GeorgeCharlie

Again, no official word. Have heard some people mention 3 people tested positive, but with no symptoms.

Besides issues with Internet access/speed, the Navigator app has caused a lot of frustration for people. They have established Navigator as the only way to access the Internet On the first morning of the cruise, I went down to guest services at 6am and there was already about a dozen people waiting in line. At first there was only one person providing help, but after about 15 minutes, two other people came out to help. From what I could tell, other than one person who was there to complain being disrespected by staff, it appeared the rest were there trying to get Navigator working. The issues I was having related with getting a Windows 11 laptop and one of our Android phones to connect to Navigator. Managed to get a workaround for the Windows laptop, but was never able to get the Android phone to load the app, even though it's running the same version of android as my other phone. It seems like it may be due to some other app running in the background. Don't have time to research it and will just use the other phone. The Chat function seems to have its own mind as to whether it's going to work, or not!! In addition, there is no way to connect a Kindle to the Internet while on the ship.

Hi Judith, The guide is an individual who works by himself and specializes in Embera village tours. Have a look at my posting to the roll call for our cruise. Also have a look at the post #119, which gives some insight into what he is like as far as a guide goes. Bill

We are on the HAL Oosterdam, which was docked beside you yesterday, and we certainly needed the large busses!! It took several hours to get the ship's shore excursions off the ship, which meant the people who were taking private tours (including ourselves) did not get off until late morning. Our guide was at Fiamenco Marina for the prearranged pickup time of 7am and we were fortunate he had waited for us. Some others were not as lucky. As it was - our tour ended up being a rushed half-day tour, rather than a full day tour.

Hi Mary, We have the premium plan and over the past few days I've tried locations throughout the ship, along with various times, including 3am. The connection with the ship's Wi-Fi does not seem to be the problem. It's the Internet link where the congestion happens. When I could not get any improved connection at 3am, I talked to a guy at Guest Services. He said the main problem is that the connection is shared with the ship services, with the ship having priority over other users and the demand by ship has increased from a few years ago. Bill

Nothing official as to the reason for testing/masks. There has been some chatter that the testing requirement was because we would be in Panama the next day. But who knows?

Okay - managed to get a map of the cruise to load.

I had hoped to do a somewhat ‘live’ photo/comment review of our cruise. Unfortunately, the Internet is almost nonexistent! There have been some days where we could not send even a basic one-line email and one day it was down for maintenance for most of the afternoon. So, it looks like I will be limited to posting text comments. Once we return home, I’ll likely do a photo review of the cruise. We are on day 5 of the cruise and currently passing through the Panama Canal, Our embarkation in Miami was actually not too bad - considering they did not follow assigned boarding times. The last shuttle from our hotel was 1pm and the start of boarding was to be 1:00pm, with our assigned time being 2:40pm. The scheduled departure was 7:00pm. We arrived at the terminal at about 1:20pm and the terminal was already clogged, with the line-ups extending outside the building. There was two lines, one for priority/VeriFLY & one for everyone else. Seems like a lot of people used VeriFLY, as it was a longer line than the regular line. Some people who we were traveling with, initially tried the VeriFLY line, but soon joined us in the regular line. Once we made it through port security, the line to get registered went fairly fast. We were told we would be given a number for our boarding time, and we were to wait in the seating area (which was basically full) till our number was called. When we got to the head of the line, we were sent directly to the line of people boarding the ship. Likely took a total of about an hour from arriving, to when we were in our cabin. Comments regarding wearing of masks. The day before we were to depart, we received an email saying that wearing of masks would be required for the first 3 days of the cruise. When we were in the line to register, they were handing out masks and asking everyone to wear their mask. Once we were on board it seemed about 10% of people were not wearing masks – likely people who were on the previous cruise and now continuing on with this cruise. By the third day maybe 75% of people were not wearing masks. On the morning of day 4, there was a mandatory COVID test for everyone and now wearing has dropped down to only a few people. Will continue on with further comments shortly – Internet permitting!!

We're scheduled to be in Fuerte Amador this coming Nov 24/25, onboard HAL's Oosterdam. Hopefully, there will not be any more new construction bugs effecting our stay. Rather unfortunate for the passengers who had to be disembarked from the cruise.

Will be following with great interest, as we have a FutureDAM deposit down for the 2024 Grand Africa.😎

Most countries will have an online travel information site, which will outline the entry requirements for their citizens to other countries. For Canadians that site is: Travel advice and advisories by destination All you need to do is go to the Where are you going? search box and enter the country you are interested in. Once you are in travel information page for that country, you select the Entry and Exit requirements page link, scroll down to the Visas section to get your answer. There you will see that for both Chile and Argentina, tourist visas are not required for stays up to 90 days.😎

We're visiting Fuerte Amador in Nov and taking a private/independent Embera village tour. The tour company requires only names of each attendee. No proof of nationality or payment details (i.e., cash on day of tour).

Hopefully they will thrive to improve their service from the rough startup they've had since the COVID shutdown. As reported, the near future looks much better, with cumulative advance bookings for full year 2023 were reported to be slightly above the historical average and at considerably higher prices, as compared to 2019 sailings, normalized for future credits. So, it looks like 2023 is starting off fairly good for them.😎

You may not have to get tested in order to get into Canada, but unfortunately, there is a good chance the cruise lines will keep in place the requirement of a negative test prior to boarding. For now, it is still good PR against all the negative press regarding cruising which still exists!!

The expected relaxation of COVID-19 requirements appears to be coming. An article in The Globe and Mail outlines what they feel is going to happen. "The federal government plans to drop the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for people who enter Canada by the end of September, the same day it ends random testing of arrivals and makes optional the ArriveCan app, The Globe and Mail has learned. The changes, for arrivals at land, air and sea ports of entry, are planned for Sept. 30, but have yet to be finalized by cabinet, according to four sources The Globe is not naming because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The mask requirement for people on trains and planes will remain in place, at the direction of Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, according to two of the sources. The aviation and travel industries have been pushing the government to relax the rules that cover international travel, saying they discourage visitors and are out of step with many other countries as the pandemic eases. The United States requires all entrants to be vaccinated, and it is not known if the requirement will be lifted at the same time as Canada’s." Canada to make ArriveCan optional, drop COVID-19 vaccine requirement at the border by Sept. 30: sources - The Globe and Mail

The expected relaxation of COVID-19 requirements appears to be coming. An article in The Globe and Mail outlines what they feel is going to happen. "The federal government plans to drop the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for people who enter Canada by the end of September, the same day it ends random testing of arrivals and makes optional the ArriveCan app, The Globe and Mail has learned. The changes, for arrivals at land, air and sea ports of entry, are planned for Sept. 30, but have yet to be finalized by cabinet, according to four sources The Globe is not naming because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The mask requirement for people on trains and planes will remain in place, at the direction of Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, according to two of the sources. The aviation and travel industries have been pushing the government to relax the rules that cover international travel, saying they discourage visitors and are out of step with many other countries as the pandemic eases. The United States requires all entrants to be vaccinated, and it is not known if the requirement will be lifted at the same time as Canada’s." Canada to make ArriveCan optional, drop COVID-19 vaccine requirement at the border by Sept. 30: sources - The Globe and Mail

Thanks

With all the rules regarding bringing plastic containers onboard, am I correct to assume mouthwash in its original plastic container is still allowed?

Have you tried 1-800-628-4771? You may get forwarded to a regular HAL agent, but they should connect you with a Flight Ease agent.

Yes, I have booked a cruise online and then notified my PCC of the booking. I have also booked Flight Ease online, then followed up with notification to the PCC. The confirmations from HAL showed the PCC's Travel Advisor code as the booking agent. The PCC was able to suggest alternate cabins and added various perks, such as OBC which did not show up with the initial online booking. The PCC is also helpful in getting upgrades, especially after the final payment date.

Have a look at this blog, it may answer your question. 26 Hotels near Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port with 'Free' Shuttle 2022 (allcruisehotels.com)

Have a look at this blog, it may be able to answer your question. 26 Hotels near Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port with 'Free' Shuttle 2022 (allcruisehotels.com)

We have purchased the Premium Internet Package for our upcoming 31-day cruise. The 26-31 days package cost was $263.99, which represents a 20% savings.

BE AWARE - There are two exchange rates in Argentina. The official rate and the Blue rate. If you use ATM's, or credit cards, you will get the official rate, which means you'll be only getting about half as many pesos per dollar!! If you want to get the best exchange rate take new, crisp $50 or $100 notes, and exchange them for pesos with one many vendors in any of the major shopping areas. Most independent tourist guides will be happy to exchange your dollars, just let him/her know ahead of time. The three major Buenos Aries newspapers list both exchange rates. This article covers the background as to why the two rates exist. Everything You Need To Know To Save Using the Dollar Blue in Argentina (boardingarea.com) You can get up-to-date exchange rates from numerous sites on the internet, such as Blue Dollar Rates : Informal Rate, Formal Rate & Bank Rate of US Dollar in Argentina

In case you didn't notice , there is a roll call for your 5-day cruise. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2808878-december-29-2022-5-days/ It seems most of the postings relate to people who are taking the 128-Day Grand World Voyage, which is the next Zuiderdam cruise. They are adding on the 5-day cruise, as they feel it would be less hassle flying in mid-week, rather then the holiday long-weekend.