waterbug123

Good to know, Flyertalker. Thanks! With the current sh*tshow underway at Delta w/ regard to their loyalty program, I'm exploring more options moving forward, and with a 2nd home in south Florida from which we can base our trips, that almost certainly means looking at some MIA-Euro options in the future.

If you're going to avoid United, I'll just say good luck. It's a sh*t show over at Delta right now, and most frequent fliers I know (I participate in multiple frequent flyer forums) consider American as a distant 3rd behind United and Delta as far as service etc.. After Delta, my husband and I fly Southwest and Jet Blue the most and this past year probably 75% of our flights on those two have either been delayed 2+ hours or cancelled. After that, you're pretty much limited to the true low cost carriers (Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant) and there's no way I'd trust them to get me to a cruise. Your best bet is probably Alaska, but of course if you live on east of the Mississippi that's not a very viable option.

Funny, but true.

Since they booked through a travel agent, the agent owns the reservation and is the only one who can talk to Celebrity about changes to the reservation. It's possible that if they get an emergency passport it wouldn't be in time for initial boarding, and instead would have to catch up to the ship at a later port of call. They would be akin to a change in the reservation and the travel agent would likely need to make those arrangements. Perhaps that is why Celebrity is saying they need to go through their TA?

You may want to visit the state department website, www.state.gov. Click the "Travelers" tab at the top of the page, then click the "Countries and Areas" tab just below it. From there, scroll down to the different sections of the world and click on "western hemisphere." From there you can click a link for each country you will visit, and then "international travel information" and it will tell you if any vaccines are required, and further down will have a "health" tab that provides other health precautions that are recommended etc. One thing to note is that sometimes a country may not require, say, a yellow fever vaccine for instance, if a traveler is coming directly from certain countries, but will require it if you first visit certain other countries. We encountered this in Africa. Rwanda didn't require it, and Tanzania didn't require it if we came from the US, but if we were entering Tanzania from Rwanda, which we were, it was required even thought Rwanda itself didn't require it. Beyond vaccines, anytime we travel to a 3rd world country we get a prescription for Ciproflaxin or similar for possible gastrointestinal issues.

Agree with FlyerTalker. It sounds like you booked Delta's "basic economy" which is very restrictive. Not much you can do except wait until you get to the airport to check your bags. At that point you can get your seat assignments and boarding passes. However....it's also possible that that your 2nd and/or 3rd legs are on a European Sky Team partner, and for basic economy, you might have to wait to get those seat assignments at the subsequent airports where you connect.

The efficiency of the Germans is no joke. If your itinerary was the other way around, connecting through FCO to get to MUC, that would be another story, LOL

Of course I would, but that's not an equivalent comparison. The beverage package has an easily quantifiable monetary value, and that monetary value is significant. On the other hand, the value of the various little things that butlers did is very subjective and not easily quantifiable. They also aren't advertised front and center when you make a booking, the way they included drinks package etc. are

Don't get me wrong, those things are certainly nice. But if you ask me how much more I'd pay to get them, the answer would be not much. But how much more would I pay to have all the extra space, plus included drinks, wifi, and gratuities? A whole lot more. That's where the real value is in a sky suite, in my opinion.

Bingo!

I must be in the minority. We are on Apex beginning of next month, and were originally in a concierge class because there were no sky suites available. A week or so ago I noticed a sky suite had opened up and jumped on it. The main reason? It's a bigger cabin and we want the additional space for our 12 night cruise. Secondary reasons were the included tips/wifi/drink package, and additional onboard credit. The potential lack of a butler didn't concern me in the least. I would never consider spending the not insignificant amount of additional money just to make sure someone was setting up my breakfast table; I'm not so special that I can't pour my own coffee. Is it a devaluation? Sure. But to swear off ever booking a sky suite again because you won't have a butler to set up your breakfast table? And ignoring that fact that that means you're also giving up a lot of extra space and other benefits? That's a classic example of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

I think she didn't know how to read the site. A lot of them had something like "checked bag $0-$75" or something like that, and I think she was assuming that because it didn't say "free checked bag" that she would definitely be charged to check a bag. The reality is that that price range is probably because you get 1 free checked bag ($0) but if you check a 2nd back you'll be charged, or if your first bag is overweight you'll be charged. And since it's a 3rd party site, they are covering their butt by just giving a price range instead of saying "free checked bag." Or as you said, she's just not clicking through to get the details. Some have an ultra low cost option that maybe doesn't include a checked bag, but the ticket itself is cheaper. So you either pay for the cheapest ticket and then pay a separate bag fee, or you buy a slightly more expensive ticket and get a free checked bag and probably some other benefits like advanced seat selection. Either way, you pay. She seems to want the very cheapest possible ticket AND to get benefits that come with more expensive tickets which isn't a realistic expectation.

No, I don't see that, and I think you are reading that site incorrectly. I'm not trying to bash you, I'm trying to help you from misunderstanding information on a 3rd party site. Please point out specifically what airline/flights from that site are saying you will be be charged for your first checked bag.

Just to clarify, for the OP's itinerary, even the red light/green light situation wouldn't be at CDG, it would be done upon leaving the airport upon arrival to BCN.

And to answer your original question, no I do not pay luggage charges for international flights. As many have already said, the vast majority of airlines allow 1 free checked bag on an international (transoceanic flight), and I can manage a cruise with one checked bag. Domestically, when a checked bag is not usually included unless one pays a checked bag fee, buys a higher tier ticket that includes the checked bag fee, or pays for a first class ticket, I rely on my airline branded credit card and/or my airline loyalty status to get free checked bags.

Do you realize that you're contradicting yourself? You were complaining about having to pay fees to check a bag and stated that many domestic airlines include a checked bag. Then you give an example of Jet Blue including a checked bag if you pay for a higher ticket category, ie pay a checked bag fee. You posted a screenshot earlier from a 3rd party site to show that the airlines were charging for a checked bag on international flights, but I don't think you were reading the information correctly. I saw nowhere that said there was a fee to check a bag. The closest was something along the lines of "checked bag: $0-75" or whatever the number was. That means it's generally going to be $0 unless your bag is overweight or you have multiple bags to check.

Of course, silly me LOL

Many? Other than Southwest, is there any domestic airline that includes a checked bag for pax who do not have an airline branded credit card or status with the airline?

Again though, we have been places that took only Visa (primarily in Italy). We have never been anywhere that took only MC. So if you're getting a new card and deciding between the two, I'd get Visa.

A quick search of their website and it appears that like many major airlines, tickets are available about 11 months out. And yes, your credit card will convert to dollars.

CHS used to be an ugly little hole-in-the-wall airport, but a few years back they completed a soup-to-nuts renovation and expansion and it's actually really nice now, for a second or third tier airport. Several nonstops a day to both LGA and JFK on Delta as well, if you're a Sky Miles loyalist. We even got a Priority Pass lounge during the reno. It's small, but given that there was no lounge at all before, it's a nice little addition. Brititsh Air had added a seasonal twice weekly nonstop to London the summer before Covid hit, and has never put it back on the schedule post-covid. That was huge, because it was the first and only nonstop to Europe from CHS. I keep hoping Virgin will come in offer that route in the wake of BA's departure but no luck so far.

Our experience in Europe is this: Visa is accepted virtually everywhere Mastercard is very widely accepted but there are places that only take Visa American Express is usually accepted at large hotels and elsewhere more widely than it used to be, but there are still a LOT of places that won't take it. I would definitely get a Visa to have as a back up.

Sorry, out of CHS we can get nonstops to both JFK and LGA and I figured GSP was a large enough market to be the same. That said, what time does your flight leave JFK? It's not the most ideal to have to get from LGA to JFK, but if DL keeps changing you back to the later flight to ATL, you COULD consider the early morning nonstop to LGA, and then transfer to JFK. You probably have time. I'd prefer just getting back on the earlier flight to ATL, but if that continues to have issues, GSP>LGA/JFK could be a plan B

Again though, if you are doing any tours on which you'll be tipping a guide and/or a driver, or want to tip a hotel bellman, a bit of cash if easiest.

You've already handled it, but I was also going to suggest that when you call Delta, I would see if there's a morning nonstop to JFK from GSP that you could take instead. While originally it may have been priced differently, the fact that they changed your flight by 3 hours probably would have been enough to ask to switch to the nonstop to JFK. At this point, just something to tuck away for next time!