JillK

1 hour ago, poffles said:

 

Another one that just started is the Disasters at Sea, I find this show similarly interesting to Mayday in how they trace back the cause(s) to such terrible events so that they can learn from them.

Agreed! I have been enjoying that show too.

Hubby always asks me why I want to watch those type of shows... I tell him it's not to see the disaster but rather how the investigators are able to figure out what happened and what changes came from them. 

I find it frustrating when the shows air in the US and then not here. Why are they not simulcast? 

I used to love watching the show "Mayday" (also on Discovery) and according to Wiki they have aired two full seasons in the States that they have not shown here and I cannot get any info on if they will ever air here... Especially strange since it is a Canadian series.

Although we are a year out, I went through the shore excursions currently being offered this past weekend and did write down pricing for those we may be interested in. 

A few of the options in some of the ports are at a 20% discount but for the most part, the prices have remained static or in some instances have actually gone up by an average of $5! 

Definitely need to critically look at the pricing offered. 

2 hours ago, ilovetotravel1977 said:

Yup, I have my machine set for taping...I mean recording lol

I still say taping too!

2 hours ago, cnd crsr said:

Our last cruise was on the Sky Princess (Feb to March 2020). There was a film crew from Mighty Cruise Ships on during our first week ...  will have to watch and see.

 

Ooooo wouldn't it be fun to spot yourselves in the background! 

Noticed a promo yesterday that the show "Mighty Cruise Ships" started airing its new season last week.

It runs at 10:00 pm Thursdays on Discovery. 

Have to admit I'm curious about when they would have filmed it.... assume 2019? 

I have been getting that message to when I try to access the brochure for my Vision of the Seas sailing in August 2022. 

Just tried to go on to the Royal Caribbean main site and got the "Access Denied" message so I would say chalk it up to the funky IT that seems to plague Royal.

I do hope that we hear back from the OP either way however I won't be surprised if we never hear back at all. 

I think s/he came here looking for advice and to gauge what other people would do next if they were in this situation and while they did get some of that, they faced a heck of a lot of criticism for their cabin choice, how much they elected to pay and for feeling that they were wronged. 

I think we can all agree that we expect to get what we pay for. 

Half my family is prone to seasickness so I spend quite a bit of time selecting my cabins (often two as we are a family of six). I have learnt from experience that not only do I want something mid-ship but I also like to avoid noisy areas (learnt a lesson on the Celebrity Silhouette where I was kept up every night from being right above the nightclub). As such, I am very sympathetic to the cabin switcheroo situation the OP is in.  

I have read (pre-COVID) of people being contacted and asked to move cabins, often with incentives attached (though not necessarily on NCL) and would expect that if the cruise line wants my cabin, they would contact me to work something out

2 hours ago, bluesea777 said:

Maybe the OP originally booked a studio that is a connecting one .... and NCL took it from her to give to someone else who needed it so they have 2 connecting cabins. Maybe an elderly or special needs person and a caregiver.

 

 

You bring up a good explanation as to why this may have happened.

That being said NCL should have contacted the OP and ask them to switch rather than making a cabin change without their knowledge/consent.

Hope the OP comes back and keeps us updated.... 

I'm pretty surprised by the people who are replying with unhelpful comments about this person's cabin and / or the price they paid for the cruise.

Only the person paying the bill has to decide if the price is acceptable or not. 

The issue here is not what you think of the price they paid or what you think of the cabin choice. The issue is are you ok NCL arbitrarily changing this person's booked cabin and then blaming them for not noticing the change? Would you be ok with NCL changing your cabin without telling you and telling you it's your fault? 

I don't see how it matters one bit if it's a studio cabin, outside, balcony or suite. If you have booked a cabin, it is supposed be yours for that sailing and it is unacceptable for the cruise line to change it without consulting you. 

It is further outrageous that they blamed the cruiser for not noticing the change sooner. Are you serious? I have cruises booked next year and in 2023 and I am not checking them daily for crying out loud. Completely unreasonable. 

NCL should be working with this cruiser to see how they can correct their mistake by finding them an acceptable new cabin for both cruises, offering acceptable compensation or moving the person they bumped this cruiser for so they have their original cabin back. 

A mistake was made and NCL should own it and work to resolve it. That would be good customer service. 

If a satisfactory resolution is not found, then this person should think long and hard about whether they want to keep these cruises and where they want to direct their vacation money in the future. 

Sure it's a nice treat at breakfast, especially when you're away on vacation, but I don't know why people are so upset. 

The last time I sailed with Carnival, it was inaccessible to the guest at the buffet and they had a person serving it. I had to ask her if I could have a second piece as she gave me only one.

I figured they must have been seeing such an enormous amount of it getting wasted that they felt it was worth it to put a live body there to dole it out a little less generously than perhaps people were previously filling their plates.  

On 8/16/2021 at 8:33 PM, JessyCruises said:

If you CAN say it 🤣 It is always fun to hear people try when I would have to call and speak to someone at a 1-800#, etc. They never get it right.  Almost as good as Kennebecasis 🙂 

 

Not sure when you were here last but it has grown a lot.  Quispamsis/Rothesay now has 2 McDonald's and 3 Tim's 🤣

OK I'm going totally off topic here but you guys have me really nostalgic. I spent some formative years in the early 80's living in Gondola Point and went to Rothesay Park school myself until Grade 5 when my family moved to Ottawa. Have not been back since the early 1990s and doubt I would recognize the growth.

Great news on the negative tests and thanks for posting about your trip - looking forward to cruising along with you! 

4 hours ago, jen1016_d said:

But, I thought the Canadian border is open, to the US Citizens' though.   Having it opened one way and not the other, makes no sense to me. 

It is as of early Aug - agreed that this makes no sense.... I can't fathom why we would open to them with Delta raging in their 51% fully vaccinated population while they keep the border closed to us with our 63% fully vaccinated rate. https://thepointsguy.com/guide/is-canada-open-for-travel/?utm_content=F8668FB2-01F1-11EC-B764-68B14744363C&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=thepointsguy&utm_medium=social&tw=1&utm_term=editorial

It's starting to look like the new US Admin is no friend to Canada... 

1 hour ago, Snowrose said:

Thank you so much!!!!

The other tip I got on the Nextdoor app here in my neighbourhood was to get it laminated so that you can carry it with you to show as proof when needed. Apparently it costs $2.99 plus HST at Staples.

9 minutes ago, ALD18 said:

And now this.......................

 

https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/pfizer-astra-vaccine-antibody-levels-may-decline-after-2-3-months-lancet-121072700475_1.html

Thanks for posting. I guess that's why Pfizer is recommending a booster!

Have to wonder if this study was done on people who received the vaccine within the recommended time frame only. Our government is telling us we are better protected if we wait longer between doses... would be interested to see if that was true.

More fun to come apparently! 

45 minutes ago, ALD18 said:

The WHO/CDC/manufacturers have set guidelines in regards to vaccination deployment.  The Canadian government ignored those guidelines and implemented their own strategy.  Do we think if further upgraded, updated guidelines were established would the government follow them anyways?  I believe they MIGHT adhere to them in regards to a 3rd shot to those with mixed vaccines to allow travel, similar to what Quebec is doing plus we have far better access to available vaccines to do it.  Or they may snub their noses at them and say our way is right.  Their is also the looming issue of the Pfizer booster shot that will need to be addressed.  The adventure continues while we sit at home:(   

One could reasonably assume that with increased Pfizer and Moderna supplies, a more traditional approach will be adopted (same brand within a shorter time frame) for those who are just now getting their first dose.

I think we all recognize that the earlier approach was due to the limited supply that we had for months but which seems to now be (or is being) resolved. 

When I got my first dose in May my second dose was scheduled for mid-September. Increased supply and my area being designated a variant hotspot lead to me being able to received my second dose in July.

Where that leaves mixed doses or single manufacturer outside of the recommended 42 day protocol folks (like me, I'm one day over) moving forward with respect to travel is an interesting question as different countries and cruise lines have varying (and confusing) guidelines. 

Fingers crossed it all gets sorted over the coming months and we can see the rules become more standardized and much clearer.

I think we are going to evolve to a place where we have learned to live with COVID... I don't see COVID simply going away, but rather in the coming years we, as a global community, are able to better deal with it and as such it doesn't result in huge infections/deaths as it has been to date. 

With that in mind, I agree with what many others have suggested - that a positive case on a ship will become the norm rather than the exception in the near term, and possibly in the long term too. 

The protocols the cruise lines put into place and the way in which they are able to 1/ identify positive cases and 2/ stop a case or two from spreading exponentially across the ship will be really important.

Sounds like in this case the identification happened quickly so it will be interesting to follow and see if it is contained and there's no reason to think it can't be. Hoping for the best!  

1 hour ago, broberts said:

 

I don't think being considered unvaccinated prevents one from cruising. 

You're right of course but aside from the issue of testing requirements that you must pay for, in my case one out of four of us would be deemed vaccinated.

From what I am seeing on the Royal board, it appears as though there are different shows, venues and restaurants for vaccinated/unvaccinated passengers. 

I'm not particularly interested in doing a dream vacation to the Med and not be able to eat dinner with my husband! 

Russ - please continue to keep us posted. I have time as we aren't due to cruise until August next year but my parents are scheduled to cruise in November and they are at 68 days between doses as over 70 they received their first dose early on.

If things don't change prior to our cruise, and assuming we haven't had to get a booster at some point between now which would possibly change one's status, I am not interested in sailing. 

Since I am stuck with an FCC (already a bone of contention with me as I feel we should have been granted a refund but that's a whole other thing) expiring at the end of September 2022, I'm not sure what recourse I have financially other than walking away from my money. 

I did read somewhere else (I think it was the NCL board) that the poster had called both NCL and Celebrity to see what their polices would be later in the year and they reported that both cruise lines claimed as of November there would be NO requirements for vaccination whatsoever. Given that Celebrity is under the Royal banner one could assume, if this is accurate, that beyond November Royal would have the same policy. 

Very challenging to plan but I do realize what a privilege it is to try to vacation in the near term. 

I had a grand plan of one cruise a year between 2020 and 2023 when my eldest will be scheduled to go off to post-secondary and now I'm just trying to squeeze in what I can with all 6 of us before they start flying the coop.

Good luck! 

1 hour ago, iancal said:

We typically  do two international trips a year. Europe (Sept/Oct) and Bangkok (Jan-March).  We price US and Canadian fares.

 

Adjusted for currency, it has been less expensive to fly from Calgary-Bangkok than it has been to fly from Seattle-Bangkok. Even when we are changing planes in Seattle-same airline.

 

We have found the same for Vancouver-London, and Toronto-London/Paris.  

 

Not certain why this is.  Sometimes less by a fair amount.  No idea why this is so.  

That’s awesome! Once the kids are older, I hope hubby and I can get overseas many times so it’s good to know it’s affordable to get there.

3 hours ago, iancal said:

hat Americans reading these threads in particular likely do not appreciate is all the extra expense we Canadian cruisers take on.... flying is significantly more expensive for us as we do not have a competitive market and the exchange rate hasn't been favourable in some time. These ancillary considerations do factor into our cruise vacation overall. 

Edited 7 minutes ago by JillK

 

Extra expense?

 

Our experience in buying flights to Europe, Asia, and even SA over the last few years is that airfares from Canada are as low and in some instances lower than those from the US-adjusted for currency.

 

Certainly our domstic fares are higher, but once we start shopping prices to international destinations  we have found the fares competitive, adjusted for currency.

 

There have been times when we have paid almost the same fare to fly to Bangkok or London/Rome from western Canada as we would  have paid to fly to Toronto!  

I'm glad that you have had a good experience with flight costs. 

In speaking about the costs of flights I was primarily taking about flying to/from Florida cruise ports.

Once time we were due to cruise with our sons out of New Orleans, but the price of flights for four from Toronto was coming up to $3900 cdn. For about $1800 more than we had paid for the 7 day out of New Orleans, we were able to book a 12 night out of NYC and drive to port!

In fairness I should also note that for the most part, we are a family of 6 travelling together. For us all the air costs add up very quickly. 

I personally would feel more comfortable cruising with 100% vaccination compliance. 

That being said, we have an FCC with Royal that we are trying to make use of so will have to be flexible. I also do recognize that as I move through my regular life (now that things are opening up again-- finally), I am unknowingly encountering people who have willingly chosen to put themselves and their community at risk by electing not to get vaccinated. Nothing I can do about that.

The only thing to figure out now across the various cruise lines is: are we considered fully vaccinated even though the interval between doses might be greater than the manufacturer recommends (see the thread re: Royal's policy on this) and also, what about the kiddos? 

We have just booked an NCL cruise for March Break 2022 for our family but recognize we may have to cancel as our sons are under 12 and therefore do not yet qualify for vaccination. I also need to look into NCL's vaccination requirements to make sure that even though 3/4 of us were vaccinated with a longer than 42 day interval between doses, we are still considered fully vaccinated. 

First off, thanks for posting this both here and on the Royal discussion thread. This is a policy I was not aware of. 

I'm not cruising with Royal until Aug 2022 and hope that things are different by then. I have a $3500 FCC that I'm stuck with forcing me to cruise with Royal by Sept 2022 or loose the investment.

Unless this new policy changes (for us there is plenty of time for it to do so- that's the good news) that would mean only my husband could cruise "vaccinated" while my daughters and I would be considered unvaccinated (48, 49 and 43 days between doses)... and we were accelerated due to living in a Delta-variant hotspot! 

FWIW, there is no way that I am going to cruise if, as someone who is considered fully vaccinated at home, I am restricted to unvaccinated spaces only. I'm just not comfortable with this - we have all been through so much here in Ontario with the various lockdowns that my family has strictly adhered to and we have done our due diligence to protect both ourselves and those in our community by getting vaccinated. If this policy remains in place, I will walk away from my money so Royal will win the short term, but I will choose not to cruise with them again. 

My mother and father also have an FCC as they were going to join us last year and they are currently booked to cruise in November. I have sent them your thread as I know they are beyond 42 days between doses and may want to review their options and be flexible watching for a policy change. 

What Americans reading these threads in particular likely do not appreciate is all the extra expense we Canadian cruisers take on.... flying is significantly more expensive for us as we do not have a competitive market and the exchange rate hasn't been favourable in some time. These ancillary considerations do factor into our cruise vacation overall. 

An interesting note: on my first cruise aboard Norwegian's NORWAY in 1990 to the Eastern Caribbean, NCL collected our passports to pre-clear us at all ports (St. Thomas, San Juan and St Maartin). I believe this was standard at the time for all non-US citizens.

I was surprised on my next cruise 8 years later that this was no longer required. 

We did have to surrender them to Royal for our UK cruise in 2015 and I am anticipating having to surrender them next summer in the Med/Greek Isles.

Have been on the Escape twice in cabins 10842 (regular balcony) and 11856 (angled balcony). Both well located and comfortable with no noise.