OrcaGirl

The billionaire does own the tug company. Dennis Washington owns Washington Group which owns Seaspan (run by his son) which owns the tug service, whose unionized workers are currently on strike.

Law enforcement / government in Canada are unlikely to get involved in an ongoing strike action unless it's for an essential service. (Which may be why they're blocking the cruise ship versus, say, the container ship port next door.) I'm sure this is a jurisdictional nightmare for everyone involved; you've got a federal port authority, local unions (not just the tug operators but the dockside port staff and security who may be reluctant or outright not allowed to interfere), a major marine corporation owned by an American billionaire, plus an international cruise line.

I don't think the Eclipse is big enough to have its clearance under the bridge affected by the tides. That's usually only an issue for the larger ships that are based out of Seattle and very infrequently come to Vancouver, e.g. the NCL Bliss/Encore.

Oh interesting! My husband and I were having dinner near Canada Place last night and watched the Nieuw Amsterdam sail away, and then walked over to the other side of Canada Place to get a look at the Eclipse (my next cruise is on the Solstice) about 30 min before it was set to depart. I had no idea there was anything going on, but now that I look at the photos I took last night, I can see the barge.

I'm also trying to find out about transfers from LAX to the port for the Mexican Riviera sailings. I booked my flights independently. When I go to Flights and More, the 'Transfers & Buses' button is greyed out (unclickable). Same for the 'Bundle Your Travel' button that's supposed to combine flights and transfers. Anyone know if they're offering them at all out of LAX, or perhaps if they're just not booking them until closer to the sail date? (I'm currently 67 days out.) I used a cruise ship transfer from LAX to the port back in April with NCL, and it was so convenient. I did see staff from Princess and at least one other cruise line at the airport, but can't remember if it was Celebrity or not.

Depending on the complexity of the modification, perhaps try emailing them? I called and did the long wait to get my booking, but didn't have my guest's birthdate on hand. Instead of calling back the next day to add her to my reservation, I emailed them at bluechipclub@celebrity.com with the information; it took them a couple of days to reply, but they handled the request easy-peasy.

Second attempt at calling took me 2 hours 20 minutes on hold, but then I got through. As someone else mentioned, the agent couldn't find a record of me being sent the offer so I had to forward the email, but that was the only hiccup. My first choice sailing still had availability, and I got booked into a nice 2B on deck 7 for $284US of taxes and fees. Interestingly, after initially asking if I wanted to be charged in US or Canadian funds, he then backtracked and said casino offers can only be paid for in USD.

1 hour 30 min on hold this morning, then it rang, and then… silence. And the call was cut off. 😝 Trying again this afternoon…

I’ve often brought an alcoholic beverage into the thermal spa on the Bliss and Encore, not wine but a mudslide or pina colada in a plastic cup. Only issue I had was when I had an Aperol Spritz in a proper glass leftover from lunch… the spa desk attendant just asked me to pour it into a plastic cup once I was inside. I expect if I’d been trying to drink the beverages in the pool or hot tub, that would have been an issue but I just liked to sip my beverage while reading in the loungers.

We were on the Bliss for the Mexican Riviera sailing over Christmas last year, and loved it. There were beautiful decorations throughout the ship, there was a special holiday performance in the theatre that involved guests' kids as well as a selection of the regular performers (sort of a Christmas concert), and Santa and his elves were in the Atrium on Christmas day. Plus a special Christmas menu in all the dining rooms / restaurants.

Has anyone been told that their preferred sailing date isn't available anymore for this offer? I've filled out the form but not called in yet.