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We have a FF mile ticket from the USA to Barcelona. Now we have decided to change plans and will pick up the cruise ship in Rome. Since we still want to spend time in Barcelona what air line would be the best for us to take to get to Rome. We will have luggage plus a carry on. I have found a couple of options just wondering what others think - Iberia or Vueling. Iberia is considerably less. Our ship leaves on Monday and I was thinking about Sat or Sun. flight to get to Rome.

 

Thanks for any advice.

Alitalia would also be an option. Other legacy airlines will likely connect in their associated hubs or code-share on eith Alitalia or one of the two you are already looking at. Sorry I avoid the discount airlines in Europe others may have more insight into those.

It is an option but keep in mind that WS code shares with AA, so if you pick an AA flight LAX - YYZ, you will have to change terminals at Toronto.

You do not. AA and WestJet operate from Terminal 3 in Toronto.

So a friend of mind is doing an Alaska round trip out of Vancouver. I know what happens when you land at Vancouver go to the ship and return. My question is that the cruise line booked him on a one-stop through Toronto on Air Canada. I have flown back from Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto directly and each time I went through US customs before I dropped my bags off. Where will he have to clear US customs on this trip? His Vancouver departure is a domestic Canadian flight to Toronto. In Toronto his bags will have been checked through. Does he have to reclaim his bags and go through passport control with the other DC passengers in Toronto, will his bags be in something like bond? Just wondering if anyone else had had this experience.

I transfer in Toronto all the time.

Vancouver checkin is in the domestic terminal area. Any check baggage is tagged to the final destination.

In Toronto you follow signs to US Transfer (US Flag on the signs). At the transfer area you need to show you boarding pass. You wait a few minutes until your names shows up on a computer screen. If US authorities want to inspect your bag, the computer system pulls them from the baggage handling system and send the bags upstairs otherwise it goes straight to your connecting flight. The vast majority of times it is automatically transferred and you never touch the bags. You arrive in the US at a domestic gate and there is no additional inspection required there.

Same process happens if your connecting from overseas onto a US flight in Toronto. For the majority of passengers everything is checked to final destination. Much cleaner and simpler process than clearing customs at a US airport.

Two items to consider.....

AC between LAX and YYZ is a widebody aircraft on some flights. By this time next year all of the A330, 777 and 787 will be configured with Economy, Premium Economy and International Business. These aircraft are mostly used on overseas flights. The Premium Economy is a true premium economy seat with extra width, and legroom etc. On the domestic and US routes they sell these as economy and don't include the enhanced meal etc. They are sold as preferred seats and generally a good deal.

The above does not apply to the 767 or the narrow body fleet.

Second option is WestJet also via Toronto.

I don't have a problem with NCL coffee. I thought NCL used Lavazza coffee through the ship.

thanks

Others have reported success asking their steward for a coffee machine and it appearing.

Generic but it all depends on how quick the shore authorities clear the ship, some ports certainly take 2 hours!!

 

Mike

Since the ship is likely coming from another Italian port (or the very least another EU country) there is not to clear. It should go quickly.

It was a standard 7 day cruise with the ports of call being Ketchikan, Juneau/Tracy Arm same day, Skagway and Prince Rupert. It started and ended in Seattle. It left Seattle at 4pm. All of our cruises to Alaska have been in May.

 

I think you are correct with a slow play for a daytime transit. We did not even know we were going to take this route and when we woke up the first sea day we thought maybe we slept through the whole sea day and were going to be arriving in Ketchikan. We were very confused until we turned on the tv and saw the map.

 

It was definitely one of the top highlights of our 8 cruises to Alaska.

Perhaps the captain was expect rough weather that day and the decision was made to sail on the inside. Vancouver Island provides quite a bit of protection vrs the pacific side.

Thanks all very much - this place always delivers on the advice.

 

Feebs - thanks for the offer. Will check the roll call out, but I have been to Florence before. My work has an office there, so have spent some time in that amazing city, so will be looking more at Pisa and possibly Lucca.

I think the The Cinque Terre is a nice excursion if you have not been there before.

As for the ship there is lots to do. You just need to explore the ship. No shortage of entertainment in the various bars and venues.

For Cannes, one option is to just do it on your own. The tender docks in the marina in Cannes. There is a beach to one side and if you walk down the street in the other direction you end up in the centre of town. Lots of small shops, restaurants, beach front, plazas etc. If your other stops have been very structured tours, having a day to do your own thing can be refreshing. In addition to the regular tourist shops, there are regular department stores and every-day shops.

As far as the tenders go, if you want to get off early, you can reserve a specific tender. By mid-morning you just show up and don't need a reservation. The run back and forth all day.

If you want to venture beyond the centre of Cannes, then Monaco is the place to go if you want to see casinos and how the rich live. That is short train ride from Cannes if you fell confident to take the train on your own. Personally I am not a big fan of Monaco. Otherwise there is the tours.

For the Marseille stop I would say Avignon is a must see. It is a bit of bus ride to get there. Buses get you close but can't get into the old part of the city so it very much a walking tour. Avignon was the centre of the catholic church before the Vatican. It a very interesting place to visit but a guide to explain the story behind the building is ideal.

NCL uses Lavazza brand coffee. It is a good stuff and reputable Italian coffee brand. It is brand I regular use at home for cappuccino.

That said, the in-room coffee for the suites is Lavazza and a lower quality no-name brand in the other cabins.

Most of the buffet coffee and dinning room coffee is off a big percolator type machine and I find it ok, I think they make it a bit to much on the week side. On some and maybe all ships, not certain in the buffet there is usually one machine that grinds and brews each cut individually. That has good stuff.

The Atrium has a speciality coffee shop that does expresso, cappuccino, lattes etc. That costs a few dollars.

As for tipping, technically you have paid for all of that as part of the daily service charge that will be automatically added to your bill. If you get room service a dollar to two (as others have said) is not out of the ordinary.

The one consideration I just remembered from our past Inside Passage was the timing of going through the narrow north end. The tides are pretty extreme and tugs/log booms/barges have priority. I wonder if sailing out of Seattle at 4pm catches the slack tides or tug traffic at the wrong time versus leaving Vancouver at the same time.

 

It also looks like there will be no M&G as not enough people are signed up for the Jewel June 4th CC Roll Call.

I could be wrong, but I believe that straight that you mentioned requires the ship to bring on board a local pilot.

I am going on the Jewel leaving September 23, 2017 10 day ultimate Alaska cruise leaving from Seattle.

Are you saying I won't be traveling the inside passage?? It does end in Vancouver. I just don't see anywhere in MyNcl where it says Inside passage". I wanted a longer Alaska cruise - more than 7 days but do want to sail the inside passage.

 

Thanks

 

Harriet

Generally the trip from Alaska into or out of Vancouver travels on the east side of Vancouver Island. The trips into Victoria and then Seattle are on the West side.

The obvious reason is Vancouver is on the east side and it is a detour of several hours to go on the west side.

Victoria is on the south-west trip of Vancouver island.

E

 

We joined and left the Epic in Barcelona - granted there were those that got on in Rome and Marseilles - but The cruise was based around Barcelona being Day One for most people.

 

I want the OP to get off nice and early and enjoy Barcelona. It is a fabulous city. Too nice to waste having a lie in on the ship.

I agree Barcelona is a grate city to be in. It would be a shame to hang around the ship instead of going out and exploring.

That said, the OP should make up her/his mind.

Another piece of advise for the OP. Depending on what you like for breakfast. You can head to buffet or the dinning rooms for a hot breakfast. However because your in a studio there is also usually a spread in the studio lounge with a basic continental breakfast. I find it a less crowded start to the day.

As to your last day, you don't need to stay late on the ship. You can leave your room at about 8 am, go and have a last good breakfast (to last you until supper :D) and walk off the ship with your backpack. If you stay any later you will feel awkward. They are preparing for the next lot of passengers.

 

You are not on a standard cruise where everyone gets off. For this cruise in Europe there are three different ports where passengers can join or leave the cruise. The ship never empties out in any one city.

That's pretty expensive. Like TMS9539 said, try your roll call and see if anyone is doing anything similar in a private tour and if you can join. Also, check Rome in Limo's tour sharing site here https://www.romeinlimotoursharing.com/

 

I kept an eye on it to see if there was anything that I wanted to do but nothing really topped what I planned to do on my own but you may find something. It really is easy though to get from Naples to Sorrento and Pompeii on the train as well as much, much cheaper if you decide to try it by yourself. I'm really not sure about Positino though since it wasn't on my list to go to.

Naples is one of the easiest cities to visit. For a low cost Naples tour what I would do is just walk off the ship (the ship docks right downtown), get a good tour map and do a self guided walking tour of Naples. head back to the ship for lunch and then do the ships half day tour of Pompeii in the afternoon.

I have never seen or heard of this practice with Canadian declaration form before boarding a ship in the US. Even on aircraft it is passed out during the flight. The form you are describing is attached below and makes no mention of criminality.

 

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/forms-formulaires/e311-eng.pdf

I have done it on NCL coming from Las Angeles, with first Canadian port being Victoria and the final port as Vancouver. Forms were handed out at the terminal and needed to be returned when getting your key card. I suspect they were held by NCL until a few days later when the ship entered Canada.

On aircraft it is handed out at check-in for very small airports. On a flight between Rochester NY and Toronto they hand it our at the check-in counter. It is what ever the airline wants to do.

Embarked May 20, 3 hours of waiting and mindless walking. Last time for us out of Vancouver.

The port of Victoria is proposing an upgrading the facilities here to switch from being a port-of-call to a home-port. However that is a few years out. I wonder if that would reduce problems in Vancouver or not.

I agree after thinking about it for a bit. I think I'll wait until I get to the airport and decide if I want to spend the money then. Thanks for the info! This is my first time flying to Europe.

If you do purchase an Admiral club pass, if it is a day pass it should get you into the Admiral club in Toronto as well as the one at JFK. That said, I would probably pass especially at $60 for access. US airlines lounges are nicer than the normal wait area but they are not that impressive otherwise.

It has been about two years since I have been on AA from Toronto to JFK. It is usually a regional flight (e.g. small jet 50 to 100 seats). In Toronto American leaves from Terminal 3, once you are through security and US immigration you follow directions and the gates that American regional flights use tend to be down an escalator into a waiting area on a lower level to ground load onto the flight. It is a small waiting area but ok.

My personal experience is JFK is not as bad as Laguardia but it is not uncommon to have air traffic control hold flights on the ground in Toronto due to air congestion in the New York area. I have never had a ground hold greater than an hour but that does not mean it does not happen. I would feel quite comfortable with a two hour buffer between flights.

Enjoy Europe it is a nice part of the world.

I'll be going to Rome via JFK in September. My wait time between the connecting flights is about 4 hours.

 

First, is it worth looking into an airport lounge for that amount of time? Will I have to go through security again since I'm going on an international flight? I was thinking it would be nice to relax in a comfortable area before my overnight flight.

 

If it is worth it, which one would you recommend and where would I be able to buy a day pass?

 

TIA!

Are you arriving and departing JFK from the same terminal? JFK is one of the airports where inter-terminal transfers can involve going through security. The JFK terminals are connected by a train system. If you are arriving and departing from the same terminal your probably good.

Now that Air Canada has pulled out of serving JFK I think American Airlines is the only regular operator. One or two of the South American airlines may still also operated between Toronto and JFK.

I have a question since I'll be leaving from Toronto as well.

 

I'm flying to Rome via JFK on Finnair in September. Now, I've heard that European flights serve alcohol. Is this true? Also, is anyone familiar with this airline? Read a few reviews but interested in hearing some more about how they are.

Air Canada has a (complimentary) open bar in both economy and business class on overseas flights. The quality of the wine and brand of drinks is better in business than economy obviously. The same type of service holds for most European airlines. The US airlines keep changing their rules about what is complementary and what is included, but I think most are now back to including wine and beer in economy.

As for Finnair sorry, they are a well established airline that have been around for a long time. I would expect they are similar, however I never been on them. Certain others on here have.

The terminal is right in the downtown core under the convention centre and Pan Pacific hotel. If you walk out of the terminal building you are surrounded by lots of high end hotels (including one just above the terminal) where it is easy to grab a taxi. No reason to stay in a long line down there.

That said, I would vote for Skytrain if you fell comfortable with going one block outside the terminal building with your bags. You want to get onto the Canada Line YVR train (at Waterfront station). The airport is just south of Vancouver on Sea Island and a quick train ride.

I did buy interruption insurance but I agree with you direct flight would have been better. I was quoted 175 from our TA (charged by Oceania) per person if we were to find another flight so its not worth an extra 350 for the two of us. I'm hoping that things will be ok. I heard nasty things about Rouge, although we are booked back from Lisbon on Rouge. The AA flight has dinner and snack to Barcelona. The Rouge flight back has nothing. It'll probably be when I'm the most hungry, I find after a cruise my stomach capacity has doubled and I'm starving for the next 3 days!:p

The Air Canada Rouge flight from Lisbon will have a standard Air Canada style economy hot meal and complimentary wine and drinks. It is about the same as the other airlines.

Codeshares are a marketing tool the airlines use where they sell seats on each others flights. Quit common these days.

Hi guys, I booked a cruise through Oceania and they put us through Philadelphia. We have two hours between the flights. The first flight is American Airlines and the second says British Airways but when I checked the reservation it says British Airways run by American Airlines.

 

Can someone explain if they are both considered American Airlines? Will I need to pick up my luggage in Philadelphia and go through checkin and security again? Because if so I am worried we won't make the flight to Barcelona...it seems like the terminals are also different.

I'm kinda worried with the TSA delays nowadays..but the cruiseline should have taken this into account?

Thanks!

You clear US Customs and Immigration in Toronto before boarding your flight. Luggage should be check to your final destination. CASA (Canadian security will clear you in Toronto) to arrive at a domestic gate in Philly, you should not have to go through security again.

If it is says BA operated by American that means it is actually an American Airlines flight. I was sold by BA under a BA flight number. Either way when you check in Toronto you will be issued boarding passes all the way through.

In Philly all the "terminals" used by American (and BA) are actually piers. I would think of it as the same building.

I have been on business in Quebec City a few times. I usually stay at the Delta Quebec. I like it.

Delta is a well respected business brand in Canada. A few months ago they became part of Marriot.