RD64

From a fellow Canadian - just book your own flights and eliminate all of the NCL issues.

As a fellow Canadian I need some clarification. I always pay off my account in full the last night of a cruise using $USD. My understanding from reading this thread is that the charge came about to the difference in exchange rate from when the hold was applied to when it was removed? I have never heard of this happening before.

Agreed - given the very small population, I think that if any private transfers are available, they will come at a hefty premium.

Avoid the stress - book a hotel in Anchorage for the night (nice to see if you have never been) and fly home the next day.

@prmssk thank you for being the voice of reason. What the OP may not realize is that while cruiseline XYZ may give free cruises / future OBC / FCC or whatever financial incentive in this particular situation, does not necessarily mean they will do so in the future given a similar situation. There are lots of cruise lines out there and the OP is free to find one which never cancels any ports, changes itineraries, and provides a free cruise. I would still like to hear how the OP enjoyed this cruise despite the fact that they did not receive the financial compensation they feel they were entitled to.

Sadly lovely cruise does not count when the possibility of “compensation” rears its head. Sadly the C word seems to be more common lately on every single cruise line board. As an informed passenger, realize that things happen, read your contract, understand the legal terms, and do not expect the cruise line to comp your cruise because you missed a port or two. If the uncertainties of cruise line itineraries does not suit you, then people are always free to book a land vacation.

@wilmingtech but sometimes life, weather, war happens. I was supposed to go on a TA from Lisbon to NYC a few weeks ago but had to cancel ( not the point). Two of four ports were cancelled ( Horta and Ponta Delgada) due to weather. It is the same situation - people claiming that it is not the cruise that they were sold and demanding every form of compensation possible because this is not the cruise they were booked. To complicate matters, you get the random person that “claims” they got all of their money back plus a new kidney, and it sends people in an uproar demanding the same thing. Going back to 2019 - same thing. Transat Lisbon to Boston (13 days) - port call at St. Pierre et Miquelon cancelled due to whatever hurricane was going through that September. Ship full of people playing the”Woe is Me” and “The Only Reason I Booked This 13 Day Cruise Was To Go To SPM” game. The only thing we got back was port charges - I did not expect or want anything more, even though I truly wanted to go to SPM. As has been stated numerous times, in numerous posts, on numerous boards - never book a cruise if the only reason you are doing so is to go to a specific port, because stuff happens, and you should not expect any compensation, if things do not go as planned, due to no fault of the cruise Iine.

Staff told you - but were these staff members actually in a position to do a thing about it? It seems like a lot of he said / she said but nothing concrete in writing. I am assuming that otherwise you had a good cruise but time to move on my Canadian compatriot - this case is closed

Clarify please… the cruise was ok? it was just your perception that you would receive fcc (or some other form of compensation) that is upsetting you? Please follow the multiple threads on Oceania and you will see that the Celebrity non-offer is not as draconian as you think. You might also want to check on the P&O cruise that changed from a cruise to NZ to one featuring Australia and Tasmania.

At least you have been given a year’s warning regarding the situation.

Well at least you realize it - time to move on.

Bread plates not necessarily available on all ships. I enquired about purchasing them on the Noordam in August, and it was a hard no.

Given that you are 600+ days away, any of their policies regarding transfers can change 1/2 dozen times by then.

What cruise ship show (ever) lasted 2.5 hours? Asking for a friend.

Every country will have its own cabotage rules. May work in Europe or the Middle East but Japan may / may not allow it.

As mentioned previously - don’t forget Ontario March Break.

Are you sure about the luggage? From my experience in Toronto - connecting from a Canadian city, you have to collect your luggage from the first flight, before pre-clearance at US customs. They will not allow your luggage on the US flight if you have not cleared US customs. However it seems like this is not an issue for the OP as I believe they will be travelling with carryons.

Loafers, dress shoes - always! One of the reasons I can still wear certain pairs of Italian leather shoes that I purchased many years ago (classic ones that never go out of style) - keeps the leather and the back of the shoes in great shape.

Holland America and other lines are being wise and pro-active. This will avoid the possibility of scrambling last minute for alternate ports, and facing the wrath of those passengers that booked only for a particular port, and then demand the world in compensation because their itinerary changed. For those that have booked specifically for Israel this gives you adequate time to plan accordingly if you wish to proceed or not. Regardless, HAL will not be the only line cancelling Israel in 2024 - if Israel is on your list you may have to wait until 2025.

Caribbean port taxes are relatively inexpensive - you may get sticker shock when pricing Alaska cruises, as the fees / taxes may be just as much as the cruise fare.

You for one - but there are millions of others who will take your place because this issue does not impact them. I do not think the executives at Carnival will be losing any sleep over your refusal to sail with them.

Always get a copy of the invoice first. Review everything - including all the cancellation details. Everything OK? Make your deposit. At some point people need to take responsibility for their actions / decisions.

Personally I would choose to spend the night in Vancouver and fly home at your leisure the next day - assuming there is a morning flight to the UK. This past August - on Holland America - I did the Vancouver tour and airport transfer which got me to YVR around noon. My flight to Toronto was not until 10PM - this had to do with a connecting flight I needed to make in Toronto. If I had to do it again I would have overnighted in Vancouver. The waiting around is beyond painful, and I would recommend getting a day room at the YVR Fairmont which slightly reduces the pain.

The advantage of flying out of TRS is that it is a very small, regional airport. You will not experience the massive lineups for check-in, baggage, security, passport control. Actually, since you will be flying to either Frankfurt or Rome for your connection, you won’t even have your passports checked. Barring any major delays in the ship’s arrival you should be good.