ny4me2

2 hours ago, no1racefan1 said:

Their website says the 2024 coupon list will be updated by 10/24, but it doesn't appear to have been updated yet.... There was only one offer in the book that I was confident we would use (Major Marine) so I'm opting not to get the coupon book--unless there's something new and exciting for 2024!

Thank you.  Makes sense.

21 hours ago, Sail away MK said:

This year's Alaska Toursaver coupon book had the stipulation that it could not be used on a Friday, and one of the cities must be an Alaskan airport.  We are planning on flying into Anchorage Friday  for a Sunday start to a land tour, and would be flying home from Vancouver at the end of our cruise so it will not work for us if that is the same for 2024

Thanks for the extra information.  It will still work for us as we will be leaving from Anchorage, AK, along with "no Friday".

4 hours ago, no1racefan1 said:

We are flying United from WY to Denver, and then Alaska Air from Denver to Anchorage. And then United on the way home. United is the only airline that our home airport uses so it's our default as long as it's not too expensive. I have a United credit card so we get free checked bags.

 

I got an Alaska Airlines credit card and used the companion fare to book Denver to Anchorage. It also came with a lot of points as a sign up bonus, which I'm going to use for a future trip--but those points could also be used to book rental cars or hotel rooms.

I read some where in this thread where one of the Alaska Coupon Books offered 25% off airfare in 2023.  I'm waiting for the booklet to be available come November 1 to see if it is also available for 2024.  I might also look into the Alaska Airlines credit card.  It sounds like a good deal.  Thanks!

ps.  We also booked a "crabbing/boat trip"- Ketchikan- but from everything I'm reading regarding snow crabs now missing due to warmer waters; as well as no crab fishing for Alaska in 2022 or 2023 - so who knows for 2024 - I might have to rethink paying top $$ for that trip.  Sounds like we wouldn't be catching anything.  🙂

On 10/18/2023 at 12:21 PM, no1racefan1 said:

I am the OP and will definitely be continuing this thread through my cruise in May. Probably not live, but maybe live-ish? Haha. Anyways, planning is kind of slow at the moment so I haven't had a lot of updates!

 

I usually check Princess.com for price changes and excursion changes a couple times a week. I check the airlines and hotels a couple times a week to see if point redemptions or costs have changed and if there's any room to save a little bit by rebooking those things. 

Have you decided on an airline yet?  Wondering where you would be flying from?  We're coming from Florida so I'm still researching.

6 hours ago, no1racefan1 said:

I am the OP and will definitely be continuing this thread through my cruise in May. Probably not live, but maybe live-ish? Haha. Anyways, planning is kind of slow at the moment so I haven't had a lot of updates!

 

I usually check Princess.com for price changes and excursion changes a couple times a week. I check the airlines and hotels a couple times a week to see if point redemptions or costs have changed and if there's any room to save a little bit by rebooking those things. 

Thanks!  We're following.  Great thread!

On 10/3/2023 at 10:05 PM, SirTomster said:

I am in the same boat.  I can only hope it does not happen to me next year.  I even waited for the price to increase a little because the first price I had was stupid low.  My rate is still very low, but closer to reasonable.  Though today it is a LOT higher for June.  So maybe my great price will still be too low.   I booked directly with them to avoid any third party issues.

Wondering if you (and others) are going to continue with this thread?  We're going in August, 2024, but found this thread very informative!

The point of my post was to help others avoid a problem.

                      Let's keep it simple.

ALL passengers entering Oslo with a non-EU passport, are potentially going to face a 2 to 3 hour long line, standing with no place to sit, and no where else to go except through the passport control.

For those that the details are so important, here are a few.

I experimented with an airline I didn't know. I purchased a premium large seat on Norse Air to go to Copenhagen, including lots of baggage allowance, lots of food, movies, etc. I was to arrive 2 days before the cruise departure from Copenhagen. I had spent a lot of time in Copenhagen in the past, so I was arriving early to revist a few of my favorite places. In the past I had had no problems on short flights with Norwegian Air, so I was comfortable with the connection. 

It does not matter how much you paid for your ticket. - You will still wait!

It does not matter which airport outside the EU you came from.

It does not matter which airport you are connecting to.

I rarely post comments like this. The purpose of this is to make people aware of a potential problem if they transit via Oslo.

When I realized the length of the line I thought that a serious problem might have occured as the line snaked back and forth through different corridors, and curiosity led me to inquire of the personnel. It seemed that there might have been something going on, like a strike, power failure etc. More planes landed after mine and many of the people seemed bewildered by the line they were told to get in. But the casual replies that "No, this is the busy time of day, it's like this most days" really upset me, and I can assure you most of the people in that line were equally surprised. I felt compassion for many of the elderly as they moved a few feet at a time for hours.

HOWEVER, none of this has anything to do with the preposterous laid back attitude of everyone at the airport that such a wait is just a normal occurance. If you can't fix the wait, at least provide benches and chairs along the way. This whole situation is far removed from the usual competence and ingenuity of the scandinavians.

CruiserBruce: Passport control

Sadly the replies here, really miss the point and the facts. Lines that are hours long to simply clear customs are an almost daily occurance according to the passport people I spoke to. There was no weather or any other extraordinary event. We did not have a cheap ticket and would never book anything through a cruise line. Further Norway made money from this, as Norwegian Air simply cancelled our ticket as we were no show, and we had to buy a new ticket at a really high $$ "last minute" fare to be able to get out of Norway. Many others were at the counter with the same predicament.

As for my experience, I'm 81 and have lived in Spain, Germany, Brazil and other countries, and although most of my time has been in the US, I've traveled throughout the US, all of South America, and most of Europe. Have there been frustrating times at airports? Of course. From experience I usually know or will question the reason for the problem. In this case the answer provided by several employees was that this is very common at THIS airport, and happens many days each week.

Really !! Have you seen lines where there was no place to sit, have you watched the video which couldn't even show the whole length of the line? The ONLY REASON FOR THIS LINE is the lack of sufficient personnel to handle the number of non EU passengers.

Sadly the replies here, really miss the point and the facts. Lines that are hours long to simply clear customs are an almost daily occurance according to the passport people I spoke to. There was no weather or any other extraordinary event. We did not have a cheap ticket and would never book anything through a cruise line. Further Norway made money from this, as Norwegian Air simply cancelled our ticket as we were no show, and we had to buy a new ticket at a really high $$ "last minute" fare to be able to get out of Norway. Many others were at the counter with the same predicament.

As for my experience, I'm 81 and have lived in Spain, Germany, Brazil and other countries, and although most of my time has been in the US, I've traveled throughout the US, all of South America, and most of Europe. Have there been frustrating times at airports? Of course. From experience I usually know or will question the reason for the problem. In this case the answer provided by several employees was that this is very common at THIS airport, and happens many days each week.

Really !! Have you seen lines where there was no place to sit, have you watched the video which couldn't even show the whole length of the line? The ONLY REASON FOR THIS 3 hour standing line is the lack of sufficient personnel to handle the number of non EU passengers coming through THIS airport.

1 hour ago, Asawi said:

LOL! Oslo is my airport of choice! (I live pretty much in the middle between ARN (Stockholm) and Oslo. Don't like ARN much but sometimes I have not choice.)   

Was that passport control coming off a US/International flight or getting on one?

WOW! What a disservice your post is to the 1,000's who wait in line! Why post YOUR ability to walk past ALL of us? You don't wait as you pass straight through with an EU passport. My post is to help the many travelers from around the world who are so abused by Norways total disregard for the problems caused EVERY DAY by these lines. ONE person in line for EU passport, well more than a 1,000 in "ALL other Passports" line

Just returned from NCL Dawn, Copenhagen to London.  DO NOT - ever - fly through Oslo, Norway.  It was the worst experience ever, causing many to miss their connecting flights, including ourselves.  We have traveled all over the World but let me tell you; We will never fly through Oslo again.  Here is our video to give you an idea.  Simply horrible.  If this saves just one person, it was worth posting. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUaNZkNKF5I

Just returned from NCL Dawn, Copenhagen to London.  DO NOT - ever - fly through Oslo, Norway.  It was the worst experience ever, causing many to miss their connecting flights, including ourselves.  We have traveled all over the World but let me tell you; We will never fly through Oslo again.  Here is our video to give you an idea.  Simply horrible.  If this saves just one person, it was worth posting. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUaNZkNKF5I

Thank you for taking the time to write such a through review of this cruise!  

The pictures were a big plus...especially the hawk on your balcony!

Well done!

Kim and Jim

Plastic drinking straws are now the #5 worst plastic pollution problem. More than 500 million straws are thrown away each day in the U.S. alone! They are found by the 1,000's even on the most remote beaches in the world. A big push is on to eliminate them. Of course NCL could have done a better job of informing all the crew what the reason was, as well as come up with a reasonable degradable substitute.