SelectSys
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When my kids were young at that age 7 & 9 for us, we got a single large balcony cabin. As they got older - maybe when the youngest turned 10 - we "graduated" to adjoining rooms. This was nice as we had more space and another bathroom. Our favorite situation was when we could get an adjoining cabin with one balcony and one ocean view.
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Cruising the Mexican Riviera...beach day?
SelectSys replied to terri-eddie's topic in Mexican Riviera
My only issue with beach in front of these places is that the level of vendor activity can be quite overwhelming. I will no longer sit on the beach here and only up in the restaurant/bar spaces off the beach. With the info on your map, my preferred place for the Medano Beach is actually called "Playa El Farito." I never knew it had a distinct name. -
Cruising the Mexican Riviera...beach day?
SelectSys replied to terri-eddie's topic in Mexican Riviera
The part of the beach nearest to the marina doesn't have any sort of trench as far as I remember. The slope of the beach is kind of steep but there aren't really any waves to deal with. Many families use this part of the beach for swimming. -
Lobster Restaurant Recommendations along the Mexican Riviera
SelectSys replied to SelectSys's topic in Mexican Riviera
I talked to my wife this morning and she did indicate the food was also pretty expensive - well over $100 for lunch. Cabo isn't necessarily a bargain these days. -
Why is cruising the best type of vacation ?
SelectSys replied to lenquixote66's topic in Ask a Cruise Question
My view is that ocean cruising is a very cost effective vacation experience. It also works at all levels - budget, mid-market and luxury. One is hard pressed to reproduce the all-in costs in any other way. Maybe others can comment if the same holds true on river cruises -
Cruising the Mexican Riviera...beach day?
SelectSys replied to terri-eddie's topic in Mexican Riviera
I second @Mike45LC's Cabo suggestion and would recommend Medano Beach as it is close to the cruise tender port. Even though it starts on the opposite side of the marina, it is still walkable. The end closest to the marina is pretty quiet and as you move to the east you'll find the beachfront bars and restaurants. Have fun! -
Lobster Restaurant Recommendations along the Mexican Riviera
SelectSys replied to SelectSys's topic in Mexican Riviera
As an epilogue, here is a snapshot of the lobster lunch from Las Mariscadas this afternoon. The report from the field was that the restaurant was very good and worth a visit for those heading to Cabo. -
Is it really that big a deal in terms of departure time? As I said above, I needed to change one of my flights to a time that was less than ideal. To me it's all a tradeoff of many factors to get a ticket. Of course you can always buy it now and try and change the flight later. I need to do this for my last flight as my preferred date isn't even bookable yet. The tool itself doesn't support bookings and forwards you to an airline for ticketing. I would simply call AA's desk. My agent was really good and if you need to make changes, you'll need to talk to the airline that created the ticket. BTW - The tool told me that my options were to call JAL or book online somehow via QANTAS.
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I just got off the phone with the AA RTW desk. The agent was really quite knowledgeable and helpful as you suggested previously. The availability of one segment (DXB to CMN via DOH) changed by the time I called in so the agent made a bit of last minute adjustment to the ticket. The connection was a bit worse, but still acceptable. I guess we will run around in Doha for the day (if it's not too hot) or just hang out in the airport... The agent said I would receive the price back tomorrow from the ticketing desk via email. She said I should get the Japanese pricing. I will see what happens. If the pricing holds up, the ticket should be $6100 including taxes for a 31,451 mile journey (~$.19/mile) in business class. I priced a somewhat similar journey starting from LAX and its price came in at just under $12k which is almost twice as much as starting in Japan! Wow, what a great "hack" to start outside the US! It's basically like either my wife or I are travelling "free." Your second suggestion, or "hack," to add in supplemental trips was great too! With this is mind, I was able to get a flight to and from South America for very little marginal cost. Thanks again for all your help! I don't think I would have attempted to get this ticket without your posts as the process seemed a bit intimidating at the outset if you have never done it before. Here is my route map if you are curious: BTW - I am still not certain how we will get to and from Japan. I have a cheap points ticket reserved in an economy exit row as a place holder to get to Tokyo and maybe we will return back from Tokyo on a cruise. Also, AA seems to be unbundling their one way fares between the west coast (at least LAX) and Tokyo while JAL is not. I wonder if AA's move is a reaction to ZIPAIR as a new player in the market?
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@Gardyloo - using all of your suggestions I have developed an itinerary that works starting from Tokyo. It dovetails with a transpacific cruise that heads back to the US at the end of the trip. I can also slot in an extra South American trip by picking up a couple of domestic flights as a separate ticket. I am now ready to book. Will I have any issues getting the AA desk to price it using the Japanese price which is much cheaper than starting from the US? Will they try to switch me to US pricing? My other alternative, I guess, is to try and buy it via the OW website. Thanks in advance for any additional help and insight you can provide. BTW - I was able to price the flights by entering them into your favorite tool on the OW website. I also have several tickets on AA operated flights both domestically and those to the South America. I could also switch to AA to fly LAX to Tokyo at the end, but I would rather fly on JAL.
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Lobster Restaurant Recommendations along the Mexican Riviera
SelectSys replied to SelectSys's topic in Mexican Riviera
The lobster around where I live - aka the "spiny lobster" - is really pretty good from my view. However, thanks for the input. I never really have looked for lobster below Ensenada. My sister in law lives in Orange County and is familiar with our lobster. No problem with taste. Thanks. I was looking for something beyond the marina to recommend/consider. My understanding is that most of the lobster served in Puerto Nuevo is from out of the area regardless of time of year. It seems to me that the demand most likely outstrips the supply by a large margin. Thanks to all for their input! It seems like Cabo would be the best place to try and find a lobster lunch. BTW - On my own search I found this place as well which seems to get good reviews and lobster seems to be on the menu: https://www.opentable.com.mx/r/las-mariscadas-cabo-san-lucas?ref=16420 -
Thanks to all for their input! I appreciate all your comments. This was my expectation along with maybe a bus tour. Good point. As you said, hopefully the boat's schedule is well known and public before you leave the ship. Yes, I agree that you'll learn more on tours even, at least in my case, I tend not to retain too much long term. I like this strategy. That's most likely what we will do. You are correct. We have been on a variety of ocean cruises over the years and are looking forward to trying something new and visit areas unreachable by large ships while retaining the ease of cruising - e.g Yes, I am hoping that the river cruise provides a more immersive travel experience rather than the typical ocean cruise port stay of 8 or so hours. Thanks so much!
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My spouse and I are taking our first ever river cruise next month in Europe. Neither of us have been big time shore excursion people preferring to just go it alone in port. What do these included tours on river cruises tend to be? Are they worth taking or should we just continue to go it alone? If it makes any difference, we are taking Avalon Waterways which is owned by a big land tour operator - Globus.
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I just got back flying Qsuites yesterday with my significant other. We had the close middle seats that face backwards. This configuration definitely makes it easier to share a conversation. I also appreciated the fact that the two flight attendants serving our respective aisles coordinated their various services to really treat us as a couple. I will be interested to see how the new version of Qsuites turn out. I also hope Qatar Airways using this new product to refresh some of their other aircraft like the A350-900's to the Qsuites standard. It's almost disorienting connecting between a Qsuites and non-Qsuites flight as you feel completely out in the open after being in your own little world on the previous flight. My only other comment regarding Qsuites is that you need to use the flight attendant call button when you want something rather than waiting for them to check in with you.
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All in all I think the vloggers provide a decent service to the cruising community at large and can be helpful to those planning travel. I look not only at cruise content, but content for air travel and general destination information as well. In the Ben and David case, my understanding is that MSC has asked them to help develop guidelines for future filming by vloggers on board their ships. I think this looks like a win-win for both Ben and David as well as MSC. At least in the cruise business, the impact of social media must be material. I find it interesting that MSC, which is a multi-billion euro enterprise, didn't dismiss Ben and David out of hand as their online presence yields influence and vloggers must help drive MSC business in a material way.
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Thanks again for all your good information on this subject. Like @happy cruzer, your information has triggered me to start planning the planning process for a OW RTW ticket. One struggle that I am having is how to plan for flights beyond what is visible in reservation system's schedule? I have been researching a ticket initiating in Tokyo in the fall and the tail end of the trip falls off what is currently visible schedule in 2025.
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Have you ever been to Bar Andaluz? It's worth a visit if you haven't been and the margaritas there are quite good as well.