GOTTODOIT

Thank you MartinCath for all that wonderful info.  I will google "luggage storage Vancouver BC"

and also Pan Pacific hotel.

Very much appreciate your reply

14 minutes ago, martincath said:

The official pier storage is the worst possible option for someone with a very late flight - you must go collect your bags again by 4:30pm, yet they charge more per bag than any other storage option downtown! I do agree the best option is to stash bags downtown, as that is the most time-efficient option - provided you choose a place that stays open until at least 8pm!

 

Given I live close enough to the pier to have always just walked home with my bags, I cannot speak from personal experience about any specific options - but if you Google 'luggage storage Vancouver BC' you will find several web-based sites that have made deals with local hotels and shops to hold bags for prices between $7 and $10 per bag - some give exact locations in advance, others only approximate until you book (like AirBnB), but all offer hefty guarantees against losses. There's also the hotel right above the pier, the Pan Pacific, whose bell staff have been holding bags ad hoc for non-guests for years if you don't want to commit to a service in advance.

 

Spend the day doing lots of stuff locally, have a great dinner downtown, grab your bags, take SkyTrain out to the airport - flights that late, even if it's via the USA rather than direct to Oz, go from normal International gates rather than Transborder which removes one step from the process, and YVR is simply never as busy at that hour. I would personally be comfortable leaving downtown 2 hours preflight by SkyTrain - you'll have ~90mins to check bags, get through Security, and board which is plenty.

Thank you GDNPolar for the info,  I am leaning towards the cruise terminal luggage drop and wandering or booking a day tour

4 hours ago, whee-sailing said:

 

You don't have to waste time going all the way to the airport and back. Cruise ship passengers can pay to store their luggage at the cruise ship terminal with Westcoast Sightseeing.

 

https://westcoastsightseeing.com/services/all-day-baggage-storage/

Thank you for the info and the link, that will be very handy,

Hello,  we disembark the NCL Jewel on 29th April and our flight home is not until 11 pm.  Would appreciate any info or ideas how to fill in our day so we are not sitting at the airport for so long, watching the clock go round.  We will have our luggage to consider also. 

I was thinking that we take our luggage to airport and put in lockers but then what?

thank you 

Not that I have noticed,  last on Gem Sept, and one section was designated for smokers

There are many reliable tour companies and I would try one of the more reliable companies who wont let you down and leave you all standing on the pier waiting, waiting, waiting

On 6/17/2022 at 3:55 AM, cant wait to retire said:

Ive emailed them regarding 3 excursions that we were interested in.  They replied within 24 hrs.  We're actually booked and paid for the Best of Florence & Pisa excursion in July.  Also booked for the Pompeii, Sorrento and Amalfi plus Mount Etna and Taormina but currently we are the only ones booked for these excursions.  They need at least 8 people.

Beware,  if you don't have 8 participants, they just won't turn up.  Happen to us a fortnight ago,

left standing on the pier waiting,  they sent an email the evening before saying because we didn't have the numbers the tour was cancelled. We didn;t see the email until much later as we didn't have internet connection all the time we were on the ship.  When I read the email, I replied to them, and was furious

and then I was threatened with a Law suit should I say anything on Cruise Critic or Tripadvisor.  

Heads up, Australia Zoo in the hinterland, amazing place.  Mooloolaba is not the usual cruise ship stop and only a short distance from Brisbane so you will love the relaxed atmosphere, the beautiful beach,

the underwater aquarium, just a few of the charms of Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast

NCL have sent emails out confirming that the port for Venice is now Trieste.
2 hours by train from Venice to Trieste.

On 3/22/2022 at 10:32 AM, alwayscruisetime said:

Pre-Covid we had no trouble getting to Florence ourselves from the ship.  The trains were reliable, safe, and by doing it ourselves and hustling off the ship at the earliest opportunity, we were in Florence long before any other group from the ship made it.  Easy and cheap if you have no mobility issues.  The same for the return. 

 

Hope it is the same for you now. 

We are on the NCL Epic in June.  Livorno port, there will be buses to take us from boat into the city.

The Port is a working port and we cannot disembark on our own,  you must take the buses provided.

We have booked a transfer to Florence from Livorno with Get your Guide.  The bus leaves where we will be dropped of the bus from the boat.  This is for return trip back to meet the bus in the afternoon going back to the boat.  The cost in AUD is $55 return,  map, english speaking info given on the bus,

6 hours ago, TrumpyNor said:

I know that you have received several replies to your original question. Depending on when your cruise actually is, the European "covid regulations" may be gone in all of EU by the time your board your ship. From April 1st until end of May, the "covid-rules" in most of EU will be removed one by one, until end of May where probably only the vaccine requirements will remain in place.

We are booked on a cruise from Trieste end of July, and hoping that by then at least for cruises with itineraries within EU, no covid test will be needed also for NCL cruises. I am also suspecting that along the way when the other covid regulations are dissappearing one by one, then the covid tests will not be offered at as many venues as today...

thank you for your reply.

It is NCL that is imposing the covid test, not the country, so I too am hopeful that it will be removed.

13 minutes ago, Brian V said:

You could Google "rapid antigen test Trieste", many farmacie offer tests at a reasonable price (20 euro or so) with results in 20 minutes.

 

Hoping this is not still an issue when we go in September 🙂

Great idea, thank you.  I will ask at the hotel and I am sure they will be able to point us in the right direction

We are doing a 7 day cruise, embarking in Trieste. We are doing a couple of weeks in Switzerland, Italy, before getting the train to Venice then Trieste.

I am wondering what we are going to do with regard to getting our Covid 19 Testing prior to boarding.

Anyone have any idea or advice?  

thank you

28 minutes ago, Nang said:

Something to consider when considering SCTI ...

 

https://www.scti.com.au/about/understanding-travel-warnings

When the travel advisory is at a ‘Reconsider your need to travel’ (level 3) or ‘Do not travel’ (level 4) level, we call this a ‘travel warning’. It is important that you understand how these travel warnings affect your cover, before you purchase your insurance. 

 

Type of travel advisory	Effect on your policy
A travel advisory that affects just part of a country	You won’t be covered for events in that part of the country that relate to that travel advisory.
A travel advisory that affects the whole country	You won’t be covered for events anywhere in that country that relate to that travel advisory.

It is not only SCTI but all insurance companies. You would not be covered by any company if you travel under a level 3 or level 4.  You should not be travelling to any area level 3 or level 4. You need to take notice of the government Smartraveller alerts and warnings.

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

I am quite happy to travel with the insurance limitations you mention. I am prepared to risk a lockdown - I don't think there will be any. Before the days of COVID, travel insurance still had a lot of restrictions. From memory, a pandemic was an automatic exclusion.

Happy to agree.  I have 4 cruises booked for this year and we are really looking forward to them.

8 minutes ago, Cruisers47 said:

A bit rude🥶🤐

I agree, I just won't reply to them again, put them on my Blocked list.

😁😊

26 minutes ago, Cleopatra99 said:

I'm glad I stumbled across this discussion. We are dealing with the same dilemma. In relation to Southern Cross Travel mentioned earlier, the cut-paste below is from their website today.

 

I'm not sure how everyone else deals with risk, but there is no way I would travel under those restrictions by the insurance company (specifically the ones related to decisions by various governments)

 

I'll keep looking, but I'm somewhat pessimistic about finding something suitable.

 

Please continue to offer suggestions.

 

• What COVID-related expenses will travel insurance not cover?

  SCTI won't cover COVID-19 losses or expenses in the following situations:

  • If you or a relevant person are not fully vaccinated
  • If a claim is connected to a government restriction due to COVID-19
  • Where boarding of transport is denied because of a failure to get the documents necessary for the journey, such as a COVID-19 vaccination history or a negative COVID-19 test
  • Getting COVID-19 while travelling to a destination or a region which has a level 3 or 4 travel advisory in place for COVID-19 on the Smartraveller  website.

  There are other exclusions, so we encourage you to read your policy wording and Supplementary Product Disclosure Statement carefully.

   

• Is there cover if my travel is affected by a lockdown or a change in travel advisory by the Government?

  There is no cover under our TravelCare or Domestic policy for government restrictions, lockdowns, or any pause to quarantine-free travel.

No company will give a policy to someone who is Not Fully Vaccinated.

If you fail to follow the instructions for boarding a plane, i.e. covid 19 test, then of course you would not be covered. It is the travellers responsibility to check what is required.

If you travel to an area that is 3 or 4 level,  You should not be travelling there,  You have to take note of the Government Smarttraveller  Advice.  That is the same also for all policies whether you get a policy for COVID or a normal policy.

18 minutes ago, JohnGc said:

Had a look at Southern Cross Travel Insurance for  cruise cover from Brisbane to Tasmania  but could not find any domestic cover. 

My policy was for overseas travel and cruises but I would give them call and check with them.

They won't keep you hanging on for hours and hours.

5 minutes ago, possum52 said:

Our regular travel insurer is Insure and Go which has this note on its website - Please, note we are currently not offering Cruise, Annual Multi-trip or Backpacker policies. Check the website regularly for further updates.

 

I guess we may be looking for an another insurer, and one that has good cover for Covid. If we can't buy insurance that we think is neccessary for us, we may not cruise or travel internationally for some time.

 

 

Hello Leigh,

We got full Covid cover with SCTI,  Southern Cross Travel Insurance, half the price of other quotes and the other quotes did not cover Covid.

Even NCL recommended travel insurer, Covermore, did not cover for Covid.

We were doing 4 cruises in the Carribbean in January and I took out cover with SCTI.  The first 2 cruises were cancelled and so we decided not to go.  I rang SCTI and asked if I could cancel the policy and get a refund.  They immediately, whilst I was on the phone, processed the Refund less $35.00 fee.

Very good.  I have taken out another policy with them for our May cruise.

You are very lucky to have some cover but it does have exclusions.

Allianz is the underwriter for Westpac and Citibank credit cards. I know, because I have both.

However, the last paragraph in your posting would still give me some concern.

 In this ever changing world, what if another strain of the Covid virus breaks out and governments close the borders and you are unable to enter "Cover may be excluded".

I know for my peace of mind, we are doing 4 cruises this year, that I will pay a bit extra and be totally covered. We have always travelled with our credit card insurance but not this year.

"Or if, a government closes its borders to inbound travellers due to COVID-19 and you are unable to enter and follow your planned travel across the closed border, cover may be excluded."

This is the reply I received from Allianz insurance re Travel Insurance for Covid.  If you have travel insurance with you credit card then you will not be covered for Covid.

Suggest you go to STCI, Southern Cross Travel Insurance,. Very good to deal with, no lengthy phone delays, answered all my questions and premium was really good compared to other quotes I received and these quotes did not cover Covid.

Dear Ruth,

Thank you for contacting us via email

1. We are unable to provide you with Covid related insurance, due to the general exclusion listed in your policy booklet.

General Exclusions  pages 41 > 45

To the extent permitted by law we do not cover you for any loss, damage or expense caused by, arising directly or indirectly from or in any way related to:

 15. any epidemic or pandemic;

Please visit the Insurance Council of Australia ‘find an insurer’ site so that you can decide what product is best for your circumstances.

The Insurance Council of Australia ‘find an insurer’ site can be found here:  https://www.findaninsurer.com.au

I read the Westpac credit insurer,  also Allianz, today.  It clearly states that it does not cover pandemic or epidemic.  

I sent an email to Allianz customer service to please clarify if we are covered for Covid related expenses, medical, hospitalisation, trip disruption etc.

The automated reply said I would receive a reply within 2 days.

When I get a reply, I will come back and post it here.

12 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

Looks like the state of emergency will expire March 31st and not prolonged. MSC announced now that the passengers are free to go out on their own by April.

 

steamboats

Great news Steamboats,   thank you for posting

10 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

My CC insurance does cover Covid related expenses.

Thank you for the heads up.  I will ring my credit card insurance company and make an inquiry.