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Thank you every one for your inputs.  It's very helpful. I think we have to do another cruise just for Greece.  For the 2023 summer, we will visit Italy, Spain and France.  Happy travels.

Hello,

I am planning our first Mediterranean cruise for June 2023 and would like to hear your suggestions of cruiseline and itinerary as the information is overwhelming.  We would like to visit Santorini and Rome for sure.  What else?

Thank you very much.

Just want to share.

As of 12:01AM ET on June 12, 2022, CDC will no longer require air passengers traveling from a foreign country to the United States to show a negative COVID-19 viral test or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before they board their flight. For more information, see Rescission: Requirement for Negative Pre-Departure COVID-19 Test Result or Documentation of Recovery from COVID-19 for all Airline or Other Aircraft Passengers Arriving into the United States from Any Foreign Country.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/international-travel/index.html

36 minutes ago, Gramma of Boys said:

Why would you have to take a test for this excursion?  You've already tested before embarkation and Canada does not have a testing requirement to enter the country.

My understanding is prior to April 28 (or whatever date that was), a negative test was required to enter Canada.  But that requirement was lifted in April.  However, lot of people are still unaware that they don't need a test to take this excursion.

Thanks to the recommendation on this boards, I just booked the Yukon Klondide Adventure excursion with Chilkoot Tours for July 30. 

Prior to booking I noticed that their website shows the 8:30 AM tour was not available.  They normally have 2 options: 8:30 and 9:30.  So I called and spoke with Stacy (the owner).  It turned out they had to cancel the 8:30 tour and combine it with the 9:30 since they only have a few passengers booked.  Stacy said that lot of passengers called and told her they wanted to cancel because they don't want to take a COVID test for this excursion.  She said the testing requirement is killing their business, but unfortunately many visitors are not aware that they don't need to test to enter Canada anymore.

If you are interested in this your and would like to do the 8:30 excursion, please add a note in the comment section.  If they have enough passengers interested in the 8:30 trip, they would move the tour to 8:30.  As of now, only the 9:30 slot is open for booking.  It's sad to hear these business still suffering from COVID.  I hope her company will have more customers soon.

@martincath Glad to hear you are doing well.  Thank you very much for a very detailed reply.  You are such a great resource for all of us fellow cruisers, as always.  I greatly appreciate it. 

We currently have some home test kits (iHealth Labs) we received complimentary in the US but I have noticed their website always shows "sold out" for the remote COVID test service observation.  Thank you for the link to Rapid Test & Trace.  You just solved my problem.

Have a fantastic day.

On 5/13/2022 at 5:59 PM, martincath said:

personally though I wouldn't risk any service not listed, and with 2 days on land before heading home you are probably much better off in terms of finance, time, and safety to bring a test with you that can be done with remote observation instead of lining up...

Hi Martincath - Hope you're doing well.  Thank you for this information. 

Can you please let me know how to reserve a "remote observation" (aka proctor) in Vancouver?  My family will arrive in Vancouver on a southbound Alaskan cruise with Princess, but we will stay in Vancouver the night of disembarkation day and will fly back to the U.S. the next day.  I like the idea of doing the self-test.

Thank you for your help as always.

I contacted the vendors to request for a cancellation of the excursions and requested for refunds since we are way out side of the penalty window for cancellation. However, one vendor suggested to issue a future voucher/ gift card and another said to put me on a list of people who requested for refund. 

At this point, we don’t know when we would take a vacation to Alaska, so I respectfully asked for a refund of our prepayments and an estimate timeline when I would receive the refunds. Following up with both vendors twice, but none have responded. These excursions are expensive especially the bear viewing, a few hundred dollars per person. 
 

I understand that these businesses are impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. But so is my family.  We prepaid thousands of dollars for our trip, the invoice says we can cancel up to 30 days for a full refund less 5% processing fees. But now they don’t want to refund us. 
 

Anyone has experienced any issues with your cancellations/ refunds?  Not sure what my bank could do in this case. 
 

You need to cancel through your travel agency.  Someone mentioned in another forum that the travel agency you used posted a form on their website for customer to submit a request for cruise cancellation.

8 hours ago, ROXIETHEHORSE said:

Can you dispute the charge since you did not authorize it? Might be a quicker way to get your money back.

That's what the TA suggested me to do.  I called the bank today and the rep I spoke with said that she had handled a few cases just like mine recently.  The payments are still pending transactions, so the bank could not dispute.  I will have to call back when it's posted to my account.

12 hours ago, Daniel A said:

May be time to look for a better TA.  I know I'm not using mine anymore.  All I've gotten is crickets even though she works for a very large national organization.  Good luck with your refund.

Thank you.  I don't know who will be our next TA, but I will definitely not go back this TA.  

3 hours ago, teddie2 said:

Wow that should not have happened. It clearly said on my reservation  If payment was not received by a certain date that the reservation would be canceled.

 I spoke to  the princess agent that helped me with my initial booking and he sent me some sort of cancelation notice but there's no indication of how much I had put down and would be refunded to me it was just a statement that I cancelled the reservation and showed the cost of the trip which was not helpful as it still does not prove they owe me $1500

 

Yes, the TA admitted that it was an error on her part.

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I should also add that I was very glad that we used EZ Air as the airfares were cancelled along with the cruise and we did not have to do anything with either of the airlines we were using for the round trip. In addition to the $ 200 off airfare they were giving as a promotion when we booked, that turned out to be another advantage.

That’s a great benefit. Next time when we cruise again I’ll consider this option.  Thanks for sharing. 

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

Did you go through the TA to cancel?

Yes, I cancelled through my TA. 

I have cancelled my family’s Alaskan cruise in July. At first we wanted to wait another month since the final payment date got moved to 60 days prior. However, the airline offered no fee cancellation until the end of April, for a full refund in a form of future travel credits. This is a huge advantage for us since our air tickets were expensive and non-refundable.  Tonight I went ahead and cancelled the cruise. 
 

What did not work out well is that, even though the final payment date was moved, my travel agent did not updated our account, and they charged my credit card for the balance of the cruise. Even though I called my travel agent when the payment was still a pending transaction, it was too late. Princess already got the money. Now, I have to wait 60 days to get the refund. My travel agent told me to contact the credit card company and request a dispute to get a refund faster. Not sure how that would work, but I’ll call the bank tomorrow and let them know the situation. 
 

Our cruise to Alaska (first Alaskan cruise) is in July.  I think (and hope) this virus will die down soon.  I am not overly concerned about it, and neither my teenage children.  However, hubby thinks differently and said if the issue is not getting better by final payment date (April), he wants us to cancel the trip.

On 2/18/2020 at 12:11 PM, scottbee said:

 

All you need to do is get in the elevator.  The cruise terminal is on the parkade level of the Pan Pacific, you don't even leave the building.

Thank you for the additional detail Scottbee.

On 2/16/2020 at 2:13 PM, martincath said:

Yes - if you can walk even 500 yards you will have many restaurant choices - but if you want something on the fancier side, Five Sails inside the hotel is excellent (and also has very nice views).

 

Technically only a cruise package includes the in-room baggage pickup; but a 'pre-emptive tip' to the bell staff would undoubtedly be a lot cheaper than the extra cost of the cruise package, so unless you also want a ridiculously overpriced breakfast included the package is poor value.

Great!  Thank you very much Martincath.

We want to try seafood (lobsters and crabs) restaurants in downtown Vancouver. One of the place that I came across is The Holy Crab. A lot of places advertise seafood but they have more of oysters and shrimps, not lobsters/ crabs. 
 

What other restaurants do you recommend around downtown Vancouver?

Thank you in advance. 

17 minutes ago, coo359a2 said:

I have done this.  When the waiter asked for room cards to pay the bill, I just gave him my room key to use to cover all the charges.

Thanks. I meant I want to prepay for specialty restaurant for my family and relatives in my cruise personalizer even if they are not in my stateroom.

When making reservation for specialty restaurants can I pay for all guests including those who are in separate staterooms (reservations)?

Thank you. 

We consider staying at Pan Pacific. Are there any near-by (walkable) restaurants outside of the hotel?

Also, do we need to book a cruise package in order to get our luggage transferred directly to the port?

Thank you. 

On 2/14/2020 at 6:10 PM, Cruise Raider said:

The Grand will host the specialty breakfast in the Crown Grill .. it comes with pretty much, anything you'd like to order (we were offered steak and eggs with advanced notice) as well as specialty coffees and mimosas.  The service is phenomenal.  

You will also be able to go to dinner in the Club Class section of the dining room.  Again, the service is wonderful and the menu is just 'better' than that in the MDR.  The head waiter will make a special dish and there is no wait to be seated.  For this alone, it is worth getting a full suite.  

Other perks:

You will get two points towards your captain's club status 

You will be escorted aboard (if you choose) and amongst the first group allowed to board

You will receive a couple of bottles of water per day as well as two small bottles of wine upon boarding as well as a complimentary mini bar set up 

On formal nights, they will bring some little goodies to your room (chocolate covered strawberries, honey roasted almonds, stuff like that)

You will have fresh flowers or an orchid plant in your stateroom 

Our suite on the Grand had a huge bathroom with double sinks, a shower and a separate jetted tub with bath salts .... ahhhh

You have priority in embarkation, choice of debarkation time with a special debarkation lounge with beverage and pastry service (OJ, coffee, tea, pastries)

You will receive a complimentary dinner on the first (maybe second night) of the sailing in a specialty restaurant

There are niceties in your room such as a sleep kit, shoe shine kit, etc.  

Special line for Suite and Elite passengers at guest services 

 

But, the best part of the suite is the dining opportunities .. no waiting and a little something extra provided as described above.  Well worth trying it out at least once!!  

Thank you for a very detailed response. I appreciate very much. 
 

My concern is after this cruise my family will be addicted to a suite life. 😊

On 2/14/2020 at 5:26 PM, CruzeQueen2 said:

My favourite included perk was definitely the upscaled breakfast menu in the specialty restaurant. We had it in the Crown Grill, but sometimes it takes place in Sabatini. Suite also includes a mini bar setup, large fruit bowl, flowers, supersized umbrellas for rainy port days. Be sure to look through the complete list of perks on the Princess website to be sure you don't miss anything. Enjoy it ALL! Bon voyage 😉

Thank you so much. 

2 hours ago, Cruiserkenn said:

I like your Disney  castle picture, too.  Nice!

 
Thanks. That was 3 years ago. It rained (very hard with strong wind) 7/8 days we were there. Luckily, the rain stopped just in time for the firework.