Sprocket

3 minutes ago, MStarzky said:

 

Don is going on a cruise this Sat the 24, I'm sure if he can get on know it shouldnt be a issue later on down the road. Barring any major problem. He is canadian.

Thanks will be interesting to see how everything goes for him.  On the ship and I hope he covers returning to Canada afterward.  Re testing and entry requirements.  

1 hour ago, luvtocruze11 said:

As of Nov, Southwest fly from Bellingham!

Yep been waiting to book, they were going to come to Vancouver at one time much better I think from Bellingham. 

6 hours ago, Robjame said:

Thanks. I was wondering if there was something that I was missing about COVID restrictions that made it simpler to fly from US after driving from Canada. Border is closed for non-essential travel for both land and air AT THIS POINT. 
 

We are flying from Vancouver to Seattle in August.  No quarantine for fully vaccinated on return  and we are booked at YVR for our COVID test and the ship will test us for our return. They will test us either at YVR or give us a home test when we arrive.  We are also fully covered under my group insurance, can’t wait to be onboard.

They cancelled our cruise in error thank goodness I caught it right away, we lost our preferred time for one of our excursions, and they shortened our rail  trip and apparently credited my credit card.  No notification given for any of those, I check every day multiple times for any other changes.

COVID protocols including possible distancing requirements, staffing issues, low interest could all play a part I suppose many things still evolving.  Hope you find a replacement.

1 minute ago, BuckeyeMark said:

There ARE kettles.  I’ve been in higher level cabins where they are standard and have used and enjoyed making my own coffee. The supplied kettle did not burn the ship down because Kettles are not the fire hazard people make them to be. 
 

So … back to the original questions: have you ever asked for a kettle? Did you get one?

Ok I'll play lol.  No I have never in a dozen or so cruises asked for a kettle even in a full suite on HAL. 

I am not even remotely a coffee snob so it literally wouldn't occur to me to do so.  Our one and only Princess cruise so far I discovered the International Cafe, loved everything about it and room service coffee was perfectly satisfactory while having breakfast on our balcony.

I think with Covid restrictions in place your kettle is not going to happen sorry.

If you want coffee made on your balcony you will have to literally make it on your own balcony at home.  No kettles!

3 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

And get it cold. I prefer to burn the few calories it takes to go the venue and hot foods piping hot. Are we getting that lazy.

My husband has bad arthritis in one of his knees and ended up in the cabin for a few days barely able to walk  and made  a visit to the infirmary for steroids to bring down the swelling.  Had a significant impact on his cruise so if using the Medallion helps us avoid a repeat of that we will use it has nothing to do with being lazy.

3 hours ago, Robjame said:

Thank you Jill & Jerry for you information on cruising from Canada.

What is the point of driving across the border and then flying to Miami as opposed to simply flying YYZ-MIA? Monetary or is there some other advantage?

Flights can be considerably cheaper from the US and it also opens up airline choices.  I have driven to Seattle many times to catch flights flew Southwest mostly as they do not fly from Vancouver.

1 hour ago, Trent212 said:

 

Curious if you have any photos of the balcony for Sky C409, we're in that one in December!

Sorry no I thought so but couldn’t find any.  It is much bigger than the one beside you and we really enjoyed it.  Had room service breakfast out there a few times.  When you see starboard pictures of the ship you get a good idea of the size.  
We have 6 upcoming cruises and have booked the same cabin or cabin type on 5 of them.  On the Grand we were lucky and were able to snag E729 which has a huge balcony.

Enjoy your cruise we loved the Sky, Crown Grill, Alfredo’s and IC all very good.

2 hours ago, srpilo said:

 

Yes

 

2 hours ago, brisalta said:

 

Yes, the Grand has both. The pizza in Alfredo's is superior quality to that from Slice.

The beauty of the Medallion is that you should be able to order your pizza to just about anywhere you are.

41 minutes ago, rabin1 said:

Are you aware LA County is going back to mask mandate??

 

But neither of you answered my question which is again if it is for Carnival do you think it will be for Princess?

 

Kathy

For 2021 Princess is not allowing any unvaccinated passengers to sail.  Proof has to be provided and if not they will be denied boarding.  No children under 12 either as they cannot at this time be vaccinated.

54 minutes ago, Jeter02 said:

Love this! Thank you so much for sharing the info. I have it saved tonight phones home screen so that way I know to remind myself to do it 72 hours before my flight.

 

Wonder if the TSA precheck is any quicker than the sea-spot saver or is the pre-check just as bad as the normal lines?

1 hour ago, Mary Ann 2 said:

I had found this when I was researching, but I don't know how to predict ahead of time when I might get to TSA.  Any ideas?  I downloaded the app so I can see how long the lines are at each TSA check point. Plus we have TSA PreCheck which doesn't operate at the check points for SEA Spot Saver.

At this time, no. SEA Spot Saver is only available to general screening passengers without a trusted traveler program to help provide better screening experience and create efficiency where we have the highest demand. All TSA PreCheck passengers should be screened at TSA Checkpoint 4 in to order still use their PreCheck benefits such as not having to remove their shoes and electronics. All CLEAR customers can go to their dedicated lane at each security checkpoint as well to have their expedited experience. If the pilot program is successful, we hope to include trusted traveler programs in the future!

Looks like TSA is at Checkpoint 4.

7 minutes ago, Mary Ann 2 said:

We booked through EZ Air and picked a 10:11 flight.  It wasn't until recently that I realized that is really early.  I spoke to Princess, and she said if they sold it to me, they guarantee that we can make it.

 

The help that I am asking from those leaving the end of July is for you to let me know when you return what the first disembarkation time was, both walk-off and transfer.  We have a transfer, but I am wondering if we should walk off and get a taxi.  But if we take a taxi, would they honor the EZ Air "Arrival Protection" which says "...you'll...get home if you miss flights because of your cruise or transfer."  

 

Also would like to know how long it took to get through customs/immigration.

 

Has anyone made a flight that early out of Seattle?  I would change the flight, but we already used AA mileage points to upgrade the flight we have.

Seattle airport recently has been crazy.  But they have launched Sea Spot Saver which may help to save you some time.

SEA Spot Saver | Port of Seattle

5 hours ago, alanasgpa said:

I guess I didn’t make my point clear with the original post so I’ll try it again 
 

i’m not upset with Princess because they won’t let my grandkids that are under 11 on the shop I am upset with Princess because when we booked 14 cabins From March earliest and the latest July 9 we were never told that they required vaccinations for that age group and yes we booked through Princess on the phone each and every timeDo they not communicate with their customer service or is it that they just want the bookings

Is this not in your Travel Summary?  

COVID-19 VACCINATION REQUIREMENT

Please be advised that guests of all ages on this voyage are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide proof at the terminal prior to boarding the cruise. Acceptable proofs of full vaccination: COVID-19 vaccination card (original only; no photocopies accepted), digital COVID-19 certificate (QR code acceptable), or record of COVID-19 vaccination from a healthcare provider including original digital email notification, electronic health record, or government Immunization information system (IIS) record. Proof of full vaccination should include your first and last name; a patient identifier such as date of birth, medical record ID, or government ID; type of vaccine (manufacturer); date of all doses administered; lot number, if available; and healthcare professional or clinic site name. It must show that your final dose of vaccine was received at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the cruise. Alternative proof may be required. If you are unable to produce the described proof of vaccination, you will be denied boarding without refund. Visit our CruiseHealth FAQ for more information: https://*****/pcl_chfaq.

5 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Yes, if Princess wants to test you, it is up to them and they will do it.  No need to be in FL, for example, and run around getting a second test.

Fortunately our upcoming cruise is out of Seattle so an hour flight from Vancouver and our test there is booked, and Princess will do the test for the return.  And on arrival if they see fit.  I just wish it was simpler times, you know just go!!!

On 7/7/2021 at 9:24 AM, gardening_guy said:

This sounds like coming from Canada (considered international) we may have to have a test in addition to being fully vaccinated?

I'm hoping the test we have at the airport the day before our departure will be sufficient.  If not we will just get retested.

We are booked in A409 and cannot find any pictures of the balcony, not even on youtube.  We had C409 on the Sky and loved it.

6 hours ago, lostinparadise999 said:

In BC we have a wallet size card. We tried taking a picture of it on our smart phone for our records but what happened was that when the camera on the phone focus on the card, a website showed up on the screen of the phone. The smartphone picked up the QR code and directed it to the BC Health site. So we have 2 ways of accessing our vaccination records...one on BC Health app and the other on the wallet size card that directs you to the site. 

 

I'll have to try that.  Right now I have the card, printed copy and a screen shot from the BC Health website.  We're getting on that ship!!

On 7/6/2021 at 5:04 PM, CruisingCanucksTwo said:

We just booked a cruise in mid-August!!!  We have checked with Carnival about requirements and have confirmed that our provincial certificate for 2 doses will suffice to get on the ship.  The latest health questionnaire from CCL has removed the question asking if you have travelled internationally in the last 14 days - instead it now asks if you have travelled outside USA or CANADA!!! Meaning cruise lines are considering Canadians 'in the bubble'.  (with CCL you have to be fully vaccinated.)

 

Our biggest concern is about travelling to Miami - will the borders open.  We live in a border town and hope to fly from the USA - but know that if things don't change, we can still opt to fly from Canada to Miami. 

 

We are a little nervous, but are now pretty sure we can make this cruise (actually two back to back cruises for 14-days happen.)  It'll be interesting to see if we are the only ones getting on the Horizon for two weeks staring August 15th!? We also know there could be health plan complications from the current 'no cruise order' travel advisory (if it remains in place), so we've purchased the health coverage through Carnival to cover that risk (only $49 each).

 

We put together a quick video on our channel and will be updating our progress and vlogging the experience - hopefully we can be (successful) guinea pigs to show Canadians can now cruise!! Fingers crossed! 

 

So happy we're not the only ones cruising in August '21.   I found the Verifly App for entering information for flying from Canada to US, anyone downloaded this yet? Anyone else booked their Covid test at the airport before boarding your flight?   At Vancouver airport they are offering the antigen test for $129 and say we should be there 3-4 hours before our flight.  Still really hoping the border opens later this month so we just need proof of vaccination.

QR code in the app says to bring our medallions and passports which is probably the same for everybody. Weird I’m scared to try scanning it to see if it opens lol.

New is a request for our travel information bought our flights this week finally,  got tired of waiting to hear any news about the border.  Guess I’ll hold off on that until the current no go expires July 21st.   Also booked our antigen tests at the airport so I think unless something else pops up we are good to go and just wait now.

14 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

You should be able to see the passport you scanned previously in the app.  I suspect it is there if you have the QR code.

We are sailing August 8th and have not been asked to upload our passports.  Everything is good in the app and we have our QRcode to scan at check in.

We sailed in Dec 2019, perhaps they have it on file?

This is from my Travel Summary for a cruise leaving August 8th.

Please be advised that guests of all ages on this voyage are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide proof at the terminal prior to boarding the cruise.

 If you are unable to produce the described proof of vaccination, you will be denied boarding without refund. Visit our CruiseHealth FAQ for more information: https://*****/pcl_chfaq.

This information has been widely shared and at this time on Princess no unvaccinated children or adults will be allowed to board.

We have 6 cruises booked with Alaska fast approaching and not even a hint about when the border will reopen.  Airfare from Vancouver to Seattle is ridiculous but they will give us a credit if we cancel and we still have to buy one way from FLL to Van in February so we would use it no problem.

BC's numbers are very very good and literally no reason not to open IMO.  Even the variant is being managed very well here, what is he waiting for?

I bought the shares this week and yesterday emailed them the information for the 6 cruises we have booked and the share information and it was applied to all later that day.  Very happy!!