Lizzzys

My friend and I just flew home to Calgary via Toronto on Sunday afternoon from our 8 day cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, we flew out of FLL. We really only hit one small snag, as I was selected in Toronto for random testing. My friend was not. 

In FLL make sure to locate the "Document Verification" lineup as your first stop at the Airport. The sign is a little hard to see because it's just a piece of paper taped over a regular Air Canada sign. The lineup was close to the airport entry doors along the window. Make sure to have your ArriveCan App up on your phone, completed and ready, your passport, a paper copy of your vaccine verification, and your negative PCR test. They will give you a sticker on your passport and then you can enter the baggage drop-off line.

Upon arrival in Toronto we filled out our declarations at the electronic stands. I said that I was coming into Canada via the US from another country, since we had visited 4 ports (which we had listed on our arriveCan apps) My friend interpreted hers differently and said she was only arriving from the US. We went through to see the custom's officer separately, although we did see the same officer. We both told her we had been on a cruise. Friend got the green sticker, I got a pink one. As we departed customs there was a woman sorting us by our stickers and I was sent to the back of a very long lineup to await a covid test. The line was not moving very quickly and there must have been over 50 people in front of me. We had plenty of time before our next flight so I texted my friend that I would just meet her at our next gate. While standing in line, a worker who was overseeing our line radioed to someone to let them know that the line was getting very long and that "customs is sending nearly everyone for testing, and many of these travellers have connections to make". The line went a little faster but in total likely took about 45 minutes to an hour to reach the front. As we got closer to the front of the line, there was a sign with a QR code to scan to access a webpage and register for the test. It was fairly lengthy and required that you create an account with a login and password, (and a password reminder question), DOB, address and other such particulars, your health care number.... it takes awhile. I do recommend doing ahead just in case. They did the PCR test and did not give me any further instructions. I left and caught my next flight to Calgary along with 400+ of my besties; I was shocked. I actually thought they would process the test before letting me leave the screening area and to find out whether I was positive or negative. I was allowed to board my flight without issue and did not even know that I was to quarantine until I read it on here. My test results were ready this morning at 5:15 am (the message to check the portal came via text and email) I am negative. But what is the point of testing if they are allowing you to board another plane within Canada? I assume the covid tester I had just didn't do her job by informing me i was to isolate, but they should be giving out a sheet of some sort giving you a run down of your obligation to isolate. 

Anyhow, we did have a fabulous cruise aboard Allure and I would do it again in a heartbeat. We felt very safe with the extra measures onboard, but there were a few people who did test positive at the end of our sailing that we heard about. One of our US members of our CC group was set to do a B2B but her PCR test from the ship came back positive and she is sitting in a quarantine hotel near the airport in FLL. Royal is getting her home by private transport tomorrow.

Oh, and one last thing. We very nearly had a heart attack the night before we flew out because the Air Canada app told us that our COVID_19  Health Document was not accepted and that "the document is incorrect" when we were doing our check-in. It had us second-guessing whether we had misread something and not taken the test at the appropriate time; which was just a few hours earlier. Thankfully there is an example listed that outlined that we indeed had done everything correctly so we decided to go get dinner and try again later. While at dinner we received emails that our documents were all approved. WHEW! I think the system was overwhelmed or something for a bit, but it was a sinking feeling because it was getting late and we were afraid we were not going to be able to enter the US to catch our boat. So just know that this can happen and don't panic 🙂

Have a great Christmas everyone!

 

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

They want to test anyone who has been outside Canada and the US. The number who would do so driving is minuscule, some cruisers and a few driving down to Mexico.

 

So do you think this will include those of us who have been to the Caribbean islands on a cruise as well?

Me three!

I received mine in the mail today too for my Amazon Chase Visa. Sad indeed. Are there any other cards that don't have conversion fees?

Finally got our guarantee balcony for may 1st Getaway, room 9174.

How did your cabin assignment in 9174 turn out? Was it a good location?

Thanks

Thanks for the offer of getting back to me re above cabins. I have them on hold thru 7/11 (this Saturday) so may have to make a decision before you leave.

 

My question was 1 of location. Seemed to me that these were well suited for activities on decks 6,7, & 8. I liked the location for easy access to elevators and stairs. It appears that looking over the balcony the Waterfront deck is covered so you aren't looking over someone else's balcony. We needed at least 1 room that slept 4. Higher decks in this location did NOT have any sleep 4 cabins.

 

concerned about noise from below; and if being somewhat higher makes sense for access to pools etc.

 

btw I see you are in New Hampshire. East of Hartford CT here.

 

enjoy your cruise

 

Mike

Hi, wondering if you did happen to stay in cabin 9170 on the Breakaway and if so how was it?

Thanks for your quick reply! So does this just take us to Penn Station and we walk from there? Or does it take us directly to our hotel. (I can't tell on the website)

Shuttle!

 

http://www.nycairporter.com/OurServices/LaGuardiaAirportShuttle.aspx

 

It's not expensive and it'll save time. Otherwise you have to take the bus to the subway and transfer in the subway to get to the 23d St. station, and then schlep with your bags to 26th. You're staying in a great location, right near the Flatiron, Madison Square Park, Eataly, etc. Fun!

What is the best way to get from LaGuardia Airport to 125 West 26th Street in Manhattan (Holiday Inn on 6th Avenue) We are okay with taking transit (but we will have luggage) but this will be in January so we can't really walk too far depending on weather.

Thanks!

Hi we are flying in to LGA for a cruise on Wednesday, January 11 and will be staying at the Doubletree Metropolitan by Hilton on Lexington Avenue. What would be the best way to get there from La Guardia? And if we can manage our luggage on our own, is it possible to use the train system or subway?

Also, we will be sailing on the Breakaway from the Manhattan cruise port on Sunday, January 15. It looks like there is a bus (M50) that will take us fairly quickly to within a 6 minute walking distance to the cruise port. Can we take our luggage (one large piece each, plus a backpack) on a city bus on a Sunday morning? Or what would it cost to cab it that distance? Any other suggestions?

Thank you!

Tracey

Some running threads on the subject:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2344528

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2355923

Thanks. Looks like an IT issue. No way all of those can be charters :)

What's up with the indecisiveness with the Nav 9 day sailings for 2018? There was April 22 and 27 which have not been cancelled. Now March 30 and April 8 don't show up and I'm booked on the January 19, 2018 sailing and it appears as "Sold Out" on the website??? I hope it won't be cancelled too.

Wait.... no cabana in Labadee?? What the heck, Chris! ;)

We used Jester Sailing a few years ago and were very impressed! Captain Jim took us to a very secluded bay to snorkel (lots of fish!) and made an amazing lunch onboard. The Jester Juice was great too! Make sure you wear sunscreen!

I did not say that the big ships were "rubbish". I used the word to describe the cruises that I do not like and wouldn't even consider.

 

I don't mind being criticized for my thoughts but at least criticize what I wrote not what you think I wrote.

Hang on, I didn't criticize anything. If you don't want others reading into what you wrote, then try not doing that yourself. QI am booked on one of them and wanted your honest opinion -- whatever that might be. I wasn't trying to start something. Sorry you took it that way.

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I agree with both of these; please apply to all decent cruises not just the short rubbish ones on the big ships!! :eek:

Why are the big ships "rubbish"?

 

Lizzzys - This is the only photo we all three have of Charlie. Sorry. It could be him' date=' he was mid thirties to 40 ish maybe?

 

 

 

This is when he told me that we have three bottles of liquor. :D

 

 

 

[img']https://scontent-mia1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-9/12670279_10153252651106945_1514829310430262031_n.jpg?oh=6cbc966581bd21a86d0cfd436741e292&oe=576B2FF8[/img]

 

 

 

Thanks for posting! Hard to tell from the pic. I'll check my photos tomorrow from that trip and see if we have any of Charlie to show you.

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So after we had the big reveal of the suite -

 

Our luggage was already in the cabin. I had not checked in online in time to get the luggage tags sent to me so I made my own. I had to print them off and got ingenious. I had some extra tags left over from our last cruise. (September' date=' Dawn, Canada and New England with two Ma'ams and DHs). I cut out my name, the word "Priority" and taped them to our printed off tags. I wanted to make sure that we got those bags quickly! Well it worked!

 

 

 

 

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Quite clever, don't you think?

 

Dennis, our room steward, greeted us. He was wonderful all week long, I might add.

 

Charlie, our Butler, also came in to greet us and answer any questions we had. I told him that I was familiar with the espresso machine when he tried to show me how to work it. Then he showed me a paper on the dining table.......now back story here......we had the UBP for the first two cruisers in the cabin. I assigned those to the girls because I always bring my wine (which they don't carry on NCL - Rodney Strong Merlot and Cab) on board and pay the corkage fee. I had done that this cruise easily as we drove to the port. I figured that I would just pay for any other drinks I wanted along the way. This paper on the dining table was a list of liquor. You see, the Owner's Suite and above come with THREE bottles of alcohol! :eek: I just figured that I had upgraded to this suite from the Penthouse late and would not get that. WRONG, I get it!!!!!!! Wow. I love Tanqueray Gin Martinis Dirty with extra olives. So I asked if I could get Tanqueray and just pay the difference (I think Beefeaters was on the list). He said no problem. I also picked dry vermouth and Kahlua. The girls said they could have that in their coffee. Ladies and Gentlemen, when these arrived the next day, I was happy to find that they were large liter bottles! I hardly put a dent in them for the week. Now I am enjoying them at home - they will last me six months!

 

Do you have a photo of Charlie?? We had an excellent stateroom attendant on NCL in Hawaii about 9 years ago named Charlie... I am just curious if it's the same guy. :) He was incredible and I'm sure he worked his way up the ladder quickly.

We bought some a week ago at 1.10 the catch was we needed to change more than $500 at a time to get that rate. We did $1000US on each cruise and it cost me $1100CAD each.

Much better than Princess.... at 1.35-1.40....

Are you sure that's what was charged to your credit card in the end? Because several people have been quoted the 1.10 exchange rate only to find out later that the actual exchange rate was higher and they were charged more. This would be great if it's true though!

I find that clearing my website history/cookies helps immediately to fix the problem

Nope, we typically don't have much more than that to declare either. I thought they might want to confiscate our spices from Granada but I was upfront about it on the declaration, they asked a few questions and we were on our way.

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We applied on the weekend too :) I applied first and Ron didn't see the value so I told him I'd meet him at the gate from now on ;) He applied. lol.

Sailing on Breakaway sometime in January 2017 and have never been to NY before. We plan to arrive a few days early and would like to see some of the tourist sights such as Central Park, Empire State Building, Rockefeller Centre, Times Square, World Trade Ctr Memorial, Grand Central Station etc. Looking for suggestions for the following:

1. Which airport should we fly into if we plan to stay in Manhattan? (and which method of transportation should we take to get from airport to a Manhattan hotel? Approximate costs?)

2. How many days do you think we will need pre-cruise to take in the sights?

3. Looking for reasonably priced place to stay and not opposed to using Priceline/Hotwire etc. Which Priceline areas are recommended that will be close to the tourist sights as well as the cruise port?

4. Should we taxi to the Manhattan Cruise port? Or do most hotels provide shuttles?

5. Post cruise, what is the most efficient/cost effective way to get back to the airport?

Thank you!

I enjoyed your photo review Erik! And truly enjoyed meeting you and all the rest of the CC members onboard Serenade during this cruise. In fact... I'm having a bit of withdrawal from all the fun we had!

While we only attended one tour with you (St. Lucia), it was evident that it was your organized tours that created the comeraderie between most of the CC roll call members onboard and I wanted to especially thank you for that. Great job Erik!

Tracey & Ron

PS - I think you should choose our reunion sailing for 2018 :) Deal??

Just got off the Serenade and part way through they offered a 10 drinks for $80 drink card. (A $20 savings) You can use the card for multiple drinks at once (unlike the drink packages) and for anything from cocktails, martinis, beer (you'd be crazy to use it on most beer as its a waste of money) It comes in the form of a business card with your folio number written on the back and they punch out the numbers 1 - 10 as you use them up.

We actually didn't realize that it didn't come with a built i gratuity.... now I feel bad because we didn't tip on top of it.

We thought it was a pretty good deal for those who don't drink enough to justify a drink package but still cringe at buying a $10 + Drink.

Also, a word of warning... Rita's charged us a LOT more than we expected for margaritas. There were no prices on the menu and we thought they would be $10 but we paid about $14 each. Lesson learned. (this was before we had the drink card)

CIBC is now offering no fee US (and other countries) money transfers. I received this ad in my inbox yesterday.

https://www.cibc.com/m/how-to-bank/foreign-exchange/global-money-transfer.html

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