably getting the OBC given to the people on just the canal transit criise plus the OBC being given to guests embarking for the 7 day voyage.

Brazil has delayed implementation of the new visa to January 1, 2024.

51 minutes ago, ldtr said:

To the cruise line whose accounting systems are run in accordance with US accounting standards (listed on US exchanges) the money received for tips is processed outside of the companies books.  Any money they receive as gratuities is not counted as revenue and the money they pay to the crew is not counted as an expense.  As long as certain rules are met.  One of which is that all monies received must be distributed to the crew that are part of the gratuity pool. Another is that the gratuitiy must be optional (can be removed).  That makes it pretty certain that the money is in fact going to the crew.  While if the system changed and the money flow remained exactly the same with fares going up $16 per person per day and salaries going up the same amount now being classified as revenue and expense, it would not impact corporate income taxes, but it would impact net margin in a negative way.

 

Then comes the crew depending upon their countries of residence gratuities are often taxed differently with gratuities often getting better tax treatment.

 

To put it simply moving gratuities into the fares would be a negative for passengers, the cruise line and the crew.  Even though it would prevent some from removing the gratuity amount.

 

Crew members also must pay a percentage of their salary to the manning company in their country that recruited them for the job. They only pay based on their guaranteed wages, so gratuities are not included. They would end up taking home less money if crew appreciation fees were eliminated and their salaries raised. 

It's included for guests from Australia (paying in AUD). Guests who booked outside AU/NZ do have the daily charge added to their folio. 

48 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

The side bump will, but I thought it was an elite sea witch, until I looked closer. 😉

 

Anyway, different story on the Aft. 🤔

 

The "side bump" are marks from the tugs that were escorting the ship in, and have nothing to do with where they hit the dock.

1 hour ago, johng75370 said:

In the US I saw today there is an Amex offer for 5x Amex Reward Points for every eligible dollar spent with Seabourn, up to 50K points.  Unlike my usual luck, this is well-timed as I've got final payments approaching on a couple of bookings!

I had your usual luck, saw it yesterday but just paid for my upcoming cruise on Quest a couple weeks ago! Oh well.

Seabourn typically sails out of San Pedro, not Long Beach.

Log into your Cruise Personalizer. On the Itinerary page, under the itinerary there are a bunch of Important Notices. Information about required travel documents specific to your cruise will be there.

5 hours ago, Greysandy said:

Has anyone found out what HAL defines as "fully vaccinated?" I had the first two Pfizer, and then a Moderna booster, but didn't really want to get the 4th or now 5th shots that are available.

 

Thanks, Sandy

"Fully vaccinated" means you've completed your primary series of COVID vaccinations (two shots Moderna or Pfizer, one shot J&J) at least 14 days before cruise embarkation.

 

"Up-to-date" means you're fully vaccinated AND, if eligible for a booster, have received at least one booster dose. This is required for what they're calling the "Enhanced Voyages"

The policy just changed this week, the timeframe is longer and they're no longer doing complimentary testing at the pier (except in Greece where the rules are still test within 1 day).

 

From https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/health-safety/europe-travel-requirements.html

 

Guests ages two and above will require a medically observed, negative viral COVID-19 test (PCR or antigen) result taken within three days of cruise embarkation for all European cruises unless embarking in Greece.  All cruises embarking in Greece require a medically observed, negative viral COVID-19 test (PCR or antigen) result taken within one day** of cruise embarkation.
 

If a guest brings proof of testing without results to the pier, Seabourn will test them at no charge. Guests who arrive without a negative test result will experience additional fees, a delayed embarkation and risk denied boarding and subject to quarantine should a positive result be returned. 
 

**For guests embarking in Athens, Greece, we understand that a one-day medically observed COVID-19 test may not be possible based on the timing of your arrival to Athens.  For your convenience, we are currently offering complimentary antigen testing at the terminal. However, Seabourn strongly recommends guests take a medically observed viral COVID-19 test (PCR or antigen) prior to leaving home to avoid queues and travel disruptions associated with a possible positive result on the day of embarkation.

 

You can arrange this the first day on board. 

 
Yes.  Just tell them “likeadisguise” on Cruise Critic says it’s fine and they’ll let you board.  [emoji849]

You're right, they probably put it on their website as a joke!

U.S. citizens on U.S. roundtrip or "closed-loop" cruises: U.S. citizens who board a cruise ship at a port within the United States, travel only within the Western Hemisphere, and return to the same U.S. port on the same ship may present a valid US passport, U.S. Passport Card, Enhanced Driver's License or Trusted Traveler Program Card such as Nexus, Sentri or Fast Cards.
However, in the absence of any of the documentation listed above, U.S. citizens can present a government issued photo ID, along with proof of citizenship (an original or copy of his or her government issued birth certificate, a Consular report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of Naturalization). A passport is still the preferred document.


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It's a closed loop domestic WHTI voyage - you'll be fine to board with a certified copy of your birth certificate and a driver's license.

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The department at Princess that handles these isn't in over the weekend either, so getting someone to call again today probably won't have much effect.

 

As long as your TA got in touch with you as soon as they received the upgrade notice and advised Princess you wanted to decline within 48 hours of the upgrade happening they should be able to get your cabin back.

 

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Some nationalities require a visa to visit Canada if entering by ship. You can find out if you need one here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp?_ga=2.168386850.260963482.1534002710-1154856202.1534002710

The reason the benefit is on the first night is that far fewer people visit the specialty restaurants on the first night. While the ship may permit you to move it, they may not.

Sure. Shouldn't be a problem.

The visa is required if you're on a ship that visits a Brazilian port, whether you intend to get off the ship or not. They won't let you board your cruise if you don't have one.

That's the new policy they just rolled out.

I'd guess the "social" level is things like Favlcebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. You'd probably have to go up to "surf" at least.

Because they probably did not actually buy them.

Well then it shouldn't take them long to get back what they paid for them! ;)