em-sk

No shortage of options.  Every major European international airline is going to fly between Israel and the US.  Within North America this is Air Canada and a number of US airlines.   

Dubai will add extra time, in your flying east to turn around and fly west. 

2 hours ago, pompeii said:

Thanks for the reply @em-sk.  We are cruising from Vancouver to Sydney, so we only need to fly to Vancouver to meet the ship on the way out.  Coming back we'll fly from Sydney home but not have to go through Vancouver.

 

Anyway, although suggestions on airlines is appreciated, my question is regarding booking both my flights attached to the first of my b2b cruises.   I wondered if it's better to have one airline booking with both flights on the first of the cruises.  Or have two separate airline bookings, ie the departure flight on the first cruise and return flight on the second.  I remember a comment that it's best to split the flights up and have air attached to each of the cruises, but I can't remember exactly the reason.

Unless there is a cost saving I would do two separate one.

When you buy a ticket, your paying the airline that issued the ticket and are playing by that airlines rules on changes etc.  That first airline is then reselling all the other flights to you.   For example if you first flight on the ticket was Air Canada,, you have Air Canada as the airline your dealing with for changes to any subsequent flights including the return one.

6 hours ago, pompeii said:

The return flight is international so I don't believe there is a checked bag fee.  The outgoing is USA to Canada, which doesn't count as international, hence checked bag fee.  At least, that's been my experience with mixed flights like that.  I could be wrong, though.

 

Yes. Air Canada (or WestJet or the US airlines) will charge baggage fees between the US and Canada unless your connecting overseas.

Air Canada and Qantas are the only two non-stop options between Vancouver and Australia.  Air New Zealand would also be an option with a connection.  They have a first fee bag on overseas flights. 

That said, coming back from Australia, I am assuming your going home and not trying to go through Vancouver.  That gives you a few more options. 

6 hours ago, CruisinginWonderland said:

 Thank you! You’re right. I forgot that would be considered Canada. I’m an Alaska route nube! 😁

Yes, it is.   

Downtown Victoria by North American standards has a fairly old downtown.  All the buildings refurbished and has an old world vibe. Lots of independent restaurants.  Some are farm to table type.  

Here is the promo video:  

The cruise line has access to special negotiated rates that are un-published.  So it may be the same flight as you see on expedia with the rate NCL is paying will be quite different.  For this reason the conditions around the ticket are also different and unpublished.

They generally don't book into the ultra-low-cost airlines.  Your likely to be on Air Canada, WestJet, AirTransat or one of the major foreign airlines.

There is nothing wrong with unpublished fares, but you should know what your getting into.  I have an RBC Avion card and AMEX miles card.  If I try to book on Avion or AMEX (even paying cash with no points) I can book into special unpublished fares that each of the banks negotiated.  Many cases it is cheaper but without aeroplan points as an example.

1 hour ago, SuzieQ521 said:

Thank you so much! Very helpful information. 

 

We love Vancouver (been three times before) but unfortunately we would need to get back to get our son in the SF area where my parents are watching him. We are from Vegas so would likely be flying back there the next day from the Bay Area.

 

May I also ask if you would choose West Jet or Air Canada back to SF (both about the same price?). We flew West Jet a few years ago and it was fine (I believe it is equivalent to our Southwest airlines which we fly often).

 

Thanks

 

Both WestJet and Air Canada are about the same.  There are non-stop flights with both airlines.

Air Canada partners with United and you can credit miles to your United loyalty program.

WestJet partners with Delta in the US and you can credit miles to the Delta program if you collect miles. 

1 hour ago, cruisingrob21 said:

More and more I'm thinking that Princess (with another 2 ships in port that day on longer voyages) with either put the sapphire to Nanaimo, or force departure around 1800 to accommodate the Discovery Princess

This is the cruise ship facility in Nanaimo.  They have a nice building, connected to a pier designed for cruise ships  all the space for busses, etc.  Today it is also used a heliport for passenger flights to Vancouver.  

https://goo.gl/maps/mbXZSP57X84w6Ue86

Living on Vancouver Island, I get over to Vancouver on a regular basis.  I have ever been on cruise that docked there once and that was the NCL Jade or NCL Jewell (can't remember which one).  

When they have used it for cruise ships the harbour authority has run free shuttle buses into downtown Nanaimo since it is next to an industrial port, but they did also let people walk in/out if they stayed in the designated area.

The location Heidi13 suggested is this one.  It is possible as empty cruise ships have be serviced in that drydock.  But it is active shipyard.  I don't know.

https://goo.gl/maps/JRzz8vZ3pikj1ZtN6

10 hours ago, nikkiml said:

Hello, we are a group of 14 (7 couples), from Montreal, that took advantage of the promotion Cruise-Air by Norwegian for our upcoming cruise in April on the Encore. Some of us (3 couples) have received their flights information and we have two questions :

 

1. Until now, we have two itineries : return flight is different : one couple is flying out from Fort Lauderdale, the other two couples are flying out from Miami. We booked through a TA, which is closed on certain week-end (this is one of them). My question : have any of you succeeded to change flights arrangements ?

 

2. I tried to reserved my seats for the first segment of the travel, which is with Air Canada (the return is with Air Transat). When I try to check out, the website changes to US and it requests a zipcode (we have postal codes in Canada and are a combination of letters and numbers), so I cannot continue. Do any Canadian friends have succeeded in booking their seats or you had to go through your TA or Norwegian ?

 

Just for your information : the flights arrangements I received are great. No milk run, which was my biggest worries.

 

Thank you,

The Air Canada web site is bad for flipping into US$.  The black bar at the top has the currency.  Set it to CDN.  If it changes as you browse change it back.  

It tends to work better if you have an account and are logged in, but you sometimes need to keep putting it back.

11 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

After booking I’ve had a panic remembering this crosses the Canada border.  We have 75 minutes between flights in Seattle.  Do we have to go through customs in Seattle?  Do I need to rebook my flight?  

Victoria has pre-clearance but for ferries.   They do not have pre-clearance at the airport.

Seattle is typical of US airports.  If your flight arrives at the same time of some widebody flights it can be a zoo going through US border control.  If it arrives at the right time the place is empty and your on the other side with no issue. 

You go through customs in Seattle.  Yes, 75 minutes is tight but it can be done if everything goes to plan.

11 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Both piers at Ogden Point can handle 4 ships.

 

Not the best arrangement, but if the North Wall in Esquimalt is available, the 5th ship could go there. It isn't a DND berth, being operated by Public Works.

I assumed that birth would have ships going into or out of drydock. Being the largest civilian dry dock on the west coast they have had cruise ships in and out at times. 

I guess it the timing worked they could reconfigure it for a cruise ship to discharge passengers.  It is in the middle of an active ship yard. I don't know.

8 hours ago, dilbertsdaddy said:

Any suggestions for buying wine downtown?

I like the Robson Wine & Spirits store.  That said it is a slightly more expensive.

As martincath said, the BC Liquor Stores generally have a very good selection and are usually the best deal in town.

Air Canada would be another option out of Portland, through Toronto.  You would have one connection.  In Toronto coming from the US going to Europe you stay in the international concourse and there is no customs/immigration.  Coming back you would clear US customs/immigration in Toronto but unlike US airport bag are automatically transferred.

I would assume some of the US airlines also offer one stop options.   

6 hours ago, mikebsxm said:

Cruising out of Trieste, but need a RT flight from PHL to VCE, Marco Polo on June 8, 2023.

Checking Holland America's Flight Ease, most of the lowest price fares are sold by ITA, but actually flown by Air Canada, United, etc.  Some are sold and operated by ITA using an A-330.

I guess ITA is the replacement for the defunct Alitalia.  Anyone have an experience with ITA?

Yes, they are the replacement Alitalia.  They are owned by the government of Italy.  Being government owned I would not be worried that they are going to disapear.

If your booked on codeshares operated by Air Canada and United then it comes down to those to airlines for the in flight experience.  I am fan of Air Canada over United but honestly they are both very close to each other.

On 1/22/2023 at 11:50 AM, cruisingrob21 said:

Appreciate the sanity check.  I'm guessing since the Sapphire is on a short coastal another port will be selected.

In Victoria I can't thing of anywhere where the cruise ship could dock.  For civilian docks you have Ogdon point (where the cruise ships normally dock) and a number of smaller docks.   They could tender.

The other large docks in Victoria are military or coast guard.

If they need another Canadian port close to that area that would be Vancouver (that is also busy) or Nanaimo.  Nanaimo has a purpose built cruise ship port facility, that NCL used it in years past.  However it is very rarely used today.  

12 hours ago, MOSusan said:

What wonderful options you all have give us.  I'd love to stay at the Pan Pacific but I just looked up their nightly rate.  Ouch!  I think we'll look for something a little more reasonable.  The HOHO bus sounds like a good way to get around without having to rent a car, I will look into that. 

If I am looking for a basic hotel in the downtown core a few of the choices I would look at:

    - Days Inn (this is 100+ year old building, refurbish rooms, nothing remarkable about them but it s clean, safe and a good location).

   -  Sandman Hotel (near the stadium), more upscale than the Days Inn but generally small rooms.  Good location but not as close to the cruise ship terminal.

   - Pinnacle Hotel (close to the core of the city, older hotel, nice rooms, potentially a great view).

    - EXchange Hotel (before being a hotel this use to be the Vancouver Stock Exchange building).  Older building but that transformed into a hotel.  You can sometimes get good rates.  Great location, nice rooms.  Nothing over the top.

8 hours ago, Misself said:

UPDATE

 

had a response from NCL. They are saying as I had prepaid drinks package I should NOT have been taxed in Spain and are refunding the $ that I paid in tax. 
 

still no explanation re Gibraltar but are saying it was until 6pm although on our cruise it was not until 8.30pm (after dinner).that they were allowed to serve.
 

That makes sense.  If your charged 10% VAT on something that costs 0.00 Euro that is 0.00.  

17 hours ago, CWMixer said:

Boarded Joy on Sunday:

12 1-L's delivered per promotion (booked 11/01/22)

2   1/2-L's (due to Platinum?)

6    1-L's that I had purchased (I didn't have a lot of faith in the 12 showing up)

6   1-L's because _____________?????? no idea why: no note, etc.

25 L's of water

 

We've got enough water for a while!

Was it all that Flow Alkaline water or did they supply some variety......

3 hours ago, TeanneTX said:

Wow thanks for the info.  That sure puts things into perspective.  I don't think we'll do the car rental from Vancouver after all.  I didn't realize you have to wait an hour to get on the ferry.  That is crazy.  That ends up being 5 hrs just to get too and from the island.  I think flying is starting to sound better.  I know its pricey but this is a once in a life time trip for us so maybe we can make it work.  Or we may just stay in Vancouver after all and see their gardens.

There are some fine gardens in Vancouver.  Including a botanical garden and two Japanese Gardens.

If you do want to go to the Island.  I would not do the rental car but instead do the intercity bus.  

-  You would need to take a taxi from your hotel to Pacific Central Station.  

-  There is a 9:30  AM bus that leaves Pacific Central and drives directly onto the 11:00 sailing that arrives in Swatz Bay at 12:35

- You will want to get off the bus on the ferry and walk off the ship. 

- Take a taxi from the ferry terminal to the Gardens.

You would end up with a good four hours to visit the gardens.

Coming back

- Tax a taxi from the Garden To Swartz Bay Terminal to get on the 5:00 pm sailing you will want to be at the terminal no later that 4:30.

- Board the bus on the ferry it will take you back to Pacific Central Station in Downtown Vancouver.

- Taxi from there to your hotel.   You will be back to your hotel around 8 pm.

Pre-booking the bus is at: https://bcfconnector.com/

Even paying for taxis etc, this is likely lower cost. You spend far less time waiting for a ship and you don't need to worry about traffic etc.  

----  

If you do decide the fly there are a few choices.....

Harbour Air operates float plans from Vancouver Harbour (near the cruise ship terminal) to downtown Victoria.  
Helijet Airways operates helicopter service from Vancouver Heliport to the inner harbour in Victoria.  Both are spectacular views.  You can sometimes get good deals.

The gardens are actually closer to the Victoria Airport than downtown Victoria.  So regular airport service may be a better fit though not as interesting.  Air Canada, WestJet and Pacific Costal are the three airlines.  Pacific Costal operates out of the south terminal in Vancouver and being a small aircraft does not have the same security constraints as the bigger airlines.   The flying time is around 20 minutes.

12 hours ago, klfrodo said:

The example I'm looking at is long haul and in particular BA288 and BA193. (Yes, I could probably figure this out if I wanted to pay to upgrade my FlightAware)

 

Anyway, this route is LHR to PHX and PHX back to LHR. Is this just 1 single plane (A350) that flies this same route day after day after day except for required maintenance? Or is this separate aircraft that rotates through?

For BA London is their hub and they only have one hub.  (Ignoring Gatwick for a moment). 

London-Phoenix-London is going to be a difficult turn for them to do in 24 hours and keep on schedule day after day using the same aircraft.  It would be even worse for flights to California.  

They are likely to alternative the aircraft on that route with a shorter one.  Perhaps something like London to New York, Chicago, Miami, Toronto or Montreal. 

They will make those decisions on a daily basis to try to minimise delays across the network.

If you use a website like flightaware, you can search for that flight and click on a link to see what flight the aircraft did previousely.

10 hours ago, nini said:

 

Thank you @klfrodo. And hello neighbor! I was not familiar with the term "Skywest Dba Delta Connection".

It is not uncommon for the airlines to contract out flying to regional airlines especially for routes that use smaller aircraft.  Delta has contracted Skywest to operate that flight for them.  The flight will have a Delta number on it, check in and the gate staff will be Delta.  From a passenger perspective it will be a Delta flight.  However, the aircraft, pilots and flight crew will be skywest employees.

United, American and Alaska also do the same thing. 

On 1/14/2023 at 9:29 AM, sprockie said:

Can you tell me what you would recommend for a post cruise flight time?  I've done as early as 11:30 in Fort Lauderdale, but we haven't been to the Vancouver airport.  

Depends on where your heading.   If you staying in Canada and heading back east I would go for a flight leaving around noon.  

2 hours ago, nini said:

I booked our flights through Princess EZAir with comfortable connecting time. I received notice that the flights had been changed and I would like comments on the time factor.

On June 1, 2023, we fly on flight #1924 from PDX and land at Seatac at 12:30 pm on Skywest DBA Delta Connection and need to get to Virgin Atlantic which departs at 1:45 pm for LHR. We both now have Global Entry. I presume our check on bag will be placed the LHR flight? Research has shown that Virgin Atlantic operates out of the South Gates I am unable to find where Skywest is.

Thanks

Skywest in that case would use a Delta gate.  Delta is usually in A.  There is a very quick undergound shuttle train that connects everything.  The bags are checked onwards and you should not have to go through security again.  I would not be worried.

On 1/19/2023 at 10:47 AM, MaryAnn261 said:

This stop was just added to our cruise.  What is there to do?

 

Prince Rupert is a significant transportation hub.  For cargo containers heading to Chicago and other parts of the midwest the Prince Rupert cargo terminal shaves about a week vrs Long Beach, Seattle or Vancouver.  It has a population of around 15,000.  

Tourism is  important in the community but since the community has a significant economy beyond just tourism you will find it has a different fell that stops in Alaska.  

If you walk up the hill your will be in the downtown area.  As other posted there is tourism oriented shops but also everyday shops like Safeway and Walmart.  There is a museum in town.

14 hours ago, SCOOBY3015 said:

I think I read in this forum by another poster that had a cruise line issued airfare reservation, information numbers are not available until approximately 2 weeks prior to departure. I would assume that is somewhat accurate and makes since…

Once that information is provided I can research and complete the remaining recommendations that you’ve provided

I do know departure/arrival and flight number, but that’s it…I will follow up with airlines (and cruise line) to get more information…

Thanks again forthe helpful info and suggestions 😊

 

Cruise lines pre buy large blocks of seats.  The cruise line usually don't ticket until they have to.  You need to wait for that to happen before the airline will do anything.

2 hours ago, SCOOBY3015 said:

Thank you @em-sk that’s exactly what I was looking for…

The airlines is Lufthansa operated by Air Canada

So does this apply to my airfare? I’m hoping so 🤞🏽😊

Yes, will want to bid for an upgrade on the Air Canada site.   I would first try to pull up your booking on aircanda.com .  Both Lufthansa and Air Canada run on the same computer system (Amadeus),  so its usually the same booking reference (sometimes called locator) for both.   

Answer the question of "can you upgrade" is difficult.  You have three companies involved, the cruise line, Lufthansa and Air Canada. That said, the one that actually matters is Air Canada since they will decide what seat your in and charge any upgrade fee directly to you.

If you have the booking reference and your last name.  Go the upgrade website and pull it up.  It is either going to let you put in a bid or you don't qualify. 

I have had them in past clear me for an upgrade weeks before the flight if they need the space.  Pays to do it early.