Gardyloo

Be sure you're looking at train times and not bus times published on the Amtrak schedule. (They list both, which can often be confusing.)

The morning train departure from Vancouver is too early for passengers disembarking from cruises that day (no time to get to the train station) and the evening train departure from Vancouver arrives in Seattle too late to make any flights out, except red-eyes to the Midwest or east coast.

The morning train from Seattle to Vancouver arrives in enough time to get to the ships, but it leaves the station before you could get to Seattle from California (or anywhere else, really) that morning.

I just looked at prices for next June and frankly I'd jump on that US fare in a New York minute.

Transcontinental service on US in first class is fairly basic. You'll get a hot meal (usually 2 main courses available) and a cookie or some other kind of snack before landing. We've found the food to be okay - occasionally good, occasionally poor. I'd imagine that the westbound meal will be better than eastbound as CLT is one of US's fortress hubs and the kitchen there caters a lot of meals. You'll get breakfast on the SFO-CLT leg, also hit and miss.

As I said, no in-flight entertainment on the US domestic flight, so use some of your savings to invest in a DVD player or some movies for your tablet or phone.

Unlike US' A330s the Envoy cabin on the 767s features angle-flat (not horizontal) seats, which are not beloved by US frequent flyers (complaints about narrowness - reminiscent of American's business class seats on their 767s a few years ago.) In-seat AVOD is now standard.

The US domestic portion will be in an A321 (2 x 2) and sold as domestic first class. US doesn't offer any in-flight entertainment on these flights, but in our experience service is pretty good.

So it's not European-standard business/first, but if the price is okay it certainly won't kill you.

As far as the AA merger is concerned, as you may know this is now being contested by the US Department of Justice. Personally I think the merger is dead, but in any case nothing significant is likely to happen that would jeopardize your flights next year. US isn't going out of business if the merger doesn't happen.

Any others you can recommend? I see that the shop doesn't take credit cards. Not sure how we'd pay as we plan on carrying large amounts of cash or traveler's checks or our checkbook.

Thanks for these recommendations. Do you have any for Anchorage? We'll be there for several days and will have more time to look around. We like to buy a piece of art or native crafts when we travel.

See post no. 15 in this thread (first page.) You want to go to the craft shop at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage.

By far the best place to purchase authentic craft items is the gift shop at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage. Not only are the items the real deal (instead of some touristy crud, mass-produced in Asia) but the hospital itself is well worth a visit - without a doubt the most remarkable collection of Native Alaskan art there is. Just wander the halls for a little while and you'll see what I mean. Plus, of course, you're doing a good deed with your purchases.

If you're just going to downtown Seattle (International District to be specific) then I'd imagine the Bolt Bus would be okay. If you're going to the Seattle airport, then you'd still have a 30-min. light rail ride (and luggage wrangling) or a $40 cab ride to get to Seatac. Not sure where Bolt picks up in Vancouver relative to Canada Place, so there might be some hassle at that end too.

Thanks for this.

Thanks! I'll try all and any of the above. Especially calling AA. We'd love to be able to head on home to Omaha, that's for sure.

 

I appreciate the help. I never think about calling them to see if there are awards on other airlines. The ship leaves LA on Feb. 3 and docks on Feb. 20th in Santiago. We'd like to spend a couple of extra days there.

 

My AA site was showing 20% bonus miles on miles bought. Where did you find the 33% figure?

Especially on flights to/from South America, because AA has Lan as a partner, the number of potential flights one can use for mileage redemptions is much, much larger than if it was just AA. Lan is a very big airline. Unfortunately, AA is making only slow progress in being able let users access award seat "inventory" online with partners (just a few partners at present) so it's easy to get the impression that these seats are hard to get. They might be, but you can't know for sure without calling.

But for example I can see 7 economy-class seats open on an AA flight departing Santiago to Miami on the 21st. You'd need to kill a day in Chile but Valparaiso, Viña del Mar and/or Concon are pretty cool places, as is Santiago itself, so not a huge loss. Getting from Miami to Omaha might involve changing planes again some place (I haven't gone to all the effort) but probably doable. And that's not even being able to see all the Lan flights that might work for you - to Miami, Los Angeles, New York, etc. - from which you'd connect home to Omaha.

We are looking at a Carnival cruise that starts in LA and ends in Santiago, Chile. We usually use FF miles (American), but don't have enough miles for this trip.

 

We can get to LA using FF miles for the beginning of the cruise. Carnival one way back to LA is $699pp; the cheapest I can find on my own is closer to $800 and is on either Aeromexico or Copa; reviews of these two lines are so awful I don't want to book them. Those fares are mostly back to Dallas, which is fine.

 

We can also get roundtrip air from Dallas from Carnival for $1099pp. (We live nearest Omaha, but cruise air won't work from there.) But, we want to go in early. We prefer to stay in Chile a day or two also; can we ask for a deviation for that? And what would the cost probably be for a deviation?

 

We've never used cruise air for all the reasons given on these boards, but, without it this time, we probably won't do the cruise. Is there anyone who has had a similar itinerary and the flights weren't, like 5 stops, or on a horrible airline?

 

I know we have to take what we get, and don't know until 30-60 days out. Scared to try it! Any experiences that would help?

When is the cruise?

You might consider phoning AA and asking about award availability around your return date, using either their planes or Lan Chile, an excellent airline which is based in Santiago. You can't see Lan award availability online through AA's website, but the AA people can tell you if there's space open on or close to your preferred date.

If they see space available and you don't have enough miles, go to AA.com - http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/purchasingMiles/main.jsp - and buy the miles you need. At present AA is offering a 33% bonus, so e.g. to get 30,000 miles (enough for a one-way coach seat in peak season, Dec - Feb) you'd buy 24,000 miles for $660 plus tax, and receive another 8,000 as a bonus. This happens basically instantly, so then you phone AA back and book the seats. That will get you all the way home, not just to DFW. It's really very easy. You could even look for business class seats, requiring 50,000 miles each - $1100 for 40K mi + 12K mi bonus is pretty cheap for a business class flight from deep South America.

Or, for a very, very fictional Alaska story, but a cracking good mystery read by an outstanding author, try The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon.

What other destinations would you suggest? We are a family of 4 2 girls 13 and 16. We will be in Seattle 2 days prior to cruise and would be doing Seattle downtown area then. Thank You for your assistance

How full/long a day are you willing to plan? Assuming you want to be at the airport by 9:30 or so in order to turn in the car and check in, then you could conceivably make it out to vampire country and back, if your girls are caught up in Twilight mania. Pick up the car and take the Bainbridge Island ferry from downtown Seattle. From Bainbridge it's around a 90 min. drive to Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula, another hour to Forks. Coming back, you could avoid ferry waits by going via US 101 to Tacoma, across the Narrows bridges, and back to the airport via I-5.

Or, for a less ambitious trip, you could drive north to the Mukilteo - Whidbey Island ferry (SR 526 from I-5 to Mukilteo passes the Boeing widebody plant, biggest building in the world, also the site of the Boeing factory tour.) On Whidbey, you can stop at the very cute waterfront villages of Langley and Coupeville, then continue over the Deception Pass Bridge (very scenic) and back to the mainland, then south on I-5 to Seattle, passing a giant outlet mall in the process, if any shopping is still on the agenda.

Or, from Coupeville on Whidbey you could take another ferry to Port Townsend, a very attractive town with a lot of fabulous Victorian architecture, then drive back to Bainbridge (reverse of above) and into Seattle.

Either of the Whidbey-plus days are very enjoyable and involve less constant sitting in a car than either Mt. Rainier or the Forks excursion.

Yes it's doable; no there aren't any cars at T91. Instead, there's a kiosk for National/Alamo at the pier; they will shuttle you to the downtown rental station where you can get the car and hit the road.

(I should say that it's been National/Alamo in previous years, and I'm assuming it will be again this year, but probably worth a phone call to check.)

It's around 2 - 2 1/2 hours from downtown Seattle to Paradise on Mt. Rainier, around half an hour quicker returning to the airport from the mountain. Easily doable in a day trip, as are numerous other destinations.

I'll be on the Crystal Serenity.

 

Keith

Yes, it is very early. I will post on this board shorty after we visit these ports.

Thanks for the good wishes.

 

Keith

Man, the chain in April? "Serenity" is about the last word that comes to mind. Have fun!

It will be VERY cold in April so be prepared. You are right at the Bering Sea with its huge marine wildlife area. But it is also one of the most forbidding places on earth as far as wind, ice and cold.

April won't be much on the wildlife front (it never really is all that much on the chain - better on the Pribilofs in the Bering, but you're not going there.) Instead, I'd make human history your focus: a very rich Native and Russian heritage - fabulous Russian churches both in Kodiak and Unalaska (the real name of "Dutch Harbor") plus a lot of fascinating WW2 history in Unalaska. Not to mention, of course, the commercial fishing and fish processing industries in both cities. In April things should still be fairly busy (and "busy" in the season means, "oh boy.")

I'd walk around Unalaska village - maybe up to the cemetery - to get a feel for this relatively remote area. It's my favorite part of Alaska (but that's probably because I spent so much time out there.)

Unalaska Church of the Holy Ascension, built in the 1820s, and neighboring rectory, both renovated since I took this picture years ago:

A few from the past three or four decades:

Mirror Lake, near Elkutna (30 mi. north of Anchorage)

Russian Orthodox graveyard, Unalaska, Aleutian Islands

Rodeo, Alaska State Fair, Palmer

Glacier sky, Hubbard Glacier, Yakutat Bay

Ski shrine, Douglas Island (Juneau)

I have lots more.

Additionally, Cruise Critic's award-winning editorial staff keeps the following resources updated:

 

Seattle Port Profile

 

Seattle: Pre- or Post-Cruise Mini Break

We stopped in NYC en route to Europe in late August, and discovered our hotel was across the street from the Atlas, and a block from Mood Fabrics. So to escape the heat we visited Mood (everything and more...) and then happened to see Casanova texting someone furiously near Times Square. A very PR day in Manhattan...

Mood:

Casanova at Times Square:

Trip report on Fodors: http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/trip-report-fringe-movements.cfm

More photos: http://gardyloo.us/August%202010.htm

There are indeed a few cruises that still call at Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, mainly higher-end repositioning itineraries from the US west coast to Asia. For example, this year Silversea has a sailing from Vancouver through the Inside Passage to Seward, then down to Kodiak and out to Dutch Harbor, then carrying on to Kamchatka and finally Tokyo. For Aussies it might make for an interesting if expensive tour of the North Pacific.

Unalaska is a very interesting place, but conventional travel there can be expensive and troublesome as the weather can play havoc with airline timetables.

The best movie I ever saw about Alaska was released in 1979 and dropped out of sight (except in France for some reason) - Spirit of the Wind, a biography of George Attla, the great musher. Slim Pickens, Chief Dan George, (wonderful) music by Buffy St Marie - really a great flick. Not that helps the OP I suppose. :(

I have flown internationally 4 times in the last month, including returning through US immigration at DFW yesterday (from Japan.) My plane ticket never carries my middle name or initial, while my passport has my full middle name. Not once has it been questioned or mentioned. I would review the italicized lines in my previous post, the ones about flexibility and small differences, and then I wouldn't worry about it.

Immigration officers have wide leeway on these things, and unless your name matches somebody on the no-fly list (which you would most likely know about by now) I would not sweat it.

Just heard this am on news that effective 5/15/2009 airports will require your name on ID or passport to exactly match name on airline ticket...not first and last, but must include middle name if on ID. We made reservations months ago and leave in less than a month. Now what??? ***Also, in August, airports will require full, exact name match, plus ask you for DOB, gender and something else..honestly don't remember.

 

Anyone else heard this???

From the US TSA's website, FAQ for travelers - (italics added)

When does the full name requirement go into effect? When MUST my airline ticket match the name on my ID exactly?

Secure Flight requires that domestic aircraft operators request and collect full name as of May 15, 2009, and date of birth and gender as of August 15, 2009 for their domestic flights. For international flights, full name, date of birth, and gender must be requested and collected as of October 31, 2009. TSA has built some flexibility into the processes regarding passenger name accuracy. For the near future, small differences between the passenger’s ID and the passenger’s reservation information, such as the use of a middle initial instead of a full middle name or no middle name/initial at all, should not cause a problem for the passenger. Over time, passengers should strive to obtain consistency between the name on their ID and their travel information.

Does the name on all of my Identity Documents have to match? What if my driver’s license has only my middle initial, but my passport has my full name? Should I change my driver’s license to match my passport?

Secure Flight does not require that the names on all of your IDs be identical. Passengers should ensure, however, that the name used when making a reservation matches the ID that will be used when the passenger checks in. To illustrate this point using a hypothetical example, if a passenger’s current driver’s license reads “John C. Doe,” the passenger is not required to apply for a new driver’s license listing the complete middle name. However, if the passenger plans to use his driver’s license for identification purposes when traveling, he should ensure that he makes his flight reservation using the exact name on the driver’s license, “John C. Doe.”

You can go over to the Marina about half a mile away and eat at what is known to be the most expensive restaurant in Seattle, Palisade.

 

http://www.palisaderestaurant.com/

 

Otherwise, you will need to go 2-3 miles in either direction to find some fast food.

In the same complex is Maggie Bluffs, a burger/fish and chips/beer sort of place that's actually a very pleasant place to sit outside and look at a couple billion dollars of yachts bobbing at their berths, rather than being enjoyed by their owners, with the city in the background.

http://www.r-u-i.com/mag/ Try the sweet potato fries.

Haven't stayed there and don't know anyone who has - it's pretty new.

I'm sure it's okay - I too have stayed at Homewood Suites in other locations, and it's a solid product.

That said, I'm not crazy about the location. It's in an office/warehouse type district that's definitely on the outer edge of the downtown area, a mile or more from the main attractions like the Pike Market. There are a few, but not a lot of restaurants etc. around. You can walk (uphill) to Seattle Center and the Space Needle, or downhill to Myrtle Edwards Park and the Olympic Sculpture Garden, but it's a schlep to the shopping areas, uncomfortably long if the weather is inclement (and we're talking Seattle remember.) If you're okay with so-so bus service or want to rent a car, then fine. Otherwise you could find yourselves feeling rather isolated, or dependent on taxis to get places, which of course erodes any savings on accommodation.

For what it's worth, it's probably the closest hotel in taxi terms to the new Pier 91 cruise terminal (HAL, Princess) that will be in use later this year.

There are 3 Silver Clouds in the downtown area. One's next to Safeco Field, another's on Capitol Hill, and the third is on South Lake Union.

They're all well-located for visitors, with the one on Lake Union being close to a streetcar that goes into the commercial core.

It's a good chain; you'll be happy with any of them. If you're looking at the Safeco location, it will be noisy and crowded around ball games, otherwise it's a longish walk to Pioneer Square, or a quick bus ride. No safety issues with any that I'm aware of - friends and visitors all give great reviews.