Gardyloo

1 hour ago, LEMJMcC said:

Our Royal Caribbean ship arrives in Seattle at 6:00 AM on Monday, July8.  As far as I can tell it is the only ship at port on that day.  Would a 11:30 AM flight out of SEA-TAC be reasonable?

 

Thanks.

July 8, 2023 is a Saturday and four ships are scheduled to be in port that day.  Was that a typo?

In any event 11:30 ought to be doable.  

Let me ask a couple of questions.  I'm not trying to be confrontational, but what do you plan to do with the pictures you take on this trip?  Post them on FB or some other social media?  Or on the web in a blog?  Printing and framing some to put on the wall?  Snapshots for an album?  Roadside billboard?

The reason for asking is that most of the $1000+ cameras you'll see on the "best of" sites or some photo enthusiast sites - or with online merchants, et al - are capable of such incredible performance that overkill becomes the general rule.  Often the differences between a $600 camera and a $1600 one are so subtle, or so specialized, that the extra grand is - dare I say it? - a waste of money for all but the most enthusiastic or dedicated user.  Is that you?

Do you plan to take videos with your new camera?  Most "bridge" (aka "point and shoot") cameras offer very advanced video/movie production capacity - pin-sharp autofocus, vibration and camera-movement correction, very quick exposure adjustment, all that.  They have both 1080p and 4K resolution in most cases, and if you're not familiar with that jargon, then you're probably not looking at video as an important feature.

Now I'm biased.  I started with high end film cameras (Nikons, mostly) years ago, and got caught up in the "more is better" camp when it came to long lenses and all that.  When I went digital I HAD to have a Nikon DSLR, because, well, I did.  

But when my wife and I started going on African safaris, where you just don't have the time to switch lenses while the elephant or rhino is bearing down on you, and we bought a couple of bridge "superzoom" cameras (Panasonic Lumixes in our case) which had decent autofocus, okay low-light performance (important on morning and evening game drives) and a long zoom range.  

It was eye-opening.  You could do "grab" shots as we used to say, and because the sensors (even puny 8mp ones) had enough detail that later I could edit the images - crop them, etc. - and still have a printable (or sharable) picture.  

My current rig, which I got a couple of years ago, is the Panasonic DMC FZ1000, with a one inch sensor, rated at 20mp, 4K video, a long, long zoom range, even better low-light and autofocus performance, and several idiot-proof automatic settings, for true set-it-and-forget-it performance.  It's terrific.  It's discontinued now but cost around $600 when I got it.  It's successor, the DMC FZ1000-II is even more capable and costs around $850 from Amazon.  

That would leave something like $700 in your pocket.  If you're that keen on photography, use a fraction of that to purchase some decent photo processing software so you can turn all those images into award-winning billboards.  (Just kidding.)  

With Alaska (I used to live there and traveled back and forth a lot) I think what you need is versatility more than anything.  You need a long zoom to frame the beasts, quick autofocus, but also a good wide-angle setting to show the immensity of the land.  Almost any point-and-shoot/"bridge" camera on the market now will give you that, mostly well below the $1500 level.  

My two cents, worth what you paid for them.

I would choose the shorter route because it includes Sitka and won't subject you to all the commercialization of two port calls in both Ketchikan and Juneau.

Have you thought about not doing the B2B Sapphire itinerary and instead just flying up to Anchorage and joining the ship for a one-way southbound cruise?  Maybe you could afford the balcony on the SB cruise, and have some time to do a little exploring of Southcentral Alaska in the process.  

I'd go with the White Swan Public House, located on the Lake Union waterfront.  You can ride the streetcar from Westlake to the Fairview & Campus Drive (final) stop, from which it's a short walk to the restaurant (or else it's a cheap cab or Uber ride from downtown.)  Great food and atmosphere.

The White Swan Public House

Map - https://goo.gl/maps/xLw7yGV3kWabLK9e9

I would think he will, but a quick call to AS customer service will clarify things.

If the weather's okay, consider keeping the car and after dinner drive down to the Potter Marsh parking area.  Walk along the boardwalk and see if you can spot any moose out in the marsh.  The sunset views from there are also excellent.  Map - https://goo.gl/maps/dCsF3FthEcUUqzuS7

Looks like the quickest time (in Jan/Feb, don't know when you're flying) is on American via Miami.  It's around 40 min. shorter overall than other options like JetBlue via JFK.  If it's during the winter, Miami might be safer from a weather/delay perspective.

Question - is it the May 4 departure (from Vancouver) that calls at Sitka, Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan, before ending in Seattle? That was the only 8-day itinerary on Royal Caribbean I could find.

If so, a couple of things:  

That's very early in the season, so you aren't going to have a lot of competition from other vessels in the ports of call compared to later in the summer, when things can get pretty crowded.  

Looking at port times, it appears that that they're quite long in most of the towns visited.  That means that you'll be moving between ports at night, when temperatures outdoors will be at their coolest, but it won't matter on the ship.  And because it's early in the season, the ship won't call or do drive-bys of the most heavily visited tidewater glaciers, like Glacier Bay, the Hubbard Glacier in Yakutat Bay, or Tracy Arm; often access to these in the early spring can be limited by sea ice.  So the very chilly temperatures outdoors on the decks near those glaciers will be lessened.  The ship DOES call at Endicott Arm, where there are a couple of easily viewed tidewater glaciers, so bringing a suitable jacket (or using layers, which everybody does anyway) will be necessary.

For port calls, of course you can pass on the expensive excursions mounted by the cruise lines.  In Sitka (my favorite town in SE Alaska) you can wander around the picturesque town center, duck in for coffee or something stronger at any number of places, but if the weather is okay and you've done the "layer" thing, visits to the Alaska Raptor Center and the Fortress of the Bear (both places dedicated to rehabilitating orphaned or injured birds and bears) are very worthwhile.  

Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan will all have other ships present most likely.  You can certainly walk around the towns, or in the case of Ketchikan, ride the city bus for two bucks up to Totem Bight State Park, where you can experience the rain forest and learn about the indigenous Tlingit culture, both well worth your time and sacrifice in bundling up.

But look at it this way - out of 8 days you'd have 4 where some king of weather-appropriate clothing would be needed, and 4 where you can stay on the boat in the warm if you choose.  I don't think that's a bad tradeoff given the glory you'll see from the decks or out the windows.  

Assuming you're taking a cab or Uber to the cruise terminal (Pier 91, aka Smith Cove) just have the driver stop at the Whole Foods supermarket just north of the turnoff to the terminal.  You can run in and pick up a couple of bottles and be back in the car in minutes.  

Map (starting at Pike Place; don't know where you're staying.)  https://goo.gl/maps/nZvib2LvE5dHXTYr6

21 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

I see you're from Atlanta. That means flying in from the east coast. Don't discount the jet lag. My wife and I were up at the crack of dawn due to the time difference. We ate an early breakfast and went to the needle. No lines, and they had just opened. We also explored the Chihuly museum next door, before returning to our hotel to get our luggage and head to the port.

Along the same lines, here's a very enjoyable way to combine some terrific scenery, fresh air, and breakfast.  This is good on weekends only due to the cafe's opening hours.

If your body clocks are still on eastern time, head down to Pier 50, next to the state ferry terminal, and take the West Seattle Water Taxi across Elliott Bay to the dock at Seacrest Park, on the shore of West Seattle facing the downtown skyline.  The water taxi costs $5 - $6 depending on if you have an Orca transit card or not, and takes around 10 - 15 minutes to cross the bay.

On weekend mornings, the Marination Ma Kai cafe right on the pier opens at 9 AM.  This is a terrific Hawaiian/Korean cafe featuring various "fusion" dishes like Spam musubi, Kalbi sliders, Loco Moco (Hawaiian beef/rice/egg dish) and other quite yummy offerings.  The cafe has a huge outdoor deck with incredible views over the water to the city, and they make a terrific Bloody Mary if you're in the mood for an "adult beverage," as they say.

You can walk off the carbs (or the alcohol) along the West Seattle waterfront.  For the ambitious, there's a roughly 2-mile level path around Duwamish Head to Alki Beach, with our own wee Statue of Liberty and terrific views.  You can rent bikes from the dock (or kayaks) or there's a free shuttle bus that generally meets the water taxi.  Here's a map - https://goo.gl/maps/cJqAdibqBaoDtSdL9

This is a low-cost, high value way to spend a fun morning.  

I really am a broken record on this (as in, get a life) but out of curiosity I had a look at the OP's other posts and it appears that they're going on a Mediterranean/Middle East cruise sometime later this year, I assume prior to the Australia trip.  (To the OP, I'm not trying to be intrusive, but maybe this could help you or others down the road.)

On several occasions I've posted to this board on the possible use of "round the world" (abbreviated "RTW") tickets for cruisers who take multiple trips over the course of a year.  These aren't widely known in the cruising community but they can offer some good value, provided one is prepared to sit down and think in advance about a year's or two years' travel plans, either linked with cruises or other travel, basically a travel "master plan."

Take what little I know about the OP's plans for the next year or so (and again, I'm trying to be general here, not specific, and not trying to pry.)  Item one, they're traveling to the Mediterranean for a cruise - in October I think.  Item two, they're planning a trip - presumably for a cruise - in or around Australia at some time in the near future.  I don't know when that is but I'm going to assume it's in the southern summer or thereabouts, i.e. the northern winter.  Maybe January or February of 2024?  Just guessing.  And item three, they're based somewhere near Atlanta.

So imagine this:  they fly to someplace in Europe in advance of the October cruise, but they do it with a one-way ticket rather than a round trip.  Sometimes one-way tickets to Europe can be affordable (often they're pricier than round trips, for reasons only known to the airlines) but one can always use frequent flyer miles for one-way trips.  

Anyway, they do their Med cruise, but then instead of flying straight home, they do a short hop to one of the European or Middle Eastern countries where RTW tickets are more favorably priced (WAY more favorably) than in the US, especially those for business class travel.  At present, these countries include Norway, Sweden and Egypt.  More about this later.

After a couple of hours' flight to, say, Oslo, they check in at the airport (maybe they've spent a day touring the city or countryside) and take the first flight using the RTW tickets they've purchased before leaving home.  They fly - in business class - to London, then change planes and fly in business class over the Atlantic to Atlanta.  Then it's back to work or "normal" life.  

RTW tickets allow up to 16 flights (takeoffs and landings) and are good for a year.  You have to cross both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in the same direction, and you have to use the airlines in the alliance through which the ticket was purchased.  Depending on the specific ticket type, you're limited either by the total miles flown, or by the number of continents you touch in the course of the ticket - more of each costs more, duh.  But within those parameters, you have huge flexibility.  If they get back to Atlanta but want to travel someplace else in North America (including the Caribbean and Central America) before Australia, they can do so using that same ticket, and always in the pointy end.  

Then when the time comes to head off to Oz, the same ticket takes them there in business class, with flat beds, lounge access, lots of baggage allowances, all that.  They won't get to Sydney any faster, but they'll sure as hell arrive less destroyed by 20+ hours in the back of the bus. 

Cruise over, it's time to head home, but this time heading west from Australia.  They have to end the ticket in the country where they started using it, but they still might have a portion of a year left, so maybe they don't go back to Norway, they stop short in someplace like Spain, and "suspend" the RTW ticket, flying home on an award ticket (they'll have earned a ton of points in the course of the RTW) then sometime before the ticket expires, return to Europe and take another cruise, or head off on some land-based trip, Paris in the spring, whatever.  End up in Norway before the ticket's year is up, then come home.  Or maybe buy another RTW for the next year's "master plan" travels.  See how that works?

Numbers.  A Oneworld (American, British, Japan, Qantas, Cathay Pacific et al) business class 4-continent RTW ticket with travel starting in Norway has a base price of US$5291.  The same ticket, but starting and ending in the USA, costs $11,071. Yes, more than double.  Can you get to Norway and back for something like $6K?  Again, duh.  

Have a look at a post I contributed to another thread last month, which goes a bit deeper into the weeds on these products, Here's the link: 

Food for thought, maybe.

Seattle is a city full of tremendous views, most of which don't require you to pay the $$$ needed for the likes of the Space Needle or Skyview Observatory or their ilk.  With the cash needed for just one person to go up in the Space Needle, you could hire an Uber to take you to several spots where the views are great (they even include the Space Needle!)  

Google these destinations, all reachable on foot, by public transportation, or of course by cab or Uber (or rental car.)

- Kerry Park, for the "Frasier" view of the Space Needle and downtown skyline.

- Seacrest Park in West Seattle (where the West Seattle Water Taxi docks) for the skyline, Space Needle, passing ferries and ships.

- Alki Beach ("al-Kai") for views of downtown, passing ferries and ships, the Olympic mountains, and maybe seals or the occasional orca.

- Gasworks Park at the north end of Lake Union for views of the Space Needle, downtown skyline, houseboats, floatplanes coming and going, and sailboats on the lake.

- Any ferry departing downtown for Bainbridge Island or Bremerton.  

... and of course if you're cruising from Seattle, all the views you'll get from the ship as you depart.  

- 

Yes, Uber/Lyft (or onsite towncars - around the same price, more legroom) from the airport to the hotel and hotel to cruise terminal.  Port Valet for your bags, then explore away.  If you can't use Port Valet, maybe head to the airport and either check your bags (which airline?) or use the luggage storage service there.  As for what to see and do, obviously it's your call, but if it was me, I'd probably hit Uwajimaya in the International District (5 min. walk from light rail) for a late lunch in their food court, also maybe browse the branch of Kinokuniya Books (Japan's largest book chain) within the Uwajimaya market, and maybe buy some unusual Japanese snacks for the flight.  Then I'd be tempted to visit the Museum of Flight, at Boeing Field, halfway between downtown and Seatac airport.  IMO it's the second-best air and space museum in the country, after the Smithsonian.  

Note that in a pinch, the Museum of Flight will store your bags while you tour the museum - good for a couple of hours or more.  The Museum cafe is quite nice and the gift shop is to die for.  If you do that, an Uber or cab to the airport won't cost that much.

For the evening meal on arrival Sunday, the 5 Point is a hoot, or if you want something a little more upmarket, the Tilikum Place Cafe around the corner is very good.  

You can see both terminals from the Space Needle cam.

https://www.spaceneedle.com/webcam

I would guess that they'd be passing Edmonds around half an hour after sailing.

I wonder if the board administrators might consider removing Virgin America from the thread's title, since VX was acquired by Alaska Airlines some years ago.  

On 5/27/2023 at 3:57 PM, Gray Lady said:

Thank you. That really makes sense. We also get business class with Regent for international flights. We just have to hope they have seats and agreements with United and /or Lufthansa so we can get one of those flights without paying an additional arm, leg, or other body part! 🤞

I would contact Regent first and find out which airlines/routes they'll approve.  Of the list I'd probably go with TAP via Lisbon.  You'd have access to United's Polaris lounge at SFO, have a good long overnight with a decent flat bed, and a short connection through Lisbon airport to Barcelona.  TAP's A330-900neo seems to offer a pretty decent flying experience.  

I'd probably go with the Chitina Bay option because (a) the land is more open, allowing better sightlines for spotting bears and photographing them with less chance of them ducking into the bush, and (b) it seems that there are more brown bears at Chitina Bay vs. both brown and black bears at Redoubt.   

Some caveats...

If your itinerary includes any non-AA carriers - for example connecting at London to a British Airways flight to Barcelona, or returning from Italy via London or Madrid, etc. - the upgrade will only apply to the part of the trip actually operated by American.  Any flights on partner airlines will still be in whatever fare class you booked based on the fare "bucket" - the underlying fare codes (listed above) in the basic ticket.   AA has limited nonstop service to Barcelona and only one flight (that I can find) nonstop to/from Venice (from Philly.)  There's a CLT-FCO nonstop, otherwise you'd have to change planes someplace like JFK, Dallas or Chicago.  

Mileage upgrades are generally not the most cost-effective use of your miles.  Just as an exercise, assign a value of 2c per mile redeemed and add the "cost" in miles to the cash cost of the underlying ticket to see how it compares to buying the better seats in the first place (for which you'd receive miles rather than spending them.)  You'd also be avoiding the (high) probability that upgrade seats won't be available on the dates you want, if at all (or one being available, not two.)

I don't think you really have enough time to do that much before your ship sails.   With a 10 AM arrival, assuming it's on time, followed by bag claim and transport to the cruise terminal, it's likely you won't get to Pier 91 much before noon.  Saturdays during cruise season are VERY busy at the airport and at all downtown tourist destinations - Pike Place market, underground tours, Seattle Center/Space Needle, etc.  

Dragging your luggage with you on some kind of tour sounds like a major PITA, and if the "salmon hatchery" tour is to the one in Issaquah, an outer suburb, I think you'd definitely run out of time.  Remember one of the stops on your cruise is going to be Ketchikan, the self-styled "salmon capital of the world."  

Let me suggest this:  book an Uber on your arrival and have the driver give you a little city tour on the way to the cruise terminal.  The cost will obviously be more than the $40 - $50 that the straight transfer would have cost, but even if it's twice that it will still be cheaper than some tour.   Have a look at this imaginary route - https://goo.gl/maps/qRSC873Hqmd9pX9G9 - which would give you a terrific overview of the city, useful on your return.  

When you get back, use the Port Valet service to have your luggage transferred to the airline from the ship.  That will give you time to explore things on foot.  You could visit the Pike Place market or do some other touristy thing and not have to worry about your bags slowing you down.  Be sure to get to the airport at least 2 hours before your flight because of the massive congestion on cruise days.  

7 hours ago, edinburgher said:

I would also like to recommend reading some of the poems  by Robert Service.

Indeed, although Service's works are about the Yukon and not Alaska.  

For lovers of fiction, especially the genre of "alternative history," one of the best books about Alaska is The Yiddish Policemen's Union by the great Michael Chabon.  

Without too many spoilers, this is basically a murder mystery set in an alternative Sitka, one that has a population of over a million residents, the result of Sitka being designated as a Jewish homeland in North America following the destruction of the fledgling State of Israel in an alternative version of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.  Sitka is now an overwhelmingly Orthodox Jewish city, part of a federal territory within the boundaries of the State of Alaska, but about to be merged with Alaska following a 60+ year mandate as a Jewish territory.  Beyond Sitka, the rest of SE Alaska is predominantly non-Jewish, with a larger Tlingit population than actually exists.  In the middle of all the politics, the protagonist, an alcoholic local detective, embarks on a murder investigation with widespread ramifications... etc.

As a whodunnit it's a terrific read, and as commentaries on Jewish culture, Native American aspirations, and how tenuous our reality is - so dependent on a series of coincidences the absence of which would make for a very different world... a masterpiece.  Highly, highly recommended.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union - Wikipedia

Or just phone Delta or Westjet and speak to a human.  This happens all the time.

Yes.  Both flights operate to/from Terminal 5, so follow the signs to flight connections, clear security, and off you go.

Still relevant and a wonderful read after all these years, Coming into the Country by the legendary John McPhee, is available on Amazon and through most sources.  You won't regret it.  

On 5/20/2023 at 9:06 AM, NMTraveller said:

Way too expensive...

 

I book when the flights first come available (330 days out or better).  Then I book an exit row seat.  Or upgrade to a better seat with points.

I think there's some misunderstanding of how things work on both pricing and award availability.  

Airlines use very sophisticated (and very secret) algorithms to determine how much to charge for a given flight, and when (or if) to release seats for that flight into award inventory (including upgrades.)  While sales open at 330 days out (or 360, or fewer) depending on the airline, it's seldom the case that the cheapest fares will be offered then.  Look at it from the airline's point of view.  What will the price of fuel be in 11 months' time?  What if there's a contract with baggage handlers that will expire in month 5?  What if the economy threatens to tank because of a war someplace, on and on...

So they hedge by setting fares high enough to cover those uncertainties, or at least minimize the potential downside.  Later in the booking window, as things become more certain (fuel prices stabilize, strikes averted, etc.) the robots may be able to project that all the economy or business class seats on flight X aren't likely to sell between today and the flight date, so they'll release one or two into award or upgrade inventory.  At the same time, the robots can bump the price (in miles/points) for those upgrade seats.  This happens throughout the 330 (or whatever) booking period.  In fact, it's often the case that the best award availability turns up a couple of weeks before the flight as the robots have decided that nobody is likely to turn up and pay thousands of dollars/pounds/euros for that flight.  Sell them for miles and take those miles out of the contingent liability column on the books.  Of course, waiting until the last minute doesn't work well for cruisers, who can't afford to play chicken with the cruise line.

The thing is, these algorithms are working 24/7, and are also taking into account historic sales for the same city pair at the same time of year, how many seats the competition is making available for sale and at what prices for the same dates, operating cost trends, on and on.  Thinking you can outsmart these robots is a fool's gambit.

Now some airlines DO make some award seats available at D-330 or whatever.  British Airways is famous for this BECAUSE BA also levies very high service charges for "award" seats, often totaling into the thousands of dollars, in addition to the miles/points/Avios needed.  When you assign a nominal value to the points (say a penny a mile) and add that to the cash surcharge, you'll find that the "free" flight is actually not that far off the price you'd pay out of pocket for the same flight.  So in that case the availability of the seats on Day 1 makes sense - YOU'RE paying the hedge cost. 

The same advice still holds. By all means get a sense of what the airfare might be and budget on the high end, just for safety's sake.  But when it's time to fish or cut bait, and you see a fare you can live with, go for it and don't look back.  

In years past a couple of car rental companies had kiosks at the cruise terminals (which one are you using?) that would shuttle customers to their downtown locations.  Evidently these didn't survive Covid, so you'd have to take a cab or Uber to one of the downtown offices and get the car there.  Not a big deal - there are numerous offices for the various companies in the downtown area.

That said, some (all?) of the companies have taken to adding a one-way drop fee for cars collected downtown and dropped at the airport.  It will likely be cheaper to go to the airport from the cruise terminal and get the car there, but you can do some dummy bookings to find out.