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9 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Welcome!!

Thank you.  We're looking forward to a new cruising experience.

13 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

Thank you.   I thought our Eurodam cruise in November was great but this is up quite a notch!  We have our first excursion tomorrow.  Used one of our HIA for the Volcanoes National Park & Gardens in Hilo. 

I booked this cruise for 2025 and am keeping an eye on this thread.  It will be my first time on HAL.  I don't know how, exactly, the HIA works;  when excursions and dining open up for booking can you do it all ahead of time on the understanding that there are excursion and dining credits to be applied first before they come looking for your credit card?

4 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Which is pretty much what I said in my post in trying to help your post #21.  Since you already had the answer I suppose I wasted my time.

Evidently I misunderstood the part about Canadians paying more for their cruises than Americans.  

2 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

There are several recent discussions about this and no definitive answer that I've seen.

Weird, the unpredictability.  One good thing, at least from a cash outlay, if you can get a 10 - 15% reduction on the grats you'll be ahead of the game no matter which way it shakes out.

1 hour ago, Sea Hag said:

How do they handle it if the crew appreciation price goes up after you pre-pay it? Or, as in the case above, you get a good deal? Do they apply the amount you paid and subtract off each day, leaving you with some charges left over, or do they credit the full, current amount for crew appreciation regardless of what you paid?

Interesting question.  If I understand correctly what you're asking:

1.  Did you purchase a USD 16 pppd credit for gratuities with the understanding that if they go to USD 18 by ghe time of the cruise you'll be on the hook for USD 2 pppd?; or,

2.  Did you pre-purchase credits for a number of days of gratuities and there will be no price adjustments no matter what the daily rate is when the cruise takes place?

54 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Just did a mock booking on a Nov. '24 Eclipse, Concierge Prime, Refundable, Grats in, Cruise Only.   Close as I could come.

X exchange rate 1.4125 2/22 Bank exchange 1.38 Cruise Cost CAD $6,106.10   $6,108.95   USD $4,324.92     $5,995.20 Difference CAD $1,781.18     $113.75

I see nothing unusual here.  If you purchased the cruise in USD using your credit card, there is an excellent chance that the total exchange rate you'd end up paying is 1.38 * 1.025 = 1.415; pretty much what X is doing.

1 hour ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Could be the reason we seem to be paying so much more for a cruise than an American? 

Do you have any examples where this is the case?  For instance, an X advertised fare of USD 2000 and what the equivalent fare would be on X's Canadian website.

No.  I'd have just hung up and ignore the whole thing.

1 hour ago, JJK2008 said:

Might just depend on who you get. We had virtually the same experience, but they let through WITH the honey. Weeks later we brought it back to the USA. No problem. Guess we were lucky. 

Kinda like the time I brought a couple of oranges into the United States.

1 minute ago, StopTheWorld said:

From the NZ government website;

Honey is a high biosecurity risk for New Zealand. It can bring in harmful pests and diseases that can affect our bee populations. If in doubt, do not bring honey.

That,s it....

52489-GD3-A2-poster-Honey.pdf

A late arrival.  I'd look at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport to minimize additional travel for that day and make my way to the cruise terminal the next morning (easy to do).

46 minutes ago, doghog said:

Does he are anyone from his office respond to Emails?

I think you know the answer to that; but if a person just wants to try to clutter up an inbox, why not send a missive?

6 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

and look into different coverage options that IMO I think all travelers - in particular if traveling internationally - should have.

Also, consider annual plans rather than individual trip plans if you anticipate traveling on a fairly regular basis.

3 hours ago, Globaliser said:

But the SQ fares do exist because (as rinshin says) they can be priced on ITA Matrix. So this may be one that requires either a call to SQ, or a travel agent.

I've been following this discussion with interest and have wondered how the ITA Matrix works. As I understand it, Google Flights is a sub-set of the Matrix application with one significant feature (usually) added.... a fairly direct mechanism to access and purchase the fares without the assistance of a travel agent or one or more airline agents.

My specific interest is a trip from Ottawa to Auckland with a return from Sydney for next year.  I will be able to purchase this without problem from Air Canada and/or United and, as you might guess, spend a king's ransom on business class.

So, my question is: if I can identify  an itinerary in ITA Matrix at a favourable price with all the coding provided, what can I do with that?

46 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

The clients on porter have changed over the last 10 years. It use to be people flying for business meetings and things went smoothly. Now porter is becoming a destination for budget travellers and it can be a hot mess.

What you say may have some truth to it but I don't see how the shift in clientele has anything to do with Porter's on time performance.  Additionally, I've used Porter on four round trip flights over the last year (two to EWR, two to FLL) and have not experienced substantial delays or lost luggage.

3 hours ago, SeaShark said:

 

Not new at all. It is well known that you can't always add additional guests to a cabin as lifeboat capacity might be exceeded. This is often a problem with prime (kids out of school) season cruises.

 

Just lifeboats, inflatables are designed for crew. I think @chengkp75 can probably explain it better.

I'm sure it's not new at all... just to me.  I've no doubt that IMO/SOLAS and Flag State conventions and regulatory regimes have pretty carefully addressed this sort of thing over the years.

I posted this question in my roll call for the upcoming Ascent TA (April) but thought I'd try here too in case somebody has recent experience/information they can share:

I'm hoping somebody can help me so that I don't have to phone Celebrity and ask. 

I have (purchased using OBC in May, 2023) a Specialty Restaurant Trio package.  For the life of me, I can't recall the details of what that package includes and how to go about using it.  I can't find it anymore, maybe it has been quietly discontinued. 

Does anybody know about this package and have any suggestions on how I ought to go about putting it to use?

1 hour ago, CulverCityCruisers said:

Is there a specific Uber pick up area at the airport?  We are coming in on Air Canada.  Thank you for your help

Here is all the info you need.

https://www.uber.com/global/en/r/airports/yul/

2 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

Not only that, but lifeboats cover sections, and once lifeboat capacity for a section is reached no additional bookings in that section (be they empty excess berths or empty cabins) are permitted.

Well now, there's something new.  I had never thought of that although it's quite sensible.  Is it just lifeboats or are life rafts (inflatables) part of that overall sectional capacity?

5 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

I personally love them... Way more than a traditional balcony.

My preference is a traditional open balcony/veranda but I like the IV well enough to keep going back; the total ship experience is important and, for me, E-class offers a superior one.  

9 minutes ago, daddyslittle girl said:

Looking into 2025 cruise,any hints  on where to start?

Celebrity Constellation  - Best of Italy and Croatia.

9 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

What is Google Fi and Medicare ? 
They are not in Canada 

I lost track at Page Plus.

2 minutes ago, Spyder2up said:

My better half and myself are planning on bringing our own filtered water bottles on our May 18th cruise on The Beyond…where is the best place on the ship to fill them?  

Do it in your bathroom.  Use a glass to transfer tap water into your water bottles.

2 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

Question was to the OP

 

And it might be relevant depending on the answer

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I understand what you're inferring.  Has nothing to do with what the poster is interested in doing/not doing as far as towels and bedding goes.