JT1962

I got Covid on my cruise in June (3rd this year) and am thrilled at the possibility of eliminating the testing / vaccine requirements. That cruise required proof of vaccine and testing and did not prevent me or multiple others onboard from catching Covid (multiple reports within the social media group for that cruise). I am booked again in October and am hoping the testing for sure will be gone.

Yes, the CDC went to a voluntary program months ago, however, most, if not all, of the major cruise lines did opt in to participate in that program and we’re following the guidelines of the CDC, which required vaccines (for most) and testing to be included in their ratings.

It is up to the cruise lines now as to what their requirements will be. The requirements of the ports visited obviously determine what the cruise lines will do on a specific itinerary. The first cruise line to eliminate vaccine & testing requirements on itineraries where it is not required by the ports visited will have a huge advantage and should see an increase in bookings.

The price difference between ship excursions and independent excursions in Alaska is not as much as in the Caribbean, however, you usually get a smaller group and sometimes longer time on the independent excursions. Skagway - the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad or the Yukon Bus Tour with Chilkoot Charters are excellent. Ketchikan - Deadliest Catch Crab Boat excursion; Kayaking with Southeast Kayaks; Free Walking Tour using the map at the Visitor Center at the pier. Juneau - Whale Watching Mendenhall Glacier Combo Tour with Juneau Whale Watch; the Mt. Roberts Tram.

You still have to apply for and be approved for an exemption on Princess, but you do not have to provide any proof of why you want the exemption.

We used a shuttle bus in 2017 that ran from the Visitor Center in downtown to Fortress of the Bear, the Raptor Center and Totem Park then back to the Visitor Center every hour. It was $ 10 pp roundtrip. I’m not sure if it is still operating or not. It looks like you can take the Blue Route on TheRide public bus to the Gary Paxton Industrial Park stop and Fortress of the Bear is a 5-6 min walk: https://moovitapp.com/index/amp/en/public_transit-Fortress_Of_the_Bear-Sitka_AK-site_17106539-4614 https://ridesitka.com/the-ride/

You won’t know until you board the ship. The cruise Director will sometimes mention how many people are on board during one of the shows in the theater. You can also usually ask at guest services. Most ships are sailing at or above 100% double occupancy capacity now. My cruise on the Ecstasy in early June was it 108% capacity (double occupancy).

A one-way itinerary between Vancouver and Alaska will always have longer port times and sometimes an additional port or glacier day than the round-trip cruises from Seattle.

GoPortCanaveral offers transportation / hotels in one package when sailing from Port Canaveral. Port Canaveral is 45-50 minutes from the Orlando area if there are no traffic issues. You can also check Melbourne FL or Sanford Airports for pricing / convenient flights from your home airport. I have found that hotels in Orlando / Port Canaveral can be cheaper than Miami, depending on the time of year and what major events may be going on. For cruises from Miami, check flights to both Miami and Ft Lauderdale. Hotels in Miami will usually be cheaper near the airport than closer to the port. Uber / Lyft or SAS transportation are probably your best transportation options.

Here is a link to an article that gives you the options between SeaTac & Pier 91 and approximate cost, including public transportation: https://www.cruzely.com/how-to-get-from-the-seattle-airport-to-the-cruise-port-without-a-car/?amp Pier 91 is not the easiest to get to with public transportation. It just depends on whether taking your bags with you on the light rail, then transferring to a bus, then walking from the closest stop to the pier is worth the savings to you.

I would send them an email or give them a call. It is possible that they are booked since that is relatively soon. But they may be able to work with you or put you on a waiting list.

We saw Orcas while leaving Seattle (fairly common) and in Tracy Arm Fjord (uncommon). The best option for humpbacks is a tour from Juneau or Icy Strait Point. For Orcas, take a tour from Seattle, Vancouver or Seward (depending on your itinerary) before or after your cruise.

Seattle Express - $ 20 pp one-way, $ 35 pp roundtrip if booked in advance. If more than 2 people, Uber / Lyft / Taxi may be more cost effective.

I don’t believe the dining room is open for lunch on boarding day. Your options will be Guy’s Burgers or Blue Iguana near the pool or the buffet, pizzeria, deli or Mongolian Wok, all in the buffet area. There is some seating outside to the rear or either side of the buffet area that will be quieter than in the actual buffet area. If you arrive a day or more prior to your cruise, see the USS Alabama and / or Belingrath Gardens. There are some good seafood restaurants on the causeway just East of the USS Alabama. Parking at the port is easy in the garage right at the port. It’s $ 20 per day and you must prepay. You can pay online prior to arrival to save some time.

I just bring several plastic straws from home. No worries about what the ship has.

That should not affect many, if any, Carnival cruisers since Carnival does not sail currently from any Canadian Port. The random testing is only for people arriving at airports in Canada. I guess some could fly to Vancouver to board the ship in Seattle, but it would be a small percentage of cruisers. https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6520257

Definitely full with lots of kids. If you want a better experience, sail in the first 2 weeks of November or December.

A lot of the reputation is from years ago and no longer the case, but a shorter cruise over a weekend or a cruise during Spring Break will have more “partiers” than longer cruises or cruises at other times of the year.

I thought the OPs original question was why MSC only went to Mexico and Ocean Cay, not about B2B cruises. They do go other places and book longer cruises as one booking, even if it returns to the original port mid-cruise. But they offer itineraries that are longer than 7 days that are nor B2B and visit other ports besides Ocean Cay & Mexico:

The Divina will offer longer itineraries starting this Fall that include Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Belize, Mexico and Ocean Cay.

Book the cheapest cruise you can before October.

Yes, they charge extra for shrimp cocktail and steak in the main dining room most nights. They did have steak & shrimp cocktail on Elegant Night for no extra charge and 5-6 entrees each night, including at least one beef entree. Some people would rather pay more for the cruise and not have to pay extra for steak or shrimp cocktail, but I sailed for $339 solo in a balcony cabin, so I had no complaints. Everyone is different. I am long past the waterpark/amusement park phase of my life and would much prefer ships and a private island without those features. But some people want that.

I sailed on the Meraviglia in January and loved it. By far the nicest ship I have been on. I have sailed on several Royal Caribbean ships, but not Oasis Class. I had a standard balcony cabin, so no Yacht Club. i thought the food was equivalent to or better than Royal Caribbean. The selections were fewer on the dining room menu than Royal, but you can order multiple items from each section and I always found several items to choose from. They do charge extra for some items (shrimp cocktail, steak) other than Elegant Night, but there were still plenty of choices. The buffet had a good selection at breakfast and lunch and the pizza was excellent. I enjoyed the entertainment since it included more than the standard singers / dancers (not a big fan). There was a 2nd showroom with an excellent band playing each night as well. Ocean Cay is the best Private Island I have been to. It has multiple beaches and is more natural than Coco Cay with no water park. The vast majority of passengers on my sailing were from the US and all announcements on the ship were made in English only (I see many complain about announcements in multiple languages, but that was not the case on my sailing).

It was open for lunch the first week of May when I was on Splendor to Alaska.

The only way they would know would be to test everyone prior to letting them off the ship. That appears to be what is happening in Australia, least on one ship: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11007377/amp/Coronavirus-cruise-ship-nightmare-100-passengers-stay-ship-test-negative.html