bubbadogmom

Hi,

We are sailing out of Port Canaveral Nov 26. We arrive the day before at 200pm. We don’t have to stay anywhere fancy - we like Hilton Garden, Hampton, etc. Would like it to have a decent pool and a few restaurants and a drugstore or supermarket we could walk to. Just trying to decide if we should stay by the airport where it costs less and take an Uber to the port the morning of the cruise or stay closer to the Port and have a shorter trip on the morning of the cruise. 
 

Thanks for any thoughts or ideas! 
 

KJ 

Canadian - First time cruising out of Port Canaveral. Flying in the day before. Out the same day. Trying for a flight at 100pm or later.  The port is further away from the airport than I expected. With our dollar, the hotel costs are a little pricy these days. I like to stay at Homewood Suites, Hampton Inn type places. Do you think it would be more cost effective to stay at a hotel near the airport and get a shuttle or Uber the day of to the Port (not in a rush, probably can’t board til noonish anyway), or should we try and stay at a hotel closer to the Port? Thanks for your thoughts! 

Hi all. I’ve done 15 or so cruises and thought I had this figured out but with no travel in 4 years maybe things have really changed. 
 

Going on Odessey next week. I chose my time dining, I like to eat around 530-545 (lots of reasons but I don’t think they matter). I tried to book my times tonight and it said that my time dining doesn’t start until 645. Is this correct? That’s horrible! The earliest I could book is 715 all week. 😔  I would have booked 600pm early seating if I had known. Why would they do that? Where could I go for help to change it? Thanks for any help. 

I loved Stingray sailing too and was looking forward to seeing them again, but I emailed and this was the response 😔

5 hours ago, Grattan said:

Cancelled March cruise on RCI, latest information from Chief Medical Officer for Ontario, Omicron peak not expected for 6 to 8 weeks. Also after reading posts from others the decision was made. We took the cruise credit as we have another cruise booked in October, so hopefully we will be able to go.

I’m trying for November. Cancelling my Feb 06 tomorrow 😔

29 minutes ago, mek said:

Lift and Shift offered price protection, but it had to be the same cruise - or almost the same for roughly a year out from the original sail date.

I agree with the rest - I would wait as long as possible and see how this plays out.

That would have worked. I’m trying to book the exact same cruise in November. Apparently it’s not an option for me. 

Thanks guys! I have until January 7. Fingers crossed! 

Hi all,

I am from Canada and after the latest announcement that RCL won’t be providing tests on board to get us home to Canada (we are flying), it’s going to be too stressful with a noon flight, plus everything else going on, I have to cancel our Feb 6 Odessey cruise. 
 

I’ve never had to ask a question like this and I don’t want to seem greedy. When I originally booked it was an ok price. Then 2 months ago there was an amazing sale and I called and was able to get the lower price. It really helped and I was so excited as it meant we could afford an excursion and a specialty dinner package. I saved almost $1000. 
 

Is there a way of changing the date but keeping the price? It’s the exact same cruise. If I cancel and rebook I lose everything I gained on the price drop and it’s more expensive now 😔. 
 

I was hoping someone knew if that was an option so when I call, I know what my options are (as theirs are not always consistent). 
 

Thank you in advance for any guidance!

I’m glad they provide the option but it sounds like it’s at the terminal after you get off - I’m not confident that we would get results in time if our flight is at noon. 😞

Federal govt says not to travel internationally for min 4 weeks. They said they’d update the travel.gc.ca site within 2 hours. Are we just done then? Does this void all travel insurance if there is a travel advisory in place? After 2 years of not knowing if we could go, then last month things were looking good - I was SO EXCITED.  Is it just done then? 😔💔

Thanks! I booked it. 

Anyone stay at Hyatt Centric Las Olas Fort Lauderdale? I traditionally book only where there is an airport and cruise shuttle but I noticed many people saying the port etc is so close that a taxi /Uber is cheap and should not dictate my hotel choice. 
 

For me, I usually find rates around $160-$220 for Hamptons, Embassy Suites type hotels, but this year I’m finding them really expensive (mock booking this week is $170, my dates in February are all $280 and waaaaay up!) Also, recent reviews of the places I’ve stayed aren't so great these days. 

I’m going outside my comfort zone but I booked there. 😬. It’s downtown and has no airport shuttle or cruise shuttle - am I making a mistake? 
 

Thanks for your thoughts! 

3 hours ago, frteach said:

Finally, the news that many Canadians have been waiting to hear. Hoping that cruise lines other than Celebrity will see the light as well. I have AZ and Pfizer. Great news for Celebrity cruisers. 

13 hours ago, TorontoNewbieCruiser said:

 

Nope, I had the same question and I was chatting with a Royal rep last night and he wasn't even aware that the CDC has now approved the AZ+mRNA combination.  I had to provide him with the link to the CDC info.  After seeing the link, he said that they should be working on it and that we should see an update within the next 5 days -- his words, not mine.

I hope so. I have 8 days to see if they update. Hurry up! Lol 

2 hours ago, frteach said:

Finally, the news that many Canadians have been waiting to hear. Hoping that cruise lines other than Celebrity will see the light as well. I have AZ and Pfizer. Great news for Celebrity cruisers. 

I usually book Celebrity. This one is Royal 🤦🏼‍♀️

1 hour ago, K_e_short said:

 If your flight is two days before the cruise can you do the test the day you fly out? Someone else on another thread is in that situation.

The test to enter the U.S. has to be WITHIN 3 days so you could do your antigen test the day you leave?

 

There is a place near the Fort Lauderdale airport that does same day PCR testing. Why not check it out? It is expensive though.

 

https://www.covidfll.com/appointments

 

You could also see if you could get a test at the Miami airport? I think it says that you dont' need a boarding pass?

 

https://news.miami-airport.com/covid-19-testing-available-daily-at-mia-starting-may-21/

 

i was at one point cruising out of Miami but the flight out of Fort Lauderdale was cheaper and a direct flight. I decided it was easier to fly out of Miami since they do same day PCR tests.

I don’t see how we could do it the day we fly out - even the “expedited tests say 3-6 hours” for results. We’d never make our flight. Unless there’s a testing place nearby that can give results in less than an hour 😔. 
 

At this point I’m not worried about returning to Canada as Royal is giving us free tests on the ship that I think qualify. If that’s not true I don’t know what we will do. I booked our flight after noon as I always do, but I don’t think that’s enough time - plus we can’t afford. $300 tests each. We are maxed on our budget as the hotels are 3x what they usually are - no idea why. Ugh! 

12 hours ago, K_e_short said:

 

You need an antigen test for air travel to the U.S. within 3 days and an antigen test for a cruise within 2 days.

So you need to decide if you want to try to find a place to test in the U.S. before you board your cruise OR get a test in Canada before you leave.

 

Here's a link to an article that explains the rules

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/us-canada-border-november-8-1.6212093 

 

 

Air travellers will need to show proof of vaccination on arrival in the U.S. but will still need to show a pre-departure negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of boarding their flight.

 

Non-essential travellers crossing at a land border will be required to show proof of vaccination or attest to their vaccination status upon request by a border agent — but unlike air travellers they will face no requirement to show a negative COVID-19 test."

My head is starting to spin with all the testing requirements. We are going on a cruise from Fort Lauderdale (test to board must be done no earlier than 2 days prior to cruise), but our flight is 2 days before the cruise - so it looks like we need 3 tests total. One to fly to the USA (which must be within 3 days apparently), so the test to fly will not be valid to board the cruise. You have to have a negative result to board the plane - so doing it the same day as our flight is out as it takes “approximately” 48 hours for results. 
 

Then another test to be able to fly home after the cruise. 
 

I want to be able to cruise again but this is overwhelming. 

4 hours ago, Froufie said:

I am also trying to find a FLL hotel for pre and post-cruise - and finding it impossible - $$ is not even the issue (altho I am seeing very high prices/January 2022 from about 250-300 US - I am canadian!)....  it is the reviews that are so bad - even higher priced hotels are awful - with bugs and stains and no customer service - I am truly shocked.

 

I know the hotel industry took a hit with the pandemic but sounds like they are not able to get good staff or recoverl or something?  I shall continue the hunt!  Just looking for a clean, well run hotel, with free airport shuttle and a pool (at least for post cruise)...a free breakfast would be a bonus!  LOL

I have found the same and I’ve been looking for 4 months. Rates for this week are around 130-160USD - same hotels Feb 4-6 are 280-400USD!
 

i thought I screwed up and booked a cruise on SuperBowl weekends but I didn’t!

I expected them to be a little higher but not double. I don’t think they will go down - I’ve been watching for months. It’s going to hurt that 2 nights pre cruise will be 1/3 cost of the cruise 😬🥴

Does that mean that an AZ/Pfizer mix is ok to cruise? I know they will look at updating their guidelines but I have less than a week to cancel without penalty. This is WAY too close for comfort for me…..😬

I’m happy for those people. Just frustrated it still excludes the million of us that have an AZ mix. 
 

I asked RCL if they were able to extend the cancel with no penalty date as I have only 2 weeks left for my 90 days. They said no. 😔

Crap. I was hopefully optimistic that meant those of us with an AZ/Pfizer or AZ/Moderna would be accepted. I see that’s still not good enough. 😔. I’m running out of time to cancel. 

I am devastated by this. We were told “strongly” to get the first vaccine available to us, so I took the AZ, then Pfizer and now I’m considered unvaccinated 💔. I guess I’m cancelling our cruise. If I can’t enjoy the full experience that fully vaccinated passengers can, it’s just not worth it. I am angry and so disappointed. 

I found them. Weird glitch. 80% of the roll calls were there - I realized I wasn’t logged in - once I did that the rest showed up. Thanks!

I can’t seen to find a roll call for Odessey - am I missing it somehow? I know she hasn’t sailed yet but I thought we’d have a roll call. I don’t think I can create one as the ship doesn’t seem to exist yet. I know I’m being overly optimistic that anyone will be cruising - but I need hope!

21 hours ago, molly361 said:

AND if booking a Grand suite or higher they are all non refundable as well as guarantee staterooms although there have been reports that sometimes they can be refundable but you still have to go all the way thru the booking process to find out.  Very annoying like stated above

No worries. No Grand Suite in my future! 😬🥴