9/10/2012 ~ 6 WONDERful nights ~ VC to L.A.

[cyclenut]

Noting the flight schedules and costs. Looks like it's not easy as it looks for some cross US flights. We fly into LAX from UK and plan to fly directly up to Seattle. Which airline would people recommend, not just for cost if flight but for baggage allowances etc? I am not familiar with internal flights only transatlantic
I should get looking at this I guess
Lyn

Alaska Airlines seems to have the most flights to that area and they seem to be reasonable as well. Southwest airlines has a flight for $175 from LAX to Seattle and the first two bags fly free. The only thing about Southwest is that they don't have assigned seating. You line up at the gate and pick your seat. They give you a boarding card when you check in that determines the group number. The planes tend to fly pretty full.

Some of the cheapest fairs seem to be on Virgin America and US Airways. I've never flown Virgin America but US Airways is pretty much a no frills airline and some of those fairs are aboard smaller regional jets.

 

[suzanneaz]

I found $274 one way from San Diego to Vancouver on Delta. I booked our flights from Phoenix - Phx to YVR + LAX to PHX was $265 per person. You could drive to Phx, drop the family at the airport and then park at our house and fly with us for less. I thought the train would be nice but the train tickets I priced were $119 each (probably because I did it wrong) so I decided it would be easier to just fly into Vancouver and spend the day there. Wish I could be more helpful.

 

[lyn9856]

Alaska Airlines seems to have the most flights to that area and they seem to be reasonable as well. Southwest airlines has a flight for $175 from LAX to Seattle and the first two bags fly free. The only thing about Southwest is that they don't have assigned seating. You line up at the gate and pick your seat. They give you a boarding card when you check in that determines the group number. The planes tend to fly pretty full.

Some of the cheapest fairs seem to be on Virgin America and US Airways. I've never flown Virgin America but US Airways is pretty much a no frills airline and some of those fairs are aboard smaller regional jets.

Thanks. It looks like Alaska air is better for us
Lyn

 

[msbiscuit]

I found a great thread with photos of the Wonder in the Bay area last year, and a couple of links to videos. Enjoy!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2709880&page=3

I love the photos of the Wonder sailing under the bridge! Thank you!

 

[Tehanna]

I've gathered up a few links for anyone who might be interested in reading some trip reports of previous repositioning cruises. Enjoy!

Trip report for the SB repo cruise last year:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2807622


A TR with links to a blog from a mom with a small child that went on the cruise last year:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2807457

A trip report of last year's NB repo cruise, which included a stop in San Francisco:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2714934


Brief review of last year's NB Repo with a special needs child:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2717489


A Cruise Critic review from someone who was on last Septembers SB repo cruise:
http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=89324

A Cruise Critic review of last year's NB repo cruise from a disappointed passenger:
http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=82733

 

[BEAV]

We booked this sailing earlier this week. We haven't sailed with Disney since September 2000, so obviously we have a lot of catching up to do with the product as it is today.

For those a few posts up looking for airfares, I, too, found them quite expensive ($275 and up) when I checked earlier this week. (We are flying from SFO to YVR).
But today I checked again, and obviously West Jet and Alaska are having some sort of sale because I bought nonstop tickets SFO-YVR for $160 per person for travel on Saturday, Sept 8.

I just checked LAX to YVR and prices are similar to those from SFO for one-way nonstops. So anyone in Southern California looking for reasonable nonstop airfare to Vancouver, you might want to check it out.

 

[cyclenut]

I've gathered up a few links for anyone who might be interested in reading some trip reports of previous repositioning cruises. Enjoy!

Trip report for the SB repo cruise last year:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2807622


A TR with links to a blog from a mom with a small child that went on the cruise last year:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2807457

A trip report of last year's NB repo cruise, which included a stop in San Francisco:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2714934


Brief review of last year's NB Repo with a special needs child:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2717489


A Cruise Critic review from someone who was on last Septembers SB repo cruise:
http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=89324

A Cruise Critic review of last year's NB repo cruise from a disappointed passenger:
http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=82733

Thanks for the information. I always like to read reviews from others.

Here is my Cruise Critic review from our Alsaka cruise aboard the Wonder.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=87499

Here is my DisBoards trip report.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2782042

We actually booked this repo cruise while on board. The price was unbeatable. We also wanted to give DCL a "second chance" and at a reasonable price, it seems reasonable to do so on this trip.

Even though the trip report is for Alaska, our trip did leave from Vancouver and is aboard the Wonder so hopefully you'll find it useful.

 

[*tinker*bell*]

We booked this sailing earlier this week. We haven't sailed with Disney since September 2000, so obviously we have a lot of catching up to do with the product as it is today.

For those a few posts up looking for airfares, I, too, found them quite expensive ($275 and up) when I checked earlier this week. (We are flying from SFO to YVR).
But today I checked again, and obviously West Jet and Alaska are having some sort of sale because I bought nonstop tickets SFO-YVR for $160 per person for travel on Saturday, Sept 8.

I just checked LAX to YVR and prices are similar to those from SFO for one-way nonstops. So anyone in Southern California looking for reasonable nonstop airfare to Vancouver, you might want to check it out.

 

[Tehanna]

We booked this sailing earlier this week. We haven't sailed with Disney since September 2000, so obviously we have a lot of catching up to do with the product as it is today.

For those a few posts up looking for airfares, I, too, found them quite expensive ($275 and up) when I checked earlier this week. (We are flying from SFO to YVR).
But today I checked again, and obviously West Jet and Alaska are having some sort of sale because I bought nonstop tickets SFO-YVR for $160 per person for travel on Saturday, Sept 8.

I just checked LAX to YVR and prices are similar to those from SFO for one-way nonstops. So anyone in Southern California looking for reasonable nonstop airfare to Vancouver, you might want to check it out.

Welcome!

We've got a fun group going on this cruise! If you'd like to participate in the Fish Exchange, you're welcome to! Here's a link to the post with the current FE list:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43033172&postcount=76


Marsi set up a great Facebook group, too, if you're interested. Here's a link to the post with the FB group details:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43662270&postcount=136

 

[BEAV]

Welcome!

We've got a fun group going on this cruise! If you'd like to participate in the Fish Exchange, you're welcome to! Here's a link to the post with the current FE list:

What's a Fish Exchange? Is that where you order salmon, don't care for it, then exchange it with someone else at another table who ordered halibut ?? !!!

Remember, I said we haven't been on DCL since the year 2000. I'm just now learning to decode DW, DD, DH, etc, etc.

 

[Tehanna]

What's a Fish Exchange? Is that where you order salmon, don't care for it, then exchange it with someone else at another table who ordered halibut ?? !!!

Remember, I said we haven't been on DCL since the year 2000. I'm just now learning to decode DW, DD, DH, etc, etc.

LOL. Well, first of all, I said it wrong. I meant to say "Fish Extender Group". "Fish Exchange" is hilarious.

A Fish Extender group is a group of cruisers in a meet who decide to exchange fun little gifties between cabins. Not everyone in a DIS Meet group participates.

There are explanations better than I could provide here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1219607

 

[msbiscuit]

What's a Fish Exchange? Is that where you order salmon, don't care for it, then exchange it with someone else at another table who ordered halibut ?? !!!

Welcome to everyone who has recently joined the group!

 

[towels]

What's a Fish Exchange? Is that where you order salmon, don't care for it, then exchange it with someone else at another table who ordered halibut ?? !!!

I was hoping for Dori, but all I got was Marlin!

 

[suzanneaz]

Thanks for posting the previous trip reports. I enjoy reading them which also makes me excited for our cruise. I have to admit the huge Disney fan in our house was always my sister .....until the last year. With my little girls I have become an absolute fanatic!

Cyclenut - I am a scrapbooker too. Maybe we (your wife, myself and anyone else interested) could do a page exchange or bring extra embellishments to trade. I have to warn everyone that I need 2 of everything, even if I have to buy it from you. I am crazy like this in that I buy 2 of most everything. My girls will be the matching ones who are not twins.

I can't believe some of you have been planning this trip since 2011. I am havnig a hard time waiting and we only booked recently.

 

[Sillysox]

I can't believe some of you have been planning this trip since 2011. I am havnig a hard time waiting and we only booked recently.

LOL !!! I am so excited that we are finally in the same year haha!! I have a countdown app on my phone, and very soon we will be rolling into the under 200 days mark.....which means we will be over halfway there since when I booked (We booked in June!!! LOL)

 

[msbiscuit]

LOL !!! I am so excited that we are finally in the same year haha!! I have a countdown app on my phone, and very soon we will be rolling into the under 200 days mark.....which means we will be over halfway there since when I booked (We booked in June!!! LOL)

I've had this cruise booked since February of 2011 - so if you want to play 'spot the looney', it's ME!
Now that I've got my flights booked and overnight hotel arranged, I just don't know what I'll do until June when I can obsess about excursions and Palo brunch! I need something shiny to distract me.

 

[Tehanna]

We dropped off our passport paperwork to the USPS passport desk yesterday. I'm unreasonably giddy.

 

[suzanneaz]

Thanks for the reminder Tehanna...I need to get the girls passports ASAP!!!

msbiscuit - Happy to spot the loony!!! Now I know who to sit with I would say you have patience not craziness.

 

[msbiscuit]

Don't forget you can check passport application status online - if you're into obsessing...I was.

BTW, always happy to find another loony to sit with! Pick up your jester hat at Guest Services!

 

[cyclenut]

I've had this cruise booked since February of 2011 - so if you want to play 'spot the looney', it's ME!
Now that I've got my flights booked and overnight hotel arranged, I just don't know what I'll do until June when I can obsess about excursions and Palo brunch! I need something shiny to distract me.

We are in this very strange position. We have our 25th anniversary cruise to look forward to and are starting to get excited about that one being it is in June. But we're also starting to plan what we want to do in SanFran for two days. We are stoked for our RCI FOS sailing but really looking forward to this one too. Airfare and hotel is booked on both of them ... so there is nothing left to do but wait.