We decided to stay in Vancouver, British Columbia a night before and a night after our Alaskan cruise. Traveling from Austin, Texas to Vancouver and rushing to get on a boat in the same day didn’t sound like much fun. Neither did doing the opposite on the home.

And a delay in a flight out could mean missing the boat.

As it happens, the airlines know which days are departures and arrivals for the cruises, so the flights were much …