dansu

In the last week, our local high temperature has ranged from a low of 51 to a high of 79 and the low temperature was 35 degrees. Follow the advice of layered clothing since the temperature varies a lot. Avoid bringing a heavy winter coat. Do bring a hat that can protect you from the sun or rain. Most folks in the Pacific Northwest do not use an umbrella since the wind destroys them.

 

We did a Pacific Coast Cruise in 2013 and experienced sun and warm 70's in San Francisco followed by a cold wet day in Astoria in the mid 50's. Then in Victoria, it was sunny and the temperature was around 80 degrees. Off the west coast, most likely you will be in the marine layer of clouds (fog) and you will need something warm when outside aboard the ship north of San Francisco unless you get lucky and there is an offshore wind pushing the clouds further to the west and warming everything up.

Thank you

Please leave the umbrella at home - they just get in the way - and prove that you are a tourist :D[/quote

 

I am a tourist...one that likes to stay dry LOL

 

The day we spend in Victoria and the 2 days in Vancouver are both calling for rain, which really sucks because we are looking forward to visiting the Capilano Bridge; not sure if it is open when it rains and if so it would be a muddy mess...I am obsessed with AccuWeather, and have been for the last two weeks.

 

California is looking good for next weekend. I will be spending the next few days praying to the sun g-ds that it doesn't change.

 

Thanks for your advice

 

Dansu

I've done the sailing a few times, both in May and in the fall. On NCL, I pretty much packed jeans, t-shirt/shirts, light sweaters and a windbreaker for times in port, but I don't get very cold. On the ship, I wore jeans in the fall and wore jeans and some shorts in May. Didn't need a jacket in the evenings on the ship, but if you tend to get cold, I'd bring a light sweater. Don't forget an umbrella, since it could rain.

We are spending 2 nights in Vancouver post-cruise...the umbrella is the only thing that I have packed with confidence that it will be needed.

Thanks

What about the sea days...with the exception of the hot tub...will it be warm enough for swimsuits...

I am traveling with a 24 year old (son)...in one suit case and a carry on. I am trying to pack light - this is coming from a woman who usually packs a separate bag for her cosmetics and hair products...so I want to make sure he is comfortable in the clothes he packs, as we 9 nights away counting both the pre and post cruise.

I realize that weather is very unpredictable...very were 22C (72F) a week ago and tonight they say we make have snow showers over night...

Thanks everyone...I will keep reading as you post

When are you sailing?

 

 

*Living Large*

A week from Saturday, May 2

For the last few weeks I have been attempting to pack light for a 5 night itinerary between LA and Vancouver. At least when I cruise to the Caribbean, I know it will be hot and I pack accordingly...but the Pacific Northwest...not a clue.

I feel like I have been doing the hokey pokey of packing...I put the jacket in...I take the jacket out!!!

If someone reading this, who has cruised this itinerary can put me out of my misery please. Is it warm enough on the sea days for a swimsuit, do I need a jacket for the evenings or will a light sweater do?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Dansu

Thank you

Has anyone ever picked up a cellular tower signal along the Pacific Northwest coast, or is the ship too far from shore? I took a US roaming package so I am hoping the answer will be yes...

I know it happens in the Caribbean, as my husband and I got home from our cruise a few years ago and found that he was charged for using Cubacell...the issue was...we have never been to Cuba. His phone, which he thought he set to wireless, and connected to the ship's Internet wasn't...it was on roaming! A mistake you only make once...our carrier credited back their own charges...he had to pay the Cuba portion.

I don't understand why this is an issue. Last year my husband and I were given the 123 go and were thrilled that we had finally found a cruise line that gave us a perk that we could enjoy...my husband only drinks diet soda no alcohol...but it saved us from buying him a 10 day soda package...so all was good.

A few months before we boarded, I read online about the upgrade and called Celebrity to upgrade just me to the premium package, as it was the bargain of the century to have whatever I wanted...whenever I wanted it...without getting a huge charge on my credit card!!! For the price of a martini I could have all the top shelf I desired...sparkling water...fancy coffee, my coveted martinis...and the molecular bar. It was an amazing deal...so much so that when we got back home after our last cruise the very next morning we booked another...and I paid the upgrade without a moments thought. My onboard charges were less than 30$, and my statement showed 118 bar charges...albeit it included a lot of sparkling water, diet sodas, and specialty coffee... but it also included my hourly Prosecco...shots of Patron...a couple of mudslides...a multitude of martinis, and several molecular creations.

My father always taught me that when someone gives me a gift...all I need to say is thank you. In my opinion Celebrity gave me a gift, for which I was very thankful. I board again in less than a month... thank you Celebrity for again giving me the opportunity to enjoy myself without the shocking statement I saw others onboard receive.

So, if you are among the few who actually paid for the classic package...then I would say you have the right to call up the cruise line and complain...if you got it for free...I believe that the words you are looking for are thank you.

We are soon again cruising with X and want to try some new drinks.

The menus vary from bar to bar and usually only show a small selection of what is actual available.

What are your favorite drinks, any must try recommendations?

Up to now we enjoyed most the Pomegranate Mojitos, Molecular Bar Drinks and beer selection.

We will have the Premium Package already booked in advance.

I too had the premium package on our last cruise, and I have it again for our upcoming February cruise...

Since likes and dislikes are so subjective...may I suggest that you do what I did...I closed my eyes and picked a page from the molecular bar menu...I started at the top and kept going, drink by drink down the page, throughout the cruise until I found a winner. However, my problem was that I found more than one winner...so I had to keep going back to the bar and reordering, just to try to narrow it down.

As it turned out, the most unlikely choice turned out to be one of my favourites...it had fresh rose petals...who'd of thought!!! Like I said...its very subjective.

Whatever you do decide to choose from the molecular bar menu, you can be sure the it will be amazing, because the drinks are designed to appeal to all your senses, which is truly an experience that you don't want to miss.

Happy sailing

We booked through Celebrity directly...no travel agent.

Being the glutton for punishment that I am...I just called back and this time got put through to customer service...and now I surrender...put my hands in the air and give up.

Apparently IT is aware they have this issue ... and customer service has no more information to offer...except this agent told me to say that I wasn't arriving by plane, and therefore I could bypass the immigration questions!!!

I will try again in a few weeks...my patience for dealing with stupidity has reached it maximum threshold...maybe next time even ask my husband to do it...why should I get to have all the fun!!!

Also keep in mind that you don't have to do the on-line check-in. I know it facilitates things, but not doing so will not keep you from sailing.

Am I not correct in thinking that if I don't provide our passport and immigration information in advance of our departure that not only will I not be able to print out our travel documents and luggage tags, but I not be allowed to board the ship?

Second Sunday in a row that Celebrity has done its best make my vacation planning into a nightmare!!! I have a post about errors in the tax portion of our final payment that I posted earlier this week.

Having spent the last hour trying to complete our online check in, which being cruise number 7 should not be an issue for me...I am beyond perplexed.

I get to the IMMIGRATION page and when I enter in our passports, arrival information, and attempt to move on to the departure information from the US back to Canada it only gives me the choice of 3 dates; however, I am staying a full week.

So, I called Celebrity...twice, and both times receive the instruction telling me to report the IMMIGRATION using false information - which makes me believe they are clueless as to what the purpose of registering ones IMMIGRATION information and what this information is used for.

So, I then go to the contact us page and fill in the "email" box to ask for assistance, relaying the details of the issue I have encountered...and select send...and get the message that the page is no longer available!!!!

Has anyone else encountered the issue with entering their IMMIGRATION information...and if so, what did you do to resolve the issue?

We've always made our bookings directly with the cruise line... as I don't like surprises when it comes to planning our annual vacation...

I guess Celebrity blew that theory all to hell!

We never knew we had the problem until we called to make our final payment; what we saw online was not what the agent saw...and the onus was on us to prove it.

Like most, we print and put everything in a folder to take with us...we just do not do this until just before we leave for the cruise. It was a real cluster until I found our original booking email...the reason we never noticed the error was because the only thing we looked for was the $20.00 per person cabin increase from the 1b to the 1a...we never looked at the new balance on the email... we saw our balance online, which showed the correct rate for the tax.

The purpose of my post was not to trash Celebrity because mistakes can happen no matter who you book with, and it was unfortunate for us that the first agent was so unpleasant do deal with...

...it was only to raise the awareness of how important it is to look very closely at your balance before making your final payment....because like most I can always find good use for $300+. We focus on our cabin rate...and take the tax portion for granted as being correct.

1749 hours and 41 minutes until we set sail...I won't let this one bad experience ruin the excitement on 11 nights at sea !

I was just happy that they acknowledged the error..albiet, it took almost 2 hours...and corrected it!

That's terrible, I hope that person is spoken to and "retrained" :eek:

 

I'm glad they resolved it for you, enjoy your cruise :D

I was told that they were checking their phone logs as they have the time noted that we called...and hopefully the call was on record.

As for enjoying my cruise...I am already envisioning myself in the molecular bar picking out my first exotic drink of many to come:D

We made our final payment last Sunday, which is for me normally a very happy moment...it means my vacation is almost here. Soon it will be time to drag out the suitcases...sort out what I think I want to take...and reduce it by half.

However, happy was not the feeling we exhibited after calling Celebrity to give them our final payment. Imagine our surprise when a very rude agent told us to ignore the balance that we saw on our Celebrity account screen...he wanted $300+ more...and he wouldn't listen when I told him he was mistaken. He insisted that I was looking at the wrong balance. In my world, when I see a screen that says "pay this amount" and I have already paid upfront for our deposit, my premium alcohol upgrade and our choice airfare...one would assume this was the amount we owed. The only change we made from our original reservation, which was made last February, was a category upgrade of $20 each for my husband and myself.

The agent then sent us an email that included his new amount...he asked me repeatedly 'did I look at it'...and insisted that this was the amount I was to pay him. After receiving his invoice I again explained that there was an error...to which he persisted to inform me that his screen was the correct one, and to ignore the screen that we were looking at...AND PAY HIM what he said we owed.

We had him on speakerphone, as both my husband and I were listening in utter shock to this rude agent asking how we planned to pay him. My husband said we would call him back, as we needed to discuss it further; where upon the rude agent responded "I will wait"...and again asked how we would like to pay. I promptly informed him that we would call back...and again he said no... he would wait. I hung up!!!

My husband was already online checking out other cruises for the same weeks when I said that I was calling Celebrity back and asking for a supervisor. This time I got a very nice agent who listened, and when I asked if I could send him a printscreen of my reservation screen he promptly gave me his personal email. He then saw what we saw, which did not match what he saw...and got resolution involved. I would have sent him my original invoice at the same time as the only difference would be the cabin upgrade ($40 total), except that it was saved on my old Blackberry, and when I got my new one last March, the saved email didn't transfer...murphy's law at it finest!!!

While we were on hold I started to check all of our computers, laptops, tablets...and finally in my notebook I found our original invoice, which I promptly emailed the agent.

As it turns out it was an issue with Celebrity...somewhere between our original booking and final payment Celebrity's computer system DOUBLED OUR TAXES AND PORT FEES, which multiplied by 2 passengers on an 11 night cruise is $300+.

After almost 2 hours on the phone, our invoice was adjusted to remove the error, we made our final payment...and I could return to my blissful thoughts of what to pack...

As an apology we received an onboard cabin credit and dinner or two in the specialty restaurant of our choice, which I had them send me an email to confirm...as I was concerned that their computers could have another glitch and I would be stuck paying $100 or our steak dinner!!!

We would have probably never noticed and paid the wrong balance had our balance not now exceeded $4300....and we knew that we had booked at less than $2K each for our 1A, paid our deposit, airfare and my alcohol upfront...we knew our final payment started with a 3!!!

Sin City was performed 4 times if I recall on our 12 nighter. The headliner was very funny but to be honest there were a few jokes that were beyond crude in my opinion.

Thank you

This is our 6th cruise; however, our 1st with Celebrity. What is the after dinner entertainment like on the Equinox? I have read in some posts about Sin City and comedians - does the Equinox have this type of entertainment nightly?

I want some information on the Boatyard if somebody is willing to help. I checked out their website is is informative, but I wasn't completely clear on everything available.

 

* Are there multiple prices you can pay to get in? What are they?

* Those prices offer different things, correct?

* The ropeswing and other water toys, are those more designed for children or adults because I'm 25 and sadly, that stuff is right up my alley. lol

*What else is included in admission and are there watersports included in admission, or even available at all? What kinds?

* I hear a lot about snorkeling not just here, but all over the caribbean, do people bring their own snorkel equipment, rent them on the ship, rent them at the beaches or what?

 

Thanks in advance!

After reading what CC's had to say, I g**gled Boatyard Barbados and read what others had to say. I then texted my husband to say this is what we are doing in Barbados when we get off the ship next February. $3 taxi from the port...$12 chair/umbrella, rum punch, use of their facilities (motorized extra), no vendors bothering you, food, bathrooms, and a free taxi back to the port at 15 minute intervals after 1:00pm. A perfect day at the beach...

Their website has alot of information.

I've been on these boards for almost 10 years, and a number of Princess ships, and don't remember hearing of or seeing any complaint about a reaction to carpet cleaning or anything like that.

Thank you

Doubt the Princess cruise crew would switch carpet cleaners because of allergy. OP can write and "hope" to get a brand name Princess uses. Just because others have posted they had no reaction does not mean that OP will not. After all there is no indication that any other pax on Carnival Freedom reacted adversely. So my advice to OP -- you just have to take a chance despite what everyone is saying here.

Both the Miami Beach Mount Sinai Medical Center and my family doctor in Canada confirmed that what I experienced was not an allergic reaction. Popping a Claritan wouldn't have resolved the issue. It was an inhaled irritant.

As for no other PAX...if you read CCL you will find what someone other than myself experienced on the same cruise.

I'm not asking anyone to change the carpet cleaning product that they use. My question was...has anyone on the Crown Princess ever encountered the same problem, as I have changed cruiselines after two very good CCL cruises and one nightmare cruise...with hopes of not repeating the same unfortunate experience.

There are also different levels of carpet cleaning. What it sounds like you are describing is one using a commercial product that I can't recall the name of but is often used in hotels during floor refurbs. Very strong and does trigger asthmatic reactions (I'm sure there are other brands).

 

It would surprise me for it to be used in an enclosed space like a ship while guests are present, but apparently Carnival does.

 

I've seen carpet cleaning on Princess, but they use closer the household variety for routine work and you shouldn't have a reaction to that.

I'm assuming then that CCL felt it was safe to use this product while we were in port for the evening (day 3 - 5:00 pm to 11:59) and during the port days...4, 5,6 and 8. Unfortunately for me and several others...the product made leaving the ship during our port days a truly daunting task...

I'm glad to hear that my choice to jump ship from CCL and join Princess is less likely to end in disaster.

Thank you to all

I've never been bothered by their cleaning solutions but the cleaner they use to clean the bathrooms is some pretty nasty smelling stuff.

I wasn't affected by the other products they cleaned with.

I became ill ...on the third night...upon returning to the ship after walking around Old San Juan.

As we stepped off the elevator and headed into the hallway I began to exhibit breathing difficulty...wheezing...and coughing.

As we continued to walk down the hallway...we passed fans...placed at equal intervals that we assumed were placed to assist in drying the carpet

Upon reaching our cabin, I immediately headed to our balcony...took my asthma medication...had a diet coke...and waited for the attack to pass. Within a few minutes I felt better and we headed to the specialty restaurant for our Steakhouse dinner. I got no further than the elevator...and the wheezing and coughing strarted again...it was downhill for the remainder of our cruise...the fans, and whatever they were spewing into the air, did not disappear.

Our plans were greatly changed...our beach days reduced by half...as I needed to limit my mobility due to the lack of available breath. My evenings were cut short, as I would go to the MDR for dinner, and return to the cabin. My sign and sail card went from Party mode to nil...CCL lost money on this cruiser. Hubby was now waiting on me hand and foot...

I felt so bad that I ruined my hubby's cruise that I upgraded and paid for a balcony overlooking the ocean in Miami Beach for our 3 nights post-cruise, I also paid the deposit for the Crown Princess for next January... as I am now treating my hubby to a new vacation. I have used my own credit card to guarantee 3 days pre-cruise hotel...and prepayed 4 days post-cruise at a Fort Lauderdale on the beach hotel.

My only request of this thread is to find out....has this happened to anyone on the Princess Crown?...as I do not want a repeat of my latest cruising nightmare.

Tomorrow marks 3 weeks since we last cruised (Carnival Freedom); however, it also means that I have been suffering the ill effects of the carpet cleaning solution used daily and emitted into the air by the constant use of fans placed in the hallways by Carnival, for almost a month. I was not the only person on the Freedom to have this reaction, as others did approach me onboard to ask if I had the same symptoms as they did.

This was NOT an allergy, a virus, or a cold, confirmed by both the Miami Beach emergency room medical team and my family doctor in Canada...it was an inhaled irritant that triggered my asthma, which has been well-controlled for many years. The irritation was actually visible in my xray; I am still being treated with a heavy dose of oral steriods, and happy to now say...regaining my health daily.

...I did not go to the ships medical centre, as it was asthma for which I do carry medication (replaced fresh before the cruise), which I may add I carry only as a precaution, since I only need to take it if I get a cold.

Others onboard mentioned to me that when they visited the pursers desk they were fed the party line....not responsible for reactions....and Carnival Customer Care when phoned by my hubby after the cruise...didn't care...

I am not usually sensitive to cleaning products...I do clean my own home...work in a public building...and I have never suffered a known reaction to a cleaning product of any kind before.

With all this now said, after two good cruises and this latest nightmare, which really restricted what I could and couldn't do on my vacation, we have jumped ship from Carnival and are now booked on the Crown Princess sailing next January.

My questions are:

"Does this happen on Princess as well?"..."Have others had this reaction to Princess carpet cleaning products?"..."Does Princess leave fans running in the halls daily to dry their carpets, as I had never seen this before?"