Anyone got any travel planned?

[brett]

When you are in Porto make a point to go to MacDonalds. It has to be the most beautiful one in the world. The stained glass is spectacular.

We have seen some great offers that include Sata flights to the Azores.

 

[Nemo2]

When you are in Porto make a point to go to MacDonalds. It has to be the most beautiful one in the world. The stained glass is spectacular.

Noted..thanks..... (won't ask what the Timmies is like there ).

We have seen some great offers that include Sata flights to the Azores.

Not sure, offhand, if our flight with them is direct or if it touches down in Ponta Delgada.......never flown them before.

 

[sengsational]

Our itinerary, after next April's arrival in Barcelona on the CDF Horizon, includes Leon, Orense, and then back to Canada from Porto (again)......haven't been up in the northern part of Spain for nigh on 45 years.

Sounds like you've got your post-cruise itinerary down now. You're ahead of me. No itinerary and I haven't got my return from Spain yet. Airline pricing is nuts. On Kayak, I set the max layover to 6 hours and priced a mid-week one way Barcelona - Charlotte: cheapest is $1820. The round trip Barcelona - Charlotte - Barcelona: cheapest is $640! The same outbound flight booked as a round trip is 1/3rd-ish the price of a one-way? Crazy.

Going directly to the SATA site, the one way to Charlotte from Porto is $440, but it's 42 hours! with the overnight in Ponta Delgada. Hopefully you found a direct SATA flight. Norwegian flies to Fort Lauderdale non-stop for $400 from Barcelona and I could add my own one-way from there to Charlotte for another $100. Similar if I use SATA vs Norwegian...$400 SATA flight to Fort Lauderdale, but I'd need to go through Boston.

 

[Nemo2]

^

Don't have all the details at my fingertips, but our one-way Porto-Toronto ($865 Canadian total for the two of us), Departs Porto 3:50 p.m. local time and arrives Toronto 6:45 p.m. local time same day.

We're looking at a train, Barcelona-Leon, (no bus/train schedules available this far out), perhaps a bus Leon-Orense, then maybe via Vigo to Porto (either bus or train)......with a variety of day trips in between.

Accommodation already arranged through airbnb, Wimdu and Booking.com.......this area fills up quickly due to the Camino de Santiago.

 

[brett]

Transat seem to have lowered some of their fares. Last Sep/Oct we did Toronto-Athens and Paris-Calgary (both one ways but booked at the same time) for just under $850. CAD each. Flights were both fine....we will book again.

 

[NotJustDreaming]

Guadeloupe

Back in November we took advantage of the Norwegian Air 5th Freedom fares from North America to the Caribbean. Still great pricing...

Aside from making sure there was no political or social unrest happening, I booked the awesome fare from Boston to Guadeloupe before doing research on the country. Not many North American visitors to date. It's mostly European French tourists since it's a Department of France.

I struggled through many French hotel reviews before settling on a VRBO Villa rental. Our trip is in March 2016. Now English reviews Are trickling in as many other North Americans return from their vacations. I certainly appreciate their information.

 

[NotJustDreaming]

Have just placed a deposit, (fully refundable within 75 days of sailing if our situation changes), on the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas transatlantic departing Malaga on Nov 19, 2016...arriving Miami Dec 02.

Now we have to consider where to go in Europe prior to the sailing.

Several months (years?!!) ago, you posted about repositioning cruises and the vacationstogo site for research. Thanks to you we're looking forward to incorporating one or two of them into our RTW trip. I'm still several months away from booking our first airfare since our ETD is not until 2017. As a family five, I think it will be a bit challenging to find award availability for all of us but booking early and combining the award seats with some paid airfare will make it doable.

Repositioning cruises are very appealing to us. A very practical vacation inserted into our sure to be hectic travels. Thanks Nemo!

Once you find your desired cruise, with whom do you book?

 

[Nemo2]

Once you find your desired cruise, with whom do you book?

Basically, with whomever offers us the best deal!

- We have a Visa 'Infinite' card which offers us travel points if we book through Expedia.....(Expedia doesn't deal with all cruise lines though, CDF Croisières de France being one of them.)

- We deal (generally) with a specific VTG rep, and we feel a modicum of 'loyalty' towards him*, and would likely go through him, all things being equal. (*But not enough that we'd be out of pocket for it.)

- Cruise companies directly.

We get quotes, compare offerings, (price, onboard credit amounts, etc), and go with the one(s) we feel are the best deal for us.

Edited: Forgot to say...ENJOY YOUR TRIP!

 

[brett]

We usually book our cruises with an on line US TA.

But, when we are cruising outside of NA we do check pricing in other countries. Last Feb/March we booked an Australian cruise directly with RCI in Australia. It was about 30 percent less expensive that booking with our usual agent or with RCI's US website.

My sister did a Baltic cruise this summer. She booked with a UK travel agent and saved 15 percent over the best fare she could get here in North America.

We have booked a number of vacations/accommodations through a UK agent because of price and/or availability.

The web makes the world a small place!

 

[NotJustDreaming]

Thanks for the info. I don't understand how you book with Expedia, unless of course you do it through a representative? VTG have a great search engine. I like the good ship board credits for active and retired military. I have never booked a cruise. Yet.

I was going to try to maximize cash back portals but since it seems the booking cannot be done exclusively online, I think I'd be SOL.

 

[Meadbh]

We have a Visa 'Infinite' card which offers us travel points if we book through Expedia.....

Thanks for the info. I don't understand how you book with Expedia, unless of course you do it through a representative?

I believe Nemo2 may be referring to Expedia for TD (see link below). I also have a TD Visa Infinite card and can use this site. Booking online gets you more points than doing it by phone. The prices seem to be the same as booking through Expedia's regular website. Both Nemo2 and I are in Canada. I don't know if TD's US arm offers such a service.

https://www.tdrewards.com/expediafortd/?setlang=eng&cm_sp=GOOGLE:MEREW:p4552022093

 

[Nemo2]

I believe Nemo2 may be referring to Expedia for TD (see link below). I also have a TD Visa Infinite card and can use this site. Booking online gets you more points than doing it by phone. The prices seem to be the same as booking through Expedia's regular website. Both Nemo2 and I are in Canada. I don't know if TD's US arm offers such a service.

https://www.tdrewards.com/expediafortd/?setlang=eng&cm_sp=GOOGLE:MEREW:p4552022093

Expedia for TD is correct......and, since NotJustDreaming is in Ottawa, availability would depend upon his bank/credit card.

Also, in response to another question, cruises booked through Expedia for TD have to be made via a representative.......I believe, for the one cruise we booked through them, initial contact was made by telephone but subsequent communication was online.

 

[Meadbh]

Expedia for TD is correct......and, since NotJustDreaming is in Ottawa....

I totally missed that!

 

[Nemo2]

I totally missed that!

Oh, oh......malpractice suit pending.

 

[Nemo2]

Update: DW thinks, but isn't sure, that it might be possible to book cruises online now, (recent change perhaps), with Expedia for TD.

 

[Meadbh]

Update: DW thinks, but isn't sure, that it might be possible to book cruises online now, (recent change perhaps), with Expedia for TD.

I just checked the website, and you still have to phone to book cruises.

 

[Nemo2]

I just checked the website, and you still have to phone to book cruises.

OK...DW wasn't sure and we didn't check.....(she thought she saw a heading saying "You can book a cruise" or somesuch.)

 

[Alan]

Back in November we took advantage of the Norwegian Air 5th Freedom fares from North America to the Caribbean. Still great pricing...

Aside from making sure there was no political or social unrest happening, I booked the awesome fare from Boston to Guadeloupe before doing research on the country. Not many North American visitors to date. It's mostly European French tourists since it's a Department of France.

I struggled through many French hotel reviews before settling on a VRBO Villa rental. Our trip is in March 2016. Now English reviews Are trickling in as many other North Americans return from their vacations. I certainly appreciate their information.

A few years ago we spent 2 weeks in a VRBO property on Guadeloupe. DW's sister and her husband joined us from Scotland for the full 2 weeks and we had a great time. We rented a car for the full 2 weeks and the roads were fantastic. Lots of signs saying "These roads paid for by the EU".

 

[NotJustDreaming]

Thanks Nemo2 and Meadbh. I have the TD Infinite Travel Visa. It's my oldest card and we've gone on a few 'free' vacations with it. So you can earn 9 points per dollar spend on cruises booked over the phone with expediafortd? That's a 4.5% return! Too good?

Alan, do you have any Guadeloupe tips/advice? We're staying on the east coast ear Moule. We're renting a car through a local company and will definitely be touring around.

 

[Alan]

Alan, do you have any Guadeloupe tips/advice? We're staying on the east coast ear Moule. We're renting a car through a local company and will definitely be touring around.

No particular advice, SIL speaks fluent French which was a big help. We stayed on the west coast near Deshaies, and my 2 favorites outings were a snorkeling trip and a hike up the volcano La Soufriere.

 

[NotJustDreaming]

My two older kids speak French. Sad, I used to be pretty fluent but a couple of decades of no use has me in a sorry state. Combine that with my Spanglish....

I think I'll crack open some French lessons and freshen up.

 

[NotJustDreaming]

Have just placed a deposit, (fully refundable within 75 days of sailing if our situation changes), on the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas transatlantic departing Malaga on Nov 19, 2016...arriving Miami Dec 02.

Now we have to consider where to go in Europe prior to the sailing.

So... We should be looking 11 to 12 months out to book our transatlantic cruise for the best pricing? That is, December 2016 for November 2017 crossing? Or April 2016 for departing from North America in April 2017? What's your recommendation for best availability and prices?

 

[Alan]

So... We should be looking 11 to 12 months out to book our transatlantic cruise for the best pricing? That is, December 2016 for November 2017 crossing? Or April 2016 for departing from North America in April 2017? What's your recommendation for best availability and prices?

I think it depends how lucky you feel. We booked our transatlantic crossing in April 2016 from Houston to Southampton via the Caribbean 11 months ahead of time because the route, price and timing are perfect for us ( not many transatlantic cruises leave out of Houston). We plan on returning on a cruise out of Southampton to New York on Nov 5th but since that date is flexible we plan on waiting for last minute deals and booking very late.

 

[Nemo2]

So... We should be looking 11 to 12 months out to book our transatlantic cruise for the best pricing? That is, December 2016 for November 2017 crossing? Or April 2016 for departing from North America in April 2017? What's your recommendation for best availability and prices?

Difficult question with a number of factors to consider. Our VTG guy says that Royal Caribbean prices 'tend' to rise as the sailing date gets nearer, but that is by no means an absolute.

We've placed a deposit on next November's trip, that is cancelable without penalty up to 75 days before sailing - if the price drops we'll consider canceling and rebooking, (subject to the vicissitudes of cabin availability that is) although with *some lines they'll apparently make a price adjustment on your bill without the necessity of rebooking.

If the price drops, and there are less than 75 days remaining, we'd see if taking the hit and then rebooking would be monetarily advantageous.

With CDF Croisières de France this Spring we canceled, paid a small penalty, and rebooked immediately, (and also upgraded to an oceanview), since the price dropped to 'ridiculous' levels. We're booked (way in advance) on the same ship next Spring and it's already pretty much sold out.

Basically what we do, and VTG's site is handy for this, is select a few comparable 'possibles' well in advance and regularly monitor them.

That said, there are (sometimes) great last minute deals.....in 2013 we booked a Celebrity transatlantic from Civitavecchia on almost a moment's notice...flew into Rome about three days before sailing.

Other considerations are flight costs, (no point saving a couple bucks on a cruise and then paying more to get to the departure port); also, compare onboard credits to ensure you're not receiving with one hand and losing with the other.....and is the price differential (if you have to cancel & rebook), enough to risk a possible cabin change to a less than optimal deck/location........(although most lines offer 'guaranteed' cabins, often at a slightly lower price......we've had good and bad).

All in all, I guess, it's "Ya pays ya money and takes yer chances"....and while we like to grab 'deals' we're not loath to pass on 'opportunities' that are not that opportune.


(* "Now some they do and some they don't
And some you just can't tell
And some they will and some they won't
With some it's just as well" Supertramp.)

 

[braumeister]

Galapagos

Thinking seriously about a Galapagos trip. I realize that it's just about on the Equator so time of year shouldn't matter in terms of climate, but is there any other timing consideration?

Experienced travelers probably have an opinion, but I'd be glad to hear anyone's opinion on this. Trips like this are horribly expensive IMHO so any input is very welcome.