Levi is good

Are the showers open to everyone officially, or are they technically only for spa patrons?  I know some areas are open to all, some aren't...

Could someone please comment on the vehicles that are used by this company in Italy?  I want to sign up with them for multiple shore excursions but I'm afraid we will feel cramped for the drives to the various locations, especially Rome from Civitavecchia.  

On 7/24/2022 at 5:22 PM, notscb said:

 

Please, please do yourself a favor and go in and set a google flights tracker if you still have this much time. Fares right now are super high but have been dropping over the last two or so weeks. When I was looking at airfare to BCN from the states- it was about 1300 round trip (more than we paid for our cruise), but dropped a few times after we first saw that rate.

 

Alternatively, you could purchase a refundable fare if you find a good one this early out and just have it refunded if you see something better (reminder that the refund process can take weeks)

Absolutely.  Will do.  I'd forgotten about the Google flight tracker.

On 7/22/2022 at 8:25 PM, purduemom1 said:

Delta does not operate any flights within Europe.To and from yes, within, no.

That explains a lot. 😳 Thank you.  

On 7/19/2022 at 6:36 PM, Azulann said:

Exactly, my reason to  fly Delta to Europe in 2023. I live 10 minutes from MSP. Get on the daily flight to AMS and then KLM to Stockholm and on return Copenhagen to AMS to MSP. 

CONVENIENCE is worth to me. I will never be able to flying Delta One class, but a nice window  and aisle seat in economy is just fine. to get to Europe and back. the  Sky pesos are just a little bonus to use before I die.😇

Azulann that is an interesting idea, so you would use Delta for the transatlantic portion, use a different airline within your travels, then return to your point of origin for return trip with Delta?  

On 7/18/2022 at 10:11 AM, Gardyloo said:

Early birds don't always get worms.  Sometimes they get cats.

 

Put yourself in the airlines' shoes.  What's the price of a gallon of Jet A fuel going to be in 10 months?  How about the hourly wages of bag handlers in Atlanta or Amsterdam?  What if a recession, or a reawakening of a pandemic, occurs starting this autumn?  

 

If the answer to these questions is "I don't know," then the smart move on the airlines part would be to set prices high enough that they can still turn a profit even if their direct or indirect costs spike in the meantime.  If their costs don't go up, great, more profit.  

 

As you know, there isn't one price for, say, a coach seat between LAX or SFO and, say, Amsterdam.  There are literally dozens of fare "buckets," each with a different price and different conditions - length of stay, cancellation or change penalties, yadda yadda.  The airlines publish these fares, but don't have to sell seats in any or all of them at any given time.  So in July 2022, they'll only sell seats in higher-priced buckets for flights departing in May 2023, in order to lock in profits that might leak out if lower-priced buckets are sold now.  

 

Other airlines have different algorithms (all of them top secret) that they use to determine when given fares are released and under what circumstances, so if you see something that appeals now with another airline, by all means go for it.  But don't assume Delta's prices won't come down as the flight date approaches.  They probably will, but when and by how much - well, you'll need an advance degree from Hogwarts to figure that out.

Gardyloo that's fascinating about the buckets.  It makes sense, why would you give away the most desirable product immediately. Domestically in the United States I tend to fly Southwest, and it seems that with those fares as quickly as I can buy them is the best option usually.  You aren't kidding about an advanced degree from Hogwarts, this is awfully puzzling to try to figure out.

On 7/18/2022 at 3:25 PM, Ashland said:

Check often. I do. For some reason I've found some of my best DL deals late at night (I know this sounds crazy) but it's been true for every flight I've made for trips throughout 2022 and so far for one trip in May 2023...all business/first class. I usually book a month or two after fares open.

 Example...I booked my DL One for LAX-AMS in early/mid 2021 for my July 2022 (this Friday) flight. Got it for $3200.00 for the two of us...which I think was a great deal.

Ashland, I'm going to start looking before bedtime, or if I can't sleep in the middle of the night. It might end up keeping me awake, lol, but that's interesting to note the pricing at different times.  I've been waiting for the fares to open, thinking I'd sneak in some great deal, so I was kind of surprised to see how expensive it was comparatively. But again I'm a complete novice at booking international.  Thank you.

On 7/19/2022 at 9:57 AM, Hlitner said:

As much as we like flying Delta, most of the time we book other airlines (both domestic and international) because they have substantially better pricing.  That is just life.  Airline prices change (often multiple times every day) and it is the nature of the industry.   Since many future flights have been cancelled (or scheduled flights on some routes simply reduced) the supply-demand thing is driving prices up, up, up.  And of course the increased fuel prices are not helping.

 

Just like in the cruise industry, the airlines issued lots of credits/vouchers due to cancelled flights (smart folks asked for a complete refund rather than taking credits/vouchers).  One can speculate that another reason driving higher future prices are because there are so many credits/vouchers that often have expiration dates.   

 

Hank

Thank you Hank. It definitely played a role in the timing we've chosen, when our vouchers will expire.

On 7/19/2022 at 11:43 AM, FlyerTalker said:

One other item regarding DL pricing.

 

For a number of years, DL has been able to extract a price premium for their product, primarily based on operational reliability and superior onboard product.  Now granted, we are not talking quanta-level type differences, but in a number of markets, DL has consistently priced their flights higher AND been able to sustain that premium through bookings that consider more than just low price.

 

In addition, in hub/focus cities where DL commands a dominant presence, it can also get higher pricing.  This is through either captive elites, SkyPeso junkies, or those who will pay more for the convenience of many flight options.

Thank you Flyertalker, this makes a lot of sense.  I wonder with some of the recent cancellations and whatnot if that premium might come down. 

21 minutes ago, MSUjohn said:

i fly delta basically exclusively domestically & transatlantic; and i will agree with what you said i WOULD pay more for delta than a competitor.

 

that being said right now flight prices have doubled and tripled.

Thanks MSUjohn, that's pretty much why we went with Delta, I didn't realize how much extra we'd be paying though.

On 7/19/2022 at 11:45 AM, FlyerTalker said:

 

Highlighted without further comment.

 

I don't understand, Flyertalker. 😳 Was there something stupid about my question...?  I'm embarrassed if there was.

I am not a new traveler in general but I'm VERY new to booking international flights.  We're heading to Barcelona to catch a cruise next May, and bizarrely, Delta is about $500 higher than other airlines for this flight.  We need it to be Delta as we have leftover credit from a previously cancelled flight.

We must be in economy/main, whichever the "lowest" fare is on a particular flight to allow pre-selecting seating.  Family of four, all adults.

I was just wondering if anyone knew why Delta would be so far out of range price wise, especially this far ahead.   One of the reasons I selected them for the first flight I booked (for a cancelled trip, which is why we have leftover credit) was the price/flexibility combination.  

Thank you.

According to what I'm seeing you can enter Spain with a negative test if your last shot is older than 270.  https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/spain-travel-rules-what-are-the-latest-restrictions-for-holidaymakers/ar-AAZkaBF

Thank you Biker19, pcur, smokeybandit, and Ourusualbeach.  Unfortunately it was a Royal agent who told me I had to contact the travel agency to get my FCC!   I am so confused... most of the trip was even paid for with credit card reward points that had nothing to do with the travel agent at all.

I booked a cruise with a travel agency.  We cancelled it, under cruise with confidence.  I was told today by RC that all our FCC from that cancellation went to the travel agent.  Do i have to use them again, I was very unhappy with the experience and want to book on my own from now on.

Thanks to anyone who can help.

Is there a way to determine if the taxi you are taking is legit, and one is not getting ripped off getting to the train station?

Thank you so much.

https://www.milkandhoneytours.com/jewish-shore-excursions/mediterranean-west-shore/barcelona-shore/

I know you are probably searching the net like I am, but with all their locations, I'd be inclined to trust this group.  Need to research more, though.  Some reviews I saw on Tripadvisor say they went out of business, but the website still seems functional, so I don't know...?

edit:  interesting for a self-guided tour of Barcelona's Jewish history https://www.barcelona.cat/museuhistoria/sites/default/files/Triptic_Call_ENG_0.pdf

Winnies15, I will be there with a 20 and a 23 y/o, similar thoughts as yours.  Watching a couple videos on Marseille itself was kind of a bummer.  

Hank, thank you kindly for the post you wrote, it's incredibly helpful.  We will view the stop as a gateway.

I bet there are some fascinating tours about this.  I hope you get some replies, we'll be in Spain next year and I'd love to know as well.

7 hours ago, kayguz said:

I've read the new updated protocols.  We are vaxed but not boosted.  I understand paying for the extra testing.  What I don't understand is that Greece has dropped basically all covid requirements, yet RCL is still making the non-boosted people test before the Greek ports in addition to Italian-- Turkey was not on the list for additional testing for non-boosted people.  Anyone have any guesses?? I am also wondering if we test for Naples on our last day is that also good for disembarkation? The agent that I spoke to wasn't very helpful and I'm not sure I want to wait in the cue again....  (I also know that CC is not concrete info, but I am really curious what others think or interpret.)

Also going to have family members in your same situation, and we are probably hours and a couple family discussions away from cancelling our August Odyssey cruise.  😞 My guess, and it's obviously just a guess, is that there might be different protocols in Greece for incoming cruise ships than for people just coming in to Greece.  I can't explain otherwise why they'd force tests in Greek ports with the situation as it is, Greece dropping all requirements.

Got it, LOL!  Thank you!

1 hour ago, Fairsailing said:

Also interesting that Princess, HAL, and NCL are now at 3 days prior to embarkation (which appear to include Italy).  
 

Also, a blog is reporting that the European protocols have been extended to June 30. But yet the North American protocols have been extended already to September 30.  More changes for Europe in time for summer?  One can hope I guess. 

Fairsailing, could you please provide where it says the NA protocols have been extended to Sept. 30th?  I can't find that.  Also is that for Royal Caribbean, or the US in general?  We are in OC too 🙂 .

As a mom of a young man with ADHD, I was very surprised at his last doctor visit when she told us she'd be happy to write a letter for us to travel to Italy, but warned us strongly that we needed to check to see if Adderall/amphetamine salts were even legal to have in our destinations.  Has anyone seen a general database online of what meds are accepted in what countries?  Again, in our case the country is Italy, but I'm wondering how one would find this out for international travel in general.

Pre-covid we cruised Mexico/Belize/Honduras and I didn't even think to check, just brought his meds in the original bottle.  I guess that could have landed us in a great deal of trouble, potentially?

On 5/1/2022 at 3:42 PM, Katnisslove said:

I got the Z2 CPAP Machine and the Fisher & Paykel Evora Nasal Mask.  They are both so quiet!!! And I bought them specifically because the information and reviews mentioned how quiet they were.  My big CPAP is quiet too but my mask was not and I would blow air at my other half if I rolled over toward him at night.  The way this mask is made the air vents are out the side so I don't blow him away anymore. Lol 🙂

Another vote for the Z2, my family member just got one and is very pleased.  Got a bunch of the humidifier discs on Amazon for a reasonable price as well (10 for $30 usd, if I recall correctly.)  Another benefit is that you can use your existing hose/mask with it.  It's so tiny, with the carrying case he got it's only a few inches.  So won't be too much room in your carry-on, kaymoz; if at some point you decide to try it.

1 minute ago, FionaMG said:

Sorry, I didn't notice that. I don't remember seeing anything about it in the compass either, so if anyone was in that situation, maybe they were contacted directly.

Thank you Fiona.  I am very grateful for this thread.