Who's in for GREECE and TURKEY, June 15 2003????

[nzdisneymom]

So you know how I've been watching airfare, and it's getting closer to being able to get the absolute dates we want plugged in, so I checked with our TA to see how much we would have to pay if we do air on our own but want DCL transfers from airport to dcl hotel to port to dcl hotel to airport. She said it is $90 per person. So then I went to insuremytrip dot com to get an idea of how much travel insurance would cost for a flight giving a range of what we have seen so far $1400 - $1600 per ticket. Depending on the company and coverage, we are looking at $50-100 per person

So doing the math,DCL wants $1818 for the flights. Minus the $90 transfers minus the $50-100 for travel insurance, we are
looking at a break-even point of $1600-1650 per ticket. So anything less than that would put us ahead so we have to decide at what point is the savings worth doing the flights on our own? At $1500 per ticket times four tickets, that is $400-600 savings. At $1400 per ticket, that jumps to $800-1000 savings. So I am thinking somewhere below 1500 which I believe we can get and in two weeks should be able to start pricing out and watching for variance on days of the week for booking.

So what am I missing? What else do I need to consider? DH is more comfortable with us going ahead and splurging on the DCL hotel, and having the transfers through them. So while we could do pre stay accommodations for less, he would rather we stick with dcl.

Also, when you get travel insurance for flights, how do you decide what coverage to get?

I am cross posting this with our B2B cruise.

 

[pxlbarrel]

So you know how I've been watching airfare, and it's getting closer to being able to get the absolute dates we want plugged in, so I checked with our TA to see how much we would have to pay if we do air on our own but want DCL transfers from airport to dcl hotel to port to dcl hotel to airport. She said it is $90 per person. So then I went to insuremytrip dot com to get an idea of how much travel insurance would cost for a flight giving a range of what we have seen so far $1400 - $1600 per ticket. Depending on the company and coverage, we are looking at $50-100 per person

So doing the math,DCL wants $1818 for the flights. Minus the $90 transfers minus the $50-100 for travel insurance, we are
looking at a break-even point of $1600-1650 per ticket. So anything less than that would put us ahead so we have to decide at what point is the savings worth doing the flights on our own? At $1500 per ticket times four tickets, that is $400-600 savings. At $1400 per ticket, that jumps to $800-1000 savings. So I am thinking somewhere below 1500 which I believe we can get and in two weeks should be able to start pricing out and watching for variance on days of the week for booking.

So what am I missing? What else do I need to consider? DH is more comfortable with us going ahead and splurging on the DCL hotel, and having the transfers through them. So while we could do pre stay accommodations for less, he would rather we stick with dcl.

Also, when you get travel insurance for flights, how do you decide what coverage to get?

I am cross posting this with our B2B cruise.

You can probably get the DCL hotels on your own for a LOT less than what DCL will be charging you.... and a taxi to the port will be a LOT less than the transfers too. It's very easy. The amount of money you save can buy a lot of souvenirs.

 

[mehaul]

You can probably get the DCL hotels on your own for a LOT less than what DCL will be charging you.... and a taxi to the port will be a LOT less than the transfers too. It's very easy. The amount of money you save can buy a lot of souvenirs.

I recall the cab being $60 for our family of 4 in 2011 - from the airport to the port

 

[nzdisneymom]

You can probably get the DCL hotels on your own for a LOT less than what DCL will be charging you.... and a taxi to the port will be a LOT less than the transfers too. It's very easy. The amount of money you save can buy a lot of souvenirs.

We checked the DCL hotels and the best rate I could find is €203 per room per night which is about $248 per room per night at the Renaissance Barcelona. dCL is asking $408 for the two rooms combined so that's like $204 US and includes all taxes. So right now just going to Marriott website, it's not any less. Unless there is something I am missing for checking the price. We don't have enough points for a free room.

And as a party of four needing transportation from airport to hotel to a port to hotel to airport, if we had to cab it, we would likely need two, doubling our expense unless we made different arrangements.

I think our best bet will be doing the air on our own especially if we can snag a great fare. We were lucky this summer and got $167 round trip Atlanta to Salt Lake City while friends paid over twice hat much for the same light. We just caught it right that day... Hoping for similar luck with next summers transportation.

 

[pxlbarrel]

I recall the cab being $60 for our family of 4 in 2011 - from the airport to the port

Yeah, that sounds about right...I remember something like 30-35 euro plus tip for our family of 4.

I guess.... if you're a family of 4, the savings are substatial. If you're a couple, the savings might not be that great.

 

[nzdisneymom]

I recall the cab being $60 for our family of 4 in 2011 - from the airport to the port

So that would be $120 to go and get back. Because we are going early and staying late, we will have an extra leg so I wonder what the going rate is from those hotels to the port?

 

[pxlbarrel]

We checked the DCL hotels and the best rate I could find is €203 per room per night which is about $248 per room per night at the Renaissance Barcelona. dCL is asking $408 for the two rooms combined so that's like $204 US and includes all taxes. So right now just going to Marriott website, it's not any less. Unless there is something I am missing for checking the price. We don't have enough points for a free room.

And as a party of four needing transportation from airport to hotel to a port to hotel to airport, if we had to cab it, we would likely need two, doubling our expense unless we made different arrangements.

I think our best bet will be doing the air on our own especially if we can snag a great fare. We were lucky this summer and got $167 round trip Atlanta to Salt Lake City while friends paid over twice hat much for the same light. We just caught it right that day... Hoping for similar luck with next summers transportation.

How many are in your party? We fit 4 people with 4 huge suicases in ONE taxi. You just need to get one that's a van. At the airport, you wait in the taxi line and when it's your turn, if there's not a van right away, you just wait for one to show up in the line. There are many vans so you won't have to wait long if you have to wait. When you're going from the hotel to the airport, just ask the hotel to call for a minivan taxi.

 

[pxlbarrel]

So that would be $120 to go and get back. Because we are going early and staying late, we will have an extra leg so I wonder what the going rate is from those hotels to the port?

We paid about 30 Euro each way.... 30 to the hotel from the airport and about 30 from the hotel to the port. The hotel we were staying at was the AC Diplomatic ... i don't know what it is now....

 

[nzdisneymom]

How many are in your party? We fit 4 people with 4 huge suicases in ONE taxi. You just need to get one that's a van. At the airport, you wait in the taxi line and when it's your turn, if there's not a van right away, you just wait for one to show up in the line. There are many vans so you won't have to wait long if you have to wait. When you're going from the hotel to the airport, just ask the hotel to call for a minivan taxi.

Yeah, our party of four will be four with four huge suitcases. Actually probably three big ones plus one smaller since all four big ones will not fit in our car to get to the airport At least we don't have to get new luggage this time. We did in 2010.

 

[nzdisneymom]

We paid about 30 Euro each way.... 30 to the hotel from the airport and about 30 from the hotel to the port. The hotel we were staying at was the AC Diplomatic ... i don't know what it is now....

It's the renaissance Barcelona. Where we are staying with DCL. So I can see how DCL gets their $90 US since they figure per person rather Han per family. So about $180 total for all legs of the transfers. dCL for a party of four is about double that.

 

[pxlbarrel]

It's the renaissance Barcelona. Where we are staying with DCL. So I can see how DCL gets their $90 US since they figure per person rather Han per family. So about $180 total for all legs of the transfers. dCL for a party of four is about double that.

It's a very nice hotel. One of the things I love about this hotel was the hardwood floors. When it was the AC hotel, it also had a refrigerator with FREE drinks inside. That was very nice.

One thing that we got educated on was at this hotel ... the Europeans don't believe in queuing up. LOL... while we and some other North Americans were waiting patiently for a front desk person to be freed up, this guy walks in front of us and parks himself in front of the desk. When we protested, he yelled back at us that we shouldn't be standing there then....

Oooookay.

 

[DL1957]

AC Diplomat/Bacelona Renisance/Marriott - all the same. BFF and DIS called DCL last wednesday and they had no rooms left before our cruise and a few left after. BFF was able to book on line with the rate being a little less because she did not get the single supplement charge for the hotle. Where already booked there and BFF has never travled to Europe so wanted to make sure she was at the same hotel with us. The other Disney hotel still has rooms. If you want to use DCL transfers you can still use them and book a DCL hotel yourself. Happy Tuesday!

 

[DL1957]

If there is anyone who uses Delta miles for upgrades I have a question. In looking at Delta's website there are two different amounts for each way to upgrade to business class. It shows 15,000 miles and then shows 25,000. We have enough for DH, BFF and me to upgrade at 15K but not 25K. Does anyone know how this works before I break down and call the airline.
Thanks
Sue

 

[nzdisneymom]

If there is anyone who uses Delta miles for upgrades I have a question. In looking at Delta's website there are two different amounts for each way to upgrade to business class. It shows 15,000 miles and then shows 25,000. We have enough for DH, BFF and me to upgrade at 15K but not 25K. Does anyone know how this works before I break down and call the airline.
Thanks
Sue

I don't, but thanks for the idea of looking to see how many SkyMiles we have to see if we might be able to upgrade any of us. We have never used miles for anything - except magazine subscriptions

OK, so I just checked and DH and I have enough points to upgrade; the boys are 1,722 short, but I have time between now and going to transfer credits from other things we do to change those into skymiles. But how does the upgrade work? Do you it before you leave or at the airport? How far in advance can you take a ticket and upgrade it to the next class?

And if you can only upgrade one way, would you do it for the trip over or the trip back? Or maybe consider doing two going out and the other two coming back? thoughts?

 

[DL1957]

I don't, but thanks for the idea of looking to see how many SkyMiles we have to see if we might be able to upgrade any of us. We have never used miles for anything - except magazine subscriptions

OK, so I just checked and DH and I have enough points to upgrade; the boys are 1,722 short, but I have time between now and going to transfer credits from other things we do to change those into skymiles.Did you check how many miles for each? Is it 15K or 25K ? But how does the upgrade work? Do you it before you leave or at the airport? How far in advance can you take a ticket and upgrade it to the next class?

And if you can only upgrade one way, would you do it for the trip over or the trip back? Or maybe consider doing two going out and the other two coming back? thoughts?

From my past experience that you get the ticket and then upgrade at the same time. It guarntees the seat unlike the airport upgrades which is a waiting list. There is a limit to how many are on the flight but usually at least 10 to 20% of the seats and it goes up as it gets closer to the flight. I have used them a lot when I use to fly United out of SFO but living in VA I don't travel as much on business. Sue

 

[abayaflowers]

Hi, everyone! I'm sorry to say that we are cancelling our reservation for this cruise. We've decided that last year's 10 night Med cruise with our kids was the experience of a lifetime, and we don't want to do something so similiar again this soon. Plus we want to split our vacation time into a couple of week-long trips.

Your wedding pictures are gorgeous!

 

[abayaflowers]

Still watching airfare to get a feel for what it could be, and as I'm thinking about it, we may end up cutting a day off the front end of the trip and fly over on Wednesday instead of on Tuesday. The price is the same to fly on Tuesday or Wednesday but goes up if you fly on Thursday. We'll have one night in BCN at the end of our adventure so that our flight home won't be quite so hectic. Last time we flew home the day we got off the ship. We don't have a need to stay in Barcelona for so long so we figure if we arrive on Thursday before sailing on Saturday, that should give us enough time to see Barcelona pre and post cruise.

I find that it was less expensive to fly from SFO to BCN with a stop in JFK than it was to fly non-stop from JFK to BCN. I wanted to take some time in NYC or London, but my savings would be eaten up alive. I even thought about taking the Eurostar and then the Elipsos into Barcelona from London via Paris.

I have a quote of $1055 a person.

 

[drlaurafsu]

But how does the upgrade work? Do you it before you leave or at the airport? How far in advance can you take a ticket and upgrade it to the next class?

And if you can only upgrade one way, would you do it for the trip over or the trip back? Or maybe consider doing two going out and the other two coming back? thoughts?

You won't be able to buy the cheapest tickets to do the upgrade. Usually you have to buy a minimum level ticket...but its still cheaper than a business class ticket. Its don't at the same time as the ticket so you have the right kind of ticket. You can purchase points from Delta too if you only need a few to make up the difference for the boys or even transfer some from your account if you have extra...for a small fee.

If you could only do one way I would highly recommend the trip over. The seats are larger and more comfy so that you actually have a better chance of getting some sleep. They recline back a lot further and may even lay flat. Food is also better so you will get a better dinner and breakfast. Plus the grown ups can have free cocktails.

On the way back its daytime and while you will definitely be more comfortable than in coach you typically aren't trying to sleep other than cat nap on the way home. Only caveat is if you aren't spending the night with your brother on the way back and plan to drive 5 hours once you get in...then the driver should probably try to sleep and may prefer the upgrade on the return.

 

[mehaul]

If there is anyone who uses Delta miles for upgrades I have a question. In looking at Delta's website there are two different amounts for each way to upgrade to business class. It shows 15,000 miles and then shows 25,000. We have enough for DH, BFF and me to upgrade at 15K but not 25K. Does anyone know how this works before I break down and call the airline.
Thanks
Sue

Normally there are 2 different "rates" for using miles. 15,000 would be the Saver fare and 25,000 would be the Standard Fare. Standard Fare can be used anytime, Saver only certain seats available.

In this case the 15,000 is on a full fare economy ticket - that's usually very expensive. You're likely going to need the 25,000 miles.

I just cashed in 400,000 miles for the 4 of us.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Normally there are 2 different "rates" for using miles. 15,000 would be the Saver fare and 25,000 would be the Standard Fare. Standard Fare can be used anytime, Saver only certain seats available.

In this case the 15,000 is on a full fare economy ticket - that's usually very expensive. You're likely going to need the 25,000 miles.

I just cashed in 400,000 miles for the 4 of us.

Yay for you! So you have your flights done, then? That's great! DH and I both have over 19K and the boys are just over 13K.

If you could only do one way I would highly recommend the trip over. The seats are larger and more comfy so that you actually have a better chance of getting some sleep. They recline back a lot further and may even lay flat. Food is also better so you will get a better dinner and breakfast. Plus the grown ups can have free cocktails.

On the way back its daytime and while you will definitely be more comfortable than in coach you typically aren't trying to sleep other than cat nap on the way home. Only caveat is if you aren't spending the night with your brother on the way back and plan to drive 5 hours once you get in...then the driver should probably try to sleep and may prefer the upgrade on the return.

Good points - thanks - and yeah, we always stay over in ATL when we get back as we are generally BEAT. When we flew back from Vancouver to ATL, we had delays in Dallas and ended up back in ATL at 3 AM. We were supposed to be back at 11 PM. Because we had a late flight scheduled (and we had left super early), we had stayed at a nearby hotel and left our car there rather than staying with my brother and/or having him pick us up. He was thankful. We just made our vacation out to Yellowstone and other areas a couple of weeks ago and had a super early flight but a mid-afternoon return so he dropped us off at a nearby hotel and then picked us up when we got back. Don't know what we'll do if he ever moves

A coworker is going on her first DCL next month and was asking today about tips which reminded me I had not calculated our gratuity cost yet. After adding it up for four people, 12 nights, two cruises, well, we definitely need to save some money on the flights! It also prompted me to look at the itinerary and set an estimation for each port's excursions based on what we've done in the past so I know just how severe of an austerity program I'm about to put our family into

School starts in 2 1/2 weeks but band camp starts next Wednesday which means band fees and uniform fees, etc. Thankfully though, high school doesn't have as many classroom fees as we've had for middle school and elementary school, and hardly any field trips, so this should be about it. They purposely do not tell you what the band fees for high school will be when your kid is still in middle school so you won't tell them no Thankfully he has an opportunity to do some fundraising so I'm hopeful my coworkers will want to buy poinsettias and Boston butts.