Laylam

3 hours ago, d9704011 said:

The ArriveCAN application 'told' you that a pre-embarkation covid test is not required?

Yes, it did.  As we are staying very near the Cruise Terminal  I today checked with the people manning the Covid testing station, to be certain.  Their advice was to check with our cruise ship.  So it seems it is no longer a Canadian requirement.  All will be revealed after Tuesday!!

On 8/31/2022 at 12:43 PM, jeffbrig said:

It's not for entry into Canada.  It's a requirement to board a passenger cruise ship at a Canada port.  While rules/restrictions are generally thawing out, it seems this one has yet to be lifted.

 

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

I have just completed our second ArriveCAN, prior to embarkation September 6, and during this process was informed that as verified fully vaccinated travellers we don't require pre=board testing.  However, I am unable to find an update on the above link so ?????????   I will report back after boarding.

Thanks for the correction jeffbrig, it sure is confusing.

On 8/30/2022 at 11:23 AM, jeffbrig said:

FYI for anyone else boarding at a Canadian port.  We're sailing out of Vancouver on Sept 6th (the first day of the change).  The way it was explained to us by a Seabourn rep is that even fully vaxxed, Canada requires a negative test within 3 days to board the ship. This a Canada requirement, not Seabourn.

 

We were told either a PCR or a proctored antigen test is acceptable.  We plan to do a proctored home test before we fly to Vancouver.

According to this site https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada Pre-entry testing is not required

"Pre-entry tests are not required for fully vaccinated travellers entering Canada by land, air or water. You must still use ArriveCAN within 72 hours before your arrival to Canada.

Unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children under the age of 12 are not required to provide a valid pre-entry test result, if they are accompanying a fully vaccinated adult.

Children who are less than 5 years old are not required to test, regardless of their vaccination status."

19 hours ago, lesliedrew said:

Thanks.  I have that information.  It shows a picture but doesn't describe the jacket.  I'm hoping someone who has recently done the cruise will give a bit more information.

Sorry, I should have mentioned it has a warm inner lining and we found it plenty warm enough on our last visit to Alaska.

2 hours ago, lesliedrew said:

I’ve just booked a ten day Alaskan cruise on the Odyssey for Sept 6 and have some questions that aren’t answered on the Seabourn website.  I called Seabourn and want to clarify their answers with some Cruise Critic experienced travelers.

 

Jackets provided by Seabourn:  Are they fairly light weight jackets that will protect you from wind and rain but not provide much warmth?  Or do they have a warm lining?  Does one need to bring down, fleece or wool for warmth?  Parkas for Antarctica and the Bering Sea were very heavy and provided all the necessary warmth.  I have a feeling that ones for this cruise are lighter.

 

Shorex cancellations:  Was told that one can cancel a Shorex up to three days before sailing without penalty.  Later than that there can be a penalty of up to 100%.  You can’t know the penalty until you discuss it on the ship.  I was going to pick all my excursions now and perhaps change one or two after sailing.  Is that a bad idea?  I might decide I’ve seen enough whales and would rather have a crab feast!

 

Wet/Dry landings:  Are the zodiac landings generally dry … don’t need tall, Bogs type boots.  You don’t step off into water?  Regular short or ankle shoes will work?

 

Comments and other tips appreciated.  Thanks for your help.

 

 

We are on this voyage as well.  Here is a suggested packing list, with a link to ordering your jackets.

https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/luxury-cruise-destinations/alaska-experience-packing-list.html

9 hours ago, purpleally said:

We are forced to find another line since this was taken from us.  To Seabourns credit they gave us our money back in three days.  However, I was not pleased two days later when they returned my $1000 future booking; guess they don’t want us back

purplealley, it may be that your cruise credit expired.  Our cruise credit also expires next month.

16 hours ago, purpleally said:

Due to “deployment changes”. What in the he🏒 🏒  is that?????!!!!!
and, no, 10% on a future cruise is NOT going to make me feel better about this 

I agree with you purpleally......no reasonable excuse was given for CANCELLING our cruise.  We are/were diehard Seabourn fans with over 250 days onboard.  We have rebooked an Arctic cruise on Scenic Eclipse instead.

12 hours ago, cruiseej said:

@purpleallyWhat specific cruise were you booked on? Did Seabourn offer alternatives for rebooking?

This was the email we received....

Very pleased to report receipt of refund for first cruise.  Reached the credit card 23rd June but dated 18th June.

10 hours ago, plane7c said:

 My cruise date was April 5 (not April 15)  the same Quest cruise  as  Mauzac

Thank you JPH814 for all your work.  Enjoy a well earned rest at the beach.  We are still waiting for 2 refunds , but it is starting to look like we may be getting closer.

Thank you JPH814 for taking the time to do this.  Would you please add us to the list.

Cruise Date 5/9/20

Refund requested 4/1/20 (so far 65 days and still waiting)

Cruise Date 5/23/20

Refund requested 4/16/20 (so far 50 days and still waiting)

17 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

 

Have you both booked directly with SB or your TA?

If the latter, shouldn’t that letter come from your TA and not SB and shouldn’t your TA be taking care of all that with your direction.

I was informed of my cruise cancellation (Oceania) by my TA and I instructed her which option I wanted - never communicated with Oceania directly.

 

I booked with a TA and he has submitted our request for a refund.  The letter outlining the terms and conditions was sent by Seabourn President, Richard Meadows and received March 15..

1 hour ago, VegasDave said:

I received a similar letter in March. I opted for cash refund also.  My letter states

that if I didn't make a selection by April 1 my money would be refunded.  I think you

are ok but I haven't received anything yet.

However this time the letter states that if you haven't made a selection by June 1 you will have been deemed to have elected a 125% FCC.

I don't think anyone can answer your question.  I have bookmarked the above link and I check daily for any updates.

Maybe this site helps https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/book-with-confidence.html

2 hours ago, SLSD said:

This article about the State Department advisory was posted just a short while ago in the Washington Post:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/03/08/state-department-cruise-ship-travel/?itid=hp_hp-top-table-main_virusledeall-920pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans

 

 

 

This is from the article, "Reuters reported on Friday that the U.S. was considering measures to discourage cruising, including advising all or some Americans to temporarily avoid taking cruises or potentially creating travel restrictions related to cruises. In a statement released the same day, the Cruise Lines International Association called any effort to curtail cruising “unreasonable” and detrimental to the economy, adding that the industry supports more than 421,000 American jobs and contributed almost $53 billion to the U.S. economy in 2018."

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-09/victoria-records-new-coronavirus-covid-19-cases/12038048

3 of the last 4 cases confirmed in Victoria, Australia had flown in from the USA.

2 hours ago, westmount said:

...................... Trump will ban cruise ships shortly, then close international  airports to foreigners, as that’s what he does to fix  todays problem.
if we all presumed the Chinese were originally lying about their numbers in the beginning, let’s also presume there are 10000 real cases in America, just people don’t know they have the virus because it was mild or they weren't t tested yet. 
 As we all know by now, if you don’t test for the virus, the numbers will be down, and if you test everyone like in Singapore, you will suffer short term but get out of the problem faster than anyone else. 
  

I live in Victoria, Australia, where we currently have 19 confirmed cases.  Three of the last 4 cases travelled from the U.S.A.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-09/victoria-records-new-coronavirus-covid-19-cases/12038048

On 12/31/2019 at 6:00 AM, saminina said:

Eastern European bartenders have been excellent, but they are disappearing.  We were on Quest in October and watched the famous Nelson.  They don't let him near the popular bars.  His way of operating does nothing for new to Seabourn guests and management knows it. 

 

I have to disagree.  Nelson used to work in the Colonnade of an evening, when we sailed on the Quest in 2017.  We sailed with my husband's brother and his wife who were both new to Seabourn and they were most impressed.  We crossed paths with Nelson again last year and he enquired about the well-being of my brother and sister-in-law AND remembered what they drank!

14 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

 

It’s  got years to run yet.

3 hours ago, margbem said:

No! It's got a new song in it, though! Have seen it three times. Will give it a miss this week.

I agree it probably does have years to run.  Probably a win-win situation as we can have an early night knowing we have already seen it several times.

On 10/11/2019 at 3:12 AM, margbem said:

Chairsin - how lovely to hear from you! I think this cruise is possibly our best yet. We have just had opera and caviar for our sail away from Trapani. It was fabulous! We are also looking at cruises next September, maybe from Venice, so we may meet up again. Or, we may take the plunge(not literally, hopefully) and do Antarctica.

margben, have they retired the 'Tim Rice Show' yet?

8 hours ago, markham said:

A week ago I heard from Seabourn HQ 15 Aug. But the proof is in the pudding.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

 

Good Luck with your 2021 schedules.  Our May 2020 cruise on Ovation has just been cancelled and we are being asked to decide if we want to sail the revised itinerary.....which we are yet to see!!!

4 hours ago, MJfromCA said:

 

Yes, MySeabourn still shows my original ports and itinerary too. I would call your TA tomorrow - the email came to her.

 

I called Seabourn directly, who confirmed the cancellation and pointed me to my TA. They also transferred me to Guest Relations, where I got voicemail.

 

 

Yes, I contacted my TA and he confirmed he had an email from Seattle overnight and will get back to me when he knows what is going on.   We have already booked our airfares.  We are due to board the Quest in Reykjavik next Tuesday so I'll see if I can learn any "inside gossip"!!

2 hours ago, MJfromCA said:

SLSD,

 

There are no Ovation cruises listed on the Seabourn website now from April 25th to May 23rd 2020, so all I can go by is the map they sent in the letter.

• They dropped Gibraltar, Motril/Granada/Alhambra and Cadiz/Seville in Spain, and Porto in Portugal.
• They substituted St Tropez (in addition to Le Lavandou 45 minutes away), Portovenare and Portofino in Italy, and Palamos and Valencia in Spain.

It is also likely they cut one of the two days in Casablanca to accommodate the extra port, but until I can actually see the new itinerary, that is a guess. So 4-5 of our 12 ports changed, and we had specifically picked this itinerary for these ports in combination with Morocco.

 

I've had a single port on a cruise change at the last minute due to terrorist incidents or weather, which is understandable, but never this many this far ahead purely by choice of the cruise line with an already-published full ship. What if I had already booked our flights? That is why I am hesitant to try Seabourn again, if this is what is normal for them.

Thanks for any help anyone can give on what (if anything) I can do, and if this happens often.

 

MJfromCA

 

 

 

We are booked on the cruise leaving Barcelona on May 9th ending in Amsterdam June 6th, and, after reading your post I logged into My Seabourn, to find our cruise is still there with ports unchanged..................so ???????????

3 hours ago, Mark56 said:

I would love to hear some stories about good service where Seabourn rose to the occasion on a special request. 

During a cruise in the Med in 2015, a woman leaving for an excursion, whilst rubbing hand lotion on, had her wedding ring fly off and bounce overboard.  Captain Mark Dexter told her to proceed with the excursion and promised to do all that was necessary to help her make an insurance claim on her return.  However, as soon as she left he called in Divers and was able to hand her the ring on her return.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2018/08/13/wow-customer-service-a-thousand-miles-from-shore/#245eda407527