dolfan1980

Rerun european soccer games mostly, some NFL games, but the North American sports offerings generally pathetic sadly.  I was on board when the SEC championship game was on last year and it was not shown.

There isn't one for December 5th NoS that I could find.  

1 hour ago, ONECRUISER said:

Also it's never been on all Cruises, not usually over Spring/Summer Vacation periods, Holidays etc. Then still have to pay Port Taxes for Kids. Also Cabins holding 3-4 passengers lot times are more expensive for passenger 1-2 then a Cabin holds only 2 Max. Most this for OP

For sure I agree completely, though I have been able to at least search which sailings it applied to rather than having to randomly look at every cruise.

19 minutes ago, MightyMike said:

To me it seems like a lot of times the total price ends up about the same regardless of the promotion. It is almost as if they change the base price and other rules so that the final price after promotions are applied doesn't vary as much as one might think.

Maybe that is the case now, but there have been times when I have found real gems.  In March 2019 we got a cabin for 5 ppl on the Jewel for $2200 all in Canadian for a 7 day southern Caribbean out of San Juan.  That's my best deal I've had to date.  I'm just struggling to search it now.

35 minutes ago, geneticsguy said:

Isn't it basically any cruise?

 

Also, the fine print is that it has to be the 3rd+ person in a stateroom. If it is just you and a kid in 1 room, then you don't get a kid free. If it is 2 adults and 1 kid, then you get the kid free. If you have multiple staterooms, the same applies. Only the 3rd+. As such, the best deal for say a family of 5, is one of the very few 5 person staterooms.

I am not sure if it is still like this, but when I booked my October cruise a few months ago with the "Kids sail free" option, it was a bit limited.

I don't think it is all cruises, at least I see 30% off option only on the ones I've looked at so far, but not third person free.  I used to be able to see all the ones where kids sail free, but doesn't seem to be an option anymore.

I did a search which seemed to come up empty, but wondering if there is a way to search Kids Sail Free sailings?  I used to find a link in the deals section of the RCCL site, but it seems I can't easily search them any more.  Any tips?

I knew the information would be here or at least a discussion.  Following as we were looking at booking Epic for mid-January and see it's not there.  It does still show up on other sites for booking, though not sure if it would glitch part way through.

40 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Can someone clearly explain to me this New Speed Regulation is?  and what effect it has on some ships and not on others? I thought all their cruise ships can travel at pretty close to all the same speeds?

Especially the Voyager and Adventure switch, no idea how that can be about speed.

Perhaps an IT issue or perhaps a charter, repositioning or dry dock.  

3 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

I've never heard of that - maybe specific to NCL? We have always had port charges refunded if we missed a port - usually as a deduction from the onboard account but definitely as a refundable credit. I think they can't legally charge you for something that they don't provide, right? The charge depends on the port - I'm sure Victoria is up there seeing as us Canadians love to collect our fees. Lol. For me, it would be times three as I paid for myself and two kids, so it would be nice to get it back!

I asked on the last night, they said because we were already in the harbour that we don't get a refund...I had never heard of this before, but the only missed port I've had before was GSC where there's no pilot involved.  

I also have not gotten a final invoice and it also wasn't available on the app the morning of disembarkation either, so I too forgot to take a screenshot the night before.

Is it just me or is information slow and time to disembark at ports extra long on this sailing?  We were tying to the dock at 5:15 this evening and still sitting here at 6:33 and they finally gave the first announcement of “not yet”.  Same thing in San Francisco.  
 

In fairness to the Captain, his daily announcements have been amongst the most informative I have ever heard.

I need to learn to read, disregard.

It was the last time I had it on Joy in Dec.

Yup, in fact as I recall NCL was the leader in this and Royal now uses the same company for theirs.

Lots of stories on here if you read down the threads.  Basically you can expect to be quarantined to your cabin along with everyone else in your room, with no ability to leave for any reason.  They'll deliver food to you and then there seem to be mixed reviews/results about how people have been moved to quarantine hotels once back in port.  I believe the latest comments I have seen suggested a refund in FCC of the balance of the cruise from the time of the positive test, however earlier on I had heard of folks getting full FCC for the full sailing.

16 hours ago, broberts said:

 

What would you consider authoritative if not the cruise line and government authority?

 

https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/marine-safety/ship-safety-bulletins/measures-support-safe-cruise-travel-canada-ssb-no-18-2021-modified-april-1-2022 says test within 2 days of embarkation.

 

If cruise line has a shorter test period that would apply to board one of its ships.

 

As of April 1, 2022 tests are not required for fully vaccinated travelers entering Canada. Tests are required for unvaccinated travellers with right of entry. https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada

 

Of course in this document from NCL still on their site today says guests will be tested at NCL expense as well.  So there remains no 100% clear response.

16 hours ago, broberts said:

 

What would you consider authoritative if not the cruise line and government authority?

 

https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/marine-safety/ship-safety-bulletins/measures-support-safe-cruise-travel-canada-ssb-no-18-2021-modified-april-1-2022 says test within 2 days of embarkation.

 

If cruise line has a shorter test period that would apply to board one of its ships.

 

As of April 1, 2022 tests are not required for fully vaccinated travelers entering Canada. Tests are required for unvaccinated travellers with right of entry. https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada

 

It's been updated from a version in late March I saw with the Minister's announcement (which had not yet been taken down and I won't repost since it's older).  This is clear that the 2 days before is enough, though the TC direction of course doesn't speak to ArriveCan which is also required as you've correctly posted.  Seems I just need to get through a test for my flight and cruise departure, covid seems to be closing in on those of us in Ontario right now, everyone I know including both sides of my family have it.  

Has anyone found from an authoritative source yet how this is going to work?  I'm on the NCL Bliss next weekend and it remains unclear what the rules are/will be.  I am understanding three possible scenarios:

1. Test up to two days before the cruise and that's it;

2. Test up to two days before the cruise and re-test before we arrive in Victoria or Vancouver;

3. Test within one day of embarkation.

In all scenarios I understand that ArriveCan needs to be done prior to embarkation.  

NCL website seems to suggestion option 1 or 2 above, but Government of Canada rules seem to suggest 3 is the rule. 

Vancouver has a lot of taxis since Uber really has just started there, far later than everywhere else in Canada. A 15-20% tip is customary and yes all taxis in Vancouver will take credit.

It's been almost the same sale since last summer renewed/rebranded.  I wouldn't expect much new.

1 hour ago, 4 cruisers said:

What made you say that?

Cruises blanked out as sold out for an extended period usually means one of a few things:

- computer glitch

- private charters

- itinerary changes

- dry dock

- covid cancellations

- ship sold

- who knows what else

It's very unlikely every sailing was suddenly sold out.

I used the disclaimer that I was simply adding to the pure speculation and knew nothing.

To fuel the speculation, have they sold the ship?  lol.  I have no clue, but usually this means cancellations.

I love to drive to the US (am Ottawa based), but for what the parking would be in NYC plus tolls in/out of the city, I suspect flying saves 16 hours plus the hassle.  The bus is I'm sure a decent option if you're going far enough in advance to deal with a cancellation for a day if needed.  If driving, consider parking in NJ somewhere and taking a train into Manhattan.  The tolls the last time I drove into the city were about $40 return just to get from the I95 into NY and back out, that's without parking. 

Here's a suggestion, take the bus there and fly home, then you don't need to face the prospect of a 10 hour bus ride after the relaxing cruise.

7 hours ago, broberts said:

Too bad one cannot use the Travel Smart app to register.

 

I noticed in the FAQ details for cruise ship passengers. While I've known about registration while abroad, I've always thought cruise travel was too short a duration to bother.

 

I've used it for overseas trips to second/third world countries, but never bother for US or north american cruises.  Guess you can run into trouble anywhere and need consular assistance.

Yes, can use one, only can use two if a promotion.  I booked the Bliss for April 17th just a few weeks ago and was able to use one.  I also priced the Epic repositioning this weekend which is super cheap right now and when I priced it out last night it allowed me to use one for a sailing in three days.

On 3/23/2022 at 1:39 AM, dog said:

What about seafood near the cruise terminal? Any restaurant recommendations?

Joe Fortes is my go-to for seafood in Vancouver, Social is also a nice spot.  Both are walkable from the Cruise Terminal, though not super close.