Shorex

Actually you make my point

 

There are so many countries that they should have known to check it out

 

Also why do you think anyone would need to hide their citizenship from any of those countries

 

She obviously is NOT in those countries now if she is looking to board a ship in Seattle so she was allowed to enter the USA in some way so why the need to hide it. PC for some reason taken to the extreme?

 

But let's be honest here....her documents/papers were simply not in order and it's possible that she didn't even have legitimate USA papers. To not at least consider this possibility just shows lack of knowledge of current issues and does not suggest any negative comment toward the wife.

 

Not saying illegal immigration is definitely the case just saying clear thinking COULD and WOULD consider that to be a possibility. Nothing more nothing less. Clear thinking also considers that they were just uninformed about visa requirements. Both are possibilities...to the clear thinker of course. Muddled thinking insists on not considering these possibilities and agrees with hiding the nationality.

 

These pax probably thought they were just taking a cruise to another USA state so thought she wouldn't have a problem

 

They needed to do the pride of America for that to happen.....assuming the wife had at minimum valid ID to board a plane to Honolulu

 

 

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How 'bout this? It's nobody's business where she's from. The OP only wanted to know about some good will vouchers from HAL despite the whole kerfuffle being their fault. He is right to not reveal where she's from, otherwise the cc busybodies would rush to give their full legal analysis and criticism. He knows they goofed, stop beating up on him (and her). There is a difference between "hiding" information and keeping information private that is no one's business. No one's business - and that includes me and you.

OMG, now there's speculation on his marital status. I do have some unsolicited advice for the OP: run and hide from the gossipy meddlers on cc as fast as you can.

Some posters want to be the OP's immigration attorney and contest the legality of being denied entry to Canada for lack of the required visa. I will trust the OP's implicit concession that HAL was correct in denying boarding according to the laws of Canada. His only question related to receiving some sort of voucher or future cruise benefit from HAL. Sadly, the chances are somewhere between minuscule and zilch for reasons many have named.

Over the years there have been numerous examples on cc of people being denied boarding for want of proper documentation - some of those people wanted a full or partial refund. The answer is always the same - sorry, but the responsibility for all documentation rests completely with the cruiser. Giving the OP a voucher would be unfair to all the other people who have missed a cruise for this reason. The cruise line policies are strict, but fair.

And of course, a phone rep should not be rude. But rude or not, the answer will not change. (Yes, as someone mentioned, at least three sides to every story.)

If what you are worried about is missing the ship then the best thing for you to have would be the passport itself because nothing else will work to get you on the plane without help from the State Department. The State Department recommends having a photo copy of your passport in case you need their assistance and do not have it, and it would not help get you on the plane. Of course if you take your passport with you off the ship you run the risk of damaging it, losing it or having it stolen. Only you can decide which risk you are willing to take, but at least the odds are heavily in your favor under most conditions.

What? This post seems to recommend applying logic, systematically evaluating the potential risks, a dispassionate appraisal of the pros/cons, and willingness to accept the consequences of whatever decision is made. And on cruise critic of all things. I'm shocked, shocked. Pleasantly so.

Above the planes.

Well, duh. It looks photo shopped. If there was another plane at the angle to catch that precise photo, I am still very curious who had a camera at the ready at that exact spot and moment- and why.

I googled "JAL near miss" and got the story for the middle picture. It happened in Japan in 2001. Here is the link.

My question is who took the picture? Where were they to get the angle?

The original post was on June 15th. Today is June 19th. "ASAP" has come and gone. If the OP has not by now initiated the process, well, tick tick tick.

Panama Canal is a great cruise. Now that you have chosen the itinerary, remember that the cruise line is as it does on every itinerary. Princess food is Princess food, HAL food is HAL food, Crystal food is ...... you get the idea. Same applies to entertainment, enrichment, service, specialty restaurants, and on and on. If you specific questions about a specific line, go to that board and ask. People love to promote their favorites. Because, well, they have favorites.

The bigger picture is to narrow down choices between main stream, premium, slightly more premium, and luxury lines. Do a spread sheet comparing per diems and value. Occasionally when you compare what charges are included vs what charges are a la carte, a higher initial fare is a good value. For example, Crystal has a great per diem for its canal cruise in 2018 when you factor in all inclusive for alcohol, tips, internet, and more. It's so good that there is a waiting list in all or most categories. I don't know whether Viking Oceans is doing the canal, but people seem to love the line.

Start by being open to many lines, then narrow the field to find the right line for you.

You can come close. Very close. Playbill Travel has partnered with some cruise lines to bring current headliners to the rivers and seas. Check out Playbill Travel for info. Past performers have included Patty Lupone, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Laura Osnes, Andrea Martin, etc. Of course, you won't get a full production, but they will star in concert and also interact with the guests. Part of this NY Times article focuses on Melissa Errico's experience performing at sea, and shows Karen Mason, Melissa, Seth Rudetsky, and Brian Batt chatting informally with the audience from the stage. Crystal has recently engaged for more current broadway stars to be on some cruises.

Of course in order to cruise with Tony winners, you won't be paying bargain prices.

How are they allowed to print an article that can easily be proved to be supplying false information?

:D

Who is the "they" that is supposed to allow or not allow published content? Publications, whether in old fashioned paper or on the net, can print virtually any exaggeration, spin, falsehood, flight of fancy, crock or deliberate lie without consequence. If you treat every opinionated article with a jaundiced skepticism rather an attitude of "oh my, they couldn't print it if it wasn't true" then you won't be complicit in spreading this nonsense.

When you really think about it, it's not only a good policy for the animals, it's a good policy for the other guests. It's a good policy for the room stewards. It's a good policy for the guests who have your stateroom for the next cruise. I simply would not cruise a line that allowed Fidos and Fluffys out and about - nor would many others.

We have flown airlines based on six different continents. All those flights were nonsmoking. Does the source of the governing law really matter? I guess you could google and do some serious legal research if you are so inclined. I can't really imagine any mainstream airline permitting smoking on board.

This is no correlation between the smoking rules/laws on airplanes vs cruise ships. The apples/oranges thing.

Thanksgiving day is somewhat less crowded in the airports than the days surrounding - by then people are pretty much where they want to be for the holiday. Since demand is lower on that day, air fares generally tend to be lower than on previous or following day. Just a factor to consider. I would recommend booking air as soon as you find a fare you are comfortable paying. There will be no "sales" during that time frame.

Whichever day you fly, do book your hotel as soon as you are committed to air. That weekend also has a high demand for hotels and a finite number of rooms available.

Lots of people have had the luggage sent back to their home since that is the only address on the luggage. I don't see it mentioned too often on these threads regarding lost luggage, but it really should be noted that a luggage tag with home address means the luggage can't get sent to where you are going. The little paper tags you can pick up at an airline registration desk work great for your hotel location if you have a single destination. Otherwise print out itinerary with dates and addresses.

I truly do not understand this scenario. When bags fail to appear on the carousel do people just shrug their shoulders and leave the airport? The proper procedure is to go immediately to the baggage office of the airline and file a missing luggage claim. The claim includes not only a description of the bags, but also where the owner desires them to be sent. I've had bags that missed a connection to Rio and were delivered to next port of call in Brazil - but only because I filed a claim - not because of some scrap of paper. (When is not to say that ID and itinerary information should not be inside the bags, they should be.) But it is the airline agent that makes ongoing delivery happen. Make their job easy by filing a claim.

The claim has a case number assigned so you can track the progress of missing bags online. Sometimes the agent can trace the bag and tell you immediately something like "the bags were left behind in Atlanta and were placed on the next flight out. We'll deliver the bags wherever you tell us."

I'm trying to book the flight. It doesn't come up at all, not even for first class seats. It seems booked and over-booked as much as they're willing to over-book. It originally caught me off-guard that there were no nonstops, and so I grudgingly set the budget based on assumptions that included connections, including a red-eye home.

The June 30 DL 1805 nonstop ATL to YVR is still for sale. The availability according to Expert Flyer is

F0 P0 A0 G0 W0 Y9 B9 M0 H0 Q0 K0 L0 U0 T0 X0 V0 E0 which means they are willing to sell at least 9 coach seats. First and comfort are zeroed out. However, the price today for one coach seat is a ridiculous $1177. This is an unusual pattern. Typically coach is sold out (or oversold) initially with space in comfort and first to upgrade the medallions. My guess is that the leisure market did snap up first and comfort early. How early? No idea. But if I wanted this flight for next year, I'd be buying at least seven months out.

You have to wait until the 330 day mark to price either the round trip or the one way return. Today DL will let you purchase no further out than March 12, 2018. You can't buy a round trip ticket with a return beyond March 12. You can't purchase a one way beyond March 12. You can get a feel for the difference by plugging in dates from this year, but as in the stock market, the past does not predict the future. But there are trends.

Sure, Crystal does. Silversea does. In fact, most of them do. That is the maximum time a cruise ship can be in Russia without the necessity of getting the complicated visa. We've done that length of stay three times, even so, there is much more to see and experience than time allows.

You can create many possible scenarios in your mind, and one of them might be right. Or it could be something else entirely. Whatever happened, you will likely never know and you certainly cannot change anything. By now the situation has been resolved. What not just enjoy the lovely spring weather, if you happen to be having lovely spring weather.

If you have read previous threads then you already know the "compelling" reasons to always use the safe in your room as well as the "compelling" reasons to always take your passport ashore. Having done all that research, you still can't make your own decision? Nothing new under the sun here.

There are some good reasons for the changes in Muster procedures. Consider taking life jackets to the drill. Yes, this had the advantage of everyone putting on their own life jacket. But numerous passengers were injured coming and going to the drills because they inadvertently dragged a strap which tripped themselves or another passenger. And then you had a lot of new builds that did not have a wide enough outdoor boat deck to safety accommodate all the passengers. And of course you could have a drill in awful weather which was bad for everyone. And most importantly, in a real emergency there is a reasonable likelihood that not all the lifeboats would be usable. A fire, outdoor conditions, severe listing...all can make some lifeboats unusable. Just look at the Star Princess fire where multiple lifeboats were in the path of flames and smoke. So mustering at indoor places gives the Captain (and crew) more flexibility. They can then direct passengers to usable boats, or hold them at the muster station for many hours (a problem if you are outdoors in the elements.

 

Hank

Concur completely. Even when the procedure is to bring life jackets to muster, some fools will drag the straps after the announcement cautions them not to.

Apart from a collision, I've never read of an emergency where the ship goes from normal status to ABANDON SHIP in an instant. That only happens on Star Trek. Even on the Concordia there was time to get everyone off safely, had the captain exercised good judgment.

People blow the whistles, really? I've never seen or heard that. To quote the modern philosopher Forrest Gump, "stupid is as stupid does."

Your cruise is about 4 1/2 months away and you will be flying to/from Vancouver/Seattle where it is the height of the summer tourist and Alaska cruising season. You are very late to the party to purchase air, the cheaper fare buckets are long gone. Start searching Google Flights or ITA Matrix and when you see a price you can live with, take it. ITA does not sell flights, find what you want and purchase from the airline. There is no advantage to buying air from Expedia, aside from the small service charge, they would be acting as a travel agent and be an intermediary between you and the airline. Better to cut out the middleman in case of any irregularities.

Your muster station is where you gather in an emergency to have a roll call. To muster (as a verb) is to assemble. At the assembly point (muster station), attendance is taken. On a cruise ship, the process continues with instructions as to the meaning of the alarm (the alarm you hear is NOT the "abandon ship" alarm, it is the "muster now" alarm), how to wear the vest, and any other information the cruise line deems important. If you hear that alarm and go directly to the lifeboat station, the crew person taking the roll call marks you absent - and you have disrupted the orderly sequence of events designed for your (and everyone's) safety.

The cruise lines I have sailed take this drill seriously, and anyone who skips the drill has a choice of a private "lesson" or leaving the ship. Yes, there are procedures in place for those with mobility issues - I don't know what they are because I don't (at least for now) need to know. In case of most ship emergencies, the ship itself is your best lifeboat. Secondary to that is abandoning ship in a tender/lifeboat. Tertiary to that is floating in the ocean in a life vest. Good luck with surviving more than a few minutes.

The Concordia tragedy was the result of a confluence of arrogance, stupidity, cowardice, and criminal actions on the part of the captain. May there be higher standards of professionalism from every captain, now and in the future.

Everything you ever want to know about train travel in Germany (and the rest of the world) is at Seat61. Routes, pictures of cars, how to buy tickets, food & drink, lounges, luggage, how to print your ticket at home.....It's the go-to reference for train travel everywhere. We used the site to plan train travel in Vietnam.

Just to confuse the matter even more, last summer we flew internationally from Vancouver (originating). The person directing traffic at YVR security asked if we had Global Entry cards. We did, but at home. As a pilot program, they were accepting GE cards for the fast lane through security. Your GE card may, or may not, be useful in Canada.

Your realistic option would be to drive tomorrow to very close to the port, call at 10 am and be prepared (logistically and emotionally) for either a yes or no answer.

Physicians can write a prescription for OTC meds. If your doctor agrees that this ointment is medically necessary for your skin type and anticipated exposure to sun, ask for a prescription. Then you will have the pharmacy label on the container and can take it in carry-on. Otherwise check a bag, or buy it in FLL.