Flight and post hotel questions

[travgurl]

Wondering whether or not to book flights to and from the east coast to Alaska through Holland, the TA or on our own? We embark in Vancouver, should we stay extra post nights at the Holland hotel or pick one on our own? Any thoughts regarding these questions greatly appreciated!

[eandj]

Haven't used HAL's air, but we did on Celebrity. Saved money. However, you really need to know the "rules" before booking a cruiseline air package. Some charge extra fees if you want to fly in early or stay longer post cruise. Some don't let you hand pick the flights most convenient for you. Then of course you want to shop around and see what flights YOU could book and what the cost would be. So from me, I won't say "do it" or "don't do it". You need to figure it out for your individual case.

 

Re hotels, I would NEVER book a hotel thru the cruiseline. You will be over charged for something you can easily do on your own with a little research and even help from here. ;) Remember the ship will charge a per person rate, not by the room. With all the discount sites available now, it is a very rare ocassion when the cruiseline offers any better rates. Plus you have a myriad of hotel choices if you do it on your own.

[POA1]

Price it out both ways. There are some very nice hotels convenient to the pier, but if you want to see the city, you may want something more centrally located.

[CowPrincess]

Wondering whether or not to book flights to and from the east coast to Alaska through Holland, the TA or on our own? We embark in Vancouver, should we stay extra post nights at the Holland hotel or pick one on our own? Any thoughts regarding these questions greatly appreciated!

 

Re: flights. We booked HAL flights once, because we saved a boatload of money. Truly, a boatload of $$$$. The flights were so incredibly inconvenient that if we EVER do that again, the flights will need to be close to free.

 

Re: hotels. Check out the West Coast Departures board for many many Vancouver hotel recommendations. Also, phone the hotels directly. They may work with you to find the best price available, if you want to know what hotel you are staying at .... the biggest reason I don't bid for hotels.... I want to know in advance where we will be staying :) The hotel we wanted pre-Alaska-cruise was showing as more than I wanted to pay. I still managed to get an acceptable price by speaking directly with the property. The hotel eventually sold out, so would not have been available via a bidding site.

[sapper1]

You can do it much cheaper on your own. Chances are HAL will book you into the Pan Pacific. You can do it yourself.

We have stayed at the Pan Pacific three times and are booked there again for next April.

It is located right at the Canada Place Pier. When you leave the terminal after the cruise and walk through the bus parking area you will see a bellman from the hotel standing there. Just give him your bags and take the elevator through the door behind him up to the lobby.

 

You are not allowed to take luggage carts past the end of the bus parking area but since the bellman is only another fifty feet further on, we have been allowed to pass with a promise to bring the cart right back. The last time we just used a porter and there was no issue. It depends on the guard, I understand.

 

If you stay there pre cruise they have a cruise package which includes breakfast. They will pick up your bags from your room and deliver them to the ship. They take all bags at one time and you get them in your room around three o'clock. That's a little later than if you had carted them down yourself but it is very convenient.

 

You can step outside the breakfast area and get a good close up look at your ship before you board. It adds to the excitement.

 

The hotel also has an underground passage from the lower level over to the food court under the Fairmont Hotel across the street.

 

The hotel is very conveniently located for walking to do some shopping and the staff will be very friendly.

 

There are always taxis lined up and when you are ready to go to the airport the bellman will just hail one for you.

[Alberta Quilter]

Don't forget that the hotel package will also include transfers, which may or may not be a good deal.

 

In Vancouver, HAL tends to use the Pan Pacific, right at Canada Place cruise terminal, which is a very nice but expensive hotel. I just inquired about it on Friday; booking through HAL it will cost ~US$195 pp. It does not include breakfast, but does include transfers. The airport is about a C$40 cab ride from the PP (you can talk the train for much less, if you want to). The transfer to the ship is merely going down an elevator and walking across a concourse; nothing to it.

 

When I last sailed from Vancouver in May, I booked the PP on my own. I upgraded us to a harbour view and purchased the Alaska Cruise package which included breakfast. The cost was high, more than Hal's price. I'm still debating what to book for our next cruise, but will likely book the PP again just because of the convenience.

 

So, figure out what's included and what works best for you. You can certainly stay in a less expensive hotel for a lot less.

 

(If you do book and have breakfast at the PP, have the salmon and goat cheese omelet - it's incredible!)

[sapper1]

Re: flights. We booked HAL flights once, because we saved a boatload of money. Truly, a boatload of $$$$. The flights were so incredibly inconvenient that if we EVER do that again, the flights will need to be close to free.

 

Re: hotels. Check out the West Coast Departures board for many many Vancouver hotel recommendations. Also, phone the hotels directly. They may work with you to find the best price available, if you want to know what hotel you are staying at .... the biggest reason I don't bid for hotels.... I want to know in advance where we will be staying :) The hotel we wanted pre-Alaska-cruise was showing as more than I wanted to pay. I still managed to get an acceptable price by speaking directly with the property. The hotel eventually sold out, so would not have been available via a bidding site.

 

CP, I hear you on the HAL flights. If I won a HAL arranged flight I would give it to someone I didn't like. We only did it once but we learned fast. DON'T DO IT.

I'll tell you my Frankfurt story sometime.

[Randyk47]

It's part of my research and planning. I always get the cruise line's air fare cost and compare it to what I can book myself. Typically I can do better than the cruise line but not always and I have gone once or twice with HAL air. Last cruise I got our airfare for 30%+ less than the cruise line's offer. Same is pretty much the same for hotels.....usually better to book myself but not absolutely always.

[sail7seas]

Cruise line air gets you there but they don't much worry if you have three connections and spend 12 hours getting somewhere other traveled 4 hours to arrive. They will book the least expensive routing they can find.

 

Edited July 13, 2014 by sail7seas

[CowPrincess]

Cruise line air gets you there but they don't much worry if you have three connections and spend 12 hours getting somewhere other traveled 4 hours to arrive. They will book the least expensive routing they can find.

 

 

That's pretty much what happened to us, though we DID save about 50% on the airfare. 6:30 am flight, be at the airport at 5 am. Sit in another airport for 5ish hours to make the connection. Arrive at destination just before nightfall. Or for the extra 50% we could have had a 3.5 hour direct flight. We have made the same trip several times since, and I pay WHATEVER it costs for the direct flight.

[CowPrincess]

CP, I hear you on the HAL flights. If I won a HAL arranged flight I would give it to someone I didn't like. We only did it once but we learned fast. DON'T DO IT.

I'll tell you my Frankfurt story sometime.

 

bolding mine

 

I hear you, I totally hear you!

 

I still sometimes check HAL air prices, but only in rare circumstances. My sanity has some (small) value :D

[catl331]

We only use HAL air on one-way or open-jaw flights, and somehow our TA has been able to get us good flights at very good prices. For round-trips we have been able to do better on our own.

Edited July 14, 2014 by catl331

[eandj]

 

Re: hotels. Check out the West Coast Departures board for many many Vancouver hotel recommendations. Also, phone the hotels directly. They may work with you to find the best price available, if you want to know what hotel you are staying at .... the biggest reason I don't bid for hotels.... I want to know in advance where we will be staying :) .

 

I rarely use bidding sites for hotels anymore for travel stays. Especially when location is a priority. Using travelpony or lmtclub will let you choose specific hotels. Of course during peak seasons shopping around is the way to go.

Edited July 14, 2014 by eandj

[Island Lovers]

I always do our flights and hotels independently of HAL. I need to ensure that the flights are as direct as possible and, if a connection is necessary, that it is as short as possible. I search for the shortest duration flights, and I don't trust this to the cruiseline. If you have lots of time, good health, etc., then you could price it out both ways. Regarding hotels, there are several websites that I think you'll find offer better hotel pricing than Holland America. There are several good hotels within a mile of Canada Place. I enjoy doing the research.

[BearInStPete]

Going independently of the cruise line works well for all the reasons cited. I did book through HAL through my TA on an upcoming Alaska cruise tour, and was able to participate in the flight selection, choose directs where possible, and get good (not cheapest) pricing. Two advantages I see in using HAL is that the cost of the flights was rolled into the cruise booking and subject to the same payment terms as the cruise, HAL has latitude over reschedules should a cruise/tour deviation occur on their nickel. Oh, and a third point, I got double points on the HAL Visa card since the air dollars were booked through HAL. But at the end of the day you should consider the net cost and benefits for doing it through HAL or independent. Your mileage may vary.

[Krazy Kruizers]

About 20 years ago we used Princess air for a European cruise -- HORRIBLE. At that time there were direct flights to Europe but we weren't placed on any of them. 1 1/2 days to get to Istanbul. Never again.

We book our own flights and hotels.

[BearInStPete]

Not endorsing this website - but you might want to try http://www.hipmunk.com it does a very comprehensive airfare search, including flight duration and layover analysis, that will at least allow you to best shop and evaluate airline offerings from the cruise line, your TA, or going independent. Also keep in mind that sometimes you get some good package deals by booking both air, hotels, and rental cars together.

[Roz]

On my very first ever cruise, I used HAL's air and hotel, and was VERY pleased. Not only was it my first cruise, I was by myself until I was on the ship and joined friends who drove up to Vancouver from California.

 

My flights were on NW, and went from Nashville to Minneapolis and then a connection on into Vancouver. I could not have done any better on my own. Since it was my first cruise and I'd never been to Vancouver, it was nice to see HAL hosts at the airport, and they directed me to the shuttle for my hotel. I stayed at one of the airport hotels (thru HAL) because it was a lot less than the Pan Pacific. There were HAL reps at the hotel who helped with questions and got our paperwork in order. The next morning we put our suitcases out in the morning and they were picked up and taken to the ship while we took a tour of the city that dropped us off at Canada Place at the end.

 

It was nice to have the easy transfers and a bit of hand holding my first time out. I just wanted to report a positive experience since so many have reported less than stellar ones.

 

Roz

[summersigh]

For hotels ... I would never book through the cruise line. I've never found one of those offers cheaper than I can do myself.

 

As for air fare.... we've traveled twice using the cruise line's offerings and got the trips way cheaper with them than we could ourselves. Both times we flew in early (Europe 3 weeks early, Alaska 4 days early and home 2 weeks after cruise).

 

Where we live we'd normally have to change planes anyway (few direct flights to any big cities where we live) so not having the cruise line give us a direct flight is not an issue with us.

 

Once with Cunard to New York then Heathrow and home from NYC after disembarking.

The other with HAL to Alaska via O'Hare and home from Calgary via Dulles.

 

We did price what we could do on our own before contacting the cruise line about the air fare. Both times we saved hundreds of dollars.

[LindaM]

Cruise line air gets you there but they don't much worry if you have three connections and spend 12 hours getting somewhere other traveled 4 hours to arrive. They will book the least expensive routing they can find.

 

 

That is not true nowadays!! I have to admit, years ago, HAL booked us a flight with a 45 min. international connection. Now.....you tell them what flights you want, and they give you a price. Only newbies let HAL choose their flights! Princess upped their flight program and now HAL has followed suit. We chose our flights and seats for virtually the same cost, when factoring in insurance. I'll choose HAL if the costs are close, because you do get some added protection if your flight is cancelled.

[iancal]

Any time we have looked at cruise line provided hotels they have either been grossly overpriced and/or not in very convenient locations.

 

Cruise air. We check it every time but have only had a small savings once. Just did a check last week on some flights...cruise air was not competitive for us on those particular flights. I guess it depends on your route and the time when you are flying.

 

Never bother with transfers. We are independent travellers. We can usually get to where we want to go cheaper, faster, and easier (for us) than using cruise line transfers. Besides, we don't really want to pay money and then have to wait for the cruise line bus to fill up.

Edited July 14, 2014 by iancal

[rafinmd]

I think HAL changed their air setup about 2 years ago to give the customer more choices. I haven't tried it yet but have an interesting situation next year. I'm on the Crystal Serenity next year transatlantic to Lisbon, and 4 days later on the Prinsendam out of Amsterdam. My TA asked HAL about an open jaw Lisbon to Amsterdam and then Amsterdam to BWI. They said it was too early but at least it did not seem to be out of the question.

 

Roy

[BearInStPete]

Wondering whether or not to book flights to and from the east coast to Alaska through Holland, the TA or on our own? We embark in Vancouver, should we stay extra post nights at the Holland hotel or pick one on our own? Any thoughts regarding these questions greatly appreciated!

 

 

Travgurl, this thread has gotten a bit off-balance. I see you are in Maryland, assuming you would depart BWI you might want to check Southwest on advance purchase to Seattle (they have directs), fairly inexpensive transfers can be obtained to Vancouver by motor-coach or train. Keep in mind the bag fee break on SW. Check both R/T Vancouver and Seattle w/transfers if your travel time table is not overly time sensitive. Good luck.

[LindaM]

Any time we have looked at cruise line provided hotels they have either been grossly overpriced and/or not in very convenient locations.

 

Cruise air. We check it every time but have only had a small savings once. Just did a check last week on some flights...cruise air was not competitive for us on those particular flights. I guess it depends on your route and the time when you are flying.

 

Never bother with transfers. We are independent travellers. We can usually get to where we want to go cheaper, faster, and easier (for us) than using cruise line transfers. Besides, we don't really want to pay money and then have to wait for the cruise line bus to fill up.

 

I can't say that I've ever seen HAL hotels in an inconvenient location. Or any other cruiseline, for that matter. They know people who book their hotels are NOT as independent, so they require something centrally located. They are grossly overpriced, however!!

 

But.....I don't care!! When we go on vacation, I don't want to think!! I don't want to save money. I want HAL or whomever to do it for me. That is what makes it a vacation for me. Someone else will figure it out for me! For some people, it's an adventure to find an interesting hotel and arrange for transportation. I'll do that in the U.S. I have no problem doing our air and hotels here, but that's where I draw the line. If I had someone to do it for me, that would be another case. Unfortunately, it's on me. I am perfectly happy to line up on the bus, whether it's a shore excursion or a transfer. Luckily, we don't have to budget, at this stage of the game. It's only money. Overpaying is not going to affect me in anyway other than my peace of mind. There are people who think nothing of paying for a Neptune, yet they will worry about paying too much for air or a hotel. In the end, it's what makes you happy. We all have our priorities.

[sapper1]

That is not true nowadays!! I have to admit, years ago, HAL booked us a flight with a 45 min. international connection. Now.....you tell them what flights you want, and they give you a price. Only newbies let HAL choose their flights! Princess upped their flight program and now HAL has followed suit. We chose our flights and seats for virtually the same cost, when factoring in insurance. I'll choose HAL if the costs are close, because you do get some added protection if your flight is cancelled.

 

We chose our flight with a nice 90 minute connection by paying a deviation fee. Just before we left, HAL decided it was a good idea to change us to a one hour connection as a favour to us to get us into Copenhagen on an earlier flight. When I protested I was told that it would cost a few hundred dollars to change back to our original flight so I went along with it.

That was in 09 and I still couldn't tell the story of our Frankfurt experience without it devolving into a rant so I won't go there. Suffice to say it was a nightmare experience.