hancogran

My husband got Covid the first day of our Symphony of the Seas transatlantic last month from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale. We were very well taken care of by Royal Caribbean. When he called Medical the day after boarding complaining of a sore throat and cough, they told him to come right down and gave him the medications he needed .. (all care and meds were no charge). He was quarantined for 5 days and was told we should both be wearing a mask when we were in the cabin together. I was not quarantined but did not feel right mingling with people when I could possibly get Covid from him and pass it on. We could order all our meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) from the dining room menus and as many bottles of water as we wanted. I was testing myself each day with covid test kits I brought from home but (surprisingly) never caught it until day 13 of our 14 day cruise. We received free wifi for the five days my husband was quarantined. Thankfully, we had a balcony where we spent a lot of time. Medical called every day to see how he was and whether he needed any more meds,etc. We also had a visit from security when we didn't hear the phone while on the balcony. Guess medical had asked security to check on him since the phone was not answered. As I said, we were treated very well and even though we missed visiting the scheduled ports in Spain, it was still better than being home cooking and cleaning.

We have used Air2sea for a few one-way (overseas) flights and saved a few hundred dollars. I see the website is changed now and if you want a one way fare, you need to call Royal. Generally, I found Air2sea prices for round trip from Toronto to any port in Florida to be slightly higher than if we booked direct through Air Canada (Rouge). Keep in mind they (Royal) also charge a service fee for booking. I can't remember if it's $15 or $25 USD per person. When the pandemic started, our April 2020 cruises were cancelled. We had 4 international flights booked through Air2sea. So many on our roll call were having problems getting their refunds from various airlines for their cancelled flights but we had our refund from Air2sea in a week or so. Great customer service. I have no complaints about Air2sea. We were always happy with the flights we got and never had any problems. I just wished they hadn't changed their website. If you want a one way flight now, you must call Royal and we all know how time consuming that can be. There really wasn't much of a savings (if any) by booking through them to fly to FLL or Miami from Toronto. It's convenient that you can book your flight and don't have to pay up front it. Check their website and compare prices to Air Canada for a direct flight. http://www.royalcaribbean.com/flights/bookFlights

A few years ago, we sailed the westbound Queen Mary 2 early May (Southampton to NY). For our crossing, it was fairly cool for a few days after leaving Southampton. (Dry but very windy). Once we were about half way across, it warmed up a fair bit. Most afternoons the loungers were filled with people reading and relaxing. Don't think there was ever anybody in the pool though. Overall it was a fairly smooth crossing with very little motion. The fact that you are embarking and sailing from Barcelona will likely give you slightly warmer temps the first few days (compared to sailing from Southampton) but it's really hard to say.

I activated my Nexus card online about a month ago but there was no QR code on the screen. Maybe something new?

Interesting thread on the main RCI board regarding purchasing OBC.

+1 . Appreciate you posting this info from DHS. As Fouremco said, hopefully we'll never need the link to contact them but it's definitely great to have it...just in case. Thanks so much.

A few years back when there wasn't such a big difference between the Canadian and the U.S. dollar, we would call Royal and add OBC to our account for an upcoming sailing. It was just a matter of giving our credit card over the phone then they would confirm the purchase with an email. @Fouremco do you remember about 8 or 10 years ago when Royal were giving Canadians a great deal if we purchased OBC ? We ended up with a few thousand U.S. in OBC and even though we didn't spend it all onboard, we were able to get any balance refunded (in U.S. dollars) at the end of the cruise. I'm not sure what Royal's exchange rate is now, but you could call and ask.

Thanks for posting this.. Here's the link https://www.cp24.com/news/nexus-applicants-can-shuffle-off-to-buffalo-as-canada-u-s-expand-pilot-project-1.6177054

Your new card will come in the mail a few weeks after you have been approved... at least that's how mine was.

Got mine in the mail today too. 😊 It was quick considering the backlog that I've heard they have right now. Happy travels!

Same for me... I was approved on Oct. 10th and patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for my card.

☹️ Well I guess we can scratch that "tip" off the list then. Sorry you're still waiting but it's good that we've got that two year extension. Hopefully you'll get that final approval very soon.

Just thought I'd pass this on for anybody who is still waiting for their Nexus renewal to be approved. I applied for my renewal last November 2021, so that's almost a year now. Somebody told me if you use your expired Nexus card at the border, it would speed up the approval process. (I know there was a two year extension on renewals if you'd applied prior to the expiration date--mine expired this past May.) Yesterday we took a day trip across the border at Niagara Falls. Low and behold, I just now received an email from TTP stating there was a change to my Trusted Traveler account. After logging in, it states I have been approved ... no interview necessary. I'm just relieved to finally get the approval and know I don't have to worry about an interview. That tip worked well for me!

We also have never ever received an email or any notification alerting us that it was time for our Nexus renewal. The Nexus card my husband received this week was his third renewal and like you, it was right in the middle of the Covid chaos. Now I'm waiting patiently for mine which I renewed in November 2021 since it expired in May 2022. Let's see how long this takes. I'm still trying to figure out their system regarding who gets priority processing.🤔

I'm guessing it's irrelevant now now since you've received your husband's renewal card but I said I'd post when we got my husband's card... it came today! That's a total of 10 days from when we received the approval. I expected it to be much longer (considering we waited almost 14 months for the approval). Good luck to everyone who's still waiting.

+1 👍 I'm guessing my husband's will be another week or so. Thanks for posting!

I'll come back and post when DH receives his card but I'm expecting a bit of a wait for that now . Hope your husband gets his soon. 🙂

Wow... you sure are one of the lucky ones if you only applied July 1. (maybe go buy a lottery ticket now too). We've also had our cards for 10 years and no address, employment or other changes, nor any border problems, etc. Not sure how they determine what applications to process first but glad you got yours... and no interview. 🙂

Well I guess they are starting to work on the Nexus renewal "backlog". I've mentioned in this thread before that my husband's card expired January 2022 and I had applied for his renewal back on July 7, 2021. Finally received an email this morning to check his TTP portal since there was a change in status and it shows his renewal is "approved". The new expiry date is January 2027!!😊 I'm assuming they'll mail the new card but I'm thankful there's no interview involved since I've read horror stories about people having so much trouble getting interviews. Hopefully my own renewal will be processed soon too and hope everybody else who is waiting gets some good news soon too.

So that means you don't apply until Nov. '23 or is it Nov. '24 (1 year from Nov. 23 expiry)?

I applied for DH's renewal July 7th, of 2021 (6 months before it expired) and we are still waiting to hear back. His card expired this past January. I'm also waiting for mine which expired this past May and I also applied for my renewal in January (before it expired). Maybe things are starting to open up..fingers crossed!

If you submit using the ArriveCAN app, your receipt will appear in the app. If you submit using the ArriveCAN website, your receipt will be emailed to you. I found this online so hopefully it's correct.

I was just going to suggest this too... so simple as long as you can be without your passport for a few months. Our last passport renewal was done by mail and we ordered the 10 year passport. On the other hand, maybe by the end of this year or early next year, these lineups and backlogs will be a thing of the past... fingers crossed!

My own Nexus expired May 2022 and I applied to renew it on November 15, 2021 but nothing for me either. I figured DH would definitely have had his by now since it's approaching a year. We also have no plans to travel outside Canada this year so we'll just sit back and wait it out. It's just comforting to know it's not just us ! lol

That's why I love this Canadian forum! People are so helpful and hearing from others with similar cases makes things a little brighter! lol I'm sure once the Canadian offices open, things will (hopefully) move a bit quicker but as long as we're still able to cross using our expired card, no point complaining! 👍