DogLover

1 hour ago, KKB said:

PHEW!

My paranoid was all for not!

On our connecting flight now!

THIS is why u buy insurance! (Or use a credit card with good travel insurance)

Chase Sapphire is truly an awesome "8 ball" to have. That said, hoping you will arrive safely and be able to embark on your sailing!

Enjoy your cruise 🙂

15 hours ago, DogLover said:

The flightseeing "community" is Alaska is a very tight knit group, fully supportive of each other. Stick with one of the local aviation companies (not Taquan Air.)

 

We were booked with Seawind Aviation in 2019 for a tour which was cancelled due to weather. Fast forward to 2020 when we booked a Traitors Cove Bear tour with Seawind in August. Absolutely wonderful and highly recommend Steve & Lesley's company.

 

https://www.seawindaviation.com/

 

 

I didn't see my typo until now and cannot edit ... not 2020, but 2021! D'oh!

Another recommendation for Salmonberry Tours. Had an excellent experience with them several years ago with a transfer from Anchorage to Seward (you would do same tour in reverse.)

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is a highlight, along with visiting Girdwood. Not inexpensive but worth every dollar!

https://www.salmonberrytours.com/alaska-tours/cruise-transfers/

The flightseeing "community" is Alaska is a very tight knit group, fully supportive of each other. Stick with one of the local aviation companies (not Taquan Air.)

We were booked with Seawind Aviation in 2019 for a tour which was cancelled due to weather. Fast forward to 2020 when we booked a Traitors Cove Bear tour with Seawind in August. Absolutely wonderful and highly recommend Steve & Lesley's company.

https://www.seawindaviation.com/

On 3/2/2022 at 3:32 PM, Ashland said:

Don't ever count on it. It worked only once for us. The worst was one arrival we didn't get our room until 4:00pm.

 

To insure that we would once when arriving very early into Singapore for a pre-cruise we actually booked our room the day before our flight arrival and let the hotel know of our plans...seems like this is common at times in some places.

Agreed. We've booked an extra night prior to arrival (mostly international travel, early arrival into Sydney, Australia) and notified the hotel we would be doing so in order to avoid a "no show."

Unlikely early check in for cruise hotels ... as mentioned, many facilities will hold your luggage and allow use of the pool, etc until check in. If your willing to spend to moolah, would highly recommend just booking an extra night.

Yes, they are still in business. Our son and daughter-in-law used them for airport transportation from Pier 91 after our Celebrity Millennium cruise last summer 2021 (we had other plans post cruise so each went separate ways.) 

The shuttles leave on a schedule, I believe every 15 minutes so not a long wait. Payment and reservation should be made in advance. Our kids said it was super easy and would use this service again. Specific pick up location on the pier is included with reservation confirmation.

Hope this helps - good luck and enjoy your cruise!

9 minutes ago, neverlaysup said:

Not always true, I am Concierge Key on American and I can buy the cheapest coach tickets I want to and almost always get upgraded to first class. I can also pay for it but if availability is there I can save plenty of cash and get the same seat. 

The difference being Concierge Key is by invitation only whereas Zenith status is "earned" through CC worthless points. And yes, this post is certainly "grab the popcorn" worthy.  🙂

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

Sorry to hear of the troubles you are having.   I may have given Celebrity a little help with refunding my Upgade.    I filed a dispute with my Credit Card and Celebrity accepted the charge back

 

Luckily I was able to apply all of mine to cruises that will be sailing  in April and August.   I'm happy to not have to track them any longer.

 

There have been so many different terms and deadlines I don't know how anyone has kept up with them.

Thanks, but we aren't having any troubles because we declined doing a Move-up this go around. We'll be very happy sailing in a Signature Suite (in about two weeks) since we've not been on the Reflection before 🙂

@countess5 

What hotel did you stay at pre-cruise? Thanks!

We are on the March 19th Reflection sailing 🙂

It's also a holiday weekend (Memorial Day) which could play into higher airfare. 

Flying in for a cruise, best to stick with a legacy carrier vs Spirit or Frontier - a lot to lose if you're flight is delayed/cancelled and you miss the cruise.

Good luck and safe travels.

We have stayed at the Residence Inn by the airport. There is a "campus" with 3 Marriott properties (Courtyard, Residence Inn & Marriott hotel.) Shuttle from the airport. The Residence Inn concept will be ideal space wise. Also includes breakfast (or at least, used to before Covid.)

There are restaurants in both the Marriott & Courtyard but just across the street is a great seafood restaurant called "Catch of the Day." Nothing fancy, but decent and close. 

14 hours ago, jagoffee said:

Everyone may wish to reread the title of this thread.

Appreciate your response. I believe my post relayed relevant information regarding Move-up bidding and is pertinent for folks placing bids to know how Celebrity will (or not) refund Move-up monies. 

Just now, D C said:

Is that in the terms and conditions when you bid? If not, it seems like a good topic for a credit card dispute. 

I could not find it anywhere in the T & C's of the Move-up bid, and trust me, I spent a VERY long time looking. Either way, it's deceptive in my opinion. We had a bid for a higher level suite for our Reflection cruise in March, but pulled it once I got this email. Not willing to roll the dice on a few thousand shekels. 

FYI for anyone bidding on upgrades. According to Celebrity, if you cancel your cruise under Cruise with Confidence, you will lose you Move-up monies paid - it does NOT count as part of your cruise fare. If you cancel due to Covid within 14 days prior, or during the cruise, then yes, you will get either full refund or pro-rated (respectively.)

Here is the email from Celebrity I received when specifically asking how Move-up monies are treated. Entire email is included except for name of person who replied.

Good Afternoon Sharon,

Thank you for your email. If the passenger cancels under the Cruise with Confidence policy 48 hours prior to sailing the MoveUp money is not refunded nor included in the FCC amounts. In this case it would be treated like Travel Protection and is a total loss. In the event that a guest tests positive within 14 days to sailing, if they send us the positive test results, we would process a full refund of their MoveUp money back to their credit card. If the passagener tests positive onboard the ship and would be under quarantine, yes they would be compensated a pro-rate cruise fare including the MoveUp payment. I hope this provides some clarity. Please let me know if I can further assist.

Best Regards,

Celebrity Moveup Team
Trade Sales & Support | Celebrity Cruises

We figured Move-up monies would be treated as part of the cruise fare. Caveat Emptor.

Avis has a location that offers shuttle service from the Port but when I checked rates, even with an AARP discount, they were super expensive. Here's the link:

Car Rental Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port Shuttle | Avis Rent a Car

After our upcoming cruise in March, we found it would be cheaper to taxi to FLL and rent (even with the airport fees) from National Emerald Aisle than rent from Avis.

Good luck!

2 hours ago, somogirl said:

This was my question to my TA, booked through Vacations To Go.-

   “If I bid on an upgrade and it’s accepted what if I have to cancel, will I lose the     money for the upgrade”

 

His response-

  “No, any upgrade cost is considered cruise fare. Still qualifies for Cruise with Confidence and standard Celebrity cancellation/refund policy.”

14 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I believe  you would be refunded.    

 

I was upgraded on a cruise the day the cruise industry came to a screeching halt.   I received a refund back to my CC for the upgrade and deposit and an a 125% FCC for the remainder.  Different in that Celebrity cancelled but I would think it would work the same under Cruise with Confidence.

Well, I'm just sharing what I received via email from Celebrity. We also presumed (according to Celebrity, incorrectly) that monies paid for a Move-up bid would become part of cruise fare paid. At any rate, we're not interested in losing a few thousand dollars for a roll of the dice. We're perfectly happy in our current suite.

@Jim_lain The terms and conditions of previous cancellations when Covid halted the cruise industry are apparently quite different than the current Cruise with Confidence conditions. We thought a Move-up would be covered. Nope, nor is payment for Cruise Care (ie Travel protection.) It's curtains, evaporates, ceases to exist (cultural reference to "Hocus Pocus.") 

On 1/21/2022 at 12:58 PM, Arizona Wildcat said:

Interesting.  We have cancelled under CWC and gotten our Move Up $$ refunded back to our credit card along with shore excursions and beverage upgrades.  

Did you book with a Travel agent or directly through Celebrity? Seems inconsistent, but sure glad you were able to recover the Move up funds paid. We aren't willing to take the chance.

We put in a Move-up bid for our upcoming Reflection cruise to a higher level suite. I decided to email Celebrity Move-up department directly for clarification. We have since cancelled said bid after I received the following today (deleted name of person from Celebrity, otherwise email is word for word):

Good Afternoon Sharon,

Thank you for your email. If the passenger cancels under the Cruise with Confidence policy 48 hours prior to sailing the MoveUp money is not refunded nor included in the FCC amounts. In this case it would be treated like Travel Protection and is a total loss. In the event that a guest tests positive within 14 days to sailing, if they send us the positive test results, we would process a full refund of their MoveUp money back to their credit card. If the passagener tests positive onboard the ship and would be under quarantine, yes they would be compensated a pro-rate cruise fare including the MoveUp payment. I hope this provides some clarity. Please let me know if I can further assist.

Best Regards,

Celebrity Moveup Team
Trade Sales & Support | Celebrity Cruises

Amber Cove is owned by Carnival Cruise Corporation.

The new port, Taino Bay, will be used by other cruise companies, including Celebrity. It is located south of Amber Cove.

Taino Bay is NOT in Amber Cove. The two are mutually exclusive.

We ordered tests from Emed on Sunday 1/9, order was approved the next day, shipped FedEx overnight and received on Wednesday, 1/12.

Expiration date on all 6 kits is 12/09/2022.

3 hours ago, BlueHerons said:

Can you order tests on Amazon to be delivered to your hotel?

Antigen tests are not valid for entry into Canada. Only PCR tests are accepted.

Fairmont Olympic was our choice prior to sailing the Millennium July 30, 2021. We had a wonderful stay and would recommend.

Good luck with your search.

10 hours ago, George C said:

I was pricing a trip from Miami to Ft Myer and Larry was about a hundred more.

Miami to Fort Myers is quite a trip, literally East coast, across the Everglades to the West Coast, then North a bit. Two hours one way. 

I'm thinking most reviews for Larry's Limo's have been for local/South Florida transportation.

Another vote for the Pan Pacific. We've stayed many places on several trips to Vancouver, but for pre-cruise, NOTHING beats the PP! Our stay in August 2019 was wonderful, and seamless transfer from hotel to ship. (Second favorite hotel in YVR is the Wedgewood hotel, btw. Not as convenient for cruising but a lovely experience. The restaurant Bacchus is awesome.)

The Pan Pacific is not inexpensive, but totally worth it!!

If you don't have a car but want something fun to do, take the Seabus ferry across to Lonsdale Quay, N. Vancouver. Very scenic boat ride and lots of fun shops, restaurants, etc. to peruse. Other option is to spend some time in Stanley Park. 

Enjoy Vancouver - we miss it and hope to visit again soon.

In general, it seems the antigen tests miss a lot of positive cases. Not cruise related but I tested negative on an antigen test a week ago (done at a Lab, not home.) Symptoms didn't get worse (just felt like a headcold) but not better either. Since we had upcoming plans and not wanting to expose others, I went to get an express (12 hr or less) PCR test several days later and ... was positive. Our anniversary dinner for Friday January 14th at a fine dining restaurant will be rescheduled for another time 😉 

Since I am fully covered with 3 jabs, very minimal symptoms overall. We have a cruise in two months so I should have a healthy "dose" of antibodies! We plan to take the EMed home test prior to the sailing in March. Thankfully, dear hubby is fine but we are laying low with take away and staying home for now.

Hope you are on the mend very soon, @jacob22 and sorry you had to cancel.