Fouremco

Unfortunately, people living outside the US are not eligible.

I very much doubt that HAL would stop you from embarking. Your US passport will definitely allow you reentry to the US, so there are no issues there. You are currently living in a Schengen country, and will only visit Schengen countries during your cruise. As you never leave the Schengen area until departing Madeira on your last leg to the US, there should be no issue for entry into Spain or Portugal. Did you book directly with HAL or did you use a travel agency? If the latter, I'd ask them to verify on your behalf. If you booked directly with HAL, ask them for an email confirming the fact that your passport's expiry date won't pose a problem. Bonne chance!

The $1,000 cap is for the total of your total 2% rewards annually. So if you book a $10,000 cruise, your cash back reward for that cruise would be $200, not $20. If you purchased nothing else during the year other than booking 6 $10,000 cruises, the total would be $1,200 in cash back, but because of the cap, you'd only receive $1,000.

A few years ago, on our first visit to St. Thomas, we were meant to dock at Crown Bay. This was the information provided on the website, on the port authority website and by the ship the day before our arrival. As we were approaching St. Thomas, however, the captain announced that the harbour master had made a change and we would now be docking at the West India facility. I only mention this in the event that you are planning a private shore excursion and end up at the "wrong" dock and can't make it to your pick up location on time.

I agree totally. A number of years ago, when booking, we had our pick of several perks offered by the cruise line, including our choice, a beverage package. When we boarded, however, we found out that due to a slip up by our then TA, we didn't have the beverage package. We approached guest services, who agreed that we were entitled to this perk, but couldn't give it to us without HQ giving them the ok. They contacted HQ, but the response was that it was the TA's mistake and that they weren't going to give us the package. Guest services were visibly embarrassed by this decision, but couldn't override it. To your point, I had documented everything, including the cost of all of the beverages that we had purchased, and post-cruise wrote to the office of the CEO explaining the situation and asking for resolution. As a result, we were awarded a beverage package for our next cruise. When we had had to cancel that cruise, they were good enough to shift it to a future cruise. In the OP's shoes, I'd keep track of all onboard purchases, but otherwise just enjoy the cruise and wait until afterwards to try to settle the issue.

That's surprising, as I've found decent perks for all of our cruises booked with them. In addition to the annual 2% cash back, the gift card or OBC for our last three bookings have been $925, $215. and $975. That works out to 10.00%, 7.73% and 10.75% of the booking prices. We've received similar amounts/percentages with all of our bookings. Maybe we've just been lucky with the cruises we've chosen, as we've never based our selection on the available perks.

Welcome to your first day on CC. By the looks of it, you've been very busy! In addition to the Princess forum, you might want to take a look at the roll call for your cruise. As you don't indicate the date of your departure, I can't can't provide a direct link to your roll call, but if you follow this link, you'll be able to locate your cruise: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/374-ruby-princess-roll-calls/ Enjoy your first cruise!

I'd suggest that you re-read the posts, as no one has stated that they or a partner were denied a visa because they were current or retired military. One poster's MP said that it wasn't uncommon for government employees or military to be denied visas, but there was no direct indication that this was the case for the poster. Out of curiosity, I queried Perplexity with the following result: Based on the search results provided, there is no specific information about whether Egypt has different visa requirements or restrictions for current or retired members of the Canadian armed forces seeking visitor visas. The key points regarding Egyptian visa requirements for Canadian citizens are: For Canadian Citizens - As of October 1, 2023, Canadian passport holders can no longer obtain an e-visa or visa on arrival for Egypt. They must apply for a visa from an Egyptian embassy or consulate before traveling. - Any e-visas issued to Canadians before October 1, 2023 remain valid until their expiry date. - Canadians must obtain the visa by applying in person or by mail at the Egyptian Embassy in Ottawa or the Consulate in Montreal. Processing times seem to be around 3 weeks based on recent Reddit reports. - The visa fee for Canadians is currently $150 CAD. - Canadians need to provide items like passport photos, application forms, travel itinerary/hotel bookings, and payment when applying for the visa. However, none of the results mention any special visa rules or requirements for current or former Canadian military personnel specifically. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the standard tourist visa process would likely apply for them as well when visiting Egypt for personal travel. But to confirm, it would be prudent to directly contact the Egyptian embassy or consulate handling your visa application. I find it interesting to see that this AI response mirrors the suggestion made by @CDNPolar and I to contact the embassy. Personally, I would do it sooner in the planning process than you seem to want, but that's just me. zzz

No, the perks are the same either way, at least with my TA. For example, my TA's website states exactly what perks you'll receive if you book with them, and for the Hawaiian cruise that I booked with the cruise line and transferred to the TA, the perks I received were identical to those advertised on the TA's website. The TA in question sells exclusively to members of its affiliated big box store, right across Canada. There's no brick and mortar office for you to visit, as booking are conducted online or by telephone, just as you would if booking directly with a cruise line. You can book from BC just as easily as I can book from Ontario.

That's my approach as well. Do all of the research first and know exactly what I want before booking, then enjoy the TA's perks. For our upcoming Hawaiian cruise, these perks amount to just over $1,100. I this particular case, I had booked directly with the cruise line, but transferred the booking immediately after. Not a bad payout for the few minutes spent filling out the transfer request.

The article only mentions Alaskan cruises, but hopefully we will benefit from this technology later this year for our Hawaiian cruise.

So, you assume that every single student who took online classes during the pandemic owned a cell phone? You might want to look outside your family and consider the many less affluent Canadians who have free online access through work, libraries, friends, etc., who could never afford a cell phone.

I would simply book the entire trip with Delta. Besides, I'm not sure that it's even possible to book the first leg with WestJet as it's a domestic US flight and WestJet is a Canadian company.

I know a number of people who have no need for Canada-wide calling and consequently don't subscribe to this feature. The major service providers continue to offer basic plans with only local calling, so I assume that there are still lots of other people who don't want or need Canada-wide calling. Personally, I have US- and Canada-wide calling, but I don't assume that most people do. Heck, I even know people who don't own a mobile phone and continue to use a landline! 😇 Thanks. I should have been more explicit.

As you live in Ottawa, just give the embassy a call: (613) 234-4931

As the OP indicated that she and her husband took a transatlantic flight to get to the Alaska cruise, and in her second post refers to "lifts", I suspect that they reside in Europe, probably the UK. As there are a number of differences in the booking policies and procedures between the US and UK and other HAL booking centres, is it possible that there is no option to refuse upgrades during the booking process?

No pun intended, but that sounds very much like a cop out by the police. Based on your original post, there's definitely fraud that led to her "voluntarily" giving him the money.

In your shoes, I'd be contacting the local police and asking them to look into this situation.

Thank you both. I'll have to compare their rates, but the Gloucester Centre is much closer and easier to access than the Rideau Centre where Calforex is situated.

Which currency exchange outlet do you use? The one that I used pre-covid is no longer in business, and our travel since then hasn't required getting any foreign cash in advance. But we will need some early next year, and your outlet might be a good choice.

Speaking as a former Haligonian, I'm sure that you'll enjoy your day there. If you are going to explore on your own and are looking for ideas, I'd be happy to make some suggestions.

CBSA's processing of passengers is very different than with land or air entry, and generally is based on the passenger manifest provided days in advance of the ship's arrival in port. Whether that makes it less likely for the strike to have an impact on cruises remains to be seen, but I doubt that your cruise would bypass Halifax. My best guess is that you might face a slight delay disembarking.

Probably because a lot of people in the OP's position would simply use the OBC on board as well as keeping whatever they purchased with their credit card beforehand, thus increasing HAL's profits. As this thread shows, there are ways to get around it, but I suspect that most people either don't know how to do so, or couldn't be bothered.

As this is a closed-loop cruise out of Vancouver, the ship will be operating on local time for embarkation and disembarkation.

The bad news is that your Alaskan cruise will include entry into Canada, and what might have been adequate for a Caribbean cruise in the past really doesn't matter. The good news is that her official birth certificate plus government issued photo ID will suffice to allow entry to Canada. I'm not aware of any current requirement regarding a marriage certificate.