gilliansp

8 hours ago, gilliansp said:

I think you are right.Whilst it would be lovely to get a ticket refund I think that it definitely makes more sense to have the correct flight connection timings so that we reach our final desrtination on schedule. Many thanks for your advice

Hi again,

Just wanted to thank you again for your valuable advice. Worked wonders with the airline! Once I mentioned the illegalities of the changed flights that they had given me etc etc, they were more than happy to amend the reservation. So now, although  I have a much longer flight schedule, with an extra flight change, at least we have enough time to make the connections and arrive in Anchorage on time.

7 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

There is no need to collect baggage when making an Air Canada connection from an international flight to a US flight. 

Problem with that is that passengers have feet to move from one flight to the other albeit

timely connection or not - LUGGAGE on the other hand needs human input to move from the

belly of one airplane to another - timelyness is imperative to have enough time to do the

transfer regardless of any if at all customs claiming rechecking -

Normally the customs immigration etc. reclaiming of luggage will be at the termination point

of the itinerary without a lay/stop over.

 

"BUT WHAT IF"

 

Horrors not having any luggage clothing to board the ship because of lack of time in the

transfer sequence -

This is why it is important to have enough time to arrive a day early to have all the loose

ends catch up.

 

You probably have a real deal on the airfare London to Vancouver to Anchorage -

But if NCL or other cruise line is offering free or reduced airfare it is what it is ! 

A better routing would have been London - Seattle - Anchorage with a great deal more

alternative possibilities.

Other connective routings New York Detroit Chicago Minneapolis/St.Paul

You are absoultely right. The original offer and flight timings were actually the best I found at the time.

26 minutes ago, Lane Hog said:

Air Canada should be able to reroute via United if they don't have a legal connection available.  The two have a Joint Venture over the Atlantic if I recall.  

Good to know, thanks

9 hours ago, Lane Hog said:

Career airline guy here..... that violates the international to international minimum connect time. 

Pretty certain you'll need to go thru US Customs pre-clearance at YVR, so 40 minutes isn't enough time to get off the plane, claim your bags, go thru Customs, and then board your flight.  They need to rebook you on something that's a legal connection.

I don't know Air Canada's rules, but on my airline if there was a schedule change that caused more than a 4 hour delay from the intended arrival time, you'd be entitled to an involuntary refund even on a non-refundable ticket.  If you're an EU national, there may be other rules in effect that would allow you to a full refund or even compensation.

I think you are right.Whilst it would be lovely to get a ticket refund I think that it definitely makes more sense to have the correct flight connection timings so that we reach our final desrtination on schedule. Many thanks for your advice

13 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

Have you actually asked AC about whether it's legal? As far as I can see, from what you say:

• You're booked to fly London-Vancouver on AC861, arriving at 1125.
• You're then booked to fly Vancouver-Anchorage on AC539, departing at 1205 on the same day.
• This is not a legal connection, as it is not published or available to book anywhere.

 

If I'm right about that, my guess is that AC's systems will catch up to that fact sooner or later. What you can do in the meantime is to work out whether you want to fly from London a day earlier, or arrive in Anchorage a day later, or whether and what alternative route you want to take to get to Anchorage. You don't give your travel date, so it's hard to do any further digging, but it looks like there ,may well be some 2-stop same-day-arrival routings.

Hi, We are supposed to travel on September 5th. I guess if its not legal then Air Canada are duty bound to amend the flight. Will see what I can do. Many thanks for your advice.

We are flying  London - Vancouver - Anchorage with Air Canada in September. It was a great deal with only one change but now Air Canada has changed our flight times giving us only  40 minutes between flights. Is this possible - according to the airline it is , but I am doubtful - and there are no later direct flights. If we miss it we would have to wait till the following day. It is a dilemna and unsure what to do. We can cancel the outbound flight, penalty-free,  but not the inbound flight. Anyone had challenging experiences with Air Canada and Vancouver airport?

23 hours ago, John99 said:

 

  @gilliansp        Beside this thread you can post your questions on the “Cruise Air” board.

The Cruise Air board has page after page of comments, questions, ideas, etc. specific to air travel.  Check it out.  John 

Thanks, will do!

15 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

Yes Air Canada can change its schedule and they can change the connection times - - -

 

"BUT" !

 

From Air Canada's website:

 

For a smooth connection between flights,
it's important to give yourself adequate time
between the arrival of your first flight and
the departure of your next.
This time between flights is known as your
minimum connection time, and it’s needed
to allow for security checks and any terminal changes.

It’s important to respect the minimum connection time between flights.
Flights without an adequate connection time can’t be booked.

 

This 40 minute connection is therefore not legal - by Air Canada's rules !

Get your trip rebooked with one that is legal and sane !

International to international
Connecting through    Minimum Connection Time
Vancouver    60 min

From Canada to the U.S.
Connecting through    Minimum Connection Time
Vancouver    1 h 10 min

 

Factor in any Customs Immigration confounding paperwork visas issues etc.

 

Alternate if the London Vancouver flight misconnects with the Anchorage flight - - -

Go across the border to Seattle with many opportunities to get to Anchorage in the

same day.

 

Cruise Critic advice *****

Best move however would be to fly in a day ahead of time and have a time cushion in your favor.

Thanks for the advice. I was also thinking of asking the airline to change London - Vancouver flight to the day before and stay overnight in Vanouver. However, they are insisting its possible to do in 40 minutes! 

We are flying  London - Vancouver - Anchorage with Air Canada in September. It was a great deal with only one change but now Air Canada has changed our flight times giving us only  40 minutes between flights. Is this possible - according to the airline it is , but I am doubtful - and there are no later direct flights. If we miss it we would have to wait till the following day. It is a dilemna and unsure what to do. We can cancel the outbound flight, penalty-free,  but not the inbound flight. Anyone had challenging experiences with Air Canada and Vancouver airport?

22 hours ago, katrina915 said:

I usually see bears at steep creek at Mendenhall.  Did in September and in August.

22 hours ago, katrina915 said:

I usually see bears at steep creek at Mendenhall.  Did in September and in August.

In that case definitely worth visiting! Do you think we will have time to do a whale watching tour and visit Sreep Creek, as opposed to spending time on the glacier itself? We will be in port from 9am - 10pm?

I am a little wary about doing the online tests  as you need to rely on an efficient internet service, which may not be available. Therefore, if nothing is available in the Seward area we will have to pay the high cruise fee and test before boarding. Returning to Anchorage just seems a waste of time. Our cruise is not until September and the cruise requirements may have changed by then. Impossible to pre-plan anything these days. 

I know that you can get tests done at the airport in Anchorage, and assume the results will be instant. I have the same problem as you as we will be in Seward days before our cruise and am not sure if there is anywhere there do do a pre-cruise test. The pre-boarding test option offered by our cruise line is an option but is expensive at 99$ per person. 

12 hours ago, J0Y0US said:

Are you cruising? What about other stops along the way?

 

Mendenhall is a good spot to visit. How long are you in port? Could you possibly do both? Pretty sure I saw combo Whale+Mendenhall options in the past so you might look in to that.

I have looked at  the combo excursion. Yes we are doing our own land tour + cruise, visiting Sitka, Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. Really wanted to see some bears as well but I think we are to late, 3rd week September, for any quality bear excursions. 

13 hours ago, AKStafford said:

If you've already had a glacier experience, I'd use Juneau as whale watching opportunity.

Thanks, thats what I thought - just needed confirmation!

Hello! Advice please. We will definitely be visiting the Matunska Glacier whilst in Anchorage and am not sure when in Juneau to also visit the Mendenhall Glacier as well or will it  just be a similar experience? If so, then we will definitely do something different in Juneau, probably whale watching.

I am reading this topic with interest. As first time visitors to Alaska this September, and it may be our one and only visit, we have booked the shorter Tundra Wilderness tour as it seems that Denali is a "must do" on an Alaskan vacation. I think its a case of  - if we don't visit the park we may regret it forever. Hopefully we will get to see wildlife as well as dense underbrush! However, instead of the usual 2 days in the park we will only spend one day there.

2 hours ago, LMKakaThing2 said:

Honestly, I’m not too sure about location. I just know it’s at mile 79 on the Seward highway in Girdwood. No need to reserve, but I think we spent maybe 2 hours there. Definitely leaves plenty of time to do other activities. 

Thanks fo the info.

6 hours ago, LMKakaThing2 said:

If you’re willing to head south, I highly recommend the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Girdwood and the William’s Reindeer Farm in Palmer. 

Hi, we will be staying in Girdwood one night on our way to Seward. Is the Wildlife Center located between Girdwood and Seward or between Anchorage and Girdwood? Not sure whether to visit it before or after our Girdwood stay. And would we neeed to reserve a half or full day for the visit?

11 hours ago, SightCRR said:

gilliansp One the hard things about Alaska is the distances. If you overlay an AK map over Europe it covers France, Germany, some of the Baltic counties, Swiss, and down into Greece. It takes a long time to drive from one spot to another. I guess I would leave Denali in and consider a fly over on small plane from Talketeena but since I have not done that I can't say one way or another. For a driving tip if you see a line of cars on the side of the road they are likely viewing wildlife so pull in behind them. You will see the line of cars long before you see the wildlife and the people who zoom past miss it. 

Thanks for the driving tip. We have paced ourselves with the driving between places to allow for scenic stops etc, hence the reason we are not being to ambitious with trying to see everything. Would have loved to have reached Fairbanks and the Arctic area, but have decided to concentrate on the Kenai Peninsula area, especially as we have to finalise our land tour in Seward to embark on our cruise. We are also considering a float plane trip to see bears as well - still under discussion!

3 hours ago, SightCRR said:

gilliansp While Denali is spectacular the Alps mountains of southern Europe are really spectacular. The rest of the mountains around Denali are lower and more distant whereas the Alps are all around. If driving to Denali don't forget to stop at both entrances to Denali Alaska State park just down the road  from the national park. Also remember that only 30% of the visitors to Denali see the mountain because of the weather. The timing for the bears eating river fish is not the best but you never know.   If driving to Matanuska (which I highly recommend) don't forget about Palmer musk ox farm, Hatcher pass, and Iditarod dog sled headquarters in Wasilla. 

Thanks for this. Was planning on visiting the Musk Ox farm as well. from your reply it sounds as if youn think I am wasting 2 precious days on visiting Denali. Hopefully not!

6 hours ago, SightCRR said:

disneyochem Looks like a great trip to me. Depending on your dates and since the Denali road is closed at m/p 43 I would skip Denali and fly to Katmai or Wolverine Creek AK if the bears will be there. sightcrr. 

Reading this thread with interest as we are will be in Alaska the first week September, a 9 land tour pre-cruise. So many diverse comments about Denali due to the road closure. As it will probably be our one and only trip to Alaska I decided to go with the traditional and included Denali, overnight stay with reduced Tundra tour. I hope that we will still get to see spectacular scenery and wildlife. Hope I am right! We will be doing very much a first timers route taking in , Anchorage, Matunska Glacier, Denali, Talketeena, Girdwood and Seward. Any suggestions from seasoned Alaska travellers ??

On 10/25/2021 at 6:24 PM, worldtraveller99 said:

Hallo UK people wanting to cruise to Alaska in 2022.

 

Have you bought your UK to Vancouver / Seattle flights for your July 2022 Alaska cruise yet? We had originally booked for July 2020, and then postponed it - so our cruise company has our money and hopes to run the Vancouver to Seward cruise in 2022, with mostly USA people on it. 

 

BA did refund us all our flight money in 2020. So I am thinking now that the USA is opening up to UK people (we are fully vaccinated) that I should book our flights for next July 2022.

 

Have you done so? Have you also bought insurance for your trip / the year of 2022, and if so with whom please? Thank you for your help.

 

We are flying London - Anchorage via Vancouver September 2022. Just booked with Air Canada, fully refundable fare. Obviously there will be tests required, not sure which yet, but as we are fully vaccinated I am not worried. Tests and face masks are part of everyday life now. we just have to accept it and not let it put us off travelling.

8 minutes ago, kennystwin said:

 

I would plan on renting a car in Anchorage for a few days and do Denali/Talkeetna for a couple of days. Yes, Denali is worth it but, due to weather, only about 30% of visitors get to see the peak. You will most likely see wildlife on the bus through the park. A little flexibility might help you out. From Anchorage, you can drive down to Girdwood (the town itself, Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center) or Whittier (26 glacier day cruise on Prince William Sound). The drive down the Turnagain Arm is lovely. It may take you 2 hours to go 40 miles if you take advantage of all the scenic turnoffs.

 

Car rentals in Anchorage in 2022 should be fine (2021 is sold out) and I would plan on a round trip rental from Anchorage. One ways  to Seward are limited and have expensive drop off charges.  You can either take a shuttle to Seward (it can include a stop at the wildlife center in Girdwood) or the Alaska Railroad. Getting around Seward without a car is pretty easy as they have a free shuttle plus a lot of the town is very walkable. I'd definitely plan a Kenai Fjords cruise in Seward for both wildlife and glaciers. They are well scheduled around the train and cruise schedules so you can do it all in a day.

 

As to the touristy nature of the the sled dog tours, I think they are only modestly so. These are real Iditarod mushers and their dogs and they would be out running them anyway. They found a way to make a little extra money and promote the sport while training the dogs. It's a win - win for them. (For the real experience, come in the winter.)

Thanks so much, really helpful info. Was thinking of hiring car in Anchorage, driving to Denali via Talkeetna. 2 days Denali. Visiting Matunska Glacier, either day trip from Anchorage or on return to Anchorage. Then shuttle bus to Seward, visiting Girdwood on the way. Couple of days in Seward before cruise. Is that to ambitious for only one week? 

Planning our first trip to Alaska for Sept 2022, cruise combined with DIY one week, approx, land tour. Flying into Anchorage and cruise leaves from Seward. So much to see and so much distance between everwhere! Was thinking of a couple of days in Seward before cruise, and maybe Denali, Girdwood. But not sure if I should be focusing on other things. Don't think we can fit in more than 1 night/2 days at Denali - is it worth it? We are interested in seeing the wildlife on land and at sea and glaciers. I know there are the husky dogs and gold mines to visit - but are they very touristy? We like to go at our own pace, so no organised trips, train, bus etc. Was thinking of renting a car. Should I be be booking everything as much as 12 months in advance as I  read that car hire can be difficult? As this will be during the first fortnight of September I know that the weather may not be at its  best to view everything which is why I want to plan correctly. Not much point in going all the way to Denali if we won't be able to see anything. Help please!!!

Once again, many thanks. Will take your advice when doing final planning.Luckily we are booked on a late 2022 sailing, so hopefully, the pandemic will be under control by then.