Shiba_Lover

Sounds like you do have to call it in. At least you have all the documentation to show them if it does not appear. I will say that when I have cancelled it does say it may take a few days even though it's almost always instant. So hopefully it will appear tomorrow. ☹️

Check your order history. I have just cancelled some things and rebooked to get better price with the current promos. My OBC was refunded immediately. I can also see the cancel/ refund tracked in order history

Thanks for allowing us to follow your trip! It was an enjoyable read!!

Ooh we've booked Naeroyfjord kayaking out of Flam on one of the B2Bs and will do the train on the other. Glad to hear the kayaking was good.

I booked a car service. There's also train (convenient if you are staying in London pre or post) or bus.

We are going on Apex in July 2024 on the 12 night Arctic circle Fjord then the 7 night Norway cruise B2B (only overlap is Flam). I don't suspect many kids on the 12 night, and probably few on the 7 night. I don't think the itinerary would be very exciting for kids, so I am just guessing people would not book that with many kids (I could be wrong). Not like they may book a med sailing. As far as weather - June / July is probably as good as it gets in Norway - but be prepared for sun or rain or warm or cold or both all at once. 🙂

Not many flights into Southampton, but pretty easy to get there from London. Check the ports thread - lots of discussion on this.

Looking forward to following along. Between you and @Norwaylady we get to do the entire journey vicariously!

I completely agree that some of this is at fault for Celebrity, but some I think is just the headache of what India requires (and that is all the behind the scenes stuff that is going on). Celebrity issues - yes, sending people to wrong locations. Completely agree - Celebrity should handle better. But India requires much more strenuous visa checks than many ports in Europe or other places. All ships / ports have some form of immigration checks, even if it is not visible to the passengers. Immigration officers board and clear the ship (example - Canada will not allow someone who has been convicted of a DUI to enter the country without special permission - so if someone were on an Alaska cruise from US and it had a stop in Vancouver if they have a DUI conviction - that would show up on the manifest and they would be flagged and not allowed to enter). I suspect India's immigration process is one of the holdup reasons / issues for the backups / chaos with the morning. It is not just passengers they check, but crew as well. Hope that makes sense - not letting Celebrity off the hook completely here. But yes, the guests must provide a visa, but Celebrity is still working behind the scenes with India immigration who is reviewing the visas.

Just to point out the notes are from me taking notes as the guide talked. Each day, the guides give you more detailed info about the itenerary. (Some days a separate sheet). I wrote down some notes on our general sheet if I didn't have a more detailed page. Your time may vary.

one pair of socks = 1 item of laundry

Ugh - thanks for the tip. I tried this several times. No go. I just got on my laptop instead of the phone and did a copy/paste to get them upright.

I don't know why they are sideways - they were right side up when I posted. Maybe click on the image and open image / edit and rotate in your photo software? If someone can tell me why they posted sideways - I can repost too.

yeah - I booked a "guarantee" suite. (figured there were no bad rooms on this ship) for significantly less. I really wanted a proper balcony - oh well - I knew I may not get one, and I didn't. Have a great adventure! Let me know if other questions

Here's the details for Peru. One note... On the Sunday we moved from Quito to Lima, it was the day of presidential elections and we had a later flight. They gave us day rooms at the EB hotel near the airport. We were told they don't always do that, so I think it may have been because of the elections/ extra caution. Oh and on arrival in Lima, it was really late. I don't think anyone ate dinner, but it was available (as room service or in the restaurant).

yes, it does.

I doubt this can be solely on celebrity. Having worked in India, and been through the visa process multiple times, India is very particular. I suspect the ship has extra steps to get everything ready for the passengers getting off ( and making sure to block those that can't). Every time I had to renew a work visa ( which I know is more involved than a tourist visa) it was torture.

I used to work in India. They have some laws governing the use of phone calls over chat apps and other things like that. Suspect that is the reason for turning off wifi.

Ouch -- Jim - this is what our immigration line looked like when I mentioned (in the question about Southampton > Norway recently) we got stuck in one going from EU to UK onboard the Apex on a cruise. Very painful.

Enjoying your report - fun to relive the experience. Thanks for taking the time / effort to write it up each day!

I can add that on our trip, the steak people all sent the steaks back and reordered. One night someone asked the waiter about one of the beef specials and the waiter just said "No". They have to use beef from Ecuador and I think someone asked and was told it was so precooked before being brought onboard ( Galapagos rule). I'm also not a red meat eater, but this is what happened at the tables I was seated at