Northern Aurora

I don’t recall Juneau having fireworks on July 4th. While Juneau is much farther south than where I live in Alaska they won’t be very dark the evening of July 4th. Hopefully someone who has been there on July 4th can confirm. While July 4th is past the summer solstice Fairbanks is so light fireworks are a waste. Our major firework display is a professionally done on New Year’s Eve.

We have used the eMedd proctored tests. Very easy process.

@Kitty Ellas Mom: I’ve stayed at the Pan Pacific several times including last month before we boarded a ship from Vancouver to Honolulu. I love the hotel and its location. But you are also posting comments such as “Well now I’m just plain scared” regarding the potential for delays at the Vancouver airport. You will need to balance your concern about the Vancouver airport with what you want to see in Vancouver before departing. PS: Last month a mid afternoon the cab from the airport to the Pan Pacific took about 30 minutes.

I agree 100%. We used the ArriveCAN to board a ship and it is incredibly easy to use. I also don’t understand the amount of discussion and questions it as prompted.

Have you ever actually stayed at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport property? Depending on the date they can be extremely comparable to the downtown Vancouver hotels.

Have you considered staying at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport hotel? It is located actually in the Vancouver airport very near the check-in counters?

While “Ashland” will need to do the ArriveCAN twice since they are RT out of Vancouver, “5waldos” will do the ArriveCAN once. And for those on RTs out of Seattle since there are port calls in (most likely) Victoria they will also do the ArriveCAN even if they remain on board.

While the name escapes me there is a lovely museum in Prince Rupert (Museum of Northern British Columbia perhaps?). The one time we were there on a cruise ship we spent time at the museum, had a lovely lunch and shopped at a high quality artists co-op.

We were scheduled to be on that May 4 Honolulu to Vancouver cruise but instead am posting from Honolulu where my husband is completing his Covid isolation. With their revised schedule folks on the Eclipse may not have any remaining port calls and so no options to buy on shore if they don’t have kits with them. Danna: I often read the CC forum for Canadian residents. There has been some discussion about this issue. Apparently if someone tests positive on a cruise ship and the cruise ends in Canada the passenger needs to complete their isolation in Canada at expense of the cruise line. Clearly if someone tests positive on the pier the would most likely tested positive while on board. The cruise lines may be trying to wiggle around this public health requirement. Gerry

We flew into Vancouver on April 22 and boarded a ship on April 23 (Vancouver to Hawaii). We did one ArriveCA. And just another quick comment — the ArriveCAN app is easy. I have the impression that some folks are overthinking the issue.

Thanks for the response. No separate letter from Guest Relations for us.

The insight and information posted by @chengkp75 on the thread referenced in post #5 is very interesting. There has been some criticism from “armchair cruise ship captains” as to how this issue developed, and it is a nuanced problem.

I am curious if anyone received a written report/statement from the onboard medical facility regarding how many days to isolate on shore after leaving the ship.

Jim: While you may have just viewed the news report this cancellation has been discussed on Cruise Critic. Folks on the roll call for the affected cruise have been comparing and discussing their experiences about their options.

I don’t know if it was the new normal (remember — he tested positive on April 30th so this was a recent incident) or ship specific. The April 23rd sailing was the first passenger sailing in two years. And he also had folks (he thinks from Guest Relations) calling him to request his meal orders.

On April 30 my husband tested positive on the Eclipse. While we were in a Suite I don’t think that made any difference. While in quarantine his food was plated on real ceramic plates and the cutlery was metal. The food delivery was quick and his food was hot. Wine was delivered with glass wine glasses (not the plastic version from the pool deck). He was provided with an electric kettle with an assortment of caffeinated and decaf teas (he is a tea drinker but there were also packets of instant coffee). He moved to an Ocean View cabin and I stayed in the suite.

There will be a symbol on MDR menus noting gluten free options. There also also be gluten free options at the Cafe al Bacio (nice treats) and at the Ocean View Buffet. Alaska restaurants will have gluten free options and generally symbols on their menus too.

We flew into Vancouver on April 22 and the Covid testing sites we saw were outside of the luggage claim area.

The Sealaska Heritage Center is located at 105 S. Seward Street. Entrance to their store is free. Their exhibits include an beautifully curated exhibit gallery and a clan house; there is an admission fee for the exhibit gallery. Check their website for current entrance prices.

I suspect you are right. While so many folks want to fly home the day they disembark from a cruise it may be easier to disembark, stay overnight at an airport hotel and then have a longer period to test.

Reporting our experience on the Eclipse: We boarded on April 23rd for the first leg of a B2B. The morning of April 30 my husband woke up with what seemed to be a mild cold. But in the interesting times we are living you can’t make assumptions any more so he used a home test (we had packed several of the OTC tests) and it tested positive. He was shocked since he didn’t feel that bad. Called Guest Relation immediately who immediately contacted the medical facility. Were very quickly contacted and a nurse arrived to test both of us. The husband’s PCR test was positive and the antigen test given to me was negative. He was moved to a quarantine oceanview cabin on deck 3. He was free to order off of any menu on the ship including Luminae (we were in a Suite). Meals were delivered promptly and served on ceramic plates with metal cutlery. Wine was delivered including glass wine glasses. An electric kettle was delivered so he had no wait in the morning for tea. Food was delivered hot. I opted to stay in our suite. The suite manager kept in contact with both of us. He was in contact with Miami and we were actually offered the option of staying on the ship for the second leg which started on May 4th. However we were concerned he would continue to test positive so left the ship on turnaround day. We opted for FCCs instead of refunds. On May 2nd the Retreat Manager delivered a pair of FCCs to me for the isolation period on the first leg, and also a pair of FCCs for the cruise fare of the second leg. We were not provided the letter as posted in post #4. We selected our own hotel to continue his isolation and are staying more days to enjoy our vacation.

We used the CVMedical pop-up testing site at YVR and were impressed. While we had an appointment walk-up clients didn’t seem to have any issues. We had our printed results within 30 minutes..

While there will an abundance of jewelry stores in all three ports mentioned I would suggest the Sealaska Heritage Center in Juneau. Sealaska is one of our Native Corporations and the store associated with the Heritage Center features some wonderful Alaska made products. I bought two pairs of earrings last summer made by Tlingit silversmiths.

We are at a hotel we have stayed at a number of times, and we are relaxed and happy. My husband had some days in quarantine, but Celebrity treated us every well. I am dating myself, but years ago the now departed Celebrity Century did 14 night RTs out of San Diego to Hawaii. We only were on that itinerary once (in 2012) but Kauai was never the Century’s itinerary. So why this guy was angry (again — his word) is beyond me.

I am sorry — I just don’t understand your “issue” with the ArriveCAN app. It is not a difficult issue. It is an efficient process to document your vaccination status, and link it to your passport and travel information. No need to repeatedly provide the information to airport boarding staff or Canadian border officials.