bookbabe

Besides, Canadian money is very pretty in comparison to US paper currency, so you may want to get some as a souvenir anyway, or even just to be able to check it out.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2866754-are-us-dollars-accepted-in-canada/

West Bay wouldn't be the area I'd pick for a scenic tour of Cayman. East End is much nicer, so is North Side.

This site talks about a charter on the Jewel, but it’s a sister ship to the Gem so cabins are likely very similar. It’s the first page I’ve found that shows the general sleeping arrangements for the average cabin in most cabin classes, along with pics of how the beds are set up for 3rd and 4th sleepers. While there may be minor differences from cabin to cabin, I like that it provides a general overview all on one page to help narrow down a category choice so that you can then do more specific research on that category and specific cabins. https://www.thekisskruise.com/ship/staterooms/

Relatives in BC have complained to me about the high cost and low availability of Covid testing in their area. It may be that none of the locations near the port actually do the travel Covid screening (aka antigen testing for travel) and that’s why the website is stalling. I’d suggest calling your location of choice to see if they offer travel testing, and if they don’t, they may be able to tell you which nearby location (if any) does. There are lots of private labs that do the testing, but they cost even more than Shoppers. There is also a lab at the airport that does travel testing. Again, $$$$$. Personally, I’d use one of the online proctoring companies like eMed and DIY your pre-cruise tests. It will be easier and cheaper. My personal fav, Azova, will even use your free govt issued tests and ones bought at pharmacies - https://www.azova.com/travelvideo/

I was searching for ones for a Saturday cruise arrival via Costco Travel and Expedia, there are ones in San Pedro about a 20 min walk from the port as well as Lomita and Long Beach which would need a taxi/Uber. We ended up just going with an LAX location since we would need to return it to there, and the added fee for a one-way rental was pretty steep for a multi-day rental. It wasn’t bad for a single day, about the same extra as an Uber would have been. (We were just staying one day, flying out Sunday, but decided to stay until Tuesday instead.)

Do you want beach or snorkeling? Because the conditions that give the best snorkeling are lousy for beach. There is good advanced level snorkeling within walking distance of the port at Eden Rock. Google or a search in this forum will get you lots of information on that location. There are no real beaches within what I would term a reasonable walk from the cruise port. Technically you could walk it, but the closest would be the half hour walk (in the heat with limited sidewalks) to Smith Cove or the hour plus (again in heat but with sidewalks) to the closest end of Seven Mile Beach. Again, lots of posts here about the various beach spots along Seven Mile Beach, and there should be a few about Smith Cove too. The Governors Beach section of Seven Mile has at least mediocre snorkeling that would be good for beginners, and good beach, but no facilities. You’d really need a bus or taxi to get there, though.

Yes.

I checked with my PCC to see if it would be applicable to any of my currently booked cruises, and he wasn’t even willing to check to see if it would be a better deal. I tried online and couldn’t find any of our cruises that the code would work for. Very curious now…

The flight does not need ArriveCan because you are not leaving Canada and then returning during that portion of your trip. The flight stays in Canada, so no ArriveCan. The cruise leaves Canada and then returns…assuming that it is a round trip Vancouver cruise? If your cruise is round trip Vancouver, then you fill in ArriveCan using the Marine Entry option, submitting in the 72 hours before embarkation. You will use your embarkation date plus the date and name of the first Canadian port you arrive in AFTER the Alaska portion of the cruise. You will show that ArriveCan receipt at embarkation for the cruise. If your cruise is one way, Vancouver to Alaska, then you do not need ArriveCan for the cruise unless you leave and then re-enter Canada on the actual cruise, which is unlikely. In this situation, you would fill in the Entry by Air option in ArriveCan in the 72 hours before your flight home arrives in Canada. This means you would fill it in during last couple days of the cruise, using your first Canadian airport (where you do customs) as the entry point. You will show that receipt at the airport in order to board your flight back to Canada. ArriveCan is always related to whatever portion of the trip in which you ARRIVE back in CANada after leaving Canada for any amount of time via any method of transportation. For the actual use of the app, there are a ton of step by step videos online that can be found by Googling “ArriveCan YouTube” or even “how to fill in ArriveCan YouTube” etc.

If you’re a meat eater, and can luck into a reservation, this restaurant is fabulous. https://www.houseofprimerib.net

You may be able to use the Internet cafe computers onboard to fill in ArriveCan, ask onboard. They often allow free airline checkins, so maybe this will be counted the same way. I’d be surprised if the Canadian government didn’t want a new test done in the correct time frame, in the two calendar days before the departure of your second cruise. You might want to contact them to ask, as they will be the ones deciding if that first test can count, not the cruise line. There’s a “contact us” link at the bottom left of this page. https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise#pre-embarkation-test ArriveCan is unrelated to the testing. You’ll have to upload your vaccine docs, but not your test results. You can fill in most of it ahead of time without pressing submit on either the webpage or the app, whichever you plan to use during the cruise, and then you’d just need to change to the correct dates and submit while onboard. If you Google “using arrivecan youtube” there are dozens of videos that walk you through how to use the app.

Oui, avec le nom de chacun

That one wasn’t offered on our trip. We had planned to do the Lifestyles Resort one, but that was cancelled because it was over the Xmas holidays, so we were going to book Coconut Cove instead. It’s the Coconut Cove that our concierge warned us off of.

  Does your cruise line count it as one cruise or two? If it’s two separate cruises, ie you check in twice, even if the second checkin is onboard, you’d do ArriveCan in the 72 hours before you check in for the second cruise. If it’s counted as one cruise, which is much less likely I think, you’d do ArriveCan in the 72 hours before the first (only) check in at initial embarkation. You can use the app on your phone connected to hotel/ship/port Wi-Fi and then just screen shot the receipt to show offline later if you need to. Or use the web version and they’ll email you a receipt that you can show on your phone or print out at home before you leave if the timing is right or at the hotel/ship business center or Internet cafe if that’s easier. You will show the receipt when checking in for the cruise that enters Canada, so that’s the important detail to figure out. Your ArriveCan (and testing) use that departure date as the start point for counting back for your Covid requirements. Everything happens in the days leading up to that Canadian cruise departure date. Not part of your question, but you also need to do an antigen test in the two days before your Canadian cruise departs, so you’ll need to check with your cruise line about them doing it onboard. If they can’t you will need to take along telehealth tests or find a testing site in Bermuda.

Least favourite, the hotel beach day in Puerto Plata that we didn’t go on…we were in the Haven on the Encore, and the concierge wouldn’t let us book it, basically said (without actually saying it straight out) it was terrible and the place was a dump. 🙂 We loved the mudbug excursion we booked there instead. I guess we’ve been lucky, we enjoyed the vast majority of the excursions we’ve booked over the years. There’s been a few that we maybe wouldn’t do a second time, but I can’t remember any where we actually had to complain about it to the shore excursions folks afterwards.

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise

Canada is not the same country as the US, so generally most places will want the country’s own currency, just like your local pub would probably prefer pounds rather than US$ or Cdn$. As mentioned above, at best you will get stores in tourist areas that will accept US$ at a really bad exchange rate or perhaps even at par with Cdn$. You are best to get some Cdn$ for your trip if you plan to spend a lot or are venturing outside of the tourist zones in major cities.

Fill in ArriveCan in the 72 hours before boarding the cruise ship that enters Canada at some point during the cruise. With more details, it would be easier to give a more specific answer.

You can do the Azova proctoring from anywhere in the world, and the appointment booking page lets you select what time zone you will be taking the tests in, so it’s easier to book the correct time. Just take along your government freebie green box tests, and use hotel internet at your destination. (Book for the green box tests under the Canada tab, it’s divided into where you got the test, not where you are doing it.) https://www.azova.com/travelvideo/

Per the website, smoking areas are available outside only. They won’t be bars or restaurants, or any other spaces within the airport. There are very few places to smoke indoors in Canada. Good thing you’re traveling in summer. https://www.torontopearson.com/en/whats-happening/stories/designated-smoking-areas Not sure if either hotel offers day passes, you’ll have to contact them directly. https://www.torontopearson.com/en/while-you-are-here/hotels

Yeah, the Viscount garage at Pearson would make a great testing site, and it is accessible by the train that connects the terminals, so not that inconvenient for travellers. However, I agree that our government doesn’t seem to be using logic in their decisions, and they might leave it up to Switch Health to find their own off-site location somewhere…or Switch might even use their existing labs, which are somewhere in Mississauga, I think. Not expecting this to be easy or painless for anyone who gets selected for testing, unfortunately.

We fly almost exclusively with WJ and usually only with AC or another airline if our destination isn’t served by WJ. We fly multiple times a month in normal times. We have had the odd snag with WJ, but they’ve always been resolved to our satisfaction with great service, unlike our experience with AC. With AC, at the very least we suffer through a flight with cranky flight crews and airport chaos. We flew WJ internationally out of Pearson T3 Sunday morning, and got through security so fast that we ended up with extra time for a lengthy lounge visit. No issues with the flight, on time, etc. So experiences definitely vary from day to day and from person to person.

There are restrooms, and usually some vendors on cruise ship days. It’s not a beach club, though. It’s the public beach. And yes, just ask for Public Beach (Public Beach, not a public beach or the public beach) and maybe specify that you want the one by the Kimpton at the far end of SMB.

You might find it easier to rent a car and DIY. None of those places are anywhere near each other, and I haven’t seen any tours that include all of them. You could try contacting Cayman Safari, see if they can come up with an option for you. https://www.caymansafari.com/cayman-adventures