Dobby36

@Gardyloo this is great info. I’ve booked “simple” awards using AS, and been very happy on SQ and JAL, but ran into the taxes and limits you described above as I began to do my homework for this trip. I hadn’t considered another EU gateway, but that makes a lot of sense. Even if I expanded my search to SFO/LAX/etc, many routings still had me arriving at Athens in the middle of the night unless I had a huge layover -so might as well actually take a night and continue in the AM. I do understand the risks in non-connected journeys but a refundable fare for the inter-EU portion should alleviate some of those concerns…thanks again!

Thanks all! Very helpful.

The accounts we have miles with are: Delta Alaska AA Flying Blue virgin plus, Amex Capital One all of the above have 100k+ each, but none have over 500k, which I feel like is making it tricky. The easy “off the rack” options don’t seem to present themselves.

I’m aware of the prohibition on travel agents. I was thinking of the folks who look at people’s airline miles and credit card points and then tell them how to build a trip by redeeming them. I suppose that could be considered a “travel agency” but not in the traditional sense of a travel agent.

Hi there, consider myself a fan and comfortable user of CC and air miles/points, have successfully redeemed numerous trips for myself. But wondering if anyone has had experience with any of the online services for points and miles consulting or even having them book award travel on your behalf? The prices for this service seem wide ranging, but I’m intrigued as I have a European cruise in late 2024 that I need to get two people to, from the US west coast-preferably in business class. We both have 6-figure balances in points/miles in numerous CC and airline programs, but even looking at ExpertFlyer, the task seems daunting to me for finding availability. Flights will go on sale in Dec23 for this itinerary (bay area or SoCal->ATH, return from FCO->SoCal) any experience or suggestions? So many of the “reviews” or “articles” on these services online seem like sponsored content….

Your detailed notes (not to mention all the photos!) do us all a great service. Many thanks for this!

Prepaying for these (and other like laundry, etc) helps avoid increases, as they don’t go back and collect the difference, in my experience. When booking months or years ahead, it’s saved me a bundle in the past few years as everything seems to jump up pricewise. Alternatively, it makes it more difficult to use a lot of OBC if you’ve prepaid everything!

😫 it feels like I’m the only one who has a November cruise and is still seeing it at 18.99USD 😞

I was on a HAL cruise that stopped in Split too (our ship also missed Olympia, but that was due to nasal swabs and paperwork delays in madness of restart in 2021). Split indeed has plenty of GOT tours and shops and seems to embrace it as a reason to visit. The main walled city centre is a short walk from where we docked, alongside many ferries and other local boats. There was tons of artisans and booths on the short walk into town but it could have just been the day of the week? Tours were easy to find for GoT sights, but we just ventured to a few of the points of interest along the walls, which were marked in signs in multiple languages. We ended up at a cafe along the waterfront boulevard and had a inexpensive lunch and some local beers. Was very pleasant! We were also in October and lucked out with sun and 70f weather to stroll around in. Charming and easy to navigate port!

Hope you have a blast! You are always so helpful and cheerful around this board! Cheers!

I would send it in today. It’s not a huge investment in time, and it’s possible you’ll get it added to the books/manifest whatever, and they just say 4 weeks to give themselves a cushion in case of extreme backlog of requests. Mine usually turn round in 1-2 days max.

I like the grapefruit cosmo from the Billboard menu. But I’m more often found having a top shelf bourbon on the rocks. From the other lines I’ve been on, I’m always impressed with their American bourbon selection (and for now, remaining within the drink package limits!)

thank you for this note! I’m over six feet (and not skinny either) so I always felt the standard robes felt teeny on me….but never occurred to me to ask if they had larger ones! Mind blown. Haha! Thanks much.

I was able to do the same through my PCC with HAL. Resulted in less over $ for the same cabin I already had/liked, and the same benefits etc plus club orange. The one asterisk would be if you had valuable early booking or onboard benefits or some combo of things they weren’t longer available, you’d be likely to need to move to whatever promotions are current. Still worth a call to see if you come out ahead in your circumstance.

For years I never got notifications, but my last cruise in Sept, I was actually able to enable push notifications! (I mean, I think they were already enabled, but they actually came through!) this was on an iPhone 13mini, and my travel companions newer iPhone did the same.

Thank you @princeton123211 ! Very helpful.

Hi there, other than many references to Uber Black (of which I am familiar) I can’t find any threads on black car service to LAX. I’ve sifted through a few google searches and think I’ve found some general thoughts (Blacklane=good, but pricey, PrimeTime= cheap, but unreliable) but it’s difficult to sort through the real reviews vs the sponsored content. hoping for any personal thoughts and experience here: We are leaving our car (and dogs) with family in Corona, CA on a Monday in November. Will want to get to LAX in early afternoon, and prefer a private vehicle I’m willing to spend more to not sit in the back of someone’s Corolla for 2 hours (I am over 6feet, and this is the start of our honeymoon) Again, I am familiar with Uber Black, but if the price is surging it could be well over $200/way, so I’d rather set a time certain with a reliable company. Could be a large sedan, or a SUV. Thoughts? thx!

I believe you are also on the same celebrity Millenium cruise with us, ending in Singapore. Looking forward to sharing the journey!

If you have online brokerage account access, an easy way to do it is to screenshot (or download) a statement and attach it to an email. You can black out things electronically if you prefer. I too bought some for less than $10/share in 2020 and have gotten more in OBC in the past few years than my initial investment. (And it’s almost doubled in value, to boot!) I really hope they keep renewing the benefit annually. That’s the one caveat, it can only be applied to cruises as far into the future as the CCL board(?) approves it. I believe he current date is something like 7/31/24

I’ve been on more than half a dozen HAL cruises, all while in my 30s, and I have never been bored or felt out of place. The fellow passengers are great company and usually friendly, interesting and kind folks. What i feel is the most “old” on the ships are the comedians constant joking about aging passengers 😉 But honestly, The only time I have to tell myself to be gracious is when I’m stuck behind a group of folks who can’t move as fast as I’d like. But at 6 foot 6, I’m almost always walking faster than folks on land so I’m used to it! 😄

One more thing: take a moment to stroll Guidecca itself,if you can. I found it to be much less touristy than the central area of Venice, and we easily found interesting markets, a nice place for dinner on the sidewalk where we could people watch the locals during their commute home (for half of the price to eat across the canal!) and other quiet beauty that was more difficult to experience among the hustle elsewhere.

if you do end up transferring to the airport, then making your own way to the Hilton from there, I’d second the Alilaguna suggestion. We did this after a brutal fright to Venice last year, and even though we were tired, it was so nice to go “around” Venice on the way to Guidecca, where the Stucky is. You took a while, but the journey was pleasant and we got the lay of the land on the way, even a stop in Murano. If you aren’t strapped for time (even with drive from Trieste, it may be early to check in) I would not count out this option. Once you get to Guidecca where the Hilton is, there are fewer bridges and the Hilton has its own shuttle boat to get back to Saint marks square (and I think one other stop) for free. We were very pleased with our stay there!

we used them in March as well (for a tour, but they do transfers and I can vouch for the drivers and vehicles ) we also did Uber around Santiago and found it easy and affordable, but if it was me I’d prefer a hired operator with a time certain for a longer journey to port, although I had read that their Ubers often will accept trips all the way out to San Antonio.

same here, in sept 2023

I just noticed that this week as well! Glad I wasn’t the only one scratching my head.