lx200gps

And it's $30/pp/day if you book for the entire voyage. Some folks do just that simply to have a guaranteed lounger whenever they want, even if they only use it for an hour a day.

Same thing happened to us back in October. An excursion we wanted had been sold out and there wasn't even a wait list. As soon as we boarded, we headed to the Shore Excursions desk and had no problem booking the exact tour we wanted. Seemed pretty clear to me that not all inventory is put out for on-line booking, they seem to hold some slots open for walk-ups on embarkation day. YMMV of course, but that was our experience.

We are devoted fans of the Sanctuary, and up until two days ago when we boarded the Discovery, I would have assumed that was true. Turns out the floorplan is flexible at the discretion of the staff. For the first time ever, we actually made it up to the Sanctuary as the very first embarking passengers in the booking line. And of course, as it's a warm weather cruise, all the best loungers had been grabbed by the B2Bers on the previous trip. Amazingly, the Maitre'd on his own initiative offered to create two new lounger positions for us by moving/removing some of the extraneous floor decorations and adding two new loungers for us. That gave us two days (a port day and a sea day) that we wouldn't otherwise have had.

Not in my experience. The VT website fine print even says " Offers may be modified or withdrawn without notice. Not responsible for typographical errors" As soon as the 2024 dates opened up I booked a single night for next October. Received the official VT confirmation etc. Almost immediately they very subtly changed the blackout dates to add my booked date. Even now, almost a month after booking, they still haven't informed me that my reservation is invalid. Fortunately I had called the hotel, who informed me that VT should not have allowed me to make the booking as it was just inside one of their (the HP) blackout periods.

Manulife also advertise a CFAR option, it may be worth looking in to. Apparently the top plan gives 80% back, but as pointed out above, this kind of insurance needs to be bought very soon after the trip is booked. https://www.igoinsured.com/Direct/ManulifeGlobal.aspx?ag=PAYLTHL&lang=E If you simply change your mind and no longer wish to travel, we will give you up to 80% of the non-refundable trip cost if you cancel 7 days prior to departure. If you cancel 6 days to 24 hours prior to departure we will give you up to 80% refund up to a maximum of $2,500. While it's no use to you as a Cunard customer, the best CFAR coverage I've ever seen is offered by Princess. 100% back, no questions asked, up to the day of departure. We bought it for every trip for years, until it stopped being available in Quebec.

We also boarded the Discovery yesterday in SP. We got out of our Uber at 9:30 and there were already a few hundred others ahead of us waiting in a tent to get to Security. The ship was docked at the big tent next to the Iowa BTW. IOW check-in had not yet opened. About 10AM security screening opened and by the time we got through security and went into to the Green Line for check-in, it was about 10:10. The Green Line was empty and we walked right up to the check-in lady for document check, then went to the lounge for a coffee. Boarding started around 10:30

We're on the same sailing as the OP. We arrived at the pier around 9:30, boarded at 10:30 with the first group from the Elite lounge. We were literally the very first to reach the Sanctuary (for the first time ever ;o) and as usual found most of the best loungers long since booked by the B2Bers from the last sailing. We wanted the Mazatlan day and the second sea day and surprisingly, lucked out. The Sanctuary Maitre'd had a very interesting way of accommodating us. What he did was to create two extra lounger spaces at the forward edge of the Sanctuary right next to the hot tub and in shade. The area is usually just a few hundred square feet of empty space occupied by flower pots and other decoration, so they will move them for us and install two loungers.

Unfortunately, as a lifelong Montrealer, I can't claim any great knowledge of our train system, as we drive everywhere. I've driven up to Quebec City to go skiing more times than I can remember, but have never taken a train from Montreal. If you do decide to fly in and take the train from here up to Quebec City, there are lots of options. If you are planning to stay here for a day or two before proceeding up, I would strongly recommend staying right in the heart of downtown, due its plethora of hotels and ready access to the train system from downtown. Lots of folks who actually have done this trip will now chime in here with their recommendations, but a very good option would be to fly into YUL, taxi it into downtown and stay at a big downtown hotel Like the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth, which is right in the middle of everything and is connected to one of Montreal's main train station Gare Centrale/Central Station. If you were actually sailing from Montreal, Old Montreal would also be a good bet for its history, but since you are connecting up the river to Quebec, That would be pointless. If you stay here for a few days before heading to Quebec, then a trip to Old Montreal would be a good option. Old Montreal is very busy in the summer tourist season. Re the language thing, don't worry about it at all. Large swathes of Montreal and surroundings are very French and language issues can and do arise there, but any area that you as a tourist would visit will be perfectlyfine. Taxis, hotels, stores, restaurants etc. in the downtown are completely bilingual.

We received our Medallions a few weeks ago. The box went from China to Singapore to Toronto, and the Canada Post site only started showing the progress until about a week before delivery. The box spent a lot of time in Customs and traveling around Toronto but eventually made it here safe and sound. I had to track it on another site before it arrived in Canada, and it went from origin in China to Toronto very fast. The Canadian adventure was some what longer ;o)

On ships so equipped, Take 5 is a great alternative to Skywalkers. It's pretty much dead during the day, save for the occasional quiet seminar, and less frequently, a silly loud game show. Other than that, it is a great place to have total peace and quiet.

We have become big fans of sailing from the US northeast. Haven't done trips from Canada yet, Quebec City would be a no-brainer for us as it's only a few hours away. We've done Manhattan on NCL, Brooklyn on Princess, have a Boston trip on Princess this July and are contemplating a February (!) trip out of Manhattan. All ports are an easy 6-7 hours drive the day before, so no airline hell to worry about, we park at a hotel a bit farther away to save tons of money over hotels near the port. Sailings from the northeast are a bit more limited in scope than from LA or Florida, but getting there is FAR more relaxing.

Far beyond their capability, no? ;o)

FWIW, I received our Princess shipping notification on Jan 10 for our Feb 3 sailing. Using a website called parcelsapp.com, I was easily able to start tracking the shipment about two days after they sent us the notification. I followed it from China to Singapore to Toronto, where the Canada Post site finally started tracking it to here in Montreal. The tracking was very detailed and this is what the last DAY of the shipping looked like. The full tracking was at least two pages long, the box spent a lot of time bouncing around Mississauga

This is discussed quite regularly over on the Canada/New England sub-forum. And yes, the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac would be a great bet https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/9-canadanew-england/

...unless you're "Uber" rich and are OK with paying for the Uber Black versions, which IIRC are allowed to pickup at the terminals? Since you are local, is there any movement on getting rid of LAX-It? Last I heard it was now possibly October 2024?

Great choice. Ubering around LA is so easy, so many options and always minutes away.

When are you arriving at LAX, the day before or Embarkation Day? We are flying into LAX in a few days, and due to our late flight are staying at an LAX hotel. We are Ubering down to SP early the following morning. If you are doing the correct thing and, like us, arriving the day before, the Princess shuttle would be a horrible idea, per all the comments on another active thread on this very forum. If you have elected to fly in the day of the cruise, then all bets are off and the dreadful Princess shuttle experience at least gives you a bit of insurance for late arrival. We've done the Princess shuttle, albeit at other ports, and will never do that again.

Signing off then. Have a great cruise.

What happens if you put your tracking number into the web site? That's when I was able to track it from start to finish over the 10 days it took to arrive here in Montreal https://parcelsapp.com/

I thought you received the notification today, doesn't that mean that they will deliver it all the way from China in two days?

FWIW, I used a worldwide tracking consolidator called Parcelsapp.com to track my shipment starting two days after I received the Ocean Notifications Email from Princess on Jan 10. I was able to follow it every step of the way from China to Singapore then through Canadian Customs to a company in Mississauga called Citilogistics, who shipped it here to Montreal via Canada Post. The tracking number on the original notification automatically opened up a USPS website when I clicked it but never showed anything at all, no details found etc. The box arrived in a blue Princess Seawitch bubble envelope with no other external shipping labels at all save a Canada Post label. "Electronic information submitted by shipper" 12 Jan, delivered here on 22 Jan. Longest delays were when it bounced around Toronto for 8 days.

Hi Dennis... The covered garage in question is the one labelled "ABM Marine Park Garage" on this Google Maps screenshot. When I click on the link, it shows the address as 12 Drydock Ave. You can easily see the entrance to the garage on Street View. Can't help with reserving it, we will be driving up and parking.

Are they still available upon request on the ship? I would think that once in your cabin, if you ask Stewart nicely, he/she should be able to supply one?

Ours were shipped Jan 10 and arrived here in Montreal on Jan 22. We sail 3 Feb, so you should receive yours in plenty of time.

Interesting. We're sailing next week. I ordered ours a long time ago and received the shipping Email from Princess on Jan 10. I tracked them on a daily basis starting on the 11th all the way from China through Singapore to Mississauga and on to here. They arrived two days ago. If you are sailing the 18th, that's pretty much two weeks after us. Doing the arithmetic, that should mean that your shipping Email should be coming very soon, in the next day or two, given ours arrived on Jan 10.