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For hot beverages: coffee, tea and hot-chocolate.

The CD you are referring to is no longer with NCL, he left after completing his last contract on November 2013.

That is unfortunate, he was a good cruise director.

If you ask for directions to Granville the following may help ...

Granville St. - A Street running through downtown Vancouver. The downtown core is full of entertainment options etc. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_Entertainment_District)

Granville St Bridge (caries Granville St above Granville Island).

Granville Island - An old industrial area in Vancouver located in false creek. It has for the most part been fully reclaimed. Most of the old warehouse and wharf buildings were converted into restaurants, art studios, shops and a large public market. You could spend hours wandering around that Island. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_Island)

Granville Island Hotel - A small boutique hotel located on Granville Island is one of these reclaimed building.

Granville Island Market - The public Market on Granville Island.

I would also recommend the Crown Piazza.

The Crown Plaza also had a shuttle bus running every thirty minutes or so form the hotel to the ship.

they still do cooking seminars, but the port talks are all about shopping.

The one exception is (was?) the Jade. The cruise director would do these seminar about the ports. It would include the history, local transportation, local customs etc. The Jade is in some ways a better ship.

The shore excursion people would also do one however it was mostly a sales pitch for their shore excursions. I have not been impressed by that.

You have taken what I said out of context, however, you are absolutely correct. Although it can a two edged sword, the individual CBSA agent does have a great deal of discretion as to they admit to the country and I did point that out in an earlier post.

My apologies. When I trimmed it down I should have include the second sentence. That make it closer to the point you were making.

Thanks for all the input. I think I will buy the insurance. I did check with our credit card company and there is no coverage there. Any advice or anything I should be cautious of when finding a policy? Thanks for your help!!

If you work, you may want to have a quick look at your employers extended health benefits plan. It may or may not include travel insurance.

II am not sure what you are trying to say, but the law is the law.

The reality is the agents on the boarder have quite a bit of discretion. They are expected to do something reasonable and for it to be in the public interest. The ones on the US are in the same boat.

They will make a decision based on the risk you pose to Canadian society and what is in the public interest.

If you are on a train heading into Canada that is going to turn-around and head back in an hour or two in the middle of the wilderness on the Alaska-BC boarder they will likely not look that closely at your passport or even scan it through a computer. The same is not going to be the case if your driving into Canada near a major Canadian city with a car full of all your worldly possessions and you claim to be on day trip.

I don't think anyone can tell you what a specific agent will absolutely due in a specific situation based on the descriptions posted on this board. If it is something minor, in the distant past and all the paper work you have is showing your going to be leaving the country any way in a few hours I think a reasonable guess is they are going to ignore it and wish you a safe trip but no one can guarantee that outcome.

I use to work in a situation where we would bring consultants in from the US to do short term (few days) work in Canada (normally under NAFTA). I think the attitude and appearance of the person coming across to the agents at the boarder was a more important factor that a minor offense from 20 year ago.

1. Pizza is $5 per pizza. It is a very large 16-inch round pie.

2. Correct. No charge for pastries but I believe you have to purchase something there. I don't drink coffee so I can't remember the specifics.

3. Bowling venues - you are correct. First come first serve. Cost is $5 per game, per person and includes shoe rental. You must have socks. Bring your own or you can buy a pair there.

4. Not offered every night. Show runs 1 hour 20 minutes.

5. Dress code is the same. Khakis are fine. Menus are basically the same - you may have a different variation of a sauce or cut of meat.

6. You cannot enter the Ice Bar without paying. It is worth it. You get two drinks from the menu (no other choices). There are non-alcoholic drinks as well (again from set menu).

7. Passes sell out rapidly when offered.

Only thing to add....

1. There is also a pizza station in the buffet where most of the day they are making pizza. There is no charge up there.

2. The coffee is Lavazza (an Italian brand) that I think is better than Starbucks. They have brewed coffee (complimentary) and charge for the fancy drinks.

3. If you don't prebook BlueMan group before boarding there is a box-office on the ship and you can also book through the TV in your room. No printed tickets it is all done electronically using your key card. When they do not have Blue Man group they will have a different show on.

If you are looking for a quit place on deck and don't do Posh. This a deck open to everyone (that many people don't know about) away from the music (quite) and usually under used. It is above the buffet area. You access it through one of the two glass elevators just outside the buffet area. The elevator on side does into the suite area the opposite elevator takes you the public deck. It is not as nice as posh but on the same level and not very busy.

I would think the Jade would be the ship to chose for such a stay. Our of all the NCL ships is it not the one with the most varied routing?

Doing the same 7 day cruise every week is more common on the other ships.

Other than repositioning through the Panama canal to get up-to Vancouver and Seattle for the Alaska season or the odd Atlantic crossing this is not much variability with NCL.

Hey Calliopercruiser,

 

Either way it sounds like you are stuck as Air Canada has been changing their mainline to Rouge. I would not fly on an airline that claims to be Low Cost when in reality for the same cost you can fly on a mainline carrier with more amenities and better mileage earnings

 

 

Hope this helps.

Air Canada is slowing switching all of the leisure destinations from their standard service to Rogue. The business destinations are staying with the normal aircraft. Unfortunately most of the cruise destinations are leisure.

We fly business or first class which gives us access to the airline lounges. If we have friends in coach, no way does the airline allow them into the lounge. I can understand about the crudites, cookies, little sandwiches, but if/when suite guests have a party for 20 people, then they should pay for it. OF COURSE, the HD said that was nice, that is what they are trained to say in a public place, you have no idea what is the attitude behind it or how it may change policy going forward. Sometimes a few greedy people ruin things for everyone.

That all depends on the airline and your status with the airline.

I travel mostly with Air Canada. With Elite status I am permitted to bring two guests into the lounge regardless of the cabin they are in with me (as long as they have a boarding pass with any Star Alliance carrier departing on the same day). If I am in executive class without the status I am permitted to invite guests into the business lounge with me but must pay a fee of around $20-30. I suspect most other airlines have similar arrangements.

Honestly if you have a Haven suite you should be permitted to invite guests up to your cabin. If the arrangement you have includes certain privileges extended to your guests so be it. If NCL has a charge for special services for your guests that sounds reasonable, as a good host you should expect to pay for costs of entertaining your guests.

Thanks martincath!

 

You hit on one of the key reasons - the ability to get a nonstop SEA-ATL vs a one-stop YVR-ATL. The pricing piece is a bit more complicated because the cruise actually departs out of Seattle but ends in Vancouver (Celebrity Solstice 11 night itinerary in September). Even with the multi-city itinerary the airline $ difference isn't that great and after figuring in transfers it probably is about the same.

 

Thought I might hear from someone who has taken a cruise line transfer from Canada Place to SEA and see what their experience was.

 

Thanks again for the very detailed and helpful responses!

You may want to try looking at the price of two one way tickets. If you are willing to fly form Vancouver you should also try a quick search on the Air Canada and on the WestJet websites. It would likely price in Canadian dollars but that may give you a few more options.

I can see how it is kind of like a codeshare.......at any rate, it's over 5 hours and the pitch is 2" less on Rouge, which I think is significant. And there are those big WiFi things taking up the under-seat room beneath the aisle seats. But it is an extra 3 hours........

 

I'll think about the options; thanks for your input.

Rogue is not a separate airline. Just a different brand that Air Canada.

Jazz Air is a separate company that operates as a sub-contractor to Air Canada.

If you are on Rouge and concerned about the extra leg room you may want to look at their premium economy option. I believe it is 35" so quite a bit more room.

As for switching to United. I don't think the pitch is much better that Rogue. Maybe an extra 1".

Honestly, Look at some of the photos of the suites. Those are sized to be able to entertain. I would expect that short of violating some maximum occupancy regulation you should be able to invite as many people as you like into your cabin as frequently as you like. If the suite comes with a butler to setup meals or other room service items so be it.

How is this different that being in a regular balcony ordering wine from room service with glasses for you and your guests and having your cabin steward clean up after your guest leave.

In the suite your paying for access to a butler that does a nicer spread and is a bit more attentive than just normal room service. I believe that also includes preparing your cabin for entertaining does it not?

As for going to the VIP or Suit restaurant for breakfast, it is more like showing up for a party your not invited to. Perhaps the host will be nice enough to let you in once or twice but you are pushing your luck to do it over and over again.

Look closely at your eDocs (they ones you download from the NCL site and print before the cruise). They eDocs should have phone numbers and e-mail address that can be used to route messages directly to your cabin.

It is not cheap, but if it is for emergency, you likely do not care about the cost.

Some suggestions to handling the budget on the Vancouver side of things.

The priceline option may get you a good hotel in downtown Vancouver for a good price. If not it can be expensive. The RiverRock casino is a reasonable price. If you are looking for something a little different there are B&B within a few blocks of the skytrain http://www.dougwin.com/ The broadway area has a lot of shops and coffee places etc. Granville Island, Chinatown (though with an asian feel), the north vancouver public market (at the base of seabus terminal) has a lot of what you have in mind.

I would not stay in any hotel around Gastown however it is also a nice place to visit. I would stay away from the hotels immediately south of Gastown.

From the ticket machines at skytrain you can purchase a day pass for the transit system, that includes Skytrain, seabus and buses. (http://www.translink.ca/)

I live in Victoria (and it is a also a city that you would probably like to visit) however it sounds like you have to many things for those 5 days already.

I would use http://matrix.itasoftware.com to find a flight. You can not book on this site, but it gives you the info you need. You may also want to look directly on the Air Canada website, WestJet or Southwest website as they sometimes have cheaper flights only available through their sites.

The train-ride to Seattle is quite nice and scenic if you are choosing to spend time in Seattle. Personally I like trains better than buses, however the train take you to downtown Seattle and not the airport. If you are only going to Seattle to catch a flight, there are direct buses to the Seattle airport (http://www.quickcoach.com/schedule.htm). They will also stop at Belingham Airport on the way to Seattle Airport.

Airline pricing is variable, so these observations may vary. However I have found that overseas flights tend to cost the same from Vancouver or Seattle or Victoria. Domestic US flights tend to be quite a bit cheaper from Seattle or Belingham.

If you do feel like driving (we drive on the opposite side of the road in North America) rental cars can be quite economical if you credit card has auto-insurance coverage.

I would not worry about the baggage bins getting full. What I find tends to happen on the US domestic flights I am on is:

- Gate agent makes announcement along the lines of "We have a full flight, if you volunteer to come up and have you bags checked to the final destination we will do it for free and let you board early".

- Halfway through boarding the gate agent announces "We don't have any bin space anymore, when you get to the front we will check your bags for free to your final destination".

- Cabin crew conclude, there is no bin space anymore, "We will check your bags to your final destination for free".

The airlines have created a lot of unnecessary problems. Unfortunately it also sounds like they are making good money with these silly fees.

Thanx to everyone for your advice... Thank you dexddd - I suppose its makes sense to split our time evenly. We have to make most of our time on this very expensive holiday for us South Africans, as 1US$ already costs 11 SA Rands...

 

I will look into all the options everybody suggested.

 

Thanx again.

If you are looking at saving a few dollars. Downtown Vancouver hotels can be expensive. There is a hotel and several B&B near the City Hall Skytrain station that are sometimes a better deal.

You could also take a train or bus to Seattle and fly to Miami from there.

It all depends on what you enjoy.

Vancouver is a nice city to visit. Lots to do. There is ferry service over to Victoria as well as train service down to Seattle. The same train that goes from Vancouver to Seattle also continues on to Portland. If you chose to come over to Victoria, the Victoria Clipper is a sea cat service from Victoria into downtown Seattle.

The airlines and US authorities have all sorts of fees and taxes that are included in your airline as soon as you fly across the boarder You avoid all of these fees taking the train over the boarder. For this reason it may well be cheaper to spend some time in Vancouver, then take the train to Seattle or Portland and fly from their to Miami. (Search for Amtrak Cascades for the info on the rail service).

Given you has chosen to do both an Alaska cruise and a cruise out of Miami I would assume you want both a NorthWest Alaska type holiday as well as a Miami-Sun type holiday. Why not split your five days in half and do part of it in the North West and part down in Florida.

If you do the train, you want to show up at the train station in Vancouver early as you will clear US Customs before boarding the train.

I'm going to contact atlantis to see if last 1hr is just tour- and if that's the case I'll leave early.

 

 

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Just before you leave the ship there is a sign that has the latest boarding time for passengers and crew. If you are cutting it that close I would double check just as leaving to be certain.

Google found something interesting

Health Canada (Federal Agency responsible for public health) does random safety inspections of Cruise Ships when in Canadian waters....

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/travel-voyage/general/ship-navire-eng.php

Different NCL ships are listed under Norweigen Cruise Line Ltd. and Norweigen Cruise Lines. Looks like they ok, but are slipping a bit in the last year or two.

http://207.6.98.232/clients/hc-sc/whpsp/whpsp_phb_website.nsf/Ship-CityList?OpenView&Count=1000

The other factor is in Canada there are different rules for provincially regulated industries from federally regulated industries.

Federal occupational safety rules apply to airlines, ships, trucking companies, bus lines, railways ect. that do or can operate in more than one province.

I would be surprised if a provincial or city inspector would ever come near a cruise ship. A Transport Canada inspector is a different story.

The US has a similar distinction does it not?

Isn't there some USDA or CBP regs about prohibiting bringing food items onto the ship (and, whether it applies to lobsters, dead or alive )

 

If not, just pack them - as carryon - in a cooler with dry ice like them up in Maine or in New England?

 

Head for Teppanyaki and ask the chef to cut it up & cook it for you - it's "Show Time" or drop by the Sushi Bar, try it Sashimi style, bring some of your favorite hot sauce, ginger & scallion, or pepper & salt dipping.

 

Tipping for extra services would be a good idea, IMO. :p

Care is required if you bring the lobster on deck. The Spong bob characters may confuse him for Larry the Lobster. The lifeguard lobster, and may become concerned for his safety, especially around the hot-tubs.....:)

I have done the Frankfort connection many times over the years. Air Canada usually ends up at a gate as do the Lufthansa flights from Toronto. The only time I ever remember being on remote stand (where you are bussed out) was either after the airport had a lot of Fog or the flight from Toronto was very late for some reason.

Flights within Europe on remote standards are quite common at most airports especially when flying smaller aircraft.