thon

I just called this morning at 8:02 EST and got right through. 

Well it looks like we’ll be cancelling our 27 March Silhouette cruise.  DW’s sister and hubby (in their 70’s) were coming with us and they do not feel comfortable at all cruising now.  They have only been on one cruise before with another couple and only got off the ship in each port to wander around the port area for an hour or so so they they really never got to experience the whole “cruise experience”.  They were looking forward to coming with us ‘veteran cruisers’ as we’ve been on 4 or 5 cruises before Lol!
 

I have to admit that unlike many  (most?) members of CC we are not diehard cruisers.  We still prefer land vacations.  So cancelling our cruise will not cause us a great deal of anguish!  My only concern is our down payment (final payment is not until Jan 27). As I read the Celebrity site we will get a FCC for this amount but we’ll have to book another cruise by the end of May.  And this re-booked cruise (for us) must sail by 27 March 2023. At present we don’t see any Celebrity cruises that really appeal to us so we may end up losing our FCC at the end of the day.

Another concern is flying to FLL.  Canadian airlines are continuing to re-schedule and cancel flights all the time that is causing a great deal of difficulty for many Canadian travellers flying both domestically and internationally.  With COVID affecting more and more of their employees, things are likely to get worse before they get better.  And although our flight to FLL is not until late March, goodness knows what the airline schedules will be like then.  So even if we did not cancel our cruise I would not yet book any flights.

Really appreciated your account.  I’m an organized traveller too so I will keep all this in mind as I get ready for our cruise in late March (unless I am forced to cancel before final payment).

2 hours ago, GeriatricNurse said:

 

Btw, can anyone give me their opinion(s) of the the 'Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport' at Dorval, other than me having to 'bone-up' on my Conversational French?

Before retiring I travelled extensively, both domestically and internationally.  Living in Ottawa of course I didn’t have many direct international flights to anywhere.  Having experienced connecting flights through Toronto I would avoid it like the plague if possible.  Montreal was much, much better.  Now for any vacation travel, if I must opt for a connecting flight, I ALWAYS pick one going through YUL.  And I have often driven to Montreal to take a direct flight from there when heading south.  As for needing to speak French, this is not a requirement.  Montreal is a very bilingual city and although French is the predominant language I have never had any trouble speaking English to anyone working at the airport.

46 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

No, they are two separate programs. NEXUS continues to operate as it did previously, and the ArriveCAN is an additional requirement for all travellers, whether or not they are NEXUS members. Remember too that NEXUS is a US program and ArriveCAN a Canadian one. Consequently, I don't see the two ever being merged as a single app.

Actually NEXUS is a joint Canada/US program for “trusted travellers”.  And as a NEXUS card holder I’ve driven across the border a few times both ways before COVID and never had any forms to fill out.

Our Celebrity cruise is not until March 28 and final payment is not until Jan 27.  With the topsy-turvy and constantly changing airlines schedules we have not yet booked our flights.  And with the recent changes to both Canada and US border requirements we are not ready to make any decisions yet.  And who knows what might happen next.  BUT we really want to go on this cruise - we missed our 30th anniversary one in 2020.

Did you cancel the flights or did Westjet cancel them?  You might want to join the Air Passenger Rights (Canada) FB group.  They have ‘experts’ who have been providing information on how to deal with Canadian airlines in these sorts of situations.  

4 hours ago, Froufie said:

thanks for the info - it is on my 'list' but current reviews are pretty mixed - but then again should be good for just a few hours! 🙂

 

May I ask what website you used to book it?  Did it all work out okay?

I’ve also stayed here overnight a couple of times pre-cruise because they have a free airport and cruise shuttle.  I would do it again.  You are right, the reviews are all over the place but I’ve never had any concerns.  While you can book the overnight stay on their website, I found the best way to book the day room was by calling them.

1 hour ago, Froufie said:

 

Currently looking at return flights and I see a direct one evening of disembarkation - now researching day rooms! in FLL! 🙂

Rodeway Inns has day rooms.  We’ve used it twice pre-COVID.

Another option is to book a ‘day room’ at the Rodeway Inn close to FLL.  We’ve done this twice.  Cost was $79 and you get a room and can use the pool.  Restaurant on site as well.  Plus -  comes with free shuttle that’ll pick you up at the cruise terminal and take you to the airport later.

My cruise is not until late March so I’m in no rush to download anything yet.  So much can change by then.

I had to call them twice yesterday and didn’t find the wait time too onerous considering. Called first at 8:30 a.m and was on hold for about 30 minutes.  Then called back around 2 p.m and spent about an hour on hold.

40 minutes ago, Janedoe2012 said:

I just received official notice my renewal was completed. No interview required. This occurred approximately 4 weeks after I submitted the renewal request. 
 

Same happened to us earlier this year.  Once renewed we got our new cards in the mail a few weeks later.  No idea why some of us are lucky to get an almost automatic renewal while others get a temporary one until they can schedule an interview once the centres open up again.  But then, NEXUS is run by the government!😁

Got an email from NEXUS yesterday.  The part of most interest is as follows:

"We wanted to provide you with updates on many developments within the NEXUS program.

NEXUS and FAST interviews will resume at enrolment centres in the United States (US) on November 29, 2021. Applicants wishing to schedule interviews can now do so at their nearest US enrolment centre through the Trusted Traveller Programs system. NEXUS and FAST enrolment centres in Canada continue to be closed.

Existing NEXUS and FAST members who renew their membership before the expiry date on their card will retain membership privileges until they can complete their interview. Please renew your membership before it expires to avoid losing your privileges."

There was other information about recently installed electronic gates at Pearson for NEXUS travellers and a bit about ensuring vaccinations and ArriveCAN stuff.

Since we were able to renew our cards a number of months ago before they expired we're good for another 5 years.

28 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

There has been a long recent thread on the HAL forum about how HAL no longer has lobster for free on the Gala Nights in the MDR.  Apparently there now is a $15 up charge for a frozen lobster tail and you would think that it is the end of the world with many posters threatening to stop cruising with HAL. I guess we aren't the only ones having fun with this topic. 

What - no free lobster?  That’s almost as bad as no chocolates on the pillows at night!

Even though the lobster they serve on Celebrity is the warm water variety my wife still likes them. The night(s) they serve it I order something else. She often has 2,

22 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

yes and also a lobster snob!  When I lived in San Diego, first time I ordered lobster, I was like HUH, WTH is this, it is awful.  About 1 year after I moved there a guy from Boston open a small restaurant/deli  called Bite of Boston.  He had all of the lobster shipped from Maine and the clams from Ipswich, I was in heaven!!

Just so you know - not all “Maine lobster” necessarily comes from Maine.  Large amounts of the same species are imported into Maine from Canada’s Atlantic Provinces and once co-mingled with Maine-caught lobsters are indistinguishable.  This has been going on for decades.  And I do agree with you they are not the same as spiny lobster taste-wise.  And when people order lobster tails in restaurants (at least in Canada) they are most likely getting imported spiny lobster as that species has no claws.

My DW and I are both pre-registered at Rexall for our booster.  My wife spoke to them (local Recall) yesterday and was told that we can’t get the booster until 6 months after our 2nd shot.  So we’re both due at differing times in December which is fine for us.  She was told to just call them after Dec 1 and they will fit us both into their schedule at the appropriate time since we are already registered  in their system.  So we’ll see how this goes.

You may want to check out the Canadian Cruisers board as this topic is discussed there.

We’ll, it’s after 8 on Saturday, I’m over 70 and the Ont. site will not let me register.  Why am I not surprised!

2 hours ago, GeriatricNurse said:

I received my second shot of the Pfizer Vaccine on June 16th., so will be eligible for the booster shot mid December!  What a great Christmas present!

My wife and I will both be eligible for ours in December as well so yes - what a great Christmas present!

I’ve been able to re-price my existing cruise twice in the past few weeks under the latest 2 sales without any difficulty.  Granted I had to wait an hour or more on the phone with Celebrity both times but once I reached someone everything was done without any problem.  Happy I didn’t have the problem the OP had.

Under the previous 20% off booking I saved a little over CDN$300 off our upcoming  March 2022 cruise.  Under this latest sale I just saved another $350 so was worth it for me to spend less than an hour on hold early this morning.  As Bo1953 says - I’ll keep going to the Celebrity well until it’s dry.

3 minutes ago, Josie201 said:

I was also under the impression we don’t need to have the Canada version until November 30.  Also, the Ontario/Canada version doesn’t have details of where the vax was administered which I thought was also required.  
 

This whole deal gets confusing as things change.  I wasn’t aware that we needed details of exactly where the Vax was given. For instance, for me I got both in Ottawa but at 2 different places (both booked through Ont Health portal).  I now have 2 separate “proofs” on my iPhone.  The first is just the Ont one with a QR code that when read with a QR Reader will just presumably give a “check mark” on the reader.  The second is the one subsequently downloaded with both the Ont and Canada logos at the top.  I don’t know if the QR code on this one is the same as the other QR code.  I’m going with other family members to a restaurant later this week in Quebec (Laurentians) and if they have a QR reader I’ll see which one they want.

So far I have only had to show my proof of Vax once in Ottawa (place did not have a QR reader) and I just pulled up the one with both Ont and Cda logos.  

52 minutes ago, kearney said:

Be careful... I thought I had a significant price drop... but it turned out that the lower priced cruise did not have the gratuities, beverage package and wifi in it. 

I know what you mean.  I did a dummy booking today and got all excited to save about $1000 CDN but then realized none of these things were included.  But I called and after about an hour on hold (Saturday afternoon is NOT the time to call obviously!) I managed to save CDN$330 so much better than nothing.