Flight to Seattle canceled - can we board Eurodam in Juneau?

[Florida_gal_50]

5 minutes ago, LoraJ said:

Hi all!

So we have a flight to juneau tomorrow and I called that HAL emergency line last night and they have alerted the ship that we will be joining them there. But now I am wondering if we have to get a COVID test again since we took ours on Thursday. 

 

Now our issue is our luggage, United will not let us retrieve our bags. They said we can't get our bags today and we can't even request them to be sent to us until we reach our destination, our destination is a moving ship. I am at a loss. 

 

ETA:

We were flying the day before our cruise. And if we had flown the day before that, the flight would have been canceled as well. 

Thank you for the update.  Can't answer about the covid test but I hope things get better for you going forward.  Good luck.

[rubytue]

27 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

And not everyone wants to deal with the hassles, disappointment, etc. when a cruise is missed.  

 

Hank

I think the point PP was trying to make is that telling someone what they did wrong, when they are trying to move forward to a solution, is not helpful in the situation. They can’t go back and fly in earlier at this point, so what are their options. 
 

in general, cruisecritic posters love to say how they would have avoided a situation, without offering much help for the situation a poster is in. To, I guess, reassure themselves that such a situation could never happen to them. 

Edited August 6, 2022 by rubytue

[Hlitner]

18 minutes ago, rubytue said:

I think the point PP was trying to make is that telling someone what they did wrong, when they are trying to move forward to a solution, is not helpful in the situation. They can’t go back and fly in earlier at this point, so what are their options. 
 

in general, cruisecritic posters love to say how they would have avoided a situation, without offering much help for the situation a poster is in. To, I guess, reassure themselves that such a situation could never happen to them. 

It is not about telling anything to the OP, but shouting out a firm warning to other's who may be planning a cruise.  The airline industry is a true mess.  re is no helping the OP as the Eurodam embarks today.  If they do manage to get to Juneau the 7 day cruise is turned into a 5 day.  

 

Hank

[Cruise Junky]

2 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

Passengers can join an Alaskan cruise in progress - it's called 'downlining'.

 

You are not allowed to leave a ship before it visits it's foreign port-of-call (Victoria).  If that did happen (for whatever reason, i.e., medical, emergency at home, etc), either the passenger or the cruise line would incur a hefty fine of about $800.

I know what downlining is but you still couldn’t do it if it violated the PVSA. Possibly HAL is eating the fine.  Interestingly as of 2021 RCL has banned all downlining.  

Edited August 6, 2022 by Cruise Junky

[VirginiaTravelers]

Good luck @LoraJ

Thank you for sharing your experience. It's been really helpful and I can't wait to hear more about it! We have our cruise on August 20. We arrive in Seattle on August 18 and we hope that will be enough time.

[Ferry_Watcher]

25 minutes ago, Cruise Junky said:

I know what downlining is but you still couldn’t do it if it violated the PVSA. Possibly HAL is eating the fine.  Interestingly as of 2021 RCL has banned all downlining.  

Fortunately, OP's flight into Juneau to meet up with the ship is on Day 3 of the cruise, and the port-of-call to satisfy the PVSA requirement is on Day 6 of the cruise.  So no PVSA violation for either the downlining passenger or for HAL.  Good news all around!

[*Miss G*]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

It is not about telling anything to the OP, but shouting out a firm warning to other's who may be planning a cruise.  The airline industry is a true mess.  re is no helping the OP as the Eurodam embarks today.  If they do manage to get to Juneau the 7 day cruise is turned into a 5 day.  

 

Hank

 

You don’t think the circumstances the OP is currently posting about are enough of a “firm warning”?

 

@LoraJ, I am happy to hear you will be boarding in Juneau but that is certainly frustrating with regard to your luggage.  I hope it works out in the end.  Make sure you let Guest Services know (if they haven’t already been made aware).  It’s possible they can offer assistance with regard to clothing and toiletries.  Have a wonderful, and stress-free, remainder of your trip!

[chengkp75]

3 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

Passengers can join an Alaskan cruise in progress - it's called 'downlining'.

 

You are not allowed to leave a ship before it visits it's foreign port-of-call (Victoria).  If that did happen (for whatever reason, i.e., medical, emergency at home, etc), either the passenger or the cruise line would incur a hefty fine of about $800.

No, they can't.  If the passenger joined in Juneau, their cruise would be Juneau to Seattle (CBP does not care how a cruise is advertised or sold, just where the passenger gets on and gets off at the end).  This is transportation between two US ports, and without a port call at a "distant" foreign port, it violates the PVSA.  Both in that case, and in the case you mention of leaving prior to a foreign port call, the line is fined $765 per passenger, and the ticket contract grants the line the right to pass that fine to the passenger.

 

If the "downlining" involved embarking at a Canadian port for an Alaskan cruise, then it would be allowed.

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Fortunately, OP's flight into Juneau to meet up with the ship is on Day 3 of the cruise, and the port-of-call to satisfy the PVSA requirement is on Day 6 of the cruise.  So no PVSA violation for either the downlining passenger or for HAL.  Good news all around!

Again, not correct.  The OP's cruise is still a Juneau to Seattle "open jaw" cruise, which requires not just a "foreign port", but a "distant" foreign port.  Distant foreign ports are defined by CBP as any port outside of North America, Central America, Caribbean, Bahamas, or Bermuda.  The closest "distant" foreign port to Alaska is Cartagena, Colombia, or perhaps Russia.

Edited August 6, 2022 by chengkp75

[Oceansaway17]

7 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We sure hope the OP found a flight.    Some of us have been warning, for months, that folks need to be extra cautious now, and in the future, with making arrangements to fly to a port.  Flying in the day of a cruise is simply asking for trouble and even flying in 1 day early may no longer be enough.  The more extra days you have pre-cruise the better the odds that you will get to your port.  

 

Hank

yes I was thinking the same thing. Sounds like they were flying today and got a notice last night.

 

I feel that the airlines need to be careful cancelling flights to popular airport that cruise ships fly out of. 

Just saying.  then again would it not be nice to have all the cruise lines get together and own an airline and they they control (except weather) flights.  just a dream

[oaktreerb]

Maybe Travel Insurance will cover the fine?  If OP can’t join in the ship in Juneau without the PVSA fine of $765, it would be a travel delay hopefully covered by insurance.  

 

23 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

No, they can't.  If the passenger joined in Juneau, their cruise would be Juneau to Seattle (CBP does not care how a cruise is advertised or sold, just where the passenger gets on and gets off at the end).  This is transportation between two US ports, and without a port call at a "distant" foreign port, it violates the PVSA.  Both in that case, and in the case you mention of leaving prior to a foreign port call, the line is fined $765 per passenger, and the ticket contract grants the line the right to pass that fine to the passenger.

 

If the "downlining" involved embarking at a Canadian port for an Alaskan cruise, then it would be allowed.

 

Edited August 6, 2022 by oaktreerb

[Ferry_Watcher]

This is the Eurodam itinerary:, and the Op has stated that HAL is allowing them to join the ship in Juneau.  HAL is making an accommodation for the passenger with the distance between Juneau and Victoria, BC notwithstanding.  Lets be happy for the OP.

 

Seattle

@Sea

Juneau (OP joins cruise)

Icy Strait Point

Ketchikan

Victoria, BC

Seattle

Edited August 6, 2022 by Ferry_Watcher

[LoraJ]

9 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

yes I was thinking the same thing. Sounds like they were flying today and got a notice last night.

 

I feel that the airlines need to be careful cancelling flights to popular airport that cruise ships fly out of. 

Just saying.  then again would it not be nice to have all the cruise lines get together and own an airline and they they control (except weather) flights.  just a dream

 

No we were flying yesterday and our flight got canceled and they had already canceled 2 other EWR to SEA flights so there was nothing to book us on the following day and all flights have like 30 people on standby. So we did try to fly the day before. I don't know what happened but there used to be a lot more earlier flights in teh day to SEA, now there is nothing between 7am and 5pm . And they canceled the 7:30am flight this morning to make things even worse. There were people trying to get onto my flight who had been t the airport for 2 days.

 

Two HAL reps assured me that I can board in Juneau. 

Edited August 6, 2022 by LoraJ

[Oceansaway17]

2 minutes ago, LoraJ said:

 

No we were flying yesterday and our flight got canceled and they had already canceled 2 other EWR to SEA flights so there was nothing to book us on the following day and all flights have like 30 people on standby. So we did try to fly the day before. I don't know what happened but there used to be a lot more earlier flights in teh day to SEA, now there is nothing between 7am and 5pm . And they canceled the 7:30am flight this morning to make things even worse. There were people trying to get onto my flight who had been t the airport for 2 days.

 

Two HAL reps assured me that I can board in Juneau. 

Oh my sorry to hear this.  Newark airport is in the top 5 of all airport having cancels.

 

Again all the airlines need to accommodate the cities that have cruise port.  Otherwise, one industry is affecting another.  I mean it is a cross country flight and to cancel all seems odd.

Best of luck.

[oaktreerb]

4 minutes ago, LoraJ said:

 

No we were flying yesterday and our flight got canceled and they had already canceled 2 other EWR to SEA flights so there was nothing to book us on the following day and all flights have like 30 people on standby. So we did try to fly the day before. I don't know what happened but there used to be a lot more earlier flights in teh day to SEA, now there is nothing between 7am and 5pm . And they canceled the 7:30am flight this morning to make things even worse. There were people trying to get onto my flight who had been t the airport for 2 days.

 

Two HAL reps assured me that I can board in Juneau. 

The airport issues in the New Jersey area were reported on the national news this a.m.  I thought of you!  I hope you make it to Juneau and have a wonderful cruise.

[LoraJ]

5 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

Oh my sorry to hear this.  Newark airport is in the top 5 of all airport having cancels.

 

Again all the airlines need to accommodate the cities that have cruise port.  Otherwise, one industry is affecting another.  I mean it is a cross country flight and to cancel all seems odd.

Best of luck.

 

 

We had a plane and crew but no gate and then our pilot "timed out." Nightmare. 

[chengkp75]

12 minutes ago, LoraJ said:

Two HAL reps assured me that I can board in Juneau. 

Typically, HAL phone reps don't know anything about the PVSA, which is why they frequently allow B2B cruises to be booked, which are then disallowed by the "compliance" department later.

 

14 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

This is the Eurodam itinerary:, and the Op has stated that HAL is allowing them to join the ship in Juneau.  HAL is making an accommodation for the passenger with the distance between Juneau and Victoria, BC notwithstanding.  Lets be happy for the OP.

 

Seattle

@Sea

Juneau (OP joins cruise)

Icy Strait Point

Ketchikan

Victoria, BC

Seattle

Not sure what your point is, this is still a violation of the PVSA.  Now, HAL may have decided to swallow the fine, or the HAL agents are giving out incorrect information.  HAL may allow boarding in Juneau, or not, and the OP may or may not be liable for the fine.  When CBP gets the itinerary between Juneau and Seattle, that is when CBP will catch the violation, and levy the fine at the end of the cruise.

[syesmar]

@LoraJ I really feel for you. Glad they're allowing you to board in Juneau. When our luggage was delayed for a trip that included a Baltics & Norway cruise, we gave the lost luggage office in Copenhagen our HAL itinerary with the various ports of call and addresses. It seems like there may have been a HAL representative nearby (there were 50+ other HAL passengers in the same situation). Though we started the cruise with several sea days, the bags arrived on our first port day. 

Your travel insurance and also credit card very likely has some coverage to get supplies, clothes and perhaps alternate accommodations and transportation in the meantime. In our case, the airline reimbursed us for all our expenses for these items.

I wish you the best. We're all rooting for you! 

Edited August 6, 2022 by syesmar

[Guest ldtr]

4 hours ago, LoraJ said:

Hi all!

So we have a flight to juneau tomorrow and I called that HAL emergency line last night and they have alerted the ship that we will be joining them there. But now I am wondering if we have to get a COVID test again since we took ours on Thursday. 

 

Now our issue is our luggage, United will not let us retrieve our bags. They said we can't get our bags today and we can't even request them to be sent to us until we reach our destination, our destination is a moving ship. I am at a loss. 

 

ETA:

We were flying the day before our cruise. And if we had flown the day before that, the flight would have been canceled as well. 

Also, yje HA: emergency services people said the only port we couldn't join in would be Skagway, and that wasn't even a stop forus. 

Where does United say your bags are?

What is their reasoning for not retrieving the bags now?

Do you have the United app which should tell you the location of the bags?

 

Basically they do not want to expend the effort to sort through the bags and that sometime they will end up in Seattle. I assume you are having to deal with the airport a Newark.

Edited August 6, 2022 by ldtr

[Guest ldtr]

30 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Typically, HAL phone reps don't know anything about the PVSA, which is why they frequently allow B2B cruises to be booked, which are then disallowed by the "compliance" department later.

 

Not sure what your point is, this is still a violation of the PVSA.  Now, HAL may have decided to swallow the fine, or the HAL agents are giving out incorrect information.  HAL may allow boarding in Juneau, or not, and the OP may or may not be liable for the fine.  When CBP gets the itinerary between Juneau and Seattle, that is when CBP will catch the violation, and levy the fine at the end of the cruise.

There seems to be a bit more flexibility occurring these days.  We had people miss a cruise to Hawaii a couple of months ago from LA, Princess (in that case) did allow them to fly to and board in Honolulu, even though it was a violation of PVSA as well.  

[LoraJ]

14 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Where does United say your bags are?

What is their reasoning for not retrieving the bags now?

Do you have the United app which should tell you the location of the bags?

 

Basically they do not want to expend the effort to sort through the bags and that sometime they will end up in Seattle. I assume you are having to deal with the airport a Newark.

 

There were 100's if not 1000 people in line for baggage services last night. We went home because people said they had been in line for hours and we figured we could go to the app and have them delivered to our home. But instead the app says our bags don't exist. Someone from United said to go back to the airport and put in a request with baggage services and they will get our bags. Get to the airport and are just told You will NOT get your bags today go home. Go home and someone from united via text said our bags will be at the Juneau airport which I highly doubt. 

 

Now I have to figure out where to get a new COVID test. We are all set to board in Juneau. The agent I just talked to said we are not the only ones dealing with this. 

[*Miss G*]

11 minutes ago, LoraJ said:

Now I have to figure out where to get a new COVID test. We are all set to board in Juneau. The agent I just talked to said we are not the only ones dealing with this. 

 

Assuming you are joining the ship on Tuesday, could you do the online tests?  Alternatively, do you have time to get one in Juneau?  COVID Testing: Juneau, AK

[Roz]

This sounds like an absolute nightmare.  By the time this poor lady gets to the ship she's going to be stressed out and exhausted.

[PACD_JG]

9 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Some of us have been warning, for months, that folks need to be extra cautious now, and in the future, with making arrangements to fly to a port.  Flying in the day of a cruise is simply asking for trouble and even flying in 1 day early may no longer be enough. 

 

5 hours ago, LoraJ said:

We were flying the day before our cruise. And if we had flown the day before that, the flight would have been canceled as well. 

 

LoraJ did all the right things here: SOP is to fly in the day before.  I sympathize with the OP and I do believe I will now be making the 17 hour drive from OH to Fort Lauderdale and back instead of flying for my Thanksgiving cruise.

[Florida_gal_50]

I hate united.  They are truly the armpit of the airline industry.