I am trying to figure out the exact date MUSH air will be open for booking. Is the rule 331 days out? I would like to use miles for the tickets and would like to book it as soon as it's available.

Karen - yes air can be booked starting 331 days out - you may have to book the outbound and put that on hold but not ticket until the return is bookable.

To expand....

....in terms of day of week, the date for booking is two days earlier. For example, if you want to fly on a Saturday, the bookings will open on a Thursday. Also, it usually opens at midnight eastern. Therefore, a Saturday booking can actually be made midnight on a Wednesday night.

Based on the Africa experience, not all airlines let you hold the outbound until your return opens up. A way to try to get around this are to "hold" a return for the same day and then change the date.

Does MUSH have free air?

Not sure what you deal is, but on mine it is free air or $500 off the price of the cruise.

So can anyone with math genes figure out exactly what date I can officially book for August 28th? It gives me a headache just trying to figure it out!

Yes, Andi, MUSH does have free airfare.

Editing to say, Ooops, I was reading so fast that I missed that Olivia had already replied to this question. Sorry for the repeat!

Thanks..now, I just have to figure out pre and post cruise stuff and what we will do.

Andi,

I am getting a price for a group rate in Vancouver (Pan Pacific) and I have a package for a post cruise stay in Denali - same as RSSC's but $400 per person less. I will have details on the board next month when I can have a guarantee with the hotels. They are reserved without guarantee.

Kathy - you go, girl! :)

Masaki

Karen, 1 October. But, unless you are using miles for first class, it would probably make more sense to use free air and pay deviation fee for pre and post cruise.

Thanks Marc! :)

Thanks Kathy...Looking forward to the details and joining ya'll.

I haven't really looked into the air for MUSH yet but I think we'll probably just go with the free air plus deviation to make sure we get our preferred airline.

How much are the air deviation fees on RSSC?

Actually found the answer to my question about airfare on the B&K website. $100 per person. Sounds like the way to go. ;)

If you go with free air + deviation, do you still accrue miles for elite status?

If you go with free air and deviation will Radisson still entertain you when you get off ship and have long wait (all day?) for flight out????

Oh yes Joanna. Radisson has special entertainment planned for you and Tony when you get off the ship........

Lawrence, for PIP, I earned 12,000+ MQM on Delta. Very well worth it. It was worth it to pay the $100 deviation fee. Of course, if we had flown ATN we wouldn't have lounge access on each end; for PIP we used both lounges.

Marcie: Looks like Madang - you know how T needs to be entertained - don't let that burden fall to me -

Isn't that Lawrence's job??

After looking at air schedules for this Sept, it looks like after MUSH I will be relocating to Anchorage permanently, if they don't add some more flights between now & then. I will be like the guy living in the Paris airport.

Great. Thanks Marc. I was worried that using Radisson (despite paying deviation) could invalidate elite status accrual. It's tough to tell these days with all of the fare rules. I do wonder whether it's clearer with Delta because of the simplied fare structure Delta is wisely putting in place.

Yup, that's how I earn my keep. :)

To my knowledge everyone has always earned miles when flying with RSSC. I saw a small disclaimer on some information once that did state that air purchased from a cruise line may not qualify. However, to my knowledge miles have always be earned.

Redeeming miles for an upgrade on a Radisson fare is another matter. Normally cannot be done. The codes of service they use are usually do not qualify for an upgrade.

Yes, RSSC will entertain you until it is time to go to the airport if you are on their air. Perhaps they would fly Steph and Dag in to show you the town.

Ngaire,

On our Panama Canal Cruise we were on RSSC Air on American Airlines. Almost the entire plane was RSSC passengers because there was a group (Radio Cooking Host, Melinda Lee had about 100 on the Mariner) and the flight class did not allow miles or upgrades.

Yes, RSSC will entertain you until it is time to go to the airport if you are on their air. Perhaps they would fly Steph and Dag in to show you the town.

What a way to end a cruise!!!!

We did earn miles when we used RSSC Air years ago and Marc has recent experiences.

As far as upgrades, I believe that Alaska (and Canada) are considered under the domestic rules and not International rules. So at least for Delta, Northwest, and Continental passengers, elite level upgrades should be applicable towards the flight (at the appropriate upgrade window). However, at least for Delta, upgrades with miles will probably not be possible because of the fare basis that is booked by Radisson.

I am very surprised Kathy. I have flown on RSSC air on American DFW to LAX everytime I go to Tahiti. I have always earned miles. The issue is that things are always different on every situation so you just cant really say it is "this for sure" or "that for sure" because it has been that way in the past.

I do have a lot of clients that always use RSSC and they get miles. Finally they get enough to get a free ticket. I think it is far more likely that you WILL get miles than that you wont. There can always be exceptions of course.

RSSC wont put your mileage number in the record for you so if you dont do that yourself then of course you wont earn miles. You are more savy than that though so I know you would have checked that out.

I have always earned miles on my air that I book thru RSSC, but I think that they have StarAlliance as their favored carrier. I always have checked to make sure it is registered. But I usually book on my own at a better rate and then I am assured that I do. For Alaska on MUSH, I am going to see what shakes out. On my first trip there, I booked on my own, and paid for hotel cause they couldn't get us there in time. Next time when I took the family, I took RSSC air and they paid for hotel the night before the cruise. Have no idea what coming into Vancouver is like. I have always come into Anchorage, which is a little more difficult. Have to see the Vancouver schedule for next August.

Is anyone planning on flying into Vancouver day of cruise? I am a little hesitant flying across the continent the day of embarkation but we may need to do it to save vacation time. We would be looking at arrival around 1215 if anyone is interested in sharing land transportation to the ship.

If we did miss the ship, we would have to fly to Ketchikan missing two days of the cruise. This would also make us and the ship in violation of the Passenger Vessel Act. Has anyone heard of someone missing the ship out of Vancouver but successfully joining at the next port?

thanks,

Marc, Not us. We will be flying in a couple of days early. Also, I hadn't even thought of that in relation to the Jones Act. I'm not sure what would happen. Ngaire?

GOOD point Marc. I am not sure but you would be in violation of the Jones Act to board and disembark in Anchorage. The fact that you had passage that was not in violation may negate any problems. I am going to look into that it is something I should know and I dont.

I recall that there were people expected on our Alaska cruise coming in from Florida and the captain held the Mariner in Vancouver. We did not leave port until something like 1AM. I think it was a weather related issue and there were 10 -12 passengers who boarded late.

That makes sense for the very reason of avoiding violating the Passenger Services Act. Also, avoids passengers having to miss 2 days of the cruise.

Masaki

The Alaska trip we did was 9 days and included Valdez (a waste) and Victoria that was spectacular.

When can we start putting our air packages together? I understand airlines book 330 days out. So many more days do we have to wait before we can secure flights?

Don,

Mush had Free Air. Are you using the RSSC Air?

Don, its coming up soon. We are flying in day of cruise, so we can book outbound this Monday. If you are coming in earlier, the day for booking is earlier.

Like normal, we will be out of country when it is time to book return. This has happened to us three times in a row.