Vancity Cruiser

We have done 5 cruises including January (when cruises were being cancelled due to omicron) where we needed negative PCR test to return to Canada and have never had a positive test. I'm curious for all those testing positive if you have symptoms or why are you testing? Just because you heard others are testing positive? I've never understood the testing of non symptomatic individuals.

Not only do I cruise with a carry on, I also fit some of my wife's clothes in there that don't fit in her fullsize lol.

10 minutes ago, ticoman said:

Quantum of the Seas, sailing July 27 out of Seattle.

Latest update is that they just automatically reallocated our rooms with an e-mail that "After completing an onboard stateroom audit of Quantum of the Seas, we found a discrepancy with your stateroom's capacity requiring us to move you to a new stateroom on our June 27, 2022 sailing."  We are now in cabins 9164 and 7290 - very far apart from each other.  We were in 12276 and 12274.

That is very unfortunate and inconvenient for a family of 7 with young children 

Favourite - Blue planet (original production on Allure)

Worst -Cats

It is very rare to find hockey games shown anywhere on a cruise ship. Perhaps the Stanley cup final will be an exception but I wouldn’t count on it.

Please don’t encourage the ‘one and done’ posters by insinuating their whining is going to be read by someone at Royal headquarters

10 hours ago, SPS said:

Joey: Does he like you? Because if he doesn't like you, this is all a MOO point.
Rachel: Huh? A moo point?
Joey: Yeah, it's like a cow's opinion. It just doesn't matter. It's MOO. 

I use this line all the time! I love it!

35 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I'm posting this in the Rumors section b/c I have not seen it but one place, so far.

La Vida Loca is reporting that Celebrity will be lifting the vaccination requirement for passengers under 17 years old, for cruises from Europe.

Granted, this is a subset of a subset of a subset of cruisers, but to my knowledge this is the first time I have read of any vaccination requirement being lifted anywhere.  Testing requirements ?  Yes...but not vaxxes as far as I know.

Anybody else hear this anywhere officially ?  Could there be a crack ?

La Lido Loca is where I heard it as well. 

46 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

This is not for US or Caribbean based cruises, only European so far.

So hopefully in about 3-6 moths we should see it here in North America. That seems to be the trend so far.....as Europe goes, North America follow months later. 

Although I can pretty much gaurantee it wont change here in Canada for this Alaskan season.

Celebrity has changed their vaccine policy so anyone 17 or younger no longer requires a vaccine for thier European cruises.

2 hours ago, Michelle westley said:

Booked Explorers of the seas for our 25th wedding anniversary as it was advertised as having 110 million Refit this has not been done and they are refusing  to give a refund but to me this was sold under false advertising as we would never have booked a 20 year old ship without it having had the work done so as Two disabled people have now lost the money we had saved for our 25th wedding anniversary and my husbands 65th birthday so thanks for that RC as this would have been out last cruise due to my husband having working age dementia that will only get worse so by the time we save up again to Replace the money we have lost he will be to ill to go as this would take 3 years to save I really do hope you can sleep at night 

When is the sailing? It sounds like you booked some time ago so you should be eligible for cruise with confidence. If you say you are uncomfortable with the current protocols you should be able to get a refund.

1 hour ago, Suite Snob said:

Each to their own!  And if you really read my whole post, it doesn't limit my dissatisfaction with just the terminal.  

Pier 91 is definately less convenient than Pier 66. 

37 minutes ago, Suite Snob said:

Ovation docked at pier 66 pre-revenue cruising this Alaska season, while they were training and receiving arriving crew.  Other than that, it is slated to cruise out of Pier 91, exceptions can apply, I guess.  Too bad really, Pier 66 looks much better in many ways.  I really don't care for Pier 91, it's not originally a cruise terminal, it is/was a cargo terminal, for that reason, mostly, I'll not be back to Seattle.  I'm not just talking about the building, it's the whole set-up.  Parking, dropping off luggage, convenience to the city (location and highway system), etc etc etc.  I think that Royal's new terminal in the Port of Miami is a home-run, almost perfect for the cruising passenger.    

I thought I'd seen everything on this blog but I've never before seen someone say they are going to avoid a cruise because they didn't like the embarkation terminal!

23 hours ago, steverk said:

I just got off Radiance and thought she looked good. However,  one elevator was out of commission.

Good to hear! We were on her first cruise back and she was in terrible condition. Balcony door handle came off in my hand when I tried to open it. Our Cabin steward put down a towel as a bath mat each day due to several missing tiles in our bathroom. Curtains were frayed. There were several (at least 7) broken window panes in this ship that has a lot of glass viewing areas. None of the hot tubs had working jets. The ceiling in the main dining room had several water spots and peeling paint. She was in rough shape but the crew was working hard to get her spruced up.

2 hours ago, RebN said:

I know we have to take a Covid test before we get off the ship in Vancouver.  We'll be staying there for a few days.  Do we need to test again before we get on a flight back to U.S.?

You do not need a Covid test before getting off the ship in Vancouver. Canada no longer requires a negative test for arrival. For some reason the US is hanging on to this requirement so you will need one to get on a flight to the US (it is not required to drive across the border into US ).

I love the open ocean! For this reason river cruising is not appealing to me. The open ocean helps me feel disconnected. Ports of call are secondary to me. I love that the room, activities, dining, and entertainment is all within easy distance. There are not a lot of decisions to be made once on board.

I regularly have several cruises a year booked out 2 years in advanced. I have never not gone a cruise I have booked unless it was cancelled.

11 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

Well, did the arriveCAN and no one asked for it,

we did have to do a customs form for Canada. It had to be turned in by day 2, noon, on our 2nd day. 

The ArriveCAN info is linked to your passport so when the agent scans your passport they see the ArriveCAN information.

1 hour ago, Harbuddies said:

How far in advance are you supposed to fill out the form, I think I read 72 hours prior to getting on the ship, is that correct? We sail 6/10 just wondering if I filled out the form now if it would be too early.

 

thanks!

You can submit your passport and vaccine info at anytime. Once that is saved you only have to fill out the entry information for each trip you take.

3 hours ago, luv2sail said:

I just downloaded the app and completed the process for my Ovation cruise leaving Friday, June 3.  My son (23) and I are together on the form/QR Code paper that was emailed and in my app. Is this ok, or should  he have his own account/form and so forth?

The requirement is one submission per household. I’m not sure how closely that is scrutinized.

18 hours ago, Peter D said:

Quick follow up on this topic for those who may be interested. 

We entered Canada via the ArriveCan on 20May2022 to board Radiance of Seas for one way trip to Seward.  We used the cruise terminal as our address where we would be staying in Canada.

Canada Place Cruise Terminal
999 Canada Place    
British Columbia, Canada V6C 3T4

We got on the ship (after a ridiculously long delay) and off we went on our Alaska Adventure, leaving Canada on same day 20May2022.

Three days later (23May2022)... I received an email and telephone call from Canada Health Authorities stating I had been selected for the mandatory PCR test and their records showed I had not done so within the required 24 hour period.  This was the first I had heard about it, 3 days after leaving the country.  Border agent did not say anything about it. 

Anyhow, with all the threats of fines and quarantine facility transfers, I decided to call the general inquiries number provided in the email (1-833-784-4397) and a helpful representative walked me through the steps to change my contact information and certify that I had already left the country 3 days prior.  After it was submitted, I got the email that I was off the hook.

My wife got the same messages the following day....

Anyhow, figured I would share the experience in case it happens to any one else entering Canada for cruises.     

Sounds like typical governmental incompetence lol

1 hour ago, LizzyBee23 said:

Sure, but not with Royal. We're kind of locked in for our next few reservations, but my in laws were brand hoppers before and said they'll essentially be crossing RCL off the list after our experience on Ovation. Who knows if we would have fared better on HAL or NCL, but it is what it is. We plan at least half of our vacations with them, so I suppose after our cheapy cruise in Nov on Radiance we'll just have to see.  Thankfully the two after that are on refundable deposits.

If you think this is an RCI specific problem you are going to be sorely dissapointed. NCL and Carnival both have annouced certain specialty restaurants across all ships will be closed till further notice. Carnival has cancelled their loyalty parties on board till further notice. NCL has moved to once per day stateroom cleaning on several ships. Staff and supply chain shortages are a reality across the world and in all industries. 

48 minutes ago, Matt said:

Question for our Canadian friends on re-pricing in Cruise Planner.

A person in my YT live stream last night said when a Canadian re-prices something in Cruise Planner (cancels and rebooks), when they cancel, they are refunded at the prevailing exchange rates, which means if the Canadian Dollar value drops between when they booked and when they cancel, they would get less money back.

Is this true?

All my bookings are in Canadian, as are my cruise planner purchaces so any refunds I get from cancelation are exactly what I paid.

You will need to have ArriveCAN filled out for your arrival to Canada for your cruise. You DO NOT need to fill it out for a northbound cruise that terminates in Seward. 

This email is just Royal IT not being able to differentiate between one way and closed loop sailings so they send out shotgun emails to anyone booked on a cruise from Vancouver.

9 minutes ago, RFW63050 said:

Is there a great savings by booking while on a current cruise (by using NextCruise)?  Of can the same benefits be obtained from a Travel Agent?

The benefit of using Next cruise is the reduced deposit as well as onboard credit. You can however, do both. You can book with Nextcruise (or purchase a next cruise certificate) and have the booking moved to you travel agent. 

Something to keep in mind is that some of the larger travel agencies buy group space at a great rate and then these cabins are sold through thier various agents. If you book one of those cabins the reduced deposit is not valid and you have to pay the difference of the deposit. 

I have actually decided to stop using Next cruise with Royal as I find there program doesn't really offer much benifit compared to other lines.