Tree_skier

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jK-NcRmVcw

In return of the Jedi there is something on as hibernation sickness also it was known as carbonite sickness. Both myself and my wife have tested negative. All systems are go. Prepare to launch the adventure.

I’ll try not to break her before you get on.

Updated 🙂

A long time ago in galaxy far far away… Episode VI Return of the Jedi. Tree_skier has returned to his home planet of Tatoonie (anything north of the 49th parallel is his home planet) in an attempt to rescue his friend Hans Solo from the clutches of vile gangster Jabba the Hutt. Little does Tree_skier know that the GALACTIC EMPIRE has secretly begun construction on a new armored space station even more powerful than the first dreaded Death Star. When completed, this ultimate weapon will spell certain doom for the small band of rebels struggling to restore freedom to the galaxy… Welcome to my live thread. Our first cruise after the restart was this same week last year aboard Serenade of the Seas hence the reference to Return of the Jedi Episode VI. There may be a few Star Wars references and a couple of trivia moments but like C3P0 I’m kind of lazy so it is entirely possible that there will not be any further Star Wars references. Mostly I will just chronicle our journey. I generally focus on eating and drinking. We have a few specialty dinings planned, two dinners and two lunches and as Diamond members I will be depending on both my free four drinks as well as DW’s. She’ll consume a few sodas and a daily latte every morning. Getting good value means we pay for those and I consume her four free ones as well. There will be at least a daily updates of the excursions on shore and entertainment on board. Maybe more if DW doesn’t get mad because I’m always on my phone. This will be our second time on a Quantum class ship. Our first was Odyssey last February. Odyssey was new to the fleet and still had that new car smell. I suspect Ovation, like the Millennium Falcon, will be a little older but faithful and dependable. The comparison will be interesting. Unlike our Odyssey journey to the southern Caribbean this journey takes us to the rugged Alaskan wild. Our plans are simple. Sitka we will just get off the ship, take the shuttle, and wander the local sites. Last year we did a private excursion of the Raptor Center and Fortress of the Bear. This year nothing new jumped out at me and I didn’t want to just repeat last years experience on a different ship. If, when we get off the ship, we see an excursion that jumps out at us we might grab it. Follow along to find out. Stop two is Skagway. We have the White Pass train scheduled for that day. I’m sure the scenery will be beautiful. This is our first time back to Skagway since 2007 so I imagine we’ll do a little shopping as well after we get done. Stop three is Juneau. Last year Juneau was the highlight of the trip. We did the Mendenhall Glacier and whale watching tour and the whale watching experience was so spectacular I’m scared I’m ruined for life with whale watching so I determined to do something different. I’ve booked a 5 Glacier seaplane tour while DW, playing the role Princess Leah, will be kayaking the Mendenhall lake up close to the glacier and then indulging in a shoreside salmon feast. Finally, stop four will be Victoria BC. Initially my plan was just to stay on the ship. We were scheduled to arrive at 5pm and depart at 10pm. It was just a stop to comply with PVSA. As an Ex-pat Canadian originally from Vancouver now living in sunny California I have been to Victoria so many time I can’t even count. A five hour stop, over the dinner hour, was just worthless to me. However, I have received no official notice from Royal yet but my cruise planner now shows that we arrive at 8am and leave at 6pm. That changes things a little. I will get off the ship but will most likely do so with no excursion or plan in mind and just see what unfolds. Most male fans of the Star Wars franchise and “Return of Jedi” will be very familiar with Princess Leah’s (Carrie Fisher) gold bikini sequence as Jabba the Hutt’s slave. As a tribute to the late Carrie Fishier, the object of many young boys fantasy, I have asked DW to model that look once we board Ovation of the Seas. She rather impolitely declined. You will have to settle for pics of me. I look a little like a hairless Chewbacca. I’m sorry… I tried. For those who are interested, here is a link to last years Serenade of the Seas. May the force be with you.

DW picked some up at the dollar store today. So we’re golden for next week. 👍🏻

Now that is good thinking.

Are you committed to doing onboard or are you looking at doing on shore as well?

I'd help if I could read. 😜

What ship and what itinerary?

No you are done at that point. Your arrivecan is tied to your passport and shouldn't be required when leaving the ship. Yes, depending on arrival length and length of stay pre cruise a few different options are available. For you is should be strait forward. Do your arrivecan 3 days before and you should be able to forget about it. I don't remember anyone posting that they had to show anything when they were getting off the ship at a port of call. Perhaps someone else could correct or confirm that.

No worries, I was just confused. I thought I just missed something. You can buy wifi by the day also Maybe buy one day for your tablet just to catch up and do your ArriveCan. I hope it works out and you have a great trip. Next cruise I book, probably for fall 2024 is the Canada/New England cruise.

You need Voom. I have done it and it works great. I have AT&T service.

I was replying to @KATHYMAC68. She was asking what to expect after completing her ArriveCan entry. I'm not sure why you quoted me. But to solve your problem you could do your arrivecan early in the morning at turn around day. You should not need wifi since you will have cellular service while in port.

You get a QR code in the app to show at embarkation and also an email with the same QR code.

You are right, I forgot about guaranteed cabins as I never ever book those. One more reason not to. Thanks/

You keep saying that but it is simply not true. Please note, immediately after entering your personal information prior to booking online, you see this screen. There is a prominently displayed line with check box that allows you to select a refundable deposit. If you booked a JS or below online you would have had to skip over this screen to actually book a non-refundable cruise. This can also be done when booking over the phone by simply requesting a refundable deposit when you are talking to the agent.

Beatings will continue until morale improves 🙂

Nothing is free. It is just a matter of who is doing the paying.

I've been reading there is rumors that they are keeping ArriveCan and making it permanent.

Ok so that will be similar to my Alaska cruise out of Seattle. I completed the ArriveCan app early this morning 3 days before embarkation. I had done what you did today (vax card and passport info) and that was complete the other parts earlier this month. Today I did my individual trip entry for our lone Victoria stop on day 6 of the cruise. You only need one entry no matter how many ports of call in Canada you have.

No, wait until 72 hours before embarkation. If flying into Vancouver you'll need two entries. One for entering Canada and one for embarkation listing your return to Canada.

Do it 72 hours prior to embarkation. You are given the opportunity to list your embarkation date within the three day window but given over a week after your latest embarkation to list your actual arrival in Canada by ship.

Are you cruising out of Vancouver or Seattle. If Vancouver, when are you arriving in Vancouver and how? By land or air?

When traveling internationally I tend to familiarize myself with immigration issues, local customs and potential problems that might not be experienced while traveling domestically. I'm sorry this causing you so much stress. I can assure you that it is a very simple process. Download the app, fill in basic person info as early as convenient. 3 days for before your embarkation, if traveling out of Seattle, or your arrival to Canada if leaving from Vancouver fill in the details of your cruise. Took me 5 minutes this morning to do both myself and my wife on the same app and phone.