Flight Information - Veendam Alaska Cruise

[atmywitsend]

Hi everyone

 

I just received my flight information for my upcoming Alaska Cruise in May leaving from Vancouver.

 

I have let Holland America take care of everything for me, including flights and shuttles to and from the pier.

 

I have one concern. The flight they have booked me on gets me into Vancouver at 2:00 pm on the day of the cruise. The ship is set to sail at 5:00 pm. I want to think that they know what they are doing, but this is really making me feel uncomfortable. Is there anyone that has any thoughts or ideas. I am flying from another airport in Canada, direct to Vancouver. Do I still need time to clear customs there to board a US bound ship (I have already completed my on-line immigration).

 

When I asked my TA about this, she said she had already contacted HAL about this and they said it is fine, the shuttle will be there.

 

Any thoughts will be appreciated, as well if anyone has experience with this.

 

Thank-you

[CowPrincess]

the shuttle will be there

 

Yes, but will YOU be there? It isn't a major drive (about 30-40 mins) from the airport to the cruise terminal, so you'll make it in time as long as your flight is on time and your luggage gets unloaded quickly and there's no traffic delay.

 

I would be a basket case if that was my itinerary, but maybe you are a more relaxed sort than I am. :) If it were me, I'd be insisting on an earlier flight. But I obsess and worry about stuff like that.

[Mary Ellen]

You'll clear US Customs at the pier in Vancouver before you board. Actually, that late it should be very quick as there shouldn't be any line at all. I've been on a number of cruises that have sailed late - waiting for passengers to arrive from the airport. In some ports tidal conditions can play a role in how long the ship can wait. If you were arriving on a flight you had arranged, rather than HAL, I'd be concerned.

 

We had friends who had flight delays (HAL booked flights) in Tampa - also sailing on the Veendam. The bus was in contact with the ship as to when they'd arrive at the pier. The gangway was pulled in behind them and the ship sailed immediately. HAL knows flight problems happen and they've had plenty of experience about what to do IF that should happen to you.

 

Don't worry and have a GREAT cruise!

[Krazy Kruizers]

I can't understand why HAL is scheduling you a flight so close to the ship's departure. Many times we have spent an hour getting through Vancouver to get to the pier -- traffic can really be bad there no matter what the time of day is. Plus you have to allow time to collect your luggage at the airport.

 

At Least vanouver does not have the 90 minute rule of being on the ship before it sails.

 

But if you are late getting to the pier, you may miss the lifeboat drill at 4:15 and then have to take it the next morning.

 

Hope all works out for you.

 

Please come back and tell us all about your trip.

[pms4104]

I am not trying to be snarky here, just looking for a clarification to educate myself.

 

Mary Ellen: Why would the OP, flying from and to a Canadian airport to board a ship in Canada, have to clear U.S. Customs at the pier?

 

Krazy Kruisers: I checked the HAL website about the requirement to be on board 1 hour before sailing. It does not say that applies only for departures from U.S. ports. So, I'm wondering if it applies accross the board, as HAL is based in Seattle and its owner, Carnival, is also U.S. based.

 

Just wondering ... and thanks for your anticipated explanations.

[pms4104]

To the OP: personally, I would be concerned. If there are significant delays, contrary to comments from a previous poster, HAL is not obligated to hold the ship, particularly if only a liimited number of passengers have yet to arrive. And I think that is true whether one buys air thru HAL or not.

[RuthC]

Mary Ellen: Why would the OP, flying from and to a Canadian airport to board a ship in Canada, have to clear U.S. Customs at the pier?

I'm not Mary Ellen, but I'd like to take a stab at this.

Since the ship will be going to the USA it's necessary to clear US Immigration (not Customs, I believe) before passengers can disembark in the first port. For the Vancouver/Alaska run this is typically done before the ship even leaves Canada.

Just another way to make life easier when neighboring countries are so, well, neighborly! :)

[jimgev]

There are so many unknown factors that can cause delays. I fear Murphy's Law and am much more comfortable and relaxed arriving the day before the ship sails.

[atmywitsend]

Thank-you all for all the replies so far.

 

I just checked the airlines schedule for the day of departure. They have an earlier flight that arrives in Vancouver at 10:00 am.:confused: Even if I had to wait at the airport until more passengers arrived, at least I would be in the right city.

 

Is it possible to request through my TA if I can be booked on that flight? I did check and the cheapest seat is more expensive, than the later flight, but my return flight, is already at the more expensive rate anyways, so is this a cost savings measure that HAL is hoping will work? Will I have to pay a penalty to change my flights now that they have me booked?

 

In response, I am a basket case right now, and I will worry about this until I have boarded the ship. It might be different if this wasn't my first cruise, and I knew the process.:eek: I also know the Murphy's Law will bite you, if it gets a chance.:D

 

Thanks again, and I look forward to more replies.

:)

[PathfinderEss]

Thank-you all for all the replies so far.

 

I just checked the airlines schedule for the day of departure. They have an earlier flight that arrives in Vancouver at 10:00 am.:confused: Even if I had to wait at the airport until more passengers arrived, at least I would be in the right city.

 

Is it possible to request through my TA if I can be booked on that flight? I did check and the cheapest seat is more expensive, than the later flight, but my return flight, is already at the more expensive rate anyways, so is this a cost savings measure that HAL is hoping will work? Will I have to pay a penalty to change my flights now that they have me booked?

 

In response, I am a basket case right now, and I will worry about this until I have boarded the ship. It might be different if this wasn't my first cruise, and I knew the process.:eek: I also know the Murphy's Law will bite you, if it gets a chance.:D

 

Thanks again, and I look forward to more replies.

:)

 

Whoa, whoa atmywitsend, and everyone else who has replied to this thread. Anytime you have Hal book your air through them, you will get on the ship even if your plane is late. We have waited many times for late arrivals from the airports. Now if you book your own, you are on your own, and if you are late, well maybe you can catch up to the ship at the next port that has an airport, and all at your own expense. So don't you worry atmywitsend, you'll get on that dam ship, even if they have to hold it for an hour or so. That does not apply if the weather is so bad you can't get out, but then Hal will make arrangements for your airfare to get you to the next port, as long as you booked through them. They will do most anything to get you on board. Oh on top of all the above, they would not book you on a flight that arrived late if they thought you wouldn't make the ship, they really do know what their doing. So please relax, and enjoy your cruise!

[Copper10-8]

PathfinderEss just spelled it out! No worries for you Atmywitsend, your dam ship will wait for you in Vancouver harbor since you have booked your air through HAL. Even if Mr. Murphy makes an appearance and your flight arrives later than planned, you'll still be OK since staff onboard will get a heads up. When you arrive at baggage claim at YVR, look for the HAL "red coats" and they will guide you and your luggage to your waiting bus.

Don't sweat it! No headaches and enjoy your cruise to beautiful Alaska!

[jtl513]

Is it possible to request through my TA if I can be booked on that flight?

I think it's too late for that now that you're already booked. You can usually pick your own flights (and to some extent your own choice of airline) by paying a "deviation fee" of $50 before the booking is made, but once booked I believe you're locked in. You can ask your TA, but I don't think it's gonna happen. :(

 

PathfinderEss just spelled it out! No worries for you Atmywitsend, your dam ship will wait for you in Vancouver harbor since you have booked your air through HAL.

There are limits as to how long they can wait, dictated by schedules and sometimes tides. There are some narrows (I don't recall the name right now) about half-way up Vancouver Island that can't be traversed at low tide, and getting through there may mean leaving passengers in Vancouver.

[lvtotrvl1]

Whoa, whoa atmywitsend, and everyone else who has replied to this thread. Anytime you have Hal book your air through them, you will get on the ship even if your plane is late. We have waited many times for late arrivals from the airports. Now if you book your own, you are on your own, and if you are late, well maybe you can catch up to the ship at the next port that has an airport, and all at your own expense. So don't you worry atmywitsend, you'll get on that dam ship, even if they have to hold it for an hour or so. That does not apply if the weather is so bad you can't get out, but then Hal will make arrangements for your airfare to get you to the next port, as long as you booked through them. They will do most anything to get you on board. Oh on top of all the above, they would not book you on a flight that arrived late if they thought you wouldn't make the ship, they really do know what their doing. So please relax, and enjoy your cruise!

 

 

Thank-you pathfinder! I don't know why so many people are so quick to jump on air that the cruiseline has done. They have thousands of passengers travelling every week, and have had for years and years....so you really think they would intentially book flights that were going to be a problem? Remember, if there is a problem, they are the ones handling it....they don't want to handle it any more than someone else. Yes, there are times when there may be a problem, but the chances are very minute...I really wouldn't stress about this. To the OP, if the air has been ticketed there will be a change fee involved and may have an additional cost. I wouldn't stress toomuch. Enjoy your trip.

[NancyIL]

There are limits as to how long they can wait, dictated by schedules and sometimes tides. There are some narrows (I don't recall the name right now) about half-way up Vancouver Island that can't be traversed at low tide, and getting through there may mean leaving passengers in Vancouver.

 

Seymour Narrows. I read last year that one of the Zaandam cruises left Vancouver several hours late. They missed the optimal time to cruise through Seymour Narrows, and were delayed enough that they skipped cruising Tracy Arm Fjord and went straight to Juneau.

 

In any event - I would not put my faith in cruise air when the arrival time is only a few hours prior to departure. I've read posts by greatam saying that cruise airline tickets aren't even transferable to another airline in the event that your airline's flights are cancelled. The ship will wait if your flight is just delayed a bit. But if your flight is cancelled - you may be up a creek.

[jtl513]

... so you really think they would intentially book flights that were going to be a problem?

HAL buys air at "bulk prices" by allowing the airlines to pick the flights. I think HAL is willing to take the chance on a few tight/iffy flights as long as most of the passengers make it most of the time, providing they continue to get the cheap prices from the airlines.

[NancyIL]

HAL buys air at "bulk prices" by allowing the airlines to pick the flights.

 

And that is why those tickets are not transferable to other airlines.

 

*I just had a thought. With a May 9 sailing date - has your final payment date come and gone? If not, you can cancel the air with HAL and book your own - arriving a day early if possible.

 

Never mind...too late to cancel air! One more thought - can you stand-by for the earlier flight that arrives at 10:00 a.m.?

[dakrewser]

PathfinderEss just spelled it out! No worries for you Atmywitsend, your dam ship will wait for you in Vancouver harbor since you have booked your air through HAL.

 

And you probably think the Kings still have a chance at the playoffs! :rolleyes:

 

HAL ships sail quite regularly with HAL-air-booked passengers not on board. In that event, HAL will make the arrangements to get you to the first port of call, but that never quite makes up for "missing the boat".

 

So HAL will insure that the OP gets on the ship - it just might not be in Vancouver.

[NancyIL]

And you probably think the Kings still have a chance at the playoffs! :rolleyes:

 

HAL ships sail quite regularly with HAL-air-booked passengers not on board. In that event, HAL will make the arrangements to get you to the first port of call, but that never quite makes up for "missing the boat".

 

So HAL will insure that the OP gets on the ship - it just might not be in Vancouver.

 

On the northbound Veendam, the 2nd day is a sea day, so you would be flying to Ketchikan on day 3 if you miss the ship in Vancouver. Frankly, I'd be at MY wits' end if I had your flight schedule.

[Juanita462]

Personally I would phone HAL customer service personally and explain the problem and get them to change the flight.

 

My experience - we were booked to fly to Tampa - Van. to Toronto to Tampa. Being careful because of past experience I checked out the details of the flight and found that they had booked us on a flight

that had no chance of making the connection in Toronto and when

I asked when the next flight was they replied - the next day - we would have missed our sailing and had to fly to the next port.

 

I phoned HAL and the clerk said that it would be ok as we wouldn't have to go through immigration there or pick up our luggage and it would be tight but we could make it. I had phoned the airline and checked everything so told her that no, we could not make it as we would have to pick up our luggage - 30 minutes - go through customs because that was the last Canadian city before entering the US - 30 minutes, transfer to another terminal that was 20 minutes away on a shuttle that ran every 20 minutes - She gulped, and said please hold. They kept me on the line for an hour and came back and said they would be changing all the flights and our TA would let us know when the other one would be. Not even a thank you for the heads up about leaving a large number of pax stranded in Toronto.

 

So, they do not always check carefully about flight details.

 

I think your flight is way too late - traffic downtown in the afternoon can be a nightmare and busy at any time for that matter. It can take half an hour to retrieve your luggage and if the plane is late at all - how often have you landed on time and waited half an hour to get to your docking gate in the terminal - you may end up having very little time to make it to the pier - yes, we do go through immigration at the pier and we have waited in a long line - which can be the case when there are several ships going out that day.

 

My husband drove to work in downtown Vancouver for 27 years - he says

it would be best to take an earlier flight.

[Copper10-8]

And you probably think the Kings still have a chance at the playoffs! :rolleyes:

 

..............

 

Dude, you're on the wrong thread!:rolleyes: And dude, where's my car??

[Mary Ellen]

Mary Ellen: Why would the OP, flying from and to a Canadian airport to board a ship in Canada, have to clear U.S. Customs at the pier?

I misspoke, it would be U.S. Immigration EVERYONE (Canadian, U.S., Brits, Aussies, Japanese, Omani..... ) needs to clear at the pier. It is because they will be entering the U.S at their first port. As Ruth mentioned, doing this before embarkation makes it MUCH easier. Great cooperation between the two countries. On my first Alaskan cruise (many, many years ago) we waited and waited and waited.... at Ketchikan (our first port after sailing from Vancouver) while a few cabins were paged for them to clear U.S. Immigration. No one could go ashore until the ship (and passengers) cleared.

 

After a cruise, ALL passengers disembarking in Vancouver and flying to the U.S. from there, will clear U.S. Customs/Immigration at the Vancouver airport prior to boarding their planes.

 

Why wouldn't someone coming from a foreign county need to clear U.S. Customs or Immigration before entering the U.S (or any country for that matter)? I certainly can't imagine Canada letting passengers who have flown from and to a U.S airport to board a ship in the U.S. to enter Canada without any formalities. ;) What the OP won't have to do is clear Canadian Customs/Immigration at the Vancouver Airport.

 

To answer your next post: No, HAL is not obligated to wait for any passengers. I don't see where anyone claimed they are. It was mentioned that on many occasions ships have done so, but as previously mentioned, they may not be able to due to schedules, tidal conditions, etc. I DO know that the Veendam DID wait in Tampa for just one family. However, as disclaimers go, 'past performance can not guarantee future activity'. ;)

[jtl513]

Personally I would phone HAL customer service personally and explain the problem and get them to change the flight.

 

My experience ...

I'm surprised that HAL would even talk to you, since you booked with a TA. But maybe the OP could talk to the airline directly and make a flight change. It may cost $75 pp ... but may be worth it for their peace-of-mind.

 

I'll bet the OP never buys HAL again! I know I won't, because of bad routings twice. We've missed flight connections, but fortunately they were on the way home so we didn't miss the ship.

[Copper10-8]

The good thing about booking air through HAL is that the ship's staff will know if/when an aircraft is late getting in and how many HAL pax are on that particular aircraft. The "red coats" (their supervisor) is in contact with the ship and will provide the captain with updated info as to time delays. The captain, ultimately, will make a decision as to how long he will delay his ship in departing in order to facilitate those later arriving pax. They have waited in the past and yes, it will depend on a myriad of factors, as to how long they will wait. Again, enjoy your cruise!

[PathfinderEss]

The good thing about booking air through HAL is that the ship's staff will know if/when an aircraft is late getting in and how many HAL pax are on that particular aircraft. The "red coats" (their supervisor) is in contact with the ship and will provide the captain with updated info as to time delays. The captain, ultimately, will make a decision as to how long he will delay his ship in departing in order to facilitate those later arriving pax. They have waited in the past and yes, it will depend on a myriad of factors, as to how long they will wait. Again, enjoy your cruise!

Your absolutely right Copper10-8, that is the good thing about booking air with Hal, and the Captain does know about late passengers coming in from the airports and they will wait for a period of time for them, unlike if I screw up on my own air, they will leave my @#$.

I will say after doing air with different cruiselines, we do book our own air most of the time. I usually can get a better price and I can pick the hours I want to travel but I am taking a chance and know it.

Just to relate one of our experience with cruiseline air and pier transportation, we were going on a cruise to Alaska out of SF, we live in OC, basically a 45 min. flight. They booked us on an 6 am flight out of LAX an hour drive away for us, landing in SF at 7 am then waited for some 4 hours for a bus to get us to the pier. I don't know which is worse being way to early or cutting it a little close and ofcourse the other senario of getting off the ship at 8 am and your return flight home isn't until 4 pm. Love those airports, like not.

As I said before atmywitsend, please, please relax, you will make your cruise. You have 3 hours to get from the airport to the ship, more then enough time. Alaska is one of my favorite cruises, it is so beautiful. I always tell anyone if you never take another cruise do Alaska, it is fabulous!

[catl331]

you will make your cruise. You have 3 hours to get from the airport to the ship, more then enough time.

I know you're trying to upbeat and reassuring, PathfinderEss, but if Mr. Murphy takes center stage, 3 hours may become not enough time. "You will make your cruise" but it may be starting in Juneau.