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Port of Departure

kira5

By kira5,
in Holland America Line

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kira5

kira5

Posted
Posted

I was reading another thread wherein the writer mentioned seeking out cruises that depart from Vancouver due to difficulties/aggravation of flying to other departure points. Yes! So many ships depart from Florida and the cost of the flight can equal the cruise. Plus there are few direct flights from Vancouver and a layover in Chicago, etc. runs the risk of being grounded due to a snowstorm in winter.

 

We would love a South Pacific cruise but flying back and/or forth from Sydney, Australia is a 15 hour ordeal. Same with South America. Lots of 'good deals' cease to be so when we add in the airfare.

 

When we cruised with Cunard 2 years ago out of Southhampton most of the passengers were Brits who could easily drive to the departure point. I envied them!

 

I guess there's no easy solution.

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Randyk47

Randyk47

Posted
Posted
I know how you feel.

We haven't had direct flights to anywhere on decent air lines that we like.

It is a hassle getting to and from cruises. And where we live, we have to stay at a hotel the night before we fly out as well as the day we fly home.

 

Kind of the same here. There are certainly no direct flights to any North America departure port and with the exception of Galveston there are no easily drivable ports. We deal with it. Luckily we rarely have weather issues and only live 9 miles from the airport so no need to preposition ourselves. We always fly to the embarkation/departure port one day early for North America based cruises and two to three days for distant ports. While careful shopping helps there's no doubt that airfares have become much more of a consideration in the past few years. Despite the drop in oil prices it seems to me that consolidation and mergers of airlines in the US have really cut competition.

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xlxo

xlxo

Posted
Posted
Yes, so many Caribbean cruises and NONE depart from Vancouver! And poor Floridians like us can't depart from FLL when taking an Alaska cruise. Just doesn't seem fair. (Sorry, couldn't help myself).
Would the annual reposition cruise from Vancouver through the Panama count?
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sapper1

sapper1

Posted
Posted (edited)
Yes, so many Caribbean cruises and NONE depart from Vancouver! And poor Floridians like us can't depart from FLL when taking an Alaska cruise. Just doesn't seem fair. (Sorry, couldn't help myself).

 

We departed from Fort Lauderdale to take an Alaska cruise once---we just stayed aboard for another week when we reached Vancouver. Of course getting to Fort Lauderdale from here is another sorry story. :D

Edited by sapper1
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Bill B

Bill B

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We departed from Fort Lauderdale to take an Alaska cruise once---we just stayed aboard for another week when we reached Vancouver. Of course getting to Fort Lauderdale from here is another sorry story. :D

 

Nothing could be easier than getting back to Ft. Lauderdale. Just stay on board for the season until she repositions again.

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CruiserBruce

CruiserBruce

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So the point is that the airlines should off a quick non-stop flight from Vancouver to every cruise departure point in the world? That isn't going to happen.

 

There are logistics to getting from point A to point B. Unfortunately that is all there is to it. It would be nice, but not realistic, if it were easier.

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Sequim88

Sequim88

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One of the first things we did after moving to the Seattle area from Minnesota was book an Alaska cruise. No air hassles - yippee!. Of course, as stated earlier, that sort of limits cruising to warm places and escaping the rain and clouds. Having done the flight home from down-under it wasn't that bad - something we will consider post-retirement when we have time. Also will consider Hawaii to/from Vancouver.

 

But bottom line for us... we don't care if we repeat Alaska every year. IT'S STILL A CRUISE! :cool:

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take us away

take us away

Posted
Posted
One of the first things we did after moving to the Seattle area from Minnesota was book an Alaska cruise. No air hassles - yippee!. Of course, as stated earlier, that sort of limits cruising to warm places and escaping the rain and clouds. Having done the flight home from down-under it wasn't that bad - something we will consider post-retirement when we have time. Also will consider Hawaii to/from Vancouver.

 

But bottom line for us... we don't care if we repeat Alaska every year. IT'S STILL A CRUISE! :cool:

 

Check out the Amsterdam as she finishes the Alaska season and then usually does a South Pacific cruise out of Seattle by way of Vancouver! You would have to fly home again but think it is San Diego.

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

Posted
Posted
I was reading another thread wherein the writer mentioned seeking out cruises that depart from Vancouver due to difficulties/aggravation of flying to other departure points. Yes! So many ships depart from Florida and the cost of the flight can equal the cruise. Plus there are few direct flights from Vancouver and a layover in Chicago, etc. runs the risk of being grounded due to a snowstorm in winter.

 

We would love a South Pacific cruise but flying back and/or forth from Sydney, Australia is a 15 hour ordeal. Same with South America. Lots of 'good deals' cease to be so when we add in the airfare.

 

When we cruised with Cunard 2 years ago out of Southhampton most of the passengers were Brits who could easily drive to the departure point. I envied them!

 

I guess there's no easy solution.

 

Does San Diego work for you? We went to the South Pacific sailing out of San Diego and stayed on until Vancouver :). Even better the portion of the cruise from San Diego to Vancouver was something like one whole $1 more than the San Diego round trip ;)

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CaveDiving

CaveDiving

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...We would love a South Pacific cruise but flying back and/or forth from Sydney, Australia is a 15 hour ordeal. Same with South America. Lots of 'good deals' cease to be so when we add in the airfare.

 

When we cruised with Cunard 2 years ago out of Southhampton most of the passengers were Brits who could easily drive to the departure point. I envied them!

 

I guess there's no easy solution.

 

Uhh... I guess I don't understand the problem if you want to cruise in the South Pacific. You are in the South Pacific. Why not take a cruise out of Sydney. It would seem you don't need to fly anywhere. What am I missing here?

 

Scott & Karen

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Fouremco

Fouremco

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Posted
Uhh... I guess I don't understand the problem if you want to cruise in the South Pacific. You are in the South Pacific. Why not take a cruise out of Sydney. It would seem you don't need to fly anywhere. What am I missing here?

 

Scott & Karen

The OP resides in Vancouver, and as lovely as Vancouver's weather is compared to Ottawa's, it's not in the South Pacific. :)

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shealea

shealea

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Sequim - Same here. We live in Maple Valley, WA. Thus, we cruise to Alaska most summers lately.

 

We never tire of it, and we always find something new to do in the same ports.

 

I do wish we had more cruising options from here, though. We are thinking of taking the Mexican Riviera cruise out of San Diego this Dec, for our 40 year anniversary. We have never done this cruise.

 

I would like to do Hawaii out of San Diego, but husband doesn't want all of those sea days! I love sea days!

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lazey1

lazey1

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Posted
Uhh... I guess I don't understand the problem if you want to cruise in the South Pacific. You are in the South Pacific. Why not take a cruise out of Sydney. It would seem you don't need to fly anywhere. What am I missing here?

 

Scott & Karen

 

uhh-umm Kira 5's location is Vancouver which is in Canada, not the So. Pacific.

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