SensFan11

1 minute ago, ghstudio said:

Found this on the Princess board......I guess it's a rumor until tomorrow, but hope it's true and I would expect  Celebrity to implement a similar policy.

 

 

It's not a rumour. Posted on twitter by a trusted source (editor at NPR):

On 2/25/2019 at 12:55 PM, trivia addict said:

Good point. I think we last were there before Irma.

Anyone  been there in the past year?

We've loved Dawn Beach in the past too...but wondering what it's like now?

Following, and hoping some who have sailed Edge with kids might be able to chime in.

And in particular, Host Anne, it would be great if you could post the daily activity sheets from the kids and teen clubs! :)

Bumping this up. I haven't come across much in the Celebrity forum, and would love to hear from those who have experienced Edge with kids.

At the very least, I'll plan to come back here and report after our own sailing on Edge next week!

On 2/17/2019 at 2:09 PM, h20skibum said:

Only the Edge has texting capability on the app. Both use the free internet portion. They are slowly rolling it out to other ships. If it becomes available, it will show up with the word Beta in the upper right corner.



Past Reviews post 184

Has anyone successfully used the 'texting' function in the Celebrity App on board Edge?

We sail next month, and this would be great for family members keeping in touch while on board.

On my app, the 'beta' does appear in the top right corner...but isn't functional as we're not yet on board and connected to Celebrity Wifi. 😉

I'm not exactly sure why it is, but I believe RCCL also doesn't allow those under 21 to drink on cruises originating in Canada. I'm not sure of the legality of this...and I wonder whether it has been challenged.

Looks like the price has gone up on the BOGO 2 Night package. I am not sure if the others did too.

 

I paid $37.50 pp CAD the other day when I bought it. It is now showing at $50pp CAD. We sail on 11/25 on the Freedom. That is just over 33% increase

 

I thought it might have been because of the currency so I checked my 3/3/2018 Freedom reservation as well which was booked in USD. I just happened to have had the package in my cart. It says its changed as well. I am not sure what it was before in USD, but I know it was less than the $40pp USD it is now.

 

I checked and it still shows $0 for service charge, so I am not sure if they are increasing the pricing to offset the gratuity, but it went up way more that 18% (at least on the CAD side).

I'm on the same Freedom sailing as you, but booked in USD. I purchased the BOGO last week for US$30 per person.

Thanks! I am really looking forward to it. We have never sailed in a suite so have never had access to the lounge. We would rather spend less on a cabin and cruise more often.

 

Actually, for that matter, I have never been in ANY lounge! We turn Diamond during our March 2018 cruise so our May 2018 on the Liberty will be our first Diamond sailing.

Congrats on your find, and thanks for sharing this info! I had heard years ago that guests in this room got free ice cream, but I didn't know about the gold card and concierge benefits...sweet!

Likewise, we haven't been guests in any lounge either...but we will turn diamond while on board Freedom! :)

Cheers,

Noel

Sad but true - Flying in from the east coast of Canada at the end of January - there is no way I could fly in day of. Got a sweet deal on Delta before all this mess and was able to drop a night in San Juan but I still have to do one night based on flight schedule.

If I were you I'd see if Delta would let you change your flights for no charge...fly the day before from NB to Atlanta, stay overnight, and then fly the morning of your cruise from Atlanta to San Juan.

I'm not sure about Disney, but I know most cruise departures out of San Juan depart later than usual (e.g. 8pm) to better allow day-of flights in.

Sad but true - Flying in from the east coast of Canada at the end of January - there is no way I could fly in day of. Got a sweet deal on Delta before all this mess and was able to drop a night in San Juan but I still have to do one night based on flight schedule.

If I were you I'd see if Delta would let you change your flights for no charge...fly the day before from NB to Atlanta, stay overnight, and then fly the morning of your cruise from Atlanta to San Juan.

I'm not sure about Disney, but I know most cruise departures out of San Juan depart later than usual (e.g. 8pm) to better allow day-of flights in.

According to the FEMA website they are arranging transport for eligible people to hotels on the continental US. There is no link from FEMA to that list of hotels in SJ and I strongly suspect this is more "fake news" So please do take care before acting on it!

 

Sent from my GT-I9195I using Forums mobile app

It's not fake news. Approval of Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) is finally a reality for thousands, including the 3304 Puerto Ricans who may now be able to leave emergency shelters after over a month in limbo.

David Begnaud of CBS News reported on this on Monday:

A couple other comments related to this:

- while TSA hotel rooms are intended to be very short term, it can go on for months...TSA for Texans affected by Hurricane Harvey is now eligible to be extended to Nov 27th...that's more than three months in hotels for some folks

- as part of this announcement, FEMA has also said they will be paying to transport Puerto Ricans to the continental US to access TSA hotel rooms...which potentially means less availability for cruisers on the limited number of flights leaving San Juan, which are already running at capacity

According to the FEMA website they are arranging transport for eligible people to hotels on the continental US. There is no link from FEMA to that list of hotels in SJ and I strongly suspect this is more "fake news" So please do take care before acting on it!

 

Sent from my GT-I9195I using Forums mobile app

It's not fake news. Approval of Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) is finally a reality for thousands, including the 3304 Puerto Ricans who may now be able to leave emergency shelters after over a month in limbo.

David Begnaud of CBS News reported on this on Monday:

A couple other comments related to this:

- while TSA hotel rooms are intended to be very short term, it can go on for months...TSA for Texans affected by Hurricane Harvey is now eligible to be extended to Nov 27th...that's more than three months in hotels for some folks

- as part of this announcement, FEMA has also said they will be paying to transport Puerto Ricans to the continental US to access TSA hotel rooms...which potentially means less availability for cruisers on the limited number of flights leaving San Juan, which are already running at capacity

Thanks for the comment. Unfortunately, I did not take out travel insurance. This was to be a special Christmas gift and celebration for the family, so I had no intention of cancelling it. I am having a tougher year at work this year as well and our vacation weeks are dictated by the school year, so getting away at Christmas for some R&R is something I am looking forward to. I am sure when I finally arrive in San Juan and know that I have a hotel and a flight home, I will be happy that I am there. It just seems that this is one of those years for many vacationing in the Caribbean where there are a lot of issues. I always tell myself that this is just our vacation where people living on those affected islands have it a million times worst than us, so I need to keep things in perspective.

 

Thanks again for the suggestion, it is just not applicable to us, but hopefully your advice is helpful to others reading this thread.

I'm sorry to hear that...we were locked into our travel dates too, but have been fortunately able to switch to a cruise out of Florida. I too hope others lurking here are able to take advantage of the stories and tips we all share.

It was seven years ago when, a few days before a Disney cruise with our kids that our toddler daughter developed infections in both ears; the doctor's orders were clear: do not to fly. At that time, I expected we were fully covered via our credit card, but it was only once I started investigating our claim that I learnt that our coverage had severe limitations and would only reimburse a small percentage of our expenses.

We ended up driving three days with two kids under the age of six to make it to Port Canaveral and board Disney Magic (something that certainly isn't an option for cruises out of San Juan LOL).

Since then, we've made travel insurance a priority when planning our trips and have an annual plan.

And now it is official

 

October 26, 2017

Due to the impact of Hurricane Maria on Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) in San Juan, Air Canada has suspended all flights to Puerto Rico until further notice.

A goodwill policy is in place so affected customers can change their bookings or obtain a refund. For cruise ship customers due to board or arrive by cruise ships in Puerto Rico, Air Canada is working to secure alternative routings to and from San Juan on U.S. carriers.

If your travel is affected, you may contact Air Canada Reservations (1-888-247-2262) to change your flight. If you purchased your ticket with AeroplanExternal site which may not meet accessibility guidelines. or Air Canada Vacations, please contact them directly.

It's about time Air Canada acknowledged the cancellations as a fact, rather than try to spin the story that the flights were 'all sold out'. :mad:

Things may be about to change on the hotel front in San Juan, and while it would be great for Puerto Ricans affected by Maria, it could make it even harder for vacationers to find a place to stay.

On Wednesday, the Governor of Puerto Rico formally requested that FEMA activate Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA)...once it's approved, likely today, any Puerto Ricans who's home has been damaged or destroyed will be able to apply to get a hotel room paid for by government...which it's expected will immediately overwhelming the remaining hotels operating and not already occupied by emergency workers.

Furthermore, the Governor also requested that the US government move federal workers out of Puerto Rico hotels - either into temporary housing camps (which would have to be built) or onto ships (meaning FEMA may charter more cruise ships, much as they've already done in St. Thomas and St.Croix). While this won't happen overnight, if FEMA agrees, this will also affect hotel inventory in San Juan

Here's more detail on the TSA request as Puerto Rican await FEMAs approval:

Things may be about to change on the hotel front in San Juan, and while it would be great for Puerto Ricans affected by Maria, it could make it even harder for vacationers to find a place to stay.

On Wednesday, the Governor of Puerto Rico formally requested that FEMA activate Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA)...once it's approved, likely today, any Puerto Ricans who's home has been damaged or destroyed will be able to apply to get a hotel room paid for by government...which it's expected will immediately overwhelming the remaining hotels operating and not already occupied by emergency workers.

Furthermore, the Governor also requested that the US government move federal workers out of Puerto Rico hotels - either into temporary housing camps (which would have to be built) or onto ships (meaning FEMA may charter more cruise ships, much as they've already done in St. Thomas and St.Croix). While this won't happen overnight, if FEMA agrees, this will also affect hotel inventory in San Juan

Here's more detail on the TSA request as Puerto Rican await FEMAs approval:

Wonder how many rooms each of these offer? Just curious as to what the total number of rooms FEMA might be utilizing. I understand it is combined for relief workers and refugees.

Right now it's just FEMA and other emergency workers. I remember reading somewhere 10,000 federal employees had been deployed in Puerto Rico, that gives some idea.

There may be some Puerto Ricans staying in hotels and staying out of pocket. It's likely that in the next few days that FEMA's TSA (Transitional Shertering Assistance) program will kick in which will pay for hotel for those left homeless...that will likely take up thousands of more rooms.

Wonder how many rooms each of these offer? Just curious as to what the total number of rooms FEMA might be utilizing. I understand it is combined for relief workers and refugees.

Right now it's just FEMA and other emergency workers. I remember reading somewhere 10,000 federal employees had been deployed in Puerto Rico, that gives some idea.

There may be some Puerto Ricans staying in hotels and staying out of pocket. It's likely that in the next few days that FEMA's TSA (Transitional Shertering Assistance) program will kick in which will pay for hotel for those left homeless...that will likely take up thousands of more rooms.

Cancelling this cruise is not really an option for us either since I do not care to throw away 6 New Year cruise payments that are non-refundable and paid in full already. May have to start swimming up the St. Lawrence and make my way down the coast to the Caribbean, but one way or another, we intend to be on our New Year cruise out of San Juan.

One thing to consider if you're Canadian and have travel insurance is that you may be covered to cancel your cruise. Many policies have varying clauses that allow you to cancel if the Government of Canada issues an official advisory to 'Avoid all Travel' or 'Avoid non-essential travel' to a particular country.

Last time I looked the advice was to avoid Non Essential Travel to Puerto Rico.

Here's an interesting new angle to the hotel saga.

It's been clear that a number of hotels in San Juan are operating, but are cancelling existing reservations and not accepting new ones because they're housing emergency workers. Makes sense.

What hasn't been clear up to this point is what about the thousands of Puerto Ricans who's homes have been damaged or destroyed.

FEMA has a program called TSA - Transitional Shelter Assistance - where FEMA will pay for hotel rooms for folks who's home has been damaged or destroyed. Hundreds, or perhaps thousands of Texans have utilized this program in and around Houston since Hurricane Harvey hit this summer - and their hotel stays have been recently extended until Nov. 7th.

But up until now, no Puerto Ricans have received hotels rooms from FEMA's TSA program...but that may be about to change.

CBS reporter David Begnaud has been on this story the last couple days. Puerto Rico's governor needs to formally request activation of the TSA program...once he does, thousands of Puerto Ricans would be eligible to apply for FEMA-paid hotel rooms...including the 3897 Puerto Ricans that remain in emergency shelters today, more than a month after Maria hit.

So if you think it's hard to find a hotel room in Puerto Rico now...just wait until thousands of locals start trying to book them too.

Here's more from David Begnaud - his reporting is a great source for the status of progress on the island:

Here's an interesting new angle to the hotel saga.

It's been clear that a number of hotels in San Juan are operating, but are cancelling existing reservations and not accepting new ones because they're housing emergency workers. Makes sense.

What hasn't been clear up to this point is what about the thousands of Puerto Ricans who's homes have been damaged or destroyed.

FEMA has a program called TSA - Transitional Shelter Assistance - where FEMA will pay for hotel rooms for folks who's home has been damaged or destroyed. Hundreds, or perhaps thousands of Texans have utilized this program in and around Houston since Hurricane Harvey hit this summer - and their hotel stays have been recently extended until Nov. 7th.

But up until now, no Puerto Ricans have received hotels rooms from FEMA's TSA program...but that may be about to change.

CBS reporter David Begnaud has been on this story the last couple days. Puerto Rico's governor needs to formally request activation of the TSA program...once he does, thousands of Puerto Ricans would be eligible to apply for FEMA-paid hotel rooms...including the 3897 Puerto Ricans that remain in emergency shelters today, more than a month after Maria hit.

So if you think it's hard to find a hotel room in Puerto Rico now...just wait until thousands of locals start trying to book them too.

Here's more from David Begnaud - his reporting is a great source for the status of progress on the island:

Unfortunately, we cannot be flexible really on the way home. I booked Air Canada's non-stop flight back to Toronto from San Juan on the day they released it back in February to obtain a decent price (not really decent, but one-third what it was selling for later). I was worried that my flight may be cancelled since it is no longer on their website, so I called them yesterday and they informed me that the only reason it was not showing was that it is 100% sold out, so they took it off the site and all is fine. That said, my flight is for January 7th, so I hope it is intact.

 

We need to be back into Toronto at a decent hour since we have a few hours drive to do and all must be at work and school the following morning. This planned New Year trip has been a constant worry between port changes, the question of if our ship would be embarking in San Juan (NCL Dawn), possible hotel cancellations, Airbnb cancellations, Delta already cancelled our flight down and never bothered to tell us, and now hearing what you are saying has me worried that Air Canada will be abandoning us as well. UGgghhh....

When I had a twitter chat with Air Canada, they gave me the same line...that the flight on Nov 25 was sold out. I found it suspicious that seats in all classes had been available at a good price the day before and that they all disappeared overnight.

Doubly suspicious was that EVERY flight to and from San Juan throughout the months of December and January had sold out.

If you go on the AC website and try to book a new flight, the first nonstop you'll find is January 13th. I suspect all AC flights up until then are being cancelled, and that happens to coincide with when Westjet is restarting their San Juan service.

If you're in a hurry to get back to Toronto, there are actually a couple options with connections that actually arrive earlier than that AC flight.

We also used to by the wine package, where we would get three or five bottles for a set price. Has anyone seen this offered lately...as suggested above, perhaps at Vintages? In particular, anyone seen such an offering recently in Freedom of the Seas?

It feels like half the families in PR yanked their kids out of school to cruise. If you choose to book in the Fall to avoid kids you will not be a happy camper.

No Puerto Rican parents have 'yanked their kids out of school'! Schools in Puerto Rico have been closed for over a month - since Maria hit, and are unlikely to open anytime soon. Those schools that aren't damaged are being used as emergency shelters.

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/young-people-in-puerto-rico-await-a-return-to-school/4078043.html

Insurance won’t pay if the cruise line doesn’t cancel the sailing except for “cancel for any reason” coverage which most people don’t have because it is much more expensive and only reimburses 75%.

 

RC was not required to cancel the cruise or move the ship but people don’t have to sail with them in the future. Many of us won’t.

 

Kathy

It depends on the specific language in your insurance policy. My cancellation on Jewel was covered due to and Advisory being issued by the Government of Canada not to travel to Puerto Rico. Alternatively, my policy also has a clause that covers me for trips to destinations subject to a natural disaster...with FEMA still very active in Puerto Rico, I would think that would qualify. But it really depends on the language in your policy.