"Almost" Live from Explorer

[Travelcat2]

Thank you for all the good wishes.  Arrived at the hotel in Vancouver without any difficulty.  Had a Happy Hour flatbread with lamb sausage and procuitto with some wine for me and beer for Dennis.

 

Just opened a bottle of wine in the room and are  sitting in bed and having munchies. Looking of the window at....... you guessed it ........more snow.  Now we wonder if we can make it the one mile to the Park ‘n Fly at 4:00 a.m.  

 

If planes are delayed, we have a several hour leeway tomorrow.  Keeping our fingers crossed!

[mrlevin]

Jackie, you can relax now.  Easy connection tomorrow and you still get in the day before embarkation.  Have a great trip.

 

Marc

[crickette]

TravelCat

Glad to read you are that much closer to Explorer!

 

Would you mind telling me your parking arrangements in Vancouver?

[Travelcat2]

19 minutes ago, crickette said:

TravelCat

Glad to read you are that much closer to Explorer!

 

Would you mind telling me your parking arrAngements in Vancouver?

 

We are using Park ‘n Fly.  You drop off your car — they park it somewhere and bring it back to thePark n Fly area when you arrive (we do call them from the airport to let them know that have arrived and will be waiting for their bus.  Super nice people and the charge (if you book online)  The cost for us for 22 nights if about $170 Canadian whic is considerably less for those of us living in the US

[cruiseluv]

14 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

We are using Park ‘n Fly.  You drop off your car — they park it somewhere and bring it back to thePark n Fly area when you arrive (we do call them from the airport to let them know that have arrived and will be waiting for their bus.  Super nice people and the charge (if you book online)  The cost for us for 22 nights if about $170 Canadian whic is considerably less for those of us living in the US

 

Wow, that's super reasonable for so many days! 

 

Jackie, glad you made it ok! One step closer, you'll be fine tomorrow, just drive slow!

[Travelcat2]

1 minute ago, cruiseluv said:

 

Wow, that's super reasonable for so many days! 

 

Jackie, glad you made it ok! One step closer, you'll be fine tomorrow, just drive slow!

 

Thank you for being so supportive. It is reallly apppreciated.  We are only 1 mile from the Park’nFly.  There is snow on our car (it figures that we’re using Dennis’ car and the product that we have to clean snow off of windshields is my car at home in the garage.)

 

I’m so happy that Dennis loves this hotel and loved Happy Hour - the food and drinks, etc.  Things were so messed up that I forgot to give him Valentine cards from the kitties and from me. Will have to do that onboard - better late than never.

 

Heard a disturbing thing from Explorer. Apparently so many people are sick and coughing that they ran out of cough medicine. They will be cleaning the ship thoroughly before we board.  I have worried about this for a while.  When Mariner was in that part of the world, passengers got sick.  Hoping not get sick and also will no longer consider South America f0r a cruise.

 

Goingt bed super early (with help from Ambien to I’ll be bright eyed and bushy ‘tailed at 3:00 a..m. Not so sure about the bushy tailed part.

 

More tomorrow

 

 

[Travelcat2]

2 hours ago, mrlevin said:

Jackie, you can relax now.  Easy connection tomorrow and you still get in the day before embarkation.  Have a great trip.

 

Marc

 

Thank you Marc!

[Zqueeze1]

Ok Jackie, I’m sending you a magic dose of my good luck juju and I guarantee that everything will be hunky dory tomorrow. If not, I’ll try to get my money back from the Good Luck JuJu Company. Looking forward to hearing more from you and say hello to Dennis from us. 

Z and TB

[RachelG]

Glad you are getting closer.  While I have heard a little coughing, it is not any more than I would expect to hear at home this time of year.  Certainly nothing to be too concerned about.

[Cool Fool]

Once you get to the airport and past security in time to make your flight, you’ve done everything you can do.  From that point on, you’re on vacation!  Time to take a deep breath and a well earned feeling of relaxation. Have a great flight and looking forward to your cruise reports!

[Hambagahle]

Don't know if it is possible to buy Benalin cough syrup with codeine  in Vancouver or at the airport?  But that is a wonderful thing to have on hand - stops coughs in their tracks and you can sleep...I discovered it in Cape Town and buy it all the time here...  I tried to get it in the USA and could not...

 

Hopefully though you are in the air and on your way to Santiago.  I am keeping fingers crossed and hoping that your next post is in Spanish!!  Chilean Spanish!!

[rcandkc]

1 hour ago, Hambagahle said:

Don't know if it is possible to buy Benalin cough syrup with codeine  in Vancouver or at the airport?  But that is a wonderful thing to have on hand - stops coughs in their tracks and you can sleep...I discovered it in Cape Town and buy it all the time here...  I tried to get it in the USA and could not...

 

Hopefully though you are in the air and on your way to Santiago.  I am keeping fingers crossed and hoping that your next post is in Spanish!!  Chilean Spanish!!

Anything with codeine is only by prescription in the US.  Also, most Dr will not prescribe unless cough is really bad. 

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

Almost there! Safe journey!

It’s to bad that so many cruises begin with awful flights and jittery nerves. We have decided either sailing in or out of Miami will work best for us in the future, after our horrible experience last August. 

Sheila and Herb

Edited February 15, 2019 by Bellaggio Cruisers

[Travelcat2]

Okay - so we are in Dallas  Have some comments and will answer questions.

 

I more or less learned that no matter how much your plan or how experienced you are in flying, you can end up in our position. I remember that I asked on the CC board if we could make a flight out of MIA at 11:20 a.m.  The response from 100% of posters said we could not.  One friend in Miami said that we could.  While he was right, it took standing by the exit of the ship for 2 hours in order to get off quickly.  We watched others as the time for their flight passed (they booked earlier flights).

 

Time will tell if we would have made the later flight (will pay attention to the boards when it is due in ).  We also learned that when we are stressed, we make different decisions than we would typically make.

 

Although the trip to Vancouver was easy and quick (about an hour), the weather quickly turned.  Staying at a hotel was the right decision.  The hotel we stayed at (mentioned earlier - cannot think of the name ..... Pacific something) was quite nice.  It is an older hotel that was purchased last year and they did an amazing job of renovating the hotel.  If we ever had to stay at the airport again, we would select this hotel.  The restaurant (attached by a covered walkway) had good food but not a lot of menu choices.  The room was a good size, carpets like new, bathroom fixtures had obviously been replaced and were file.  We did pay $19 to park.

 

By the time we got up at 3:00 a.m., rather than getting the snow off of the windshield and driving in slush, we decided to park at the hotel (about $99 - Canadian per week.).  Their shuttle leaves promptly every 20 minutes

 

To answer the question regarding parking, we always park at the Park ‘n Fly in Vancouver.  You drop your car off (keys inside as they park it somewhere off site), check in at a convenient machine inside and take the shuttle to the airport.  When we arrive back (we call them from the airport so that our car will be there).  Note:  In order to get good prices you need to get an online coupon (not required if you wish to pay a high rate).  When online,  you fill tell them your departure and return times so that your car will be ready.  They offer car washing for an additional charge.  We are very happy with them.

 

One more note about Vancouver Airport.  There is a “train” (elevated Skytrain) that takes you about 1 block from the cruise terminal.  While it is a money saver, we mainly have used it because the traffic in Vancouver - downtown and near the cruise terminal is horrible.  It isn’t as easy as a taxi but is much faster.

 

A few words about the new(ish) 738 aircraft.  Wider seats in first class and no television screens.  Not sure if all airlines will eventually switch to this but you connect (no charge) to the movies and television shows on a special AA website.  Kind of a nice idea - if you know about in advance.  We did not have earphone but flight was just over 3 hours so not a big deal.  Just something to be aware of.  Not all planes have this system and connecting to the AA website does not give you “free internet.

 

We are in the non-impresssive AA Lounge.  You now get only 2 drinks per person.  While that is nice for a couple of hours, it is just one more cut-back in airport lounges.   Someone was discussing time restrictions with the Centurion Lounge and some of the AA lounges.  We dumped our Amex card a while ago as their benefits became diluted and other cards are, in our opinion, much better (Chase Sapphre for one - it includes about $20K of travel insurance if I recall correctly).

 

If I missed any questions, please ask again.  I’ll CC again before we leave (our flight leaves in 6 hours or so).  Again, thanks for following this wild adventure.

 

Jackie

 

 

[rcandkc]

18 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

Okay - so we are in Dallas  Have some comments and will answer questions.

 

I more or less learned that no matter how much your plan or how experienced you are in flying, you can end up in our position. I remember that I asked on the CC board if we could make a flight out of MIA at 11:20 a.m.  The response from 100% of posters said we could not.  One friend in Miami said that we could.  While he was right, it took standing by the exit of the ship for 2 hours in order to get off quickly.  We watched others as the time for their flight passed (they booked earlier flights).

 

Time will tell if we would have made the later flight (will pay attention to the boards when it is due in ).  We also learned that when we are stressed, we make different decisions than we would typically make.

 

Although the trip to Vancouver was easy and quick (about an hour), the weather quickly turned.  Staying at a hotel was the right decision.  The hotel we stayed at (mentioned earlier - cannot think of the name ..... Pacific something) was quite nice.  It is an older hotel that was purchased last year and they did an amazing job of renovating the hotel.  If we ever had to stay at the airport again, we would select this hotel.  The restaurant (attached by a covered walkway) had good food but not a lot of menu choices.  The room was a good size, carpets like new, bathroom fixtures had obviously been replaced and were file.  We did pay $19 to park.

 

By the time we got up at 3:00 a.m., rather than getting the snow off of the windshield and driving in slush, we decided to park at the hotel (about $99 - Canadian per week.).  Their shuttle leaves promptly every 20 minutes

 

To answer the question regarding parking, we always park at the Park ‘n Fly in Vancouver.  You drop your car off (keys inside as they park it somewhere off site), check in at a convenient machine inside and take the shuttle to the airport.  When we arrive back (we call them from the airport so that our car will be there).  Note:  In order to get good prices you need to get an online coupon (not required if you wish to pay a high rate).  When online,  you fill tell them your departure and return times so that your car will be ready.  They offer car washing for an additional charge.  We are very happy with them.

 

One more note about Vancouver Airport.  There is a “train” (elevated Skytrain) that takes you about 1 block from the cruise terminal.  While it is a money saver, we mainly have used it because the traffic in Vancouver - downtown and near the cruise terminal is horrible.  It isn’t as easy as a taxi but is much faster.

 

A few words about the new(ish) 738 aircraft.  Wider seats in first class and no television screens.  Not sure if all airlines will eventually switch to this but you connect (no charge) to the movies and television shows on a special AA website.  Kind of a nice idea - if you know about in advance.  We did not have earphone but flight was just over 3 hours so not a big deal.  Just something to be aware of.  Not all planes have this system and connecting to the AA website does not give you “free internet.

 

We are in the non-impresssive AA Lounge.  You now get only 2 drinks per person.  While that is nice for a couple of hours, it is just one more cut-back in airport lounges.   Someone was discussing time restrictions with the Centurion Lounge and some of the AA lounges.  We dumped our Amex card a while ago as their benefits became diluted and other cards are, in our opinion, much better (Chase Sapphre for one - it includes about $20K of travel insurance if I recall correctly).

 

If I missed any questions, please ask again.  I’ll CC again before we leave (our flight leaves in 6 hours or so).  Again, thanks for following this wild adventure.

 

Jackie

 

 

We have never had a drink restriction in Admirals Club.  Are you members (we are) or able to use due to business class international travel?

[cerise638]

TC  Hope you have a great trip. Glad to hear you've got to Dallas. We had a similar nightmare last year in the UK with unexpected snow. Got to the airport with the help of a local farmer. Only a couple of hours delay while they cleared the runway. 

[RachelG]

There is no drink restriction in the Admiral’s club.  They give you two drink coupons for international flights, but no limits on the house pours.  We go though there all the time, so i know this for sure.  Not sure which Admiral’s club you are in, but they just redid the one in terminal A and it is really nice.  With an international flight, you are probably in D.

[Master Echo]

I followed TravelCat2’s vicissitudes with alarm!  Surely it is impossible to make a 45 minutes connection if one has checked bags, and indeed that any American airlines would allow you to book such a short connection time with checked bags.

 

Having experienced a  60 minute connection at JFK when the checked bags failed to make the connecting  flight, I never allow less than two hours.

 

With the experience of past fellow travellers in mind, I always allow at least a clear day in arriving at the embarkation location and the ship’s departure point, just in case the luggage does not appear on the carousel of your flight!  I have seen too many distraught passengers who have had to sail with only the clothes they stand up in!  This is why Sir and Madame are in the Ritz Carlton two days before sailing on Explorer - one night at their own expense, the second night on Regent.

 

I do realise that for those still working, with such a tight schedule, it is often not possible to allow extra days to attain this peace of mind.

 

One also has to bear in mind the time of the year.  Airlines worldwide readily reschedule flights, and indeed cancel them due to inclement weather, be it fog snow or ice, and the travelling public are at the mercy of the climate.

 

I hope that Travelcat2 makes it complete with all luggage to Explorer on February 17th.

 

Kindest regards

 

Master Echo

 

[rcandkc]

We do have to pay for mimosas in Admirals club.  I now get a Bloody Mary instead. 

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, rcandkc said:

We have never had a drink restriction in Admirals Club.  Are you members (we are) or able to use due to business class international travel?

 

No - not a member - just here as a business class passengers.  The only time we fly American is usually from MIA home.  Someone left their drink tickets and departed so we now could have 3 each.  However, we've been here for quite a while and I just ordered my first glass of wine (3:45 p.m.)  

 

Rachel, we are in terminal A (but just learned that our flight leaves from terminal D - the terminal that we landed in ……. with everything else that has happened, it figures that we went to the wrong terminal).  Lest I sound like more of an idiot than I already do, I did follow the flights from Vancouver to Dallas every day for over a week and incoming flights from YVR landed in terminal C and the Santiago flight left from terminal A.

 

Two other CC members have already landed in Santiago - one couple is staying at our hotel (not the Regent hotel - we are staying at the Mandarin Oriental (formerly Hyatt Regency and Santiago Hotel).  Reports are that it is beautiful.

 

That is all for now (barring any other changes.  Once we get to Santiago, we'll start the real "Live" thread.

 

 

[Travelcat2]

Okay - last post (I hope).

 

Acknowledging that I have had one glass of wine prior to writing this.  As I sit here in the AA lounge in Dallas I was thinking about this thread.  The support that I have received has been amazing and so appreciated.  I "see" posters on this thread that I have debated - sometimes very strongly yet, when I was frustrated and stressed, the positivity of the posters on this thread helped me get through it.

 

I also acknowledge that I can be stubborn and difficult - even though I am trying to help posters.  In any case, I want to thank all of you that have posted on this thread.  You are a lovely group of people. 

[DaveFr]

Jackie,

 

Hopefully you’ll see this.  Unless there is a last minute change, your flight to Santiago leaves from Terminal D, gate D36.  Ironically, your flight from Vancouver arrived at gate D38.  More importantly, you should immediately go to Terminal D so you can use the AA Premium Lounge which is very close to gate D36.

 

We enjoyed the flight to Santiago.  Business Class on the AA 787 was very nice with very good lie-flat seats, good food and excellent service.  One hint, if you lift the top of the outside arm rest on your seat, you’ll find a Bose noise cancelling headset to use.

 

Hope this helps.  See you on the Explorer.

 

Dave

[Maxmann65]

Safe travels Travelcat2. I hope your flights are smooth and to your liking. I look forward to reading more about your trip!

[Focused1]

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

Okay - last post (I hope).

 

Acknowledging that I have had one glass of wine prior to writing this.  As I sit here in the AA lounge in Dallas I was thinking about this thread.  The support that I have received has been amazing and so appreciated.  I "see" posters on this thread that I have debated - sometimes very strongly yet, when I was frustrated and stressed, the positivity of the posters on this thread helped me get through it.

 

I also acknowledge that I can be stubborn and difficult - even though I am trying to help posters.  In any case, I want to thank all of you that have posted on this thread.  You are a lovely group of people. 

 

Great comments, TC. I think we all share a love of travel, especially cruising, and when not cruising, we live vicariously through those that post their experiences. Safe travels. 

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, DaveFr said:

Jackie,

 

Hopefully you’ll see this.  Unless there is a last minute change, your flight to Santiago leaves from Terminal D, gate D36.  Ironically, your flight from Vancouver arrived at gate D38.  More importantly, you should immediately go to Terminal D so you can use the AA Premium Lounge which is very close to gate D36.

 

We enjoyed the flight to Santiago.  Business Class on the AA 787 was very nice with very good lie-flat seats, good food and excellent service.  One hint, if you lift the top of the outside arm rest on your seat, you’ll find a Bose noise  cancelling headset to use.

 

Hope this helps.  See you on the Explorer.

 

Dave

 

Sitting and waiting in the Premium Lounge (switched lounges about an hour ago) It is ironic that we actually could have made the flight.  However, our stress level would have been over the top. Still happy that we stayed at the hotel.  Have to just put this behind us - lessons learned and hopefully we will have a great time on Explorer. Boarding in an hour and will look for the Bose noisecancelling headsets.  

 

See you soon!

Edited February 16, 2019 by Travelcat2