Fouremco

As no one else has addressed this issue, remember that entry requirements for the countries you will be visiting may be very different for a citizen of Brazil than for an American citizen. You might want to check to ensure that there are no potential issues on that front. A number of years ago, there was an interesting thread about a foreign national on a US student visa who booked a HAL cruise to Alaska. He was denied boarding in Seattle as the cruise stopped in Victoria and he hadn't bothered to get a Canadian visa. Good luck on all fronts!

Well, that's fine in theory, but the passengers who booked that cabin might have done so months or even a couple of years ago. It would be impossible for HAL to know at the time of booking that there might be a problem at some distant future date.

Well, live and learn. In my experience, baggage claim areas were alphabetical, not colour coded, but if terminals/cruise lines are using colour coding now, so be it. But they might want to separate green from lime green time slots to avoid problems like the one you experienced.

You might want to see if your employer is willing to pay for NEXUS. It's cheaper ($50 USD vs $78 USD) and include a greater range of benefits, including TSA PreCheck. I've never understood why someone would get TSA PreCheck alone when they can get it included with the cheaper NEXUS package.

Are you sure? This is the first time that I've heard of any linkage between your disembarkation time slop and the delivery of your baggage in the terminal.

There have been lots of posts by Canadians who have had or are considering having their interview in the US, but you are the first American I've seen wanting to be interviewed in Canada. As long as you can schedule it that day in sufficient time prior to your departure, I can't see any reason why it should't work. Good luck!

We too are on Symphony embarking in late January, with our kids and grandkids. Neither the app nor the website is currently listing the Zip Line.

???

The only rule I'm familiar with for refilling water bottles is to use a clean glass to get your water and use that to pour it into your bottle rather than bringing he mouth of your bottle up to the spigot.

The Australian Department of Health and Aged Care webpages make no direct mention of vaccination or testing being required as far as I can see, but as you rightly point out, the "operational health protocols" do address these requirements. Cruise travel Check with your cruise provider for up-to-date travel requirements for your ship and destination. Vaccination There is no Australian Government requirement for travellers to be vaccinated on board a cruise vessel. However, we recommend: COVID-19 vaccination, as you are at the greatest risk of developing severe illness and long COVID-19 if you are unvaccinated reconsidering your travel on cruises if you are unvaccinated. Outbreaks onboard a cruise Cruise ships carry a higher risk for spreading disease compared to other types of travel. COVID-19, influenza, and other infectious diseases spread easily between people living and socialising in close quarters. If an outbreak of COVID-19 occurs on your cruise, you may need to: quarantine on the ship disembark and follow the local rules in the state or territory or country you are in. Before you travel, check the Smartraveller advice on cruises. Contact your travel agent or cruise operator for specific information on their COVID-19 safety protocols. State and territory governments develop and update the operational health protocols which support cruising in Australia. Cruise industry protocols also help reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission on cruise ships, including: vaccination requirements for passengers outbreak management plans COVID-19 safety plans. https://www.health.gov.au/topics/covid-19/travel With respect to the operational health protocols, these cruise requirements were last updated on July 17, 2023: COVID-19 travel: Health information for Cruise Ship passengers Cruising can be a great way to see Queensland, Australia and the world. Before booking a cruise, it’s important for you to know some important health information related to cruise ships. About COVID-19 and cruising The Queensland, New South Wales, Victorian and Western Australian Governments have developed and reviewed the Eastern Seaboard Cruising Protocols in close partnership with the cruise industry to support the safe operation of cruising across Australia's Eastern Seaboard and Western Australia. The protocols require passengers to: Be vaccinated for COVID-19 if they are over 12 years of age. It is strongly recommended that all eligible passengers (including children) are up to date with their recommended COVID-19 vaccinations prior to travel. Undergo COVID-19 testing and health screening before boarding the cruise. It is recommended that after disembarkation all cruise passengers monitor closely for COVID-19 symptoms and if these develop at any time, get tested for COVID-19 and isolate until they receive a negative result. https://teq.queensland.com/au/en/industry/crisis-management/advice-for-travellers There are several more bullet points, but these first two address the vaccination and testing requirements. The extensive Eastern Seaboard Cruising Protocols can be found here: https://www.dtis.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/1615610/eastern-seaboard-cruise-protocols.pdf These vaccination and testing requirements are reflected on the cruise line websites that I have visited.

Interesting question. In US, some states require the tax to be charged, but others don't. The same applies to ports in Europe and elsewhere. If you have a beverage package that has, for the sake of the argument, a $15 per drink ceiling, in most cases you will pay an extra amount only if the combined drink price plus tax exceeds $15. In our only cruise to date that included eastern Canadian ports, we had a drink package and were oblivious to the possibility of taxes as we never paid anything extra. The same with an Alaskan cruise, we weren't charged extra for drinks taken while still in Vancouver. I'll be interested in others' experiences, and what the different provinces charge.

There are web browsers (Opera) and password managers (Dashlane) that have built in VPNs. They may not have all of the bells and whistles of the better paid VPNs, but may be suitable for the infrequent user.

Most (all?) major cruise line included vaping as they established smoking bans. To start allowing vaping now is a truly regressive step, particularly given the ever-increasing realization within the medical community of the extent to which vaping threatens both the user and those exposed second hand. Hopefully Celebrity's testing will include a thorough review of the medical evidence.

Yes, It's open Wednesdays through Sundays between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Yes, T1 and T3 according to this article: https://www.canada.ca/en/transport-canada/news/2023/06/minister-of-transport-announces-pilot-for-dedicated-verified-traveller-lines-coming-soon-to-ottawa-international-airport-and-halifax-stanfield-inte.html#

You will definitely have dead spots once you hit the Gulf of St. Lawrence. No problems in port, but for much of the Gulf and then the Atlantic once past Cape Breton, ships cruise too far from shore to enable cell coverage. Here's the Rogers coverage map: https://www.rogers.com/mobility/network-coverage-map

Enjoy your Romantic Rhine cruise! 😊

Royal Caribbean has a similar requirement, but numerous posters have pointed out that they have travelled with passports that were due to expire within six months. Conversely, no one reported that they had been refused boarding or were aware of others being refused boarding for this reason. Perhaps the enforcement of this policy depends on the countries being visited and their entry regulations. If you haven't already done so, I would suggest posing this question on the board for your cruise line. Many Americans do use passports, and the same rules would apply to them, so there's no need to restrict your research to the Canadian board. Given the fact that travel between Canada and the US only requires a passport to be valid for the duration of the visit, it seems highly unlikely that any cruise line is going to demand an additional six-month period of validity for an Alaskan cruise.

Definitely. NEXUS members are Trusted Travellers and are always entitled to use the preferred Trusted Traveller lines.

And on just about any subject! 🙄

HAL's position:

While there are additional steps required for processing initial applicants, much of their vetting and that of renewal applicants is handled by the same limited human resources within CBP/CBSA. And CBP/CBSA are in turn dependant upon the resources of other departments and agencies for much of their record checking. They too are often swamped with requests from multiple other departments and agencies. CBSA conducts records checks on a number of different federal databases, including the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), the Integrated Customs Enforcement System (ICES), the Interdiction and Border Alert System (IBAS). When there is cause, they will also check the US National Crime Information Center (NCIC). With CPIC, the RCMP's timeframe for processing electronically submitted fingerprints if there is a possible match to a criminal record is 120 business days. In some cases, more time may be required due to the submission of incomplete information or in an effort to clarify parts of the application with local police. I've no idea how many new or renewing applicants are rejected by CBP and CBSA, but I know how things can be delayed with any form of screening, even if the person is entirely faultless. For a good number of years, I volunteered with organizations that were required to screen volunteers who would be working with children or other vulnerable persons. This entailed submitting a form to the Ottawa Police Service for a records check, with a slow turn around at the best of times due to the sheer volume received by the OPS. In my case, the records check raised a flag each time, and I would eventually be called in for a fingerprint check. My best guess is that someone withe a similar name or other identifiers had a criminal record, so the fingerprint checks were needed to ensure that I wasn't the person in question. So on top of the already slow initial turnaround time, it took the OPS a few extra weeks to process my application and give me a thumbs up. Given the huge backlog of both applications and renewals, and the nature of the vetting system, it really isn't surprising that we continue to experience delays. As those with renewals underway can continue to use their existing cards, even after their expiry date, I've no idea why you've seen so few fellow travellers in the fast lanes.

Rather than repeating this link on every Lahaina thread, you might want to just add it to the specific thread dealing with the fire.

Yes, this is yet another variation of the many websites that will acquire your visas or other travel authorizations on your behalf. At an additional cost, of course. If you search using Google, an indicator that the site is a commercial website and not a government one is the Sponsored label. BTW, thanks for the reminder. I wanted to renew our NEXUS cards this week, and I'll get to it as soon as I submit this post. 😊