Zacharius

What's the status of the actual runways and commercial aprons? I don't see the airport being fully operational at 5am tomorrow like they say, but if at least one runway, the terminal area, and the taxiways in between those two are clear, I could see them being able to get at least some flights in. 

On 4/8/2023 at 11:50 AM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

While I would love to, we don't always book First Class. 

41 minutes ago, SPS said:

For Seattle (from the eastern time zone) I used Air2Sea last year. I liked it for the following reasons.

1. I was able to get flight times that worked for us by Air2Sea offering flights on separate airlines without the additional charges that the individual airlines would incur for booking one-way.

2. Thankfully, I did not need this, but they guarantee to get you to your cruise if flight issues arise by getting you on another flight/flights.

Just regarding these top two, things to be aware:

1. No airline that I know of in the US charges one-way premiums anymore. Roundtrips are basically just two one-ways pieced together. Longhaul and/or international, yes, they still exist...but no airline flying between Michigan and Seattle charges a premium for only booking one-way. 

2. The guarantee, like any guarantee, is never a 100% guarantee. Just something to be aware of. Will they do everything they can to get you there? Sure, probably. But they can't add seats, add flights, or bump other passengers to get you there. And if you are cruising to places that don't have many flights or even an airport, it could be several stops (and days) until you can get to your ship. Just want to clarify because a lot of people will think they will absolutely just get on the ship the next day, but that's not always the case. 

I believe that plan includes unlimited in Mexico and Canada so you shouldn't need to worry about Cozumel and Costa Maya. May be worth just re-confirming with AT&T themselves. As far as Honduras and Bahamas, you'll likely be charged a per minute/per text/per gig fee. Just Google AT&T international rates and it'll give you a list of the rates by country, as well as any options to lower that rate with an additional monthly fee. 

Would you be open to renting a car? There are plenty of car rental spots in downtown Vancouver (for example, a Hertz and Enterprise are both within a few blocks of the port), you could rent the car for the day and just go wherever you want, whenever you want, and also have a place (the trunk) to store bags/personal items. I believe there's even a Hertz at the train station (assuming you're going out of Pacific Central), so it might be worth a look at the price for picking up at the Hertz near the port, and dropping off at the Hertz at the train station. 

One other option is to just take the tour, and factor in that you'll need to get from the airport to the station afterwards. It's not too far of a taxi/Uber/Lyft ride. 

5 hours ago, jticarruthers said:

HP Trivia

How many questions can they ask about Britain's favorite sauce?! /s

One perk of a small USB fan (and I mean small) is that you can use it on flights. Especially on longhaul aircraft, the individual vents seem to be increasingly absent, especially in business/first class, but USB outlets are almost universally present. So having a small fan to plug in for flights can be a huge advantage. There are also some airlines, like the Japanese ones (ANA and JAL mainly), that tend to keep the cabins way too warm and stuffy. 

Should be fine. As a tip, you can always go to Google Maps and plug in your origin and destination and it'll tell you how long it takes. I like to take a few weeks of the same day and time (for example, Sunday at 8am if that's about when you think you'll be making the drive) to get an average. 

Always insure a higher dollar trip, and always insure it with a third party. Those are my rules. And don't forget travel medical insurance. 

19 minutes ago, teddy said:

so if the minimum connection time is 50 minutes, then you get 50 minutes regardless of which airport you’re connecting in.  The common sense that a human booking your flights would bring is gone…..so your minimum connection time in Atlanta is the same as it would be in Portland, Maine. 

I think the flight attendant gave bad info. For example, American Airlines has a 40 minute MCT for DOM-DOM flights at DFW, but I think it might be as low as 25 minutes DOM-DOM at AUS. 

20 minutes ago, JeffB said:

She may have been able to avoid this and have more choices on routing by booking just inside 6 months (for international). This is the point at which the airlines allegedly start to manage fares - prices rise or fall based on bookings and inquiries (dynamic pricing). Generally and as I understand it, Air2Sea won't offer an itinerary that won't work

Couple things:

1. Pricing fluctuates from day one, not just at six months.

2. Air2Sea just sticks to minimum connection times (MCTs), which are a bit different for each airline and airport. But these are the minimum connection times an airline will let you book. That being said, they're not always ideal. A 1-hour connection DOM-INTL in whatever airport Roselo is going through may be perfectly "legal" (as is common phrasing with MCTs), but may not be enjoyable (or even realistic sometimes). I'll do whatever I can to avoid a MCT, especially on a DOM-INTL or INTL-DOM connection. 

16 hours ago, Linda R said:

Would personally not recommend In N Out as tourist destination.   Rather: trip over to Catalina Island, Dinner boat cruise,  tour Queen Mary, aquarium, hop on bus tours, go to Santa Monica pier,  Tour battleship USS Iowa, Ft MacArthur Museum,  or Trolley.

That's all great, but have you ever had an 8x8 animal style?!?!

33 minutes ago, FireFishII said:

That is good advice.  When my daughter was flying from Boston to Cincinnati, she had to arrive that day because of a test she had to take.  The first flight out was canceled and she thought she was hosed.  But I told her that since we purchased the ticket on one of the big 3 (I would not include SW in this list), the airline will get her on the next available flight.  Sure enough, my airline of choice came thru and she arrived in time for her test. 

I would include Southwest on this. They are, I believe, the third largest in the US, and while they don't have a hub/spoke system, they do have plenty of flights out of most of their airports that they do have a pretty good chance of re-routing you if nothing else. I'm not the biggest Southwest fine, but they've always done a good job of accommodating me on other flights (even if it's through a different connection point) when needed. 

Damn, as someone who books trips a few weeks out, I can't wrap my head around June being "last minute" haha

One other thing to think about (and, again, I am 100% Team "One Day Ahead" on flying) - if you're flying domestically in the US, for example, try to avoid airlines that only have one flight per day (or less). Airlines like Frontier, Spirit, Allegiant, and Avelo often fly a route only once a day, or maybe even once/twice a week. If something happens, you're really in big trouble. Sure, they're going to try to find another plane, but even that can be tricky on those carriers. And their ability to re-route you is much smaller, or even non-existent. My vote in these cases is to always stick to the big guns - United, Delta, American, Southwest...airlines with multiple flights per day (usually), more capabilities to re-route, and bigger fleets with a better ability to sub aircraft in/out when needed. 

I would put Easyjet somewhere in between. I have had really good experiences with them, and am a big fan, but irregular operations do sometimes put them in a tougher situation than an airline like BA. 

In-N-Out is definitely overrated, but it's worth checking out if you've never been. Takes a few visits to figure out the right order, though! (Proven Fact* - best order is a double double, protein style, mustard grilled, which grilled onions and chopped chilies, fries light well). 

* - proven by me, for me

1 hour ago, tjcruisers said:

Flown enough for business that I know you don't usually arrive on time.

That's a bit unfair. I practically live on planes, both domestic and international, and most flights are on time (at least, in the developed world) and the statistics are there to back it up. I would never, ever fly in the day of a cruise, but to say you "usually" won't arrive on time is a bit of a stretch. You usually will...but the implications if you don't can be huge. 

30 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I'd bet there's a non-trivial amount of passengers that stay in character 24/7

From my understanding, that's the case. I'm not really a "dress up" kind of guy so I don't know if I would, but I would love to see people dressed up as: 

I'm a Star Trek geek and this is definitely on my bucket list. I just forget about it every year, including this one. My wife has already told me "go for it, loser"...maybe one of these days. 

20 minutes ago, FloatyBoaty said:

Hey, sorry to butt in on @steverk's post, but this has just been such a huge conundrum for me since my nightmare of noise night at Home2Suites in January.  I look at the map and I look at the hotels and I just end up closing it all back up without making a reservation. I understand the Jersey City recommendation, but our flight is not scheduled to arrive at Newark until about 4:30 on a weekday afternoon. Is it worth it to Uber over to Jersey City with commuting traffic, etc, or just stay near the airport (check out the Elizabeth recommendation?) when arriving early evening. Appreciate your thoughts - and now back to your regular programming...

In my opinion, not worth it in your case. I don't see you getting to Jersey City before 5:45ish if your flight is on time (picking up luggage, waiting for a ride, getting the ride in traffic). Yes it opens up food/drink options, but grabbing a room at Newark Airport that has a restaurant would probably be the way I would go. Maybe even just the Marriott right at EWR Airport. 

47 minutes ago, NotPayinExtra said:

Forget Newark Airport hotels. Try a downtown Jersey City hotel. Short ride from airport and shorter ride to cruise terminal. Many food options a walk or Uber ride away

 

Good call...I always forget about Jersey City but it's a great area. 

1 hour ago, steverk said:

September will be my first time to sail out of Cape Liberty NJ and I need to find a good hotel.  My wife and I fly in the evening before the cruise to LGA (flights in to Newark were twice as much) and plan to get a cab to the hotel.  We're not super picky. A basic overnight hotel that is clean and safe will be fine.

Does anyone have a good recommendation?

Thank you in advance!

You might wish you had just spent the money when you try to get from LGA to Cape Liberty! I only slightly kid, but it can be a bit of a pain. 

Are you against staying in the city, either Brooklyn or Manhattan? That's one option of a mid-way point if you're up for it, and offers the fun/excitement and meal options that the city has to offer. 

2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I know that American pepperoni is blasphemous to Italians

American pepperoni should be blasphemous to Americans. Nothing ruins a perfectly good pizza like a quart of grease and oil per slice. 

1 hour ago, Woody14 said:

I have done the Pompeii on our own a couple of times.   it is a bit of a walk to the train station in Naples, but then it was easy to get to Pompeii the train stops close to the entrance.   I spend the morning there then take the train to Sorrento for lunch and a bit of the Amalfi coast flavour (true nothing like the real thing but it is still very nice).  I usually then walk through Sorrento down to the water to catch a ferry (hydrofoil) back to Naples.

Honestly this sounds like the perfect Naples stop to me...I would definitely recommend this combo. 

52 minutes ago, whitsmom said:

I will be using a translate app if needed. 

You will encounter very few people who aren't at least conversational, if not fully fluent, in English. There are plenty of people in Quebec who do only speak French, but you're unlikely to encounter many or any in your relatively short visit to the two largest cities in the province. If you make stops in between the two, it's possible but it won't be a big deal. Road signs will all be in French, but they'll be pretty self-explanatory (for example, the stop sign won't say "Stop", but you'll know it's a stop sign).