megr1125

Unless you ask for early ticketing, generally Princess EZ Air tickets 45 days prior to departure so it may be ticketed now or in the very near future.

After 1PM. Getting to IAH from the port can take a LONG time and it's not easy to do. I took the cruise line's bus and it took almost 2 hours, maybe a bit more. Lots of traffic. I stayed overnight at the Marriott at IAH. Others were worried that they'd miss their flights, even following the cruise line instructions.

Grr, obviously it's some weird IT issue then. RCG did say they were making it easier. And I agree, EZ Air is way better. I know last time I used FBC, I called probably 12 times to change my flights (long story) and I'd just say cancel it and I'd rebook on my own. (Up until the time when you cannot do it anymore without paying a fee). TAs also had the ability to change stuff, and I presume that if consumers can't do it, neither can TAs presently. Not that I book a ton of cruise air. And the last 2 times I had Flights By Celebrity and the airline cancelled, the air department was useless in even ANSWERING my call. I'm still waiting for them to tell me about my new flights 2 years later. LMAO.

It actually has come and gone for quite a while now and it's a pain in the rear. I was under the impression that as of, say the beginning of summer, we'd be able to handle this on the website or agent site as appropriate for good, like we could several years ago. That said, I wonder if it's either an IT/maintenance thing or, as is usual for Royal Caribbean group, a clear your cookies and cache or use an incognito window thing.

Ruby Tuesday is open again, after a reno after the fire but I haven't been there to eat. Last time I stayed at the ES, I just ate dinner in their restaurant. The food is decent for a hotel. That iHop is horrible, they screw up breakfast regardless of what time of day. Ruby Tuesday, years ago, was also terrible, notoriously so. I live an hour away and our local RT at the time had heard about the one in Elizabeth being horrible. They got it together eventually, then had a big fire.

Can't help with AC but UA is under mediation and needs permission FROM the National Mediation Board to be allowed to strike, and THEN the 30 days kicks in BUT the President can order them to not strike. So UA's FAs are NOT currently in the cool off period. THIS ARTICLE in USA Today is a good explanation.

Thanks. Good to keep in mind since I do like gin.

Cool thanks! I read it, and it rolled around in my brain until I saw a video and then it stopped rolling and made sense. Just wanted to be sure that I had it right. Thanks again.

I am watching videos on YT about transiting through LHR. Presuming I decide to use the AA Arrivals lounge in T3, I would proceed as if I was staying in London rather than following the Flight Connections route? (So yellow/orange versus purple signs?) Then I could use HEX or the Elizabeth line to get to T5 and it would be like I was starting over departing, but without checked luggage? Globaliser mentioned this above, I just want to be sure I've gotten it into my brain! 🤔

Thanks for that Megr1125-proof advice and direction. I think I can make it all make sense! Is it me, (it may be) or are the maps on the official Heathrow site/app really terrible? Again, it might be me.

Mid November so I hope not? It's before American Thanksgiving. Also I'll be getting there around 8AM local (give or take, I don't recall the exact time, and also, I need more coffee!)

Thanks...I'm leaning towards keeping my money and soaking up the atmosphere (sarcasm font on!) at LHR. Had airfare not been stupid expensive, and had I not splurged on a more expensive cruise and opted to spend money getting to/from EWR and PHL, none of this would matter. BUT between miles, hotel points and buying extra miles, I'm getting ~$5,000 ish of J airfare for maybe 700 bucks out of pocket. Considering r/t economy was 1200 bucks, I think I'll suffer with a double connect via CLT and LHR.😁😁😁 And I only turn 40 again for the 20th time once.

That's very helpful, thanks!

Thanks FBGD. So going landside to use an Arrivals lounge sounds ok. I can give myself a lot of time to get back airside. And depending on how my knees are (arthritis, and getting gel shots in the next week or so), I may have wheelchair assistance. I know that I haven't had an issue with the wheelchair attendant dropping me in a lounge and getting me after. Well last year at LHR in BAs lounge (forget which one) they almost forgot me but the attendant there who coordinates those things was SUPER helpful and got it sorted after being told that I wasn't there. She said to the person on the phone "this guest has been in FRONT of me for 45 minutes waiting, no one ever came, nice try!") I was among the last on the plane after the British version of Mario Andretti sped me through the place. Anyway, staying at LHR seems to be the best option.

Thanks. That's what I was thinking but since I haven't done it, and have only been in LHR twice, I haven't absorbed much about the airport aside from it being huge and hectic. I did think it was the most beautiful airport I'd ever seen when I first connected there in 2019. LOL.

OR, I could just fly into LHR, stay overnight and book a ticket to FCO the next day. The itinerary above gets me to FCO around 8PM so that day is shot anyway. I could just stay by LHR and fly to FCO on the 21st.

I'm flying EWR-CLT-LHR-FCO this fall. (Don't ask, using miles on AA/BA and also on UA/LX flying home and wanted to go into/out of same airport without buying a lot more miles or paying LHR's exorbitant taxes). I'll have about a 9 hour layover at LHR and I am in Business so I have lounge access. Looks like I'll land at T3 and depart to FCO from T5. (The only flight on BA is the LHR-FCO leg.) I will only have 5-6 hours in a hotel (allowing transit time to and from. I'd still get back to LHR a couple hours ahead to visit the lounge and maybe browse around a bit). Rates at the Sofitel, which would be convenient are a bit high for the few hours. I could also try a different hotel (open to suggestions, I could leave and head to the Renaissance as I can get a really good rate there). What do the experts think my best choice would be? (Aside from flying nonstop and not being crazy. I don't mind that part and it's not really not an option.) Thanks for any advice!

Correct, and I was more so referring to cancelled flights. In my 3 cases, the cruise line didn't even try. Sending me an email saying "we'll get back to you in 24-48 hours" when I am literally in the car on the way to the airport, isn't helping. The first time they didn't even know it was cancelled (um? I got 4 emails or texts, 2 from the cruise line's air department, but the agents on the phone couldn't help or do anything short of wait a couple days). I'm glad that the carrier was so fast in rebooking me to a slightly later flight (a whopping 15 minutes) and moving me to a partner carrier's nonstop. My issue is that the cruise air departments say "we'll help you, book our air...." but when push comes to shove, we all know that seats are a finite commodity and depending on the cruise air departments' promise isn't the smart choice. And personally, I have a list of at least a half dozen other options on the original carrier, partners, etc. just in case things go awry. Learned that from y'all over here!

Cruise air can be great until it isn't. I've been lucky when things went south BUT on ZERO of those occasions did Flights by Celebrity assist me. I'd STILL be on hold had SAS not rebooked me almost instantly onto UA on one occasion, and onto a different one of their flights on another. When I misconnected (BA's fault), again, Air2Sea didn't help (same company as Celebrity's since they're Royal) either and only sent an email saying "we'll get back to you in 24-48 hours" um, sure, my rear's already in LHR so please get me home. Caveat Emptor. I've learned a ton about cruise air here on this board, especially from Flyer Talker, Globaliser et al, and from the pinned post above from the late, GreatAm. It's still good info. Will I personally book it in the future? I won't rule it out, but I know what I'm getting. Will I suggest that it's fabulous and wonderful and the cruise line will help you? HA. No. I'm not that crazy.

Take the cruise shuttle. It's 2.5-ish hours and may or may not include a comfort stop (mine did not and no restroom on bus). I went to City Center/Tronchetto and from there you can get a private water taxi or get to the train station or vaporetto. Other options are very expensive and the bus was easy.

No, the van wasn't very full so maybe I got lucky.

I used the same company previously and will use again in November.

If you're getting a water taxi, especially from Venice City Center/Tronchetto after a cruise, prebook it. You'll have a shorter wait (I called mine via WhatsApp when I got there, they gave me the taxi number and 5-10 minutes later, it arrived. Many others had NOT prebooked and had to wait a lot longer. I used this place. https://www.motoscafivenezia.com/en/ticket/choose-destination.php

Agreed. The HOHO bus can't get close to anything and they're VERY crowded. Plus some people were standing on the upper level. I was sure at least a few of them would be injured by low tree limbs or traffic signals. They're terrible in Rome.

Marriott no longer uses categories per se. When in the past, the Courtyard EWR might have been a category 4 hotel, it's now just whatever amount of points yield management assigns. Their points redemptions are now dynamic pricing so you'll have to just go plug in Barcelona, dates and use rewards points and see what the various costs are. And they change often even for the same hotels and dates. They may still have "loose" categories but to look for a list of what hotels are what categories? Not going to happen. I'd look at the AC brand but then again, it depends on location and time of your stay.