bigmjh

2 hours ago, maggie777 said:

Trip is booked...Montreal to Miami and RT Miami ( Caribbean ). Found an interesting hotel in Montreal and used credits to rebook flights. New flights were cheaper. A good day for sure.

See you onboard! Doing the same ... plus the following Miami > Miami leg.

18 hours ago, maggie777 said:

Now I am thinking  about cancelling Boston to Montreal, keeping Montreal to Miami and adding RT Miami ( Caribbean ). Could this also be a violation of PVSA ?

This (Montreal > Miami > Caribbean > Miami) is fine ... no PVSA issues. We've done similar itineraries on several occasions.

On 1/12/2024 at 6:29 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

Only if you stay overnight on land*, or transfer to a different ship.

 

* and I'm not sure if departing the first cruise a night early would count.  The government isn't trying to make this easy! 

Doesn't work. We actually ran into an almost identical situation a few years back. I booked a B2B - Boston > Quebec City and Quebec City to New York (with out TA). The first leg had an overnight in Quebec City. A few days after booking, the "powers" at the cruiseline cancelled the booking. I asked about the possibility of spending the night off the ship (taking luggage and all) and then re-boarding as a new passenger. Answer came back ... a big "NO". 

Either of these legs are perfectly legal by themselves ... but together they violate the PVSA (which, IMHO, needs to be updated or eliminated).

4 hours ago, maggie777 said:

Thanks for the input. Will call Azamara since I booked direct. Will also look at agency pricing.

maggie777 - A LOT of the lower tier Azamara phone agents won't be familiar with this restriction and you probably won't get accurate information ... be skeptical if you get a positive response.

18 hours ago, maggie777 said:

Just booked Boston to Montreal, Montreal to Miami. Tempted to add RT Miami to Caribbean.  fares are good!

Look forward to cancellation ... violation of PVSA.

We were part of the unlucky ones that tested positive for COVID just before ending our cruise in Vancouver. When we tested positive, we were given a packet that contained several end-of-cruise options and other information. In this letter was an email address where we could submit receipts, etc. for reimbursement of COVID related expenses incurred while isolating in Canada. Does anyone have a copy of this letter or the email address that was contained in the letter? Celebrity has not responded to my requests for this information.

Thanks ...

3 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

"It’s very unlikely there will be any change in the requirement."

With the current rash of outbreaks on various cruise ships it is VERY unlikely that they will change the vaccination requirement anytime in the foreseeable future.

56 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Best way - just tell the boss (in my case Anita) the amount.

Worst way - just tell the boss (Anita) the amount.

In reality the boss invests it in the Casino on Roulette - she plays a system devised to give odds of close to 50/50 which means we have fun and walk away with the cash. 

 

 

OBC can be used in the casino? If so, is there a fee to use OBC for a buy in at a table game?

If you are at all prone to motion sickness 🤢 ... the staterooms towards the rear will be more stable than those towards the front - best ones are midship. In this case 7115 would be the better choice.

3 hours ago, ORV said:

So I'm still trying to figure out what the topic heading is supposed to say. 

Ditto!

4 hours ago, Twiga said:

Thank you everyone for your responses and suggestions.  I am still hoping to hear from someone who had their testing done at the Port of Los Angeles. 

While not AT the port ... Sameday Health has a place 9 miles from the port on 2nd Street in Long Beach. They do the rapid antigen test with results in 30 minutes at a very reasonable cost.

Why is it so difficult for some people to understand that stores, restaurants, cruise lines etc. all may have rules and policies in place that you do not agree with? And, it is totally within their rights to mandate compliance. If you do not wish to abide by these restrictions, it is YOUR right to shop, dine or sail elsewhere. You DO NOT have the right to opt out and choose to defy these rules. Easy peasy.

34 minutes ago, qballer said:

Our cabin attendant said they were closing down a floor or 2 until  ship fills up. That was last week.

Good logical reason. Helps by concentrating crew on occupied decks.

50 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

" ... Best tip! Book using a TA! ... "

BEST advice ... get a TA! They have a lot more ways to get information than you have and may even "find" available staterooms that appear to be "Waitlisted".

Internet speed/signal on the ship will not be enough to stream from Netflix. So, as others suggested above, download the content in advance and then you'll be able to watch it anywhere ... anytime without need to connect to the internet.

We did this trip (Anchorage to Tokyo) on the Muse - September 2019. The weather and the seas were beautiful until we reached Japan. There we missed a couple of ports due to storm ... but, as far as the "motion of the ocean", it wasn't too bad. But, keep in mind, the seas will be "like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." ... especially in the Bering Sea.

20 hours ago, leo72976 said:

"... Do they do anything special for Halloween sailings?  Are we crazy for doing this without kids?  I’m just so nervous!!!"

Leo - First of all re: Halloween sailings - there are a number of Facebook groups for the various Disney Wonder sailings coming up this month. They are all Halloween (HOTHS - Halloween On The High Seas) themed cruises. There are changes this year due to COVID ... such as no Trick-or-Treating ... change to fireworks scheduling ... Pirate Night, etc. You can read all about these on the above-mentioned Facebook group pages. Second - You are NOT crazy for sailing without kids ... there have been many adults sailing childless on Disney simply because the love the Disney vibe or the great onboard food and service. In fact, the Disney Wonder cruise that is going through the canal later this year will be pretty much child-free as it will only allow fully-vaccinated passengers - no exceptions made for those under the age of 12 who cannot (presently) get vaccinated.

30 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

"... I think my only concern is that since my next Riviera cruise will be in Penthouse category, I might get spoiled and have to upgrade to PH on all future cruises!"

Oh,yeah ... PH's will be your future category of choice. 😁 Nothing at all wrong with your deck 3 OV - most stable part of the ship and you'll still have the same access to all of the great public spaces and the same wonderful food!

Yes ... "been there and done that" ... many, many times. But we'll continue to book O's Caribbean itineraries as we thoroughly enjoy the ships, the crew and the food. Often we'll just remain onboard while in port ... relaxing in the peacefulness of an almost-empty ship. 😃

1 hour ago, ronrick1943 said:

Do to the limited number of seats a night may be the reason for the up charge, and trying to make it a special dinner for those that want something special.  I’ve seen this done on other lines.

Limiting the number of reservations per stateroom ... as done on other lines ... could accomplish the same thing without the up-charge.

6 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

I find the $60 upcharge to be poor form.  Appears to be some legacy policy that should go away with the new "All Inclusive" (excursions) approach.

👍Totally agree ... SS should be above "nickel-and-diming" like the mass market ships. 

1 hour ago, HenryR said:

Just been informed that the Australia/New Zealand cruises for Jan/Feb/March 2022 have been cancelled.

Yep ... we had 46 days on the Shadow B2B2B in March/April of next year booked. All were just cancelled. Not sure where the Shadow and Muse will be positioned during this period. 😟😕

58 minutes ago, ronrick1943 said:

"... One being non heat in are suite for 4 nights in Alaska, and it took them that long to get it fixed.  They did bring extra blankets… "

Didn't SS offer to move you? Obviously with such a "light load" they must have had many suites available. To just "bring extra blankets" does not seem to reflect SS's standards of service IMHO.

The advantage to using the smaller ships is that they are able to get into some places that the larger ones can't ... further up inlets/rivers/etc. For example, while not usually on an ATW itineraries, in St. Petersburg the smaller ships will usually dock right near the Hermitage, Nicolas Palace, etc. while the larger ships are relegated to docking at the big cruise ship terminal - which can be a 20 to 30 minute ride to this area.

Here are the itineraries for Vista's Inaugural Season -  VISTA ITINERARIES 

Here's a link to the Inaugural Season for the Vista - VISTA SAILINGS