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em-sk

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  • Location
    Victoria, Canada
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Norwegian
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Europe

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  1. Those are good. The aircraft narrows towards the back and front. So those seats are typically in an area where there is not enough room for 3 seats but still more space between the two seats and the wall. The only disadvantage is your are at the tail or the aircraft so on arrival you end up having to wait for everyone to get off. On the domestic narrow body aircraft, the last row is usually blocked for cabin crew rest. However on the widebody aircraft (like the 777), the crew have a private cabin upstairs so not a worry. Some people may complain about lineup for the washrooms, however I don't think that is a big issue on a widebody like that.
  2. Another "creative" option is to drive to Vancouver and fly BA from Vancouver. The long-term parking lot at YVR has no shortage of cars with Washington plates. On the same ticket you may also find something that includes the Alaska connecting flight to Vancouver.
  3. You answer the kiosk questions ahead of time before the flight. At the airport in Canada you jump to the front of the line. On the kiosks, you are asked if your answers are still correct and your done. Great setup. The US has a similar app for US entry.
  4. That is a weird ticket. Air France and Air Canada will interline bags and auto-transfer. That said, it is weird, in that Air France and WestJet are partners. It would have been far more common to be on an Air France/WestJet ticket or an Air Canada for both legs. Nothing wrong with what you have, it is just not as common. Air France goes into Terminal 3 and Air Canada into Terminal 1. I would expect you will have to pickup your bags and if they are tagged all the way through to have to drop them off again. Due to the long overnight layover you may not even be able to tag your bags all the way through. If Air Canada asks you to pay baggage fees to check them in show them your ticket and remind them your making a connection. You should be able to encourage them to wave it for you.
  5. The normal way this works is if you check your bags in VCE all the way to CLE, the rules for the overseas flight trump the rules for the local connecting flight. If were not a connection and you were staying in Madrid for a few days, then rules for the Venice to Madrid flight would apply. For what it is worth, business on narrow body aircraft in Europe is very scaled back from what you would use to in the US/Canada when it comes to the seat. Food/beverage can be better in Europe but your millage varies on that. Being seated in economy for one leg is not that rare. It happens sometimes. I would all call to AA and ask them if you could be moved into business. Your will quickly find out if it was glitch, if all the business seats are sold out or its something else. (You may also discover that airline call centre staff have little insight into why the computer does things one way or another). Are you on a weird fare with some odd rules? Possibly. In the case there may be some other rules at play.
  6. Assuming your on Air Canada (Jazz) or WestJet (Encore) into Vancouver. If so, then you don't go into the same line as passengers who started their trip in Vancouver. There is a special area for connecting passengers that is significantly shorter and faster than those passengers who are starting their trip in Vancouver. Bad news, is you will do security part again. The only difference I have ever noticed, if for the US flight they want you to take your shoes off. I am based in Victoria and regularly do this. I can usually do the connection in under hour. However it is very tight and there is no room of delay. If you are coming into Vancouver on a different airline (e.g. Pacific Coastal), you will arrive at the south terminal and need to grab a shuttle to the main terminal. If that is the case, then you will need the hour and likely a bit more time.
  7. Done this with NCL. The problem you have is the cruise line head-office tends to not get into these details. It is typically something sorted out between the purser on the ship, the port agent. If you ask the cruise line they will either say no or say they need to contact the ship. I would ask at the purser desk once your on the ship.
  8. What you have going for you in this situation is to be denied entry it has to be something that would be a crime under the Canadian Criminal Code. Canada has no laws against having a knife in the trunk of your car. If it was unlicensed firearm that would be a different story.
  9. Depends on the airlines. If your traveling Star Alliance (Air Canada and/or United) then your in terminal 1 that is setup for automatic baggage transfer through customers. If your on Delta, American or WestJet then your in Terminal 3 that is not setup for that and you will likely need to walk them through. Yes, 2 1/2 hours should be fine with either option.
  10. Nearly all the major rental car companies operate out of the airport. That includes the major north American ones as well as sixtt this is more of a European brand. You will likely discover your back at the airport for pickup though there are some locations in Richmond proper. No strong preference. Most of the major brands also have downtown Vancouver locations where you could drop off the car. Richmond is made up of two main islands. Sea Island houses the airport. Lulu Island houses most of the city.
  11. Sounds reasonable. I would pre-book the ferry crossing at bcferries.com . If you do it in advance you same a small amount but the critical thing is you end up being assured you don't end up waiting for a spot to open up. For the first night I would get a hotel in Richmond. It will save you a bit of money and will make it easier to get over to the terminal.
  12. I try to have a small number of programs I participate in. That reduces the number of islands points end up in. In my case. I collect the Star Alliance points into Air Canada Aeroplan. I collect Skyteam and WestJet points in the Delta program. I collect OneWorld points into Alaska Airlines program. The other non-aligned airlines are usually associated with one of those three in some way. As a footnote, I have not compared the point programs from different airlines and my picks may or may not be the best options.
  13. Your going to have to make a connection somewhere. Try to get everything on one ticket. When it is on one ticket if there is a delay the airlines is responsible for sorting it out and covering any costs associated with rerouting and rebooking. Making your connection in Europe, or Canada makes is easier coming back as your bags will be transferred to your final destination. If your return connection is in the US then you have to walk your bags through customs and put them back in the system. With few exceptions, booking a return trip (out and return flight on one ticket) is usually cheaper than a return. On the airline website this usually an option you can click called "multi-city" or something like that where you can enter the first part to Barcelona and the return from Athens. Your trip will likely involve more than one airline. That is not a big issue, just the reality of international travel. Behind the scenes they interline with each other to transfer bags etc if it on one ticket. If it is on seperate tickets they your responsible for doing that. More reason to book on one ticket. Someone suggested Southwest. While it is a popular airline in the US they don't integrate with foreign airlines and your not going to find much there. Your probably looking at the big three in the US, Air Canada and the European airlines as options.
  14. In August Sunset is around 8:30 pm in Victoria. I don't think you will get much out of a bus tour of the city. As Heidi13 suggest, you may find it easier to go visit one of the local pubs. Uber or taxi are convenient. It is also walkable distance and quite safe. There is usually a cash shuttle bus from the cruise terminal to downtown that is only a few bucks.
  15. Shoes. If you were connecting to Canada (or most any other country at a major Canadian airline like Montreal), you would have likely not passed through security again. Going the US is the exception. While I am certain there are some other differences in screen the key difference is going to the US they want you take your shoes and belts off.
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