Sept 18 2010 WB TransAtlantic Pirates/Capt Jacks Re-Repoing Repossession Cruise Pt.3

[MrsMork]

Well, I thought I had it all planned. Before I went on the Magic I did a lot of adding up and found that between annual leave and lieu days, I had enough vacation time to do both Transatlantic Cruises. Today I found out more or less by accident that they have shortened the opening hours over Christmas and that means that they need only two team leaders. As I car share with one of the other team leaders and he is the one that drives, they decided that they would put me down for mandatory leave. That means that I now don't have enough vacation time to do both cruises. I am so upset right now. Now I have to make the decision which cruise to cancel.

This is where you come in. If I can only do one of the cruises, which one is better to keep and why?

Corinna

Gaining the hours (more vacation time!!), better weather and all of us!!! Table dancing and all of us!! Seems easy decision to me.

 

[MrsMork]

So, Cheapoair had a flight one way from Miami to Barcelona for $277 today. Should I have grabbed it? We can fly from anywhere and we are thinking leaving the RV in FL might make sense since we will be returning to Orlando.

 

[orlandothebeagle]

So, Cheapoair had a flight one way from Miami to Barcelona for $277 today. Should I have grabbed it? We can fly from anywhere and we are thinking leaving the RV in FL might make sense since we will be returning to Orlando.

That does sound like an amazingprice,book it,book it,bookit!!

 

[BoosGram]

Well, I thought I had it all planned. Before I went on the Magic I did a lot of adding up and found that between annual leave and lieu days, I had enough vacation time to do both Transatlantic Cruises. Today I found out more or less by accident that they have shortened the opening hours over Christmas and that means that they need only two team leaders. As I car share with one of the other team leaders and he is the one that drives, they decided that they would put me down for mandatory leave. That means that I now don't have enough vacation time to do both cruises. I am so upset right now. Now I have to make the decision which cruise to cancel.

This is where you come in. If I can only do one of the cruises, which one is better to keep and why?

Corinna

Gaining the hours (more vacation time!!), better weather and all of us!!! Table dancing and all of us!! Seems easy decision to me.

Corinna, see above. Problem solved.

 

[Feebs]

$277 for a flight! Fabulous price.

Dsis has recommended the 1898 hotel in Barcelona says its very nice.

Corinna, we like the WB itinery better with the two Caribbean ports plus I hope the weather will be more settled. Saying that I wouldn`t turn down either cruise.

On another matter I`m wondering whether to use our DVC points for this cruise 330 total - that would leave us 30 points for a couple of days in WDW - decisions, decisions.

 

[MrsMork]

Ok, Cheapoair does not include all the taxes and fees in their price. So their total for the two of us was $927 through Dusseldorf with a 6.5 hour layover there. There was another site that had a flight on Swiss Air (allows TWO bags still) thru Zurich with only 1.5 hr layover there for $945 for the two of us. I just went ahead and booked that one. The taxes and fees are not going to go down and I was hoping for less than $500 per person. Whew! That is done, now to get Beach Club Villas booked for a week when we return, find a place in Orlando to stash the RV for 3 weeks and get a rental car from Orlando to Miami ----- unless some of you seasoned travelers know of a better way to get from Orlando to Miami cheaply. Then I am done and just need to wait....oh, and save up some more $$$$

I am thinking of getting Euros now since the dollar seems to be getting weaker and weaker and I see no end in sight over the next year. Any thoughts on that?

 

[kamgen]

Awesome on getting your air tickets already! Great deal!
We are coming out of Detroit, but it seems cheaper if we go through either JFK, Chicago, or Atlanta. We can fly cheap to those cities and then get a cheaper international flight instead of out of Detroit.
We have the kids though, so we are really debating connecting vs direct...at least when it comes to connecting out of the USA. And the bags thing is huge...who wants to pay for bags?!?!

We actually bought something for the cruise today! LOL!! Walmart had a clearance on Halloween stuff and we got pirate tshirts for $2 each. So for all 5 of us it was only $10, and they are super cute. So, even if we didnt use them on the TA cruise, we would use them sometime....right?!?!

 

[HallsofVA]

Well, I thought I had it all planned. Before I went on the Magic I did a lot of adding up and found that between annual leave and lieu days, I had enough vacation time to do both Transatlantic Cruises. Today I found out more or less by accident that they have shortened the opening hours over Christmas and that means that they need only two team leaders. As I car share with one of the other team leaders and he is the one that drives, they decided that they would put me down for mandatory leave. That means that I now don't have enough vacation time to do both cruises. I am so upset right now. Now I have to make the decision which cruise to cancel.

This is where you come in. If I can only do one of the cruises, which one is better to keep and why?

Corinna

This suggestion could be totally off the wall, but can you change the EBTA to the 2011 one? that could possibly defer the time you need off to another year or time period.

 

[MrsMork]

Kamy, great job on the Pirate gear! Since we can (at least so far) take 2 bags each, I plan to take our pirate outfits.

There is a direct flight from Atlanta and also from Philadelphia. I've been looking from everywhere back east since we will be traveling in our RV for the summer before the cruise.

 

[orlandothebeagle]

Ok, Cheapoair does not include all the taxes and fees in their price. So their total for the two of us was $927 through Dusseldorf with a 6.5 hour layover there. There was another site that had a flight on Swiss Air (allows TWO bags still) thru Zurich with only 1.5 hr layover there for $945 for the two of us. I just went ahead and booked that one. The taxes and fees are not going to go down and I was hoping for less than $500 per person. Whew! That is done, now to get Beach Club Villas booked for a week when we return, find a place in Orlando to stash the RV for 3 weeks and get a rental car from Orlando to Miami ----- unless some of you seasoned travelers know of a better way to get from Orlando to Miami cheaply. Then I am done and just need to wait....oh, and save up some more $$$$

I am thinking of getting Euros now since the dollar seems to be getting weaker and weaker and I see no end in sight over the next year. Any thoughts on that?

glad oyu are sorted.

Awesome on getting your air tickets already! Great deal!
We are coming out of Detroit, but it seems cheaper if we go through either JFK, Chicago, or Atlanta. We can fly cheap to those cities and then get a cheaper international flight instead of out of Detroit.
We have the kids though, so we are really debating connecting vs direct...at least when it comes to connecting out of the USA. And the bags thing is huge...who wants to pay for bags?!?!

We actually bought something for the cruise today! LOL!! Walmart had a clearance on Halloween stuff and we got pirate tshirts for $2 each. So for all 5 of us it was only $10, and they are super cute. So, even if we didnt use them on the TA cruise, we would use them sometime....right?!?!

cool, pirate stuff is always good.

 

[gismo1554]

Well, I thought I had it all planned. Before I went on the Magic I did a lot of adding up and found that between annual leave and lieu days, I had enough vacation time to do both Transatlantic Cruises. Today I found out more or less by accident that they have shortened the opening hours over Christmas and that means that they need only two team leaders. As I car share with one of the other team leaders and he is the one that drives, they decided that they would put me down for mandatory leave. That means that I now don't have enough vacation time to do both cruises. I am so upset right now. Now I have to make the decision which cruise to cancel.

This is where you come in. If I can only do one of the cruises, which one is better to keep and why?

Corinna

Corinna NOOOO! No to be honest I think this is down to personal preference and what ever discision you make will be the right one for you. The schedules are a good thing to go off as this is really the only significant difference between them, that and the TA flight.

 

[gismo1554]

So, Cheapoair had a flight one way from Miami to Barcelona for $277 today. Should I have grabbed it? We can fly from anywhere and we are thinking leaving the RV in FL might make sense since we will be returning to Orlando.

Oh my God I would have snapped that one up! Seriously if it comes up again grab it!

 

[gismo1554]

Awesome on getting your air tickets already! Great deal!
We are coming out of Detroit, but it seems cheaper if we go through either JFK, Chicago, or Atlanta. We can fly cheap to those cities and then get a cheaper international flight instead of out of Detroit.
We have the kids though, so we are really debating connecting vs direct...at least when it comes to connecting out of the USA. And the bags thing is huge...who wants to pay for bags?!?!

We actually bought something for the cruise today! LOL!! Walmart had a clearance on Halloween stuff and we got pirate tshirts for $2 each. So for all 5 of us it was only $10, and they are super cute. So, even if we didnt use them on the TA cruise, we would use them sometime....right?!?!

Well done. I still don't know what we're doing about Pirate costumes. Need to sort something! Hopefully sorting flights out on the weekend if I have my way!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Thanks for all your input. I think I will make a list of all the advantages and disadvantages of both cruises and make the decision then. I have the feeling it is probably the Eastbound that is going to go as this would have been a solo cruise for me and we are both booked on the Westbound. Another advantage with canceling the Eastbound is that I am both hoping and expecting that the Magic will move to Europe more or less for good in 2012. So maybe I should aim to be on the cruise that takes her there.

2011 is not an option. I have an Eastern Caribbean booked for our anniversary and we are hoping to do a vow renewal. Maybe I can add a 4 night on the Dream to that to make it a kind of back to back with one night on land in between. The irony is in 2011 I get an additional vacation day per year as I will have been with the company for 5 years, so a year later, this would not have been a problem.

Corinna

 

[tink too]

I'm doing the happy dance. I got my airfare today. For the trans-Atlantic portion, I paid just under 1/2 of what DCL was charging. Yes, I know that the DCL fare included MCO to home and transfers...but my next MCO flight is $71, so for basically $100 I can pull that off. Thus, I saved about $400 per ticket over DCL's prices AND booked an airline that as of today doesn't charge luggage fees!

Are you willing to share the secret of the reasonably priced airline? I'm searching for quotes for our flight home, but there's not much going in the fabulous deals department!

That means that I now don't have enough vacation time to do both cruises. I am so upset right now. Now I have to make the decision which cruise to cancel.

I have the feeling it is probably the Eastbound that is going to go as this would have been a solo cruise for me and we are both booked on the Westbound.

Sounds like a plan, Corinna, but I'm sure you'll enjoy the cruise - whichever one you decide to stick with.

So, Cheapoair had a flight one way from Miami to Barcelona for $277 today. Should I have grabbed it? We can fly from anywhere and we are thinking leaving the RV in FL might make sense since we will be returning to Orlando.

I'd snap that fare up in a heatbeat - we can't even get a flight priced that low from our local airport in the UK to Barcelona!

I'm off to call BA to see if they'll do me a deal if we book all our flight segments with them. If we book all our flights separately as one-ways with them the prices are sky high. So, I'm hoping we can book an open-jaw ticket like we did last year for the WBPC Repo.

 

[orlandothebeagle]

Are you willing to share the secret of the reasonably priced airline? I'm searching for quotes for our flight home, but there's not much going in the fabulous deals department!





Sounds like a plan, Corinna, but I'm sure you'll enjoy the cruise - whichever one you decide to stick with.



I'd snap that fare up in a heatbeat - we can't even get a flight priced that low from our local airport in the UK to Barcelona!

I'm off to call BA to see if they'll do me a deal if we book all our flight segments with them. If we book all our flights separately as one-ways with them the prices are sky high. So, I'm hoping we can book an open-jaw ticket like we did last year for the WBPC Repo.

A lot of folks are anti globespan,you may be one of them but we got a great deal with them.
Barcelona from edinburgh 70 pounds and back from orly to glasgow, 400 dollars.(25 kg luggae each way)
Good luck with BA

 

[HallsofVA]

I found a great fare using mileage for a flight that is direct from the US. Problem is, I only have enough miles at the moment for 42% of what I need (enough for 1 ticket, almost enough for a 2nd, we need 4). I can buy mileage for $1350 that would get me enough miles now to lock down 3 of the 4 tickets needed, and I'd have the rest of the miles in a short period after that. I would in essence be buying enough miles for 2 tickets, equating to about $750/ticket, but with the bonus miles and my existing miles, I would hopefully end up with an out of pocket cost of $337.50/ticket for the transatlantic flight.

So the question is, is it worth it to spend that much on buying the miles needed, taking the chance that I'd still be able to purchase a 4th ticket with miles once the rest of them come through in a few weeks, or do I just keep holding off and looking for other options?

The airline that I'm looking at, the website price for the flights we're looking at is $2600+ for the one way flight, so buying that 4th seat isn't a viable option.

 

[tink too]

A lot of folks are anti globespan,you may be one of them but we got a great deal with them.
Barcelona from edinburgh 70 pounds and back from orly to glasgow, 400 dollars.(25 kg luggae each way)
Good luck with BA

Wow - great prices there - way to go! We're not Globespan haters either - we've used them a few times for holidays to Spain and have never had any problems.

BA have just gone and priced themselves out of the hemisphere by quoting me £744.30 per person one way - from Aberdeen to Barcelona! Even their sales person seemed shocked! He wasn't surprised when I said that I wasn't interested in booking! That's even more expensive than the price I got for a Virgin flight from Orlando to Aberdeen!

Apparently, we can't book an open-jaw ticket that goes into one country then out of another. Of course for the WBPC it was into Orlando and out of LA, that's why we'd been able to book that as a roundtrip fare.

I'm away to check out Globespan's schedule and pricing then.

 

[woody73]

So the question is, is it worth it to spend that much on buying the miles needed, taking the chance that I'd still be able to purchase a 4th ticket with miles once the rest of them come through in a few weeks, or do I just keep holding off and looking for other options?

I have not had good luck redeeming frequent flyer miles unless I book all the tickets I need at the same time.

You say you will have the additional miles in a few weeks. The problem with buying just three seats now is in a few weeks, the seats requiring the lowest mileage (say 25,000 miles for a saver seat) could be sold out, and you would need more miles for an anytime seat.

How much would it cost to buy points for the fourth seat? It might be a better option to book all your seats at the same time, either now or when you have more miles.

YMMV

Woody

 

[HallsofVA]

I have not had good luck redeeming frequent flyer miles unless I book all the tickets I need at the same time.

You say you will have the additional miles in a few weeks. The problem with buying just three seats now is in a few weeks, the seats requiring the lowest mileage (say 25,000 miles for a saver seat) could be sold out, and you would need more miles for an anytime seat.

How much would it cost to buy points for the fourth seat? It might be a better option to book all your seats at the same time, either now or when you have more miles.

YMMV

Woody

The problem is I'm 68,732 miles short, and the most I can buy is 60,000. But with each 6000 miles purchased, you get 2000 bonus miles, which may not post until 6-8 weeks after the end of November. So unless I can get a family member to give me the shortfall miles, then I'm stuck.