barb-ottawa

11 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

Whole slew of AMR ambulances waiting inside the drive between terminals 19 and 26, along with their BSO escorts

According to the WSVN Live News, these ambulances were arranged and paid for by Holland America.

Now it says 16:00 and 16:30 and still scheduled, not confirmed.

Celebrity cancelled my March 23rd cruise on March 14th and I asked for a full refund. My onboard purchase was refunded to my credit card within a week. On March 24th, I received an email with a revised invoice showing that a refund of my cruise fare was being processed to my credit card. I expect it will take another week or so, but I am checking my credit card account every day. Will be happy once it is back in my bank account.

If you chose a non-refundable airfare when booking with Celebrity Air, you will not get a refund of your airfare.  What you will get is whatever future credit the particular airline is offering, i.e. the value of your flight to be used by a certain date - again, depending on the airline.

Just got off the phone with Johnson/Medoc (actually Global Excel) after a 2 hour hold and have confirmed with them that I am eligible to claim for the March 23rd cruise on Reflection that I am about to cancel. They have opened a claim number for me, have sent me claim documents by email and have instructed me that I need to reject Celebrity's offer of Future Cruise Credits to be eligible for full reimbursement of my cruise, flights and non-refundable hotel. They did warn that in view of the current situation, the claim may take 2-3 weeks to settle.  I'd prefer to be sailing on March 23rd, but am happy to get a full refund instead of FCCs.

4 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

As I cancelled our April cruise, this is no longer an immediate issue for us and I haven't tried contacting our insurer. Nevertheless, I'd be interested in what your insurer has to say. The exclusions with our company (see below) are geographic in nature, and there's nothing dealing with the mode of transport. Even the Canadian travel alert system is set up this way, as a result of which government sites are talking about "recommendations" with respect to COVID-19, not travel advisories or formal notice.

 

Any illness, injury or medical condition you suffer or contract, or

any loss you incur in a specific country, region or area for which

the Government of Canada, including Foreign Affairs, Trade and

Development Canada, has issued a travel advisory or formal

notice, before your day of departure advising travellers to avoid

non-essential travel or to avoid all travel to that specific country,

region or area. If the travel advisory or formal notice is issued

after your day of departure, your coverage under this policy in

that specific country, region or area will be limited to a period of

10 days from the date the travel advisory or formal notice was

issued, or to a period that is reasonably necessary for you to safely

evacuate the country, region or area.

See above - updated my post to include the insurer's comment. Travel advisories relate to countries or regions, not mode of travel, so emergency medical coverage would not be affected if one decided to cruise anyway. But who knows if this might change.

Yes, I have been on hold for 40 minutes now with my insurer. My concern is that because the government has issued an advisory against cruising, that insurers will not cover emergency medical expenses if one cruises anyway and gets sick.

UPDATE:  Insurer says that travel advisories related to coverage apply only to countries or regions, not by mode of transportation (so far) so that emergency medical coverage would apply even if we decide to cruise (should be boarding two weeks from today). Will still probably cancel to be on the safe side.

1 minute ago, Hllb said:

The statement definitely does not say that and others have gotten the FCC for March sailings.

Just checked on the Celebrity Facebook page and it does not mention anything about sailings from April 1st so I am relieved and will most likely cancel as both my husband and I have underlying conditions that make us vulnerable. Better safe than sorry.

1 minute ago, Hllb said:

As far as I know, it would include everyone who is leaving at least 48 hours from now.

A poster above says they spoke to Celebrity today and they said it applies to sailings from April 1st to July 31st. I hope not !

Where does the April 1st date apply? According to the RCCL Group notice, it says all cruises sailing before July 31, 2020 are eligible for the FCC refund. We are sailing on March 23rd and we planning to take advantage of this offer. I would be really annoyed if we are not able to.

We had a VH category balcony room - 4066 - on the Koningsdam in January and had to be moved to another room because the noise from BB Kings was too disturbing. Note that BB Kings is 2 levels and we were right above them - did not notice that when we booked.

We have never had an issue booking the Pinnacle while onboard. Also, we have booked online prior to a cruise and were able to change the booking to another day while onboard with no problem as to availability.

Frankly, I wish all cruiselines dealt with food in the buffet like Holland America does. Most of the food items are only handled by servers, not by guests. If you feel like they didn't give you enough, you can always ask for more or go back for seconds. 

We were in 4066 on the Koningsdam and asked to be moved. The music from BB King's was very loud and disturbing. The first night it was only until 11:30 which we could tolerate. The next night it was well past midnight when I finally called Guest Relations. We were fortunate that we were able to change rooms the next day. I am usually very careful about where I book rooms but did not take into account that BB King's was 2 levels. In future, I will avoid anything on Deck 4 in the 40** range.

We were in 8092 on the Oosterdam a couple of weeks ago. Normally I do not book anything under the Lido deck, but it was a free upgrade to a Signature Suite. We did hear some noise, like tables being dragged, but it was only occasionally and wasn't bad enough that I regretted taking the upgrade. Would not hesitate to book there again.

That link goes to all listings, not just the Thanksgiving specials. You have to go on the main page and click on Thanksgiving specials - it only covers sailings that depart or arrive from Canadian ports, so no Caribbean cruises unless you're sailing from Vancouver.

On 10/11/2019 at 4:18 PM, fatcat04 said:

The late night buffet seems to generally be open 10:30-11:30 and I think is more comfort food plus a themed area. Think finger food, snacks, and a cuisine theme station.

 

NS will also have the NY Pizza and Deli available. I haven't been on NS yet but I know on NA the NY Pizza was open until 11:30. Nice to get your own personal fresh made pizza.

 

And yes room service is really good. The chocolate cake and chocolate chip cookies with a tall glass of milk are a late night fav for us. Dive In is 24 hrs and is great. It costs a bit but the burgers and fries (with dive in sauce) are so good. Late night movies on the interactive tvs and room service are a real treat. Just make sure to call them to pick up your tray when you are done. Don't place it in the hallway as it is a safety hazard. Have a great cruise!!

 I don't recall the Dive-In charging extra for their burgers and fries?? 

Have used my PCC for the last 4 cruises and found him to be helpful and pleasant to deal with. However, when it comes down to doing anything for me as to price reductions, etc. all I get is you shouldn't have booked the restricted fare - can't do anything for you. Got an upsell email from HAL for my October 20th sailing to Hawaii and when I checked the current prices to see if it was a good deal, I was shocked to see how much the prices had fallen. I was very annoyed that they were asking for an additional CDN$600 per person for an upgrade from a balcony to a Signature Suite when the current price was only CDN$70 more than I paid. Contacted my PCC and got the usual sorry, restricted fare, blah blah, call this number and see what they can do for you. So I called the number, was transferred to a pricing specialist and got the upgrade for no additional cost. I'm pleased with the outcome, but isn't this what the PCC is supposed to do for me?

I am booked in a Signature Suite on the Oosterdam. Can someone tell me if there is a power outlet on the nightstands? Need one for a CPAP or will have to call for an extension cord. Thanks.

Good luck trying to find a shady place to look out onto the ocean on the Koningsdam. That was our biggest disappointment with this ship. Our usual spot during the day is on a lounge chair on the Promenade deck looking out over the ocean. The Koningsdam has no lounge chairs on the narrow Promenade deck which forced everyone upstairs to the Lido deck around both pools which were hot, stuffy and noisy. We will sail on her again, but will have to spend the extra for a balcony cabin. 

We always choose anytime dining and show up at the MDR and ask for a table for 2. Have never had to wait more than a few minutes.

Haven't received a casino offer lately either. Have been watching the mail hoping for some specials in the winter. Surprised that I haven't seen anything for awhile. Do you know if they are stopping them or cutting down?

Had it twice on the Koningsdam last month. It was excellent.

I guess I am fortunate that I've never had my dinner spoiled by someone's outfit.

We always prepurchase beverage cards - much easer, less clutter on the final bill. On the Koningsdam last month, we were not given a receipt with the balance, just told by the staff what our balance was when handed back the card.