jy_cruisefan

2 hours ago, Fouremco said:

On our return flight from FFL to YOW, somewhere in the baggage-handling process, someone dropped my suitcase, knocking off one wheel and crushing that corner of the suitcase. Yesterday afternoon I submitted a claim to Porter, and this morning I received a choice between a cash settlement or a voucher for a future flight that was double the value of the cash. As the suitcase was over ten years old and had seen a lot of travel, the amounts offered were very generous, and I was amazed at the speed with which the claim was handled.

 

Given the common perception that making any form of claim agains airlines can be a source of frustration these days, I must say that I was very happily surprised in dealing with Porter on this issue. As we need to book return flights to Vancouver for a Hawaiian cruise later this year, the voucher offer is a great option.

So bottom line, your flight was over a hour late departing, the washrooms didn't work, and they broke some of you luggage. I think I'll get up early and take the Air Canada flight. 

20 hours ago, Fouremco said:

The flights themselves were fine, with one major exception. On the outbound flight, with an hour left to go, the captain came on the radio to announce that the plane's holding tank was full and that the toilets could no longer be used. 🙄 I don't know how often they empty the tanks, but clearly there's an issue with their maintenance scheduling

Yikes. 

We are booked on the direct flight from YOW to FLL later this week. From what I have seen, when checking the flight status for the same flight for the past two weeks, this flight is regularly delayed 2 hours or more. Any ideas why? Cannot get a hold of Porter to find out. Hate to admit it, but I should have paid the extra few dollars and booked with Air Canada.

Just priced direct flights from Ottawa to FLL in January. Really good price.
 

18 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I'm 59 years old but every time I board a cruise 🚢 ship, I'm like a kid again. I can't wait to explore the ship, have some food 🍔 and a drink 🍸, and just take it all in. We always bring a backpack with the necessary items in case it takes a while for our bags to be delivered to the room. Not once in 12 cruises have I been disappointed that I couldn't go to my room immediately. Like @edspec said above, there's such a thing as respecting others' viewpoints. Mine is that cruising is so much fun and I look forward to it so much, I can't be bothered with fussing over when the room is ready. After all, I'm going to be spending plenty of time there over the course of the 7+ days we're on board. What's the rush? Again, my viewpoint only. Please respect it even if your preferences differ from mine. 😊

Couldn't agree more. Just have my backpack with all my essentials.
We are about to embark on our 2nd NCL cruise in early September from NY. We've been on many other lines including Celebrity, Princess, RCL, and Carnival. Doesn't matter which ship I'm on, I still get chills when I take my first step aboard. Any day on a cruise ship beats any day at work 🙂

1 minute ago, mjkacmom said:

Right in front, drop luggage with a porter.

Hello again. So the driver can drop us off on the West side of 12th avenue in front of Pier 90?

Thank you

On 7/9/2023 at 12:37 PM, navybankerteacher said:

The drop off is simple, but a pick up at MCT can be a nightmare - especially if there are several thousand passengers debarking with you.  Our approach is to arrange to meet our ride near the corner of West 49th Street (which is midway between piers 88 and 90) and the east side of 12th Avenue.  We pick a time - say 9:30 or so, and walk across to the east side of 12th Ave and then call our ride , who will be hanging out nearby - and can come westbound on 49th and pick us up, then turn right on 12th.

Hello. We will be taking an Uber from our Hotel near Times Square to the port to board our NCL cruise. where/how will the driver drop us off to board our cruise?

Thank you

8 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Well, I will pass along the name of the place we have stayed at several times now...but with several caveats. 

 

Astors Belgravia is literally just around the corner from the station. About 2 minutes walk, even pulling luggage.  BUT, this is by no means a luxury hotel! It is a "typical" European style hotel meaning that the rooms are VERY small and small beds. It's rather quaint and the people who work there really fall all over themselves to make you feel welcome.  They all appear to be Romanian, Ukrainian... IDK.

No elevators, very narrow stairways. They have a nice little breakfast area serving a continental style breakfast in the mornings. They occupy 3 adjacent buildings on Ebury Street.

 

Don't book Astors thinking you're going to get a mainstream hotel. Pay close attention to the pics on their website and look at the rooms and descriptions.   You can book through Booking.com, I don't think they book directly any longer, they used to.

 

If your main objective is a place to sleep and crazy close to Victoria Coach Station...then *maybe* Astors is for you.

We'll definitely check it out. Clean and quiet is what we are looking for. This seems to fit the bill. Thank you so much for your reply. 

On 6/19/2023 at 8:12 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

We have done this transfer many times.  We stay at a hotel very near the Coach Station.  I currently have the transfer booked for a sailing in November, but our plans have just changed so I *may* be cancelling the transfer.  It's very convenient since they handle your luggage all the way to your cabin on the ship!  There are definitely cheaper ways but none as convenient.

Hello.

We have also booked the Princess shuttle from Victoria Coach Station to Southampton in November. We will be staying 2 nights in London and are looking for a reasonably priced hotel close to Victoria Coach Station. Any recommendations? Thank you in advance

Yes. Received in regular mail in less than 7 business days. Activated and ready for our next trip on Friday. 

Thank you for the responses. Hopefully will have them before our California Coastal cruise on May 20.

Hello. We just had our interview, and were given final approval for our Nexus cards. How long does it take to have them delivered (we live in Ottawa), and how are they delivered? I.e. do we need to be home to receive them?

Thank you

Hello. 

Are the Drinks at Bellinis included in the Princess Plus Package? I.e. are they more than $15. I know that they were not included in the previous Princess Plus package. If anyone currently onboard could post a picture of the Bellinis drink menu with prices, that would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Thank you for all of your responses. Much appreciated. With the extreme record cold temperatures expected here tomorrow, hopefully they can still get the planes started 🙂 

2 hours ago, lx200gps said:

Can't help with the MPC question, but last November, having NEXUS gave us a very quick passage through the process at YUL on our way to FLL. Sorry, didn't notice whether there was an MPC line.  If you have NEXUS, its the way to go. If you don't have NEXUS, you should look into it.  NEXUS/Global Entry not only speeds things up here in Canada, it also helps on the return out of the US.

Thanks.We leave on Friday, so I will comment once we get back. We do have our Nexus interviews in April, so we'll be good for the next time. 🙂 

6 minutes ago, thon said:

What is MPC?

It is the Mobile Passport Control app that US Customs and Border Control has released in order to expedite the process of filling out a customs form.
Mobile Passport Control | U.S. Customs and Border Protection (cbp.gov)

Hello.

We will be leaving from Ottawa, connecting in YUL, and pre-clearing US customs in YUL on our way to FLL. I have completed and saved the MPC form in the app for both of us.

Is there a separate MPC line at US Customs that goes faster?

Also, when do I actually need to submit the form? I.e. Immediately on arrival in Montreal? When I get to the CBP Officer?

Thank you

Following along here from the Great White North. It just started snowing here (again). Will be on the February 12th Super Bowl Sunday sailing. 

11 hours ago, Ilovesailaway said:

I have often flown to FLL for a cruise from POM. I have done the rail, taxi, uber, and rental options. I have also traveled to Miami as soon as I land and I have stayed near FLL.

In my experience without a doubt the most straight forward, cost effective, and lease stressful way to do it is to stay at a FLL area hotel and use a company like SAS transportation to get to POM the next morning. They have a long list of hotels on their website that they pick up from.

Obviously flying into MIA for a POM cruise is preferable but often times cheaper flights and cheaper hotels can be found in Fort Lauderdale.

Agree. We have used SAS from Fort Lauderdale hotel to POM. We are using them for our cruise in February of this year. Very prompt and efficient. Note that the SAS website has a list of all of the hotels that they service. There are many to choose from.

We are sailing on Oasis of the Seas, from Feb 5-12, and then on Carnival Celebration from Feb 12-19. We will need to get from Terminal A to Terminal F (this is where the Celebration Docks). I assume that we will be able to just jump in a cab to take us to Terminal F. 

Will be on the Celebration for Superbowl in February. Where is the best place to watch the game with sound? I know they will probably show it on the big screen by the main pool, but will it also have the sound from the Fox broadcast?

Thanks

I will definitely call RCI to see what they say.

Thanks

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

There's a wide range of gifts that they can purchase for you, but not gift certificates. If you read the Terms and Conditions, they explain this at some length, although they don't say why.  If none of the available gifts have any appeal, the best alternative would be for your children to buy you USD that you can apply to your onboard account.

Thanks. I do like the US dollar idea. 🙂 

Hello.

We would like to provide our children a means to purchase gift certificates/onboard credits for us for our upcoming sailing on Oasis of the Seas in February. However, the RCI gift Certificates website (Give the Gift of Cruising (royalcaribbeancertificates.com) states that they are only available to US residents. Is there any other way for non US (Canadian) residents to purchase them online?

Thank you.

Hello. We would also like to provide our children a means to purchase onboard credit for us for our upcoming sailing on Oasis in February. However, the RCI gift Certificates website states that they are only available to US residents. Is there any other way for non US residents to purchase them online?

Thank you.