We board on May 12, so I’m a bit early.
Originally we booked from LAX to Miami, one cruise, but we accidentally discovered that our cruise had been split in two and extended by three days. My UK TA was unaware of the changes until I notified them. It was a worrying time, but we had already booked flights.
I suggested to our travel agent that Explora give us the extra three days free of charge, rather than compensation for a cancellation. They agreed and fortunately we were able to change our arrangements. We have booked our transatlantic flight using a voucher and paying most of the fair by airline miles, plus taxes, fortunately there were still flights available for UK.
We also had to change internal flights, as after the cruise we were flying up to Washington to visit my sister-in-law, who lives in Delaware. We also had to change the car hire, but fortunately no change fees.
So now we are all set, but last weekend I was notified by an app that I subscribe to, Seatspy, offering two seats in British Airways first class, for an additional £400 per per person, which I considered excellent value and snapped them up. As the flight is just over 11 hours, I considered the top service and access to the Concord lounge at London Heathrow too good an opportunity to pass up. For comparison, I checked what the cost would be had we paid money and tickets are around £11,000 each way!
I imagine we will get an Uber from the airport to our hotel, which is the residence inn downtown Long Beach, where we stay for two nights using our hotel points. Apparently, there is a free bus which runs around the loop, visiting the main locations in Long Beach.
On cruise departure day, again we expect to take an Uber to San Pedro Cruise terminal.