CGYCruisingFamily

There is lots to do as well in Calgary and in Banff (I would say especially Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper). It just depends on what you want to see and when you will be here. At the beginning of July every year (July 3-12 next year) is the Calgary Stampede. I am not sure your dates and if that might be during that time.

I am not against the idea of the island but given your timing, it might just be a bit of a stretch to get it all done.

Thanks for the review but I couldn't access the video on my iPad :( because of video owner settings.

There are lots of beaches in Vancouver to enjoy.

While I like the island, if you only have 3 days in Vancouver I might think about skipping it this time as it will be a full day trip there and back. However if you are keen in going, you will want to go to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal to sail directly to Victoria. If you are planning on going, I would also recommend per booking a sailing online. It cost a bit more but to be guaranteed a sailing time is good, otherwise you might have to wait for a few sailings if it is busy. Alternately there are also sea planes which fly from downtown Vancouver to Victoria which might be another option.

If you have the time and your cruise returns to Vancouver, I would consider going over after the cruise and staying a night there.

Ultimately it depends how much you want to see in Vancouver as 3-4 days will go by fast in my hometown.

pS- I live in Calgary now and there is also lots to see here and in Banff :)

Does your room have a fridge? If so and you are worried about availability, take some on with you.

Lax most likely but we have had issues with luggage going missing via that airport.

Many flights will go through Honalulu just as a heads up.

If Canada is an option, there are direct flights from Vancouver to Sydney operated by Air Canada. We found this flight not too bad aircraft wise. (I have travelled between Canada and Australia 17 times over the years and found while the direct flight was long, it was one of the best I had done).

And if I had a choice to would take Qantas over any if the American carriers any day.

Calgary for sure - and I am not just saying that because I like here.

As a pp said, there are almost hourly flights for Air Canada and Westjet from here to YVR.

If it isn't the largest of the 4 it's close to the largest. Today a new runway opens (the longest in Canada) and I heard it is going to help increase flights. The new international terminal opens next year.

There are ample restaurants (in the main concourse not within security - food fair and sit down restaurants ) however there are options within the secure area if you choose that) and things to do in the airport (there even is an aerospace museum with a scale model of one of the space shuttles -acquired from NASA). If it is an nice day, the view of the Canadian Rockies is beautiful. I have lived in Winnipeg and Visited Saskatoon and Edmonton. They are ok, but not Calgary.

Rough flying times:

YYZ > YVR 5 hrs

YYZ > YWG 2.5 hrs. YWG > YVR 2.5 hrs

YYZ > Saskatoon - no idea but my guess would be 3 hrs 15 mins Saskatoon to YVR - 1 hr 45ish

YYZ > YEG 4 hrs. YEG > YVR 1 hr 20

YYZ > YYC 4 hrs. YYC > YVR 1 hr 10 (tops depending on the wind).

This is the biggest of the cities you mention and when the airport expansion is complete I think they will be the third busiest airport behind YYZ And YVR in Canada. Having said that, I find even if it is busy, it isn't long huge line ups.

Oh and if by chance a layover was possible, Calgary is only an hour and a half (at the most) from Banff.

I think our family are in the minority here. We prefer to book inside state rooms and let me tell you why. First all the ones we have been in have been bigger than the outside ones and balcony ones. The square footage of your room usually includes the balcony space. Second we found we only used our cabins to sleep or have the kids nap in. With it being dark, we could run whatever schedule we liked. When we went to the Caribbean a few years ago, we kept the kids pretty much on our home time zone. Yes they would sleep until 9ish sound days but that was only 7 our time (not 5).

Personally also the thought if my child (the youngest was a climber) having a balcony in our room scared me.

My mom has mobility issues due to multiple knee replacements. We have booked a private car and driver for our party for the day we are in Rome. As a pp said there are a number of options listen on the boards. The one we will be dealing with has been super helpful and accommodating so far in all our correspondence.

DH and I are not gamblers or make that big gamblers. We will occasionally will do a little "finger exercising" :) at the penny slots. Nothing more than slots.

The machines accept cash and then (at least the last time we cruised), when you cash out, the amount goes on your room key and has to be cashed out by the last night of the cruise.

We have generally had mild luck with the slots on HAL. Last time I think we were about $40 down between the 2 of us for a 14 night cruise. There was one cruise where I won about $300 on the penny slots for the cruise. The one machine just kept winning (I took that money down to the front desk and paid it towards out ship board credit immediately).

My mom likes the slots and she usually either wins a bit or breaks even. The machines hate my dad and he usually down so between them, they offset each other.

I agree though with other posts, the machines can eat money so have a preset budget. We only ever use cash, we NEVER put it against our cabin account.

Oh and one last word of advice, even if it is a penny slot, keep an eye on how many lines or what the amount of a max bet is, there was one time my mom accidentally hit max bet and it turned out to be a $5 spin.

DH and I are not gamblers or make that big gamblers. We will occasionally will do a little "finger exercising" :) at the penny slots. Nothing more than slots.

The machines accept cash and then (at least the last time we cruised), when you cash out, the amount goes on your room key and has to be cashed out by the last night of the cruise.

We have generally had mild luck with the slots on HAL. Last time I think we were about $40 down between the 2 of us for a 14 night cruise. There was one cruise where I won about $300 on the penny slots for the cruise. The one machine just kept winning (I took that money down to the front desk and paid it towards out ship board credit immediately).

My mom likes the slots and she usually either wins a bit or breaks even. The machines hate my dad and he usually down so between them, they offset each other.

I agree though with other posts, the machines can eat money so have a preset budget. We only ever use cash, we NEVER put it against our cabin account.

When we travelled at Christmas a few years ago we decorated our door with some paper Christmas ornaments which were really easy to slip into our bag. They were great to have as it made it easier for our then 4 year old to spot our door. Not sure if I would decorate your door birth a birthday theme for the whole cruise but a birthday banner might be nice for the one day. It seems that we learnt a bit about the people from their door decorations.

I agree there is such thing as over planing. I think some of the members of my family think I am over planning. However I beg to differ. We are going on our first Mediterranean cruise. We have never been to that part before. Over the past few months, I have read books, the internet and forums to get a better idea of some of the things in the ports we are travelling to. I see it more as research more than anything as there is SO much to see there. I am not into planning every day down to the minute detail but through that research, I have arranged tours in Rome and Naples (Pompeii, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coadt) - which we were not going to go see until we saw more- and have rented a vehicle in Livorno and have identified a beach we really want to visit in Corfu. I also found us the apartment we are staying in in Barcelona at a good price. My mom says to leave a little surprise out there. But I argue I want to be prepared 1) to answer my kids questions if possible and 2) to get some highlights of the ports. I know we aren't going to see everything in one day. It's impossible (unless you are time neurotic like the person the pp mentioned - I am not). But through reading and research I know it's doable to visit the Colusseum and St. Peter's Basillica for sure. We have identified those are our top places we want to see.

I do think I am going to tone it down a bit so there is some surprise when we see stuff in person. But I agree there is a fine line.

Maybe tag DubrovnikTavellady I think is her name or have Dubrovnik in the title and she might be able to help find a place.

Oh and how was it broken? Have you talked with the crew if it is something that might be reparable? My moms scooter (different thing I know) has had issues sometimes on long cruises and the ships crew were able to fix it at sea.

I was merely trying to explain why "close to par" (as suggested by another poster) might be unlikely. I've seen far too many visitors abuse staff (who are simply doing their jobs, not setting financial policies for their organizations) because American dollars were accepted, but at an unfavourable exchange rate.

Wow.... The difference in the dollars are not huge right now so when I say close to par it's an approximation... But go ahead, take what was meant as a friendly comment WAY out of context. I can see why the reply made the comment about not giving them their business with attitudes like yours.

Most merchants will likely accept USD probably close to par. You will get change in Canadian. But as someone said on another board I read, if you happen to have loose change, use it for a coffee or ice cream in port before returning to the ship. You can exchange the bills afterwards.

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Thanks for all the replies. We are actually a party of 6, my parents made these arrangements as my mom has mobility issues. My parents are very seasoned cruisers and it just puts them at ease knowing things are booked and paid for before they leave.

 

 

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Sounds like our family :) - 6 ppl with one with mobility issues. We are trying to arrange for our transfers now from the apartment we have rented to the port the morning of the cruise leaving Barcelona. Will be following this post.

We are in Calgary so not sure about Winnipeg but the cost of $1600 for 2 isn't too bad but you might get better. You might be lucky if you wait as there might be seat sales offered after the summer. November is not a blackout month. We we flew to Ft Lauderdale at Christmas of 2012 (so peak) I think we were around $900-$1000 pp. however that's a risk and it might go up instead of down.

I agree with the other posts, have you checked the prices of Grand Forks? It's only a couple of hrs drive but in November that might be a bad drive.

They do. It's only British commonwealth countries which will be on the opposite side. We figure of all the Italian ports, we have heard it's the most "friendly". I wouldn't think of driving in Rome or Naples.

Hey Cantwaitt, I believe you are on our cruise. We have chosen to rent a vehicle that day and are planning on heading out on our own that day. There is a rental agency which will bring the vehicle to the port for you (Sifracar). We didn't like the idea of just a 4.5 hr tour and opted not to do Florence. We figure with a vehicle for this port, we can go at our own pace. If we are gone 5 hr or 7 hrs, it's our choice. This way we can also see maybe just a bit more than just Lucca and the Leaning Tower.

Before choosing the car rental option we did also look at taking the train which I think goes to Lucca too.

(Btw-if it is the same cruise ---51 days and counting :) )

Ok thanks. We are booked with Rome In Limo that day and I have to check if they help acquire tickets for that tour. I know it said we have to get our own ones for the Colosseum (when we are in Rome) but there is no mention if we are required to get separate tickets for Pompeii or not. Just trying to budget in advance.

This has been very helpful to read as I ave been confused about the admission fees for our kids (5&9). We plan on the Colosseum so seeing that all kids are free now no matter the nationality is a bonus. Bit of a sidebar- reading over the replies - am I to also assume this is all museums (except the Vatican) in Italy? What about Pompeii?

We reserved a beautiful (or at least it looks beautiful) apartment from Aspasios Apartments in Eixample Centrale. It is a 4 bedroom (for 6 of us) and was about €660 for three nights. It looks like the same place is under €600 for 4 people.

They are on Bell and usually have no issues in the States when they travel. Sounds like it might work fine in the ports.

Thanks about the note about the notarized forms. They are already signed, notarized and ready to go :)

They are on a Canadian carrier but can pick up either ATT or Verizon.

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Can anyone tell me how good it is?

My kids (5&9) are going with their grandparents for a week long Alaska cruise and we want to stay in contact with them on occasion. Is there good service in the ports (Ketichan, Juneau and Skagway)? Funny question, will the cell work onboard if you are close to land going up the inside passage?

My parents are looking at adding a roaming package to cover the States but I just want to see if it will work so we can touch base with them.

Thanks