⭐Live Allure TA 🚢 March 1, 2020 - Time to rub the lamp 🧞

[bobmacliberty]

4 minutes ago, twangster said:

That's the beauty of programming, it can handle complexities.

Have you seen the Royal web site? 🤣

 

Agreed that your pricing seems outrageous.

Edited March 15, 2020 by bobmacliberty

[bobmacliberty]

Just now, bigeck said:

Would it not have been cheaper booking a return flight then dump the return.

I've done this before. I've also done it with 2 Transatlantics.

Never understood why so many US to Europe flights are cheaper round trip than they are one way.

[Ocean Boy]

4 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

Never understood why so many US to Europe flights are cheaper round trip than they are one way.

Didn't that used to be the case with most travel? I thought pricing being the same whether you book each leg separately or a round trip was a relatively new phenomenon.

[Pratique]

3 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Didn't that used to be the case with most travel? I thought pricing being the same whether you book each leg separately or a round trip was a relatively new phenomenon.

Yes for the legacy carriers.

[bigeck]

6 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Didn't that used to be the case with most travel? I thought pricing being the same whether you book each leg separately or a round trip was a relatively new phenomenon.

I think it is. That's why I use Norwegian. 

I've done 10 Ta's and when an Eastbound is involved, a return is good value.

I'm supposed to be on Anthem on the 4/12 and my flight is £270.

I should have done a return with Anthem in November as that was £470 return with BA

One way with BA is ridiculous 

 

[John&LaLa]

Miss Bella back with the family

[John&LaLa]

Did our first entry into Temperature Log

 

We're all 98.6 or 98.7

[Ocean Boy]

16 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

Did our first entry into Temperature Log

 

We're all 98.6 or 98.7

At least you are not spending the next 14 days in an "inside" condo.🙂

[3CatsInMA]

Welcome home everybody!

 

[RFerrington]

@twangster, I have a question for you.  Given everything that you have experienced with the airfare nightmare, and if you had it to do over again, would you consider using A2S for your international flights ?  I really have not read any detailed accounts (other than John's on this thread) of how A2S customers fared with the airline madness.  I have always "heard" that for international flights, A2S is generally a reliable and reasonable choice.  I do understand (I think) that you were using airline miles or an airline credit from a previously cancelled trip...which makes it more complicated.  I'm thinking maybe a "note to self" for me - for overseas flights, stick with A2S....use your airline credits for domestic itins. Thoughts ?

[ZiggaZagga17]

58 minutes ago, bigeck said:

Would it not have been cheaper booking a return flight then dump the return.

I've done this before. I've also done it with 2 Transatlantics.

That's what we did for this cruise! BA wanted £1600 for 2 people single trips or £800 for 2 people return!

Incidentally they changed the timings of the 'unwanted' return legs and changed our flights - so I duly called in and complained to a degree that they refunded said return portions!

Everyone's a winner!

Edited March 15, 2020 by ZiggaZagga17

[MalteseMama2]

4 hours ago, bigeck said:

Freedom wasn't allowed to dock in SJ due to not having test kits. Heading to Miami with passengers on board. Including PR passengers

No, we weren’t allowed to dock because the port is closed to all cruise ships. According to our captain we have no illness aboard (at least not the kind that would cause concern). 

[twangster]

8 minutes ago, MalteseMama2 said:

No, we weren’t allowed to dock because the port is closed to all cruise ships. According to our captain we have no illness aboard (at least not the kind that would cause concern). 

 

When PR announced that a few days ago I was wondering what would happen to Freedom since she was mid-cruise.  Now we know.  Personally I think it's an overreaction to ban a ship that embarked in PR, it's the home port for that ship.   Someone didn't think this through very well and has caused a lot of unnecessary inconvenience and stress.  Perhaps they'll close the airport too, that will really mess up any locals on board.

 

If the previous political kickbacks that corrupted the PR ports wasn't enough, this is another reason to pull all cruising from PR.   

[bigeck]

23 minutes ago, MalteseMama2 said:

No, we weren’t allowed to dock because the port is closed to all cruise ships. According to our captain we have no illness aboard (at least not the kind that would cause concern). 

I was led to believe they wanted to test everyone before they disembarked and didn't have enough kits 

[twangster]

1 hour ago, RFerrington said:

@twangster, I have a question for you.  Given everything that you have experienced with the airfare nightmare, and if you had it to do over again, would you consider using A2S for your international flights ?  I really have not read any detailed accounts (other than John's on this thread) of how A2S customers fared with the airline madness.  I have always "heard" that for international flights, A2S is generally a reliable and reasonable choice.  I do understand (I think) that you were using airline miles or an airline credit from a previously cancelled trip...which makes it more complicated.  I'm thinking maybe a "note to self" for me - for overseas flights, stick with A2S....use your airline credits for domestic itins. Thoughts ?

 

Some of the people I was hanging around with had booked through A2S.  Royal let them use phone on board to call but wait times were hours.  It was a sea day so nothing missed but some people spent much of the day dealing with it.  One lady in our group stopped and had lunch with us and then went back at it after lunch.  

 

She told stories that they were saying there are routings through this country or that country but they were being blocked from booking them because it was a ban country.

 

This is the problem when these type of travel bans are announced on TV without anyone in the industry having anytime to prepare.  Travel professionals didn't know anymore than we did.  Some assumed worst case and made up rules to implement to protect themselves.  

 

Royal placed computers and phones in the conference center that was available for guests.  They were pretty strict about sanitation and wiped down each station after use, or so I'm told.  I used my cell phone in my cabin.

 

Here is more background on how I found my wallet $2,445 lighter:

 

I had used Delta Skymiles to book my airfare returning Tuesday March 17.  I got a great deal, only 25k miles in comfort plus.  I had flown to Fort Lauderdale on Southwest.  

 

In the aftermath of the travel ban Delta also had long wait times, like 2 to 3 hours.  Being an award ticket I couldn't change my flight online.  Voom was pretty crappy on that sea day and my 1st call dropped after 60 minutes.  Ugh.  All the while I am watching flights sell out for Friday.  First the 1pm Delta flight, then the 11:30am flight out of BCN.  There was a 9:30am but I wasn't confident making that if the ship was late arriving and if I recall that routed through Amsterdam and Paris.  

 

Some of the Delta options were multiple hops through Europe.  Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt - did I really want to add more ban countries to my routing?  At this point it wasn't clear that US citizens were exempt but even so, why route through more European ban countries?  Delta had Saturday and Sunday options through JFK but not many seats left and long wait times to talk to someone.

 

I was checking multiple sources like Kayak and the big US airlines plus foreign carriers.  American was the only one offering a Friday connection through the UK.  

 

As I am bouncing back and forth between sites whenever I went back to American some options began disappearing.  Now the fear amd FOMO start to kick in.  If I don't act fast, I am not getting out on Friday.  At least on American I'd get out Friday and I overnight in an country that isn't banned.  Then the 2:15pm option on American disappears.  Only one option left, or at least the only one presented for booking was the 3pm before the only options were first class for $$$$$$$$.  My cheapest option was $500 cheaper than the 2nd cheapest though a ban country.  Prices skyrocketed for business and first class after that.

 

So absent of all the facts (because the White House hadn't clarified it yet) I booked a non-banned ticket through London.  My $455 AirBNB for Barcelona was also lost in this.  So be it, I wanted to get home before the borders were closed.  

 

By the time Delta answered I had booked AA.  They couldn't get me out Friday by that time but they did offer to waive my Skymiles redeposit fee so at least I got my 25k miles back plus the taxes I had paid for that flight.

 

That afternoon when we met for the nightly happy hour some were still dealing with it.  Some thought I was the smartest person on the ship to fork over $2,500 since at this point most of them had to overnight in Barcelona but at least by that time we had heard US citizens weren't banned.  However we all feared that airlines would cancel flights if they were half empty and fully empty on the way back for any foreign airline.  The funk pretty much hung around the entire last sea day and we joked about having to do firewatch duty in dry dock.

 

Hindsight is always 20-20 but sometimes you have to make a decision in the heat of the moment and that is what American Airlines was counting on.   

 

Long winded answer but those who booked A2S had to wait on hold like everyone else to speak with A2S.  Since I was booked independently I was more agile and could book anything I wanted, at a cost.  While A2S people probably didn't have any extra cost many did overnight in Spain.  I'm symptom free and like I told the CBP agent I feared catching something in the DFW CDC waiting area more than my brief transit through BCN but who knows?

Edited March 15, 2020 by twangster

[Sea Dog]

@twangster Thanks for sharing your story. I can't imagine the stress that many of you were enduring trying to make arrangements. Just having enough patience to sit on the phone most of the day like many had to do would be nerve-racking.

[sgmn]

3 hours ago, twangster said:

I didn't want to say much while enroute fearing AA would cancel my ticket but I caught them price gouging.  

 

My one way ticket from BCN with an overnight in London cost me $2,445.  I booked after the travel ban was announced but before it was clarified that it didn't apply to US citizens.  Coach not available so I booked Premium Economy, the cheapest fare available.

 

While I was at BCN airport after I had checked in I was curious what options were available.  My exact flights I was about to board was now half the price. Coach still sold out, Premium Economy had been cut to $1,209.  Business class was $3,694 and First was sold out.

 

 

Thirty four hours with an overnight stop in London at my own expense.  Better routing with one less hop was available for $2,915.  As I booked it flights were selling out.  I am not the only gouging victim.

 

Got give AA credit for knowing how to capitalize on a situation.  

 

While I am glad to be home I won't be flying AA for a very long time.  They may have maximized revenue in the short term but lost me as a customer in the long term.  I was once Platinum with them when I flew a lot for business.  

 

Some blame lies at the feet of the administration for not articulating the travel ban properly when it was initially announced.  

 

We're selling tkts at normal fare, for instance around £750 ow Lon to NZ. Unfortunately we don't fly from UK to US. Very busy at LHR on tkt desk today, interesting times

Edited March 15, 2020 by sgmn

[Snit13]

12 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

We're home, I'm beat. Will catch up tomorrow. 

Interesting day. All 26 hours of it.

So glad you made it safe and sound.  Kisses to Bella.

[Pratique]

55 minutes ago, twangster said:

In the aftermath of the travel ban Delta also had long wait times, like 2 to 3 hours.  Being an award ticket I couldn't change my flight online.  Voom was pretty crappy on that sea day and my 1st call dropped after 60 minutes.  Ugh.  All the while I am watching flights sell out for Friday.  First the 1pm Delta flight, then the 11:30am flight out of BCN.  There was a 9:30am but I wasn't confident making that if the ship was late arriving and if I recall that routed through Amsterdam and Paris.

When ATL was shut down for an ice storm I was on hold with Delta for 9 hours from the ship.

 

They had automatically rebooked me with a connection in New York where I had to arrive at LGA and depart from JFK. During a snowstorm. Uh, no.

 

The worst part was having to listen to the on hold recording telling me a few hundred times that I could do everything online when I couldn't change it online (believe me I tried).

 

I hate every aspect of travel that's not on a cruise ship.

[RFerrington]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

 

Some of the people I was hanging around with had booked through A2S.  Royal let them use phone on board to call but wait times were hours.  It was a sea day so nothing missed but some people spent much of the day dealing with it.  One lady in our group stopped and had lunch with us and then went back at it after lunch.  

 

She told stories that they were saying there are routings through this country or that country but they were being blocked from booking them because it was a ban country.

 

This is the problem when these type of travel bans are announced on TV without anyone in the industry having anytime to prepare.  Travel professionals didn't know anymore than we did.  Some assumed worst case and made up rules to implement to protect themselves.  

 

Royal placed computers and phones in the conference center that was available for guests.  They were pretty strict about sanitation and wiped down each station after use, or so I'm told.  I used my cell phone in my cabin.

 

Here is more background on how I found my wallet $2,445 lighter:

 

I had used Delta Skymiles to book my airfare returning Tuesday March 17.  I got a great deal, only 25k miles in comfort plus.  I had flown to Fort Lauderdale on Southwest.  

 

In the aftermath of the travel ban Delta also had long wait times, like 2 to 3 hours.  Being an award ticket I couldn't change my flight online.  Voom was pretty crappy on that sea day and my 1st call dropped after 60 minutes.  Ugh.  All the while I am watching flights sell out for Friday.  First the 1pm Delta flight, then the 11:30am flight out of BCN.  There was a 9:30am but I wasn't confident making that if the ship was late arriving and if I recall that routed through Amsterdam and Paris.  

 

Some of the Delta options were multiple hops through Europe.  Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt - did I really want to add more ban countries to my routing?  At this point it wasn't clear that US citizens were exempt but even so, why route through more European ban countries?  Delta had Saturday and Sunday options through JFK but not many seats left and long wait times to talk to someone.

 

I was checking multiple sources like Kayak and the big US airlines plus foreign carriers.  American was the only one offering a Friday connection through the UK.  

 

As I am bouncing back and forth between sites whenever I went back to American some options began disappearing.  Now the fear amd FOMO start to kick in.  If I don't act fast, I am not getting out on Friday.  At least on American I'd get out Friday and I overnight in an country that isn't banned.  Then the 2:15pm option on American disappears.  Only one option left, or at least the only one presented for booking was the 3pm before the only options were first class for $$$$$$$$.  My cheapest option was $500 cheaper than the 2nd cheapest though a ban country.  Prices skyrocketed for business and first class after that.

 

So absent of all the facts (because the White House hadn't clarified it yet) I booked a non-banned ticket through London.  My $455 AirBNB for Barcelona was also lost in this.  So be it, I wanted to get home before the borders were closed.  

 

By the time Delta answered I had booked AA.  They couldn't get me out Friday by that time but they did offer to waive my Skymiles redeposit fee so at least I got my 25k miles back plus the taxes I had paid for that flight.

 

That afternoon when we met for the nightly happy hour some were still dealing with it.  Some thought I was the smartest person on the ship to fork over $2,500 since at this point most of them had to overnight in Barcelona but at least by that time we had heard US citizens weren't banned.  However we all feared that airlines would cancel flights if they were half empty and fully empty on the way back for any foreign airline.  The funk pretty much hung around the entire last sea day and we joked about having to do firewatch duty in dry dock.

 

Hindsight is always 20-20 but sometimes you have to make a decision in the heat of the moment and that is what American Airlines was counting on.   

 

Long winded answer but those who booked A2S had to wait on hold like everyone else to speak with A2S.  Since I was booked independently I was more agile and could book anything I wanted, at a cost.  While A2S people probably didn't have any extra cost many did overnight in Spain.  I'm symptom free and like I told the CBP agent I feared catching something in the DFW CDC waiting area more than my brief transit through BCN but who knows?

So glad to hear that least you got your reward miles and taxes back. 

[MalteseMama2]

2 hours ago, bigeck said:

I was led to believe they wanted to test everyone before they disembarked and didn't have enough kits 

Just curious, where did you hear this?

Captain gave an update at noon and said because everyone on board is healthy we will not have to go through any additional health screenings. He also told us that San Juan port gave him the option to port there and sit in quarantine for 4 days, then they would slowly begin letting people off. Perhaps they would have tested us in that case. 

[Ocean Boy]

1 minute ago, MalteseMama2 said:

Just curious, where did you hear this?

Captain gave an update at noon and said because everyone on board is healthy we will not have to go through any additional health screenings. He also told us that San Juan port gave him the option to port there and sit in quarantine for 4 days, then they would slowly begin letting people off. Perhaps they would have tested us in that case. 

So would you have preferred spending four days on the ship in San Juan or ending up in Miami? I suspect the Puerto Rican's on board are not too happy.

[MalteseMama2]

5 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

So would you have preferred spending four days on the ship in San Juan or ending up in Miami? I suspect the Puerto Rican's on board are not too happy.

I think the captain made the right decision. Of course, I agree that many PRs are not. 

[John&LaLa]

3 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

@twangster Thanks for sharing your story. I can't imagine the stress that many of you were enduring trying to make arrangements. Just having enough patience to sit on the phone most of the day like many had to do would be nerve-racking.

 

I got to hear the story over a couple of beers while waiting on my son's confirmarion number.🍺

[bigeck]

1 hour ago, MalteseMama2 said:

Just curious, where did you hear this??

A friend onboard posted it on Fb. The source was crucerospuertorico