Fouremco

For many countries, you can apply for a visa (or other travel authorization) online, and there is a government webpage that you can use. But there are also many private enterprises that have webpages that will provide the same service, but at an additional cost. The websites are designed to look as if they are official government sites. Sometimes their services come at quite an outrageous additional cost. For example, one website charges $89 for a US ESTA, significantly higher that the $21 charged by the official US government website. So just be careful when looking for the governments website if you wish to avoid paying a higher price. Caveat emptor.

Be aware that there are a number of variations of a visa and that in some cases, a "travel authorization" may be required instead of a visa. Be sure to check well in advance to see if the countries you will be visiting require a visa, e-visa, ETIAS, ESTA, eTA or similar. This website will provide you with the necessary information: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/

As the other posters have indicated, you have things well in hand. For this cruise, your Canadian passport will suffice. Cruise line and port requirements aside, I'd ensure that I was up to date with COVID boosters and travel with documentation to prove it. Enjoy your cruise.

I thought it might be like booking a cruise, the money goes directly to the cruise line, but you still get the 2%. If Manulife invoices you directly, though, perhaps not. Hopefully you'll get a pleasant surprise!

Plus the 2% cash back I assume.

You have multiple options. You can book an open jaws ticket into AMS and back from FLL with the same airline; you can book two separate tickets, one to AMS and one from FLL, either on the same airline or on two different airlines; you can book directly with the airline(s) or through your crude line. Or you can go to a travel agent and ask them to find the best combination. I like doing the research myself, but I have the time and the inclination to do so. I'm partial to KLM, but would consider any of the airlines flying to AMS.

By far the easiest and most accurate approach.

A passport, passport card, official birth certificate, a Trusted Traveler Program card such as NEXUS, and an EDL are some that come to mind. I believe that any of the US documents accepted by USCBP as proof of US citizenship for re-entry to the US following a closed loop cruise would be accepted by CBSA for disembarkation in Canada.

I say again, Canadian legislation does not require a US citizen to have a passport when embarking upon or disembarking from a cruise in Canada. From the CBSA: Foreign National Passenger Clearance The following persons do not require a passport to enter Canada; however, they must provide sufficient documentation to establish their identity and citizenship: U.S. Citizens; Resident Aliens of the U.S. seeking entry from the U.S. or St. Pierre et Miquelon; Persons registered as Indians under the Indian Act in Canada; Citizens of Canada; and Permanent Residents of Canada (Landed Immigrants). Foreign nationals from any other country are required to have a valid passport. https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/cscp-pdnc-eng.html#a15d From your own State Department? Entry into Canada: Canadian law requires that all persons entering Canada carry proof of citizenship and identity. A valid U.S. passport, passport card, or NEXUS card satisfies these requirements for U.S. citizens. Children under 16 only need proof of U.S. citizenship. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Canada.html As @Charles4515 has pointed out, this requirement for cruises originating or terminating in the US stems from US legislation.

Ah, that's the piece I was missing. Thanks for the explanation, very much appreciated. If you reread our previous exchanges, you'll see that I was referring to Canadian entry requirements, not those of the US.

Do you have any idea why? I'm not arguing the point, just trying to understand the logic behind it.

There's no difference in entry requirements between a one day port visit and a tourist visit up to 180 days. Other types of entry - to study, to work, etc. - require a visa.

Yes, that's one of many differences between the two types of cruises, but it still doesn't explain why they might have a different approach to documentation. Both start in the US, then enter Canada at some point. Canada's entry requirements are the same whether you get back on the ship and sail back to the US or whether you stay for a week and then hop a train back to the US. In any event, as I said, I was just curious, and I fully recognize that RCI can set document requirements as they see fit.

As I've said many times before, their ships, their rules, but I was hoping that you might have some insight into why they might view a difference between open and closed loop cruises within the context of this thread.

As Canada and the US have essentially the same entry requirements for children, and as either an open loop or closed loop cruise would require entry into both countries, I'm not sure what the difference would be. As the OP seems to have resolved her issue now, it's rather a moot point now, but I am curious.

Would it be possible for you to post a screen grab of the revised information on FB? I've looked and have seen nothing suggesting that eVIsas issued before October 1 could still be used. The travel.gc.ca website continues to state the following: If you travel to Egypt on an electronic visa on or after October 1, 2023, your visa will be considered void, and you will be denied boarding and/or entry into Egypt.

It's all a question of timing. If the strike is called shortly before your January flight, there will be a scramble to grab whatever last minute seats are still available on other airlines. AC may attempt to get you on an alternate flight, but at that late date, might not be successful. And the straight refund won't be much help if there aren't any seats left to book. Tying up the price of those Porter (or other airline) refundable bookings for a few months may not be something anyone wants to do, but it ensures that your travel plans to NZ remain intact. Personally, I'd rather lose a few dollars in interest on that money than risk having no flight to Vancouver.

Isn't air travel fun???😇

Neither the US nor Canadian governments require that your passport be valid for 6 months beyond the end of your cruise. That said, RCI can set any requirement it chooses: their ships, their rules. A number of years ago, we were booked on a Boston - Montreal cruise with HAL. At the port, we were refused boarding with our NEXUS cards and told that we absolutely need passports to enter Canada. Fortunately, we never travel without our passports, so we were ok in the end. The silly thing was that the year before, we had no trouble at all in Vancouver boarding a HAL closed loop Alaskan cruise. But in your discussions with RCI, are they also saying that state-issued birth certificates aren't sufficient for the children? Maybe if you called without even mentioning passports and simply confirmed that the children are ok with BC. Good luck!

You might want to book a fully refundable Porter direct flight YOW-YVR. If there's an AC pilots strike, you will still make your Air NZ flight. If there's no strike, cancel Porter and get your refund. Others here are employing similar strategies.

Let's see, notoriously questionable information from a couple of cruise lines is that cruise passengers don't need to get visas ahead of time. But the Egyptian embassy and the Canadian government say you do. Hmmm, which one am I going to listen to... 🤔

While the fee structure shown on the website will no longer apply to Canadians, it does reflect more than a doubling of the fee for a multi-entry visa. I wouldn't be surprised to see the same thing happening for Canadians. Types of visa and fees The type of visa you must have is defined by the Arab Republic of Egypt and Visa Regulations, and relates to the purpose of your travel. 1. Tourism Visa: Issued for single or multiple entries to persons whose nationalities require visas to enter Egypt. Visa type Visa fees Single entry visa (Tourism) 25$ Multiple entries visa (Tourism) 60$ https://visa2egypt.gov.eg/eVisa/FAQ?VISTK=M50K-SF75-5UF1-2B94-ND9U-ZXZH-7VOQ-FCLJ-RXP5-EX4S-J169-XEMA-1TEA-MX4Y-LT8Y-O39H I'd think that the peace of mind not worrying about what might happen would be worth the price of your visas and the drive to Ottawa. Hopefully Celebrity received accurate information from their Egyptian government interlocutors.

Back about 10 years ago we stopped sailing on HAL because they continued to allow smoking on the balconies, long after other lines had banned it. We eventually returned when HAL finally took that step, but I'd dearly love to see an all-inclusive non-smoking policy within the ship.

Happy to help out. It's obvious once you know where it is, but it does take some looking around. As @DCwom noted, not great web page design. I hope that you enjoy the luau!

The promo code, "early10", is right there on the booking page: