WEGL81

On 4/4/2024 at 1:14 AM, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

If you only have one day, I would suggest their tour #2 Small Group Shore Excursion # 2 Fire Crater Lake & Sete Cidades Crater Lake.  That gives you the best parts of both north and south.  It's only 6 hours, so you will still have some time afterward to walk around Ponta Delgada, which is plenty.

 

 

 

Thanks for this recommendation. I have been trying to find an excursion that goes to these locations, but our Celebrity Equinox TA is currently not showing any excursions at all on our stop in Ponta Delgada. I found multiple tours from Viator, etc., but they all leave too early or too late for our ship (10:00 AM - 7:00 PM in port).

On 2/25/2024 at 7:34 PM, mthomp5 said:

I tried to use SMART for a booking for a Sept 2025 cruise but reservation system wouldn't take it. So, I think my booking is too far out yet to use that promo code. But it was interesting to see that I could book out that far! I guess I'll wait for another promo code closer.

 

Also, it was interesting that I could book at H10 Metropolitan without having to pay now if I booked 9/11/2025 - 9/13/2025 (e.g. free cancellation) but if I booked 9/18/2025 - 9/20/2025, it required payment up front (allowed one change). Also, 9/25/2025 - 9/27/2025 did not require payment upfront (free cancellation).

 

I looked at booking at H10 Cataluyna and I'm able to book for the dates I want 9/18/2025 - 9/20/2025 with free cancellation so I think i will just book there.

I was able to book the H10 Catalunya Plaça using code "SPRINGSALE" for 5/3-10/2025 for a 5% discount.  SMART did not work.  The H10 ad says "Up to 15% off" with this code, but I suspect the 15% is for the most expensive rooms.  I booked the least expensive for 5% (plus the 5% club discount).  At any rate, it's pay at the hotel so no risk if I find a better hotel/rate.

On 1/19/2024 at 1:50 PM, Andura said:

Hello, today I have a question about cruising in South America. 
My husband and I thought about taking a Cruise with the HAL Oosterdam from Chile around Cap Hoorn to Buenos Aires. 
Right now we are on the Rotterdaam sailing towards the Panama Canal. 
Now we saw that Celibrity Cruises will have sailings with the Equinox in 2025 and 2026 from Buenos Aires to Punta Arenas and back to Buenos Aires. 
Since it is a long way in Chile from Santiago to the Port we where wondering if that might be a better option. Or would we miss out a lot by not seeing the way from Santiago de Chile to Puntas Arenas? 
Any advice and suggestions would be highly appriciated. 
 

 

I looked at these two cruises as well and decided on Celebrity primarily because the cost was much higher on HAL. Then again, I am Elite on Celebrity and never cruised HAL, so that could have had an impact as well 🙂

On 1/20/2024 at 9:26 PM, Dancing Shoes said:

Celebrity isn't sailing 2025 to Antarctica.  Equinox is sailing January 2026.  We are on their January 17th cruise.  I looked at HAL but didn't want that long of an itinerary.  Antarctica is the main reason for us.  

If you like HAL, you will enjoy Celebrity.  We were on the Rotterdam last year.

Come join the roll call for Equinox 1/17/26.  It is located here: Celebrity Equinox Jan-17-26 Roll call

Viator is owned by TripAdvisor.  I have probably booked with them for 30-40 excursions, all of which have worked out perfectly.  It's important that you use their website or app, though, and link it to your email. That is how they communicate.  Viator also has a lot of "Reserve Now, Pay Later" options that eliminates the risk of not getting refunds when you cancel (which also has to be done at least 24 hours before the scheduled tour).  Your cc does not get charged until 24 hours before the tour, so cancelling is always hassle-free.  I have had several cases where the tour operator communicated an issue to me through Viator which resulted in me cancelling the tour.

We are going on our first Seashore cruise Jan 21.  We are in an aft Aurea suite.  I am hoping the aft elevators are less crowded as I have read the "smart" elevators are a nightmare and many people get frustrated and end up taking the stairs (which my DW cannot do).

It took us several months to get a status match.  We had to email the Voyagers Club with "proof" of our status we wanted matched. There always seemed to be something "missing" that caused them to decline our match. I finally got everything they wanted and they matched our status (though they input the wrong VC number on my account and so I cannot book online).  Anyway, don't assume this will be an easy task.

It took me several months of back and forth to get a status match. There was always something missing in my "proof" of status from another line. You have to get this done first before trying to book, even through a TA.  Good luck.

Eventually, your online account will become corrupt and you will have to call them. Both my and my wife's accounts are corrupt.  Mine has the wrong Voyager's Club number and so while it looks like I can book, it errors out when getting to the last step.  My wife's account says she is on the wrong country site.  We've had these problems for months with no help from MSC technical people (basically they just say email MSC Voyager's club).  SO my conclusion is that eventually everyone's account will become corrupts since there seems to be no attempts to resolve any technical issues.  MSC website is the worst in the cruise business.

I am having the same issue with my wife's account. I called Voyager's Club today and was told to wait a few days, that there was a known issue with the website impacting some users.  Don't know if this is true or just something they tell you to get you to go away.  I did mix booking the cruise on the website and adding specialty dining via the app, so that might be the issue. I have no problems with my account.  Fortunately, she can still log in using the booking number of our next cruise.

For anyone following this thread, the NZeTA app issues seem to be resolved.  I have no issue accessing the app (no more network error).  Hopefully it is not just me.

6 hours ago, possum52 said:

Which app are you referring to? NZ or Australian?

NZ.  The Australia app works fine.

12 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

Yes, we will use the printed out email as we do not have anything else to show approval.  Are we supposed to have something on the app?

Not that I know of.  The visa is associated to your passport anyway, so they can check that even if you don't have the paperwork approval.

20 hours ago, Jean C said:

Hi, I downloaded the Google Play app and started the nzeta application process and it seems to be working okay for me (I didn't go too far into it).

 

Relevant links are:

 

For information:

 

https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa/tools-and-information/general-information/visa-waiver-countries

 

The official nzeta app link:

 

https://nzeta.immigration.govt.nz/

 

If you still have problems, why not apply on line as the cost difference is negligible?

Well, thanks for the advice but I wasn't looking to apply since I already did that on the app months ago and was approved.  I was just bothered by the fact that the app doesn't work on my iPhone anymore.  Googleplay is used for Android devices.  I will be using the printout from the email approval I received when I cruise to NZ.

I was speaking strictly on the NZeta visa needed for arriving cruise ship passengers (from the US which is a visa free country for NZ).  Post 4 (and I assume post 8 ) are referring to entering via plane.  Is the NZeTa app being replaced?  Because it basically stopped working for me altogether.

3 hours ago, capriccio said:

I tried for 2 weeks starting around Christmas and the App never worked so I applied on line.  Worked like a charm (for a few dollars more IIRC).

I was able to apply on the app and get approved a couple months ago.  For the last couple weeks, just get the constant error.  Fortunately, I have the email approvals that I will print out and bring with me.  For all the technology in the world, paper is still winning. 😆

I have been getting this error on the NZeTa app on my iphone for several weeks now.  Does everyone have this issue and if so, does anyone know if anything can be done to fix this "Experiencing Network Issues"?  I tried deleting the app and reinstalling the latest from the app store.  I don't need to apply as I was able to do this on the app in November.  I don't think I have a problem since I have the email approvals with the E numbers on them.  It just bugs me that this app doesn't work at all after having no issues with it.

On 7/31/2022 at 10:10 AM, SargassoPirate said:

Did I say I was advocating we all just spread it around?  No.  But since you seem to miss my point, I'll restate it:

 

"If others are concerned about someone else spreading covid to them, they should be wearing an N95 from the moment they step outside their home regardless of their vaccination status.  And if they are unvaxxed, I'd say they are not too concerned.

 

The virus is here to stay.  The vaccines and therapeutics are working and I place my trust in them to keep me safe, not other people."

 

What will you advocate during the annual flu season?  Will it be that we all wear a mask so that we don't " just spread it around in the hope that those who think they might be vulnerable take precautions?"

 

I am vaxxed and double boosted and wear a mask when required.  I do not, however, feel compelled to wear a mask in the virtue signaling guise of protecting others.  Let them wear a mask to protect themselves.

 

Not to belabor the point (which I guess I am doing anyway), but the mask I wear is to protect others, not myself.  Masks provide very little, if any protection, to the wearer.  However, I would rather someone sneeze into the inside of their own mask than on the outside of mine, which won't help me much at all.  People seem to miss that point.  There is plenty of anecdotal evidence from people who wore masks constantly on a ship yet still caught covid (and the same will happen with the flu, norovirus, etc.).  The best defense is just personal diligence in hand washing (this goes the same for flu and norovirus).  But, as a secondary risk reducer I wear a mask and stay away from those who choose not to wear one. Having just returned from a month long train and cruise vacation without catching covid (or anything else),  I can attest to my methods being effective for me.  

Having said all that, I will maintain that my biggest worry with cruising is not catching covid, but in failing the covid test.  And so I take those precautions because I had to take a test in the middle of my month long vacation to get on a cruise ship.  And I have to take another test in a week and a half to get on another ship.  And halfway thru that cruise I have to take another test to be able to get off the ship in Bermuda.

2 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

To be honest with you, I don't worry about other people's vaccination status and whether they may be vulnerable.  If I were, I'd be wearing a mask the rest of my life because the covid virus is here to stay.  It will never be eradicated.  My intention is to stay vaccinated and boosted.

 

Here is some information from the CDC regarding so-called breakthrough transmissions.  Notice which groups caused the spikes.  

 

CDC COVID Data Tracker: Rates of COVID-19 Cases and Deaths by Vaccination Status

I agree with this.  However, what I am worried about is passing a Covid test in order to be able to board a cruise ship.  For this reason alone I am wearing a mask until I pass that test.  Another reason to scrap the test since people are getting it on cruise ships anyway (and everywhere else) and not having any serious issues.

13 hours ago, wblotner66 said:

I think it may depend on how many ships in port. Majestic skipped Skagway this week and their day has 4 ships.

Skagway only has 3 docks with space for 4 ships max.  Yesterday, Royal docked when there were 3 other ships in port (4 total, same as the day before when Majestic skipped). 

Question regarding uploaded vax card photo to Medallion app.  I have been checked in to my upcoming in July Majestic Princess ship for more than a month now.  I uploaded a photo of my vax card at the time.  It still shows as "Pending Approval" more than a month later.  Is this something I should be concerned about?  Or is it just a quirk of the system?  I realize it probably doesn't make a difference since I will have to produce the card at boarding anyway, but I am always on the lookout for "gotchas" that could cause a holdup.  As a comparison, I uploaded the same picture to the Delta FlyReady system and it was verified in less than an hour.  TIA.

Ok I will try my question here.  I posted a separate thread but my post was deleted with no explanation.  I am guessing because it was Covid testing related it should have been posted here instead.

Can anyone confirm that, for a B2B Vancouver-Whittier-Vancouver, that a Covid test DOES NOT need to be done for the return leg?  I realize that if the B2B is Whittier-Vancouver-Whitter it does have to be done because of Canadian regulations.  But I have read in a couple posts that it does not have to be done in Whittier.  TIA

I read a couple threads of people going B2B SB from Whittier then on the NB return leg from Vancouver having to do an onboard Covid test.  Someone on that thread indicated it was because of Canadian regulations requiring a pre-cruise Covid test on cruises leaving Canada.  Another person in the same thread indicated that they were not tested on their NB/SB B2B because the US did not require this.  We are leaving on a Majestic NB/SB B2B in a month.  Can someone confirm that NB/SB B2B cruises do not require Covid test on the return leg?  I cannot find anything on the Princess website and I'm afraid calling Princess would just lead to more confusion. TIA.

Problem has been resolved and I am writing this down for anyone else that might have the issue.  It is working fine today.  Racephoto above hinted at the solution.  The problem is I was trying to log into the website on the same day I registered.  I needed to wait one day and all is well.

Apparently I wasn’t clear that I registered on the website and booked my own cruise. On my pc I cleared all cache and cookies but still have the issue. Plus the problem happened the first time I logged into the site on my phone. I am able to manage my cruise via logging in with the booking number, so I guess that will have to do. Not impressed with MSC website. Signing in incognito does not fix the issue.