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We will soon be in the same boat looking for insurance. We are both retired and currently have out of country medical and cancellation insurance through our credit card. However once you turn 65 they greatly reduce the coverage...something like coverage for a maximum of 4 day trip vs the current 21 days. Curious @CDNPolar did you research insuring individual trips vs annual coverage? I have just started to research and I find it difficult to get a lot of info online. Not looking forward to spending hours on the phone with insurance companies lol.

We stayed at the Pan Pacific before our Alaskan cruise in June. Absolutely loved it!!! So convenient, the hotel is lovely, breakfast buffet is amazing! We also had an excellent dinner in the little bar. The spa is on the same level as cruise port from what I remember and we enjoyed some excellent spa treatments. In addition to being in same complex as cruise port, it also connects underground to a shopping mall with a food court for additional food options. Yes it is pricey but you only live once...

Thanks for the info! DH is not a seafood fan so sounds like it wouldn't worth the money for us. Hopefully we can get on the Magic Carpet for drinks.

Thanks to the OP for the heads up! Earlier today I re-booked 3 shore excursions and saved $80. Just received an email from Celebrity a few minutes ago advertising this sale for my upcoming cruise.

I did find a sample menu online and its a la carte so curious if anyone knows what the fixed price reservation gets you? Here is the sample menu https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/eat-and-drink/restaurants-and-cafes/magic-carpet

I just checked and it is available for our Edge cruise in February. Cost is 162 Canadian per person 😵 which makes sense based on the US price of $118 per person. If I try to reserve it it says only time available is Day 1 at 10 am. I assume as @Dylan0474mac said they set it up once you are on board. Does anyone know what the menu is? This is a lot of money so would love to see a menu before booking.

I have been keto/low carb for 5 years. My go to drink is a white wine spritzer. I order dry white wine with club soda and ask for extra lime or lemon slices. I will also drink dry white wine on its own with dinner, but I find that a spritzer is more refreshing in hot weather. That being said, I don't stick to strictly low carb when cruising. After 5 years I have learned that straying from it for a few weeks isn't a big problem for me and I can quickly get back to it when I get home. My mantra is that the carbs have to be worth it. I will have some non low carb drinks as well as food that I consider worthy. I have no trouble staying away from rice, pasta, potatoes, and most bread. I do splurge on dessert on the odd cocktail and do love a coffee with Baileys 🙂 I follow low carb as a lifestyle choice, however if yours is for health reasons then you may have to be more careful. Enjoy your cruise 🙂

I was able to get in this morning...took about 5 tries. I have flight books and also go in regularly to check for better prices.

Thanks for the feedback! We went ahead and booked an SV cabin on the Edge for Hawaii. Hawaii is a bucket list for us we have never been. We had it booked in 2020 and of course it was cancelled. Very excited!

We are in a sunset veranda. From my TA: I am on the phone with Celebrity and they have advised that the $50 OBC is sailing specific and does not apply to your particular sailing. You have the richest deal for that sailing date at this point.

We booked a cruise to Hawaii for 2024 on Wednesday with the Black Friday Promo. When I got the email about the extra $50 I asked our TA to see if we could have it added. He called Celebrity and was told it doesn't apply to our sailing. Its only $50 so no big deal but I did not see anywhere that this only applied to certain sailings. Be interesting to see what they do (if anything) for Cyber Monday.

Thanks all! We are going ahead and booking a SV 🙂 DH is fairly sure he is going to like the IV but I am on the fence. Don't want to take a chance and have the SVs all sold out before we get a chance to experience the IV in Feb and book onboard. Black Friday promo seems pretty good too!

Thanks for the replies. It hadn't occured to me to book the SV now while they are still available, and then if we absolutely love the IV it sounds like we can switch our booking to an IV later on. Am I understanding that correctly?

Is there anyone who actually likes the IV who can compare it to SV? I've read a ton about how the IV is not a true balcony, but I know there are some who really like them so I figure there must be something to it and willing to give it a try...will try anything once lol!

I've heard that but haven't experienced an IV myself...trying to keep an open mind until we have tried it.

The Edge cruise is Vancouver to Hawaii. Thanks for your input 🙂

Hi all, we have never been on an E class ship...we have one coming up on the Edge in Feb and will be in an IV. So suffice to say we don't know yet if we will like it. We would love to do the Hawaii on the Edge cruise in 2024 and really interested to hear whether an IV or SV would be better for this cruise. We have only done one SV and while we enjoyed it wasn't sure it was worth the extra $$. In the case of the Edge the IV and SV are priced very similarly so want to choose the one we would enjoy the most. I understand the seas can get rough on the crossing... is it more so on a SV? Also would like to have at least some shade on our balcony. We are trying to decide whether to wait until onboard and see if we like the IV and then book onboard, but I understand the SVs tend to sell out quickly. We always choose a cabin as far from the elevator as possible as we find them quieter and don't mind the extra walking so that isn't a factor. Would love to hear from those who have been in both IV and SV and what you would choose in this case. TIA!

Our dilema is since we have not yet been on an E class ship we are unsure about the Infinite Verandas. We do have one booked for our upcoming Feb cruise on the Edge so won't know until then whether we like the IV or not. From what I've read on CC people either love them or hate them. Does anyone know if a Sunset Veranda is a good idea for a Hawaii cruise. Decisions decisions!!

Thanks for posting! We had a cruise to Hawaii cancelled in April 2020 and has been a bucket list cruise for us. I had my eye on the Solstice for April 2024...didn't even see the Edge Sep 2024 cruise. Our plan was to book onboard our next cruise. Perhaps this cruise will be more popular and we shouldn't wait to book?? Was really hoping Black Friday sale would offer reduced deposit but didn't happen. We will be sailing the Edge for the first time in Feb.

We have had early flights from FLL back to Canada (YOW) a few times and have done the self walk off and taken a cab to the airport and has worked well for us. I feel safer keeping my luggage with me when we have an early flight. So far so good! We have not cruised out of FLL since Covid though...last time was in 2019 I believe.

Eidfjord Scenic cruising Hardangerfjord Alesund Geiranger Scenic cruising Geirangerfjord Bergen Scenic cruising Oslofjord Oslo Kristiansand Stavanger Scenic cruising Sognefjord Flam Hi All, which of the above do you recommend doing a small boat cruise to see the fjord...ie will we see more doing a small boat cruise vs where the cruise ship will take us? This is our first time to Norway and we will be on the HAL Rotterdam. Not sure if it is similar to Alaska where smaller boat tours get you closer to the fjords/scenery. We want to do a good mix of seeing the fjords from sea and land as well as exploring what the ports have to offer. Have already done a lot of research and there is so much to see, so was hoping for some recommendations from those who have cruised Norway before.

Thanks for posting. Was hoping for reduced deposit. We are looking to book Hawaii for 2024. I hate having to make a full deposit on a cruise so far out. We will likely wait and book onboard during our cruise in early 2023.

Indeed! I am getting emotional just reading this thread at home in my living room.

I agree looks like a great itinerary. Unfortunately the dates don't work for us.

No I didn't...good point. It is the HAL Rotterdam.