RickT

I go to the X webpage and in the upper right hand corner is a link titled “Offers”. When you click on that link one of the options is Excited Deals which brings you to this page https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-deals/exciting-deals?icid=spclff_tctclp_xct_hm_other_206 Once on that page I click the “From Canada” link at the top right which then brings me to Canadian pricing of the exciting deals. Good Luck.

Exciting deals pricing has always been hit or miss. Just looked up the current listings and found a few deals but also found a few that seemed to be full retail. As always the biggest issue is many of the exciting deals depart within the next 30-45 days making flights usually more expensive.

The website offers Canadian pricing. Just looked up a few.

We’re looking at that Norway itinerary or a similar on in May. We’re elite and hope the Royal perks we’d get are good (especially the drink vouchers).

I haven’t sailed Royal Caribbean in over a decade and have largely cruised Celebrity due to their better food and service. My last two Celebrity cruises (post covid) were only OK and has me thinking about a change. Royal is offering an itinerary on the Jewel (we’ve sailed that class and like the ship) to Europe that Celebrity is not offering and I thought I’d ask if any loyal Celebrity folks have sailed on Royal recently and what your thoughts were on the food, service and entertainment. How did the food compare to Celebrity? How was the overall service? How would you compare entertainment? Lastly, did you find Royal has started to nickel and dime like X has? By no means am I expecting Royal to be as good as Celebrity but if Royal is still a decent offering then the itinerary may be worth trying.

On the Celebrity forum someone posted an excel spreadsheet that could help you determine if the cost was worth it based on your eating/drinking habits. The key driver is usually the amount of alcohol and coffee one drinks. It doesn’t take a large number of drinks to make the packages worthwhile but if you only have 1-2 drinks a day it usually doesn’t make sense. The convenience factor of having a package is also a factor…. Even if it costs slightly more it’s a vacation and it’s nice to not have to think of the cost of each drink.

I used to book directly with the cruise line (Princess, HAL, Celebrity, etc) but find that since the pandemic I have to use a TA. I get a better price as well as shipboard credit. Not all sailings are discounted so one has to look a bit. Saved a few hundred $ on my upcoming cruise as well as a bunch of shipboard credit.

I’ve brought fresh flowers onboard in Florida and Barcelona. Will be sailing out of Sydney in November to New Zealand. Can’t find anything on Princess stating whether that’s allowed or not. Does anyone have experience sailing out of Sydney?

My last two cruises on Celebrity were OK. Felt the ships and staff were top notch. Food was OK but not stellar (also thought the entrees offered were the same old same old). Biggest disappointment was the wine selection. Paid to upgrade to premium and on both cruises they were pretty much out of everything. What pushed me over the edge (no pun intended) was the pricing of cruises I was looking at. After many years away from Princess I recently booked a Princess cruise on the Royal Princess. It’s a New Zealand cruise and is priced at $1,800 CDN less than a similar X cruise. In addition the price includes two specialty dinners and unlimited gym classes. Given the savings and my prior experience with Princess I figured I may as well give it a try. Stay tuned for my comparison.

Does anyone else find it a little frustrating when you’re on the Princess site and after you’ve chosen the cabin type you’re then given the option of selecting your cabin or allowing Princess to choose later only to see that every deck shows Guarantee Only for every deck? First world problem I know…. But if only Guarantee cabins are available why show the option of choosing a cabin?

Try clearing your cookies. If that doesn’t you you may have to check Canadian TA sites or resorts to calling Princess.

@SnowshoeCat Trying a few things but it seems AC adjusts to Canadian pricing anytime Canadian city is input as a routing point. Qantas just announced a sale so it might simply be best if I fly YHZ-LAX on one ticket and the LAX-SYD on Qantas. Lots of time and still weighing the options.

@Globaliser Looked at stopping overnight in Vancouver however fare increases significantly. Good idea but unfortunately doesn’t work 🙁 @Fairgarth Flight from YHZ to SYD on Air Canada is approx $3,600 (cdn) return depending on dates. Flights from LAX to SYD (via YVR) on Air Canada are approx $1,400 (cdn) with flights from YHZ to LAX approx $640. Basically saving $1,500 by routing through LAX. Savings would be reduced by hotel/meals in LAX but well worth it (not including the fact that breaking up such a long flight isn’t a bad idea). Simply trying to avoid the last leg from YVR to LAX and instead book a direct YVR to YHZ flight.

@em-sk Thanks for the info. This isn’t something I would do on a regular basis and am only considering because it’s so frustrating to see such a difference in fares if my departure gateway is LAX (I realize AC is just trying to compete with US Airlines that can fly to Sydney direct from LAX). One of the reasons to short check is to spend a day or two in Vancouver to rest and visit family and friends. We can also get a direct flight home from Vancouver where we’d need to connect if flying from LAX. Appreciate the info.

Frowned upon yes, illegal no. Have done it a few times over the years but generally when doing carry on only. Given the suitcase and having to deal with customs and immigration I believe it will be pretty difficult. And yes, I’ve looked into having my bag shipped but the price is pretty astronomical. Still searching for other options to deal with this.