My Reality Meets CC Advice/Information

[writesonstuff]

Thanks (reason I feel I should pass on my experiences)

I booked a cruise on the Westerdam (Southern Caribbean, March 18 – 25) for me and my mom, with only 14 days to make plans before sailing. Having only 14 days to organize a holiday is a dramatic departure to my normal practice of over planning and I frantically researched the net for advice and information. I found Cruise Critic (CC) to be ideal for me and feel I should pass on my experiences to other newbies (and others who might be interested) as a way of thanks.

For this “post” I am going to try to keep to the order of when my reality meets CC advice/information, so some of the events are going to be intermixed rather than purely chronological. I will attempt to provide enough information about each topic, but if you have a question or need clarification I will try to get back to you in a timely manner. I think that is only fair for the valuable insights I received from other CC members.

Note 1: I wrote out my outline and realize this is going to be a long post, so just a heads up. (March 27)

Note 2: This is definitely going to be a very long post and I am still catching up on work that has piled up, so instead of getting frustrated and giving up because I don’t have a completed document, I am committing to writing on at least one topic a day and posting that. (March 30)

Information sources

There is a lot of information out there, so (right or wrong, as there are volumes out there on cruising) I quickly decided to concentrate on the documentation from Holland America (HAL) and CC.

To me the order of relevance for mom and I was: 1) Express Docs and HAL website; 2) CC Westerdam roll call for the cruise; 3) CC first time cruisers board; and 4) Tripadvisor site.

My reality advice for information – before going to the internet, read your documents from the cruise line and if you haven’t booked yet, go over the line’s web site; read internet info with several grains of salt as unfortunately, in my experience, there are lots of timewasting “information” traps so try to figure out if the source is providing fact (actually happened or experienced with no comment or viewpoint), opinion (based on fact or experience with comment), or hearsay/guesses/cruiser tall tale (story/urban-sea-cruise legend that supposedly happened to someone they know or they heard or read somewhere or troll thread); and when in doubt contact travel agent or cruise line directly.

Booking experience and upgrade

I booked a last minute interline deal through an online travel agent (TA) on March 4. What I knew about what I signed up for was that I was getting an inside cabin on the Westerdam, sailing on a 7 day Southern Caribbean itinerary out of Fort Lauderdale on March 18. After online booking, within one hour I was contacted by TA via phone to provide payment information (in full), she said I would be getting emails regarding insurance and air travel decisions/waivers, as well as documents from HAL. I received all of the emails and electronic documents within two days. We were upgraded to K (6159), but I don’t know when, because I was in and out of our Express Docs daily, and I cannot find the email from HAL stating the confirmed cabin number to verify. I know it was later than seven days from sailing and before three days out.

My reality advice for bookings – it is scary what I didn’t know and for me, reading the information and asking questions on CC would have saved a lot of time and angst; some of the topics related to bookings that I read about later (and recommend to other newbies) include medical insurance, cabin location, confirmed stateroom class versus actual cabin, upgrades, transfers to/from airport/port and onboard credit.

My reality advice for upgrades – complete fluke, I noticed the interline deal was off on March 10 (don’t know if earlier than that) and because we didn’t have a cabin preference had no trouble with the larger cabin. [Room review: K6159 was a great location for us because it was closer to aft, minimal number of people walking by and close to elevator/stairs for both Vista and Lido dining rooms; should have had the room steward clear out the mini bar to put in my wines for chilling (read about this on CC during cruise); lots of closet space with ability to create shelves; no problems using the safe; no problems with noise from other cabins; shower head was hard to adjust for our height (mom and I are under 5’ 8”); and Wi-Fi connection was reasonable (only cut out once and I connected online from the room at least once a day).]

My reality advice for last minute interline deals – to follow (I want to read the CC rules for posts on deals).

Ordering/prepayment of amenities, Le Cirque/Pinnacle Grill and excursions

I received the Express Docs and HAL cruise information within a day of confirmation of payment. We were confirmed for NN inside cabin, of which I think there are only two on the ship and I am pretty sure are the smallest on the Westerdam, so debated over several days as to whether or not to buy the suite amenities package as well as a liquor or wine deal. The suite amenities appeared to be reasonably priced (and there is an excellent CC thread on this for HAL ships), but again based on CC information decided in the end to piece together my own suite amenities (see below). We had open dining (not given a choice) but I wanted mom to have a couple of different dining experiences so pre-booked Pinnacle Grill (for last night, 6 pm, $20/person surcharge) and Le Cirque (third or fourth night out, 6 pm, $39?/person surcharge). For excursions I decided to play it by port and decide at the port what we would do.

My reality advice for amenities/drinks – if you drink a lot of regular soda, get the soda card for $25 as you receive a $50 value AND if you don’t use all of the actual $25 that you paid you get a credit for it, so you can’t lose (however, if you drink a soda that is not stocked you are out of luck and should have followed CC advice of bringing your preferred brand on, for me it was root beer); heeded some CC information and decided on $20 laundry in a bag (they will press the shirts in the bag too) and considered the unlimited pressing ($29?), but did not use so don’t know if it would have been worth it; went to Total Wines (I think I am allowed to name the store) and created my own cruise wine package, which consisted of going to the store’s highest ranked wines with value prices section and bought six bottles of wine with ratings from 90 to 94 for prices between $10 and $35 (even with corkage of $18 per bottle, well worth it and HAL wine stewards stored open bottles AND even brought them between the MDR and Pinnacle Dining Room to give me great wine pairings); I carried on and reported with security and at entry onto the ship two bottles of liquor (because my brother-in-law wanted these specific brands and collector bottles so I wasn’t going to drink them on ship anyway) AND I was allowed to carry on the liquor so I don’t know if there has been a change in policy [side note regarding carrying on wine and liquor bottles. I used a small rolling case for the wine and doubled up plastic bags for the liquor.]; I took regular advantage of the happy hour specials on board which were buy one drink and get the second for $1; I used the robe provided in the room and seriously considered buying one to take home they are that comfortable (would have been included in the suite amenities package); and because of the 12:10 time for our return flight set up for early (expedited?) disembarkation so did not need the suite amenity privilege for disembarkation.

My reality advice for Le Cirque – we don’t like dining by the windows so was given an interior booth for the two of us, which provided us with plenty of space; food (ordered) and service was great and wine steward was very attentive with my two bottles for pairing with courses; the dinner went a little long for me (over two hours) but I did not ask them to speed up so my fault there; the chef provided a free pate mousse as an appetizer and the best I can say is I would not have chosen to start a surcharge dinner with that dish; the pastry chef provided several samples, served after the appetizers and salad, which were excellent and sized so as not to take away from the main course; memorable serving moment was the slicing of the Chateaubriand at the table; and for dessert the crème brulee was incredible. Overall, even though the all of the ordered courses were great/fantastic, due to the limited menu, I would rather have booked another night at the Pinnacle at a lower surcharge. [side note on grilling on the Westerdam: It took me a couple of meals to figure out that because of the exceptional grill temperature used, that my medium is medium rare and that medium well is medium. Just a heads up to check on how your meat is grilled the first time and adjust accordingly.]

My reality advice for Pinnacle Grill – lucked out and got the same booth that we had when we dined “at” Le Cirque; food and service was great, wine steward brought an open bottle of wine from MDR for me and we were not rushed (or kept waiting); memorable serving moments at the table were preparation and pour of lobster bisque and flaming (flambé?) of steak Diane and provision of three flavored salts for use for all(?) the courses; and for dessert the three flavored crème brulee was fantastic and the cheesecake was good (we are used to a graham crust so this is a personal rating). Overall, the dining experience was well worth the surcharge.

My reality advice for excursions (limited, no activity based excursions considered) – if you are going to stay on the beach at Half Moon Cay for several hours or more, get the sunshade for $15 and if you have a party of four, a cabana looks like a reasonable deal for what you get (opinion only, did not experience); both Curacao and Bonaire had two hour cab tours for $10 per person and was well worth it (particularly because it rained buckets at both ports, but that was a fluke for us and not good planning), and again maybe we were lucky in the driver.

Future topics to come:

Travel the day before, including flying stand by; driving directions and tolls; and car rental drop off and shuttle to ship

Camera/Video/Phone/Internet device(s)

Baggage handling @ port and the “expected” tip, and embarkation process

Rude versus civilized behavior

Norovirus/Washing hands/Not allowed to self-serve on first two days

CC Meet and Greet

Dining at Lido (buffet)

Dining in MDR, open seating

Ship Activities

Shows and Entertainment

Ports

Romance

Disembarkation

Adventures getting home

[Sauer-kraut]

Great start, your list looks exhaustive!

I can't wait to read the rude vs. civilized behavior :D

[Daisyloo]

Looking forward to reading more. We did the same cruise in November on the Westerdam and I am interested in hearing about your experiences. We had a great time, hope you did too.

[cb at sea]

Wow....I'm thinking that you really over-thunk this! (Is that a word? I'm sure it's not!)

 

Sounds like a lot of work for a vacation!

 

Sure, research is a good thing..but..too much is OCD!

[janabm81]

What a cool idea! Can't wait to read more!:)

[writesonstuff]

Guilty as charged. Over thunk and OCD are nice things to say about my "tendency" to plan. I have learned to accept my control issues and start enjoying life more. Which includes getting into cruising as I really enjoyed this one and even better my mom had a great time.

 

I consider writing these posts as therapy so thanks in advance for helping me relax.

 

Cheers!

 

PS: Will move up rude versus civilized behavior for tomorrow or Sunday.

[Steve_Red_Dog]

Enjoyed your first post, and looking forward to reading more.

[SPacificbound]

Look forward to reading more! (From another OCD person) :D

[houstonmomof4]

cool post...really looking forward to the rude vs. civilized behavior post and the romance post is intriguing as well!

[Seago2]

You are doing a good job. Obviously we all over think things and have cruising OCD or we wouldn't be on here!:)

[writesonstuff]

First, full disclosure on one of my jobs. I am a tax accountant for an airline, so my reality will be slightly different than others, but I will try to address the areas where a little insider information has been helpful.

 

Second, my two teenage sons are resentful that I did not recognize them as a very important source of cruising information. So here it is in black and white. They helped out a lot and I consider them my "live" CC forum. They will be going on their eight and ninth cruises this upcoming weekend (Crown Princess, April 7). Due to my irrational fear of large expanses of water, their mom takes them on cruises and I take them to theme parks and museums. They are quite excited about me getting the cruising bug.

 

Anyway on with the show.

 

(Note: Technology glitch here, my formatting has gone out the window on this post and I can't figure it out yet.)

 

Going right into REALITY advice for arriving - I booked my mom and I to arrive in FLL the day before the cruise. I get to fly on standby, but my airline does not overbook seats, so one week before the cruise I was very comfortable about getting on. Famous last thoughts...for those of you contemplating coming in on the day of, please consider this experience. On Wednesday, we start getting rumors that a major airline in Canada is not happy with their labor negotiations and is starting to work to the full letter of their contract. It is also interesting that it will be spring break for the province of Ontario the upcoming weekend. My original plans were to fly through Toronto. I ended up changing them to fly north to Edmonton (from Calgary) to catch the red eye to Orlando. Which means reserving a car (with drop off in FLL), canceling FLL hotel for an Orlando hotel, finding out how to get between cities, etc...CC was fantastic for this. There are several threads that a first timer should use the search function in CC, specifically rental cars/drop offs/airport vs port, tolls/Sun Pass/rental car auto charges. (If you have a specific question of me about the above, go ahead and ask, but other CCers have probably covered it). Also, having a sister with an up to date GPS/map/car thing was very handy as well (the Yoda and Darth Vader voices were kind of freaky though, but that is another story).

 

Side comment or semi-insider tip: What are the odds your airline will not switch planes or times on you; have not overbooked; will not have a delay because of mechanical or weather or (and I hope the pilot is okay and gets the help he needs) a medical emergency to crew or passenger; etc...I planned for these and still had to make changes because of labor strife and spring break. I guess what I am saying is I recommend flying out at least the day before if you can arrange it.

 

And on that note I will post this now, since my battery light is flashing.

 

Teaser for following post is finishing up pre-cruise events and the moving up of my Rude and Crude vs. Nice and Civil. (My lads think I am going to enflame and get flamed at the same time).

 

Cheers!

[jaybird from SC]

Sounds as if you put way too much thought into this cruise. Did you and your mom have a nice, relaxing cruise? I do hope so.

[writesonstuff]

Thanks to all of you that want to know if we actually enjoyed ourselves. And here is the "proof":

 

Happiness is...mom saying "I am so happy." when she comes back from her first swim at Half Moon Cay; mom being adopted as a mom by many of the Filipino servers; being able to laugh when caught in two rainstorms because we are still having fun; being able to put faces to internet names from CC; making an ice cream sundae with fresh fruit and drizzling ice wine over it; and many other moments including being able to go on a tender without freaking out...which leads to...

 

Regarding over thinking and planning: It was me that did all of the planning and yes, over planning and thinking. I showed mom an email that had a lot of last minute deals and asked her if she had her choice which holiday would she choose. She picked the one trip I had not even considered. A cruise.

 

I think I mentioned it previously that I have an irrational fear of large expanses of water. I have been working on this for many years (with a lot of encouragement from my boys and ex who are avid cruisers). For me, getting past irrational thoughts, okay phobias, is to work on controlling what I can control and trying very hard not to think about the other "stuff". So I read, and fact check, and read, and fact check. It got me on the ship. I didn't cancel. I had a great time and semi-overcame a phobia. And my mom still doesn't know I am afraid of the water.

 

CC was a major part of my information dump. Thank you to all CC contributors. Now enough of this mental stuff and on with the show.

[writesonstuff]

Travel the day before, including flying stand by; driving directions and tolls; and car rental drop off and shuttle to ship

In addition to my earlier partial post to this topic, I repeat that CC advice and threads are great in these areas and if a newbie types in the search box the main words to their “question” they will find information very quickly.

Additional my reality advice for pre-cruise arrival – if driving in Florida bring quarters and USD dollar bills for tolls (you can always use dollar bills for tips) or budget for the rental car transponder or SunPass; if you have a GPS you can probably set it for non-toll route AND to show gas stations if you don’t prepay the tank of gas; check your cancellation policies on hotels in case your flights are delayed as some have a 24 hour window and not 6 pm day of (got caught on this on return though, not pre); not all car rental companies have a free shuttle to the port (CC info saved me time and taxi money because I found out Alamo/National still provide this service to Port Everglades).

Note: More answers/tips keep coming up as I write this, so as long as I don’t “overwrite” my welcome, I am going to add my wine/liquor and embarkation experience later on.

[writesonstuff]

I want to emphasize that passengers and crew were for the most part personable, friendly and a joy to encounter. However...

Rude and crude versus nice and civil

I hope you enjoy my “rant” and some “kudos” (just to show I am not always a stick in the mud). These are the thoughts in my head as I encounter cruising reality (tried to mix them up so not in chronological order), I leave it up to you to decide the category:

Oh, so it is obvious what deck chair hogs use stake out their play pen.

I know you want to get a towel, but you are going against the flow of traffic, so please don’t push my mom out of the way. I am pretty sure the tender will still be there when you get back.

You should give out lessons on how to prepare your children for traveling. (Snack, comfort bear, story book, blanket and blow up pillow for child on red eye flight).

Lady, I don’t care if “I expect a little more service after paying six large.” (Really, that is what she said to her husband). So quit pushing and find someplace else to fill out the health forms. My mom and I are filling out these forms on this counter for two and if you try to push me over because you can’t walk over two counters, your husband and I are having a chat.

Whispered to dispatcher (and maybe in not as nice language) – If there aren’t enough cabs in the next series that come, mom and I are getting on before the four people you pulled in front because it is not my fault they didn’t disembark quickly enough and they might be late for their 09:30 flight. [i vote myself uncivilized, for taking it out on the dispatcher, but there should be consequences to poor planning.]

Don’t know how you knew, but thank you for talking to me the whole time back from the slip to the ship.

Five days in and the puzzle keeps growing. These people are good.

If you let us off the elevator I am sure it will be much easier for your party to get on.

Did you think the four guests sitting on the couch and half dozen people standing against the wall were waiting to enjoy the theatre of the Vista opening for lunch (might have been breakfast, can't remember for sure)? Then to try to brazen it out with the Maître D? Geesh!

The captain? “Hotel” managers? Must be really good. Or is this the nature of the cruise service industry? The crew not only speak English reasonably well, but they are learning Tagalog (Filipino dialect) or Indonesian from each other as well.

CC was right, there are people with no clue or courtesy (don’t know how much after 4 pm) six cabins being called out to muster stations…(five minutes later) three cabins still?...(stopped looking at watch, reminded self to control what I could control, not happy, remind self that there is ice wine in the fridge that needs time to chill).

Yes, the whole port side of the Lido knows the cook has “failed” three times to make your eggs the way you want them. So when the chef comes out and explains to you that over easy, which is what you have been ordering is not over hard, like the way you want them, apologize. (Of course not).

Really a bathrobe? (Lido – twice at breakfast, once at lunch).

Wow, I think that guy is flirting with mom. Weird.

There are a few more that would have to be explained (so maybe later if there is interest) and definitely lots more kudos, but just wanted to provide a break and hopefully some wry humor in my posting style. (And I should be giving credit/kudos where it is due later.)

Cheers!

[Seago2]

Glad you and your mom had such a good time! Yes, people can be rude and they don't seem to see you when they p-u-s-h right through crowds. Ugh.

 

Pictures?

[writesonstuff]

It does seem that pushing is a reality for some people. Oh well, at least there were plenty of opportunities to get over the petty irritations.

An thanks for the segue right into my next My Reality topic. (And before I forget, yes, I will post or make available some pictures, and maybe a couple of videos. Can you tell I can get easily distracted and off topic? This will give me another chance to compare CC advice to “reality”.)

Note: I wrote this last night and just read it before posting, and giving you a heads up that if you are not a newbie cruiser interested in this topic that you will probably get bored. Also, I am going to rewrite the Internet device(s) part to include Wi-Fi at sea/port and cost of internet while cruising.

Camera/Video

For the last several years I have been using my Blackberry (BB) phone (sorry, no iPhone or iPad review) whenever I needed a camera. I wanted to get a camera that had a reasonable zoom and flash, so I borrowed my son’s Canon PowerShot SX110, with 10X zoom and some video capability. In addition, I bought a “guaranteed waterproof to 10’” phone and ID card holder that allows the user to take underwater pictures with their smart phone. Since I was bringing my BB Playbook for my internet connections, I decided to try out the high definition (advertised) video instead of bringing a separate video camera.

Advance warning of really long run on sentences.

My reality advice for Canon PowerShot/BB devices for pictures – as mentioned in a lot of posts bring extra batteries, correct recharger if rechargeable and your own (or ship provided) power bar, because for me the Canon, BB phone and BB Playbook used up a lot of power and we only had two plug ins in the cabin; the Canon worked great for me, because of its small and compact size I could fit it into my short or suit pockets, with the flash I had flexibility for indoor and outdoor shots, the 10X zoom allowed me to get some “close-ups” of faraway activities, I just used the auto feature on it but there are settings on there for portrait, scenery, action, distance, etc…that probably would have created more artistic pictures and I forgot to try the video on this camera so no review on that feature, and last but not least I did not have a waterproof case/bag for the camera and worried about water getting through my back pack so recommend bringing a freezer size Ziploc in case it rains while you are out and about (which it did for us in Curacao and Bonaire); I took several pictures with the BB Playbook, which turned out ok, but for functionality and artistry, it left a lot to be desired; as for the underwater shots with my phone, the bubble test (putting an old phone in the plastic holder and leaving it weighted down in the bottom of the tub for three hours to see if it is really waterproof) worked at home and then the pictures of a plastic place mat at the bottom of my tub turned out so I thought this would be a really cool combination of low tech with high tech underwater photo technique, but unfortunately I forgot My Reality includes being afraid of going into the ocean, so no underwater pictures; however, I did get some pictures of the inside of a 737 cockpit because I got to fly jump seat on one of the flights coming home so will post those.

My reality advice for video (BB Playbook) – as mentioned above, make sure you bring your power and recharge cords as well as be aware of the limited plug ins in your cabin; carrying this around on shore was not a problem because I had a small back pack, but I could see where it would be awkward while touring because there is no carry strap, also had to be careful while on the beach because the protective case leaves the three plug in ports exposed; the Hi-Def advertised is for real, for example there is one clip where I can see rain falling between the Westerdam and the pier, I will try to figure out how to post or connect to some of the videos I took so you have something other than my word for it; the stabilizer feature works very well because there are several clips where I know I was shaking the camera and the scenes do not look shaky; I only used the touch here to turn on the video camera, touch here to start shooting, touch here to stop, so no review/comments on video features; overall, if I had known how good the quality of the videos were going to be I would have practiced using the video functions and taken more videos rather than pictures.

If you have gotten this far, thank you for reading. I think the next My Reality topics will be on internet at sea and an attempt at a light hearted post on washing hands/NOT self-serve.

Cheers!

[writesonstuff]

Norovirus/Washing hands/Not allowed to self-serve on first two days

With tongue firmly in cheek. Here is a song/ditty that you can teach your kids (or cruisers who do not wash their hands). [Kind of goes to the song “The Wheels on the Bus”]

The Norovirus goes round and round, round and round, round and round.

The Norovirus goes round and round, if you don’t wash your hands.

The sanitizer goes squish squish squish, squish squish squish, squish squish squish.

The sanitizer goes squish squish squish, to stop the spread of germs.

The nice servers say let me help, let me help, let me help.

The nice servers say let me help, to stop the spread of germs.

The oblivious ones say what a pain, not for me, not washing up.

The oblivious ones say what a pain, and succeed in spreading the bug.

Westerdamers are one of three, one of three, one of three.

Westerdamers are one of three, who stop the spread of germs.

So how many cruisers wash their hands, sanitize, allow self-serve?

So how many cruisers wash their hands? Only the ones who give a ‘Dam!

I have not fact checked this statement made by the cruise director at the disembarkation talk. “The Westerdam is one of only three ships in the Caribbean that have not had an outbreak of the bug this season.” He said this after he congratulated and thanked the passengers for washing hands and accepting the no self-service in the Lido for the first two days of the cruise.

I assume the “bug” is Norovirus. The negative thoughts in my head are: 1) If I was cruising what are the odds that my ship has the bug on it. And 2) How many people are not washing their hands or using those hand sanitizers?

 

Cheers!

[writesonstuff]

I think like got something attached. If this worked then it was with the Playbook.

[writesonstuff]

Picture of crew farewell.

[writesonstuff]

OK only one shot at a time.

[writesonstuff]

Will figure out how to do more this weekend.

[Daisyloo]

I am enjoying your review. Especially liked the rude behaviour section!:p

[writesonstuff]

Thanks for your kind words. My boys are having a good time reading too. They can't figure out whether to laugh, be bored or keep the shock from their faces because their dad is actually mixing his paying jobs, which requires a lot of technical writing, and his hobby, which is writing.

 

This post is not on my original outline, but there are other “current” topics on CC which I am going to add my two cents worth so I am adding to this thread. (For the techno people out there, I am testing a Bluetooth keyboard connected to my Playbook and it is working great. I will have to get a Bluetooth mouse and see if that works as well).

 

I apologize in advance if the information below is too specific or too much for a first time cruiser, but I feel it is still within the spirit of my goal to provide a First Time Cruiser all inclusive review.

 

Travel documents for custodial parent (Canadian) traveling with children – I just signed a letter for my ex that we had witnessed and stamped by a Commissioner for Oaths (Canada) that says I am aware she is taking one of our sons (other is now 18, so no letter for him) on a cruise and into Mexico. She says that she has never had to pull out the letter when boarding on Princess (this will be the ninth for him) or at US Customs, but she has been questioned twice in Mexico and had to show the letter. She stopped bringing our custody agreement after the third cruise I think. The boys have had passports from when they were two or so.

 

When to book air plus information on taxes – I will add these to the current threads on these topics later, but for my three readers (I hope there at least three), you heard it here first.

 

[Full disclosure: This poster works for an airline as a boring tax accountant.] CC posters have provided their own experiences and there appears to be an overwhelming opinion that as soon as you are comfortable with the price and schedule, to book at that time. There have also been posts that provide information that lean towards air travel costs increasing, as well as good to excellent explanations of how price buckets work and the economics of supply and demand. In my opinion I agree with the sentiment that fuel and labor costs are trending higher. Now, at the risk of creating information overload, I provide some additional points that I hope helps the cruiser who is making the when to book air travel decision.

 

Fuel costs (and why don’t airlines just hedge so as to keep costs low or at least not raise the price after booking) – due to well publicized corporate misconduct and improper financial reporting and accounting, depending on the countries where airlines are registered there are restrictions and limits as to what financial activities they can undertake. In general, investing in futures markets (which could include hedging in fuel) is one of those limited and controlled activities. What does that mean to the the cruiser? Airlines cannot use financial instruments to mitigate rising fuel costs, so there will come a time when these expenses will be passed on either as a surcharge or increased fares. In other words, at a minimum lock in you fare if you think fuel costs are rising AND carefully read the surcharge policy for the airline (and fare rules?). Side note on ancillary fees, including surcharges, and increases in such after full payment: I hope other airline employees can confirm or correct this, but it is my understanding that the "new" consumer rules in the US are supposed to require written consent that the ticket purchaser is aware that their fees and surcharges might increase (fares too?) due to factors that are listed by the airline.

 

Air taxes and fees - Just some clarification for some of the information that has been posted. (Thread is in Cruise Air board).

 

Canadian airport improvement fees and navigation surcharges: While it is technically correct that most Canadian airports are "self-funded" with AIF ranging from $5 to $25, travelers should also be made aware that the federal government (Transport Canada?) charges rents to the operators of the airports that are among the highest (if not the highest) in the world. In addition, NavCan charges airlines for use of navigation services, which are then passed on to travelers.

 

US taxes and fees: A lot of the long term funding for the FAA that has just been secured is supposed to bring all major US airports from WWII navigation technology (radar?) to modern systems (GPS?). Any CC advisors who can confirm? For any airline advertising flights in the US, ALL IN pricing must be used. This means that the price you see includes the base fare, US taxes, surcharges and fees. I haven't had to analyze what this means for disclosure of baggage fees, seat selection and other ancillary charges, but expect that I will have to read into this topic shortly, so will post that information when I figure it out. (Unless there is another airline employee out there that already has had to work out the new US rules and can post the info).

 

What does this mean to cruisers? For Canadians living close to US border cities, driving to a major US airport has become an option. For those traveling in the US and making when to travel to the cruise port decision, I have been told (so heresay, not fact checked) that flying out of or into certain airports are more susceptible to delays or schedule changes due to weather because the nav systems cannot handle certain instrument flying conditions. For those trying to budget their US air costs, be aware that the price you see is supposed to be what you will be paying except for what the airline specifically informs you may increase. And for the US traveler trying to figure out when to lock in air fare, there is one airline in the US that seems to dictate whether fare increases will stick for the entire industry, Southwest. So if Southwest raises fares, odds are the other airlines will follow shortly. (No, I do not work for Southwest).

 

Cheers!

[writesonstuff]

I am enjoying your review. Especially liked the rude behaviour section!:p

 

Thanks Daisyloo. I just posted a long probably overly technical commentary, which in a bizarre way was actually related to work issues I was helping with today, so I am only going to give you a teaser.

 

Scene: Vista Dining Room, Westerdam

 

Time: Breakfast, Sunday morning

 

Characters: Individual lady wearing a formal hat; two couples sitting at a table of four; and shocked witnesses (four, sitting at two tables for two; in between individual lady and table of four)

 

Cheers!