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Following because I have the same question.

The Ship has 120V North American outlets. I believe there are also some Continental European outlets.

The Jade was originally built for the Hawaiian market.

As a side note: Most Notebook Computers will work with either 100 V or 220V. Unless your is an odd one, you should need a plug adaptor and not need a converter.

Do people realize that the government cannot stop all the people from leaving the ship.

 

There is no law that allows a government entity to kidnap someone and hold them even if they have Ebola.

 

The government cannot stop a citizen from moving around freely.

 

The government cannot force anyone to give a blood sample.

 

The government cannot release any medical records nor name anyone that has or might have Ebola.

 

Also, it appears that there is a 50% rate people that have no symptoms but did/do have the Ebola virus. So, 50% of the people that get Ebola don't show and symptoms and do not die.

I think the Mexican government just demonstrated that they can stop everyone from leaving the ship by turning it away.

Being a Canadian I am not up on American laws. But I think the government on both sides of the boarder is more likely to take what action is required to protect public safety and deal with legality of it after the fact.

All said, this does sound like a lot of people worried over what hopefully turns out to be a non-issue. With each passing day the likelihood that this person is a risk to public heath diminishes.

There was a video floating around of a US Airways flight where someone made a joke about having Ebola and when the aircraft arrived in the Caribbean it was meet with a local response team in Hazmat suites. Some of there Caribbean islands do appear to have plans in place.

From the media reports it sounds like this time it is a non-issue. However in some way its probably good for the industry as whole that it has occurred. I suspect because of this there is probably someone at the head office of every cruise line reviewing the response procedures and more consideration on ship being given to response procedures and plans.

Airline tickets are never valid longer then 1 year. Many airlines donot issue open tickets, you need to set a date for the return.

If you cannot yet book the return your only option is to book a changeable ticket.

Changes arenot always possible, often only if you buy a changeable ticket. Read the conditions before you book.

Also be aware if you want to stay longer then 3 months in the `Schengen`

countries in Europe, you need a visa.

Open tickets are mostly used by people traveling for work. When you do not know exactly when your going to finish some activity. Airlines work hard at designing their pricing model to extract as money as possible form people traveling for work.

There are a couple of smaller airlines that offer one-way fares are competitive prices.

Staying out by the Airport means three options:

You can stay on Sea Island (same island as the Airport) or on Lulu Island (downtown Richmond). Richmond has lots of hotels, I would try for one near the Canada line.

If you are into Casinos the River Rock Casino Resort is a good option. There is not much within walking distance but it is across the street from the Canada line station that has good access to the airport, Richmond or downtown Vancouver.

Some US airport entry portals are getting new kiosks that any US citizen can use. Slightly different than the GE kiosks. I believe they are called APC . You can search for them on line if you want to find more info on it.

The ones in Vancouver and Seattle for US customs are available for both Canadian and US passport holders. No need for Nexus. I would assume it is similar at other destinations. With the kiosks they also drop the need to complete those blue cards.

The other nice thing about the studio is the lounge. Complementry cappuccino machine, muffiins etc for breakfast without all the lineups elsewhere. I did a studio on the Epic European trip that is very port intensive. It is nice to beat the crowds up in the buffet.

You may want to try booking an open jaw ticket. With the airline search engines look for a milti-city booking from the UK to Vancouver and from Alaska back to the UK. You may find it is cheaper.

The Airmiles card is a Canadian card and can not be used towards an upgrade only for the one way flight. When booked using our Airmiles card we were not given the option to add on MCE unfortunately. My husband said he is ok with being a sardine for a few hours. :)

You do in two steps (assuming American is the same as Delta and United). You book your flight with Air Miles. Once booked you phone American Airlines and ask how much it costs to get Economy with the extra leg room or a bulkhead seat.

Ok, thanks everyone for the information. Now during the overnight, will we be able to say in the terminal area after going thru immigration and customs? Or will we have to go thru the check in process at the ticket counter? (I believe our layover is about 7 hours)

As you leave the customs hall to you left there is a hallway that say something like "Connecting passangers". That takes you a Air Canada desk where you normally put your bags back into the system. You normally then head upstairs go through security and to your gate.

The terminal building is open 24/7. The last flights out of Toronto leave at around 1 am and the early morning arrivals are pretty early. There is seating and waiting areas near the checkin and arrivals levels outside of security.

If you do have to recheck your bags. You are in luck that there are no baggage fess on domestic flights for the first bag. Only on flights to and from the US.

Air Canada as a special arrangement with hotels at the airport, why not get a room for the night....

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/traveller/stopover/index.html

So what is Tango S service on an Airbus 333? We are going from CPH to ROC via Toronto (where we transfer to a small turbo? Fortunately we are on the side with 2 seats together.

 

Mike

Tango is just the name use for the discounted economy fares. It offers less points in reward programs that higher priced fares and you change fees are a little bit more expensive. The seat and inflight service is a standard economy seat.

I see the 77W come in two versions, and which version you have won't be known until I'm booking......got it now. I didn't realize there were two versions when I first looked at them.

 

 

 

I used to be a huge AC fan, but its status in my eyes has dropped dramatically in the last year. Well, so have almost all the other North American airlines, which I guess still leaves AC on the top (IMO) of a very shallow hill. The Rouge offerings were the first failing, especially since they offered far less without actually even decreasing the ticket prices, so you were paying full AC prices for a Rouge seat. Now this, which I'm sure will continue to spread throughout the fleet as time goes on. I'd say I'd start flying only Business Class, except I see that even the Business seats are compromised.

I am in a similar position. I like AC and Alaska over the other North American airlines. But honestly they are all getting worse in economy.

I have been in Business Class on Canadian Airlines (when they were around) and Air Canada before the pods. Even the "compromised business" of today looks better that what you use to get. It still reclines into a flat bad.

The Rogue aircraft are used on flights where Air Canada has never been able to sell business class. The seats in there are similar to the old fashion business class that existing in the 90s. The flights to China don't have the Rogue aircraft.

How can one identify the high density 777s from the standard (older) ones? They are not identified as 77H on line (either on their own site, or on seat guru).

If you try to book a flight on the Air Canada web site it shows up in both the aircraft code and the seat map that is available for the flight.

I have only been in business class or economy on the standard 777, A330 and 767. I have not been in business class on the high density 777. So I don't have any first hand experience with the high density aircraft. The layout does look better for couples travelling together. The "classic pod" looks better for passengers traveling on their own.

In business class on the 777H the seats people complain about are the ones that come in pairs (which would likely be preferred by the OP who are traveling as a couple).

http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Air_Canada/Air_Canada_Boeing_777-300ER_77W_new.php

In economy the 77H is 10 seats across (instead of 9 as the other 777). Have to keep in mid that most of the new 777 going into other airlines are also 10 across. Obviously 9 across provides more room that 10 and makes for a nicer trip.

I don't work for the airlines, so I don't know how accurate the "story" behind the 77H is but the way its has been told to me is Air Canada's 787 were delayed and Boeing had to provide compensation. These were new aircraft intended for a different airline that backed out and as compensation Air Canada was sold these at deeply discounted prices. They had to take the seat layout originally planned.

I'm hoping someone with experience on Air Canada 77W Business Class can help me. We're looking at Beijing to Vancouver on Flight 30 July 6, 2015. Business Class on that flight is set up in "pods" in a herringbone fashion. We're traveling as a couple and know the middle seats won't work as they have a divider and face away from each other. Would love to see other's experiences and/or suggestions as to good seat choice before we commit with Choice Air.

They are very nice. July 6 2015 is quite far out so things can change. The photos you have are older 77W (I have been on those pods several time and love them). Most of their 777 aircraft are of this configuration. Given how far out in time it is there is always the chance they may swap out the aircraft with something else. Good news is the other two options are equally as good, they all have about the same width and convert into flat beds.

The 77H (same aircraft but higher density) has a different design that does have a layout that is suitable for couples traveling together. I never been on one of these. There are slightly newer. Economy is not as nice on this configuration but Business Class is about the same.

I believe Air Canada plans to convert all the 777 to the 787 design at some point. Which is slightly updated but very similar. I don't think they have started that yet.

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/onboard/comfort_intexec.html

For the classic Pod design (the one you are current on) traveling with a companion I have had seats one behind the other. For example 3A and 4A. There are very private seats. The middle of the cabin by the set set of doors there is a bar area counter area that for a long flight such as the one you are on they setup with snacks and drinks. There is a place to stretch your legs. In flight service is very good. There will likely be at least one Asian and several western 4 course meals.

I flew Air Canada once with tickets purchased through the cruise line (but not Choice Air) and when seats were assigned at the counter, my friend and I both got the seats with the extra leg room at no extra charge. So, not having assigned seats can work out!

It depends on the class of ticket.

Details are at:

Domestic: http://www.aircanada.com/en/news/oneway/

US: http://www.aircanada.com/en/news/oneway/index_us.html

If you are in Tango (deeply discounted fare) then there is a fee for advanced seat selection. If you are in Flex or Latitude then there is no fee.

You can do online checkin 24 hours before departure and you can select seats at that time for free. I would not be overly worried, you still have a confirm seat you just don't know which one it is.

I agree there getting over to Butchart Gardens is a long trip relative to the length of time your are going to spend at the Gardens. If you did want to make it over I would book the bus service from Downtown Vancouver to the ferry terminal. Walk off the ship and pre-arrange a rental car at the other end.

:D While looking on NCL.com a few days ago I saw $200.00 OBC for cruise tours, any category. So DH and I are now booked on North Bound Alyeska/Denali cruise tour.

 

Now the planning begins. This will be the first cruise where we have to book flights and pre cruise hotel. Anyone know what's close to the port in Vancouver?

Choices to fly into either Vancouver or Seattle. Vancouver airport is approximately 20 minutes from the airport by Skytrain (subway) or taxi. Seattle airport is a couple hours by bus or Amtrak. Lots of hotels in downtown Vancouver.

I like the EPIC. Nice ship. Hopefully after dry dock they redo the entertainment and get something else other than the Blue Man Group. They are a group that I find you want to experience once in your life and then avoid.

After Dry Dock the ship will permanently stay in Europe. If as part of that they adjust the entertainment that would be good. I wonder what other changes they will make.

The US government wants you to fly on a US airline between two US cities. The Canadian government wants you to fly on a Canadian airline between two Canadian cities. The US doesn't want Air Canada getting the money for flying you from Chicago to Pittsburgh; The Canadian government doesn't want United to get the money for flying you from Winnipeg to Halifax.

A US to US flight with a connection is Canada is only Valid if sold by a US based airline. United would be able to sell a flight from Seattle - Toronto - New York. Air Canada is not permuted to sell such a ticket (unless you staying overnight in Canada).

Similar rules to how Foreign Cruise Ships can transport passengers between US ports.

There is only one review of this shore excursion on the NCL website. Has anyone else gone on this excursion and have any other feedback???

It is quite good. You end up on ATV and the guides take you around the Island. Part of the trip is on paved roads but you do go off-road for a bit, climb up to the top of the hills on the Island as well as get to travel on coral. I would chose the ATV excision over some of the beach excursions.

If it is still the same as when I did it, there is a short break at one of the beaches.

The Cargo compartment in the ATV is very small so do not bring much.

I have 2 major cards, a Capital One Visa miles card, which I cashed in last year for our Sept cruise. And a Carnival MasterCard, again used last year for our cruise. My FICO score is 840 and I do not change cards often. My wife and I are not big spenders, other than travel and dining out, we live in modest home, drive used cars, and we pay our bills on time in full. We love to travel and our disposable income goes toward that. Plus I have a daughter still in HS and still pay child support.

 

That being said I am not airline loyal, although I hate flying Southwest and it is still a 3 hr drive to Chicago and no direct flights to YVR.

 

From what I am seeing it will probably be UA to YVR and either AA or DL on the return. But it is still really early and a lot could still happen.

For th eflight to Vancouver you want to also check the Air Canada and Westjet website. On the Westjet website I sometimes get some combined codeshare flights with their US based partners (American and Delta) that don't show up anywhere else.

Thanks for the information. We are actually looking at doing 2 cruises, one on the Jade and then one on the Epic. I will research the ports and make our decision. I appreciate the feedback.

 

 

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I did Rome since the port is far from the City that provides more time in Rome.

For the EPIC most passangers boarded in Spain. The end result was the lines in Rome were short and you were on board and access to your cabin soon after boarding.

The beauty of going by myself with very flexible travel dates. Pretty easy to find the cheap first/business class flights to wherever. (I won't use miles for domestic trips.) :D

Since you also traveled on Air Canada, I should point out that Some Air Canada aircraft have Premium Economy. It is priced a bit more that Economy but cheaper that Business Class. It has a seat similar to domestic First Class seat.

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/onboard/premium_economy.html

The European Airlines and Air Canada Premium Economy is pretty good and a good compromise given the price. It usually also includes a better meal.

Delta and United have an Economy Plus product that is the same seat as economy with a little bit extra leg room for a modest increase over economy. You have to be careful which

renting a bike is another great way to explore Stanley Park .

There is a boutique hotel right on Granville Island. You mighty consider spending one night at that hotel. Everything on Granville Island is a very short walk from the hotel. I would pick the half day stay to be down their.

You will clear Canadian Customs in Calgary; if you're flying Westjet the entire way they won't let you book a through ticket that doesn't allow you enough time to make it to your next flight.

The only thing I would add is there are flights pretty much every hour between Calgary and Vancouver with both Air Canada and WestJet. If you miss your connection in Calgary and go over to the transfer desk for the airline you were booked on they will move you to the next flight they have an opening on.

When you arrive in Toronto there is a "Customs A" and "Customs B" area. I don't remember which is which. One is labelled as "International Connections". That is the one you want to go to. It is extremely quick and the line up is maybe one or two people. Since you are not staying in Canada they don't have much in the way of questions. The customs people will let you pass through directly into the international concourse. The checked bags are automatically transferred.