Fred&Lily

Divina, Armonia and Seashore. 

It's always better to be roughly right than precisely wrong.

Robert Q is far too expensive and they don't have enough shuttles going to Detroit (DTW) or to Toronto (YYZ) and I did once miss a flight because the Robert Q got stuck on 401 near Waterloo - not their fault. Now I always drive and park at the airport which means Terminal 3 parking at Toronto and Big Blue Deck at Detroit. We've done over 20 cruises and the non-stop flights to all Florida airports from DTW are plentiful and always half the price of Air Canada and WestJet. I watch Spirit schedules from DTW for their $35 midweek flights to Fort Myers and Fort Lauderdale just to go and play golf.

On 9/2/2023 at 4:33 PM, rodndonna said:

Looking at options other than driving to and parking at Pearson in winter (uuggh) and have come across ONEXBus https://onexbus.com/

The OneXbus picks up at the Flying J (Highbury and 401) So you still need somebody to drive you there and then pick you up when you get back.

One more: Look at the crazy cheap flights from DTW to MCO and other FL airports on Frontier Airlines!!!

I was waiting to board a WestJet flight back to YYZ last February in Barbados when I saw a Porter Embraer E195 come in from Brazil on it's way up to Canada. Nice looking plane.

Need recommendation for a later shuttle between PC disembarking MSC Seashore and arriving at MCO airport. Flight leaves at 5:30 pm and I'm wondering about very short 2-3 hour tour for 4 passengers along with luggage so don't have to wait at the airport all afternoon.

9 minutes ago, resetjet said:

I cant say i ever saw an on duty crew member on a phone…..thats nuts. The entertainment on small ships is usually not that good.

Royal's daily Cruise Compass was on the Royal App. and you only got it on paper by special request.  The bar drink prices and selection where all on the App along with the safety drills, the event locations and times. Every crew member carried a phone - this is just last week on the Rhapsody of the Seas. 

Every waiter in every bar was incredulous that I didn't have a cell phone.

We're just back from an 11 day Caribbean cruise Friday 17th. and were never asked for proof of Vax at any time. Not at YYZ and not on the ship and not on any of the islands we visited. 

On 2/5/2023 at 3:34 PM, Momto3girlsintheCarolinas said:

Hubby and I have always loved Royal.  It was perfect for us.  Just like other cruise lines, they seem to be cutting corners all over and lowering the quality of food.  It has hubby and I considering changing to another more expensive (or less expensive) line to get more value and a better experience?

 

The MDR menu changes really have me concerned.  

 

Anyone else?

Corners are being cut everywhere.  Airlines, hotels and food services. It's sort of like complaining about the weather. There are deals out there if you don't mind going on the less expensive trips and getting the Surprise Surprise mystery experiences! 

I just got off an 11 day Rhapsody of the Seas itinerary in Barbados last Thursday. It had twice a day room service. The majority of passengers were Brits who are not usually tippers and I, a Canadian, did something I've never done before. I tipped the room steward in Canadian dollars because I was running short on US dollars. The onboard gratuities of $16 per day per passenger x 11 days plus 18% on our bar bill and excursions seems to be built-in and expected and I don't begrudge a thing.

Here is what I do begrudge: The entertainment onboard was minimal and I think I know why. Everybody on the ship, including all the staffing and crew where glued to their cell phones everywhere for the whole 11 days. In the theatre, the lounges and bars and the Windjammer restaurant... nothing but clicking their Apps and texting. !!!

My original post was glib and I wasn't thinking about anything requiring immediate surgery or going into an ICU.  My experience was just a severe feeling of illness. I flew very quickly back to YYZ and went straight to my doctor. The diagnosis was viral meningitis which without any insurance would have cost me a small out of pocket fortune.  

So what I was saying is if you have to get home really quickly call up a charter business jet which is much much less than a medivac trip with EMS and /or nurse aboard.

12 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

Not to mention disgusting.  “Medicare” doesn’t pay for it.  The American taxpayer does.

The Canadian taxpayer pays here....

If you are reasonably healthy and take no medications then consider travel with no insurance at all. From most of the USA or Caribbean you can call up a NetJet or FlexJet or AirSprint and they'll come and get you within about 2 hours. For 10 grand or less you can be back in Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal before the end of the day. 

Here is another Pro-Tip:  Go to Emergency at the best hospital, take no ID whatsoever and just play dumb.  Medicare pays the whole bill if you are an undocumented alien. A hockey buddy told me it worked for him in Texas and another friend walked away from a US $20,000 bill or an overnight stay in a Florida hospital. The debt collectors can't touch you in Canada for medical bills.

Yeah, always check the internet for US holidays. Cruising on a ship that is hosting Quinceanera 16th birthday / debutant bashes is just bad luck. 

Stay home on US Thanksgiving and watch the football.

Most of the 20 odd cruises we've done started on a Full Moon.  Just to make it a little bit special for the Babe!  I'm not kidding, our next up starts on Feb 5th, 2023 which is a Full Moon. 

Several times crossing from Windsor to Detroit,  US Border Security has asked me, in addition to our passports and cruise itinerary, is how much money we are carrying.

Who do you suppose they tip-off with that information?

Rhapsody of the Seas out of Barbados on February 5, 2023. It's an older smaller ship and doesn't seem to be fully booked yet. 

Carlisle Bay is the best option any day of the year.  Come out of the terminal and ignore all the tour offers. Walk a few hundred yards north, turn right - to the east and cross a bridge. Keep heading east until you see Lobster Alive ads and lots of white sand, cut through anywhere to the beach.

If you're lucky, you'll see a blue and white hobby cat and a fellow named Peter looking to take people for a short sail about. Peter does harvest work in Canada most years (just tell him you're a Canadian) so he's very agreeable to negotiating special sail out to the turtles or to go snorkeling.  He usually has a net bag for your personal stuff which he ties to the mast to keep it all dry.

We always fly in a day or two ahead and it doesn't matter which port you're cruising out of because a good rule of thumb is to use Miami airport if flying on A/A and use FLL if the flight is on Spirit.

We've taken 20 cruises and don't have cell phones or Uber account so we've learned to find the shuttle pickup areas.  Also all the hotels between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale (Hollywood Beach is a very nice area to stay) can arrange from the front desk for transportation to either cruise port. 

Many of the taxi drivers in Broward and Dade Counties are Haitian and as a Canadian I like riding in their cabs and talking politics in French.

Totally agree. Cost of flights are way up.  Yesterday booked YYZ to Barbados and return at lowest cost econo which was way over $1,000 p/p return. Ironically the airline kept popping up notices to act quickly because there were only two seats left at this price. I sign in and get two seats and find during the seat selection process that every seat from row 12 right to the back of the plane is available.

We're in same position as the OP with our last cruise in January 2020. The one big difference is we are not vaxxed and just waiting for news that all restrictions are over.  

We have cruised out of San Juan eight times since 1999. We drive from London Ont. down to Detroit and usually take the very cheapest Spirit flight with connections at FLL or MIA with never more than an hour layover.  On the right day of the week you can get a $99 fare DTW to SJU on Spirit.

From Vancouver the best route would be YVR to YYZ and then YYZ to SJU. Both Westjet and Air Canada do that route.

Have successfully survived four separate flights on the 737 Max 8 on A/A out of DTW. No crashes and no drama. (Yet)

1 - Alaska

2 - Mediterranean

3 - Southern Caribbean

Took 20 cruises to figure this out.

There was a story in the papers a few years back about a doctor in Atlanta who couldn't attend his mother's funeral in Toronto because he didn't have a passport. This and many other examples we hear about speaks to the issue of American exceptionalism.  I'm not trying to be rude or troll you but please take all the advice you can from Cruise Critic Forums.  From any country in the world except Canada and Mexico you need a passport and an ESTA document or a Visa. 

I'm required to show a passport every time I scoot across the bridge at Winsor/Detroit.  US Customs and Border Protection have been getting pretty thorough over the past few years. They want to see cruise documents, airline tickets and return tickets too and now always the "How much cash are you carrying?" question. 

Really, everybody should carry a valid passport if they intend to step foot outside of the US.

9 hours ago, alc13 said:

Yes.  Unknown (by me, anyway) is the profit/loss situation for each of the Carnival brands.  I tried looking in the annual report but it only showed financials for the parent corporation.  Precarious brands will be vulnerable if and when the parent corporation starts to rebuild.

 Look up Micky Arison or his sister Shari Arison.