Benthayer Gonbak

Agreed, but there still has to be a better way. We do carry out paperwork, we’ve needed it for airlines and hotels too. for X the one thing that gets repeated more than a few times is they key or even swipe our credit card wrong and we get a letter that there is a problem, after a few days. Admittedly, the last one turned out to be fraud that the credit card caught especially since they had a travel alert! That was the first leg of 3 so we needed another credit card, which we always carry in case of loss or fraud.

There has to be a better way! I find it more than annoying when my card starts out wrong, It would seem that the system would know not to charge drinks and internet without the sticker!

Avoiding the storm you mentioned over NYC?

The reason I recommended the service is because they do a combination park and shuttle and variations of those that beat the direct cost, often because the parking has been discounted, but the shuttle service is naturally expensive too. I do check to be sure which makes a cheaper deal. When I stayed at the Courtyard direct and using a shuttle company we knew was cheaper but that was just once. i agree with your assessment of the Marriott airport, but I’m sorry to hear the rooms are slightly small. for what it is worth, for our trip out of BWI the Westin turned out to be the cheaper deal which shocked me! it’s worth mentioning that with the agency I used I got a short notice that my cruise was delayed 2 days when I contacted them they said that happens all the time and there was no charge for cancelling the hotel late. That sold me on the company when they have offerings, they don’t always.

With the exceptions of the fencing you can walk between the non Marriott names in a few minutes. Last we were there in Feb the Springhill was just reopening. The Marriott is on the airport grounds, or very close to it. I think it’s walking distance like across the street, but I was there at night so I may not be totally correct. Since you don’t have a car you don’t have to worry about the $40 parking there.

I know you weren’t addressing me but i recommend you check out Trinity reservations for good deals. You can tell from there which ones are reasonably close. We usually stay at one of the Marriott owned hotels, often the Fairfield. The Tru hotel is the newest in the string of hotels near the airport. I’ve stayed in the Springhill and the Courtyard. I prefer the Springhill but it’s only one night! The Marriott at the airport has a restaurant onsite, I haven’t been in their rooms though, th restaurant and lobby were up to par several years ago.

There used to be ship tours that went there, on was a van which was a nicer trip.

our TA recommended Air New Zealand and we enjoyed it. The trays are wide enough to join a companion for dinner!

Out bound masks were mandatory. The return was just after masking being lifted. About 50-60% maybe masked at first as the terminal still required it! We flew from jfk so it was just the trains which weren’t particularly full, the hotel shuttle was near empty both ways.

i remember when they started the directions were limited. I flew from Dulles to LA with an onward flight to New Zealand. At the time I think only Delta had started the select no overseas required. when we flew to Vancouver for an Alaska trip that did count as international, of course.

Weve travelled for 2 different cruises, 1 open jaw trip overseas. September will be my first flight where the whole airplane doesn’t have to be vaccinated. That’s a bit more scary, however we’ve done the 8 hr flights with N95s so I’m guessing 2+ hours each way is doable. Both cruises were lower passenger loads. supposedly the terminal is the most dangerous because ventilation is poorer than an aircraft and the crowding is moving around.

on point was reported to accept the free test from the government They charge for the monitoring abandon documentation. It will be interesting to read what have actually succeeded.

Several have had free lounges coast to coast, just after United denied us because the tickets weren’t together although we were checkin clear through at their agents offer. Glad to hear it’s working.

it isn’t cost effective for us to have a data plan on a phone. There is no cell coverage at home and the phone is mostly used in emergencies or tracking guides! It’s frustrating that more and more requirements for data are showing up as being needed for cruising! Our phone normally stays in the safe onboard and needed only for pickups when returning home.

i have been there and stay for a few days, fun. Hubby has not. For what it is worth there is a tour that leaves from at least the Miami area down and back the same day. It’s about 6- hours I think they said, so your time there is short. The drive down is or was pretty, lots of hurricanes since I saw it. The bus tour was cheap but I wasn’t sure I wanted in a bus for that many hours.

Ifs pretty easy to get to nyc from Newark the most likely place to stay near the port. Check Trinity Reservations for their deals that include transportation. They are normally round trip, but you may find a one way. They include one of the Hiltons, at least, or did.

It took us 3 tries to get there! Weather was mostly to blame. One I remember an earthquake that may have messed up the seas. It was loud when it happened and supposedly was miles away, undersea. Hubby still wants to do Key West so I’ll check what’s available. Thanks.

Good to see you back sailing. Greenland is on our bucket list when we can work around other obligations like weddings etc. looking forward to learning what we are missing.

Thank you. Now that Celebrity will let me sail without an all in, I’m looking at more cruises with them. I had already booked an east coast one that included Martha’s Vineyard. I was able to remove the all in when that option became available. Lately, we’ll just before the shutdown I had been cruising Azamara because of the ports. My Azamara from last year is now set to sail this December but things may have changed so it will be interesting. Again Celebrity does not do this part of Africa. i expect we may see you in the Caribbean if you make it there again.

I’ve been thinking it was time to check on you again! Would you put a link here?

in 2019 I was on deck 4. My cabin had wall mounted lights and a USB port in the base. One however was not working. I don’t think that kind of outlet takes the wear and tear of usage. I’ve also been pretty forward on deck 4, 4004, in Gala 8-9, I thought the stabilizers were going to be ripped off! Our beds didn’t move but that small coffee table did turn over and the Champaign bottle crush all the grapes in the fruit basket. That was the Quest.

We were onboard a cruise with a whole lot of noro! Hubby had symptoms and he was told to stay in his room 24 hours as they didn’t think it was noro, it wasn’t. Others were required 3 days. Our room was cleaned, sort of. I was allowed to leave. No change of rooms. We received a refund of one day for one passenger. The room steward did check on hubby, I think if he had been missing he would not have received a refund.

About 3/4 of my cruises have been on deck 4. I remember rooms 4004 and 4049. On one cruise I could hear the boarding noise slightly during the day, in port. I noticed more door slamming on Deck 6. Some of the latches didn’t close unless you pulled extra hard and that still sounded like a partial slam. The cabin that slammed the most was a couple of doors down and it seemed the entire cabin shook. The ships have been reworked several times since then! On one cruise we were in an obstructed view cabin and were waking up early due to jet lag. Our neighbor finally had enough and told us our voices were carrying through the walls! Those cabins are the only ones I’m aware of having trouble. Lastly, I’m told that the new cabins seemed smaller that similar cabins on the same floor. This was by one of the enrichment people but they still said it still worked. Because I was booked there for 2021 which was cancelled I asked about the noises getting on and off the ship guest relations told me there is a door at each end and the area is quite quiet. Hope that helps. i notice at times my first impression of the rooms seems that it is narrow and cramped, but when I get to the open area I can easily pass the foot of the bed without bumping it which I can’t on other cruises. We find the regular rooms seem to have more storage which is mostly across from the bath making that area feel closed in at first. It really isn’t but it’s an unusual layout to some ships. We crossed the northern Atlantic to the Shetlands, or from there, in 4004 I think we saw Nemo! The buffet was closed as even on the table the soup would not stay in the bowls. It was quickly moved to the main dining room for stability etc. yes that was Gale 8-9 as I recall and certainly unusual, and we’ve done transAtlantics on Azamara but they can often avoid the worst. our Japan trip we just hid from the 2 typhoons on one of those cruises.

Im better with missing luggage returning home except when Air France lost my walker for 30 days! There was seemingly a whole container missing! i traveled for business and in 8 years, domestically, I had luggage delayed twice both on return. I'm now hearing about there not being enough baggage handlers and the loading codes aren’t getting read such that passenger with tracking devices in their suitcases are better able to locate their luggage than the airlines are.

sorry, autocorrect helped messed up by bad spelling of rhubarb! I agreed we use rutabaga in soup not pies! And, thanks.