plagmah

thanks!!   I didn't see the drop down.  

thanks for the info....it is very helpful.  we are getting the classic package as part of a cruise deal.  How much is it to upgrade to the premium?  is it a one time fee or can you do it "by the drink"    Is there any sparkling water on the classic package?

I have tried to find one also.  No luck so far...

It impacted me for sure.  My triple became a double and they wanted to move my cabin to deck 3 from deck 9.  Long story short, I got to stay on deck 9.  3 weeks of fighting.....  not what i wanted to do in January.  anyway....Looking forward to our Alaska Cruise

only 1 per day. They did not add a second direct this past summer.

Glad you got booked. I am still waiting on the price to drop.

Please keep us tuned in... we just booked Whittier to Vancouver on Royal Princess .. and are looking to get there from Atlanta. So far Princess air has been the cheapest but at $590 pp. We want to fly up to anchorage the week before and do a DIY land tour. However, that puts us flying out to anchorage over memorial day weekend. We are flexible but so far the prices have seemed high. Would love to be in the $400 pp range since there are 4 of us ;).

The anchorage to Atlanta direct flights are now open for next summer

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The direct flights from ATL to Vancouver for 2019 were posted on Saturday. The schedule has changed from this year. It is a direct evening flight 7:30 PM to 10:15 PM. Obviously a hotel stay is required, but I HATE layovers, so I booked it. The direct Anchorage to ATL has not posted yet. I continue to monitor daily.

Rumrunners are a very good solution and they work.

I have used rum runner flask many times....no problems. Once....as a test ...we took an empty rum runner into a port. We purchased 2 bottles of rum. We left 1 bottle intact and poured the other into a rum runner flask.

Upon return to the ship, Security quickly confiscated the bottle and told us we could pick up on last day of cruise. The rum runner flask ran right thru.....

Our entire group was smiling.....

Maybe just for the thrill and challenge to see if they could get away with it

 

 

 

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Exactly...always more fun to break the rules!

I know sneaking booze in college was a blast...

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I hope this can be done in a single post otherwise I will create a series

 

 

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Thanks so much!! Very helpful.

As I understand I can get any drink $9 or below included. And pay the difference for a higher priced drink.

Gelato included??

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Correct. Many ...most, of those extras are covered by the classic. When doing the math you need to figure on what you drink. I did my math based on an $11 drink which is just over the Classic package limit.

 

 

 

When doing the math, it's easy to think of the traditional rum and coke or pina colada. However, there are specialty drinks as well. When we sailed on the Reflection 4-5 years ago, they had a drink called the Kentucky Derby which was a specialty drink. It was fantastic and became our cocktail of choice. If memory serves, it was $14. With a Classic package, at 2 of these a day, you add $70 to your tab. My wife is also a wine drinker and there are a lot of the better wines in the Premium package.

 

 

 

My wife also only drinks soda water so the Perrier is nice to have. I'm not trying to convince anyone to up to the Premium package. I'm trying to lay out a scenario where it's feasible for me and how it gives me peace of mind to not have a bar tab at the end of the vacation. Anyone else can simply plug their drinking style into that scenario to see if it's worth the extra money.

 

 

 

But you are correct and I wasn't trying to mislead anyone, soda and bottled water and non-alcoholic specialty coffees are covered with the Classic package.

We are on Millenium next summer. Classic Drink package is included. Our first time.

What is the definition of premium coffee? Cafe mocha and such. Or just a cup of joe at the coffee shop.

Thanks!!

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My cruise in Alaska is a year away, and I cannot yet get prices on airfare, but I will be able to in a few weeks. Does anyone have any insight into the timing to get best ticket prices (for me from Atlanta to Vancouver and return from Anchorage)? Based on your experience, what would be a good price range from Atlanta? Any other thoughts or experiences are welcome.

I am watching this itinerary also. I live in Atlanta and will be on a Vancouver Anchorage trip in June of 2019, The direct flights will not be loaded for a while yet. I will be watching daily. Others have shared getting good deals about 6 months out last year. My goal is $400 RT open jaw. Good Luck!!

Since you have not cruised on Celebrity in a while, you may not be aware that the Classic Package has a price ceiling of $9 per alcoholic drink; but when you order a more expensive drink you now only pay the difference in price plus 18% e.g. a $12 martini would cost an extra $3.54.

 

And the Premium Package now has a similar ceiling price of $15.

 

With your stated $51.75 and $41.24 plus gratuity, you would need to drink at least four $12 martinis or similar higher priced drinks per day to more than break even with the upgrade to Premium.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

That is good info. Was thinking of upgrading to get Jack Daniels over Jim Beam. But if I can just pay the i

Per Drink upcharge it is better than upgrading package.

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I booked six months out. I was checking the prices daily a little before that and one day the prices fell well below $400pp/rt so booked the flight. Prices never were that low after that.

Great info. Thanks! 400 is my price point to decide between SkyMiles and cash.

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You just have to do the research...sometimes cruise line airfare is great, particularly if doing a one way to/from Europe. Other times not so good.

 

 

 

Don't buy the "guarantee" they will get you to the ship. They might assist you, but NO ONE can guarantee you get to the ship.

 

 

 

Most likely, the cruise line airfare will book the cheapest seats they can get, to get you there. This absolutely doesn't mean the flights will be the easiest for you.

 

 

 

"Worth" is a judgment only you can make. By the way, all these questions are discussed here daily. Some reading would get you a lot of info.

As a “heavy” cruiser in Florida in the 90’s I know many times our ship departure was held, sometimes for hours, for late flights. Just wanted to know if that still happens.

Cruising has changed since the golden age...

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Am watching the same. It looks like the MSP to FAI direct might be a later season flight...doesnt show yet for June or early 2019 but do see it for Aug 2018

Thanks!! Good luck on your flight search.

Hoping that somebody can remember when this year schedule was released last year.

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Is it worth it to book air through the celebrity air over the airline direct. Are prices good. How much support do you get if your flight is canceled.

I have a good travel insurance policy to protect me.

Thanks

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It could be a seasonal schedule that has not shown up as of yet. Two weeks ago I flew the ATL-ANC flight and just got off the YVR-ATL flight today.

When did you book? What was the price range you paid, if you don’t mind me asking.

Thanks

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Leaving Friday on the direct flight from Atlanta to Vancouver. Booked as soon as the flight was posted. Keep watching

BINGO.... Please give a report on how everything goes. ie transfer to port, travel time etc. When did it post last year?

I have been watching the flight on my aircraft tracking software daily. Looks like it arrives 20-30 minutes early most days, Ill be honest... the 4 hour window makes me nervous. I don't like to rush....but I see that Celebrity Air books the flight so they must not have many issues, Enjoy the cruise.

Re: Delta, keep monitoring the direct flight ATL-ANC. I had reservations for that flight earlier in the month.

Sounds good! Thanks

It's worth monitoring, sometimes they won't publish schedules that far out. I wouldn't be booking air travel this early anyway; often fares drop from their initial levels as the airlines get a better read on things like fuel prices, competition etc.

 

One factor, however, is that over the past few years Delta has decided to make Seattle a secondary hub (like Detroit or Minneapolis) as they've gone after Alaska Airlines big time. So I wouldn't be shocked if they've decided to use SEA as a main connection point for Anchorage and Vancouver; that traffic is going to be more predictable year-round, rather than routes like ATL-ANC that will get zero traffic once the cruise/tourism season is past.

 

Just a note that you might want to look at Alaska Airlines' branded Visa card, which gets you 30,000 Alaska miles at signup and also gets you an annual $99 companion certificate ($121 after taxes.) One person pays the going rate, the other pays $121 on any Alaska Airlines itinerary, such as an open-jaw ATL-xSEA-ANC//YVR-xSEA-ATL trip.

 

One final thing, Delta hasn't been the biggest airline for years following American and US Airways' merger.

Thanks for the info...

I am looking to book as soon as possible when schedule comes out due to trying to use skymiles. It appears that September is the time it will release, so I will start checking daily.

I have a Delta skymiles card that does me good...but the Alaska air card is an idea.

Give it some time. Only a partial summer '19 schedule has been released so far.

I will be looking everyday then, as I would like to use skymiles.

We just did this cruise last month and also live in Atlanta. This year there was one direct flight to Anchorage and one direct flight to Vancouver. The Anchorage flight seems seasonal so it may not show up for a while. That said depending on where you are starting that may or may not work for you. We started in Anchorage and the direct flight didn't leave until late in the day arriving in Anchorage in the evening. Since we work we were trying to maximize our time and thus opted for Alaska airlines through Seattle that left in the morning. The direct return flight from Vancouver on Delta was a red eye. We decided immediately that wasn't going to work. So once again we opted for a connecting flight through Seattle this time on Delta. Going through Seattle definitely gives you more flexibility on times/options. If you fly Alaska you can also go through Portland. We flew a mix of Alaska and Delta as we were using miles. While I love Delta if you are going first we thought Alaska was better on the service/catering side of it.

 

Its a great cruise! Have fun!

Thanks for the information. We are doing cruise only and the Vancouver flight arrives at noon so that works, The Anchorage Red Eye will work for us also. A little Ambien and eye mask and they will have to wake me on ATL approach. We picked Vancouver as the starting point, because it seemed difficult to make the ship same day from ANC.

Alaska Air looks nice, and currently has good prices. I am going to try to do this on Delta Skymiles unless the price is EXTREMELY low. ie less than 400 each.

We have flown to/from anchorage twice. Once for a cruise and last Sunday for a do-it-yourself land trip. We found the non-stop flights were not available/posted until about September for the following summer. Also they are seasonal and start at the end of May and end in early September.

 

 

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Excellent....I kind of thought that might be the case. I really want direct back from ANC. (yn)

Hhhmm, when we went to Alaska from ATL on Delta a 5 years ago, we had to change in Minneapolis.

That was an open jawed flight ATL to Anchorage, Vancouver to ATL home. I don't remember any direct Delta flights at that time - and I'm the flightmeister in our group. If there was a direct flight, either the time was off or it wouldn't fit open jawed.

 

 

I assumed it was because Delta had something of a hub in Minnesota, is that still the case?

Delta has a hub in MSP. But they currently have an ATL - Vancouver flight daily at 9:00 AM and a Red Eye from ANC to ATL

We just booked an Alaska cruise for June 7 2019 on Millennium. We live in Atlanta. I want to book air travel, and was hoping for direct flights. (expecting actually)

I can't see any direct flights for next June, only connecting. When i search this summer, there are direct flights listed for both ways. Vancouver and Anchorage.

Will Delta add its direct flights as next summer approaches? Or is it possible they are not doing any direct flights?

I will admit, living in the Hub of the worlds largest airline...I am spoiled and DONT do connections.

Thanks!!