I wouldn't do it unless it was an emergency.   You can preorder a gallon of distilled water prior to boarding for $2.95.  If you wait until you get on the ship it is $5.95 or free.  I'm about 50/50 free or charged. 

I just took my first Princess Cruise on the Diamond Princess.   Dine My Way is a joke.   It should be Dine when convenient for Princess.   I was unable to book any reservations prior as none were available.   Going by one of the dining rooms I noticed a line for guests without reservation's and thought that was my answer.   First night I tried 3 different dinning rooms.   At each I was rudely told that you had to have reservations. I went to guest relations and was told I needed to use the app to book reservations.   I explained that no reservations were available for any of the 8 nights left.  They checked and confirmed what I saw.   The next day I was notified that I had a reservation for that night at a time I liked and they would keep working on it.   They eventually got most nights covered but even with reservations I had to wait up to 30 minutes and was shuttled to different rooms on 2 occasions.

Celebrity directs you to www.visacentral.com/celebritycruises.   When you answer the questions they correctly say you need  a visa for vietnam and want to have you do it and pay the visa fee plus a processing fee of $75.  If you look here https://visacentral.com/additional-client-info it says that Celebrity will obtain these visas on your behalf. 

Celebrity Guest Info.

[CLIENT_NAME] is pleased to offer its customers the expertise and experience of VisaCentral. Please see below for important information that may relate to your tour.

Visas on arrival: For U.S Citizens, it is not necessary to complete visa applications through VisaCentral for the following destinations as the cruise line will be obtaining these visas on your behalf: Kenya*, Indonesia, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Mozambique, Jordan, Oman, Papua New Guinea. If a fee is required to obtain these visas, it will be charged to your onboard account. * Please note, if you are doing a pre-cruise tour in Kenya, a visa is required.  This visa can be obtained in advance through VisaCentral or upon arrival at the airport. If you hold a foreign passport, you must confirm with the cruise line if it will be able to secure visas for you onboard the ship for your nationality.

7 hours ago, MDTrip said:

Has anyone who was cancelled received their FFC email?? 

 

I called seven days ago to say I would rather get the FCC (I can't manage a lift and shift.)  They said I would receive an email with the FCC in one day. It has been seven days. Still waiting... 

After reading this I called Celebrity about my FCC and refund.  I called 2 weeks ago to request them.  They said it had processed but I didn't get any emails or see it online.   They were able to apply it to a future cruise.  The refund was showing on my credit card.  It is a credit card that I rarely use so I hadn't noticed the refund but it was there. 

That started for me yesterday is still ongoing. 

I did that on my last cruise without a problem.   I ended up with more credit than I used so the balance was refunded to the credit card I had on file. 

Delta has recently changed the aircraft going to Amsterdam.  With Premium Economy seats going from 48 to 21.  I had a reservation in April and one in May that had that change.  I had paid and still have PE but not the seats I wanted.  Both are showing no or only a couple of open seats in PE now. One reservation was with Flight Ease and another directly with Delta.  

I just spoke with AARP and they say it will purchases will be restored at 11:30am est.  We will have to wait and see.

1 minute ago, cwd79 said:

Started cruising Holland America at 31 and now I am 41 and a 3*. But have a cruise in Nov 2022 that will be enough to put me at a 4*. Very excited for free laundry. 

Thats the big one.

This is an interesting exercise.

1* 46 2007

2* 50 2011

3* 52 2013

4* 56 2017

5* 65 2026 Estimate Currently at146 days to 5* with 60 days booked thru May 2023. 

56 minutes ago, basilseal said:

Does anyone know if you are allowed to bring onboard distilled water?  I know it is available to buy onboard.

 

thank you

You can per-order a gallon to be delivered to your stateroom for $2.95 or you can order it on board for $4.95.  To preorder look under cruise activities, beverages, water.  Not worth transporting to save less than $2.

My last 2 cruises the Tamarind credit had to be asked for but the Pinnacle was automatic.  This was on the Nieuw Amsterdam in August 2022 and the Eurodam in April 2022.

If you need an extension cord your steward will supply it for you and install it.    They are use to dealing with this issue on ships that require it.

I got that email as well.  I hadn't thought about them adding special events as well. 

We did get off the boat this morning at 8 am.   I was just enjoying the freedom.    Our disembarkation was strangely easy.    We had 2 guest services people come to our room at the appointed time.   They took our bags and walked us to the gangway and that was it.  We weren’t tested prior to disembarkation.   Most people indicate that we would still test positive but would not be contagious, After 5 days of isolation and no fever or symptoms for 4 days. We will continue to mask aggressively for the next 5 days and be tested again after 3 weeks.

Just now, Live4cruises said:

Mark,

Thank you for your good natured chatter here, and thank you 10-fold for your informative and philosophical blog.  Wishing you and Clyde a happy (very) non-traditional NYE, and 7 healthy cruises over the next 2 years!

What’s that??  OH!  It’s the gentle swoosh of champagne in a paper cup.  🥂

We’ve ordered our dinner and champagne 🥂 

Happy New Year’s Eve from the quarantine cabin aboard the Konlngsdam!

Just now, kayakmom said:

Do the TV's in the rooms have DVD players? If so, is there still a DVD library you can borrow from?

No DVD’s but there’s a large number of movies on demand on the TV.

Just now, HAL Sailer said:

Mark & Clyde --

 

May the skies above your quarantine balcony be clear enough tonight so that its multitude of stars can be your NYE confetti and streamers.

 

🌠Happy 29th NYE together!🌠

And to you

Just now, seaoma said:

@JCP3

 

Thank you for making quarantine almost sound like fun. I'm so sorry that you've had to spend your vacation like this, but I've never read a more "lemonade out of lemons" story.

 

On this New Year's Eve, a toast to your writing skills, a fantastic attitude, being quarantined with someone you love and not suffering severe health consequences. 🍾🥂

 

My New Years Resolution will be to emulate you if I ever find myself in similar circumstances.

Thank you for the sweet message. We will toast you tonight as well! Have the happiest of New Years.

We haven’t been tested again.   I will ask about being tested before we disembark.  We don’t know how we will be disembarked yet.   They should tell us tomorrow. 
 

We have enjoyed meeting many Canadians over the years on our Cruise travels.    
 

We have had time to count our past cruises and this is #20 with 7 more on the books for the next 2 years.

17 have been with HAL.

Here’s an update from the writer’s account 

https://markmcelroy.com/letters-from-the-quarantine-cabin/

We can get anything that is being served onboard at the time it’s being served. No beer has been ordered but wine has so I wouldn’t think beer would be a problem.   We have learned to only order from one venue at a time otherwise it can take longer.

Our symptoms are so mild having both been vaccinated and boosted we have not needed any medication except for cough drops.    They have indicated we could get whatever we needed.   They have us keeping a log of temperature and other symptoms.   Medical calls us daily and in room dining asks every time we call.  We are waiting to hear about disembarkation in 2 days.  

11 hours ago, sandiego1 said:

Thank you for documenting your experience! We are planning on going on the 2023 World Cruise and are concerned about quarantining in our inside cabin. I hope HAL sets aside some balcony cabins for that cruise too.

 

If you don't mind, what cabin #s did they designate for quarantine on your ship? Is the entire hallway blocked off, or can people walk past the cabins?

 

Hope you and your partner feel better soon!

We are on an isolated hall.  It appears to be 8 cabins on this side. No one can walk by our cabins.  They’re all obstructive view balcony staterooms on deck 4.  We were on the Eurodam in August and they had a large number of quarantine rooms and at that time you could walk past.