FTLcruisers

On 8/11/2022 at 11:50 AM, Lastdance said:

Those schedules used to come out in November, but have been moved up the last few years.  I just inquired about the release date, but the supervisor I spoke with did not have any idea about release date.  Stay tuned to Cruise Critic for upcoming information.

hope they come out sooner!  We're booked on the Apex for April 2023 and won't be able to go due to a family event.  Payment isn't due until January 2023.  I'm looking to either move the same one to 2024 or pick another if I have to.  

anyone know when the 2024 schedule will come out??

1 hour ago, Zach1213 said:

I'm confused - do you want Barcelona to Madrid or Barcelona to Milan?

 

Barcelona to Madrid - none, take a train

 

Barcelona to Milan - there aren't a lot of differences between those four airlines for such a short flight, but do your research regarding the cost of not only the ticket but what luggage (both checked and cabin) and seat selection may cost. They won't always cost the same, and that can make the "cheaper" flights more expensive. I will say that, while I have never flown Vueling, I have had several experiences each on Iberia, Ryanair, and Easyjet. For intra-Europe flying, I find very little difference these days. I like Iberia because it gets me American Airlines miles, but for point-to-point travel in Europe, I often find myself on Easyjet and have enjoyed them slightly more than Ryanair and Iberia. 

 

EDIT: Upon further review, I don't believe Iberia flies BCN-MXP. Take a look at times - I am guessing the "Iberia" flight is the same time as the Vueling flight, so it's likely a Vueling flight that also carries an Iberia codeshare. 

OMG - how did I put Madrid in the subject???  But, yes it is Milan we are going to and your reply is very helpful - thanks.

For the first time, we'll need a flight in Europe and I'm not familiar with most of the airlines.  We're flying from Barcelona to Milan.  When doing a search, the brands I recognize are Iberia and Ryanair - one-way non-stop flights are between$40-$70.  Others listed are EasyJet and Vueling where some flights are listed as low as $25!!  Would appreciate input from anyone familiar with these airlines.  Thanks

1 hour ago, FTLcruisers said:

We're traveling on Nov 5 and yes I can see my airline reservation - problem is she said she couldn't!  I'll try your suggestion of booking it again and see what happens.

Problem Solved!  I did go in and try to change my reservation and it gave me a message about a change in the flight but details were not available.  So, I checked my United website and booked a direct flight using miles!  Our problem is we fly out of BWI which isn't great for international flights.  But by renting a car and driving up to Newark Airport (2 hour drive), we can get these direct flights.  We only did it for the first time coming home from London last month.  We never thought of it when we booked our November flights but sort of glad now I had a problem with my EZAir flight! 

Thanks everyone for all your comments and suggestions.   

18 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

Ridiculous…

How far out are you?  Are you sure you booked it on EZAIR?  You should be able to see it on there.  Did you try to book it again?  That would tell you if you have a flight, because you would need to modify it.

We're traveling on Nov 5 and yes I can see my airline reservation - problem is she said she couldn't!  I'll try your suggestion of booking it again and see what happens.

1 hour ago, FTLcruisers said:

I was pretty sure we were always able to see them right away so will definitely call EZAir.  Thanks

No luck with Princess representative.  She said the flight had changed but she was not able to see the flight so, according to her we either have to wait or book another flight!  Nope, she couldn't tell me whether our flight still exists.  I'll wait a few days and check again.  

3 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

American and United flights show up right away on their website. They do not need to be ticketed to show up.

I was pretty sure we were always able to see them right away so will definitely call EZAir.  Thanks

24 minutes ago, socmft said:

I have American flights and in my account with American it does show my EZAir flights -- however, they are different flights! Will be interesting.

We have United flights - since they aren't on the United website do I contact EZAir or United???  BTW our final payment hasn't been made yet if that makes a difference

A different question - should I be able to pull up the flight I booked using EZAir on the airline's website?  I think I was able to do that in the past so that we could select seats.  But it's been so long since we've cruised and used EZAir that I can't remember!!  

2 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

Presumably you can at least see the flight numbers and times? Are you prepared to share those with us? At the moment, none of us has found any flights that match your description.

I realized after I posted that we wouldn't have ticket #s yet since the flight doesn't get paid for until we pay for our cruise which won't be until Dec!  In any case, we're changing our flights.  but for you curious ones,  flights were Air Canada #893 @ 11:50 AM then flight #1606 @ 4:15PM.  When I was originally looking at flights on EZAir, there were several other flights with those exact times using a various combination of airlines. 

BTW my TA wasn't 100% sure about customs in Montreal - another reason I love CC so much.  thanks again to everyone who responded. 

we booked the flight using Princess' EZ Air - using EZ Air allows us to easily change the flight.  I do not see a 13 digit number on Princess or Air Canada's documents.

Thanks for all the insight on the customs process - obviously we've never flown back to the USA via Canada!!

we have a flight booked from Rome arriving in Montreal and then Montreal to Fort Lauderdale.  Will we need to go through customs in Canada?  We only have a little over 1 hour layover in Montreal so just concerned if that will be enough time.  

thanks!

We have sailed on MSC 6 times and have 2 more cruises booked with them.  Our first sailing was on the Divina out of Miami - we too had read some really bad reviews.  But, each night, our group of 6 would sit and try to figure out what these people who posted the bad reviews didn't like.  We loved the shows, the food, the variety of music and the beautiful ship.  Yes there tend to be announcements in several languages - yes the shows may be opera or classical music but we don't mind the announcements and like the music.  Go with an open mind, realize it WILL be different from any other cruise line you have used (since all cruise lines do things just a little differently) and enjoy your vacation.  You can choose to enjoy the journey or complain about every little thing which is what some people seem to do. 

thanks!!

the hotel manager was kind enough to stop into our private event on the ship last week but I neglected to get his name.  Anyone know?

thanks

can I also pre-book internet, a coffee card and bottled water using my OBC or does the pre-booking only work for excursions?

14 hours ago, lmfinney said:

 

AKAIK, it's not possible to convert CUCs back.

 

In terms of how much to convert, it'll depend on what you do, of course. We spent about 120 CUCs for a tour, and we bought about 40 CUCs worth of rum, and about 15 CUC worth of other souvenirs. I don't know what to tell you about comparisons to other tourist traps - a t-shirt in the flea market was about 10 CUCs, if that helps.

I thought we could convert CUCs back so...basically if we convert too much money, we're stuck with the CUCs???

22 hours ago, Beamafar said:

Bon Voyage, FTLcruisers ... hope you have a wonderful cruise.  We board the week after you debark.

we'll try to keep the ship in good shape for you!  

imfinney - thanks for your review.  we're leaving on Monday (Jan 7th) so got lots of good info from this post right before our departure

my guess is booked

Emailed Blexie yesterday due to strength of reviews on these boards and already received a response. Excited to visit Cuba in October!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I emailed him on Wednesday and haven't heard back yet (I've checked my spam so its not there). Should I email again or just be patient? We do have plenty of time since we're not going until January.

Marianne

has anyone gone into the Capitol Building? I have it on my list of places I'd like our tour guide to take us but not sure its worth going into or if just a drive-by for pics is sufficient.

Marianne

To me, even a "bad" experience in a port is a part of traveling that I enjoy since I'm learning about other countries/cultures. A few months ago, we spent a week in Paris and while we enjoyed what we did and saw, it's a city that I would not want to visit again. I would never label it a bad experience but I learned that what the city has to offer me is not really something I found enjoyable enough to go again. I certainly wouldn't encourage people not to go there though since travel experiences are different for everyone. We'll be in Havana for the first time in January and we're both so excited to see the city and learn more about it.

Marianne

just looked at the Free Havana walking tour website and it states they are temporarily closed!

Marianne