Zach1213

Not very Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, and Sun Country all fly domestically out of SEA. But since we're not sure what your destination is, those may or may not be relevant to you.

I mean...you could fly in to MCO, sure. Even if it's cheaper, you could, sure. But...

The people who post on here frequently (and have for years) are not "defenders of airlines...", but rather people who know airlines...know how they operate better than most, have experience flying them more than most, etc. etc. There's no perk to "defending" airlines...it's not like United or American are on here giving rewards to those who defend them. Rather, these people have a LOT of experience flying for years and decades, all over the world, and generally know what they're talking about and have experienced just about everything. They're here to educate and share information and experiences, even if they aren't always what the OP wants to hear.

Gates change pretty much every day with the larger hub airports, and is often a crapshoot. For example, last month I took the exact same MCI-DFW-ONT flights on the exact same day of the week, two weeks in a row. On one day, I had to go from Terminal A to Terminal C. The following week, my gates were literally next to each other.

My wife and I went on one at Labadee where they basically took us on a small boat for about 20 minutes where we anchored offshore from a small little island. We just floated there with unlimited Prestige beers and rum punch for several hours...beautiful clear waters, access to the beach, and no crowd (there were only two small boats of about 15 people each). It was great. That being said, there was a lot of alcohol, we missed lunch due to excursion timing, there was no food, and it led to a pretty rough evening (and morning after) once back onboard.

Even when paying, I always recommend to book refundable fares and keep looking when it comes to things like hotels and, especially, rental cars. Often times, people don't think about those, but they change quite frequently. For example, my wife and I recently booked a rental car for $800 but over time I was able to cancel and re-book the same car with the same company several times, first for $650, then for $450, and finally for $330 (and actually bumped up to a nicer car on that last one). Can't imagine how many people just booked their $800 car and never thought about it, meanwhile we saved $470 and got a nicer car than originally booked.

I would recommend a three year layover at FCO

I'll chime in as a Namibian...you're right. Swakopmund > Walvis Bay.

I've flown through OSL a few times...Bergen-Oslo-London, Trondheim-Oslo-Brussels, and...one other route I forget. Anyways, I have always had really easy, relaxed experiences. Sorry to hear you had a rough one, that can (and does) happen at any airport.

I know you're saying we aren't answering your question, but you are right that it's increasingly rare these days. I have another vote for ATMs. I basically spend my life traveling internationally for work, and I almost never bring cash. I usually bring a couple hundred US Dollars or Euros to exchange in an emergency (which has happened, for example when an ATM I have used 100 times in Brazil suddenly decided my card wasn't valid), but it's exceedingly rare. Between ATMs for cash and using my card itself, there is very little need to bring local currency unless you're in very underdeveloped parts of the world (and even then...). I have spoken to a few people who have ordered through their bank with the associated fees and delays, but even they have admitted that it was just a waste of time and money in hindsight.

I just do a simple search on the website of the vendor I booked with. I book pretty much everything directly with the vendor (or, sometimes, Costco for things like rental cars) so it's pretty easy to just do that.

To be fair, every flight (and pretty much every seat) is going to be dynamic pricing. Yours came down $54, which is great, but someone else's random DAL-ABQ flight may have gone up $100, and someone else's SEA-MDW flight may have gone down $100. It's all dynamic based on that exact moment and that exact flight, so each person's experience is likely going to be different. But I'm glad you got your $54...always feels good, doesn't it? I always, always recommend checking reservations regularly if there's any way to get money back. And not just flights...rental cars and hotels change too, which is why I often avoid pre-paying those. For example, I have a big family vacation coming up and booked a rental car months ago for $850. I've rebooked four times since then and it's now down to $300 for the same car. But few people think about re-checking prices on cars.

I'm guessing Ensenada also offers fairly cheap port fees and the cruise lines can make a decent margin off of the excursions.

And print proof of it. Many/most major US auto insurance companies extend validity to Canada, but it's a different insurance card. Whenever I go to Canada with a car, I just go to my online portal (or email my agent) to print off a paper copy of that card just in case. I don't print many things, but I figure it's easier to have it printed out should something actually happen.

Alaska is, personally, my favorite US carrier. Working in aerospace, I am a frequent traveler to Seattle and pretty much always try to use Alaska. I find the flights generally on time, seats comfortable, crews consistently good. First Class is definitely nice, but economy is comfortable enough that I personally would just save the money and spend it on the ground.

As an aero engineer that heavily focuses on compliance and regulations...I vote for the maintenance 🙂

Is there a website for the people whose bags made it perfectly on schedule? Because that's the majority.

Miami just seems super inconsistent to me. I don't clear immigration in MIA very often, but when I do I have seen the two extremes (even with Global Entry). I remember once coming off the same flight (GRU-MIA) at the same time on the same day of the week within the same month, and it once took me just a few minutes, and once took me like 45 minutes (not including checked bags).

There are plenty that leave outside of hurricane season. I see them leaving SJU almost all year 'round in 2024.

The reasons why an airport can be "international", from a legal standpoint, have already been covered. But I can guarantee there are plenty of flights between JAX and Europe + Caribbean + Canada + Mexico, etc...they just get operated on cargo planes or private planes. EDIT: Out of curiosity I checked FlightRadar24, which doesn't have every private flight listed, but there's at least one departure and one arrival between JAX and The Bahamas listed for today on private aircraft. So, I'm definitely not saying there are international flights coming and going at JAX all of the time, but it certainly happens.

I have slightly more recent feedback in that I went through in late 2021 most recently, but it was the same setup if I remember correctly.

Completely disagree. Maybe if you are using mileage, but even then I am not sure I disagree. Often times, when fares come out, they are towards the higher end because airlines are feeling out demand and what people are willing to pay. It's pretty common that prices start coming down (before, often, going back up). Plus, the further you book out, the more likely you are to see schedule and equipment changes.

I've only flown them regionally, and pre-covid, between Beirut and Cairo. I agree they were perfectly fine. My flight was only like an hour in the air, but still a decent meal for what it was.

"Customs" is often used as a misnomer for "Immigration", but they are very different things. Immigration cares about who you are, customs cares about what you have. As mentioned - your first point of entry to Schengen cares about who you are, but the country you're finishing in cares about what you have. I've gone through customs in Europe literally hundreds of times and have never once been stopped. It's very simple, as mentioned above.

Nope, no security for the hotel