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Due to work my dates are not felixable. We will be flying out on Nov 15 and returning Nov 23.

I did a search on the Air Canada website. Tango fare from Winnipeg to Miami is running $685 per person CDN including taxes per person connecting through Toronto going and Montreal coming back.

They are running a 20% off promo code for flight to Florida until tomorrow. However it only applies to travel between now and September.

I did not spend much on the ship. A few drinks and that was about it. It is a very port intensive cruise so you don't spend much time on the ship. I did the EPIC out of Rome.

Train from Rome to the port.

Florence - I did the "The Cinque Terre" ship excursion. If I remember correctly the ship docs at an industrial port. Loved this one.

Cannes - This is a tender port. The tender docks in the town centre. There is a public beach near the tender and some private beaches in the opposite direction. Many people ended up taking the train out to Monaco.

Naples - The dock is just downtown and there is plenty to see within in walking distance. I did that in the morning and then a ship excursion to pompeii.

Barcelona - Port shuttle from the dock to the centre of town only cost a few euro.

That said you could close to spend more or less.

Hi all,please help me. I need to know the best and quickest way to get from Civitavecchia to Rome city for a tour at 9 30am.We arrive in port at 7am.Thanks Wendy

The first options is the train (not certain that once off the ship, shuttle bus to the port gate, walk to the train station, buy tickets and wait for the train) I am not certain that you will be assured of making a 9:30 appointment.

The other option is to hire a taxi.

I have never been in Club Class on Air Transat but the photos of the seats look like the old business class from years ago. Better than Premium Economy. Air Transat in economy is quite crowded.

 

You can try searching http://matrix.itasoftware.com select "Premium Economy".

 

I don't think Air Canada does Rome year round. In either case Lufthansa and Air Canada operate on a joint venture basis between Canada and Europe.

One thing to point out is there is a difference between Premium Economy (European Airlines and Air Canada) and Economy Plus (Delta, United etc.). You should look closely at where it says who the operator of the flight is as there are lots of code shares.

What is offered as premium economy on the European carriers and Air Canada is an upgraded and wider seat usually with upgraded meals etc. What the US based airlines offer is simply the same economy seat with a bit more leg room.

Only thing to add.....

Get to the airport early. Depending on the airport your leaving from there can be long lines at security.

Depending on the size of the aircraft they will start boarding the aircraft 45-20 minutes before departure. So you want to be in the gate area on time. The departure time in your reservation is the time they want everyone on the aircraft seated, the door closed and ready to push back the aircraft.

Two hours should be lots of time to make a connection in Chicago if the airlines are in the same terminal.

When you get to Vancouver you will clear Canadian customs on arrival, the process is (1) Passport Check, (2) pickup-bags, (3) hand-in customs card at exist. They handout the customs card on the inbound flight. You should plan to have a pen in your carry on luggage.

Going back Vancouver is one of the Canadian airports with US Pre-clearance. You will clear US Customs prior to boarding your flight so you should add a little extra time for that.

You should also consider Air Transat Club Class. Often a little less than other airlines premium economy.

I have never been in Club Class on Air Transat but the photos of the seats look like the old business class from years ago. Better than Premium Economy. Air Transat in economy is quite crowded.

You can try searching http://matrix.itasoftware.com select "Premium Economy".

I don't think Air Canada does Rome year round. In either case Lufthansa and Air Canada operate on a joint venture basis between Canada and Europe.

What about cream? Or do you they those 'fake creamers'? Is there a fridge in the room or any way to get real cream???

Most ships have fridges in the rooms. When I was on the Jade it was the weird cream that does not require refrigeration. I think dairy is normally sourced locally instead of shipped out of Miami.

You can always go up to the buffet and fill a glass with cream that you keep in your fridge.

The north country is challenging when it comes to competitive airfares. Still, if you could drive to Minneapolis, you can fly to Ft Lauderdale for less than $300. round trip for most of November if you buy your tickets soon.

You may also want to price flying out of Winnipeg.

As for the comment about the price not being guaranteed until ticketed, the price is not going to change after your credit card is charged.

Also keep in mind that LiveTV is only active over the continental US and 200 miles offshore. At other times there will be a few channels of on-board, "precanned" programs. This is due to licensing with the networks and broadcast providers. (FYI, LiveTV is a separate company which provides DirecTV programming to the seatback).

 

If your flight is international or overwater (Puerto Rico, Hawaii, etc) there won't be much programming available.

i think it may be more technology that limits the coverage than licensing. The satellites the system is pointed to is only designed to service a given geographic area.

I will be on the Epic April transatlantic to Barcelona and considering tacking on a three-day cruise to Majorca and France cruise (also on Epic) departing the same afternoon after docking that morning. I'd like to switch cabins from a balcony on the TA to a studio for the three day. Is there somewhere onboard to leave my luggage during that day so I can explore Barcelona before the ship departs at 7:00 pm? I definitely wouldn't want to lug it all over town.

Back to back sailing are common on the Jade and others have posted that the crew take care of moving for your luggage from one cabin to the other for you while you are exploring. I have never done it, but would expect the same on the EPIC.

You can also purchase a day pass for the transit system from the skytrain ticket machines. The covers, skytrain, seabus, and all the regular city bus service. Cost is $9.75 for adult and the discounted fair is $7.50. This will also cover the cost of getting out to the airport at the end of the day.

The following link has info on getting to various destinations.

http://www.translink.ca/en/Getting-Around/Destinations-to-Discover.aspx

If you are doing a solo in one of the Studio cabins there are some tips:

- The studio cabins have a shared private living room. Usually very quiet most of the day. There is a setup there in the morning for breakfast (croissants muffins, juice, etc.). I find it is a nice quite place away from the crowds to start the day. There is also one of those fancy cappuccino machines. Good stuff.

- Happy hour in there when there is a bar tender. One of the cruise director staff member will show up and help organize dinner and make reservations for all the solo travelers that want to have dinner together.

- The studio have a nice compact layout. Lots of storage in those rooms.

- If you want to be in the sun, the H20 is at the back of the ship is the adult only area with the adult only pool and hot tub.

Does anyone know if I can bring a bottle of wine on the day I broad the ship? And will there be a fee if I drink it in my stateroom

? Need answer asap since I will be broading the Gem tomorrow morning. O, another question do they give you body soap and shampoo?

Regular cabins have liquid body wash and shampoo combo setup in the shower and liquid soap near the sink. i find it is fine. Some people do not like the idea of shampoo and condition in one and bring their own.

I have never stayed in a suite with such an espresso machine, and would love to have one.

There are plenty of stories on the board of people in cabins that do not have coffee machines asking for and receiving a drip machine. If you are in a suite and ask for a North American style drop machine, I would be surprised if your butler did not make one magically appear.

Empty one or two of the levazza capsules into the paper filter and make a 4 cup pot

The Epic has Second City Improv - the later show is adult oriented. If you like Improv, it's funny. Some like, some don't. I am a huge improv fan and loved it. My husband was indifferent about it. The other shows are Blue Man Group (totally wild), Legends in Concert (which is impersonators), Howl at the Moon (dueling pianos - we loved this), Cirque Dreams (a paid dinner show which is like cirque de soliel - pretty cool). There's also an ice bar, a 24-hour pub, huge casino. We loved the waterslides also.

There is also a Jazz-Blues Club on the epic. I loved it, unfortunately the group that performed there moved to the breakaway and reports have been they have been rotating different performers in and out of that venue.

There are two different main dinning rooms one a bit more upscale (Manhattan) and the other a bit more modern. One night there will be a hot-white party on the outer deck.

I seriously doubt it will be assigned at the pier. I'd expect an assignment in the next few days before you sail!

If it were a hotel room I would agree it makes sense to wait. Since hotels deliberately over book and only assign rooms at checkin.

If it were an airline then they would upgrade their frequent travelers to make room in economy for the not-so-frequent clients.

Being a cruise ship I don't know. I have found that when I booked into one of those guaranteed categories that by the time I printed out my cruse documents a few days before the cruise my cabin had already been assigned. I also don't think the people manning the check-in computers in port have much discretion in decision making they simply hand you the key the computer says to hand you.

Thanks again for the help...lots to weigh out. Was hoping to use Award points for my flight and pay for DH's...but that may not work (United). Could just simply fly out of Vancouver, but it is more expensive and, unless things have gotten better since 2004, that airport was a nightmare! We are probably better off to just take our time to Seattle and fly the following day...

If you are using United points, you should see what is available from Vancouver, since I believe it is the same number of points required to fly to New York from either Seattle or Vancouver. The charges for taxes and fees will be higher, (mostly customs, immigration, agriculture etc.)

Since United and Air Canada are both part of Star Alliance, any points booking can use a combination of the two airlines.

There is nothing as good as Maine lobster.:D

I would say the Atlantic Canada lobster is on par with Maine Lobster.

I find the main dinning room Lobster is good but it is not the same. Think of it an a previously frozen smaller version of a lobster.

Both the Getaway AND the Escape will be home-porting out of Miami? Wow, that's interesting, and a lot of cabins to fill each week. If that's true, I wonder what happens to the Pearl and Sun - maybe one, or both of them, stays and does the southern itineraries? It'll definitely be interesting to see how NCL configures their ports and itineraries!

It would good if the older ships started to head deeper into Central or South America.

Posted this on West Coast forum, but got no responses, so I'm trying here.

 

Our ship will be making one of those famous short evening stops in Victoria at the end of an Alaska cruise in July. We have some errands we need to run. We have 4 or 5 stops from Ross Bay to Metchosin. We would like to hire a car and driver to do all the navigation. It doesn't need to be a fancy limo - just safe, courteous and room for 5 adult passengers.

 

Any recommendations?

 

Thanks!

Some options: Bluebird Cab (Taxi service, you may be able to pre-book a taxi operated as a mini-van). http://www.taxicab.com/

There are several limo services that may be a better deal. i have never booked one of these so I can't make a recommendation. On example would be: http://www.ascotlimo.com/limousines.htm or http://arbutuslimo.com/fleet/14-passenger-econoline-van/ . The limo companies also operate mini-vans.

If you also want to sail/cruise between Vancouver Island and the mainland on the Jewel, either 7-Day Sawyer Glacier, Seattle to Vancouver or 10-Day Glacier Bay from Seattle do so.

 

On the NCL website "Details" map for the 10-day itinerary, this strait is incorrectly labeled "INSIDE PASSAGE". On the NCL website "Details" map for the 7-day Sawyer Glacier route, three points are labeled "INSIDE PASSAGE" -- only the northern one is correct of course -- but it's no wonder people get confused!

The other option is to sail on the NCL Sun. That ship does 7 day one-ways between Seward and Vancouver, or a 14 day round trip. It also does some 7 day round-trips from Vancouver. You can fly in to Vancouver or take a shuttle from the Seattle airport. Amtrak also operates between Vancouver and Seattle.

We are visiting Astoria in May during our B2B cruise. We have friends that live nearby and they are picking us up at port in Astoria to show us around.

My question is, is this a port that we can easier walk off the ship and out of the port area to meet up with our friends? Or, what is the best way to meet up with them at port? Didn't know if we had to shuttle away from the ship to get to a place for our friends.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Yes, it is a very walkable port. We just walked off the ship and then down the trail heading downtown. You should be ale to meet your friends at the port.

One thing to keep in mind is depending on the ship it may not not actually dock. I was on the NCL Jewel and the day we were in port there were two cruise ships in port. The NCL ship docked at the port (Pier 1 in the map), just before the bridge. There was another smaller cruise ship in town and it headed up the river, remained in the river and tendered with the tenders docking right downtown.

HAL passes out pea soup, the "hot chocolate" may have a fee, depending on the cruise line. This is only during the glacier sailing day.

Hot Chocolate is one of the "free" beverages on NCL. The mix based stuff is at any of the coffee stations in the buffet. Not certain about the other lines.

I am also thinking of an Alaska cruise, but have not done one yet so I can't comment on the excursions.

You may want to also look at some of the Vancouver cruises. There are airport shuttle buses from the Seattle Airport to Vancouver. Amtrak also runs trains form downtown Seattle to downtown Vancouver.

I have been on the Jewel there is a lot of space on the upper deck.

The flight from Vancouver to Seattle will likely be on a Dash-8 with two seats on each side. There is no middle seat.

Will that flight be full? It is hard to say, but I think you have a better chance of a seat being free than on the domestic flight you are on.

I agree with other posters who say NCL is not responsible. INVICTA is responsible.

I do agree it is poor customer service on INVICTA's part. They are US based?

That said, you have entered into a contract with the retailer (NCL) when you purchased the product from them, since that is the company you exchanged money with. Their is some supply chain that eventually get to INVICTA.

Living in Canada we always have the problem that the Canadian subsidiary of some large multi-nationals do not want to honour the warranty on products sold through their sister companies in the US. The purchaser may or may not even live in the country where the watch was sourced from. I could also see that being a potential problem.