Jersey42

1 hour ago, bumorgan said:

We are going on Enchanted to New England and Canada next Saturday. Do we need to take a COVID test 2 days prior to starting the cruise even though we are fully vaccinated and boosted because of Canada?? 

The simple answer is YES.  It's two days for an antigen test or 72 hours for a molecular test. Canada also has a third option if you tested positive from 10-180 days prior to boarding.  I'm not sure how Princess handles option 3.  Canada does not require a booster. 

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise#pre-embarkation-test

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada#determine-fully

19 minutes ago, Navybikermom said:

I flew from the US to Montreal one day before the Canada/New England cruise and only filled out ArriveCan for my initial arrival. I used the hotel as the address. There was no need to fill it out again for the cruise, because I hadn’t left Canada. If I were flying back to Canada at the end (from Boston), then another ArriveCan entry would be needed. The cruise terminal did not ask for any ArriveCan info. 

Good to know.  I have seen several other posts (but not all) that say the same thing.  Even though HAL corporate says you need to submit an ArriveCAN in order to board a Canada to US cruise, the people doing the check-in understand the rules and they do not ask for it.  I wish HAL would just give out the correct info!

On 9/5/2022 at 10:05 AM, nimiq said:

@CurlerRobBelow is our itinerary and even though I’m a Canadian I will need.

1-COVID test before entering the ship.

2-ArriveCan completed before boarding.

-3 ArriveCan again before taking my flight back home. 
 

let me know if I got all that right or not as I would not want to mis-lead anyone. 

We are also on a cruise that embarks in Quebec City and ends in the USA without returning to Canada.  Canada DOES NOT require an ArriveCAN (#2) before boarding your cruise because it does not return to Canada.  The problem is HAL requires all passengers that embark in or enter Canada to submit an ArriveCAN before boarding.  So how do you correctly fill out the extra ArriveCAN?

I called the ArriveCAN help line and spoke to a gentlemen named Josh who was both knowledgeable and helpful.  He confirmed that an ArriveCAN was not needed for my cruise, because the cruise did not return to Canada.  I told him our cruise line is still requiring us to submit an ArriveCAN before we can board - so what should I do?  He said he had heard about that and then told me the best way to complete each field to satisfy the cruise line.

Here is a summary of the critical fields that were not completely obvious to me:

• How are you entering Canada? Entry by marine
• Country of original departure: Canada
• Embarkation date/time: Your scheduled cruise boarding time
• Port of entry: Your first Canadian port that is on the dropdown list (In our case it was our second port. We did not discuss what to do if there weren't any)
• Arrival date time:  Scheduled date/time for the port of entry

Hopefully this helps you or someone else stumbling upon this thread.

Here are some links and screenshots:

Canada:  https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise

HAL:  https://www.hollandamerica.com/content/dam/hal/inventory-assets/Health_Sanitation/2022/0614-alaska-canada-health-protocols.pdf

Below is from the HAL pdf for ALASKA & CANADA/NEW ENGLAND CRUISES

6 minutes ago, mondello said:

@Jersey42 thank you for the update. I know very little about travel insurance, just because I don’t use it. If I had to cancel, I’m willing to risk our cruise fare because I know I’ll most likely be there. I can cancel with Southwest and get flight credits. Airline problems have just become so common that it’d probably be worth travel insurance for peace of mind.

No problem.  I misread your post.  I initially thought you were concerned about losing your cruise fare because of an airline issue.

On 9/14/2022 at 7:01 PM, mondello said:

@klfrodo I haven’t missed any cruises but, I have had 2 flights cancelled since the start of the Covid era. My original post refers to the fact the airlines don’t care if I miss my cruise.

If you miss your cruise because of a canceled or delayed flight, insurance may or may not cover you.  The policies all have covered reasons for cancelation/interruption/delay, and unfortunately for the insurance to pay, the flight cancelation or delay has to be for a covered reason.  The best policies will cover you for any common carrier delay beyond X hours documented by the common carrier.  Some policies will cover only a few named reasons such as weather, mechanical breakdown or strike.  Even third party Cancel For Any Reason policies might not help, because they usually require you cancel more than X hours (48 is typical) before trip departure.  

When you look at the online summaries/charts of coverages, none of these details will be included.  That is why you have to read the policies.  Or, as many suggest call a good broker such as tripinsurancestore who can explain any of the coverage you are concerned about.

16 minutes ago, Rebels82 said:

After call to Guest Services, plumber came 6 hours later.  He worked on the closet in hallway. It was fixed until the next day when it stopped flushing. He came within 20 mins of call. Things have worked well for a couple of days. There have been several plumbers seen daily on the Dolphin deck mid ship. We got a bottle of wine and chocolate strawberries for our inconvenience.

Still not ideal, but at least something you can live with.  Similar to our experience, but we did not have the multi-day wait at the beginning of the cruise (so no wine or strawberries).  We still had several "no flushes", but they cleared fairly quickly. Not sure if the clogs cleared themselves or if the plumbers were working at it all the time. I still believe our room steward was a big help, as kept after the plumbers whenever he knew about problems in any of his rooms.  He also checked in on us several times when the plumbers were in the area to make sure our toilet was working.  

TO UPDATE THIS LIST:

• DO NOT push the "Quote" button. It creates a copy that the next person cannot properly update.
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• Make your modifications to the list.
• Add change notes at the bottom.
• Click the "Submit Reply" button just below the list you are modifying.
• Confirm that everything is correct! You can edit for up to 20 minutes.

<COPY TO THIS LINE SO THERE IS SPACE TO TYPE CHANGE NOTES AFTER THE CHART>

Moved Marcus Prince Juanta from Discovery to Enchanted as per @call_your_mother

5 minutes ago, call_your_mother said:

We are currently on the Enchanted Princess and Marcus is our Cruise Director.  He did mention he was on the Discovery for a short time.  Not sure this list is up-to-date.  

I can pretty much guarantee you that this list is never up to date.  It is only as good as as what people like you report or others like @Steelers36 find on other threads.  I will make your changes below.  Thanks for the update 🙂.

On 9/13/2022 at 8:59 PM, Westsail32 said:

I’d recommend bringing a multiple plug adapter along too as outlets are rare.   I like this plug from Amazon.  It also has a USB-C plug which many of the new things use (like my iPad and Samsung phone.
 

https://www.amazon.com/EyGde-Extender-Protector-Rotating-Charging/dp/B09NLKVTQ4/

 

If you also want to bring an adapter for other devices, please do not bring this one as it is also a surge protector and it is prohibited by all cruise lines.  Surge protectors are a fire danger on a ship due to the differences between marine and land based electrical systems.  If they catch you, they will confiscate it.  There are lots of other options available for additional electrical and/or USB outlets without surge protection that are perfectly fine.

If you want all of the gory details of the dangers, search for posts by @chengkp75 across all of the CC forums.  Some of his posts also explain why surge protectors are not even needed aboard ship.

On 9/13/2022 at 8:59 PM, Westsail32 said:

Just a warning.  I’ve requested it in the past and half the times it wasn’t there.  However, the room steward did get it for me when I talked to him.  He/she was also able to deliver an extension cord for the CPap.  
 

I’d recommend bringing a multiple plug adapter along too as outlets are rare.

Here is another option for your CPAP that works without having to run an extension cord:

There is a European 220V outlet behind/under the bed on most Princess ships (not sure about Island/Coral). In some cases it is unused and in other cases one of the lamps is plugged into it.   If you get an adapter, you can plug in both the lamp (if needed) and the CPAP.  (Most if not all CPAPs are dual voltage.) The downside is you might have to move the bed a bit to reach it on the first and last day. Unfortunately, we have not found this setup on some other cruise lines.

Here is one option from Amazon.  If it is out of stock, just do a search.  Make sure you get one that allows you to plug in two items.

https://www.amazon.com/OREI-Europe-Adapter-Plug-Schuko/dp/B008Y8TF88/ 

On 9/13/2022 at 12:35 PM, Rebels82 said:

We were on this ship in May and had toilet issues. We thought they would be fixed by Sept. We were wrong! We have had toilet issues every day. Today it will not flush and is almost overflowing.  Guest Services has been called daily. My last call to Guest Service received this reply “We have no ETA. There are numerous cabins with this issue.” 

Did you ever get a resolution? If so, what happened?

12 minutes ago, MaiTaiMary said:

At the time we are looking to sail, they will be 16 and 17 years old.  They don't enjoy the teen clubs and they're used to ships with a lot of things for them to do. But with a heavy port cruise like Alaska, that may just have to be enough. Just researching now and seeing what our best options are. 

Our kids took many Princess cruises with us starting at about age 9 and loved all of them.  They utilized the kids/teen clubs until about age 14 or 15.  Then as another poster mentioned,  the teen club was pretty much a place you went on the first night to meet people.  Unless there was something special on a particular day, they pretty much did their own thing with people they met. 

There will be plenty of teens on a Princess Alaska cruise to interact with. And they will be welcome at virtually any ship activity not based on alcohol.  But, if your kids are expecting some of the teen friendly attractions on NCL and Carnival, they may be disappointed with Princess.   

By the way, the hardest age will be in a few years when they are 18-20.  They are not allowed in the teen club to meet people and they will not be served in the bars.  Princess often has a meet-up for people in that age group, but it was very hit or miss when our kids were that age.

3 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Because of the constant vacuum I don't believe that's even possible.

Maybe I could have worded it differently, but I based it on some of chengkp's many comments including this one:

Of course the how's and whys don't really make a difference if it is your toilet that is clogged.

14 minutes ago, Purple Gallinule said:

Okay. Here goes.

 

An hour ago I got on my phone and went to the ArriveCAN app. I entered all the information like I was sailing this Friday and arriving in Halifax on Monday. I went through to the section about health entering all required info along the way. The app still retained all our vaccination info and dates from our August cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage.

 

Once all that info was in, the site said "Fully vaccinated passengers no longer need to provide a negative COVID-19 test."

 

I went on the Princess site and got on live chat. I do not know what I expected, but "Sophia" simply pasted in the link to the page that still shows the test required. I asked if anyone at Princess actually had read the ArriveCAN info, and she said to call 1-800-PRINCESS. Nothing like passing the buck.

 

Am I missing something? Is Princess making this requirement on their own? 

 

Any info that I can get before our October 1st sail date would be appreciated. A LOT!!!

I am going you guess you are on the Oct 1 Enchanted Princess round trip from NY.  If not, then please post your cruise details.

You need to:

• Be fully vaccinated (see the rules on the link below)
• Show a negative COVID-19 test at embarkation (see the rules on the link below)
• Submit an ArriveCAN up to 72 hours before boarding in New York
• In ArriveCAN, make sure you select "Entry by Marine"
• In ArriveCAN, select Saint John Marine Terminal (New Brunswick) as your port of entry

If you did not select "Entry by Marine" you might get the message. If you did all of this correctly and are still getting the message I would call ArriveCAN support (1-833-283-7403).  When I did, they were very helpful.   

Read this entire link for details on Canada's requirements for vaccination and testing. Testing is now only required for cruise ship passengers entering or departing Canada.  Air/land arrivals do not need a negative test.  https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise

1 minute ago, gnome12 said:

Have you tried selecting members in the search drop-down box when you put in your search terms? This shows up on my desktop, but not on my phone.

Yes I can search for members and see all of their posts, but then I see no way to search within their posts.

In the meantime I just tried using a google site search.  This probably gives me what I need most of the time, although I prefer the format of the results on a CC search.

For example in the google search box I preface my search with site:boards.cruisecritic.com.  I can then search through all of the boards on the member name and specific words.  I have not figured out how to search a specific forum using this approach.

Is there any way to search for posts that contain specific words that were made by a specific poster?  There are several CC posters that I find extremely helpful.  Sometimes I want to find one of their old posts on a specific topic.  I can easily find all of their posts.  I can also search for specific words in posts. But I can't figure out how to do both.

For example:

Find all posts made by poster @Iluv2post that contain the words "Canada" and "maple".

1 hour ago, Rebels82 said:

As I mentioned originally, I have spoken to Guest Services.

The problems I am aware of are Deck 8 aft and Deck 9 midship. There are several cabins on Deck 9 with issues. I can not speak for what others flush but I can say we have not flushed anything incorrectly. This ship has had this issue for months. 

We were on the Caribbean in July and had some problems.  Our cabin was on deck 8 aft.  The room steward was on top of things and coordinated with engineering to keep things moving most of the time. So you might want to keep mentioning it to your room steward as well.  For us it was manageable, but we only had one time where it was clogged for several hours, if not longer.  

If it is not flushing, it should eventually flush when the clog is gone.  Avoid flushing multiple times because it won't help and it could eventually cause the toilet to overflow.

I don't doubt that there are some problems that need to be fixed in drydock.  If the pipes have been narrowed over time (think clogged artery), then when someone flushes the wrong things, the narrowed pipes clog much easier.  It could even be one elbow where the pipes make a turn that is not easily accessible to maintenance.  And it does not matter that you are doing everything correctly.  It only takes one person downstream from your cabin to cause problems for everyone else. 

I'm sure all you care about now is getting it fixed or getting moved to a cabin in another location.  But if you ever want to understand the details,  search for some of of @chengkp75's posts about toilets. Very informative and interesting. 

Good luck and if guest services and your room steward don't get you relief, I would go right to the hotel general manager.  He can not solve it, unless he gives yo a better room.  But he probably has more pull with the people that make the ship systems work.

You don't usually get a lot of responses on this forum for insurance outside of the USA.  You could also try re-posting your questions on the Canadian Cruisers forum.

 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2510-canadian-cruisers/

You might get a better response.  Then again, the mods might move it back here. It's worth a try.

Here is a current thread that might help.

5 minutes ago, travellgirl said:

So, no testing is needed now?  Just the ArriveCAN app filled out? 

Testing is no longer required to enter Canada by air or land.  Testing is still required to board a cruise ship in Canada or to board a cruise ship that stops at a Canadian port.

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise#pre-embarkation-test

On 9/11/2022 at 7:57 PM, chengkp75 said:

I'd love to see that list, and the qualifications for approval, as I've never seen a consumer surge protector that is any different than another, and again, it is not the surge protector that is the problem, it is a ground fault that causes a perfectly good surge protector to fail.

I was curious, so I did some searches.  Here is the latest source document that I can find.  It's 10 years old and I couldn't find any newer versions.

https://www.sailorbob.com/files/cqe/NSTM_300.pdf

Take a look at section 300-2.7.3.5.  Requirements include: marine type, metal case, double-pole switch/circuit breaker, dual thermal fuses and both common and normal mode protection. They also mention specific approved models (as of 2012) and there is a periodic inspection requirement.

Even if these were absolutely safe on a ship, I see two simple reasons why any cruise line would prohibit passengers from bringing these aboard:  The people checking the luggage will never know if they are compliant and there is no way to ensure they have been properly inspected and maintained. 

I know you have explained many times before why surge protectors are not needed aboard ship, but do you have any thoughts on the safety issues with these marine devices.

I don't pretend to know anything, I just always learn something from your posts.

21 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

FYI, some cruise lines have been requiring the second ArriveCAN despite the rules saying otherwise.

I bet you are talking about HAL although other lines may say it too.  Some posters have said the HAL people doing the check-ins in Quebec City and Montreal understand the actual Canada requirements and you don't need it.  Others have said you need to "make up information" in order to check in. 

Does anyone know to fill out the ArriveCAN submission for this scenario without making up info? Here are questions that stump me for my Quebec City to Ft. Lauderdale cruise, when I am flying in a few days early:

1. How are you entering Canada?  I'm am already in Canada and I already filled out an ArriveCAN to enter. So I am not entering Canada again.  If I select Air or Land, the next questions make no sense.  So Marine is the only option left. Then . . .
2. Country of original departure: Is this the USA or Canada?
3. Port of entry. Note: This is the first port of arrival in Canada: Is this my embarkation port or my second port in Canada?  (My first port in Canada is not even on the dropdown list, so that's not an option)
4. Date and Time of Arrival: To where?  Embarkation port, 2nd port, final destination in Florida?  If I try to make the embarkation and arrival date/time the same, will it even let me do that?

The best answer I have seen is: If the check-in people want an ArriveCAN for this cruise, let them fill it out for me or tell me how they want the questions answered. I am a little uncomfortable with submitting bogus info to the Canadian government.

ArriveCAN requirements will vary by itinerary, but in most cases you need an ArriveCAN submission every time you enter Canada from another country. Here is a summary of typical scenarios based on https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise and postings on various CC threads from knowledgeable Canadians.  Red means you need an ArriveCAN submission to board the cruise, Green mean you don't.

Cruises embarking in Canada

Everyone needs to submit an ArriveCAN in order to enter Canada via air or land.  This applies to anyone who is beginning their vacation from outside Canada (such as the USA). 

• Canada to USA - No second ArriveCAN is required to board the cruise.
• Canada to Canada with only Canadian ports - No second ArriveCAN is required to board the cruise.
• Canada to Canada with non Canadian ports - A second ArriveCAN is required to be submitted less than 72 hours before boarding the cruise. If it is actually back to back cruises, the ArriveCAN may need to be submitted before boarding the cruise returning to Canada. I would follow the cruise line instructions and hope for the best.  

Cruises embarking in the USA

• USA to Canada - An ArriveCAN is required to be submitted less than 72 hours before boarding the cruise.
• USA to USA with Canadian port(s) - An ArriveCAN is required to be submitted less than 72 hours before boarding the cruise.

Anyone returning to Canada from the USA after a cruise via air or land will need to submit another ArriveCAN in order to get back into Canada.

Item 35 on IMG SE, Item 39 on IMG LX.  Applicable to Jersey residents.

9 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

Even Princess seems to be getting this wrong. Below is an email I received from Princess on September 8 regarding this cruise. I've highlighted the errant part. 

Dear xxxxxx, our valued guest,   In addition to the health questionnaire that should be completed as you get OceanReady on the MedallionClass app, within 72 hours of embarkation the Canadian government requires all guests (including Canadian residents) to sign into ArriveCAN from a computer or download the mobile app to enter your proof of vaccination and travel information. You will receive an ArriveCAN receipt. Please bring a digital copy of the email or print the receipt to bring with you when you travel. If your cruise embarks in Canada and you do not reside in Canada, you will need an additional ArriveCAN receipt separate from your land/air arrival receipt, which you can complete after your arrival into Canada.

I checked princess.com before my last post, and this language seems to be gone from their web site.  But it does not surprise me that Princess is still giving passengers similar requirements to HAL, NCL and probably others.  At least Princess is exempting those who reside in Canada. I am guessing it is just a CYA thing for the cruise lines.  

13 hours ago, Bobbiegentry said:

I phrased it as I did in an effort to keep from offending. I could have said:

 

What I'm keenly interested in are points of view that can be substantiated via official Canadian government documentation and which avoid conjecture, opinion, impression, presumption, assumption, speculation, presupposition, feeling, sentiment and plain old guesses which are pulled from one's nether regions. Just the facts as presented by the Canadian government, please. 

 

But all of that is just too wordy. 

12 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Like I said, if that's what you want - forget about here and just go to Canada government website pages.

While I totally agree with both of you (and @broberts), the Canadian government site (https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise) is poorly worded, poorly presented and causes confusion.  To make things worse, even though Princess seems to be currently OK, other cruise lines such as HAL and NCL are still telling people that an ArriveCAN is required to board one of their ships departing from Canada, no matter the itinerary.

Here is why I think the government site needs some work.  

When you first enter the site you see the following:

It seems pretty clear that a second ArriveCAN submission is required. They bolded "second" and they say "must".  Better wording might have been "You may also need to submit a second ArriveCAN depending on your cruise itinerary" or "see the next section for exceptions", but they did not do that.  

Then the next section has two collapsed subsections with the pertinent details.  Someone has to:

• See the next section,
• Realize there are subsections that must be expanded, and
• Figure out which subsection applies to them.

In my case I am "Starting an international cruise in Canada", so the first section seems like it would apply to me. But I have to expand it, and read it to realize I am in the wrong section because I am "not returning to Canada".

At least the area I highlighted is at the top of the lengthy subsection.  So I collapse that sub section and open up the next subsection.

This sure looks like it applies to me and no second ArriveCAN is required.  But it took way to much effort to figure it out. And, there are still people questioning my conclusion because the first screen says you must complete a second ArriveCAN, so the "Boarding cruises and shore excursions" section does not apply. 

I still stand by the conclusion that no second ArriveCAN is required.  But broberts suggestion in post 49 solves it all.  If the people checking you in tell you it is required, let them tell you how to fill it out.