dawnvip

Latest news - agreement reached to protect cruise ship activity from strike action at Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Victoria.

All airlines overbook, because they look at historical numbers of how many passengers miss/cancel their flights at the last minute. The difference is their oversold factor - some will use 1% of seats and others up to 10%! Add in the possibility of an earlier flight cancellation due to crew/maintenance/weather delays and you have a recipie for a lot of unhappy travellers.

I do think you are right about not overselling business class though. Part of the extra $$ paid for business includes the ability to cancel/reschedule at the last minute. Usually plenty of people looking for last minute upgrades to fill those seats too!

I haven't read the law, but like most things, there may be a clause to get around the requirements due to "unforeseen circumstances". I would put job action up there with weather, covid, etc.

Longshoremen have issued 72 hour strike notice, which would mean job action beginning Saturday July 1.

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/transportation/port-strike-notice-threatens-victoria-cruise-industry-7211276

58 minutes ago, jeeper2 said:

Thank you for that very helpful information.  A number of years ago we took the Sky Train from the airport and enjoyed every minute of the experience, even having to transfer to a bus to be near our hotel.  Unfortunately, being a bit older and with some physical limitations, that doesn’t appear to be a good option.  

My questions:

There will be four of us, with luggage, heading somewhere near the cruise port.  Are there taxis, private services, or Ubers, that would be able to take all of us together?  
Thank you! 

There are some taxi companies that use mini-van vehicles, so depending on amount of luggage, you may be able to squish everyone in. The taxi queue is first come first served, so you may end up waiting for a mini-van to show up. 

Another option is to order an Uber XL, which would be a similar mini-van type of vehicle. Uber rates depend on time of day and demand, so you could end up paying double for the same trip as a taxi. 

If you have a lot of luggage, then two taxis would work best. I don't think the Aerocar limos are running at this time. 

I agree with GTJ  - depends on whether you want to navigate transit with luggage after a long flight from the east coast, or just let the cab do the work.

Stadium station is very close to the YWCA, and in a safe area. A quick check indicates a Whitecaps FC game scheduled for evening of Wednesday, July 12th so if you do decide to take the train, you won't have to fight the crowds around the stadium district on July 11th. 

My experience is that it doesn't matter whether sailing in May, June, or July (and even into August!) the weather is variable and can change by the day as well as by the hour.  A 20 C temp variation is not unusual!

Bring items that you can layer and remove/don as needed. For instance, wind typically makes the temperature feel colder, so a t-shirt with jumper or windbreaker jacket could be fine. Throw in some mist or drizzle and you will need that fleece as well. The good news is things change quickly, so the worst weather likely won't stick around and you'll be removing the fleece and jumper in no time! 

Correct, the CBSA will collect your declaration card and away you go - unless you have declared some expensive purchase or other items that are well above the duty free limits.  

On 6/6/2023 at 7:15 PM, LHT28 said:

Maybe it is the airlines you chose  where you may have to change terminals ?

 

Usually your duty free are in sealed bags  if you tell  them you will be connecting

https://www.catsa-acsta.gc.ca/en/duty-free-purchases

We usually fly Air Canada. The duty free sealed bag was not available for on-board purchases. 

Last time we flew through YYZ was pre-covid so perhaps things have changed?

3 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

our flights have been cancelled for the fall & rebooked

We had a non stop which now stops in YYZ  

Guess  the 1hr 1/2 was too much  for them  🙄

 

Wonder how many more changes before  the fall

Our flight was cancelled by AC and re-routed the DAY AFTER booking!! (less than 4 months out) 

You would think they'd have their flight plans solidified by that time, but it seems anything goes these days. At least it wasn't day before our flights! I called and had AC change flights again to meet our schedule preferences. 

The last I heard, AC pilots aren't working any "extra hours" which could result in delayed flights over the summer.

Completely agree with Heidi13. Most cruiseline's "Inside Passage" is NOT the inside passage along BC's coastline.

Seymour Narrows is pretty cool, but can get backed up with cruise ships waiting for slack tide and space (single lane alternating traffic if I remember correctly - it is a NARROW passage). Once they reach the northern tip of Vancouver Island, cruiselines head out into open water and pass west of Haida Gwaii travelling to Alaska.

We did BC Ferry's Inside Passage trip from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert, which is the "true" inside passage, but that is a long 20 hour day without all of the cruise line's amenities! There may be some smaller luxury cruiselines that do the actual inside passage, but have not seen any!

1 hour ago, Nightowl11 said:

Has anyone stayed at the River Rock Casino pre or post cruise?  How do you gamble there if you have US dollars?  Do you go to the cashier and they exchange it for you? Is it a fair exchange rate? Do you use your debit card or credit card to get cash for the tables?  What happens if you win and have a lot of chips to turn in?  Do you get CAN dollars back?  What /how can you convert back to US dollars?  

I've answered most of your questions on your other post, but specifically about the hotel aspect, not gambling.

For the casino, everything is Canadian dollars. The casino does have a cashier and can change US to Canandian $ for gambling. If you need to change back to US, let the cashier know that you will be cashing out the same day and want US back. They will give you the same exchange rate (great deal!) but has to be on the same day and before a certain time (cashier will explain).

Hope this helps!

@Nightowl11 You can definitely use your US credit card and debit card, with the cards using daily exchange rate to determine the amount in US$. Some cards also charge a foreign exchange fee of 2% so check your card to be sure ahead of time!

Some businesses will also accept US cash, but usually the exchange rate quoted will be quite awful. There is a currency exchange kiosk at the airport but it also has horrendously bad rates. If you don't want to use your credit card, or really want to get some Canadian $, then your best bet is to stop at the Vancouver Bullion and Currency Exchange in Richmond - they are awesome and give good rates.

BW is usually quite consistent in their offerings. I haven't actually stayed at this particular location though, so can only say that the location is a busy spot with lots of traffic, so ask for a room on the north side!

YYZ is a PITA.

I avoid it whenever possible, especially if there is a chance of me bringing back duty free because you have to go outside the secure area when picking up and transferring your bags, meaning you have to then somehow pack your buy-on-board duty free into your checked luggage for the next flight. Stupidest system i've seen yet.

Pilots opened their contract a year early, with Sept 2023 being earliest job actions possibilities (we're supposed to be in FLL on Nov 11, so watching this closely)

Cabin crew (flight attendants), baggage handlers, and maintenance contracts all expire in 2026, so definitely not planning on flying much that year! 

We've stayed at Coconut Court several times and always enjoyed it there. Not sure how far away it is from the cruise port tho.

7 minutes ago, wandrr said:

Canada uses metric, like the rest of the world other than U.S.A., Liberia and Myanmar.

True, but just like Britain we have evolved into a blended measuring country. 

- is your oven set to celsius or farenheit?

- is your bathroom scale in pounds or kilograms? (or stone LOL?)

-  do you buy lumber as 2 x 4" or 38 x 89 mm?

Following - I'd also like to know!

It just so happens that Canada has laws about serving sizes and advertising how many millilitres/ounces is in a drink. There was a big deal about it a number of years ago in Vancouver because a group got together about pubs advertizing one thing and delivering another. The BC Gov also had laws that conflicted with Federal Laws, so the bars were stuck in the middle until BC changed back in the early 2000's

Just to make it more confusing - Canada uses the British Imperial 20 oz pint (568mL) while a US pint is only 16 oz (473 mL)

Local hotel check out is normally between 10 and 11 AM, so 10 - noon is the busiest time for getting through security & customs. If you can delay for an hour or two (go have lunch at a local restaurant or sit and watch the harbour action), there will be much less chance of long lines. Also less chance of having to wait to board once the whole process is completed.

One specific word of caution - the longest line (by far) is the line to get bag tags. If you print at home and attach, then the drop and go is super quick and easy.

That would depend on the cruise line and lead time to departure. ACV T&C here

Unless you are using/collecting aeroplan points for the cruise, I wouldn't use AC Vacations. Crappy customer service, hard to contact, little to no support. 

Same seats, just more leg room (over-wing exit) and/or closer to the front of the aircraft and higher boarding priority.

1 hour ago, dobiemom said:

You can also turn off notifications. But I can’t remember how I did it. 😝

To turn off notifications, go to the top of page, right hand side, where your CC name and avatar are located and click on that, then choose account settings. Once there, on the right hand side will be a selection of "other settings" including turning on/off notifications.