cdn_tbird

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Hopefully the other Canadian sites will be opening, since the same issues that are keeping the other locations closed should apply there too. Unfortunately, Lansdowne is a 3+hr drive for us.

I just saw in the news today there's some type of tropical storm that will be hitting between Miami & Orlando this week. They're calling for 40% chance of rain on Fri. Will need to keep an eye on this one as well. Oh well, the joys of cruising in Nov. 🤪

It's safer to assume that it is non-refundable. Based on our recent experience (Eclipse was delayed due to tugboat operator strike in Vancouver). X made absolutely sure that it was clear that the OBC compensation applied to our account was refundable. The one thing that surprises me is that they didn't give you a bit more than just what you were overcharged as a sort of apology for the mistake. Enjoy your cruise.

I wish all the best for the people of Belize, and that they can recover fairly quickly. Missing a port, while disappointing is a "first world problem". Will have to keep an eye on things for our cruise that departs Nov. 12th. We're supposed to be in Belize on Nov. 15th. Wonder where they'll reroute us since Costa Maya & Cozumel are already on our itinerary.

What is your definition of "ACTUALLY sail on Celebrity"? If you're going to say it's an older demographic that has time & money? That might have been true in the past, and maybe still is right now but that demographic is getting long in the tooth and is getting smaller. X is making a conscious decision to lower the age demographic so that the next gen of cruisers will be around a lot longer. As such, I fully expect influencers to be at the top of any guest list. Do I like it? No, but then that's because I'm a grumpy old arse. 😁

That is so weird that they would have those types of restrictions. We normally cruise on Celebrity (yes I know it's a technically a different company) and can purchase OBC in CAD funds. Typically they have a really good exchange rate. The only drawback is you can't use it until you're onboard, but it is fully refundable if we don't use it up. Not that DW has ever let that happen. 🤪

Since you will be in tourist areas, you'll be surprised how many of the locals will speak English. I speak Italian fluently and unless I'm visiting family, the people I speak to want to practice their English. Be careful of pickpockets and people trying to distract you. Unfortunately, you'll run into these types throughout Europe. Florence/Pisa (Tuscany region if possible?) from La Spezia port - Since you're overnighting here, I would split it in two and do Florence the first day (less stressful about getting back on time), and Cinque Terre the next (you catch the train in La Spezia). If you're comfortable you can catch the train into Florence. Florence is steeped in history; I could spend days on end in just the Uffizi & Accademia museums. Then there's also il Duomo. The markets have changed a lot. When we were there in 2019, there were a lot of vendor stalls selling cheap leather goods and trying to pass them off as made in Italy. Naples Italy - Definitely the trip to Pompeii is a excursion for a 1st timer. You can take the train there. I'll second arranging a tour guide, it makes a world of difference. The train also goes to Sorrento, but depending on when you start your day it may be too much to try and jam both into a single day. Rome - Very easy to get around either on foot or with the subway. It's early in the season so the area around the Trevi fountain shouldn't be complete chaos. We've done a walking tour of Rome which covered the Forum & Coloseum. We also did one called "Off The Beaten Path" which we really enjoyed. It's been way too long since we've been to some of the other ports you mentioned so I won't comment on those. Just relax and enjoy your trip.

Fair enough, it is what I expected. Current pricing is still higher than AI was back then, so it still works in my favor.

This is exactly what (AI + refundable dep for cruise only rate) I get with the big box warehouse TA's group booking + a cash card worth about 8.5% of the fare and 2% more for being an exec member. It sounds insane but it's true.

Early this year we booked a cruise for Nov. 2023 with the Indulge package actually worked out to be a little less than booking AI and adding both the drink & wi-fi upgrades so the $400/pp OBC was just a bonus. Now that X has retired the Elevate & Indulge packages, how would X handle price match requests? Would X simply price match based on the AI price and add the surcharge for the Indulge package, or would I lose the Indulge package and have to pay for the upgrades?

The OBC included for suite guests is per person not per stateroom. I would think that if there was an error with any OBC it might have been part of the "sales" they were doing earlier this year. I know that OBC was per stateroom not per person.

Personally I didn't think you were being harsh. Quite frankly I had the same thoughts just from the title. Add the fact that the OP appears to be a "serial thread starter and non-participator" makes me wonder what their angle truly is. Regardless of why they're starting all these threads, there is one good thing that the OP achieves from all these threads... It has us regulars interacting. 😁

I worry about my shaky hands too, but is it still considered spilling if it ends up in my stomach?

Everything should be able to be associated to their Seapass cards, so I don't see how it would be a "nightmare". Since the OP is in a Sky Suite, even the butler service might be doable depending on which ship they're on and where the AQ cabin is relative to the sky suites. For example, on the Apex deck 10 there are AQ cabins right next to the sky suites.

Personally, unless the cruise was a special celebration, I would have countered by asking for 75%, access to Retreat areas & Luminae, plus the prem bev, wi-fi, & OBC. Worst case is they say no & thank you for your time. Regardless, hope you have a very enjoyable first cruise on X.

While the POCs were successful, there will definitely be some growing pains with Starlink. Hopefully they will eventually work out the kinks and we'll have a workable internet connection. Would love to be able to work remotely while taking a Mediterranean, Middle East, or Asia cruise. Excursions during the morning/early afternoon, work late afternoon evening. Win Win Win. 😁

I'm not an expert with TA OBC but typically (if not always) it's refundable. I would go ahead and book the excursions you're interested in and just not spend the OBC. Also, the benefit of booking them early is if there is a significant price drop you can always cancel it and rebook at the lower price.

As others have said right now the only X provided OBC is either part of one of their sales (usually a fixed amount per person or per cabin. I've seen both), booking a suite (varies based on length of cruise), or the onboard booking (varies based on cabin type and length of cruise) referenced above. Previously, when X was offering the Elevate & Indulge packages for cabins types below suites, OBC was part of those packages. The amount varied by length of cruise.

Hopefully you'll have some luck. If you booked through a TA, I'd engage them to try and recoup something for you since under 30 days you'll potentially lose the full amount. If you booked directly, I'd try to politely bypass the frontline call center staff and have them connect you with a dept that may have the authority to make an exception. Best wishes that your son's medical issues get better soon.

You should try the Port of Vancouver then. They just collected our declaration card and waved us through. No questions, no dropping of the mask for a passport check. DW & I were confused as to what just happened. 😆

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Fingers crossed as we're on the Nov. 12th sailing.

Yes my booking is in CAD, and do know that purchases are in CAD as well. My concern is that X takes the first purchase regardless of whether it's by CC or OBC as the lock-in point. We're sitting on 1500USD in OBC so locking it early could be costly. With cruise over a year out and the way the CAD is tumbling I don't want to lock in too early. For example, on Sun. X's exchange rate was 1.3277 and today they've readjusted it to 1.3578. Some of the forecasts I've seen show it 1.502 - 1.512 range over the next 9 months. The last time I got lucky was for our recent Alaska cruise that got bumped twice. I managed to lock-in @ just over 1.42 and by the time we started booking stuff prices were based on a 1.25 rate.

I know that when you make a pre-cruise purchase using OBC it will lock in the exchange rate and have used this to my advantage in the past. Right now, I want to avoid making a purchase with OBC so that it doesn't lock in however there is a purchase I want to make. Does anyone know if I pay by cc if it will still lock in my exchange rate?