Brian V

Thanks for the feedback everyone...never really liked connecting at Pearson, we always seem to do the full length of the concourse, clear customs and security, then the full length of the concourse again to board at the gate next to the one we just arrived at! I was wondering if YUL was better - have not flown through there in many years. Think we will probably do that - several flights later from ATL to MIA or FLL if something does go sideways 🙂

We have a cruise departing out of Miami Mar 29th, planned on flying in the day before of course. We will be departing out of YYC so unless we do the WestJet non stop to FLL (for double the price???) we would be connecting either through YUL or YYZ, and of course we need to clear US Customs in either one. Question is, would a 90 minute connection at 7:00 on a Friday morning at either airport be something we should be considering? Air Canada seems to think so but I don't want to be cutting things too close. Our other option is WestJet connecting through ATL with a 90 minute time frame, advantage would be clearing customs at YYC pre departure. We don't have Nexus, application in but not expecting to get the interview before this trip. Opinions and input appreciated!

We did get a drop already, 15 night Panama, went down 2K CDN (about 1.4K USD) plus scored an extra point per night. Just out of curiosity I did a mock booking of the same cruise with MAS instead of FAS - was about $100 cheaper with MAS but I expect that was due to exchange rate fluctuations... Will keep watching of course 👀

@Anoynmous Phoenix is quite correct. Repricing would also mean you would get the current MAS internet offering which, if you are on a longer voyage (like our 15 night in March), means you get less (not more) internet access - we would go to 150 minutes each from 300 minutes each 👎 Would still do it for a decent price drop 💲

Would get better answers on the NCL page I would think...

YYZ is not hard to connect through but wear good walking shoes...you will be racking up some steps 🙂

As are we. We are more concerned with actually being able to get a reservation with so many more people having so many more meals to use. Like @CruisnDeb, we are doing a 15 night Panama in March so 5 meals there, plus the 2 for our latitudes status - guessing we need to book asap!

Use your credit card, or your debit card if it supports visa debit or Interac. Seriously, would you expect anyone in NYC to take Canadian dollars?

Yes, they are air conditioned, very comfortable. The only issue we had was the signage at the airport being almost non existent - managed to find the right place though. Enjoy your trip!

Saw that this afternoon...cue the cries of "We want compensation!" when the cruise lines cancel their excursions because the road and rail line are blocked 🙃

So looking forward to your impression of Princess - we have only ever cruised on NCL (6 so far with another booked for next March) and are open to exploring fields anew 🙂 We would really appreciate your views on the food and service on board. Even though we are not veggie ourselves, we have found that any place we have been that does a good vegetarian meal does everything else well as well 👍 Enjoy your cruises, only sorry your Dad may not be able to join you on too many more 😒

I sure hope so!😮 They start launching lifeboats I'm straight to customer service demanding a refund!

Summer solstice would be my guess...

Following as we are doing the reverse of this itinerary in March of 25 and wouldn't mind a little more up to date info 🙂 We saw Elements on a previous Joy cruise in 2022 and really enjoyed it. We also (not planned at all) got to watch the Super Bowl 🏈on the big screen in Spice H2OI As you will be on board for the game (Feb 9th), I highly recommend staking out a spot on the pool deck or Spice H2O if the weather permits 😎 If past cruises are anything to go by (and who knows these days) the Beatles Tribute will do at least 1 show in the theatre (would expect 2 or 3 in 15 nights?), as will the comedians.

Add in DSC and gratuities, advertised rate of $926 pp inside ($1852 for 2) becomes $3723 for 2 people so, yeah. Leave off the "Free at Sea" ($450 gratuities on the drinks and dining packages) and your still looking at $3278, still close to double (1.77 times actually) and your buying your own drinks. Big change from the headline rate either way...

Actually, if you search for a cruise, the taxes, fees, and port expenses are shown at the very bottom right hand side...in 0.5 point type 🔍 These do not change no matter what promos you take. What does change is the gratuities on the dining / drinks packages and the daily service charge. As these are optional (you don't have to take the drinks package or the dining package, and are free to remove the DSC) they will not be shown as part of the headline price. As the port fees / taxes are not optional, they should be included in the headline price IMO - nothing worse than "Ooooh, we can get this cruise for $900 each", only to shell out double that by the time you get to the final page 😞

And sadly - it is not 😞 Among dairy products, only cheese, ice cream, yogurt, and kashk (?) are permitted as per https://inspection.canada.ca/food-safety-for-consumers/bringing-food-into-canada-for-personal-use/eng/1389630031549/1389630282362

Thanks @BlondieB, that is great info for us! We are sailing out of Miami on the 29th of March...we are likely flying into FLL (we can get non-stop flights from our home airport of YYC) and thought we would transfer to Miami and spend the night there. Guess we will be staying somewhere around Fort Lauderdale instead and shuttling / Ubering to the Miami port in the morning 🙂 Also nice to know FLL is not the $h!t show that MIA is...really do despise that airport😒

Amen brother! "Ooooh, they're newbies!", "Aaaaah, they've done this before.", "Wooooah dude, turn down that shirt 😲" Best past time ever 🥂

Don't give them any ideas 😲

Guess you COULD be sitting around the lovely Miami Cruise Terminal waiting for your boarding group - no shade on NCL's Miami terminal (it's lovely) but I would much rather be on the ship eating / drinking / pool decking (is that a thing?) / whatevering. To each their own...

I really expect the laser tag to be removed at the next dry dock, much like they did with Joy. Any time we looked in on Encore or Joy it was deserted, much like American Diner and Galaxy Pavilion. Expanded spa and Spice H2O coming? One can hope 🤞 More cabins / less observation lounge? Sure hope not 👎

Glad we got our application in when we did 🙂 Just for TSA Precheck, it's a screaming good deal imho!

As noted above, you are under no obligation to tip over and above what you have already paid when you purchased the drink package. You are certainly free to slip your server / bar tender a buck or two when they bring your drinks, it does seem to make getting another round just a little quicker and easier 🍹

Indeed, such activities might find one escorted off of the ship 👮‍♂️