unsure of how to proceed about land/cruise to Alaska in mid May

[the col.]

Please assist us we re-booked our 50th anniversary from last May to this May 12th to 23rd First to Fairbanks then to Denali then to ship at Whittier and cruise to Vancouver---do you really smart and seasoned cruisers ---think this might still happen? The ship is the Nieuw Amsterdam---really can't yet decide about buying plane tickets from Atlanta to Fairbanks---I am really in the dark about this entire trip--just hoping if this is our last one that it turns out OK--We are in mid 70's pretty good health--any all help would be greatly appreciated--thank you in advance--

[billbunger]

I personally believe you should look for another cruise farther into the future. I don’t think Canada will be opening ports anytime soon as well as still not allowing casual travelers from outside of the country. I also believe the cruise industry will still be dead in the water well into next year. As a reference look at the issues the few cruise lines that have tried to sail in the last couple of months have had with COVID out breaks on their ships.

 

[1025cruise]

Its really too early to speculate. I would hope that by then things will be better, but its really hard to tell.

[Taters]

I don't believe that there will be a 2021 tourism season here in Alaska.  A vaccine may be available to the general public by April, 2021, so being on vacation the following month may be a bit ambitious.  I would schedule something farther out.

[kazu]

15 minutes ago, Taters said:

I don't believe that there will be a 2021 tourism season here in Alaska.  A vaccine may be available to the general public by April, 2021, so being on vacation the following month may be a bit ambitious.  I would schedule something farther out.

 

I think you summarized it well.

Unless things get under good control, I doubt Canada will open the borders but there’s a lot of time between then and now, so who knows?

[bouhunter]

Tough spot to be in, with airfare being necessary.  If it were me I'd give up and move on 😞   It's hard to see May 2021 US or Canada cruises going as scheduled.  Maybe a few initial ones somewhere, but not necessarily the ones that are on the books right now.

 

We have cruises scheduled January/February 2022 and at this point I'd only give it 50% for those.  Hopefully things are looking a lot better next spring.

[Mary229]

I would book a little later in the summer.  Fares in late August are generally about the same price as May fares.  

 Always keep in mind that HAL treats you better financially if they cancel first instead of you instigating the change.

 

As to the flights more flights will come on the schedule as this crisis clears up.  Have you tried HAL's Flight Ease

Edited November 25, 2020 by Mary229

[Tom O.]

34 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

I think you summarized it well.

Unless things get under good control, I doubt Canada will open the borders but there’s a lot of time between then and now, so who knows?

 

Everyone here is right. And just to clarify, no cruise to Alaska can happen, if Canadian ports are closed. U.S. law requires all foreign flagged ships to make at least one stop in a foreign port, before they are allowed in a U.S. port. On Alaska cruises the only foreign ports in reach are Canadian.

I would hold off buying airline tickets and wait and see what happens.

[darwinsrule]

Even if things do sail per the schedule, it isn't going to be the experience you were originally thinking with the restrictions that are likely to be in place. 

 

We have given up on next summer entirely, looking towards our first Xmas cruise in December 2021.

[Marianne]

We did that trip from Portland OR to Fairbanks.   I would suggest you have the cruise line do your air arrangements.  At least check their prices.  When we flew it was in first week of Sept, and the cruise line charged us $ 100 each round trip airfare.  It was an unbelievable bargain for us.😃

Marianne

[Hlitner]

Hard to predict but you would need both Alaska and Canada to open up to ships.  While AK might open up it is hard to imagine BC Canada accepting cruise ships until they can certify that everyone aboard has been vaccinated.  Now you need to consider that it will take about 28 days for any of the vaccines to work its magic.  So in theory this would mean that everyone on your cruise would need to be vaccinated by early April to satisfy Canada and that is not likely.  If you feel worried about air you could always book Flightease air through HAL and use the Flex option which means you do not need to pay for your air until final payment and could still cancel up to 45 days prior to your cruise.  As you get closer to the cruise if things look really good you can always cancel the Flightease air and do your own booking if that is the better option.

 

Hank