robin13

6 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

As soon as you redeem you get an email they received your redemption.

About 5 days later it shows in your account.

I just redeemed over $2,000 worth.

Thank you for the reply!  He also redeemed $2000 worth.  Hopefully it will show up before the 8th!

My friend is using his points for a discount on a booked cruise.  He went to the website and redeemed the points a couple of days ago.  Does anyone know if NCL or BOA lets you know that the transaction went through and the discount was applied?  We used a travel agency and the final payment is due on 2/8.  

Does anyone know the easiest way to get to Le Havre to catch a ship with luggage?  Flying into Paris a few days earlier and will need to find a way to the port.  

1 minute ago, Mrs f. said:

Oy. We have British Air from Heathrow to Prague and back.

Please make sure to use a tracker in your luggage!  Thankfully all of us had one as we had to tell them that our luggage was at the Budapest airport.  They kept saying it was still in London!   Will never travel without a tracker!!

On 8/12/2023 at 10:46 AM, Mrs f. said:

Woke up to email saying British Air cancelled our flight. Finally got another, non direct flight on American Airlines which will arrive after the bus leaves for Southampton.  Good thing we took the optional change your bus time. Hubby call England and they switched our bus time. The only thing they can't switch is which terminal we pick up the bus.  Originally terminal 5, now terminal 3. So we'll take the train as instructed to Terminal 5.

 

We have 3 more British Air legs on this trip. Who knows if they will get screwed up as well? 😊 

Yeah, good luck with the rest of your British Air travel!  They canceled my connecting flight from Heathrow to Budapest and then lost my luggage for three days.  They did put us up in an airport hotel and paid for our meals but I lost over a day of touring in Budapest.  They are the worst airline and I now try to avoid them at all costs.

I also stayed here for one night before my cruise and it was fine.  I used Marriott points so it was free.  Never noticed there wasn't a phone and I did have the hotel call a cab for me and it arrived within 15 minutes.  The rooms are very small but since I was traveling solo it was fine.  Had dinner in the bar but there was a shopping center across the street that I could have gone to but I was tired from traveling.  It was fine for one night and the price was right (lol).

I did the National Express bus and then took a cab from the coach station to my hotel.  The next morning I took another cab to the port.  Definitely use National Express and then take a cab to the port!  It's not very far from the coach station.

I bring a credit card but also bring British pounds as well.  I buy my foreign currency from my bank as I don't want to take the chance of my debit card being eaten (lol).

My mother gave me some left over pound paper notes from probably 15 years ago.  I had read that you couldn't use the paper notes anymore but I thought I would try.  I was in a store trying to buy some water at Heathrow and sure enough the guy said he couldn't' accept them.  I did read where you could take them to a bank and they would give you the new plastic pound notes.  You might want to try that in Southhampton as you have almost $117.  

Most hotels have a service that can take you but they aren't cheap.  I'm kicking myself as the taxi I took in Amsterdam offered to take me for 75 euros.  I thought it was too much and was going to use Uber.  When I checked into my hotel to ask about Uber they said that since I was leaving very early in the morning they suggested a private limo service.  At this point I said fine and it wound up costing me 100 euros with tip.  Good news, the guy got me to the airport in plenty of time, but I could have saved 25 euros if I went with the taxi guy.

I was there last September on a cruise and loved it!  I did the ships excursion which was great.  Not very far from where we docked and there was time to shop.  You can do it on own as it is a very easy taxi ride.

I'm glad that I made you laugh but I'm just going by what I did last September for my British Isles cruise and in March for my Central Europe land tour.  The 10-day forecast from the Weather Channel was very accurate for me.  I was just making a suggestion and the OP and others can do with it what they want.

Have you looked to see what the weather is supposed to be like?  If you go to the Weather Channel they have 10-day forecasts which are pretty accurate. 

I used National Express last September and my suitcase was pretty heavy.  I also was worried if they were going to say anything but they never did.  The guy was so busy taking peoples luggage and putting them under the bus he never said a word.

Just went through Schiphol yesterday morning where it took me 90 minutes to go from check-in to my gate.  I got there at 7am for a 10:55am flight as I didn't want to miss my flight back to the US.  I have to say I think the issue with the long lines has to do with no instructions anywhere telling people what to do.  I had checked in online and didn't know that I needed to use their check-in machine as well.  Then you had to move to another line to check your luggage which is totally automated.  There were instructions on that but most people didn't understand them.  There was one employee there going back and forth trying to help people.  After that you then go through passport control and then through security.  I'm glad I went 4 hours early as I think if I went any time after 8am it would have been bad.

On 9/14/2022 at 7:46 AM, phabric said:

Depending on which airline you use will determine which National Express terminal  station you are going to use.  Check www.heathrow.com website for more information which terminal your airlines uses, also under National Express.

 

-I have used this terminal before. 

 The Central Coach terminal for Terminal 3 - you need to follow the sign for the Coach station, about a 10 minute walk all indoors, no seats to rest.  There will be a board on the wall to tell which coach bay to go to.  It will be the last stop (town) on the route of your ticket for which bay.  You go direct to the bay for the coach. The driver will be there to take your luggage.  ASK driver to make sure correct coach. There is a live person at the ticket booth for any help. I had to ask as I didn't see any signs for Southampton. There is a small store there and benches to wait.  Use airport bathroom before going as they charge at coach station.

 

- I used this terminal in May.

Terminal 5 - Follow the signs for Coaches outside arrivals of the airport.  Their coach signs (stops 9-15) are close to the  outside exit door.  There is an glass shelter there with seats.  There are a few signs with numbers for their coaches. I asked  a driver, which numbered sign was for Southampton, he said as the coaches come in, they line up - first coach, second coach third coach, not at a certain sign.  WATCH the name (last town on the route) on the coach.  ASK the driver or any driver that stops for the correct coach. The driver exits the coach and puts luggage under the coach.  Use bathroom at airport before exiting the airport.

 

I believe there are a small bathroom on the coaches(?).

 

The coaches start at Central Coach then about 15 minutes later a stop at Terminal 5 then a straight drive to Southampton unless there is a stop at a town, my coach had a stopped at Winchester to let a person off.

Thanks for the information.  I'm arriving Terminal 3 so this helps me a lot.  Just one more question.  My plane lands at 7:55am.  Should I book the 9:45am bus or the 11am bus?  The early bus is 18 pounds where the later bus is 23.60 pounds.  

On 6/13/2022 at 1:39 PM, phabric said:

National Express is much cheaper than Princess transfer.  If going direct home after cruise, I have taken Princess transfer or Princess post cruise excursion back to Heathrow.  

 

You purchase your National Express Coach timed ticket online leaving minimum of 90 minutes after flight arrive . My ticket was £17/pp LHR Terminal 5 to Southampton for Friday, May 27.

 

National Express will let you change to another Coach (if seats are available) if you are late/early for your timed ticket with no change fee only at the airports.

 

Depending on your airline which terminal you land at, where you will find National Express Coach terminal.  Check out Heathrow airport web site for your airline  terminal and National Express Coach information.

 

Once you have picked up your luggage, exit luggage area and follow signs for Coaches.

Terminal 2/3 - a 10-15 minute walk all indoors, no seats to rest along the way, easy to follow

Terminal 5 - follow signs for Coaches, there is a shelter with seats to wait.
 

Drivers get out of coaches to load luggage and will help direct you.

 

NOTE your Coach route number on your booking.  On the Coach sign, will not say Southampton, it will show the last stop.  Our Coach was -route #204, Bournemouth.  It was Heathrow, Winchester, Southampton, Bournemouth.

Can you tell me if I purchase my ticket online do I just go directly to the coach or do I need to go to the counter to check in?  

42 minutes ago, XuGator said:

Yeah , just click the clock that is circled in screenshot below and change to the date and time to 6:30am. I did this for an AMS ride tomorrow at 6:30 am and price goes up a little to 43 for this option which is still cheaper than taxi. 

Thank you so much!!  I was stressing about getting to the airport and how much it would cost.  This eases my mind a lot!

1 hour ago, XuGator said:

I did this from movenpick which is right next door to the port. 31 bucks 

Excellent!  I'm just hoping there is an Uber at 6:30am as I want to get to the airport 4 hours before.  I think I can preorder one if I'm remembering correctly. Do you know for sure?

4 hours ago, XuGator said:

Absolutely. Not only cheaper but more convenient as well. Open the Uber app now from home and change the pickup spot to your Amsterdam hotel and enter AMS as the destination and it will tell you the wait time and price. 

Cool!!  Thanks for the information.

On 8/28/2022 at 10:40 PM, XuGator said:

Uber works so well in Amsterdam and is cheaper than taxi service. Prearranging is way too much work as Ubers are everywhere. We used Uber about 10 times last week in Amsterdam and never waited more than 5 minutes for a ride. Save your time , stress and money and just use Uber. 

So do you think it would be cheaper to Uber from my hotel near the cruise port to the airport?  

I thought COVID tests weren't needed anymore in Amsterdam.  Am I missing something?

Just now, lkjacobs said:

To specifically answer your question, the Unlimited Social Media package supports just about every app that anyone typically would put in that category, except for TikTok, which is considered to be streaming. It certainly includes FB, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp. Stand-alone video conferencing apps, other than FaceTime, (Zoom, Duo, Teams, etc.) require the Premium Unlimited package, though similar functions are supported in all packages if they’re within social media apps. 
 

However… if you have promotional minutes (250 or, more likely, 150) do the math. You’ll probably end up better off upgrading it to a Basic Unlimited plan and taking the credit for your promo. On a 7-day cruise, for example, upgrading on embarkation day would cost (7 x 30) = $210 minus $100 for 150 minutes or $125 for 250 minutes. The USM plan would be (7 x 15) = $105. If you can wait until Day 2, it gets even better, since the BU drops by $30 but the USM only goes down $15. 

Thanks for explaining this.  I have OBC and will use it to upgrade when I board.  

Just now, BirdTravels said:

The upgrade cost is the same on the ship. You just need to wait in line for an hour if you want the internet manager to help you. 

I thought you got a credit for not using their free minutes?  Is that not true?

I'm going on a 10-day British Isles cruise in three weeks.  I received 150 free minutes but I want to upgrade to the Unlimited Wi-Fi.  It says the price is $199.  If I go to the internet cafe when I board how much will they credit me for not using the free 150 minutes?  Also, I swear in the past the Social Media package included web browsing and looking at emails.  Now it is just for social media and nothing else.  Did they change that since my last cruise last September?