OnTheJourney

Well, it was going ok. I started to complete the form and then saw that I couldn't select a September embarkation date, so that defines not being able to proceed any further. NOW, however, after selecting mode of travel being marine, I decided to explore that option and wound up on the Canada Border Services Agency site and can't get back out of it!! How do I get back to the form? Oh well.....I give up.

Great post and agree with everything you said. OR..when you called an office and didn't have to listen to a 10-minute menu and then just maybe will have chosen the right one. The best are these automated assistants on website chat forums. It's not always easy to actually get through to and chat with a real person. Oh my...in some ways I'm glad I'm old. Often feel TOO old for some of this crap. 😆 Car trips are nice....

Oh....joy.......

As I posted, I got up to the point where I took a photo of and submitted the vaccination cards for both DW and myself. So....proceed further to start doing the form?

Well, it may have, but not on my cruise back in March! No problem getting a 5:30 MTD, and after the first night the staff told us to show up even earlier.

Thanks. I see the info on the website. It just hit me by surprise cause I've not yet really checked into the requirements for this cruise until a few days ago and thus far only dealt with the dining issue and then today decided to check in. Now....something has me confused though. If you complete the arriveCAN before you even embark, what about the requirement to not submit the actual info until within 72 hours prior to arrival into Canada? How much is completed before embarkation and how much is then finished / submitted once on the ship? Suppose a given itinerary wouldn't arrive into Canada until a week or more into the cruise? I'm at the point in the app where it is telling me "Great! You're all set! Would you like to start your ArriveCAN form now?" to which I can either check the box (start now) or "I'll do it later". So should I trudge on farther or leave it at that for the present?

Wowsers...yeah...now THAT's what I call lots of advance notice. Sheesh.....😆 Lemme guess...that was your only communication about it? Still, reallyitsmema is correct - it's ultimately our job to know what we need to do.

True enough. I admit to not having paid any attention to this cruise until yesterday having been busy with many other things, not the least of which is arranging airfare for an international cruise. The most recent thing I've been looking into (and ALSO knew nothing about) is the change in MyTimeDining - had no idea the times are shifted later than used to be. As to "doing our research", consider that there still ARE folks that don't use the internet or computers very much. I don't see how many of them manage in this day and age unless kept in close contact with a TA. Frankly I'm tired of having to do research on what is required for some of these trips. Travel used to be simple and uncomplicated.

Cut me some slack. The point is....I've not received any emails as you refer to. The first I have heard about this Canada thing is from a post on my roll call.

LOL!! Here's a good one....under the 'which guests can now sail regardless of vaccination status' it includes anyone going on the Oasis out of Cape Liberty. LOL Wonderful. Nothing like sailing with 5400 other people who might not be vaccinated!!! But that's the only itinerary mentioned for sailing out of CL. Gotta love it. Although if the itinerary is going to Canada, then probably need vaccination proof. Can't wait till all these rescheduled cruises are over so we can finally look seriously at future travel planning and choose what is the LEAST amount of hassle and stress.

What emails? Have not gotten a single thing and we board in less than 4 weeks.

Crazy stuff. I just came across something that said RCL no longer requires covid testing if the cruise is 6 nights or less. Anything longer still requires it. This stuff drives me crazy. DW and I are talking more and more about sticking to simpler domestic travel.

Here's the thing with this...WHY do I have to find out about this on a forum and not directly from the cruiseline I'm traveling with? Am I missing something here? Or would nothing be said till we embark - which would make for a stressful way to start the cruise.

Agreed! Remember the old spiral-bound AAA triptiks? Those were the best for road tripping! Used to love all the detail. There'd be these fold-out papers that had interesting info about the area you're driving through and so forth. Then, of course, it all became digital so I don't bother with it much anymore. Hard to believe that before the days of the internet I used to plan all our trips with just the AAA tour books, maps, and using the phone to inquire about and make all reservations.

Now that's one state I don't recall ever being in. When we were in Utah we also did Monument Vally in AZ (amazing - especially with a private Navajo guide!) - such iconic western scenery - like being in an old Western movie set - and also did Mesa Verde NP in CO. Where did you fly into in Utah (assuming you didn't drive all the way out from NY). We flew into Grand Junction and rented a car then did a huge loop and ended back at Grand Junction to fly home. Did you see all the parks in Utah? Salt Lake area is nice too. Did that MANY years ago. Wyoming - assuming Yellowstone? So much out there....loved Devils Tower (of "Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind" fame). One area we haven't hit yet is the northwest - Oregon, Washington, and up into the Canadian Rockies (high on my list - but keep pushing it off cause it cuts into my swimming season - can't do that one as a fall trip). So, yeah, I think 'land cruising' is still our favorite. Definitely try to get to St. Petersburg sometime. I like the one Viking river trip..."Waterways of the Czars" - looks most interesting.

I don't anticipate doing that (embarkation in Europe) too often going forward. We also like land tours and have done more of that in Europe than cruising over there. Only time we've ever used JFK is to get to Buenos Aires. I have JFK booked again though for the "Cities if Antiquities and the Holy Land" cruise to Rome. SO glad I got all that taken care of. My TA got so frustrated with dealing with Viking's air department that she finally advised me to just book my own flights. I was leaning in that direction anyway. I preferred to keep it all under Viking in case things go sideways, but I got refundable tickets directly with the airline so really that's just as good. I can adjust my air schedule, if needed, as easily as Viking can. One thing I DON'T like about Viking is how they tack on their insurance right away when you book a cruise. I think you have 10 days to take it off but I never think about it. I'm not big on buying anything thru the cruiseline except the cruise (and. of course, things like extensions / excursions). DW and I are leaning more towards domestic travel in the future - easier and less complicated. Speaking of cruising in Europe, though, we're so glad we did a Baltic cruise before things got crazy over in Russia. St. Petersburg was surely one of the highlights among all our international journeys. That said, one of my all-time favorite trips was a few years ago visiting the National Parks in Utah. I absolutely love the western scenery. Another is driving the full Blue Ridge Parkway in fall. Hoping to see more National Parks starting in Tucson this fall - it'll be the third attempt at it.

Being in NY, I'd think you're within reasonable driving distance of both also? Depends on where you are in the state.

Not going there until May. Hopefully some of these requirements (I could have used a more colorful term LOL) will be relaxed. Hate to jump through a bunch of hoops to be able to get there.

This sounds like the easiest or at least less complicated option.

No....been with Viking, HAL, X, RCL, and Tauck (for a river cruise) No other lines. X and RCL are convenient for us since we don't need to fly for cruises out of Baltimore or Bayonne.

I started looking at this one....yep....you have the right touch for this blogging.

I like it....will await your publication 😉

Can't really blame him! Our favorite mode of travel is still just DW and I 'land cruising' by car. I don't mind hotel hopping (actually enjoy it), though for some folks that's why cruising is so desirable - only unpack once. I'm good with that also, but don't mind bopping around from place to place. We love cruising, but it's nice to get away on our own without being part of a group on a bus during a ship excursion and also all the crowds in and around the ship. We've wound up staying at some really interesting hotels for sure! I reserve everything ahead of time and so it's almost like being locked into an organized land tour only of my own doing. Probably sounds restrictive, but also takes the guesswork out of not quite knowing where or how far we're going the next day or day after that or where we're gong to stay, etc. It usually works out well BUT requires a good bit of homework. To that end, later fall we are hopefully doing a third attempt at a fly/drive out west to visit National Parks, starting in Tucson and ending in San Antonio. Had it booked twice and canceled due to covid-related issues. Sounds like you're ready to pack and travel just about anytime. I can relate to that but must admit to feeling like I'm slowing down a tad. My aunt ALWAYS said, you have to 'travel when you're young'. DW and I were public school teachers, so all our vacations were relegated to the summer months. In retirement it has been great to go in fall and spring. I'm not a fan of summer weather - except for it being swimming season.

Good point...lots of (still-present) procedures are surely a carryover from when all the pandemic guidelines were instituted.

Yep...this is why they make chocolate and vanilla....😉