Alaska 2009 - Economic Changes

[Hogladyrider]

I booked my Alaska cruise (May 6th Spirit) back in Feb 2008 and all my airfare was booked separately and paid for. I did opt for Seattle to Vancouver roundtrip transfers via Carnival.

 

Well, a word of caution to all cruising in 2009, not just in Alaska, check your airfare/flight information and all other documents.

 

On Dec 31st thanks to CC boards it was brought to my attention that Carnival is no longer offering transfers between Seattle and Vancouver for 2009.

 

I spoke with my PVP, since I book direct with Carnival. It was news to them, even when I mentioned it states the same on the Carnival web site.

 

I got a call back the next day and was advised that alternate transfers are being worked on but nothing is firmed up, the bus company Gray Line had gone under due to the economy.

 

I will receive a full refund if I choose not to wait on Carnival providing I can make alternate arrangements on my own prior to the penalty phase which begins on Feb 19th. I am now researching flying from SEA to YVR and back on my own the day before the cruise and canceling my hotel in Seattle and booking one in Vancouver.

 

This is JUST the tip of the iceberg.

 

I made all arrangments for myself, traveling from Florida and my 80 year young mom, traveling from Massachuetts, for us to cruise together a life long dream.

 

I was speaking with my mom on the phone the other evening explaining all this to her and went into my office on the computer to look at SEA-YVR-SEA flights and said hmmmmmmmmm let me check on our other airfare.

 

Well guess what, my flight home from SEA to MCO was dropped by Alaska Air. I had the red eye booked. Alaska Air went from 5 flights a day to 2 and the alternative flight they offered me was too early 1:30 pm so they refunded my complete air fare.

 

Everyone please check your arrangements on a regular basis, with the way the economy is company's are making cutbacks everyday and some may affect your travel arrangements.

 

This has been a very interesting journey for me, as this is the first cruise I will have taken where I do not drive to the port to get on the ship. All in all it has been fun but a huge amount of work.

Susan

[Italy52]

I am so sorry to hear about your travel plans; hope everything works out for you.

[Hogladyrider]

Oh please don't misunderstand my post, I was not complaining or venting, I was simply trying to share with others who may not think to check their travel arrangements.

 

Even if they booked their airfare/transfers thru the individual cruise lines it is worth the time and effort to follow up rather than panic at the last minute when changes have been made and someone forgot to check or notify you.

 

When you plan on vacation who wants last minute chaos!

 

It is ALL GOOD.

Susan

[Yukon]

On Dec 31st thanks to CC boards it was brought to my attention that Carnival is no longer offering transfers between Seattle and Vancouver for 2009.

 

I spoke with my PVP, since I book direct with Carnival. It was news to them, even when I mentioned it states the same on the Carnival web site.

 

I got a call back the next day and was advised that alternate transfers are being worked on but nothing is firmed up, the bus company Gray Line had gone under due to the economy.

 

Only the Vancouver franchisee closed, Susan - Gray Line corporation is still very much in business. That doesn't change the result for you, unfortunately, but I'm extremely surprised that the Seattle operation didn't take over the shuttle contract.

[calmac]

Only the Vancouver franchisee closed, Susan - Gray Line corporation is still very much in business. That doesn't change the result for you, unfortunately, but I'm extremely surprised that the Seattle operation didn't take over the shuttle contract.

 

Perhaps they will take over the shuttle and they are just working on the contract pricing and details at the moment.

[Italy52]

Oh please don't misunderstand my post, I was not complaining or venting, I was simply trying to share with others who may not think to check their travel arrangements.

 

Even if they booked their airfare/transfers thru the individual cruise lines it is worth the time and effort to follow up rather than panic at the last minute when changes have been made and someone forgot to check or notify you.

 

When you plan on vacation who wants last minute chaos!

 

It is ALL GOOD.

Susan

 

I didn't take your post as complaining at all. I just felt for you having to rework some of your plans. I am someone that plans a year in advance and constantly recheck my reservations. Know it can be time consuming but who wants surprises - right? :D A lot of people book and never check - not a good move - good for you for being watchful.

 

What I don't think is right is the fact that Carnival did not tell you right away about your transportation issue. They should have let you know so you could have options; hang in there or make alternate arrangements.

[CowPrincess]

I think Amtrak runs a shuttle from SEA to YVR.

[ginjer2911]

Amtrak does run a train from Seattle to Vancouver. It departs Seattle once a day in the morning and returns from Vancouver in the evening. But Amtrak also runs a bus shuttle service in addition to the train for more times during the day. And the bus takes the same if not less time than the train.

 

Dh and I plan on staying in Seattle the night before the cruise because Vancouver hotels are so expensive; taking the train up in the morning and going directly to the cruise ship after. Then one the way back we will take an Amtrak bus back to Seattle and stay another night there before flying home the next day.

[ginjer2911]

Oh, and best of all Amtrak is so afforadable. It was about $140 for both of us round trip. Which I thought was really good. If someone has better prices please let me know!!

[judyf]

Thanks for the heads up, I'm going tyo go recheck my flights.

 

Thanks

[gertz]

Hogladyrider,

 

Now you know what us islanders go through most of the time. But it will turn out fine.

 

YUKON. Did not Gray Line Vancouver operate the Rockey Mountaineer. If you Google Gray Line Vancouver it pulls GL Victoria, Banff and Calgary and links Rockey Mountaineer Vacations. We did that to Whistler year and 1/2 ago and was told they were owned jointly. Great trip, too bad.

[Yukon]

YUKON. Did not Gray Line Vancouver operate the Rockey Mountaineer. If you Google Gray Line Vancouver it pulls GL Victoria, Banff and Calgary and links Rockey Mountaineer Vacations. We did that to Whistler year and 1/2 ago and was told they were owned jointly. Great trip, too bad.

 

There might have been some investment by Gray Line (though I've never seen any hint of that being the case), but I'm sure that Rocky Mountaineer is independent. I remember when the company was set up with HUGE $$$ involved.

[Hogladyrider]

For those of you that posted you will be taking the train to Vancouver the day of departure and going directly to the ship...........what if there are problems with the train that day?

 

Am I correct in assuming that you are comfortable with the train not being delayed and not missing the ship?

 

By utilizing the cruise line transfers if there is a problem the ship would wait.

 

I guess it all depends on how comfortable one feels traveling on the day of departure.

 

I will research the train as an alternative back to Seattle after the cruise luckily if necessary roundtrip airfare is around $200 between SEA and VYR and only a 50 minute flight vs 4 hour train or bus ride might be worth the extra $$$ for the reassurance, guess it is all personal preference.

Susan

[Budget Queen]

For those of you that posted you will be taking the train to Vancouver the day of departure and going directly to the ship...........what if there are problems with the train that day?

 

Am I correct in assuming that you are comfortable with the train not being delayed and not missing the ship?

 

By utilizing the cruise line transfers if there is a problem the ship would wait.

 

I guess it all depends on how comfortable one feels traveling on the day of departure.

 

I will research the train as an alternative back to Seattle after the cruise luckily if necessary roundtrip airfare is around $200 between SEA and VYR and only a 50 minute flight vs 4 hour train or bus ride might be worth the extra $$$ for the reassurance, guess it is all personal preference.

Susan

 

 

What is significant about this train, is, it only runs between Seattle and Vancouver. So you have NO concerns with the delays of the long hauls being tied up a thousand miles away. IF there are problems, they bus you. They certainly do run late, but I have not heard of any "cancelation" last season??

[Hogladyrider]

Thanks to all who posted replies.

 

Carnival is NOT going to honor the bus transfers and they have refunded our monies, which is ok, at least now I know for sure.

 

It is going to work out ok, because despite having non refundable airfares I have, like my cruises, watched the fares and they have dropped and I am getting credits for the drop in price in some cases $100 pp.

 

So we are now going to fly into Vancouver the day before the cruise and hopefully book a room at the Blue Horizon and enjoy ourselves.

 

It is all good and turned out to save us some $$$$!

 

Thanks again.

Susan

[jerry20001]

You are so right about needing to check your flight reservations now more than ever. The airlines were making all kinds of adjustments and consolidating flights to insure planes at full capacity. I had picked an arbitrary date for returning after a five month summer. I had planned to pay for the date change once my other plans were fixed. Boy was I surprised! Alaska Air had changed my time and date with no notification, but my wife's reservation had somehow been changed that she was flying direct to Seattle from both Juneau and Anchorage at about the same time. Somehow magically she would join me in LAX for our flight from there as they had dropped her Seattle to L.A. segment. All was good in the end, but it did take about 2 1/2 hours on the phone to make the changes. Had I not noticed only one month in advance, it would have been doubly complicated to get satisfactory reservations.

 

By any chance was this Seattle to Vancouver transfer related to the means that U.S. citizens with criminal records could pass through and board the ship without technically entering Canada? Now this does not apply to me, but many people are shocked to learn that something like an old DUI arrest might deny them entry into Canada until they had completed a rehabilitation officially.

 

Glad it all worked out for you. In my case I finally got the changes that I wanted at no cost and they even gave us free tickets as compensation, which is unlikely we'll be able to use. It never hurts to check, several times.

[Hogladyrider]

By any chance was this Seattle to Vancouver transfer related to the means that U.S. citizens with criminal records could pass through and board the ship without technically entering Canada? Now this does not apply to me, but many people are shocked to learn that something like an old DUI arrest might deny them entry into Canada until they had completed a rehabilitation officially.

 

No, but that is interesting news!

 

The Seattle to Vancouver transfers were purchased via Carnival which utilized Gray Line bus service and the Gray Line franchise in Vancouver is no longer operating and no one has taken it over. According to Carnival they do not have enough people who have pre-purchased the transfers to get another bus service.

 

I suspect that Carnival can not find another bus service that will do it for the price that was charged to us $49. but like you said it is all good as we are now going to fly into Vancouver the day before departure and back to Seattle for our flights home after the cruise returns.

 

Now I have an idea of what the majority of cruisers go thru when departing on a cruise, I never realized how spoiled I have become living within driving distance to all Florida ports! Lesson learned.