UK/Miami flights - booked through Oceania

[ToxM]

Just do your own ideal routing, then ask what O would offer. 

 

Compare and contrast. 

 

I would always book my own (saying that I have a TAP flight back from Rio next year, which I may live to regret).

 

Control your own travel, I have heard horror stories of O just not being accessible when plans go awry. 

[DOJO466]

1 hour ago, ToxM said:

Just do your own ideal routing, then ask what O would offer. 

 

Compare and contrast. 

 

I would always book my own (saying that I have a TAP flight back from Rio next year, which I may live to regret).

 

Control your own travel, I have heard horror stories of O just not being accessible when plans go awry. 

Trust me you will regret.  I am traveling this Nov BOS-LIS. keeping my fingers crossed. It is not the plane, it is more the excessive baggage fees and stringent adherence to weight and size. Read the horror stories. As for me got hit up with an addition a very unexpected baggage fee of $410.  I was very ill at the time and did not argue just wanted to get home. And yes, I followed the baggage rules.

Most important to look out for is carry on and more important the size and weight of "personal" bag.

[ToxM]

39 minutes ago, DOJO466 said:

Trust me you will regret.  I am traveling this Nov BOS-LIS. keeping my fingers crossed. It is not the plane, it is more the excessive baggage fees and stringent adherence to weight and size. Read the horror stories. As for me got hit up with an addition a very unexpected baggage fee of $410.  I was very ill at the time and did not argue just wanted to get home. And yes, I followed the baggage rules.

Most important to look out for is carry on and more important the size and weight of "personal" bag.

 

We are travelling biz, hope we don’t get hit by these probs 😞

[DOJO466]

28 minutes ago, ToxM said:

 

We are travelling biz, hope we don’t get hit by these probs 😞

Truly hope you have seemless travel with them. I am comfort Plus with 2 free bags. Only checking one..  If perchance I have to check my carry on per their outrageous limitations and greed for excessive fee, I will be charged $110 and NO not able to have it checked as my second bag. It did happen to me.

  

[EJL2023]

1 minute ago, DOJO466 said:

Truly hope you have seemless travel with them. I am comfort Plus with 2 free bags. Only checking one..  If perchance I have to check my carry on per their outrageous limitations and greed for excessive fee, I will be charged $110 and NO not able to have it checked as my second bag. It did happen to me.

  

I understand that is it frustrating BUT if they provide you with the size and weight limitations up front it seems like it would be somewhat easy to determine this prior to arriving at the airport. 

[DOJO466]

5 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

I understand that is it frustrating BUT if they provide you with the size and weight limitations up front it seems like it would be somewhat easy to determine this prior to arriving at the airport. 

Very well aware of this but a one inch deviation is a bit over the top. More aware now for my upcoming flight that I had to purchase a new carry on over this inch. I am not the only one to experience this. Not only do the weigh and measure at checkin. They do this as you board the aircraft. How many of you have a personal bag that measures 16x12x5 weighing less than 4.4 pounds .My bag that was taken for check had a depth of 9 inches (standard anywhere else), they allow you 8". $110 payable right then and there.

 

[EJL2023]

2 minutes ago, DOJO466 said:

Very well aware of this but a one inch deviation is a bit over the top. More aware now for my upcoming flight that I had to purchase a new carry on over this inch. I am not the only one to experience this. Not only do the weigh and measure at checkin. They do this as you board the aircraft. How many of you have a personal bag that measures 16x12x5 weighing less than 4.4 pounds .My bag that was taken for check had a depth of 9 inches (standard anywhere else), they allow you 8". $110 payable right then and there.

 

Personal bag or carry on bag?? For most airlines they are different. And yes my personal bag is smaller than that size, my carry on bag, no. 

[DOJO466]

27 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

Personal bag or carry on bag?? For most airlines they are different. And yes my personal bag is smaller than that size, my carry on bag, no. 

I had to put my personal bag in my carry on to check it all. Didn't care at that point as I was so sick and just wanted to go home. 

  Good to hear your personal bag is that size. I can make do on my next flight. But still uinlikely to book TAP again.

  Also on another unrelated note...they won"t give me my e-ticket in English.  My name not as my passport.  Been calling..and calling both Portugal and Brazil to no avail. Oh well, enough said I suppose

[FlyerTalker]

Seems as though the issue is that the airline is actually enforcing their rules.

 

 

 

[Tr1v1alCru1ser]

Have been on numerous cruises out of Miami, and have NEVER used O’s flights.

 

The journey from Fort Lauderdale is comparable in distance to that from Miami airport.  Fly in the day before to ensure you’re there in plenty of time.   We always want to spend as little time as possible flying to our destination.  

 

Get Apple AirTags for your luggage, I’m reading of so many people whose cases go missing, and pack as much as you can clotheswise in your carry on.  You can always buy toiletries in Miami if you have to.  

[ToxM]

On 8/26/2023 at 9:26 PM, Tr1v1alCru1ser said:

Have been on numerous cruises out of Miami, and have NEVER used O’s flights.

 

The journey from Fort Lauderdale is comparable in distance to that from Miami airport.  Fly in the day before to ensure you’re there in plenty of time.   We always want to spend as little time as possible flying to our destination.  

 

Get Apple AirTags for your luggage, I’m reading of so many people whose cases go missing, and pack as much as you can clotheswise in your carry on.  You can always buy toiletries in Miami if you have to.  

Fort Lauderdale isn’t well represented directly from the UK, so MIA is probably the best option for OP. Indirect is a bit of a trek and a very long travel day so I would advise against it unless the end point really needs a plane change - for example I used to go to Vegas twice a year - indirect was a bit of a pain unless you went to LAX as a change; anywhere else east of Vegas resulted in a much smaller and more uncomfortable plane for four hours or so after an already probably 9 hour transatlantic flight. LAX is 1 hour after an 11 hour trip to LAX. Getting to Fort Lauderdale would probably add another 5 hours to a trip that can be done in 9 hours direct.

 

Flying in the day before is really the only option from the UK unless you enjoy very high stress levels. 

 

I do agree about the AirTags been using them a while. 

 

MIA to the Intercontinental Hotel is around 10 mins, Intercontinental to port is less than 10 mins. 

 

I’d always go direct 😉

[Harters]

15 minutes ago, ToxM said:

Flying in the day before is really the only option from the UK unless you enjoy very high stress levels. 

Absolutely. Our TA, who you might find in a red ditch if it goes wrong, sorted stuff out within minutes. 

 

Day 1 - Fly MAN - LHR. Overnight stay at the Sofitel

 

Day 2 - Fy LHR - MIA. 2 nights in nice looking small hotel in South Beach. 

 

Day 3 - chill out day

 

Day 4 - We're off cruisin'.

[ToxM]

1 hour ago, Harters said:

Absolutely. Our TA, who you might find in a red ditch if it goes wrong, sorted stuff out within minutes. 

 

Day 1 - Fly MAN - LHR. Overnight stay at the Sofitel

 

Day 2 - Fy LHR - MIA. 2 nights in nice looking small hotel in South Beach. 

 

Day 3 - chill out day

 

Day 4 - We're off cruisin'.

Perfect, I take it you are doing BA as the Sofitel is T5 (nicely connected to the main terminal). What hotel are you in on South Beach? We stayed at The Betsy in January and it was lovely. 15 mins tops from the port. 

 

Honestly I thought cruising from Miami was going to be a nightmare, but it really wasn’t, specially as the O terminal is nice and small. 

 

Have a fab cruise!

[jo-b]

On 7/29/2023 at 7:18 PM, Harters said:

Just wondering if O generally uses a particular airline for flights between Miami and the UK.

 

TIA

I think what you are asking about is why the deduction for doing your own flights is so low when compared with the cost of flights you have checked online?

 

We are booked on a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale next year, not withO, saw the price of the cruise lines flights and decided to look for our own.  Couldn’t match cruise lines price, then I asked ourTA  and she got us the exact flights we had looked at MAN-LHR-MIA on Virgin for almost exactly half the price we could book ourselves. She told us these are special cruise flight prices. 

[Harters]

ToxM - yep. Sofitel is an OK price and very convenient. Stayed there before when  flying BA to the States. Their restaurant is OK but, last time, they had the disreputable practice of adding a service charge, then leaving the tip line open. It can only be to catch out unsuspecting foreigners who may not understand that the service charge IS the tip, so end up tipping  twice.

 

We're staying at the Plymouth in South Beach. It's not too far from where we stayed on a full Florida holiday a few years back (when we included a 4 night cruise on Norwegian). Looks fine for a couple of nights. 

[ToxM]

4 minutes ago, Harters said:

ToxM - yep. Sofitel is an OK price and very convenient. Stayed there before when  flying BA to the States. Their restaurant is OK but, last time, they had the disreputable practice of adding a service charge, then leaving the tip line open. It can only be to catch out unsuspecting foreigners who may not understand that the service charge IS the tip, so end up tipping  twice.

 

We're staying at the Plymouth in South Beach. It's not too far from where we stayed on a full Florida holiday a few years back (when we included a 4 night cruise on Norwegian). Looks fine for a couple of nights. 

 

Yeah, that is a bit naughty, we stayed in the club level last time and had snackettes there.

[FlyerTalker]

3 hours ago, Harters said:

ToxM - yep. Sofitel is an OK price and very convenient. Stayed there before when  flying BA to the States. Their restaurant is OK but, last time, they had the disreputable practice of adding a service charge, then leaving the tip line open. It can only be to catch out unsuspecting foreigners who may not understand that the service charge IS the tip, so end up tipping  twice.

 

Know that there are a number of establishments around the world where there is a "service charge" on the bill, but that amount does NOT go to the servers as a gratuity.  Don't automatically assume that - whenever I see service charge, I always ask if that is for the servers or just a fee being added on by the management.

 

 

[Harters]

3 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

Don't automatically assume that

Service charges are not something I bother about. It's simply part of the cost of eating out. How a business and its employees agree pay rates and conditions of service is a matter for them, not for me a a customer. I'd be much happier if, in the UK, we didnt have old fashioned cash tipping or service charges as extra payments and everything was included in the menu price. 

[FlyerTalker]

46 minutes ago, Harters said:

Service charges are not something I bother about. It's simply part of the cost of eating out. How a business and its employees agree pay rates and conditions of service is a matter for them, not for me a a customer. I'd be much happier if, in the UK, we didnt have old fashioned cash tipping or service charges as extra payments and everything was included in the menu price. 

 

So...you just pay the service change and don't care if it goes to the server or not.  I see.

 

 

[Harters]

10 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

you just pay the service change and don't care if it goes to the server or not.

Correct. I don't think it's an issue that interests many Britons. A recent survey has shown that only about 30% of us now tip in restaurants and the practice has pretty much died out amongst the under 30s. I was chatting with the owner of our favourite Asian restaurant (which doesnt have a service charge) just after this survey came out. He reckoned it was pretty accurate. 

 

Though it's always interesting to note when a restaurant menu not only mentions the service charge but, also, mentions how it is divided - whether just front of house or all members of the restaurant's team. By the by, the restaurant owner I mentioned said that, when tips are given in cash, they all go to just front of house. But, when they are paid by card, they are divided amongst all staff - FoH and kitchen. We usually pay by card. 

Edited August 29, 2023 by Harters

[ToxM]

13 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

So...you just pay the service change and don't care if it goes to the server or not.  I see.

 

 

Hospitality staff in the UK generally don’t rely on or are taxed by expected tips. Just because your culture demands it, doesn’t mean it is widespread throughout the world. We tip, or pay the service charge. I am in the UK. 

 

 

[Harters]

By the by, my local dining pub (part of a small national chain), pays its serving staff around £10.42 per hour. And a chef de partie will earn an annual salary of around £28, 750. Both groups of workers benefit from a share in the tronc system (collected from card tips and paid directly into their bank accounts through the tronc administrator) and a share of cash tips. Presumably any new potential member of staff would be likely to ask at interview "how much might I expect to gain from tips", with the answer helping them to decide if they wanted the job or not. Disappointingly, cleaners don't receive any share of either card or cash tips, although their job is pretty important to customers having a nice experience.