Smoke unsafe in Fairbanks Alaska

[Carol28]

We are on a cruise tour starting Friday. Reports from Weather.com show Fairbanks smoky air is dangerous. I have asthma. Our cruise tour starts July 8 and after Denali we go to Fairbanks. Perhaps it will clear by then but I want to know my alternatives. 
Can I cancel the tour part of the cruise for health reasons?  Who do I talk to on the ship? Should I call the insurance company?    We are already in Vancouver for a few days. 

[smokeybandit]

I wouldn't think any insurance would cover it since it's a pre-existing condition

[klfrodo]

Take your inhaler

[S.A.M.J.R.]

I am by no means an expert, but why not go to the excursion desk when you get on board and see what your options are?   

 

Or, can you get into your planner and cancel the tour now? 

[Sunshine3601]

3 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

I am by no means an expert, but why not go to the excursion desk when you get on board and see what your options are?   

 

Or, can you get into your planner and cancel the tour now? 

Sounds like they are doing land tour before boarding the ship.

[MJSailors]

@Carol28

       I also have asthma,so I will respond as someone who realizes your concern about heavy smoke in the air.

 A number of years ago,my DH and I were on a Disneyworld vacation. As the plane was approaching Orlando,we saw a plume of white smoke in the area,but we didn’t give it much thought. 

After two days at the Disney resort, I was feeling tired and out of breath. I started my rescue inhaler. By the second night,I told my DH that we had to go home.

We then realized,from local news reports,that there were forest fires in the area.

My DH arranged a change of flight home for the next morning. Disney did not charge us for the remaining nights of the stay because of the smoke situation.

When I saw my doctor ,he had to prescribe Prednisone to help me get over the asthma flare up.

     With that being said, the advice that I would give you is to say indoors as much as possible, carry all your asthma medications with you and wear a mask. If you are feeling symptoms,call your doctor and he/she may advise you on what to do and/or prescribe some stronger medication.

      If this is a part of a cruise tour package, I think a call to customer services now may give you information about cancelling that part of your vacation if necessary.

     I hope the air clears by July 8, but better be prepared than feeling poorly.Alaska is a beautiful place, I hope you get to enjoy it !

Take care

MJ🙋🏻

 

[flamingos]

Here is the story about the Clear Fire:  https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2022/06/27/evacuations-advised-near-anderson-clear-fire-grows-more-than-9500-acres/

 

Here is a link to Alaska fire information:  http://smoke.alaska.edu/current_fires.html

[S.A.M.J.R.]

46 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Sounds like they are doing land tour before boarding the ship.

OK, so?  If they know they want to cancel, get on the planner now and cancel.  If they want to wait and see if things clear, go to the excursion desk once on board.  

[rockmom]

2 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

OK, so?  If they know they want to cancel, get on the planner now and cancel.  If they want to wait and see if things clear, go to the excursion desk once on board.  

I don't this this is an excursion. For Alaska, they sell a two-part vacation--half on land (via train and bus through parts of Alaska, includes lodging) and the other half is the regular cruise.  Example: 

 

Edited June 29, 2022 by rockmom

[S.A.M.J.R.]

22 minutes ago, rockmom said:

I don't this this is an excursion. For Alaska, they sell a two-part vacation--half on land (via train and bus through parts of Alaska, includes lodging) and the other half is the regular cruise.  Example: 

 

Ahh, that makes more sense.

 

Thank you.

[rudeney]

3 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

I wouldn't think any insurance would cover it since it's a pre-existing condition

 

That would depend on the insurance policy.  We always get a policy that covers pre-existing conditions.  I just read my policy and some parts seem like it might cover it as it states, "We will reimburse the insured a pre-departure trip cancellation benefit if the insured is prevented from taking his/her covered trip due to...sickness, covered injury, or death."  It requires a written doctor's opinion.  I;d say if a doctor tells the OP that she can't travel to an area with forest fire smoke due to her asthma, that's no different than, for example, saying I can't travel because I just had a heart attack.  

 

It certainly would be worth the OP investigating it, assuming she has insurance.  

[bren61]

My son lives in Fairbanks and he just said yesterday that he wasn't able to go for his daily run, too hard to breath with the smoke. Hope they get it under control soon, we are headed up there for 2 weeks on the 10th of July and my husband has Pulmonary Fibrosis & Black Lung.

[flamingos]

43 minutes ago, bren61 said:

My son lives in Fairbanks and he just said yesterday that he wasn't able to go for his daily run, too hard to breath with the smoke. Hope they get it under control soon, we are headed up there for 2 weeks on the 10th of July and my husband has Pulmonary Fibrosis & Black Lung.

We were there last month, on our cruise/land tour. It was 75 most days, and clear skies - good for our views of Denali, but the locals were very concerned about the fire danger.  😞

[Sunshine3601]

4 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

OK, so?  If they know they want to cancel, get on the planner now and cancel.  If they want to wait and see if things clear, go to the excursion desk once on board.  

Land tours are part of cruise package not an excursion bought online.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

7 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Land tours are part of cruise package not an excursion bought online.

Yea, @rockmon explained that.  But my next question would be isn't there SOME RC rep during the land tour?  Wouldn't they be a good person to contact? 

[Carol28]

Thank you for all the information. We are taking the tour after our cruise. Our insurance company says that it is covered but we need documentation. The newspaper article that someone sent is perfect except I need it later, like a week later. So if someone can put in this page a newspaper article about the fire around July 6 or seven, it would be very helpful. I called RCCL and the person entered my info on my reservation. Thank you so much.

[ReneeFLL]

4 hours ago, Carol28 said:

Thank you for all the information. We are taking the tour after our cruise. Our insurance company says that it is covered but we need documentation. The newspaper article that someone sent is perfect except I need it later, like a week later. So if someone can put in this page a newspaper article about the fire around July 6 or seven, it would be very helpful. I called RCCL and the person entered my info on my reservation. Thank you so much.

Try this link around July 6th and hopefully it will be what you need.

http://smoke.alaska.edu/current_fires.html

 

Edited June 30, 2022 by ReneeFLL

[PNW Traveler]

I am in Fairbanks for five days, arriving yesterday on a land tour.  The sky is smoky and the sun cannot shine through the smoke.  My lungs hurt and I am coughing.  I travel with an inhaler and it helps.  We are also experiencing hot temperatures with lightning forecast for tomorrow which could ignite more fires.  Water bomber aircraft have been flying overhead since we arrived and some outdoor activities in the city have been canceled.  I am hoping that conditions will improve, but there are many fires throughout Alaska, likely to impact air quality for some time.

[Carol28]

I'm home now.  The people on the ship were unable to help me.  Tomorrow, Monday, I will call my RCCL rep to see if they will transfer the monies from the cruisetour to my next booked cruise.  If not, I'll have to call the insurance company.  What a pain!

 

[reallyitsmema]

12 minutes ago, Carol28 said:

I'm home now.  The people on the ship were unable to help me.  Tomorrow, Monday, I will call my RCCL rep to see if they will transfer the monies from the cruisetour to my next booked cruise.  If not, I'll have to call the insurance company.  What a pain!

 

 

Did the cruisetour get canceled or did you just do the cruise part and not continue on the land portion?  I am surprised there isn't a number in the cruise documents to call in the event of a cancellation.  I know with the cruise insurance, for them to pay, you have to cancel before the ship sails, you can't just no show and then make a claim.  I hope that is not the case with the cruisetour.

 

Keep us posted.  Good luck.

[Ukigirl]

As someone with asthma, I would call your doc and get a script filled for prednisone to have…just in case. 

[cargopilot]

I'm not sure it makes a difference, but when we did both land and cruise five years ago, the land portion was a sub-contractor of RC, so who knows how that would work?

[Carol28]

Does anyone know where I can get a history of the air quality index for Fairbanks, Alaska for the month of July?

[bren61]

We just got back from 2 weeks in Fairbanks, when we got there we could smell the smoke while still in the air on the airplane. You could slightly see it in the air for about a week then it got clearer.  My husband has Pulmonary Fibrosis & this was a big concern, but he did ok and didn't have trouble breathing, that is until we returned home testing positive for Covid, had to be on constant O2 and still is, when he only needed it at night and upon activity before we left. Took me 10 days to get a negative covid result after coming back.