dolfan1980

January 13, 2021

4 hours ago, RunBikeCruiseDC said:

I didn't realize it was that strict. We purposely booked when we did due to the 15 day cancellation thru Oct 31 with hopes that we can get vaccinated before then. We used cruise next voucher for our deposit. If things stay as is, we will cancel if we don't get vaccinated by mid-August. I would have loved to book the cruise to the Canary Islands from Lisbon in November for my birthday as that's one of my dream cruises but too many variables with flights to Europe.

As it stands, we are under the strictest measures now that we've had since the start of this whole thing. While hopefully at lot might change over the summer as vaccines roll out, as of now in terms of vaccination efforts, we are actually behind the US as far as I know. As of yesterday, 1% of the population has received one dose, with still plans to have everyone done who wants one by September, but who knows if they will meet that target. I think if someone was planning to visit Canada by late fall I would say there's a 50/50 chance the borders will be open, perhaps with rapid testing requirements of some kind in place by then (rapid tests are not valid for entry to Canada at the moment even for Canadian citizens flying in). I think the chances cruises will be allowed is slim, especially given that cruise season here is typically in high season in summer/early fall, I suspect a full cancellation of the season is most likely unfortunately. Eastern Canada has the tightest entry requirements of everyone, I cannot visit that region as a Canadian right now and almost all domestic flights are even canceled.

January 13, 2021

Not to be a downer, but I'll be very surprised if any cruise is allowed to call to port in Canada this calendar year. We are notorious for being risk-averse to things. I'm optimistic I'll be able to take a transatlantic flight in November without a 14 day quarantine period, but even that is going to be cutting it close. As of now, all of Atlantic Canada is under a tight lock-down which prevents Canadians from even travelling domestically to those places and it has been that way for 9 months now. I think summer 2022 is the likely resumption of Alaska and Atlantic Canada cruises.

May 5, 2020

Certainly wouldn't be spending any money with them until there is come certainty around this. During normal times I would say that they would restructure or be acquired by someone else, but the possibility of a bankruptcy and any credits or cash being lost to creditors is certainly a risk, though I wouldn't run for the hills yet, I just wouldn't be making any bookings.

November 9, 2019

This is great, we sail next Saturday.

November 5, 2019

I’ll add another voice to those who have suggested saving your money and to download enough to get you through. I have typically found the internet to be frustrating slow to load webpages, sports scores, etc. Any kind of streaming I suspect would be a huge frustration more than a pleasure, especially if that was your main reason to pay for the upgraded internet plan.

A suggestion if you do want to go ahead is to try it using your 100 mins first, then purchase only if it works.

November 1, 2019

21 minutes ago, macandlucy said:

We are looking at doing a SA cruise with Santiago, Chile as a departure port. NCL hasn't said anything about the unrest there yet, and I understand they may be talking a wait and see approach (which is fine). If I pay for it in full, and they decide to cancel the entire cruise (not change the itinerary, outright cancel) after final payment has been made, would they refund the full cruise fare?

The obvious answer seems yes, since I paid for something and am not getting it. But when I look at the cruise contract it doesn't exactly say that. (It does say they will refund your money if they cancel it for a charter, but not in the case of civil unrest that would cause them to cancel).

Has anyone had any experience with the cruiseline cancelling a cruise after final payment? Or any knowledge of it?

You should be offered to either transfer it to another sailing or take a refund. That said, I'd be very surprised if this gets canceled. While you may feel unsafe going and the government might have a travel advisory, I would think it will need to get pretty bad before they cancel.

October 31, 2019

As an update, I upped our balcony bid from very cheap inside for the Nov 16th Sky sailing to $135 (Canadian) yesterday and it was accepted this morning 17 days till sailing. Before taxes and fees we ended up paying $268/person grand total for a balcony, very pleased with this. The cruise itinerary also changed significantly and have different port days every day with no sea day compared to twice at the private island and a sea day previously. Quite happy.

October 31, 2019

Trying to decide if I should up my bid or not. Does anyone know if they accept all bids if space permits or is the formula based on some revenue management approach like airlines (eg they’d rather have business class go empty than to have it be too cheapened and prevent losing future sales)?

The reason I ask is we are on the 12/16 sailing of Sky and it seems this isn’t likely to be sold out, so the chances of being successful with a half decent bid I suspect are good. Unfortunately I don’t really understand their system and wondering the real chances. I’d call and pay the difference if a really poor chance, but willing to take the risk if I have a half decent chance.

Booked an ultra cheap inside, looking to upgrade to balcony.

September 17, 2018

Hello,

My husband and I are going on our first cruise next month. Just curious how strict the cruise departure times are. For example, if a cruise ship is scheduled to leave the port at 5PM, do we just need to get to the port by say 4:45PM or do we need to get there earlier? I don't mean for check-in; this is just for when to return after spending a day exploring the port of call.

I have tea reservation at the Fairmont in Quebec at 2:30PM and the ship is scheduled to leave at 5PM. I figure maybe 90 minutes to enjoy the tea, so we would be done by 4PM. It looks like the Fairmont Hotel is only 0.7 mile (1.1 km) from the port and should only take 20 minutes of walking. Does this schedule seem okay, that we would get to the port by 4:20PM for a 5PM departure? The ship is supposed to leave from Le Terminal Port of Québec, 84 Rue Dalhousie, Quebe QC Canada. Is this port pretty easy to get to from the Fairmont?

Thank you in advance!

Depends on the line, but if it's a port day then last call aboard is usually 30 mins prior to departure. If day of embarkation, I would plan to be there far earlier. Try for earlier tea!