Redtravel

Keep looking. In 2019 we had a tough time finding a room for night of July 1st. It's Canada day and hotels were fully booked or charging top prices. Look at airbnb. Keep trying. I was able to book a room at a chain hotel using points.

Thanks. It seemed crazy that after testing for the cruise to be chosen for another random covid test when you land in Canada. By the time the results were back, the cruise would have departed.

Only bring clothes that you can send to the laundry. On 18 day voyage, laundry is free. They do a great job. It is usually returned, ironed, on hangers. Same day if you put it out before 9 am. They do laundry everyday. At the end of the cruise, you pack mostly clean clothes.

Helpful. Thanks. Yesterday I was stressing about this. would like to hear from people who have already been to Canada about their experiences using ArrivCan.

Gilbert’s for lobster rolls. Place looks unassuming. Inside is dark. However, go around to the waterside. There is a lovely outdoor deck. I used to live in Boston and frequently went to Maine. Whenever we visit anyone in NE, we try to take a diversion to Portland. Enjoy!

I read that if you drive across the border, you may still be selected for random self testing with a tele proctor. I had hoped that the random testing would stop again.unfortunately it is in place. By next year, anything can happen.

This week I have received a plethora of emails from my travel agent, Windstar and American Airlines. They refer to VeriFLY and ArriveCanada explaining all the entry requirements for Canada. It’s confusing. My spouse and I have read it differently. We are flying in and staying in a hotel one night before embarking on a cruise. I think we have to submit 2 Arrive Canada forms. Spouse says one and done. Also, stressing about the entry random testing. Has anyone had this experience? Please respond if you have experience flying into Canada.

You can bring your own wine onto the ship. We do. There is a small corkage fee. If you talk to the wine steward, you may find a more pleasing wine. On one trip in France, we met the wine steward to A shop where she was doing a tasting. She invited us in to join her. Then she bought what we liked.

Not a problem. We have never had a problem getting a reservation at Candles even if we boarded late. On one b2b trip, we had a full day excursion and didn’t get back to the ship until almost dinner. We forgot about making reservations. Had no problem getting reservations the next day. All of the dining venues are good. Just relax and enjoy.

Butchart is nice. I stopped there on a land tour which included 2 nights stay in Victoria. However, given one day in Victoria, I would stay in town. Visit the museums, see the totem poles, shop, stop at the Fairmount for tea, and enjoy the waterfront.

Reserve tables before sailing. On Summit in June. We reserved a table for 2 when we booked. Glad that I did. The lines at dinner to get a table were huge. There are 2 lines, reserved and not reserved. On the first night we were escorted to a table and asked if we liked it. The wait staff were excellent. After eating, we requested that table for the entire cruise. Request was noted. After the first night, we never waited in a line again. We just walked up and went to our table. We reserved in the select dining area every night 6:30. Many people don’t realize that you can reserve in Select Dining. They line up every night and wait with buzzers. It’s a mess. Pick a time and reserve before you embark. On Summit, they wouldn’t let Select reserve on the ship.

Bathtub space would make a big shower. Hope they leave the small shower too. For those with balance issues the small shower was perfect. You cannot fall down. Overcame the drop soap problem by putting 2 bars of soap in the shower.

All are nice. Sailed on smaller R ships several times on both Oceania and Azamara. Love the smaller size except for the small cabins and tiny bathrooms. The Oceania larger ships, Riviera and Marina, are fabulous. The cabins are like suites. There is lots of space and a gorgeous roomy bathroom. Once we sailed on Marina, we seldom sail on the smaller ships. We only sail on R ships for itinerary.

If I read the Arrive Canada correctly, we have to submit forms twice. First to arrive by plane. If staying in a hotel,. Then we have to submit it again before embarkation. Both are within 72 hours . Since we are staying one night in hotel, I will be submitting both forms at the same time. That’s insane.

Just booked a cruise as a last minute special. Also, not given loyalty discount. The price was good. We are disappointed, but not a deal breaker.

Will be on cruise after Sept. 6. No testing? Saw that and got excited. Not so fast. Don’t think so. Got info from Windstar, Airlines, and Canada. Each one has a different list of forms and testing. Even though Windstar will stop testing, Canada insists that all cruises must test. We also have to file the Canada forms twice since we are flying in a day before our cruise. This scenario makes Bermuda look easy. I hated the stuff that we had to do to go to Bermuda. I am hoping that September might bring changes to the Canadian requirements. They are crazy.

This crazy! I assumed that random testing meant that you are told at immigration to be tested at the place of entry. I don’t have phone coverage in Canada. I turn my cell phone off when I leave the USA. I also turn it off when I am on a ship. I don’t buy WiFi on the cruise. Is there a Canadian requirement that you must have a working cellphone? The comments on this thread have me worried.

7108 is a great cabin. Extended balconies are my favorite cabins.

We took our kids and grandkids to Tuscan on Summit. Only paid for adults. Kids were small. They didn’t eat much. We booked it on the ship.

We didn’t have cruise line insurance. We have a yearly Allianz travel policy. We didn’t make any insurance claim since we were home. We didn’t have paxlovid with us. We both tested negative at disembarkation. My spouse tested positive two days later, called family doctor who prescribed paxlovid. We contacted Celebrity to report the case for tracing only. We didn’t ask for anything. We were amazed that they refunded us.

Did you notify Windstar that you tested positive? In June, we went on a 10 day Cruise( not ws). It was a big ship. Even though there were signs to socially distance, it didn’t happen. Most people didn’t wear masks. I did. Two days after disembarkation, my spouse tested positive for Covid. Fully vaxed and 2 boosters. Took Paxlovid and only had mild symptoms for a day. I didn’t get Covid. We notified the cruise line since our cabin steward was probably exposed. Cruise line thanked us for reporting the positive case and surprisingly refunded the value of 5 days of the cruise. At the time, cdc quarantine was 5 days. I was amazed. reading info on Windstar, I wonder how they respond to positive Covid during or after a cruise. We are thinking about a last minute sailing on Star Breeze. Read about Covid on recent sailings. Should I book or skip it?

They used to put the bottle of bubbly wine in your cabin on embarkation. Nice touch. Not anymore. Embarkation had no captains club welcome letter. After a few days, we asked our cabin steward about captains club amenities since we didn’t get any info. Cabin steward gave us the welcome letter and told us to let him know when we wanted the bubbly…red or white. Chose red. Terrible. As elite plus, we used to enjoy Captains club amenities. On our June cruise, we felt that Captains club was a forgotten afterthought. We had drink package. We missed the evening captains club event. Not being held because of Covid. No welcome Captains club reception. Again Covid. Meet & Greet is no longer held. Morning Captains club breakfast was poorly attended. Host never spoke with us except to ask to see our seapass before entering. Seems like being elite plus isn’t valuable. We did use the laundry. Service was very slow. We used Captains lib WiFi time because the All In WiFi was extremely slow or down. Next cruise is not on X.

Amsterdam disembarkation times can vary from those posted. It depends on the tides and the canal lock schedule. Last cruise ( Windstar Star breeze)that I disembarked from in Amsterdam was late. Scheduled for 6 am. Got stuck in the line to go through the canal. Had to wait our turn. Actually was able to get off ship after 9 am. Fortunately, we were staying in Amsterdam. Many people missed planes. Windstar was amazing. They helped people make alternate arrangements. Some people who missed flights stayed over at the hotel that were in. Wonder if Oceania would help in that kind of situation.

Had power plug taken on Celebrity once. Had to report to the luggage deck to claim. It’s used for medical devices. Got it back after explaining. No other cruise line has taken my power plug away. All it annoying. In June I sailed on X. Brought a multi outlet device with no cord. It wasn’t taken away.

Did it cost more apart or together? Never thought of pricing it both ways. If it’s cheaper apart, my spouse might object. It’s ok with me. New way to make money? What’s next? Buying tickets to use elevators or tenders? More exercise incentive to climb stairs and swim to shore. Rental fee for chaises…extra near the pool? Celebrity has a reputation of having lots of extra charges.