ShopperfiendTO

Hi,

For those who have been on Azamara recently, did you have a port where you docked at 10:30, 11:00 or 11:30, and if you did, was there a brunch event on the ship that day instead of normal breakfast and lunch?

I think your real issue isn't so much the Blue Lagoon back to Reykjavik part but from the BSI bus terminal to the cruise port part.  Based on your information, it seems you have about 30 minutes to do this (assuming that "all-aboard" time is 1:30 p.m. of course).

Do you know which port you'll be docked at?  Reykjavik has two (at least?).

The city centre's not that big so if worst comes to worst, when you arrive at the BSI bus terminal you could probably take an expensive taxi ride to the port instead of a transfer bus to the port which might take a more scenic route than you'd like.  According to Google Maps, the drive should not take more than 15 minutes to the probable port (you will need to confirm which port it is for your actual ship/sailing), so it appears do-able (with a taxi fare backstop) but cutting it close:

https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Reykjavik+BSI+Bus+Terminal,+Reykjavík,+Iceland/Reykjavik+Cruise+Terminal/@64.1446302,-21.9150262,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x48d60b350153a4cd:0xc33373e2c14646c7!2m2!1d-21.9310479!2d64.1375715!1m5!1m1!1s0x48d675d9647292ed:0xe72d3270593c9ac8!2m2!1d-21.861768!2d64.1555!3e0 

The other issue as the poster above mentioned is how sure are you that the ship is leaving at 2:00 p.m. If closer in to the date of actually arriving at the port the departure time changes to an earlier time, will you be able to adjust accordingly?  I found this from the Blue Lagoon website ( https://www.bluelagoon.com/legal/blue-lagoon-terms-and-cancellation-policy😞

"FOR BOOKINGS TO THE BLUE LAGOON AND RETREAT SPA FROM JANUARY 1st, 2022 UNTIL DECEMBER 31st, 2022

- If you cancel with more than 48 hours notice: 100 % is refunded

- If you modify your booking with less than 48 hours notice, we charge you an extra fee of ISK 1800

- If you cancel with less than 48 hours’ notice: No refund is made

Blue Lagoon Ltd. reserves the right to cancel all bookings and reservations, when unable to provide the company’s services due to Force majeure event, such as but not limited to weather, strikes, natural disasters, or any other irregularity outside the company’s control. In such an event, no compensation or refund is payable."

22 minutes ago, basor said:

Did you actually go finish the process and check out?  The excursions sitting in the cart is not a confirmed excursion.

Thanks!  I didn't realize that the "Confirm" blue button at the bottom is different than the "Proceed to checkout" hyperlink at the top. 

However, when I do click the "Proceed to checkout" link and enter my credit card details to pay the zero amount owing, I get a red "ERROR" banner message with no other detail/information of the error.  I checked my information and card details and everything's correct.  I also tried another credit card (and checked that the information was entered correctly too) and the same thing happened.

2 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Better still: Don’t use the Cart except for a mock booking to see if your own bottom line math (on O Life and YWYW) matches the Cart’s bottom line.

 

Next, call and book the excursions direct with O. And, even if it means calling back to a different phone rep, confirm that you’ll be sent the “pre-purchased” shore excursions PDF which shows all the math (this comes in very handy if there are itinerary changes that affect the pricing mix at a later date). If you are buying it directly, any rep who tells you that it only goes to the TA is incorrect. 
Booking via the Cart only sends you an email with your tours listed (imo, pretty much useless compared to the math doc).

 

BTW: some folks here will tell you to have your TA do it. Know that even the best O-savvy TA may not fully understand (or pay attention to) the math you’ll find in that “pre-purchased” doc.

 

We are not going to buy any extra excursions beyond the ones included with the OLife excursions option so I'm not sure if this will help us?

For the OLife excursions option, if you only select the free ones, how do you know that the free excursions you've chosen are booked and recorded in O's records?

I've chosen my included excursions and at the cart, it shows "Confirm" and all I get is a message from the website saying that the details are confirmed but nothing else.

This is in contrast to a previous cruise where I booked extra excursions to get the "YWYW" discount and paid for the extra not-included excursions.  When I did that, I got an email confirmation from O which listed *all* of my booked excursions, i.e., it listed the ones I paid for (with discount) and the included/free excursions as well, and the bottom line total was the net payment for the discounted extra non-OLife-included excursions. 

I didn't get a similar email from O even though I thought I would, listing all of my booked excursions with a bottom line total of NIL since they were all part of the Olife-included excursions package.

I looked at my booking and don't see anywhere to see which excursions I've booked either.

Is this normal?  I'd like to have some record that my excursions are confirmed in case I board and the excursion tickets don't show up in my cabin and even worse if they sell out before boarding.

7 hours ago, Vertygo said:

 

The poster mentioned they self-tested after disembarking. If they had self-tested while aboard & were positive O would have covered the Vancouver quarantine. Testing would also have been done in the medical facility if the passenger presented with the could that developed 3 days prior.

Thanks for your response.  Are you saying that we can't insist on having a test the day before disembarking and that we should now all be packing our own self-test kits?

Your statement that O would have covered the Vancouver quarantine seems contradictory to the post just before yours though ("According to my TA, if you get covid on the ship, as soon as the cruise ends and you disembark, you are on your own. Cruiselines no longer cover the costs of quarantine.")

Also, what if you self-test positive the day before disembarking but when you go to the medical office on board they test you in a superficial way and it is negative (even though you are sure you have it because the self-test showed "super/strong/instant" positive and you were showing all of the symptoms)?

3 hours ago, susiesan said:

If O would allow people to quarantine in their own cabin instead of being moved to a different one maybe more people would be willing to isolate.This is why more and more people on all the cruise lines are not reporting to the medical center if they start having symptoms. They are self treating and self isolating and not getting tested. No one is willing to be put in an inside or outside quarantine cabin, especially if they had a veranda or better cabin booked.

 

Me, I'd rather be put off the ship than spend my cruise quarantined. If I have insurance I will get a refund of the unused portion of the cruise and will just stay in a hotel until I can fly home.

I wonder how universally accurate the part that has been bolded actually is.  Assuming that they actually do self-isolate, what do they tell their room stewards, or to they just expose them too?

The point of testing and finding out you are positive is less to do with treating you than it is to make sure that you, as being infectious, do not spread it around to and infect your fellow passengers and the crew including your room stewards.

On 5/28/2022 at 9:26 PM, Vertygo said:

 

Hope your husband recovers quickly & you stay well. You mentioned in another thread that your husband developed a mild cough 3 days prior to disembarking. If you had tested prior to leaving the ship & turned up positive Oceania would have covered your hotel & helped with air changes (assuming you tested neg prior to boarding). 

Can you insist that they test you before leaving the ship and insist that they do a full, thorough swab instead of what other posters have indicated have been quite quick and felt like superficial swabs?  The most current "SailSAFE" FAQs state that tests will be done only if required by the country the ship is entering or the passenger is returning to.  As the poster was disembarking in Canada, no test was required to be taken in order to disembark.

We know that the cruiselines have a bit of a conflict of interest in not performing a full by-the-book thorough test because if it is positive it has to be reported to the CDC and they have to cover the costs related to quarantine etc. 

On 5/20/2022 at 10:05 AM, travelberlin said:

Those are the included red wines being served on the Pursuit during this cruise. The Pinotage from South Africa, the Shiraz and the Cabernet from France and the Merlot from Italy.

 

Ivi

 

 

It's been a while since our last Azamara cruise, but on that one the included wines were from actual wineries with the wineries' respective labels on it.

Could you confirm if there are other included wines that are not the "house" brand?  Red, white, rose and sparkling if possible.

Thanks very much.

I assume it has to be PCR?

If so, then you really only have two options, one in Reykjavik (note, it's not in the city centre) and the other in Akureyri, and the cost seems to be ISK 7,000 but don't quote me on it:

https://travel.covid.is/

If you go here, you can see the tours that could be offered for that port (In the "Ports" drop-down tab, click, scroll down and select "Trieste"):

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/shore-excursions#shore-excursion-search

The Venice tours from Trieste are the last ones, TRI-008, -009 and -010.  Note however that these are likely going to be classified as "OS" (they are classified as such on our cruise, which has Trieste as a port), and so if they are OS for your cruise as well and you have O-Life and chose the excursions option, these would be not able to be selected as one of the free excursions. 

OP,

Is this your first time in Italy and have you been to Florence before?

If this is your first time and you haven't been to Florence, and given that you are not keen on driving, I would actually suggest a train to Florence.  Unfortunately, the fastest way there is through Rome but the trip is still under 3 hours using the express route (hopefully it's available on your date, I'm not sure).

On the TA segment, the port stop for Florence is likely Livorno, and it's a fair distance from Livorno to Florence.  I can't imagine you will be able to really enjoy both Lucca and Florence on a shore excursion, even if it's a long 12 hour stop.

If you debark November 14 morning and leave for Florence from there with a carry-on (using the check luggage as described by the other posters), you will have the afternoon and two full days in glorious Florence.  You can then use your Livorno stop to enjoy Lucca and/or Pisa more fully, as these cities are much closer to Livorno than Florence is (Florence is over an hour away by train, and if you aren't booking a ship tour you have to add time to get from the port to the train station in Livorno which takes 15-30 minutes).

If you have been to Florence, then, again, given your aversion to driving, I would suggest you might want to consider a train and bus to Siena as has been suggested earlier in this thread.  That trip takes under 3 hours using the "express" route.  Siena is an infamously a long drive from Livorno (lots of windy roads, about 1.5 hours by car each way).  However, if you stay there, you might want to think of a day trip to the surrounding area by booking a day trip if you find that you've done everything you want there.

Using the term "Second class citizens" is a bit hyperbolic, describing people who can afford the time and money to travel and go on luxury cruises outside of the country...

Masks are required to be worn on subways in Toronto.

25 minutes ago, Beagle5 said:

Just received notification from Oceania that our Riviera voyage departing Barcelona on 25 June will terminate in Trieste rather than Venice on 6/7 July. 

Message from Oceania below:

 

Dear Valued Guests and Travel Advisors,

 

We would like to advise you of an important update to your upcoming cruise itinerary aboard Riviera.

 

Due to the on-going governmental prohibition of cruise ships within Venice, please note your overnight and disembarkation in Venice, Italy has been replaced with Trieste, Italy.

 

The revised portion of the itinerary is included below for your reference:

 

DATE	DAY	PORT	ARRIVAL	DEPARTURE
6-Jul-22	WED	TRIESTE, ITALY	6:00 AM	--
7-Jul-22	THU	TRIESTE, ITALY	Disembark	--

 

For your convenience, complimentary transfers between your disembarkation port and departure airport will be provided. Any purchased shore excursions for Venice will automatically be cancelled and refunded.

 

That's interesting. 

I looked up the itinerary for this cruise and the port before is Koper, Slovenia, which is about a 30 minute drive away from Trieste... Will O still leave Koper at the same time or perhaps stay later?

It seems Venice is still possible, just that you will not be docked at Marittima/San Basilio terminals in the islands themselves.

From what I have read elsewhere, Venice is still a port of call right now and you will check in at one of the above terminals, but you will then be bussed out to Marghera industrial port (about a 20-30 bus ride) and physically board the ship there, not in Venice.  That's a bit of a hassle, but it is arguably still Venice port.

Not sure how it works if Venice is the disembarkation port though, i.e., if you're not staying post-cruise in Venice, can you leave directly from Marghera and go to Marco Polo etc., or if you have to deal with the hassle of riding to Marittima/San Basilio just to immediately head back across the bridge.

On 2/12/2022 at 1:58 PM, *Miss G* said:

I have 3 stops in Portugal next month: Azores, Madeira, Lisbon.  Sherpa says we are allowed if we are “arriving from” United States.  This is markedly different than if-you’re-Canadian-you-can’t-come.  Reminds me of the mess at the beginning of the pandemic.  To complicate things even further, I am a British-Canadian with US Permanent Resident status.  Can I enter because I live in the United States?  Can I enter because I am British?    Will I be barred because I’m Canadian?

 

Would love to know what Canada did to tick Portugal off.  In any event, I am not going to sweat it until the next announcement.  Hopefully Canada will rectify whatever mess they made and we will be friends again.

 

On 2/12/2022 at 3:49 PM, Fouremco said:

From what I've seen, both in what you have quoted and from the Air Canada requirements page, it isn't the nationality of the passenger or the country issuing your passport that determines whether or not you are able to enter, but instead it's the country from which your flight originates.

 

Travellers arriving from  Canada (see 173 additional countries) are not allowed to enter mainland Portugal. Please note, direct travel to Madeira and Porto Santo is allowed. The land borders between Portugal and Spain are open. Please check the source for exemptions, documentation, quarantine, and/or testing requirements before travelling.

 

So, as things stand today, you can't fly there from Canada but you can do so from the US.

 

On 2/12/2022 at 5:10 PM, ALD18 said:

Wondering if it affects entry into the Azores?  Is it not a separate country now, not directly part of Portugal?    

On 2/12/2022 at 7:10 PM, Fouremco said:

Both the Azores and Madeira are autonomous regions of Portugal, not independent countries. Their entry requirements are not the same as those, but I've not made a side-by-side comparison. 

It seems that the restriction against non-essential travel by Canadians is to mainland Portugal and not the autonomous regions of the Azores or Madeira, so travel to the latter should be fine. 

Hopefully the confirmation that Fouremco is obtaining from the embassies will address all of these regions as they seem to have different rules.

From here: https://www.oceaniacruises.com/legal/terms-conditions/

Free Roundtrip Airport Transfers
New with the Tropics & Exotics 2021-2022 season launch on 2/26/20, we will begin to include transfers from airport-port upon embarkation and port-airport at disembarkation. This is only applicable for Air/Sea guests arriving day of embarkation and departing day of disembarkation. Cruise only guests may still purchase transfers at retail pricing. Guests who purchase a pre or post hotel package will continue to have transfers included regardless of date. It is also only for North America sales (USD & CAD). Already open cruises will remain as is with transfers sold at retail pricing. There will not be a non-use credit if a guest should choose to decline. Included transfers are basic coach transfers and private car transfers will still be available for sale.

45 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Have you read the zillion posts here on the CC Oceania forums regarding why folks doing cruises before January 17, 2021 (which will have O providing free antigen tests at embarkation) should do the “recommended” 72 hr max pre-test (PCR or Antigen) in order to have proof that you were negative in the 72 hrs pre-embarkation?
That recommended proof of no Covid PEC (PreExistingCondition) is REQUIRED if you want O to cover any Covid related costs should you test positive at the pier. Likewise, if you want to cancel w/o penalty “due to Covid,” you have to prove that you have/had it a/i 2 weeks of embarkation. This is a separate issue from cruise refunds/FCCs.

 

From 1/17/21 on, passengers are responsible for their own “embarkation testing (w/I 48 hrs for US departures and 72 hrs for foreign departures) though O will have pier testing available for a $99 pp charge.

So what is the situation from January 17, 2022, onward?  Will O still test at embarkation if you take your own test 3/2 calendar days before departure, or will O just use that negative test (it would have to be negative because if it were positive you wouldn't be allowed on the plane to fly into the embarkation port in the first place) and let you board the ship?

The concern I have, sorry for repeating, is being denied boarding for having a positive test at embarkation and if we would get FCC or refund because of that positive test. 

Hi,

O has updated its SailSafe Policy: https://www.oceaniacruises.com/sites/default/files/2021-11/sail-safe-health-program-v20.pdf

I am having a hard time deciphering how the following situations will be handled under this policy, assuming the travelers are fully vaccinated as described within the policy and are taking O's un-deviated air for a non-US cruise:

1.  What happens if you take the COVID-19 test within the 3 days and you test positive? 

I know there is an FAQ that states "If guests, members of their parties, and others traveling with them are denied entry due to a positive COVID-19 test within 2 weeks of their sail date, they will be entitled to either a refund or a Future Cruise Credit (“FCC”) for the amount paid."  But does this mean that we have to go to the airport and get officially denied boarding the plane because of the positive COVID test?  I guess I'm confused how we prove that we are denied entry due to a positive COVID-19 test if we can't board the plane to land in the country to be denied entry by an immigration official from that country.  Or is just having the positive COVID-19 test sufficient to be covered?

2.  What happens if you take the COVID-19 test within the 3 days and test negative but at the initial (starting) embarkation port you test positive?

The policy seems to describe what happens at the ports in between but seems silent on what happens at the initial port of embarkation.  If this happens, would we also be entitled to either a refund or a FCC?

What I am really worried about is if we are not able to physically get on the ship because of a positive test (either just before we leave for the airport or at initial boarding), will we be covered for a refund/FCC.  I couldn't find the answer for this in the policy.

Thanks for any help on this!

Curious how this would work if it's an excursion selected as part of the OLife excursion package.

Has anyone done this before? 

I find it odd that you would have to call or get your TA to call O to cancel it (assuming the cancellation is more than a month before departure).

On 11/15/2021 at 7:50 PM, Fouremco said:

One of the reasons we will test at home before heading to our cruise. If we test positive here, we will quarantine at home and cancel our flights and the cruise.

If you look at Celebrity for example, unless I'm missing something it seems that if your sailing is after May 4, 2022, you're on your own if you cancel: https://www.celebritycruises.com/ca/travel-alert/frequently-asked-questions

I just noticed that Celebrity has Manulife insurance on its website, but it doesn't really give much information on what is covered under trip cancellation (just "27 covered events"): https://www.igoinsured.com/Direct/ManulifeTI.aspx?ag=CELC001&lang=E

What are people doing now regarding trip cancellation and interruption coverage?

I am worried that despite precautions taken that we might show up at the port and test positive and be denied boarding.

Cruiselines seem to be covering this risk right now but I think that most will only be providing this coverage for cruises sailing up to the end of March or April 2022, so how are people protecting their cruise investment from this risk for cruises sailing after May/April 2022?

12 hours ago, NC&KY said:

Why must you have it on you when you land? I always go straight to an ATM when I land and get local currency. Will that approach not work in Tokyo?

Sorry, you don't need to have cash on you when you land.  I meant to say that you will need to have cash on you pretty soon after you arrive.  For example, you can't use your credit card to buy the IC smart cards (e.g., Suica, Passmo) that you tap to take most kinds of public transportation including the Tokyo subways.

Your approach will work in Tokyo.

I just recommended having cash before arriving because it is something that can be done before the outbound flight and is one less thing to have to deal with when you just land after a long flight with jet lag and possibly not much sleep.  Yes, the conversion rate is likely worse exchanging currency beforehand than when withdrawing the funds while in Japan, but you are not converting that much, only enough to allow you a couple of days to conveniently come across one during your daily exploration of the city (or ask your hotel where the closest one is).

Here is a website for the ATMs at Haneda (note there are 3 terminals):

https://tokyo-haneda.com/en/service/facilities/bank.html

Maps of terminals (under "Floor Map" section):

https://tokyo-haneda.com/en/service/foreign_visitors.html

Here is a website for the ATMs at Narita (note there are 3 terminals as well):

https://www.narita-airport.jp/en/service/svc_12

If you click on the link of the ATM in the location column, it should take you to a floorplan map.  

Not sure how accurate this website is, but it seems to list the scheduling for Tokyo and Yokohama separately, and for April 2023 the Quest seems to be docking at Tokyo proper instead of Yokohama:

Tokyo dock: https://cruisedig.com/ports/tokyo-japan/arrivals

Yokohama dock: https://cruisedig.com/ports/yokohama-japan/arrivals

In the end, I think you really can't be sure which port Quest will be docked at until you get a final itinerary from Azamara stating "Tokyo" or "Yokohama (Tokyo)".

If you can choose, you definitely want to land at Haneda airport instead of Narita airport.

The Tokyo port is relatively close to Tokyo Station.

Although you haven't asked, a tip I offer when travelling to Japan is for you to ensure you have cash on you when you land, so you might want to watch currency trends and exchange when favourable leading up to your departure.  Although the country is hyper-technologically advanced, it is still very much a cash society.

That's an interesting issue you've raised: How will Azamara handle air once the sale is finalized? 

I assume that ChoiceAir will no longer be an option, so does that mean specific pricing from Az only, instead of the bulk buying power of the RCL group?

Since after this stop you are going to be at sea for a day, you probably don't want to take too risky an excursion that you might miss the ship and have to find your own way to Skagen to catch up to the ship.

Have you been to Southampton before?  There are nice sites in the city that you can wander around.

We were on a British Isles cruise that started and ended in Southampton.  At the front end we went to Salisbury (Magna Carta) and Wilton House is nearby, and I suppose Stonehenge as well.  They are fairly close to Southampton.

At the back end we went to Brighton for a night on the way to London.  Brighton has more sights than Southampton but IMHO I'm not sure that it's worth the 3 hour total drive time more than what Southampton and environs has to offer, especially with the ship being at sea the next day. 

If you are still interested in Brighton, be careful that the highway between Southampton and Brighton can get very congested.  However, you're scheduled to dock there on a Sunday so that may be good for traffic but perhaps not so good for things open to look around at.