westcoasttech

This might be obvious to some people but as I don't live my life on the end of the phone I didn't realize, the "Call Us" number (starting 1-954 - ...) on the booking confirmation is NOT a toll free number ! I'm so used to cruiseline contact numbers being toll free that I didn't check before spending 45 mins on hold to get through to a live human. Just got my cell phone bill and got a charge of C$40+ for the time on the phone this weekend to straighten out an OBC question - which basically negates the extra OBC I got sorted out! I know that cell phone account rules can be different for Canadians, and include charges for things that US account holders get included and I know we also generally pay more for the privilege of cell phones. I guess I better hope I don't have any other issues with my booking as I won't be calling them again anytime soon ... unless someone can provide a toll-free number for Canadian cruisers??

Thank you @janbear! I can confirm it was pretty easy to apply it retroactively. I tried just sending a message from the website, but no response there. Ended up calling (about a different issue), 45 mins on hold and my request for the Share the Love benefit was applied with no question, once I provided a referring booking number and confirmed the name on that booking. On the negative side I seem to have "lost" a $100 bar tab credit on the app, somewhere along the line, either during an app upgrade or applying loyalty matching! 😦 Customer service have told me that the bar tab that had shown on the app immediately after booking is now "rolled into the Deep Blue Extras" benefit ... I don't see anything about a bar tab credit in the listing of Deep Blue Extras ... not sure what to believe about that...!

Let's see if I can get a "quick and dirty" cut and paste to work... hope that's okay ...

I just received the Caribbean offer too - but it seems to just cover Caribbean routes between end of September to end of December, so doesn't go into next year's sailing. Interesting that it does include Edge, Beyond and Apex sailings - which I would have been interested in as I've yet to sail on the E Class ships! I already booked the earlier Mexican route offer for 2023 and have run out of Va-cay days for 2022 ... I'm still working and my job is getting in the way of my cruising days 😁 ... It would have been my 3rd free cruise offer in a year, as I was also included in a RCCL "shakedown" cruise in the spring!

Looking for a Christmas getaway? (Solo discount pricing extended till Oct 4 for any solos out there.) December 23 - December 30 Valiant Lady - Valiant Caribbean Holiday https://virg.in/oa2m

Thanks for the input everyone! I’ve been reading and watching YouTube reviews and am excited about this cruise. Sure there are a couple of things I think I’ll probably avoid in the entertainment lineup (there usually are on the “usual” cruise lines too), but overall the ship sounds amazing, with lots of “sit n’ chill” options available, and stunning food options! My loyalty matching couldn’t have been easier and perks are showing up online, so I’m pretty much all set … now I just have to wait for Christmas week!

Also Virgin Voyages, no testing required since approx. the end of July. I know they are not one of the "big" players on the water, but if all the others (big and small) are not requiring testing, why is MSC being so stubborn and, in my opinion, biased against non-US pax? If there's some logic for MSC's "new" rules, I'd love to hear it!

Anyone had any luck adding these codes/links in retroactively after booking? I made a booking, a bit impulsively, and am now finding out all the added details. I see a code/link for my cruise listed above, but as my booking is now made, I don't know if it's possible to add it in and earn the $$ for the referring cruiser??

This has tempted me to make a booking and I like the look of the perks you get for matching (I'm Diamond + on RCCL). I do notice that they have the wrong info for MSC ... their top Voyagers levels is no longer Black, they renamed it to Diamond some time ago. MSC also offer the loyalty matching to other lines (and include hotel loyalty levels) ... I think matching is a great idea and definitely influences my cruising choices, as the perks can make a big difference to your cruise account at the end of the day. I'm not loyal to any one line, give me a good price, a good ship and a fair amount of perks and I'll sail anywhere!

A few months ago I read some general reviews of Virgin and they sounded quite interesting, but I didn’t take any action. The recent announcement of loyalty level matching has now prompted me to put a hold on a sailing on Valiant Lady. They also had a good price for solo travellers which tempted me to book. I’m definitely not in their marketing department’s target demographic, (my age starts with a 5!), and a party every night is not my cup of tea, either! But I do like a shiny, new ship and a sailing without kids sounds like heaven! I guess I can always hang out on my balcony for a week! I’ll do some more research tomorrow before I confirm the booking, but does anyone have any reports of sailing solo with Virgin? With no traditional MDR dining hours I would presume I would probably be dining solo - I’m okay with that but it is nice to have company from time to time. The one thing I didn’t really like about the booking process was not being able to pick a cabin location, other than picking cabin type. Is there anywhere to see what cabins are available on any particular sailing? Presuming you can request a cabin move over the phone to another cabin in the same class? I actually don’t mind the location of my assigned cabin - Sea Terrace, towards the aft of the ship - but would like to see what else is available, if possible.

This Canuck is a bit annoyed and confused by this too! I live near the border, so someone sailing who happens to live a few km/miles away from me, doesn't need a lab monitored test, but I do? I'm fully vaxxed, so why the heck do I have to spend the extra $ to get a test, if the person standing next to me in the queue to board doesn't have to test! Totally illogical!! Other cruiselines are now accepting self-tests rather than the lab monitored ones ... I know there's some logic issues with that too (i.e., how do you prove when exactly you took that negative test), but at least that doesn't differentiate by passport country. I'm booked on MSC in October and hoping they may see some sense in the next few weeks!

Thanks so much for that information (while I'm an ex-Brit I never have followed the "Beautiful Game" so have not been following World Cup background). Is it just me or does it seem "almost sacrilegious" to hand over a brand new ship to football fans 😦 ...but I guess these aren't your average Saturday afternoon fans?!? I did look at staying in Dubai and flying over, it is a short flight, but definitely not a cheap one. Oh well, back to the drawing board with my plans - I was just looking for something a little different...

I'll stress that this was just me investigating an idea I had, no actual cruise booking involved (at this point)! I REALLY like new ships (ooh, so shiny!) so was playing with the idea of the World Europa sailing (over Christmas - 9 day Doha round trip, sailing date December 20) and was surprised that the pricing for the actual cruise seemed quite reasonable. So started playing around with flight and hotel options, just out of curiosity. There are NO hotels available from the "usual" websites, even for 1 night, pre-cruise, unless I have a budget of well of $1k for the 1 night. I'm guessing this is due to a certain big sports event happening in Nov/Dec, with the final game December 18, in that area ... think football (soccer, that is)! I guess it's just as well I didn't go ahead with any actual booking for the cruise. Flight pricing is pretty horrendous anyway, so in reality that might have priced it out of reality. But I do wonder what people are doing that are already booked on that sailing?? Staying in another part of UAE perhaps??... there's no roll call set up for that sailing so I can't ask there. Anyone come across this issue before that gives no option other than to fly in day of?

I'm on QE in 2 days ... packing my swimsuits ... I'll let you know... Was in Alaska first week of June (Celebrity Eclipse). Sunny and warm in Juneau and Icy Strait. Indoor pool was used quite frequently and outdoor pool was in use (mainly by the kids that weren't allowed in the "adult" indoor pool) on the sunny days. Hot tubs both inside and outside were in use frequently - rain or shine!

Thanks for the reply @david,Mississauga. I appreciate the information. I had a feeling that Cunard was opening boarding a little later than the other lines. Hmmm, so if I arrive earlier enough to avoid security/customs delays I may have to wait for boarding, but if I arrive at my appointment time I'm more likely to have security/customs delays but be able to walk on. I'm sailing July 1, so sharing Canada Place with RCCL and Odyssey ships and Canada Day crowds and traffic. Guess I'll wait and see how lucky I feel on the day...!

Does anyone have experience in Cunard checkin at Vancouver for this season? Boarding time "appointments" seem to be extremely late (compared to other cruiselines). I have been given an appointment time of 14:15, as a local I would normally stroll up to Canada Place around 11am to 11:30am in order to miss the "rush hours" at checkin. I know from experience earlier this year that the other cruiselines are not enforcing checkin appointments (or at least the one I sailed in June didn't even look at the time on the pass!). I can appreciate if they are not allowing boarding till later to allow for turnaround of the cabins, but saw someone on an earlier sailing didn't have a checkin appointment till after 3pm, which seems extremely late in the day! I can vaguely remember my last Cunard sailing (in the before times), I had a later checkin (from FLL) and it seemed that a lot of the ship had already boarded by the time I got onboard. I've read that some of the earlier Vancouver embarkations were a mess with mass confusion about ArriveCAN ... I will have all my paperwork in order, having done this before, and would prefer to be onboard as early as possible and sipping a suitable celebratory beverage by lunchtime!

Alpha code = medical emergency Bravo code = danger to the ship (such as fire) Oscar code = person overboard reported Safe Haven code = "pirate" drill (for the Suez canal / coast of North Africa area - usually) If it's a drill, there is usually a earlier announcement for the passengers, even if the ship is docked at port and most passengers will be off ship. I've seen passengers "miss" the pre-announcement and head to their muster stations (with life vests in hand) 😄 during crew drills! However I have also been on a repositioning half way between the west coast and Hawaii and had a real Bravo code (during a trivia session!) ... which was a bit freaky, as I knew what it meant and the people around me didn't! Cruise staff stayed very calm and didn't give away a thing, just quietly made sure all the doors to the area were closed (to act as fire doors!) ... apparently the onboard waste incinerator backed up a little and overheated. Captain made the announcement later on after the danger had been dealt with.

Hmm, if you have a Canadian stop in Victoria then that complicates things a little. A quick look at the schedule seems to indicate you're on the HAL southbound west coast route. As Victoria is the first stop after embarkation, I'm not entirely sure whether they treat it as you're in Canada until you sail away from the Victoria stop, OR if you still go through US customs on embarkation (so effectively leave Canada, enter US (to get on the ship) and then re-enter Canada for Victoria, and then re-enter US on sailing from Victoria). I think in your shoes, I would do an online application (using the Marine option and using Vancouver Cruise Operations as your embarkation point and Ogden Point (Victoria) as your re-entry point - unless the cruiseline specifically indicates otherwise. There are no repercussions of having an "extra" QR code in the system - that I have heard of - and it costs nothing! Also by October who knows if it will still be in place - just keep checking the cruiseline site, CruiseCritic and Canadian news sources.

You will definitely need a QR to arrive by air into YVR. However if your ship is only sailing from a Canadian port (Canada Place) and not visiting any other Canadian port before ending in the US, my interpretation would be that you do NOT need another one to embark at Canada Place. Strictly speaking you "cross the border" from Canada into the US as you embark on the ship, which is why you go through US Customs at the port. There are no Canadian requirements of ArriveCAN when leaving Canada, which seems to be what you are doing. https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise seems to be pretty clear: "In ArriveCAN you must identify: how you are entering Canada (for example, by air, land or sea) and where you are entering Canada (port of entry)" However, this doesn't mean that the cruiseline checkin might not ask for it. I presume your cruise is at the end of the season (and the rules might change again before that time!) and if your checkin staff is automatically doing what they have been doing all season, they might not realize the difference in the ship's routing. 😁 In your shoes, I wouldn't do a separate entry for embarkation, but you will have your account already set up, just in case anything changes.

Wow ... chill ... I was pointing out that a COVID test is not a requirement of ArriveCAN .... Someone above said it was required by that app/website. There is a lot of misinformation, and frankly, scare postings, about ArriveCAN and setting up the account and what info is required for each entry. I have used it 3 times in the past 2 months, once for a land crossing and twice for marine, and it's pretty simple to use. For the record, this is from the travel.gc.ca website which is published by the Government of Canada: "All travellers 5 years of age or older must have a COVID-19 test to board a cruise ship in Canada or board a cruise ship that will dock in Canada at any point on the cruise." Source: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise

June 5 embark - they were not checking appointment times. 3 ship day and they were using the upstairs convention centre for the actual check in. I arrived a little later than I planned (20 minute wait for an Uber) at about 11:35am. Pretty busy, but as long as you had your luggage already tagged you can just hand in to the longshoremen - there was a long line of people who didn't have their tags (WHY???) and they had to line up for one guy at a desk to get their tags. Directed upstairs and through to checkin - no real wait, was pretty constantly moving forward, but some people seemed confused about ArriveCAN and their questions were slowing down the staff a little. Once docs checked, sent back downstairs and into a line for security, but was pretty constantly moving forward. Through detectors and then into US Customs - Canadians and US travelers can use the machines, and that was pretty quick to then hand print out to the officer and then on to gangway to board. Other nationalities normally have to see an actual officer and may have to have their fingerprints scanned - so a bit of a slower process. Probably about 30 mins from arrival at the port to getting to my room onboard - so not too bad. Would have probably been even faster if I had arrived closer to 11am as originally planned. As a Vancouver local and frequent Alaska cruiser I always recommend to arrive around 11am or after 2pm - anytime between noon and 2pm can be a zoo for security and customs. I did hear of delays later in the day, and was told of delays at airport customs for people arriving day of. We seemed to be late in sailing out (the captain announced we would sail at 4:30pm and then we hung around for another hour and sailed closer to 5:30pm) so I think we may have been waiting for fly/cruise pax to get through the airport. I do appreciate for 1st timers at Canada Place it can get a bit confusing with the upstairs/downstairs routing, and there is only one elevator. Head for the escalator, if you can manage it, but it is a bit hidden in the corner. Great cruise, a bit cloudy at sail away in Vancouver, but glorious sunshine at Hubbard Glacier, Icy Strait and Juneau. Rain in Ketchikan - as per usual! For the poster above wanting to take their luggage on themselves ... please don't ... you have to get them through the x-ray machines in security (which are just the normal ones designed for hand luggage, so if you have large suitcases you will have to find a way to lift them up on the belt and hope they fit!) and it really is just not necessary. Returned on Sunday (4 ship day!) and was surprised that they seem to be handling it quite smoothly. They now have multiple lines to hand in your Canadian Customs form - which has eased a previous bottleneck in the people flow. I think there was a long line for taxis, but I headed for the Uber pick up spot (look for the light blue phone app pick up spot signage), which is outside the new part of the Conference Centre across the road from Canada Place and a block west. 5 minute wait for pick up and home by 9:30am!

Yes, you need a new QR code from ArriveCAN for embarking a cruise that will visit or return to a Canadian port. This is separate to the QR code you receive from ArriveCAN when arriving by air. You can only have one "active" QR code at a time (unless they have recently changed it), so you have to apply for the new QR code after you land in Canada and, ideally, prior to going to the port to embark. However, ArriveCAN does not require a COVID test result at any point. The initial set up of the ArriveCAN account needs vaccination proof. Then when applying for a QR code it basically just needs times and dates information. For a cruise, an ArriveCAN application should be filled in in the 72 hours prior to embarking on the ship that will visit or return to a Canadian port in the next 30 days after embarkation. The COVID test result is a requirement of the cruiselines, and as I understand it is currently a requirement for them to be able to operate in Canadian territory. If using the phone app for ArriveCAN, ensure you have the latest update installed, they have been doing frequent updates to it.

You might want to double check your itinerary, most round trip Seattle routes stop at Victoria (a city which is on Vancouver Island), not actually Vancouver (the city!). Vancouver is normally an embark/debark port not a cruise stop. This will be important for the ArriveCAN app/website as it will ask you for the actual port you are visiting (for Victoria it is Ogden Point). But bottom line, currently, you need to submit an ArriveCAN application up to 72 hours before you EMBARK on the ship that will be visiting or returning to a Canadian port. The visit or return to the Canadian port can be up to 30 days after the embarkation. I recommend setting up your ArriveCAN account while at home (or with dependable wifi) and it requires vaccination proof submission. The actual application 72 hours pre-sailing is very quick and easy and needs minimum information (mostly dates and times). It supplies a QR code which may or may not be asked for when you cross the actual border - it is mainly electronic so if it shows on their system that you have an active application, that's normally all they need.

At ISP last week (Celebrity Eclipse). Gondola between the Cannery area and the ship dock was free (but very quick). With multiple ships arriving at the same time, the line to take it from the dock was long (but moving fairly quickly). As an alternative there is a walking trail along the water, takes less than 15 mins to walk it - slight slope up and then slight slope down - gravel surface. I walked to the Cannery/restaurant/shop area and then took the Gondola back to the port later, when there was no line. Gondola up the mountain was $39 for "unlimited" - which has a much longer "flight" time. I didn't do that one - but don't really understand the "unlimited" part, would you really spend the day going up and down repeatedly 🤷‍♀️! I can highly recommend the Crab House in the Cannery area - about US$33 for about 1/2 a crab, plus a beer for about $8. I also had crab at Tracy's in Juneau and the ISP crab was the better of the two! The other restaurant at the Cannery area did not appear to be open ... yet... My friend walked in Hoonah village proper, she reported that several shops and restaurants there still not operating due to uncertainty of this year's season. There is a bus shuttle from Cannery area into Hoonah, but it only seemed to be operating later in the afternoon, and I was told of issues getting on it due to it's limited availability.

The main difference between the buses are pick up and drop off points. Northbound Quick Shuttle picks up from Seatac, downtown Seattle (Pike/8th), the Outlets and Bellingham Airport (and during cruise season, the two pier locations). On a recent trip, Southbound the driver did not give time for a bathroom break at the Outlets or Bellingham - but there is onboard facilities and time at the US border to visit the washroom. Going Northbound, the driver did allow time at Bellingham to use the facilities there - crossing the Canadian border was the quickest I've ever had (about 24 people on the bus). Northbound QS drop off available just over the border in Surrey, then the River Rock Casino, then downtown Vancouver. The bus driver will sometimes offer to drop at specific hotels in the DT core - don't know if they are meant to, but if you get a helpful one, they do. Been a few years since I used the Amtrak bus, but they start at King Street train station in Seattle and their main drop off is the Pacific Central Station, slightly outside of downtown Vancouver, about 5-10 mins walk from the Skytrain station, or a short taxi ride to the main downtown hotels. I too miss the train service ... but I doubt it will be back till 2023...