ronandannette

1 hour ago, beg3yrs said:

It's less than eleven hours by car ...

Not viable in any way. Drive 9 hours to Vancouver to board, disembark in Seattle, find ground transport back to Vancouver to pick the car up to drive 9 hour home again? For a 3 day cruise? Would you? And the idea of renting a car in Seattle for drop-off back in Calgary was a complete non-starter. 

On 4/19/2023 at 10:09 AM, Yehootu said:

Think we'll go with the Riviera Deck. Thanks for feedback. Was once 2 decks below the Pizza area on a Carnival ship and it sounded like a bowling alley. 

We just got off yesterday and were in a standard balcony right directly under the Horizon Cafe (buffet). M628. I can honestly say it was NOT noisy in the least - we were in the cabin at various times of day, and of course all night and early morning. Not until debarkation did we hear any sound from above and even then, it was only a few scrapes and thuds; nothing that would have kept us from sleeping.

3 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

Wow,  that is something....they could not get you on another flight for 6 days! Not a good ending. I hope you enjoyed your cruise, prior to disembarkation. Really hoping that was a one-off situation. 

Alaska only flies the Calgary route a few times a week and because they're an economical option, seats are scarce now that the cruise season out of Seattle has started. We asked about a few more creative routing options but nothing came together. 😕

3 hours ago, cruisingrob21 said:

This has happened before, and will happen again (3rd time for me).  Any coastal cruise that ends in SF (not at the new terminal) or Seattle and can't go through US CBP clearance in Vancouver has the risk this will happen.  I have now learned to avoid voyages leaving Vancouver and ending in a US port on the west coast where pre-clearing US customs can't occur due to a Canadian port of call.  I suppose this could happen in LA or San Diego but I haven't experienced it - it seems to be better operations in those locations.  There were also a large number of non US citizens onboard and no lanes to separate US vs other passengers.  The processing speed of US vs non-US passengers was about twice as slow for non US passengers.

I wish I'd had this advice before - we would have passed on this short cruise. We only booked it at all to use up the very last of our Covid-credits, which resulted from canceled Princess bookings in 2020/21 and were set to expire at the end of the month. 

As for Border Security, when we finally got off the ship it was bizarre - they barely glanced at our Passports and just waived us through. Not even any customs declaration. I really don't know what to make of it. 

5 hours ago, outtoseacruise said:

I did walk off yesterday on Royal Princess and had no issues. With a cab ride I was at SEA around 8:45 AM. 

It did appear they had some sort of customs issue that was resolved by I think around 7:45 to 7:50. I saw one of the officers going off the ship with what appeared to be 4 or 5 passports in Ziplock bags. About 15 minutes later the ship was cleared.

FWIW I also found the taxi was running cheaper to SEA from the port which was only $63. When I was looking at Lyft while waiting to disembark it was $70+.  

Don't dismiss the "horror stories" you weren't a part of. You were one of the very few lucky ones. By 8:00 am they had closed the gangway and were announcing a delay of at least 2 hours. Not much for an explanation other than a shortage of Customs staff and the terminal being over-crowded due to the coincident disembarkation of the Eurodam. We waited as instructed; they allowed people back into the staterooms and the lines (unbelievably long) didn't start moving until after 10:00 am. We made a plea to an officer who directed us out a side way and still missed the cut-off for our international flight back to Calgary, which took off at 12:35 pm. Very upsetting. 

We were booked on Alaska Air and the next available flight they could offer was 6 days hence. We ended up stranded overnight in Seattle and having to pay over $1,000 Canadian for two next-day fares home Air Canada which we caught this morning at 6:00 am. Because Alaska offered to re-book us, my flight insurance (which I booked through them with the purchase) will not reimburse the new tickets or refund the unused ones. All in all, this little snag quadrupled the price of what we happily booked as a quick, cheap getaway and sapped the joy from it. 

6 hours ago, gottagoacruzn said:

Hi Biker, thanks for the info. Guess its true what they say, don't believe everything you hear or read. No offense to anyone here!!

Whether or not you get a copy delivered (hit and miss like many other things), the Compass is available for pick-up at Guest Services. Don't let the empty racks fool you - just ask for a copy and it will be happily provided. IMO eliminating the delivery of the printed copy is a step too far. The app is a very pesky way to have to find the daily schedule. 

16 minutes ago, cruisingator2 said:

Does not mean the crew did not test positive at a later date since all crew must test weekly. If they did then they’re forced to quarantine. That may have happened. None of us have access to that information. Others have posted here that other ships had the same issue where entertainment was affected by crew testing positive and being forced to quarantine. Unfortunately that’s a possibility right now. 

Makes sense - too bad they don't plan for contingencies. It wouldn't be practical on all sailings but on the Navigator run they could easily board somebody to do something at Catalina or Ensenada. 

13 hours ago, Markmom18 said:

I just got off a B2B on the Navigator this morning. If I can help with specific questions , just ask 😊.

 

🛳🛳

Bobbi 

Were the shows running? We disembarked on the 20th - the same day you got on, right? Other than the shows, everything was open, fully operational and in top-notch shape, with the exception of the movie screen which appears to be damaged. I hope you had better weather than we did - it was May Gray and unseasonably cold and the interior venues were downright chilly. 

8 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

I was on April 27 to May 9.  Shows were running normally.  Cast members must have contracted covid after I disembarked.  I don't think that you can tell someone who will be on the Navigator in the future that they won't have the shows.  

Well, apparently you can't tell them that there definitely will be, either. Like I said, we were extremely disappointed. I doubt the skaters had Covid; they did a 30 minute throw-away skills showcase on the first evening. I thought that was just a teaser of better things to come, but nope. 

😒Don't get too excited about the ice show, or the entertainment in general. We sailed May 16 - 20 and not only was there no iSkate, there was also no Showgirls in the theater and little else either. Mediocre comic two nights (same show), a Tenor one night (really quite good) and one night  it was actually dark. I've never seen such a thing in a dozen RCCL cruises. There was no explanation of why it was like this and we were very disappointed.

2 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

Yes

 

Interesting - and a huge pain in the butt! Do you know who will be reviewing the ArriveCan QR code?  The cruiseline or will they have a customs check-point at the port? When you fly, it's up to the airline to verify the QR prior to boarding you but you also show it when you go through Canada Customs upon arrival.

3 hours ago, HicksRA said:

Royal Ups are so random and unpredictable, I see nothing to be gleaned from such a collection of data. 

😒Not to mention that perhaps a better deal can be had by simply calling and asking the current price of the upgrade you want. We had a virtual balcony inside cabin booked for our recent Navigator sailing (May 16 - 20). After final payment the Royal Up emails started arriving but the prices were, IMO, ridiculous. For a lark I called in and asked about purchasing an upgrade and ended up taking a spacious balcony in an amazing location on Deck 11 for a total of $69/USD for both of us. That's about 1/3 the starting bid, per person, that Royal Up wanted.

6 hours ago, carefree lady said:

We will stop in Victoria on the last day. Do I do the app before I get on the ship or before we get to Victoria? I thought I read you’re suppose to do it 72 hours before.

There's actually no such time restriction. I flew home from LAX today after sailing on the Navigator and did the ArriveCan app while standing in line to have my vax pass inspected and get my luggage tags. And if Victoria is just a port stop, not debarkation, do you even need to do it?  Will everyone on the ship need to download ArriveCan and fill it out just to visit?

On 5/18/2022 at 8:15 AM, rockmom said:

I'm boarding Friday.  I think the 3 night weekend cruises have been fairly full. Even when I did one in February, we were at about 2500 guest and they were very short-staffed at that time.  Hopefully that is better this time.  But I hear that the still have not fixed the pool heat and it's too cold to get in the pool other than doing a 'polar plunge'.  I was told in February that the heaters would be fixed by my May sailing, so I'm definitely bummed.  

I’m not sure if the pools were warm - we didn’t swim. The hot tubs were lovely and water slides weren’t icy even though the weather this week has been pretty unpleasant. Also disappointing and inexplicable is that there was no Showgirls or iSkate. Nothing at all for production shows (the theatre was actually dark one night) and the only performance in Studio B was a throw-away 30 minute skills showcase. Very unworthy entertainment line-up for what was otherwise a very impressive cruise. 

We are on her now, currently anchored at Catalina. This sailing (May 16 - 20) has 1605 passengers and apparently less than 200 children. I must say the atmosphere lacks a certain buzz (early traditional dining is a ghost town) but the instant access to absolutely everything is very nice. 😀

The ship looks fantastic, all venues are open and the staff is having no trouble keeping up and service in all areas is uniformly excellent.

Can anyone tell me what night is formal, or if they even do that anymore? First and second nights are at sea, third and fourth are in port. 

So excited this ship is now on the West Coast and so excited to be cruising RCCL again after Covid! This same 4-day itinerary out of LA on our beloved old Monarch was what started it all for DH and me. 😍

On 3/17/2020 at 11:37 AM, St Pete Cruiser said:

With all the negative news, nice to read this.  I have a soft spot in my heart (some would say in my head) for the Rotterdam.

I have the most days on the Rotterdam of any of the fleet.  As Captain Albert wrote a few days ago in his blog, "the beautiful and elegant Rotterdam" is still a classy ship.  In 2014, going thru the Red Sea, the Captain explained he was going to test full ahead to make sure she still could do it in case of a pirate attack.  The officers were proud to share she hit 26 knots and said with a freshly cleaned hull she might have bested that.  

You may be interested to hear I’m sitting on the terrace of our suite at the Melia and watching her return to the Maritime Terminal here in PV right now. She’s been rather forlornly sitting there all week but pulled out last nigh and headed over the horizon. I tried googling but couldn’t find any information on where she was going.  I’m very surprised to see her back this morning.

This may be a stupid question but I can't find a definitive answer on Princess' website.  If Princess cancels a sailing, or if travel bans prevent people from crossing borders, will they refund cruise fares?  

On ‎1‎/‎9‎/‎2020 at 8:43 AM, Saint Greg said:

It's where I prefer to be. If I can't get the lido I'll go for deck 9 forward.

I'm looking at 4J cabins on the Vista and I'm wondering if  the exterior area at the bow of Deck 9 has public access from the front corridors?  

TIA

On 2/18/2020 at 3:39 AM, david1972 said:

You could try ARC

ARC hire

 

Can I ask where it is you would like to go to with the vehicle?

Apologies that I didn't see this post sooner - thank you for the information.  We are considering a trip to Stirling.  One of the greatest difficulties we're encountering with this British Isles itinerary is local transport. Things are very different than we're used to. 

On 2/19/2020 at 11:07 AM, jst4fun715 said:

Not sure if I'll be doing the side trip to Dunoon or not. My brother who had been stationed there passed away suddenly on Monday. I was going mostly for him, but I like smaller villages too and may still go one more time in his honor and see that beautiful area again.  Still trying to process it all! Again, I appreciate all of the information you all have provided.

So sorry for your sudden loss. 

We are in Greenock on May 10 and as luck would have it, the first Highland Games of the season is taking place very close by in Gourock.  Seeing it will be a lark and we're quite excited.

https://scotlandwelcomesyou.com/scottish-highland-games/

Just now, princeton123211 said:

This part isn't going to be as helpful-- I am in the top tier with Avis' Chairmans Club and one of the perks I get is delivery and pick up of a car on a complimentary basis within a 25 mile radius. We did that here and it saved a bunch of time. 

 

I believe the car came from the Edinburgh Airport location. You could take a quick taxi or Uber over to the airport for pickup and drop-off as an option. 

Sadly, I don't think S. Queensferry is a "quick" trip to Edinburgh. Thanks for your information though - it's been helpful. 

5 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

We did this a few years ago-- not that hard. The drive is about 1 hour and 20 minutes each way. The beginning is on a two lane highway but then you end up on a two lane road for the majority of it (which as a fellow right hand driver I find easier than highway). Very pretty in parts driving through picturesque farmland. 

Thank you very much for that first-hand information.  May I ask how you arranged the rental car?  Is there an agency right there in S. Queensferry?  I tried to find one near Greenock to get us to Glasgow but turned up nothing local. 

Hello!

We're sailing the British Isles in May and I'm having a heck of a time working out travel arrangements in some of the ports.  We tender in to South Queensferry on a Wednesday morning and my husband has a round of golf booked at St. Andrew's at noon.  Can you please advise on whether or not it's a fairly easy drive?  The current plan is a rental car for back and forth. Bearing in mind we drive on the right in Canada and are used to endless miles of wide open highway, any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Hello!

We're sailing the British Isles in May and I'm having a heck of a time working out travel arrangements in some of the ports.  We tender in to South Queensferry on a Wednesday morning and my husband has a round of golf booked at St. Andrew's at noon.  Can you please advise on whether or not it's a fairly easy drive?  The current plan is a rental car for back and forth. Bearing in mind we drive on the right in Canada and are used to endless miles of wide open highway, any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

14 hours ago, nini said:

The Regal is a beautiful ship. If you want a balcony, be sure and select a cabin with a decent sized balcony. And I hope they get their act together regarding their recent health inspection. When we were

on her in September 2018, she got 100% and the crew was elated!

We're quite far forward, portside on Lido.  I understand the balconies are small but it's a far-cry better than the inside GTY we started out with.  Prices were ridiculous on this sailing but did come down very substantially after final payment so we jumped up quite a few categories. I think we will love the convenience of walking right out onto the pool deck and just up one flight to the Retreat.

Having never been on this class of ship, there are several areas on the deck plans I'm curious about.  Can anyone tell me about the Laser Range, Driving Range and the Game Lounge, all located on the Sports Deck?  I'm also wondering if the Retreat Pool is part of the Sanctuary or something separate.  Is it a free-access area? Do the Retreat Pool cabanas have to be rented or reserved in any way?  Since we're sailing on an early-May British Isles itinerary, maybe I should ask if the pools will be open at all?  Thanks in advance for any information.