Milhouse

Wondering if anyone has had success accessing land based cellular service coverage from the ship sailing between Ensenada and Los Angeles? I'm on X Solstice in November.

We're on the Nov 5 sailing. Looking at the menus on the app, it sure seems like Chic Nights are on nights 2 (rack of lamb, steak dianne, etc) and 6 (Beef Welly, Lobster tail, etc).

FWIW, I feel the same way. While we've flown within Canada and driven to the US for some day trips, I haven't flown to the US or beyond since 2019. So I'm trying to get back into the swing of things and also get familiarized with all the evolving travel requirements.

If you are up for a bit of a hike, there's the Southern Ridges walk. Exploring Sentosa Island?

We bank with TD and we couldn't get very definitive answers about ATM withdrawals ourselves so we've kind of had to do our own digging to identify potential fees from: one's own bank, the network and currency conversion, and the local bank/atm. Yes, for more exotic currencies, the conversion fees are annoying because I don't think you can directly exchange with Canadian dollars. It has to be converted to US dollars first and then another conversion. As ridiculous as this may sound, depending on the trip/situation, I occasionally find it more advantageous to just convert Canadian dollars at a local forex stall. That said, if only needing a small amount of local currency, sometimes I just find it worth it from a convenience factor to just pay all the fees to withdraw some cash from a local ATM. As an aside, check out the Wise card. It's a global fintech company originally out of the UK that kind of specializes in forex and transfers. I do not have one myself (yet) as I'm still trying to fully appreciate how it works. I don't think (not sure there are any additional conversion fees when using a no forex fee card like the HSBC WE MC because I think they use their own network. Using a no forex fee card at an ATM used to be advantageous but I think the credit card companies have caught on and many/most now charge a cash advance fee to take out preloaded cash from an ATM. I've stopped doing it myself. IMO, a no forex fee card as a credit card should be the first payment option when travelling. But of course you may run into situations where (small) businesses don't take credit cards or offer a discount when paying with cash. Yes, it sounds like RBC might be interested.

I'm not familiar with the specifics of the HSBC cards but a couple of things to check generically are: When withdrawing with your bank card: Does your bank charge a fee for non-network ATM withdrawals? Does your bank charge a forex fee for the conversion? This is like the dreaded forex fee but kind of hidden IMO. See this page: https://www.hsbc.ca/more-ways-to-bank/atm-banking/ "A 2.5% margin is applied to the CAD amount by Moneris®, a third-party ATM or Payment Network Provider that HSBC Bank Canada uses to give customers access to the Cirrus® network" Does the local ATM's bank charge a fee? We find a lot of ATM's in Thailand charge their own fee. If using your credit card for a withdrawal and you're preloading it: Check to see if there's a fee to withdrawal cash/cash advances from an ATM, even if you are preloading it with cash. I pulled up this doc (https://www.hsbc.ca/content/dam/hsbc/ca/docs/pdf/hsbc-mc-mmwe-rates-fees.pdf) . There seems to be a $2 cash advance fee for ATM withdrawals in Canada and $4 outside of Canada. Not sure if it's still applicable if you preload your card.

Hoping to confirm that the Long Beach Passport bus is still not running per the LBT website? https://ridelbt.com/routes-and-services/

We did this itinerary over a decade ago and one of the few things that I recall is remembering the ride down was very pleasant while the ride back north was somewhat rough. 😆 Was reading someone's review of a very recent sailing and they said it was pretty humid on their balcony. That's my kryptonite. Hoping it eases up when we sail in early November.

Thanks so much for posting your detailed review @SusieV! We're on Solstice's November 5 sailing but haven't been on an X cruise in a few years too. Looking forward to seeing what's changed too but appreciate your overview of what to possibly expect. I was kind of on the fence about paying for the hot glass activity but you might have convinced me to do it. We've been fascinated by glass making ever since we first watched a few demonstrations on Equinox years ago. The activity is listed as 20 minutes. Did you/your husband feel that was a confortable enough amount of time to make the pieces you selected?

Wondering if a lack of crew and training new crew, both wait and kitchen staff, is playing a role in ships not pushing the specialty dining too hard with discounts?

We're returning to Los Angeles on Saturday Nov 12 from a Mexican Riviera cruise on X. X seems to have a post cruise 4hr 45min tour of: Beachfront Santa Monica, Malibu, and Beverly Hills with Airport drop-off for $85CDN. Hoping we could kill some time so we can take a cheaper evening flight home. This would address our luggage and drops us off at the airport. Wondering if anyone has any insights or reviews on this tour; maybe anyone that is sailing in the weeks before us? Assuming it's a coach bus, luggage is handled, time at each destination, do they just drop you off and let you go at it until it's time to leave for the next destination, etc. Not sure if I should be posting this in the West Coast Departures forum but I'm assuming this is a Celebrity specific excursion?

What's your recent experience around being offered (discounted?) specialty dining packages during boarding/Day 1? Have you seen a stand/display set up to entice people boarding or exploring the ship to buy a package? I'm trying to determine if I should buy a specialty dining package pre-cruise or during boarding/Day 1. We're sailing on Solstice this November and it's been a while since we've been on X so I'm trying to get a feel for how things are nowadays.

We generally try to travel lighter nowadays so the DSLR with the extra lenses normally just take up too much weight and space for our criteria. Most of the pictures we take are kind of quick snapshots that we find a phone camera good enough for. I like taking pics of food, locations, etc just to document our trip so I can reference what we did. The missus likes taking pics/selfies for memories and enjoys the pop-ups of "This day 10 years ago..." pictures. However, I am more open to taking the DSLR on a cruise because it's easier to grab it from the cabin when I know I want to take some shots around the ship. However, I still don't think I'll bring my heavy telephoto lens unless I have a specific use for it.

UBC is my alma mater and we got married at the botanical garden. I quite enjoy the campus. We go there a couple of times a year to go for a walk and see what's new on campus as there's a lot of ongoing development and changes. It's probably not my first recommendation for a first time visitor to Vancouver but as mentioned above, it's a good B-option for repeat visitors that like to walk and explore. A nice tag on if you have wheels (or add an Uber stop) is Spanish Banks which has a great view of downtown Vancouver and the north shore. The missus went to SFU on top of Burnaby Mountain which has a more compact campus but I find it can be a bit of a maze. Some great views of the city in the small park just off campus but it's probably more of a D-list option LOL.

Kamakura is more of a day trip IMO while Nikko and Hakone can be a day trip or overnighter. We're kind of go-go-go so we just day tripped them. If you like a more slower pace, then an overnight might be better. If you do decide on an overnight, maybe consider staying at a ryokan which is a traditional Japanese inn. It can be a bit pricey but it's a bit of an experience, particularly with a relatively elaborate dinner that some offer. This doesn't fall under the quaint town category but our favourite attraction/exhibit is teamLab Planets Tokyo. My old coworker had told me about it. It's too hard to explain other than it's a sensory experience. Just google or youtube it.

The two key factors for me are sleep and meals. I find I can adjust better if I get good sleep leading up to the trip and then try to switch to destination time after boarding. I feel it builds up my reserves to allow me to be more flexible and more easily adjust my sleep at the destination. A couple of times I've tried sleep depriving myself from a little to a lot, the nights before flights with the goal of getting to sleep easier on the plane. But instead I end up being a wreck the first few days after we arrive. After reading some articles on meals & jetleg, I also try not to eat a lot a day leading up to the flight; lots of water though. And then on the plane, try to align meal times with the destination even if that means skipping meal service. I think this has helped me quite a bit. I also try not to drink alcohol or caffine on the plane because they seriously messes up my sleep. The missus uses melatonin with some limited success. I may pop one on occasion but I don't think it helps me much.

Global BC News reporting Disney Wonder's scheduled departure today is being delayed due to the job action.

From what I've read, they're going to skip Icy Strait.

The workers for Seaspan (one of two bunker fuel operators and one of four tug assist operators) were already on job action/strike. From what I've heard on the news (and please correct me if I heard wrong), Seaspan contracted out some other company to move the fuel barge in place to refuel. However, after the refueling, the workers for the other company didn't want to move the fuel barge in solidarity with the Seaspan workers. So the barge got stuck beside the Eclipse.

Not sure if the overall labour issue has been resolved yet so I suspect there would be value in keeping an eye open for potential issues with other upcoming sailings. However, based on their comment in the article, it sounds like the Port Authority is going to be more proactive if issues do pop up(??).

We typically bring light gortex shells and a mini-umbrella. The mini-umbrella has come in handy when we're DIY'ing and needed to pull out the phone in an area without cover for for wayfinding and info.

In Sept 2017, we connected in YYZ when flying from YVR to FLL. Our flight from Vancouver landed at 11:30pm and our Ft Lauderdale flight didn't leave until 7am. IIRC, I think the only thing that was open landside (in Terminal 3) was the Subway. We ended up hanging out most of the night on some seats in the baggage carousel area which was pretty quiet (other than a quick vacuum) after all the flights ended for the day.

Just a couple of data points: Both a few friends and the missus & the in-laws departed out of Canada Place for Alaskan cruises on Princess and HAL this spring/summer. Feedback was, as you mentioned, there wasn't a lot of good signage for easy self guidance like: go here for this, go there for that, have this out & ready for the next station. There's apparently a lot of staff around but they aren't holding signs either so you're needing to be ready to listen to them calling out instructions or go up & ask them. We were also out for a walk around Canada Place last month and what seemed to be a bunch of pax were streaming along the outside of the building to a side door where there were down escalators. At first, we were curious who all these people were. Not sure if they were part of a transfer or what but eventually heard they were heading to the ship. Again, no signage but only staff herding the pax to the door with the down escalators.

Just to top up: I'd be fine staying in that area and align with what @martincath says about the it being more lively a block or two away. However, I would also add that, that end of Granville Street can feel a bit sketchy even during the day (as can other pockets in the downtown core) in part due to a building converted to social housing.

Our experience with Chinatown BBQ (along with many others) has kind of soured since the pandemic started also. Our last visit was about six months ago though so perhaps they may have picked it up. And we typically order the bbq and roasted pork, not the brisket, and have been finding it a bit dry. So we're ending up going to HK BBQ Master in Richmond instead but likely isn't practical for shorter stay tourists.