em-sk

7 hours ago, Dancer Bob said:

OP stated their specific circumstance is YWG direct (FLL?) and Carnival would book them on the same flight rather than the infamous overnight connection in YYZ. Europe is irrelevant.

As far as domestic, I'm not sure about the current status of preclearance at YWG.

They have pre-clearance in Winnipeg.  Not certain of the hours.  

If the flight operates outside the hours that pre-clearance is offered then they would clear customs in Florida on arrival.

Not uncommon at other Canadian airports.  Pre-clearance closes in Vancouver at 9:00 pm.  Any red-eye flights after that time to the US go out of international.

13 hours ago, J0Y0US said:

 

So you try to correct them with what the law became where as they were stating your input regarding why it was a thing in the first place was incorrect.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1305898/

 

"The primary purpose of the HIPAA rules is to protect health care coverage for individuals who lose or change their jobs."

 

Anyways I am moving on from this thread I was just interested in seeing what the issue was on the ship and hopefully the person is better or on the road to a full recovery.

Interesting.   Weird history to how that came to be in the US.  Most countries have similar laws that govern personal records (that happen to include medical records).  That includes countries like Canada and the UK where health care is single payer.   

In the case of NCL,  the ships are registered in the Bahamas so the laws of that country would apply.

1 hour ago, Trip1317 said:

First time Norwegian, took advantage of the 2 for 1 flight. Not sure it was a good idea, but such is life.

We just got notice of our flights.  They are as expected, red eye out, and 3 flights back.  My question is about the flight booking back.  They claim that there are no flights out on disembarkation day, so they booked us on flights the next day.  Here’s what I’m wondering:  are they not responsible for paying for the extra nights accommodation because they couldn’t find a way to get us home?  They tell us that we are responsible for finding a place to stay.

I’m a bit irked by this. If this is standard practice, fine.  Or are they taking advantage of our ignorance?  Comments, anyone?

Not certain where your flying to/from.   If you coming out of Alberta I would check the options on WestJet or Air Canada and then ask them to put you on the return.   

There are some ultra-low-cost airlines like Swoop and Flair that operate into Alberta.  However those don't support connections and NCL tends to avoid those types of airlines.

Usually your on the hock for hotels if needed.

On 12/10/2022 at 1:01 AM, BoozinCroozin said:

It also comes down to the fare booked. What NCL books is the lowest ticket class there is. And yes, if it comes down to involuntary bumps, NCL's tickets are the first to go.

There are a number of variables at play. 

First off most airlines have sophisticated software algorithms that avoid this happening.  I am usually flying in/out of Canada, Air Canada does not oversell Business or Premium Economy, so they will move people from economy into empty seats in premium cabins to make room in economy.  WestJet does not oversell at all so the only time they have a standby list is when they are reacomidating passengers off another flight.   I suspect the US is similar.  It happens but not all that frequently.

With some very limited exceptions most airlines also put confirmed passengers in front of standby passengers including those being rebooked off other flights.  

The airlines I am familiar with tends to be a combination of status, fare class and check in sequence number.  NCL is going to going to try to get the cheapest fair class they can get at the time.  At the same time consumers shopping on expedia are going to do the same.   Sometime NCL will actually be the cheapest on the flight other times it will not.  It is going to be different from flight to flight.

On 12/13/2022 at 10:33 AM, nasa1974 said:

Ok, so I'm a good 10 months out from my cruise. But I'm looking for some information to help in deciding flight times and where to stay. My cruise is October 19, 2023 and I plan on flying in the day before. Do hotels offer transportation from the airport and to the cruise port? Where would be a nice place to stay near the cruise port but have some touristy stuff close by?  I know I could probably Google it but it's good to have firsthand information to narrow down the search.

 

Thank you

martincath gave some great advise.... only thing I can add..

The building that houses the cruise ship terminal (Canada Place) has the terminal on a lower level, the convention center on the ground floor and the Pan Pacific Hotel above.  There is also two Fairmount across the street from the convention center.  They are fantastic hotels but expensive.

If you looking for a budget hotel there is a Days Inn about a block away.  I have stayed there.  It is 100 year old building and is similar to a European boutique hotel.  The rooms are smaller but it is well maintained and clean.   

Lots of mid-market hotels between those two.  Hotels in downtown Vancouver are generally a great deal in comparison to Manhattan but generally more expensive than most cities of a comparable size in the US.

I am generally a fan of the Delta hotels and slightly cheaper the Sandman hotels in downtown Vancouver.   

1 hour ago, Brian V said:

Hey all, just looking for some recent experience - how bad is connecting Canada to US through Pearson these days?

I know it was a S($& show 🤡for a while but am not hearing anything lately, does that mean things are back to "normal"?

 

We are heading to San Juan the first week in January, YYC - YYZ - SJU with about 2:25 layover if all on time.

We will be carry on only.

 

Does this sound doable or should we be looking at alternatives?

 

Any and all input welcomed 🙂

Are you on Air Canada/United or WestJet/Delta.   

Terminal 1 (where Air Canada is) you do the transfers in an area just for transfer passengers.  It is quick and 2 1/2 is far more than enough time.

Terminal 3 (where WestJet/Delta is) you have to exit the airside are and go into the lines are passengers leaving from Toronto.   Your going to have longer lines.  It is do able but it will take longer than over at Terminal 1.

On 12/8/2022 at 9:46 AM, FlaMariner said:

2 hours in Toronto......Does that seem reasonable to clear immigration and get to the Orlando flight?

 

What's bizarre for us is wrapping our heads around the fact that we leave Tokyo at 5:40pm and arrive in Orlando at 9:40pm....THE SAME DAY!  Talk about time travel.  

 

 

As others have said, two hours should be fine.  

Just follow the signs for US connections it is fairly streamlined process.  Bags are automatically transferred.

8 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

I travel all over the US and to neighboring countries like Canada quite frequently but none have been transatlantic so it’s all new to me and very confusing. It’s flight 4607 with Finnair for the 787 Dreamliner in premium economy seats. Then the short flight is flight 3014 with Iberia. But you’re right it says operated by AA. I’m confused. So it’s all operated by AA but it says Finnair and Iberia on it. I don’t really care which airline gets me there as long as we get premium economy seats and the price is reasonable. Ugh I guess I need to do more research to understand it all. Thanks for your help. 

So the operating airlines is the one that owns the aircraft, supplies the staff and provides the service.   At the airport you check in with the operating airlines counter..

Airlines can't fly everywhere in the world their customers want to go so they need to partner. The basic type of partnership is called an interline and the more sophisticated deeper type of partnership is called a codeshare.

Finnair is selling you a ticket that includes a flight operated by American and the second flight operated by Iberia.  When they do this as a codeshare the American flight has both an American and Finnair flight number.  

There are three major international alliances.  Skyteam, OneWorld, and Star Alliance.   Not all airlines are in alliances but many are and they codeshare extensively within their alliances.  

American, Alaska, Finnair, British Airways, Iberia are all part of the OneWorld alliance.  So they sell seats on each other flights all the time.

Since you said you fly into Canada.  Air Canada and United (both in the Star Alliance) are codeshare partners so many Air Canada operated flights also have United numbers and many United flights have Air Canada numbers.  

On 12/12/2022 at 4:02 AM, njhorseman said:

Wouldn't the officer be concerned that the person in question won't actually board their flight and instead choose to stay in Canada illegally? If so is it possible that the individual would be taken to the airport in the custody of law enforcement to ensure they actually board their flight?

They may.  They will need to make a judgment call. 

If they are convinced the person is likely to be trying to illegally take up residency in Canada then a Border services officer may keep them in custody and escort him/her onto the flight out of the country.  

If they are convinced the person has deep ties back home and is very likely going to follow through on their plan to leave they may well leave them to do that on their own.  

That is the problem with these kinds of questions.  There is a lot of discretion provided.   

There are nations of certain countries where visitors overstay their welcome.  Canada imposes visa requirements on those countries.  That is not the US.  Cruise ship passengers are also generally low risk. That said it comes down to the individual and the specifics of their situations.  

On 12/8/2022 at 10:45 AM, dcourt said:

What about having Vancouver as your final arrival port on a cruise from Hawaii?  Will they stop you from getting off the ship in Vancouver so you can fly home that day?  You would only be in Canada for less than 12 hours - don't they consider that as transit with no plans of staying in Canada?  I thought I read that someplace.

immigration offices are allowed to exercise judgment.  There role is to protect Canadians.  If they conclude you don't pose a threat to Canada they will let you in.   The fact you have booked onward travel and will only be in the country for 12 hours dramatically minimizes the threat.   No one here is going to give you a sold answer.

That said it will be up to the officer to make that call.   

As others have said, there will only consider things that are illegal in Canada.  As an example marijuana is legal in Canada.  

7 hours ago, Smitty7711 said:

We’re arriving a day early at Vancouver airport before our NCL Alaska cruise.  Staying at the Pan Pacific.  Will need a little Canadian currency for tips.  Just use an ATM at the airport?

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has all the ATM at the airport.   

There is a couple of them.  One in domestic arrivals. 

The one in International arrivals is a little hard to spot.  Once you exit the baggage hall look for the international currency exchange booth.   Don't use the currency exchange service, but just around the corner next to it you will find an RBC ATM.

The Pan pacific is downtown and there are lots of banks with ATM within a block or two of the hotel.

38 minutes ago, cruisinqt said:

Unfortunately I’m not looking for First or Business class seats. I’d love those seats but the price is just too high considering we are already paying for a 2 week cruise along with several days vacationing pre cruise in Barcelona. I think Premium Economy is more in line with our budget. The Finnair flight we are looking at has a 2-4-2 configuration for the Premium Economy seats we are thinking about. It’s aboard a 787 Dreamliner. I know some have a 3-3-3 or 3-4-3 configuration so I’m thinking maybe the 2-4-2 configuration may have a little more room. This is all new to me and I’m still learning so thanks for the info it really helps. I’m keeping notes on everything so I won’t have as many questions about future transatlantic flights. Now that we are retired we plan on traveling extensively. 

Finnair is a good airline.   They are part of the Oneworld alliance, so you can credit any miles you own to their loyalty program or another member.  The two oneworld partners airlines in the US are Alaska and American.

9 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

A couple clarifications here. Most airlines don't fly single aisle planes on long haul international, like US to Europe, because they don't have the range. Premium Economy is an international product for most airlines. Economy Plus (different names for different airlines) is a domestic product. 

I indicated some airlines.   The US airlines have run some of their 757 over to Europe on a fairly regular basis pre-covid.  Not certain about now.   There are also some new long range A321 that some of the European airlines, like TAP, are now using on some of thin transatlantic route.  With the Canadian airlines the A321 able to do transatlantic are only with AriTranat.  Air Canada has them on order.  Both Air Canada and WestJet have run 737max to Europe.   

The narrow body aircraft tend to be rare over the Atlantic but some airlines do use them from time to time.

2 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

That was kind of what we were thinking. We’d rather be stuck in the US than abroad. We could probably get a cheap flight on Southwest to JFK too. DFW has very competitive prices to JFK. What is the difference between comfort plus and premium select? Is the price difference worth it?

You probably don't want to do that.   

If you book your flight on one ticket then if there is a missed connection the airline is responsible for rebooking you (at their cost) and depending on the reason for the missed connection hotels etc.  They will also check bags automatically.

If you book two separate tickets  then your responsible for the onward connection.

18 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

. What do you guys think?

You do also have the option of connecting in Canada.  Both Air Canada and WestJet fly into Barcelona.  

Most people find economy. That is what most of seats are on the aircraft.  In the economy cabin there are usually some rows of seats towards the front that have extra leg room but otherwise the same.   Your buying economy and then when you pick your seats paying extra for one of these.

Premium economy is a completely different product.  The seats are wider and very similar to what in the US on domestic flights would be called "First class" or in Canada "North American Business Class".  Usually there is a better meal.  This tends to be a fairly small cabin so it will sell out early.

The international business class on most airline will be a seat that will open up into a flat bed and comes with a high end meal on china with a table cloth etc.  The US airlines sometimes fly single aisle aircraft and on those you could get a seat that is closer to premium economy.

You may also want to consider connecting in Canada.  Both Air Canada and WestJet fly into Barcelona.  

If your ok with a regular economy seat and just want extra leg room It sounds like what you want is one of those economy seats at the front with extra leg room.  

On United they call those economy seats with extra legroom Economy Plus and it has a seat pitch of 34" vrs the 31" in most other economy. You can see them in the front or on exit rows.

https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/inflight/aircraft/787-10.html

Air Canada has a little video showing you what the different types look like.

https://www.aircanada.com/us/en/aco/home/fly/onboard/cabin-features.html#/

On 12/6/2022 at 3:26 PM, Texascruiser2008 said:

Hi, I know there is a parking lot at Canada Place terminal which offers parking for cruises, has anyone used it? If yes once parked how long a walk is it to the boarding area…I use a walker. Wondering also if any handicapped spots.

 

Thanks! 

Parking is one level below the cruise ship terminal.  You would access the terminal by elevator.  I have used it a number of times going to conventions and other events at Canada Place.   I have never parked there more than a few hours.

Near the elevator there are some spots for electric charging and a good number of 23 hour reserved spots (likely for some of the business in the office tower).  I never looked for handicapped spots, but there are likely a few but not many.   

The parking is the entire length of Canada Place it can be a very log walk.   It can be quite a long walk.

If I was traveling with someone with a walker I would drop them off near the elevator, go park and then meet up with them again at the elevator.  

On 11/27/2022 at 6:46 AM, FRMinBG said:

Much experience in flying US-Toronto for work.  You want to avoid connecting in Toronto mainly due to the immigration clearance in Toronto.  If you miss your connecting flight in Toronto, you will arrive in an area secured for US flights only.  It can complicate how you get a new flight and whether you decide to leave the secured area or into the other parts of Pearson - but you'll be at the mercy of AC.  

Oh, and AC doesn't have allowance for hotel and meal stays if you miss a connection.  A buddy of mine spent the night on the floor of Pearson b/c they missed a connecting flight to London (with 20 kids but that's a different story).  Don't book assuming all goes well with the flight - book assuming something goes wrong and you minimize your frustration.

The OP is going to be routed into the international pier with only international flights and avoid Canadian customs going to Europe. 

Coming back the OP will clear US customs in Toronto, bags will be automatically transferred (unlike most US gateway airports) and yes, they will end up in a pier that only have US flights.

As for hotels it all depends on what the cause of the delay is.  The few times I have been stuck in Toronto I have always had AC put me up in a hotel.   Unfortunate but its the same issue with virtually any airline these days in North America.   

10 hours ago, Minnesota Rookie said:

 But this morning I found something which seemed to say that if you are either coming in from a non-Schengen country (we aren't) or leaving Germany for a non-Schengen country (we are in this case, headed back to the U.S.) you have to go through immigration and passport in Germany. Do I need to leave extra time in the connection to do all that? Can anyone help in giving some expert advice on the topic. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 

Entering the Schengen region normal practice is for your passport to be stamped and to be stamped again when leaving.  They look virtually the same one have an arrow showing arrival the other an arrow showing departure.

The exist one they don't look that closely since your leaving the region.  That process is usually much faster.

3 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

@Gardyloo That's an awesome alternative.....I found the website and going to play around with it.....From what I gather thus far, you have a year to fly around the world.....Need the trip around Earth to coincide with the bucket list and the Holland America Line cruises!

 

Thanks for the suggestion.   Now to get to a spreadsheet. 

The Air Canada option sounds good to me.  Toronto and Montreal are setup to streamline international transfers.  That includes connections to the US.  Coming back you would clear US customs in Toronto and Montreal, and your bags would automatically be transferred.   If you come back through New York or Chicago, you will need to clear customs and security again. 

Other thing to keep in mind is Tokyo has two airports.  Haneda is close to downtown.  Narita it a longer train ride and just outside the city.  Both work quite well for getting into Tokyo but you should take into account the difference. 

12 hours ago, kbert92069 said:

So a new experience for me was using Viking Air for a cruise off Norway next year.  Their itinerary shows Delta over and American for the return.  When I log into AA I see all flights listed and this is confusing to me.  Will I get AA miles for the Delta legs or do I need a Delta flyer account?

You might as well put your loyalty numbers on the ticket.  Don't go in expecting to get any, if you do consider it a bonus.  Usually with those deeply discounted tickets the number of points/miles is reduced from a more expensive ticket. 

You can put two or more loyalty numbers onto the reservation.  It will get credit to the programs as appropriate.

AA can be credit to AA program or one of their partners like Alaska, British Airlines loyalty program.  

Delta can be credited to the Delta program or one of its partners like WestJet or Air Frances program. 

3 hours ago, PG_traveller said:

I booked a solo cruise for March 2023. I will mask in airports and on the plane, avoid crowded indoor places. Try to sit outdoors on the ship as much as possible. If I go to the buffet, try to time it when it's not too busy, etc. I think covid will be around forever now, so it's best just to figure out how to live with it and mitigate the risks. Whoever, in their wildest dreams, thought that wearing masks would become a normal thing?

The Spanish flu never went away.  Many died, those that serviced became immune and lived on.  The vaccine just helped dramatically improve the survival rate.

Before COVID mask were normal in Asia.  In countries like Japan, if you had a cold or the flu it was considered responsible behaviour to wear a mask when around others.  Same thing for anyone handling food. 

I have been traveling for work this year.  Around 4 airline trips in western Canada or Ontario or Quebec.  

The first two were maskers were still mandatory.  The second the masks were optional.   I sticking to using the masks.   

Before COVID after getting back from a trip always had a good chance of picking up a cold or flu or some other bug.  Now add COVID to the mix.  I am finding using the mask I just don't get sick as frequently as before.

On 10/24/2022 at 6:51 AM, NWT Cruiser said:

 

That would be a disaster if we don't get all our luggage.  We're spending 2 nights in NYC and then board our 14 night cruise and on our way back at the another night at the IAH airport.  If my bags don't show up ... I'll cry continuously until my hubby tells me to go buy a new wardrobe.  lol

 

In the unlikely event that happens don't forget to keep the receipts to claim back from the airline.  I think the claim limit is $2,300 CDN but you should check if it happens.  

On 10/22/2022 at 11:28 AM, mikebsxm said:

I'm trying to book a RT flight from PHL to Venice, next June.  HAL's Flight Ease is showing a booking from PHL to VCE, with a connection in YUL, Montreal.  The flight from YUL to VCE (Venice) is an Airbus A330-300.

Has anyone flown a long haul flight in Air Canada's A330-300 ?   What was the seating like, service, food ?

Typical lie-flat international business class. The A330, 787 and 777 all have equivalent international business class seats.  Air Canada also regularly uses the A330 on domestic service, however the food offering is not as good. as on the overseas flights.

Here is a blogger that recently did a video on the 777 from Montreal to Athens.  The seats and service are virtually identical with the 330.   He did pre-order the vegan meal, the normal meal offering is much better and served on proper China.

12 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

I think that this is unfair on the US. A international --> domestic connection will often require you to collect your bags and clear them through customs personally at the connecting point, for obvious reasons. My regular destination countries of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa all require this. I've even once had to do it on a UK --> Sweden --> Sweden connection.

In the case of larger airports in Canada, they use computer technology to avoid it.  So if you flying Sweden->Toronto-> New York, you will clear US customs in Toronto and the bags are automatically transfer US Customs in Toronto is show photos of the bag on a screen and they can have the baggage system bring them up for inspection or release them to the next flight.  Same would happen if it was Sweden->Toronto-> Vancouver.

If Europe they do immigration when you first land, then customs at your final destination.  The baggage tags have a green strip on the side if they originate locally and no color code if they are form outside the customs zone.

Nothing would stop US airports from using the same computer systems they use in Canada other than the cost of upgrading the airprot.