Deployment 2022-23 booking season begins

[island lady]

3 hours ago, yogimax said:

I know little about Bordeaux wines.  Any recommendations?

 

I'd be interested to know what European countries you will hit on your 23 day journey.

 

Mmm..."left bank"...most expensive...most delicious.   Lots of Merlot and Cab grapes there..but all French reds in that area are called "Bordeaux".    Left bank has a lot of wonderful blends.  Try them all for sure!!  🤗

 

We will start out in Amsterdam, ending in Bucharest.   We will travel through 8 countries...with a bonus of an overnight in Vienna.  🙂    Traveling through the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, and Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia.  

Edited November 10, 2020 by island lady

[Tree_skier]

Do we know when Canada/NE are going on sale yet?

[Ashland]

8 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Do we know when Canada/NE are going on sale yet?

Possibly late this month...I booked my Canada/NE for Oct 2021 in early Dec 2019.

[Blizzard54]

The pricing that we have seen so far are a little on the high side but that is normal when they first come out.  As was mentioned the Quantum has had a lot of good promotions for 2021 because it was a late addition to the market.  It also has a much different port list that is new.

 

It will be very interesting to see what is offered during the next wave season. 

[Ourusualbeach]

2 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

Do we know when Canada/NE are going on sale yet?

I wouldn’t count on anything other than the 3 summer regions Alaska, Caribbean and Europe until January. 

[Ourusualbeach]

2 hours ago, Blizzard54 said:

The pricing that we have seen so far are a little on the high side but that is normal when they first come out.  As was mentioned the Quantum has had a lot of good promotions for 2021 because it was a late addition to the market.  It also has a much different port list that is new.

 

It will be very interesting to see what is offered during the next wave season. 

Do you recall then the fall TP went on sale last year.  Wondering if it’s release is part of the Alaska release or a separate release. 

[Blizzard54]

6 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Do you recall then the fall TP went on sale last year.  Wondering if it’s release is part of the Alaska release or a separate release. 

I do not recall.  I usually do not pay too much attention to fall TP's.  

As I recall they are usually separate from Alaska. On the other hand not much is normal anymore.

    

[Ourusualbeach]

2 minutes ago, Blizzard54 said:

I do not recall.  I usually do not pay too much attention to fall TP's.  

As I recall they are usually separate from Alaska. On the other hand not much is normal anymore.

    

Thanks. 

[Ashland]

39 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I wouldn’t count on anything other than the 3 summer regions Alaska, Caribbean and Europe until January. 

Agree...can't count on anything. I was actually surprised that the Alaska bookings came out late (10:30pm west coast time) last night...usually it's the week of..so thought it would be later in this week.

[Blizzard54]

53 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Agree...can't count on anything. I was actually surprised that the Alaska bookings came out late (10:30pm west coast time) last night...usually it's the week of..so thought it would be later in this week.

But they only released a few dates, maybe the rest by the end of the week.

[Cruise Wonderland]

On 10/29/2020 at 7:35 AM, springaussie said:

Serenade of the Seas

13-Night Asia Reposition February 27, 2022 Sydney, Australia • Cruising (2 Nights) • Airlie Beach, Queensland, Australia • Cairns (Yourkey’S Knob), Australia • Cruising (2 Nights) Darwin, Australia • Cruising (2 Nights) • Benoa, Bali, Indonesia •Cruising (2Nights) •Singapore

 

Hong Kong did have a port booking in April or May 2022 for Serenade. This booking has been deleted. I assume a dry dock in between at Singapore was or still is the plan. 

 

 

Serenade re-appears in the port booking of Hong Kong on 3rd April 2022.

[Blizzard54]

3 hours ago, Cruise Wonderland said:

 

Serenade re-appears in the port booking of Hong Kong on 3rd April 2022.

I believe the Serenade will be drydocking in Singapore and this would be the resumption of sailing post drydock.

[yogimax]

22 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Mmm..."left bank"...most expensive...most delicious.   Lots of Merlot and Cab grapes there..but all French reds in that area are called "Bordeaux".    Left bank has a lot of wonderful blends.  Try them all for sure!!  🤗

 

We will start out in Amsterdam, ending in Bucharest.   We will travel through 8 countries...with a bonus of an overnight in Vienna.  🙂    Traveling through the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, and Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia.  

That's an amazing itinerary.  Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia should be quite fascinating.  They are not typical vacation destinations and, of course, were all part of the communist sphere of influence at one time.

 

I will have to remember "left bank."  I googled information and it is quite fascinating.  Thanks for the heads up!

[twangster]

22 hours ago, Blizzard54 said:

I noticed that both the Quantum and Ovation will be coming from Hawaii and will be home porting in Seattle.   Normally. both ships would sail from Hawaii to Vancouver and then the first Alaska sailing would start in Vancouver and end in Seattle.  Both of these are not showing yet.  

 

Ovation's approach had shifted to a short repo between Vancouver and Seattle.  I was looking at it in 2020 but the shutdown killed it.  

 

Maybe they are trying to decide between another long Alaska repo like in 2019 or a short repo like 2020.  

 

I'm booked on the transpacific so watching it closely myself, waiting for the next Northbound leg to become available.

 

If past Hawaii to Vancouver cruises are any measure Ovation should arrive around May 6 into Vancouver but they need to respect tide tables and watch for any king tides that may be in the forecast that could hamper passing under the Lions Gate bridge so maybe they are waiting for more confidence in the tide forecast.

 

Time will tell.  

[Sunny AZ Girl]

25 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Ovation's approach had shifted to a short repo between Vancouver and Seattle.  I was looking at it in 2020 but the shutdown killed it.  

 

Maybe they are trying to decide between another long Alaska repo like in 2019 or a short repo like 2020.  

 

I'm booked on the transpacific so watching it closely myself, waiting for the next Northbound leg to become available.

 

 

We did the 2019 Alaska Repo on the Ovation - 11 nights.  It was the best itinerary I could hope for!  We loved the extra time and the port days in Icy Point Strait and Sitka that are not on the usual itineraries.  

 

We are also on the TP in 2022, but on the Quantum.  I am inclined to stay in Hawaii a few days, but want to see what the repo offers before we make any decisions.

[Blizzard54]

24 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Ovation's approach had shifted to a short repo between Vancouver and Seattle.  I was looking at it in 2020 but the shutdown killed it.  

 

Maybe they are trying to decide between another long Alaska repo like in 2019 or a short repo like 2020.  

 

I'm booked on the transpacific so watching it closely myself, waiting for the next Northbound leg to become available.

 

If past Hawaii to Vancouver cruises are any measure Ovation should arrive around May 6 into Vancouver but they need to respect tide tables and watch for any king tides that may be in the forecast that could hamper passing under the Lions Gate bridge so maybe they are waiting for more confidence in the tide forecast.

 

Time will tell.  

We are also on the Ovation TP and would like to extend to Seattle.   Since the Ovation and Quantum will probably arrive in Vancouver a day apart, there will be options for those interested.  They will be different because their sailings from Seattle will be different.  

 

We were on the Ovation for the long repo in 2019.  It was interesting going under the bridge with the stacks down.

 

Most of our life these days has become wait and see...

[twangster]

6 minutes ago, Blizzard54 said:

We are also on the Ovation TP and would like to extend to Seattle.   Since the Ovation and Quantum will probably arrive in Vancouver a day apart, there will be options for those interested.  They will be different because their sailings from Seattle will be different.  

 

We were on the Ovation for the long repo in 2019.  It was interesting going under the bridge with the stacks down.

 

Most of our life these days has become wait and see...

 

I looked at jumping off Ovation and moving to Quantum in Honolulu with a night in a hotel but it creates a PVSA violation ending in Seattle. 

 

I'm booked on the NZ cruise before the TP so I'm already on board for 27 nights.  Adding another 10 to Vancouver puts me at 37 nights.  That's why I thought about the bounce to Quantum but the darn PVSA enters the picture if I board Quantum in Honolulu.  If I stay on Ovation I'm clear of the PVSA ending in Seattle.

Edited November 11, 2020 by twangster

[Blizzard54]

1 minute ago, Sunny AZ Girl said:

We did the 2019 Alaska Repo on the Ovation - 11 nights.  It was the best itinerary I could hope for!  We loved the extra time and the port days in Icy Point Strait and Sitka that are not on the usual itineraries.  

 

We are also on the TP in 2022, but on the Quantum.  I am inclined to stay in Hawaii a few days, but want to see what the repo offers before we make any decisions.

That was a great trip.  For the 2021 season the Quantum has Sitka as a regular port and many include Icy Point Strait .

[MindyJohn]

On 11/10/2020 at 11:29 AM, Blizzard54 said:

I noticed that both the Quantum and Ovation will be coming from Hawaii and will be home porting in Seattle.   Normally. both ships would sail from Hawaii to Vancouver and then the first Alaska sailing would start in Vancouver and end in Seattle.  Both of these are not showing yet.  

I'm waiting to see what they do with Quantum after she arrives in Honolulu on April 26 and begins Alaska from Seattle on May 16.  I know you're doing the same for Ovation.  I wonder when their plans will be unveiled!  

[island lady]

1 hour ago, yogimax said:

That's an amazing itinerary.  Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia should be quite fascinating.  They are not typical vacation destinations and, of course, were all part of the communist sphere of influence at one time.

 

I will have to remember "left bank."  I googled information and it is quite fascinating.  Thanks for the heads up!

 

You are most welcome.  

 

Yeah, I was surprised at the countries we will visit as well...as indeed not on the usual tourist foot path for sure.  😉  History lessons there should be quiet fascinating.  

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

 

I looked at jumping off Ovation and moving to Quantum in Honolulu with a night in a hotel but it creates a PVSA violation ending in Seattle. [...] That's why I thought about the bounce to Quantum but the darn PVSA enters the picture if I board Quantum in Honolulu.  If I stay on Ovation I'm clear of the PVSA ending in Seattle.

That's interesting. Why is that?

[twangster]

20 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

That's interesting. Why is that?

 

By getting off Ovation in Honolulu and boarding a different ship such as Quantum it breaks the journey into two trips that are viewed by CBP independently of each other.

 

Staying on the same ship all the way is viewed by CBP as one trip.  

 

The PVSA doesn't allow a foreign flagged vessel to transport passengers between two US ports without stopping in a qualifying port of call.  Honolulu and Seattle are US ports.  There are no qualifying ports to satisfy the PVSA on the itinerary. 

 

CBP looks at the overall trip from embarkation at the origin to disembarkation at the final destination.  Sydney to Honolulu to Vancouver to Seattle is viewed by CBP as simply being Sydney to Seattle as the origin and final destination.  This doesn't violate the PVSA because the overall journey is not between two US ports.

 

If I disembark Ovation in Honolulu that completes that trip.  CBP views that as Sydney to Honolulu and that doesn't violate the PVSA because Sydney is not a US port. 

 

If I board Quantum in Honolulu the very next day that is my new origin city. CBP doesn't allow me to claim Sydney as my origin because I disembarked a different ship on a different day.  This becomes no different compare to anyone else boarding the ship in Honolulu.  Everyone boarding the ship in Honolulu can not complete their trip at a US port.  Everyone boarding in Honolulu has to disembark in Vancouver (Canada).  They cannot stay on the ship as it repositions to Seattle because that would violate the PVSA.

 

Sydney to Honolulu to Vancouver to Seattle = Okay (does not start and end at US ports)

Honolulu to Vancouver to Seattle = Not Okay (starts and ends at US ports)

Honolulu to Vancouver = Okay (does not start and end at US ports)

 

 

Edited November 11, 2020 by twangster

[FionaMG]

26 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Sydney to Honolulu to Vancouver to Seattle = Okay (does not start and end at US ports)

Honolulu to Vancouver to Seattle = Not Okay (starts and ends at US ports)

Honolulu to Vancouver = Okay (does not start and end at US ports)

 

 

Thanks for the very clear explanation. I remember reading several times of people falling foul of the rules on that route and wondered what the issue was. Wasn't there a case documented here on the boards last year of somebody who had to get off in Victoria (?) and travel overland for a bit before rejoining the ship in order for their cruise not to be cancelled? 

[twangster]

4 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

Thanks for the very clear explanation. I remember reading several times of people falling foul of the rules on that route and wondered what the issue was. Wasn't there a case documented here on the boards last year of somebody who had to get off in Victoria (?) and travel overland for a bit before rejoining the ship in order for their cruise not to be cancelled? 

 

There was and if I recall the issue there was compounded because Royal altered the cruise due to a mandatory USCG inspection in Honolulu.  The original booking didn't violate the PVSA but once Royal modified the cruise for the USCG inspection it became a PVSA violation.  Ovation had never been to the US before that cruise so the required inspection was more involved.  

[FionaMG]

24 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

There was and if I recall the issue there was compounded because Royal altered the cruise due to a mandatory USCG inspection in Honolulu.  The original booking didn't violate the PVSA but once Royal modified the cruise for the USCG inspection it became a PVSA violation.  Ovation had never been to the US before that cruise so the required inspection was more involved.  

What a nightmare! Thanks again for your insight.