Cruisy Guy

1 hour ago, JAGR said:

To add to @gizfish, reserving specialty restaurants on Seaside requires a bit of labor, and can only be done on board. While embarking, if you have a date and time in mind, you can reserve in person.  I would recommend going to the hostess station on Deck 16 (use the forward elevators). Since all the specialty restaurants are together there, the host/hostess can lock you time and restaurant in for you.  You can either order a la carte, or from the Dining Experience menu.

For main dining time, that is dependent on your booking class.  For Bella, you can request a seating at booking, but MSC will decide the time and restaurant (Seashore or Ipanema).  For Fantastica, you have a priority in getting the dining time you indicated at booking.  For Aurea, you have anytime dining.  For Yacht Club, it is anytime dining in the dedicated YC restaurant.

 

For shows (particularly requested by @HappyInVan), you may be able to reserved the shows on the app while waiting to board, but you can definitely do it on the app anytime after you board the ship.  If yo can't use the app, there are interactive tv screens all around that you can use to reserve shows.

Thank you so much for the information and recommendations JAGR. You answered all my questions in full.

You are obviously well aquainted with MSC and Seaside, it's always good to get advice from knowledgeable people.

We are sailing on MSC Seaside in the Caribbean this January.

Reserving specialty restaurants is very confusing. We don't want to buy a package, as some of the restaurants in the package don't appeal to us.We just want to reserve our choice of restaurants on specific nights. Hopefully, we can then order from the fixed price "Dining Experience" section.

Do we have to wait until after boarding to make a reservation? The same for requesting a specific dining time in the main dining room? That seems very chaotic since everyone will have the same idea once we board.

Can anyone who is knowledgeable provide some advice?

On 8/18/2023 at 6:54 PM, Cruisy Guy said:

Several years ago, we were turned away from the Martini Bar when we tried to order a martini with the classic package. That has since changed.

 

We were on both the Apex in 2022 and the Silhouette in May of 2023. On both ships, we had a classic drinks package and were able to order the smaller sized vodka martinis at the Martini Bar. These were covered under the Classic Drinks Package and the bartenders were more than happy to serve us. They don't have premium vodka, but Absolute or Smirnoff is fine with us .Not sure if they offer other specialty martinis the same way.

 

Unless you really prefer premium vodka or gin, you can just order the smaller ones and drink more of them.

As an update to my post in August, we were on a cruise on the Apex in October and were informed by the staff at the Martini Bar that they no longer serve martinis in the smaller glasses on the Classic Package.

I found this to be very upsetting and felt these decisions were random depending on the ship and the whims of it's hospitality department.

I complained to guest relations and they arranged an exemption for us. However, in order to avoid future problems, we upgraded our package.

We later met another couple enjoying "small glass martinis" with a Classic Package..... I didn't ask.

It's official now. This is taken from the Egyptian Embassy facebook page today.

Also worth noting, if you apply for an e-visa before the deadline and are on a cruise stopping for several days in Egypt, the embassy says I will only need a one time entry visa, not a multiple entry visa. BTW, single entry is cheaper.

Celebrity Cruises advises that all passengers are covered by their "transit visas" for 72 hours.

I like to be safe than sorry and got the e-visa.

2 hours ago, TeamCan said:

 

So glad I found this thread… CC is always so helpful and a wealth of info.  Thank you so much for the update.  We are going on a land tour in Nov. But b4 the Egypt trip we will be in Europe so the logistics of getting the Visa from the consulates in Ottawa will not work.  We had intended to apply for an E-Visa b4 we left, then all this happened.   So glad we can apply for a tourist E-Visa again. So as long as we apply for it b4 Oct1, the E-Visa will be valid?
Questions for those that applied for the E-Visa…

Is the Visa valid for 90 days including the day you leave Egypt or 90 days for the day you  enter Egypt?  We are entering Egypt Nov30 and leaving Dec 10 to Jordan the transiting through Cairo airport on Dec 15.  

Is it $25 US for a 90 day tourist Visa.

Hopefully we will see an official update tomorrow by the Canadian government.

Thanks again,😊

 

 

 

Egyptian e-visas are good for 6 months.

On 9/6/2023 at 12:48 PM, stmartins said:

We were booked on Gate1 Nile cruise leaving  October 10th.  We did have E-Visas, which are now invalid.  It’s just not possible for us to go to Montreal or Ottawa to apply in person so…..we’re cancelling…..our insurance doesn’t cover our loss.  I’m very disappointed in the lack of information from the government, it’s just a “so sad too bad” attitude.  We only found out through social media and that’s sketchy.  Guess that’s politics.   

Hurray! New information from the Egyptian Embassy in Ottawa. Taken from their facebook page today, read the yellow box at the bottom.

Just got a reply from my email to Michael Pilach, Managing Editor PAX Global Media. He wrote a large article regarding Egypt's visa change. Here is what wrote me.

I called Celebrity and the agent repeated that message word for word after conferring with his supervisor.

Against my better judgement and not wanting to make the journey to Ottawa, I am going to rely on his word.

However, if this turns out to be untrue, you will never see such a public display in your life.

2 hours ago, DanceMomma said:

Does anyone know if a specific size of return envelope is required?

Or, as long as it can fit the passports, any is fine?

I just got a reply from the Egyptian Embassy. They state that single entry visas are $150cdn per person and that multiple entry visas are $$205cdn per person.

Seeing that we are on a cruise and are returning to the ship each night, does that constitute multiple entry?

23 minutes ago, SparklyPinkCruiser said:

Update from Celebrity is good news (except for me who already applied for Visa!)

 

• A note for Canadian Guests: The 2023 changes regarding Canadians needing to apply for an Egyptian visa in advance applies only for entry by air. The authorities re-confirmed entry via cruise ships, for transit call purposes, guests can still apply for a 72-hour visa upon arrival as noted above.

I don't trust Celebrity any more. I've gotten too much conflicting information from them. As a matter of fact, I tried calling them yesterday and today. Wait times on their customer service line was too long so I opted for an automated call back. Never did get a call back either time!

Here is the perfect visa application form. It is in fallible PDF form so you can fill it out on your computer and just print it out. Exactly the same as form required by Ottawa embassy.

https://embassyofegypt.se/onewebmedia/Visa Application Form (updated).pdf

3 hours ago, SparklyPinkCruiser said:

So this is what we brought in person to the embassy and it was all accepted:

 

- our itinerary (gave a copy of our confirmation from Celebrity, highlighted the Egypt sections for clarity)

- hotel info, if applicable (we are staying overnight in Egypt)

- 2 pictures each, 2 X 2 inches (went to a local picture place in town), dated

- our passports

- two forms filled in and signed (one for each of us), I've attached the form here

- $300 cash ($150 each)

- a prepaid return envelope. We used Expresspost regional overnight, but you can use any... Fedex, UPS, etc. We paid $25, we're in Ontario. 

 

They only need one person in the travelling party to come. As mentioned, you can also mail everything in.

 

Address is: 

454 Laurier Ave E

Ottawa, ON   K1N 6R3

 

They are saying one week turnaround, either pick-up or mailed.

 

I will come back here and report back if/when I get them back!

 

Entry-Visa-Application-Form.pdfUnavailable

The PDF form was not accepted as an attachment. Can you possibly send it to me.

My email is   rlaychuk@hotmail.com   That would be wonderful if you could. If nothing happens in the next few days, we will be going to Ottawa on Sunday and stay with friends there before visiting the embassy Monday.

Just found the Visa Application Forms for the Ottawa embassy as well as the Montreal embassy.

The Ottawa embassy form is longer and the PDF is a bit fuzzy.

Ottawa Form

https://drive.google.com/.../1Vn76UjjAki0i5Y6U353.../view...

Montreal Form (Choose 2-visa-form)

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1q9Ovlbc-QaoqEyaB1-g6TFkoZ-ieFiP6?fbclid=IwAR25VVZ0kCmYcEbzH-9LBVoY5KIqTOTmtCkEBhsahJ_bl02oor2il7wetuU

22 minutes ago, tmli said:

Can I ask how you had your paperwork organized? Was a picture attached to your application? In addition to passport, application, the fee and photos did you need anything else? I’ve read something about copies of your information page. 

We have decided to drive to Ottawa and also need to know exactly what we will need.

Still don't like the idea of having to leave our passports there.

We are visiting Egypt mid October aboard the Celebrity Apex.

I contacted our tour operator, Ramisside Tours. ,this is the response I got from them.

"Okay, the official update is about Canadians arriving by flight to Cairo airport or any airport in Egypt. but as a cruise passenger you don't need a visa you only get a transit stamp in your passport. this is only for the passengers from the cruise ships you don't need a visa because you are not staying in Egypt you are just making a trip while your cruise stops in Egypt."

I don't know if they are just covering their asses or the info they have from the Egyptian authorities is correct. Right now, nobody is sure what is going on. Ether way, we are going on the cruise hoping for the best.Going through the embassy's red tape is not an option.

When the news came out several days ago, only "Visas on Arrival' for Canadian citizens were affected. You could still get e-visas.

I rushed to apply for our e-visas at a cost of $165US (Non refundable) through their e-visa portal. Since then, and during our wait for the visas to be approved, the Egyptian government further announced that as of October 1st, all e-visas issued to Canadians would be null and void.

Wouldn't you know it, I received our e- visas that day! What irony.

 W have been thoroughly screwed by the Egyptians.

We are travelling by cruise ship to Egypt mid October. I talked with my online agent who, in turn, contacted Celebrity Cruises. Apparently all of them have their heads in the sand and do not have a handle on the situation. Every time you contact them, you get a different answer.Very frustrating to say the least.

Neither the Egyptian Embassy in Ottawa or Montreal are answering their phone. Obviously they have been inundated with calls.

I hate the thought of going through the trip interruption insurance provided by my CC company but that may be the only thing left to do.

Several years ago, we were turned away from the Martini Bar when we tried to order a martini with the classic package. That has since changed.

We were on both the Apex in 2022 and the Silhouette in May of 2023. On both ships, we had a classic drinks package and were able to order the smaller sized vodka martinis at the Martini Bar. These were covered under the Classic Drinks Package and the bartenders were more than happy to serve us. They don't have premium vodka, but Absolute or Smirnoff is fine with us .Not sure if they offer other specialty martinis the same way.

Unless you really prefer premium vodka or gin, you can just order the smaller ones and drink more of them.

We are a retired gay couple from Toronto Canada. My partner is a retired English Professor and I am a retired Accountant.

We are interested in meeting and socializing with other gay couples. Drop us a line if you are organizing a gay social group, group shore excursions or just want to have drinks.

Ray and Randy