Fouremco

Yes, a strange mix of exchange rates, but the bottom line is the overall exchange rate is 1.53 on a day when Visa and MasterCard are charging only 1.35. That's definitely a rip off in my books.

Even if you ignore the Canadian website and focus on the US pricing, I can see no logical way to arrive at the Total Price of $776.26 USD using the amounts shown for the base Cruise Fare, the Discounts (either individually or in combination), and for the Taxes & Fees. Indeed it does!

I always compare cruise prices on the US and Canadian websites when considering a booking, and I've never seen more than a very minor difference in pricing. Moreover, it sometimes is cheaper booking on the Canadian site. Today, I looked at the price for an Alaskan cruise, with Royal charging an exchange rate of 1.375, just slightly higher than Visa and MasterCard's rate of 1.353 today. While this would result in paying an extra $37.53 CAD by booking on the Canadian site, that's an insignificant amount when you consider that if the Canadian dollar drops between now and final payment, you might end up paying quite a bit more if you book on the US site. Cabin pricing is dynamic, with sales, promos, bookings to date in any category, and fluctuating exchange rates affecting what you will pay for a cabin. Unless you compare the identical category of cabin on the same day that you book, you won't have an accurate price comparison. Also, don't discount webpage glitches, especially if the price seems wonky.

Another vote for Bernard Tours (https://bernardstours.com/tours/adventure-island-tour). On our first visit to St. Maarten, we booked a tour with them after conducting extensive research. While the tour included Maho Beach, we saw many other things that, for us, were more interesting. As others have mentioned, experienced local tour companies are very reliable and will get you back to the ship with time to spare. In our case, there was a major car accident on our planned route, causing horrific traffic backups, but our driver with his intimate knowledge of the island took a series of back roads to get us around the blockage. At our recommendation, family members have also used Bernard Tours and have been completely satisfied. You really can't go wrong booking with them.

Thanks, I didn't word that at all well. I didn't mean to imply all ports with cruises to the US. Unless there are recent/pending changes, East coast cruisers destined for the US will continue to clear upon arrival.

Just as they have pre-clearance at Canadian airports for passengers flying into the US, they have pre-clearance at Canadian sea ports for passengers embarking on a cruise to the US. Passenger manifests are provided to US immigration authorities, not to state authorities. Alaska doesn't decide who can or can't enter the US. If US CBP decide that he can't enter the country, then he won't be allowed to board. You are deemed to have entered the country whether of not you get off the ship.

Well, that's great news! You'd better book quickly before it disappears!

I don't know if this is good or bad news for you, but I was in the app a few minutes ago looking at excursions and noticed that the zip line is no longer offered. I then checked online, with the same result. Dragon's Splash Waterslide and Dragon's Tail Coaster are still there. As it's a family cruise with several members interested in the zip line, we'll be checking regularly on availability.

We will be there next year on February 2, and the Zip Line is listed for purchase in the app for our cruise.

Unfortunately, that's exactly the situation you face. Whether or not any CC member has been denied or permitted boarding in the past, it's the CBP officer on duty when your husband attempts to board who will dictate the outcome.

Thanks @njkruzer for the helpful post. With one minor exception, I agree with your comments and they reflect my experience. While luggage tags probably aren't necessary, I'd never let one of my bags loose on a ship without one. Just in case.

IIRC, there were 120 (140?) in the group.

That's less than 10% of passenger capacity, so you won't be overrun, but it could result in some venues being closed and dining room issues. The extent of the disruption would vary with the nature of the group and their planned activities. Faced with a similar situation a few years ago, I wrote to the organization and asked if they could give me some idea of their plans. I received a very nice response that indicated there should be no disruption for our cruise, and truthfully, if I hadn't known in advance that they'd be onboard, I would never would have known.

Dodge Island, on which the cruise terminals are located, is sandwiched between downtown Miami, Miami Beach and Fisher Island, with no shortage of cell towers. Service is far from spotty, so whatever approach you take, you'll have good reception aboard as long as you don't head to the bowels of the ship. I generally make my uber booking and check in with my airline once we approach Fisher Island. I've never had an issue connecting with one of the cell towers.

We've had no issues at all with Rogers Rome Like Home while onboard in the Port of Miami. Same thing at Port Everglades. On average, the maximum usable range of a cell tower is about 40 kilometres, so on the couple of times that I've forgotten to turn on airplane mode right after sail away, I've remained connected for quite some time without it switching to the ship's system. Fortunately, I've remembered just in time to switch on airplane mode.

Under the old policy, it was 2 per cabin. Now it's 1 per adult. So single passengers lose out, but cabin with 3 or more adults win.

Yes, Starbucks cards and the app are accepted, at least on Royal Caribbean ships with official Starbucks outlets. I believe that the exchange rate is the going market rate. I don't know if Starbucks operates in this manner on other lines, so if you have or are contemplating a booking on another line, you should check on the line's board.

@travelmama06, I see that you had posted on the Princess board before you posted here. Unfortunately, you posted to an existing thread that didn't deal specifically with dress codes. You could either go back to the Princess board and start a new thread identical to what you started here. Alternatively, take a look at this thread from the Princess board. While the subject is wearing shorts in the MDR, all aspect of dress are covered:

The steering issue was with his wife...

LOL. As you say, next month we'll know for sure. As for the paragraph you've cited, it makes a general statement and then states "For more information see Requirement for Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination for Air Passengers." Nowhere on the CDC website is there any stated requirement with respect to cruise passengers.

Well, if so, somebody better inform the cruise lines ASAP as the Alaskan cruise season is just weeks away and none of the cruise lines that I've checked have indicated a vaccine requirement. NCL: LAST UPDATED: February 28, 2023 NOTE: Norwegian Cruise Line is working closely with local government and health authorities to gather travel requirements to the destinations we visit. While this information is provided as a courtesy to our guests, destinations we travel to may have very specific entry requirements due to health and safety protocols including potentially booster requirements, additional testing by a verified 3rd party, and mask requirements. Guests may be denied boarding if all country specific requirements are not met. Currently, the only countries for which NCL has a listed vaccination requirement are Australia, Brazil and Columbia. https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/travel-requirements-by-country RCI: COVID-19 Vaccination is no longer required to sail, with a few exceptions. At this time, only the following sailings have COVID-19 vaccination requirements: Guests age 12 and older must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to sail: Cruises from Australia Transatlantic and Transpacific Sailings Cruises from Hawaii to Vancouver https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-vaccines-are-required-to-travel-on-a-cruise Note that while RCI requires vaccinations for cruises from Hawaii to Vancouver, there is no requirement for cruises from Vancouver to Hawaii. HAL: HAL's approach is somewhat different. Rather than broader statements on what cruises might require vaccinations, it offers its Health Protocols Tool to look up any cruise’s testing and vaccine guidelines. For the 7-Day Alaskan Inside Passage cruise aboard the Koningsdam 6-13 May RT Vancouver: Vaccination Requirements We highly recommend all guests be up to date on their vaccination status. Vaccinations, however, are not required. https://book2.hollandamerica.com/protocols/ Whether unvaccinated Canadians, like the OP's siblings, or unvaccinated Americans heading off to Vancouver for an Alaskan cruise, there will be some serious problems if they are refused boarding at the port by CBP having been told by the cruise lines that vaccines aren't required. DW and I have each had our two initial COVID vaccines plus 3 booster shots, and our preference would be for all passengers on all cruises to be vaccinated. In no way am I advocating no vaccine requirement for Alaskan cruises, but based on all that I've seen, that certainly seems to be the case.

Just make sure that you buy rare-earth magnets such as these to get enough "sticking" power. https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/hardware/hooks/storage/73796-magnet-mounted-hooks

That thought had crossed my mind too, until I found that there are numerous DHS documents indicating that they differentiate between ferry terminals and cruise terminals. For example, the Downloaded OMB Enterprise Data Inventory Report (DIP) (https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/digital-strategy/data.xlsx) includes these two separate entries:

But this is the heart of the issue: does the US federal government still have a requirement for non-citizens to be vaccinated when entering by cruise ship? If flying, driving or arriving by ferry, there is a well documented requirement. But I've been unable to locate any current documented requirement for arrival by cruise ship. For example, the State Departments travel website (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-with-special-considerations/cruise-ship-passengers.html) states the following: "If you are considering travel on a cruise ship, please review the latest CDC guidance." But if you go to the linked CDC website (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/cruise-travel-during-covid19.html) seeking guidance on the requirements for vaccinations, it simply states: "Check directly with your cruise line about their COVID-19 testing or vaccination protocols before travel." Now, it's time for me to start a go fund me account for my ongoing research! 😉

True, but US requirements also changed during the course of last summer. It's possible that CBP updated the questions during the Alaska cruise season, but they may also have done as many of the cruise lines and decided to wait until the end of the season and start fresh for 2023. I guess I should book an Alaskan cruise for this Spring to conduct in-person research! 😇