I love credit cards so much! v6.0 - 2023 (see first page for add'l details)

[EACarlson]

If you want to do your appts. in Toronto make appts well in advance of the day you select. They centre at the airport was closed for almost 3 yrs and just re-opened in the last few wks. It's going to be very, very busy and walk-ins may not be accommodated.

I think @Haley R was referring to doing Enrollment on Arrival.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I think it's my fault since I also have an upcoming trip to Paris. Or maybe it's all our fault. I really want to go there, though, so I'm just going to hope things get better before we leave.

When are you leaving?

just got back. garbage piled neatly on sidewalks! but a lot. police resence at main train station in opera district. we didn't walk by Plaza de Concorde as that's where most protests were. we did drive by and saw the barricades and police. at inght heard sirens. but nothing really bothered us. heavy trtaffic and some taxi's tried to up their charges citing traffic. G7 and uber were much cheaper

Did any of the protests affect you getting to the airport? I read reports of protestors blocking train tracks and routes to the airport (which led, in pics, to people walking along the side of the highway to get to the airport).

I called the hotel I'm staying at and they said that 1 train out of 3 may be cancelled, but people get where they need to go (I'm taking the train there from Amsterdam and then onwards to FRA for my flight on the Singapore A380 in first class from FRA to JFK).

How bad was the garbage situation? Pictures online (which I recognize may be of the worst areas) look pretty awful. Did it smell bad?

 

[sinnika]

I called United this morning to inquire about the upcoming strike. They said all of their flights going into Germany on March 27 have been canceled. My flight to Frankfurt is 8 days away, but I think I’m going to fly into Amsterdam instead on April 2nd, Then book a separate ticket from Amsterdam to Frankfurt later in the day. May try to visit the Riijksmuseum during my layover.

 

[Sheree]

When are you leaving?



Did any of the protests affect you getting to the airport? I read reports of protestors blocking train tracks and routes to the airport (which led, in pics, to people walking along the side of the highway to get to the airport).

I called the hotel I'm staying at and they said that 1 train out of 3 may be cancelled, but people get where they need to go (I'm taking the train there from Amsterdam and then onwards to FRA for my flight on the Singapore A380 in first class from FRA to JFK).

How bad was the garbage situation? Pictures online (which I recognize may be of the worst areas) look pretty awful. Did it smell bad?

we ubered. from cdg to hotel lots of traffic. day we left it was 6am and we flew in

it was around 60 degrees, didn't notice any garbage smells. i was amazed at how neatly it was piled up!

 

[mmmears]

Thinking of booking a Celebrity cruise with the Amex deal. I remember someone mentioning about using a "preferred" TA, but I can't find the post. Can someone point me to the right place?

TIA

When are you leaving?

Not until May, but from what I have read this may go on for a long time.

 

[mmmears]

Never mind - I found the post. Never booked with Celebrity before but it's good to try new things.

 

[IFlossU]

Well for anyone considering going to Los Altos in Costa Rica I say 100% do it!! We had an amazing time. The residence (I’m reluctant to call 2500sq ft a “room”) was immaculate and obviously spacious enough for a family of 4. The staff were exceptional all around. I know it’s going up a category in a few days, but would be well worth it. It was a steal for 20-25k/night.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Thinking of booking a Celebrity cruise with the Amex deal. I remember someone mentioning about using a "preferred" TA, but I can't find the post. Can someone point me to the right place?

TIA



Not until May, but from what I have read this may go on for a long time.

Do you mean the garbage strike may go on for a long time? I'm trying to find an alternate city to visit, but I am tied to my departure from Frankfurt and I would strongly prefer to travel by train, but I can't find anywhere that intrigues me within a 5 hour train ride. So I am toying with flying from Amsterdam to Madrid, then to Frankfurt.

I am also worried about another strike at the Frankfurt airport on April 6th (they held one on March 17, now the 27, add 10 days and that's April 6th, when I am scheduled to land on my flight with AA). I started looking for alternatives and found a flight from Toronto to Montreal (AC) to Zurich (Swiss Air) to Brussels (Brussels Air); I applied a Priority voucher and got biz class for 38k points. I had to go to the Swiss Air website to book my seat and I was able to secure a 'throne' seat for no cost! Hopefully there will be a few days notice ahead of a potential strike so I can cancel one of the 2 flights. What a PITA!

 

[sinnika]

Do you mean the garbage strike may go on for a long time? I'm trying to find an alternate city to visit, but I am tied to my departure from Frankfurt and I would strongly prefer to travel by train, but I can't find anywhere that intrigues me within a 5 hour train ride. So I am toying with flying from Amsterdam to Madrid, then to Frankfurt.

I am also worried about another strike at the Frankfurt airport on April 6th (they held one on March 17, now the 27, add 10 days and that's April 6th, when I am scheduled to land on my flight with AA). I started looking for alternatives and found a flight from Toronto to Montreal (AC) to Zurich (Swiss Air) to Brussels (Brussels Air); I applied a Priority voucher and got biz class for 38k points. I had to go to the Swiss Air website to book my seat and I was able to secure a 'throne' seat for no cost! Hopefully there will be a few days notice ahead of a potential strike so I can cancel one of the 2 flights. What a PITA!

The strikes are making me nervous too. I was debating taking a side trip to Bruges from Amsterdam but don’t want to get stuck if trains and buses strike. I’m too nervous to rent a car. I was interested in seeing the special Vermeer exhibit at the Rijksmuseum but all tickets are sold out. So I think I’ll go straight on to Frankfurt. My DD lives about 1 1/4 hour from the airport. I’ll be back in Amsterdam on April 18 to meet up with a friend then we’re flying back to Frankfurt to stay at my DD’s. I’m hoping to visit a few other places this trip since DD will be moving back to the US in September. I’m going to miss my free Abnb, though I’ve managed to spend 3 months there in the last 2 years.

 

[mmmears]

Do you mean the garbage strike may go on for a long time? I'm trying to find an alternate city to visit, but I am tied to my departure from Frankfurt and I would strongly prefer to travel by train, but I can't find anywhere that intrigues me within a 5 hour train ride. So I am toying with flying from Amsterdam to Madrid, then to Frankfurt.

Yes because it's a much deeper issue and it's not just the garbage workers. I don't want to give up on Paris (we were supposed to go in 2020 and I really want to go there this year) but I have concerns because we booked the TGV to Barcelona to catch a cruise. I know we can book a flight instead, but there's no guarantee there won't be strikes in that sector as well. I have to say that in every trip of mine to Paris except the one in 2011 there was some kind of strike going on (metro, train, air, you name it) so it hasn't taken me completely by surprise that something like this is happening.

 

[becauseimnew]

Well for anyone considering going to Los Altos in Costa Rica I say 100% do it!! We had an amazing time. The residence (I’m reluctant to call 2500sq ft a “room”) was immaculate and obviously spacious enough for a family of 4. The staff were exceptional all around. I know it’s going up a category in a few days, but would be well worth it. It was a steal for 20-25k/night.

How many night would you recommend?

 

[jujubiee4]

Never mind - I found the post. Never booked with Celebrity before but it's good to try new things.

I still havent booked. With the cutbacks cruise lines are making I am a bit hesitant. Also
some of the prices on newer ships seem expensive. Yeah Im coming from DCL but whatever lol.

I will say subscribe to their site. I did and received a coupon offer off a future cruise just for
signing up.

 

[jujubiee4]

Well for anyone considering going to Los Altos in Costa Rica I say 100% do it!! We had an amazing time. The residence (I’m reluctant to call 2500sq ft a “room”) was immaculate and obviously spacious enough for a family of 4. The staff were exceptional all around. I know it’s going up a category in a few days, but would be well worth it. It was a steal for 20-25k/night.

Did you get groceries/snacks delivered or shopped yourselves? 2 to 3 hour drive from airport? Yikes!
Once you got to resort were all the activities nearby? I agree the hyatt rate looks a steal.

 

[mmmears]

I still havent booked. With the cutbacks cruise lines are making I am a bit hesitant. Also
some of the prices on newer ships seem expensive. Yeah Im coming from DCL but whatever lol.

I will say subscribe to their site. I did and received a coupon offer off a future cruise just for
signing up.

We booked for 2024, so I have plenty of time to cancel or find something else for that summer. I agree that the prices seem really high (and I'm also coming from DCL so it was a bit of a surprise since the 2023 cruises were priced better). I suspect it's just travel coming back to normal, but I don't love the prices either.

 

[IFlossU]

How many night would you recommend?

For us 4 or 5 nights would have been a perfect balance of chill resort time, and exploring the area. Honestly I could have stayed a lot longer, but I’m content to just sit by the ocean all day. The rest of my family can only do that for so long.

Did you get groceries/snacks delivered or shopped yourselves? 2 to 3 hour drive from airport? Yikes!
Once you got to resort were all the activities nearby? I agree the hyatt rate looks a steal.

There’s a grocery store approx. 5 minute walk from resort in a very safe area. We bought some snacks and drinks there almost daily. Yes, it’s a 3 hour drive to the airport. We came to the Hampton Inn across from the airport this afternoon to spend the night before our flight home in the morning.

There are many activities in the Manuel Antonio area. You can drive or get a tour bus. We saw an endless stream of tour buses picking up guests from the resort.

 

[punkin]

I just looked at the dublin airport website and they recommend getting there 3.5 hours before your flight plus add an hour if you're checking bags! Is that realistic? It sounds insane to me. We are going to be flying united Polaris and will have global entry for the preclearance. Should I still get there 4.5 hours early?

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

Well for anyone considering going to Los Altos in Costa Rica I say 100% do it!! We had an amazing time. The residence (I’m reluctant to call 2500sq ft a “room”) was immaculate and obviously spacious enough for a family of 4. The staff were exceptional all around. I know it’s going up a category in a few days, but would be well worth it. It was a steal for 20-25k/night.

For us 4 or 5 nights would have been a perfect balance of chill resort time, and exploring the area. Honestly I could have stayed a lot longer, but I’m content to just sit by the ocean all day. The rest of my family can only do that for so long.

I'm so excited that you loved it! I can't wait to hear about some of the activities you guys did!! Did you guys cook at all in the "residence", or mostly eat out? Also can't wait to hear any restaurants you recommend in the area!
We are going for 5 nights. I originally thought that might be too long, but I'm glad to hear you say 4-5 nights is a perfect balance. I am also looking for some chill time by the pool, balanced with of course activities/exploring the area.

 

[IFlossU]

I'm so excited that you loved it! I can't wait to hear about some of the activities you guys did!! Did you guys cook at all in the "residence", or mostly eat out? Also can't wait to hear any restaurants you recommend in the area!
We are going for 5 nights. I originally thought that might be too long, but I'm glad to hear you say 4-5 nights is a perfect balance. I am also looking for some chill time by the pool, balanced with of course activities/exploring the area.

We thought we would cook some simple meals, but we had just been in an Airbnb for 4 nights prior and frankly I didn’t feel like cooking anymore. With a free full hot breakfast everyday DH and I usually only ate breakfast and dinner. Drinks at the beach for lunch We had dinner at Karolas the resort restaurant 2x. It was delicious, never busy, and the service was outstanding. We also tried Agua Azul, and its sister restaurant Quepoa. Both were decent, but we preferred Karolas.

I have to admit that once we arrived after making the 5hr drive from La Fortuna we truly just wanted to stay and relax at the resort for a couple of days. We don’t regret renting a car, and would do it again, but it’s intense and tiring. We had several plans that never happened because we didn’t feel like doing that much driving. We did visit Manuel Antonio National Park. We enjoyed it, but definitely a 1 and done for $78 for the 4 of us. I wanted to see Rainmaker park, and Nauyaca falls, but no one in our family wanted anymore time in the car. So we elected to stay in town, and enjoy the resort. We didn’t see as much as we could have, but we genuinely enjoyed our rest and relaxation at Los Altos. I have no regrets.

 

[afan]

I think I'd like to plot each of my Japan days out somewhere so I can easily see what my musts for the day are and get directions, see what food and other stuff is nearby etc. Is google maps the best way to do this? Or does anyone have experience with anything else?

I think this would help me vs having to look up my next destination each time. It's not to keep me strict to a schedule or plan, but help with suggestions and remove some of the thinking aspect while I'm there especially since I'll be alone.

 

[Haley R]

I think I'd like to plot each of my Japan days out somewhere so I can easily see what my musts for the day are and get directions, see what food and other stuff is nearby etc. Is google maps the best way to do this? Or does anyone have experience with anything else?

I think this would help me vs having to look up my next destination each time. It's not to keep me strict to a schedule or plan, but help with suggestions and remove some of the thinking aspect while I'm there especially since I'll be alone.

Dh said he used google maps to plan everything out when we went. I also had google docs with detailed info for everything