Bxc53

Thanks for the great review in such detail! Not to fire up a hot topic ( pun intended), can you comment on the smoking situation? We will be on QoS in a few weeks - Vancouver to Honolulu and as non smokers, we are wondering how avoidable the smoking areas are and what we might miss by avoiding them. The casino is an obvious one, but interested in the others. Thanks for any thoughts you can offer!

I have similar thoughts on the TA demographic. We decided to keep an eye on Virgin and see what the upcoming TA reviews reveal. Virgin does seem to be making some changes as they find what their customer base actually is.. Maybe in a year or two they may offer a TA experience more tailored to the (ahem) mature cruiser 🙂.

We booked a 4 day on Navigator out of LA for late Jan '23. We made the initial booking in late May this year for a Guarantee Balcony. We had a room assigned by the end of June, and not a bad location. YMMV..

I've not cruised with Virgin, but I've read numerous reviews and board discussions as we are interested in the TA itineraries . They seem to focus pretty hard on the nightlife centric 'sailor'. As in bar hop all evening, sleep it off and sweat it out on the exercise programs, have a nice dinner, then repeat. No disrespect, it would have appealed to me 40 years ago.. Now however, we like a mix of entertainment, pool/hot tub time and nice leisurely meals. And these days a couple drinks is our limit.. So , unfortunately , Virgin, in its current program not a good fit for us.

Just to add another thing to consider, the transfer from Fort Lauderdale airport to the cruise port is close, quick and cheap. From either Houston airport to the Galveston port is the opposite…

I appreciate the OP's candor. We are booked on Quantum in October , our first cruise in several years. We are hoping for a better experience but not really expecting a miracle . Travel and hospitality / tourist industries seem to be universally sub par in current conditions. The current airline experience is infamously bad. Hotels are hit and miss. Even Disney, arguably the gold standard for customer experience, seems to be struggling. Is this the 'new normal'? Hope not. It seems to be the time to have modest expectations.. But to paraphrase the old saying: "The worst day cruising beats the best day working"..

We will be on Quantum in October. What should we expect for outlets and USB charging ports? It’s a standard balcony cabin if that matters We have the usual bunch of gadgets to keep fed.. I did a quick search but came up dry. Any advice appreciated

You seem to be asking if the person in your group really needs to comply with the rules and regulations. And you are requesting a response from a Canadian government official who's career is enforcing such rules and regulations. And further, you want the CBSA officer to respond on a public forum. Good luck with that...

This is true, but the modern, larger ships ( meaning most mainstream cruise ships) have a mineralization step after the desalination/ purification process. Without the mineralization, the water tastes very flat. Try a sip of distilled water for example. The actual amount and content of the mineralization can vary, but generally mirrors the ‘ generic’ bottled water products.

We have cruised on several of the mainstream cruise lines ( list in the sig), but never NCL. Hoping to hear from folks that have cruised on both for pros and cons, etc. I know this is the NCL forum, I’m asking the same Question at the RCL board as well, should be interesting to compare.. Thanks for any input.

We have cruised on several of the mainstream cruise lines ( list in the sig), but never NCL. Hoping to hear from folks that have cruised on both for pros and cons, etc. I know this is the RCL forum, I’m asking the same Question at the NCL board as well, should be interesting to compare.. Thanks for any input.

I always chuckle at these type of threads. Being a tech geek, I researched the systems that make the onboard tap water on any modern cruise ship. The difference between common bottled water and ship potable water is… The bottle.

We are on the preceding VAN to HNL cruise. No related notifications so far, but we are booked through a well known big box TA/ Hot Dog purveyor not known for timely communication. Really hoping this is all a non issue by then.. Our last 4 RCL cruises have cancelled, we are all too familiar with the patterns…

Only applies to the EU, so far. "For sailings beginning August 1, 2022, vaccinated guests sailing on a cruise originating from any port EXCEPT a U.S. port; Canadian port; or Piraeus, Greece are exempt from all pre-cruise COVID-19 testing requirements.

You seem to be aware that an unresolved DUI is a basis for denied entry to Canada. Once you enter Canadian waters and dock at Victoria, you are in Canada without authorization. So, are you asking " Can I get away with it?" Maybe. But you would be deliberately violating Canadian Customs regulation, a criminal act.

You won’t like this answer, but don’t try to go to Canada.

Well, she is making 21.4 kts now per a vessel tracking site. Her normal speed is 22 it. Hmmm.

Agreed, but Celebrity had been marketing 'All included' pricing in recent months which , at first glance, be much higher than RCCL's basic cruise prices. I did an in-depth evaluation for Transatlantic cruises next Spring and found that, like for like, RCCL, Celebrity, Princess Nd NCL all came quite close on the daily rate, for a mid range balcony room .

Two points: 1.If you look at all costs, ( Tips, Internet, drinks, etc) Celebrity comes out close or sometimes even less than RCL for similar itins. 2. It is my impression after several Celebrity cruises that they generally appeal to a different demographic than RCL, overall. Even in the designated smoking areas we saw few smokers. And the (non-smoking) casino was very active.

We encountered something like this several years ago, I think on the Sapphire Princess about 2007 or so. The casino was full on smoking, but they also had video table games, Vegas style, in one of the non-smoking entertainment lounges. We spent a lot of time ( and $) playing, sipping adult beverages and watching the entertainment , when it was on- the lounge was available whether or not the entertainment was going. We thought this was a great idea, but haven't seen anything similar in several cruises since.

Following this with interest as a gear head/ retired field engineer who is fascinated with how things work. And also we are scheduled to ride this particular boat from Vancouver to Honolulu on October.. I would hope to make that run with all engines/ propulsion systems operating. It’s one thing to shuttle up and down the coast with many ports and nearby assistance available vs the long, lonely Pacific crossing.

Thanks for the suggestions. Just to close the loop: Taking the bus the day before was Plan A, but the sail away changed from 5 PM to 7PM since we booked. It looks like the “ Miss the boat “ time is 5:30 and the bus ( Quick Shuttle) arrives directly to the pier at 2:30- if it’s on time. Still a 3 hr buffer, so that’s likely what we will do. We fly back from Hawaii to a US airport( Bellingham) so port parking at Canada Place just doesn’t work. The bus leaves for the cruise port from the BLI airport as well. No cross border Uber or Lyft. Lots of regulations in the way, apparently. And, digging deep in the RCL website FAQ’s there is apparently a provision for possible downline boarding if a scheduled carrier causes the delay. The Emergency Travel Team makes the final decision. Biker 19 is correct for pre-planned downline embarkation. This really should be a lot simpler 🙂.

Thanks. That would leave enough buffer that I can suppress my day early habit.. I suppose in a worst case, we could meet the ship at the next port- Victoria. Heck, we could beat it there 😉

Normally I’m a day ahead to a cruise port guy, but this is a different situation. The cruise is one way Vancouver to Honolulu in early October. Departure is 7 PM. We live in the US but only about an hour drive away from the terminal and we wont be flying back to Vancouver, so driving and parking at the terminal is not practical ( and quite expensive anyway) . The cross border bus earliest arrival is 2:30PM but it’s (in)famously late and the border inspection is a wildcard. So I’m hoping for feedback on the Vancouver cruise terminal Last on board time Vs the actual departure time. Thanks

Both itins is are so similar that I would choose the lower price. Personally I find Sitka more appealing as well. Either would be a great cruise.