monctonguy

17 hours ago, KWong said:

I'm assuming that our UHC would cover it.

I wouldn't assume that ever....we can't even get a family doctor with UHC...so not sure they are going to cover the cost of a test cause I want to go south. I love how people think we have free and great healthcare....free is only good if you can actually get it...  One of my favorite topics when cruising to discuss with my American friends...

No mention of cost though....but until the "Atlantic" Bubble bursts, i cant go anywhere..even in Canada without the 14 day quarantine so its a small step in the right direction but still months away I feel from any type of potential impact on a great scale.

HUGE NEWS FOR CANADIANS!!!!

Just announced they are looking at starting rapid testing at airports in Canada that would result in only a 48 hr quarantine if you test negative with a rapid test....starting Nov 2nd in Calgary International Airport.

Fingers crossed this will be successful and rolled out across Canada...it would be a travel game change for Canadians!!!!

I would say don't worry about it, none  of it will probably end up happening..I am sure your re-elected PM will keep it locked down as long as possible...so the cancellation of part of the B2B is really a moot point.

I have done it both on arrival and departure..but hate it and stressed out and wont ever do it again. I would always err on the side of caution. Much more relaxing and fun that way too....I always can find something to do the night before in a different city before the cruise.

And with less flights and options in alot of cases, I could see the potential for further issues if something goes wrong with a flight or a delay could turn into a longer delay now.

7 minutes ago, Joe01 said:

So all 3 of the Freedom Class ships are being stuck on 3 and 4 nighters from Florida?

I was hoping to sail one of them again in the not too distant future, nearly 9 years since I was last on Indy. 

You knew with the money and advertising they are pouring into Coco Cay....they want big ships and lots of ppl going there to drive revenue.....not surprising really at all they are using Freedom class ships for this.

Although at this point I would take a cruise anywhere on any royal ship right now!!!

Just took the plunge and booked one for November of 2021....that will get me to 68 points...looking at another 5 day to Bermuda in Sept....but that would only get me to 78.....so, really need to find a 6 day that works now to hit that Diamond status...

That being said, I am trying to not get too excited or caught up in all of this....as I am still thinking its about a 20/80 chance we will be able to cruise in 2021 with all the restrictions but hey...

I have never paid/booked one in Nassau and been there probably 10x now.

Its a great port just to get off and walk around, explore....eat, drink, free beach nearby....lots to do for a visit there.

If there are particular types of excursions you enjoy, others here maybe able to suggest some. As well, you can always check your cruise booking/planner as there are  usually many excursions offered at each stop directly through Royal.

This perk has me looking at cruises for 2021 even though i said I wouldn't book anything till this Covid crap is over.....

There are some good deals for next fall so might be willing to book a cruise or two. I still hate the idea of Royal potentially holding thousands of my $ for something that still may very well not happen.

During the Thanksgiving/Black Monday sales in November...do they ever waive or reduce the deposit amount for bookings? 

On 10/4/2020 at 8:16 AM, teddy said:

This whole thread has made us rethink our future departure ports.  For some reason we never even considered NJ or MD as ports.  They are 5-6 and 7-8 hours from us respectively if we drive. 
 

Flying from Maine is an all day affair...non-stop flights are like unicorns unless you leave out of Boston, and that adds to the logistical difficulties for us. 
 

We’re not worried about flying (COVID or any other reasons), but Portland to MIA or FLL is exhausting.  It seems like all flights in our budget tend to go through the hell that is La Guardia.  We’ve left Portland at 530  am and never got to our hotel room in Florida until 1 am.  
 

We’ve decided that when we book our 2022 cruises, we’re going to try some that leave from Cape Liberty. 
 

 

We fly out of Maine every chance we can get and thank our lucky stars that we can..and it takes us 5-7 hours drive to get there, plus it adds a night there and back....and its still WAY cheaper than flying out of Canada......I would love to  be in your situation!

We have done a cpl direct flights out of Portland to Orlando..and then cruised out of Port Canaveral..wasn't bad at all.....

Be glad you dont have to do what we do and/or fly out of Canada to cruise!

On 9/29/2020 at 12:34 PM, Dad2Cue said:

We just did a short 90 minute flight to visit relatives and to see what flying was like with the new policies in place.  I can't say the experience was that much different from flying before the pandemic.  The flight was full and the policy was that they "offer" you the option of taking a later flight.  On our flight,  I only saw one empty seat so not many people took that option.

The only difference was that everyone wore a mask while boarding and during the flight.  The airlines can't enforce the mask rule in the airport itself and I didn't see any enforcement at the gate but most people were compliant.  Social distancing on the plane really didn't happen since the flight was full.

 

In Canada, they will kick you off the flight and ban you for ONE YEAR from flying....even kids under 2 have to wear masks and if they don't they kick them off the plane and cancel the flight, its a hot mess right now and is only going to get worse, i could see our 2 national airlines going bankrupt or need a government bailout by this winter.....you defn don't want to be flying in Canada any time soon.....

We boarded HOS out of Port Canaveral last Nov....no key...I believe we may have waited 10 minutes max after we checked in...on the boat and enjoying a drink before 1130...so I wouldn't say its worth it for boarding purposes....but as mentioned...nothing will be the same as before.....

1 hour ago, WannaCruise said:

This question depends on where you live, but with the pandemic, once cruises start up again, will you drive to your departure port instead of flying?  We are in Ontario.  I have a bad back, which means that I can't sit for long, so would not be able to handle a drive to a Florida departure port.  And before, I wouldn't consider driving to New Jersey (8-10 hr drive...vs a 1.5 hr flight).  But with the pandemic, I am thinking thinking we do the drive to New Jersey to avoid airports.  We would still need a hotel for a night though to split up the drive and would need to do many stops.  Both our August cruise and our December cruise are out of this port.  March is out of Port Canaveral so no choice there.

What about others?  Will you drive until this goes away to avoid flying?  And if so, how long is your drive?

You wont be driving anytime soon..Canada wont open the border for a long time yet...and even when they do, they wont be removing the 14 day quarantine...and I am guessing you will need to show proof of vaccination before you can leave or enter Canada...

SO as of right now...flying is the ONLY option and will be for another year or more I am guessing....so its not a matter of being willing to drive or not......

I would fly today if I could cruise....we are looking at a trip to Cuba or Dominican to replace our cruise we missed...but with the 14 day quarantine when we come back, it severely limits our vacation options...

1 hour ago, crisgold52 said:

I believe that the border closure only applies to vehicular and rail traffic. Sea and Air are unaffected by any closure.

Nope..pretty sure Canada closed their ports to US cruise ships.

I predict that it wont open before the US election but could open with restrictions(same as flying) before Christmas.

Obviously anything can happen before then....but i feel like its possibility. It really wouldn't affect much as most ppl aren't flying or driving if they have to quarantine for 2 weeks so kind a moot point but...

I am soooooo jealous, but happy for you guys too....I would do anything to be in the situation of moving to Florida.....

I will mis the early check-in!...I always always at the port by 10ish and on the ship before 11....one of my fav times for the excitement and also to explore the ship and get some good photo's.....but I would take a cruise with a late check in at this point over no cruise so

Great to hear this...hopefully another option when we fly from Portland......as soon as the US/Canada border opens!!

Very Interesting....I am hoping that very soon Royal and the rest can get back to starting up some cruises and be successful....going to be a much different experience than we are used to but at this point I think most of us are ready to do whatever we need to in order to take a cruise again!

I would recommend  the airport....although any driving in Miami isn't fun.....and even the parking garage being off site from the airport can be confusing..the last time our Uber driver couldn't figure out how to get us to the proper drop off spot.....we now avoid rental vehicles at all when staying in the Miami area.....

Sometimes there are some good OBC offers..like $250 which would allow a good portion of the drink package to be "free", but they aren't as common or easy to get...good luck!

No...we were able to get one each for our cruise in Nov(that got cancelled and lost out)…….but I think technically it's one reward per booking.

I grabbed one yesterday...….3 nights on Navigator…...Jan 29th...lets see what happens.....if it doesn't work out for some reason..just out a few gold coins at this point..lol

Don't tease @twangster!!...if only I had been cruising back when that was the case....there was a short period of time in 2008 as well

13 hours ago, crisgold52 said:

That sounds accurate. Different CC have different foreign exchange rates so it's best to keep this in mind hence for most Canadians who don't have A USD CC or USD account it's not worth paying more in USD for the same product. 

It's never worth paying more in USD of course....

But very often …..every time I have booked in USD its been a been a better deal..even when it was about 40% exchange rate......just need to look and shop around.

We get robbed here in Canada with the prices we pay for most things and the taxes we pay....cruise prices and deals are no exception to that!

13 hours ago, crisgold52 said:

Driving from Moncton NB to Orlando is quite far.

Yeah...way off....on both my posts on this topic..lol