I actually attended a WorldMark owner re-education session that taught me some useful trips (rather than just being a ruse to sell me more points). This post is really for my friends with WorldMark credits, though it might be of interest to Wyndham credits owners as well.
I’ve used “waitlisting” on the website for years – you get up to 4 e-waitlists. What I didn’t understand/know is that if you CALL (which I hate) you can waitlist up to 8 resorts for any room size at any of those resorts – the e-waitlist limits you to two room sizes per request, even in resorts that have upwards of eight room sizes.
So, once you call, here is something to remember – WorldMark organizes is waitlist into three priority buckets:
90% of the people in this bucket will get their room request
50% of the people in this bucket will get their room request
10% of the people in this bucket will get their room request
So, ask which bucket (I mean Priority List) you are in so you can make travel plans a little further out. LOTS of inventory opens up 30 days out from your requested date as people cancel their reservations before the cancellation deadline. Because of my points level, that’s really convenient because I can book “Fun Time” (credits from your account or $.08 per credit needed) 5 weeks out if I want to pay rather that use points. I’m comped into Platinum Elite level for another year or so, so that’s 6 weeks (up from 5 weeks at the old level), so it’s less important as Platinum Elite doesn’t have housekeeping fees (based on unit size), whereas Diamond Elite has a handful of free housekeeping tokens. Another reason to get to the top level!
Another tip to minimizing housekeeping fees is to string together contiguous nights as different resorts – you’ll only be charge ONE housekeeping fee based on the largest unit of your trip.
Another thing I didn’t know is that “waitlist requests” disappear two weeks before your stay date when all inventory in converted to “Bonus Time” (credits from your account or $0.06 per credit needed). Looking for that last minute stay, most reservations are cancelled between 5:30pm and 8:30pm. Most inventory is put BACK in the system is at 6pm and 10:30am – load the page for the resort you want and hit refresh every five minutes – haven’t tried this yet, but sounds logical.
Additionally, I hear news of resorts coming online in Brazil and Thailand, along with what I’ve been asked WorldMark for years: PORTLAND. Though Wyndham bought Shell Vacations, I haven’t seen their resorts show up in the WorldMark system yet.
If there are folks contemplating WorldMark ownership – happy to share my experiences and knowledge, including purchasing “after-market” credits. Rule of thumb for “after-market” points is that they are 25-50% cheaper than points purchased directly from WorldMark, but come with severe limitations: no access to WorldMark South Pacific (and the upcoming WorldMark South America) or TravelShare (which opens up some of the Wyndham Resorts not in the WorldMark system), and buy the amount of credits (they recur yearly as long as you pay the maintenance dues) you think you’d need as you can’t combine company credits and “after-market” credits so if you had both, you’d be paying two maintenance fees.
See what happens when I don’t travel for a couple of weeks – you get a travel geek post.
It really isn’t a cruise to nowhere… just an overnight from Vancouver, BC to Seattle, WA – with a couple of nights in Vancouver with friends at the beginning.
Since Swanda wants to see lots of selfies, this might be a report in selfies….starting with not getting to bed early enough…
But I make the train – cab is early so I boxed my breakfast and headed out. Luckily they boarded 40 minutes early so I could just chill and snooze.
Three hours later and a couple of drinks later, we stop at the Canadian border for a red signal…more delays.
Finally coming into Vancouver, British Columbia with snow-capped mountains in the background…
A beautiful day in Vancouver…
Had lunch with Solus+ at The Parlour – a great little Yaletown eatery. He was kind enough to pick me up at the station. We shared a bunch of appetizers:
Arugula — Anjou Pear, Red Onion, Butter Croutons, Parmesan, Pumpkin Seeds, Walnuts, Maple Shallot Vinaigrette
Brocco — Garlic, Shallots, Jalapeño, Pine Nuts, Sweet Soy Sauce
Stacked Short Ribs — Hosisin and Tamarind marinated, Granny Smith Apple and Jicama Slaw
Solus+ had a couple of stouts; I had a couple of Manhattans. What was I thinking! No selfie? No food shots.
Got to the condo after lunch – and only had to wait20 minutes to have my room ready – a couple of hours early. Hummingbird had left me bread and wine with the front desk – what else would a priest leave ( body and blood of Christ).
The early check-in gives me time to grab 10% off coupons and head to the IGA for some grocery shopping. Much wandering later the meal plan is in place:
Pupu platter which BamBam will decimate and not have it effect his appetite
Southwestern salad (pre-packaged kit)
Bread
Rolled pork roasts on a bed of multi-colored potatoes
Hummingbird showed up with white wine and dessert. Their friend showed up with more wine, which is good since there are four of us and all I have is two bottles of whiskey.
Great views from the apartment – we lucked out and got one of the few balcony units at WorldMark at The Canadian.
After dinner the silliness begins…
No, it’s not a stitched picture, it’s a times picture with two pieces of mirror in the background, showing off the BBC News we are watching.
The boys (minus Kevvy, their guest) spent the night since they now live north of town in the Frasier Valley. Way too much whiskey was consumed, so in the morning we were off to church after a breakfast scramble:
At the noon service he asks for healing thoughts for the family and friends of my buddy CaddyDaddy who would have been on this trip had he not crapped out last year. He is due to be planted tomorrow at 11:15am with full military honors in Olympia. The mere mention of him in the service left a huge lump in my throat – I can’t imagine the mess that I would have been had I attended his interment.
The boys were off after a quick run back to the apartment, giving me time to make a run for tonight’s dinner with Helene, and a quick nap, and some work on wine shop stuff (site updates, blog postings to other sites, graphics).
Tonight’s dinner:
Bread of Helene (a small baguette which wasn’t large enough for the carb carnivore)
Mixed greens salad for from the salad bar at the IGA
Broiled salmon on a bed of buckwheat noodles (leftovers from the boys – the noodles that is)
I love the condo vase with a couple of stems of fresh flowers. I’m sure that vase has NEVER held a flower in its life in the condo.
Luckily Helene brought wine, though with DancingBear dropping off wine on his way to dinner with friends, we didn’t get to it – but I was glad I popped next door and picked up another bottle of whiskey.
DB got home just as we were finishing dinner and we popped in the DVD that I bought the other night at the IGA – The Poseidon Adventure (the remake) which is appropriate since DB and I are going on a cruise tomorrow.
HUGE scramble in the morning:
Eggs (5)
The leftover potatoes from the first night’s roast
Seems it’s a WorldMark tradition to have scrambles in the morning with the leftovers from the night(s) before. Now you know why I pack butter, olive oil and balsamic vinegar (not the last for breakfast).
We (DB & UM) bail on the condo at 11:15am for the Golden Princess for our cruise home to Seattle. The lines were moving OK, in contrast to one of DB’s cruises from the same terminal when four ships were in port (as opposed to two today) where the line went out the door and around the building. Think three hours in line.
DancingBear and I booked separate cabins so we could each get 2 Princess Cruise Credits (rather than 1 for a double occupancy cabin). I booked a balcony, he booked an inside and the plan was that we’ve hang in the balcony cabin and he had Princess put him 4 doors down from mine…but the upgrade gods (yes, even on Cruise Ships there are upgrade Gods) intervened and he got bumped from his Inside Cabin to a Balcony (a two-class upgrade), and I got upgraded from a Balcony to a Suite – a sweet Suite. I hadn’t looked at what cabin I was in for a while so I didn’t notice the upgrade until I got to the room and thought “this looks bigger than I remember balcony cabins”.
Yes, that is a King Size bed on a Princess. Yes, there were TWO flat screen TVs. Now add a porch with a couple of lounge chairs and a table.
We had a quick drink in the cabin before heading to the Donatello Dining Room for lunch, bypassing the huge crowds at the buffet:
Our quite sit-down lunch at a shared table with other cruisers was:
A little quiet time after lunch and before you know it we are in full swing – 3:45pm is the Mandatory Life Boat Drill:
After the drill it’s time to get underway. Here is us sailing away under the Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver:
Honest – I was trying to get my phone ready to take a selfie, and not drop my Manhattan. We were out there for the LGBT gathering – formally known as the “Friends of Dorothy” which I sort of miss… “code and all”, like “beard“. Apparently the youngsters don’t get the old reference. FOD is to the old gay world like FOB (Friends of Bill [W]) is for the people in “recovery”. It always amuses me on cruises with they have the recovery people meeting in a bar that isn’t open.
That party quickly moved to the Skywalker Lounge (17 Aft) because it was Happy Hour with Hors d’oeuvres in the Platinum Lounge with discounted drink of the day. We ran in to a couple of other Gay Short Curisers – or as they are known on Facebook as the Seattle Princess Sea Men.
Some chips and guacamole, a way-to-sweet top shelf Margarita for cheap and we were back to the cabin for another round before dinner – the way-sweet margarita was helped by watering it down with the last of the white wine we packed on board. The red wine was headed to dinner with us ($15 corkage fee – on Princess you are allowed to bring one bottle of wine per person free and the corkage fee only applies to having it in one of the restaurants.)
We probably DIDN’T need to order THREE desserts…
With Limón cello for me and Bailey’s in Coffee for DB (both on sale). My best shot is of the heart “broken” to share:
That’s the Princess Loveboat Heart in the foreground and the flan in the background (the other was a flourless chocolate thingee).
DB was done after that… and I surfed the internet until midnight (150 free minutes to use as a Princess Platinum) until hunger called again at a little after midnight. I didn’t reen the cheeseburger and fries (free) but I did need the Diet Pepsi Mixer ($2.25 with fees). I asked for a “bucket of ice” – and they brought me a damned bucket:
Things from duty free and some emptys… and the “bucket” next to the ice bucket:
Don’t worry – the ice is sitting in front of a mirror.
Up early – yet another meal in the dining room – so far haven’t hid the buffet at all – a record.
Separate disembarkation lounge for the Platinum Folk (both DB and I) so it was basically leave when you want and it was home by cab (in different directions) for both of us. I actually got a nap of over an hour before heading to work for the opening shift.
Dinner at Swanda’s for dinner with two mutual friends and then it was hone to bed. Long day. Or should I say long days.
It feels a little “odd” to have NOT been travelling for the last month plus. It made my business partner happy as I picked up a much of Friday shifts, allowing him to putter around his garden and do house projects.
That hasn’t stopped me from planning future trips. Summers I generally travel less because there are no “deals” as all the families are travelling because school is out. What it DOES mean is that people aren’t thinking about early November (typically a slow travel time), and February to April.
I looked at going to Frankfurt in early November. It would have enhanced my 2019 travel map by adding Europe. Here is the current planned 2019 travel:
And if I added Frankfurt, it would look like this:
I booked the flights using miles (110,000) for business class, booked the hotel using points (45,000). It would have meant I had three nights in Frankfort. Then I went to bed.
Amazing what sleeping on something will do for you. I woke up with the major thought, “But, I really don’t like Frankfurt, and I’d use up all three days getting someplace else within Europe by rail.”
A week or two went by before I started to explore another trip. This time I decided to do something on my bucket list rather than just something that I could book in Business Class. Hence, the World Tour 2020 was born. It started with trying to book this trip spending a handful of nights in Seoul and a handful of nights in Taipei – neither places I’ve explored (been through Seoul several times, but not beyond the airport):
Alaska let me book the long layover flight, but I couldn’t get it to actually ticket for 120,000 miles roundtrip plus fees. Picked up the phone (which I dislike doing) and called the Partner Desk at Alaska. She tried the itinerary and couldn’t get it to ticket. It kept coming back as 120,000 miles EACH WAY. Alaska Airlines allows stopovers on Award Tickets as long as its in the Partner Airlines hub. I chalked it up as, “try again later.”
While I was on the Alaska website, poked around and found this:
“Korean Air: We are aware of an issue with Korean Air award booking failures affecting both alaskaair.com and our call centers. We are working with Korean Air to investigate and resolve this issue. If your travel plans are flexible, please try again using different dates or partner airlines.”
Turns out they are having problems with Icelandair and have pulled ALL flights from inventory:
“Icelandair: We have temporarily removed the ability to shop for Icelandair award travel due to a high rate of booking failure. We are working with Icelandair to resolve this issue.”
Sad about Icelandair as I’ve flown them before, though their Business Class is more akin to domestic First Class (slightly reclining seats as opposed to lay-flat).
So, if I just tried to book “The World Tour” for March 2020. It comprises two one-way award bookings using two different airlines, both of which allow for stopovers. The first one-way is Seattle to Tokyo (where I’ll be spending four nights), continuing on to New Delhi (three nights). I haven’t been to India since my first international trip in 1976 (yes, I was a mere pup of 20). Japan Airlines Sky Suite (Business) in 787-8’s for each leg.
The return starts in Delhi with a flight to London (three nights) before going onto Seattle. Club World (Business) for the DEL-LHR leg, then First Class for the LHR-SEA leg. I haven’t been in BA’s First for about a decade. Wasn’t impressed the last time – seemed they were hoping everyone would go to sleep so they could sit around and read magazines. The reviews are better these days. Time will tell.
Here is what that map would look like:
Definitely a “bucket list” kinda trip, though the map display looks odd from the top.
Even if I added US flights to it, including HNL, it still looks weird:
But if I add South America, I get a better map:
Sean (who I’m visiting in Saigon in October) wants me to meet up with him in South America next summer when he is on summer break from the school where he teaches. It would make the map easier to comprehend.
All the domestic flying I do, I do to accrue large chunks of miles to use for long international flights in the pointy end of the plane. The cost for this “bucket list” adventure?
140,000 miles plus fees. The JAL fees are really cheap ($51.20). The fees for British are egregious (S806.83). A couple of hundred of the BA fees are because Heathrow charges HUGE fees for Business/First departures. Still, less than $900 in taxes/fees for an “Around the World” ticket isn’t bad. It also means that I’m getting a GREAT value for my miles. Alaska miles are valued by The Points Guy at 1.8 cents each. Depending on how you assign costs to the ticket, I’m getting somewhere between 5.93 cents per mile to 17.78 cents per mile (if you figured them as four one-way flights). Here is the math:
The most amusing number in the spreadsheet is the cost of a First Class ticket on British Airways from Heathrow (London) to Seattle. $13, 586.92. That’s A LOT of money. The number for the combined one-way is a guess as the BA site wouldn’t let me do a multi-city itinerary split between Business and First. But as you can see by the numbers for JAL and BA that the segment price to/from the hub is way more expensive than continuing on through the hub.
Oh, and the bucket list item was “Around The World In At Least Business And Only Take One Weekend Off Work.
This is my last full-week home for a couple of weeks, I head out Monday for Centralia to stay at a McMenamen’s hotel, then down to Portland to check out the new WorldMark Portland. Following week up in Whistler, followed by four nights in NYC at the Wyndham Grand New York.
Too bad I didn’t get the picture of the woman on the platform in Denver doing the ALS Ice Water Challenge – I did, however, donate my ice to the project. I had ice still in my bucket, and I’m in Denver, my destination – better to soak someone than being poured down the drain. Personally I like the picture from the movie Carrie that I posted on FaceBook with the comment “Ice Bucket Failure – Got Blood Instead”.
Because of a thunderstorm that rolled in at the same time as the train (coincidence?) our table was a little late as they moved patio people inside… but soon we were eating at the lovely Stoic & Genuine:
Drinks in hand, waiting for oysters….
Oysters killed, killing the tuna tartar….
Then the heirloom tomato salad – and in the background the watermelon salad.
After dinner we walked through the rehabbed station….
There is even a hotel in the station – the front desk looked good, but no idea the rates. That would be the Crawford Hotel.
It was a long night…luckily both Dan and Lisa aren’t working for my “big day” in Denver…Dan and I ran to HomoDepot (and didn’t give in to the hot dog guy there) to check out parts to fix my suitcase (again) and then off to shop for cheap liquor for me to drag home….but soon it was dinner time:
Chicken off the grill (that’s what is in the big bowl, lots of legs off the grill) while Dan dealt with issues on one of my web servers… and before you knew it, we were both beat…
When you are beat, you are beat.
Before I knew it, it was time to head back to Seattle. Thanks Lisa for running me to the airport!
Got my booze laden bag checked (2×1.75, 1x.75) and headed to the Admirals Club (American) which Alaska has privileges with. First priority is to start posting some blog reports… second thing is to get some food before my trip. Yes, there are cookies and snaky things, but unlike the Alaska Board Room, you have to pay for real food – I got the roast beef sandwich on a Pretzel Roll and I swapped out the chips for extra pickles ($9.95 plus tax) – I didn’t realize I was going to get a bucket of pickles:
Loved the horseradish sauce.
Got a post done and then it was onto the Alaska flight home…sigh, no upgrade., but new seats with power outlets. Not an open seat in the plane and in case you were interested, I was number seven on the upgrade list. Damn Friday afternoon flights.
I was in seat 6D – so these are in the back of the first class seats – the regular seat outlets look like this:
I love the fact that the outlets take ALL international plugs…and have USB, the true international standard.
And thank goodness for the Whiskey and Diet smuggled onto the plane…
It isn’t pretty, but it worked.
Had my free drink on the plane (MVPGold Status Benefit), read a little, napped a little and caught a cab home.
Too short a visit – but I needed that train ride (and the time with Dan and Lisa).
Multiple breakfast coupons so when I was jet-lagged from not taking the Ambien (bad idea) I went to the 4th floor for the Chinese Buffet breakfast… most amusing was the salad with the thousand island dressing on the “buffet”… that’s in quotes because it was tiny compared to most Asian breakfast buffets
When you are awake at 5am you might as well get your first two meals on the house.
My one big goal today is to see the Formula One Museum, which appears to be walkable… though it takes me several times around the block to spot the entrance. And oddly enough because of some “Made in Macau” show, the entrance is free. My ex Jeff would love this place – lots of old Formula One cars on display:
Then it was next door (I say that when actually both of these places are located in the basement of a building) to the Wine Museum which should really be called “The Portuguese Influence on the Wine Trade Museum”:
Here is the cute guy of Portuguese decent pouring samples of Portuguese wine:
And then back to the hotel for a bit before my next meal which had the following requirements:
A menu with some English on it (harder than you might think)
Free wi-fi
Wondering around Macau has been amusing… wandered through the Wynn – seemingly the only white person in the place, then past a McDonalds (but no wi-fi icon, sigh) where I spotted two white people, then found a lovely place at a good price for a “set” lunch menu… the Australian Kobe beef is red-wine sauce with rice, soup and ice tea. Much better wi-fi connection than the hotel lobby, which seems to be dial-up speed shared between a hundred people downloading YouTube videos.
Through the last couple of days I’ve been suffering from BlueTooth woes… can’t find the keyboard, or the mouse, or both… dropping connection, needs to reboot.
Back at the hotel I tried unsuccessfully to download a new driver… the connection kept timing out. Thought about going back to the same restaurant for dinner but instead had a sausage with some interesting sauce from the 7-Eleven around the corner – I’d gone in for Coke Light (their version of Diet Coke, as in Mexico as well). From that little walkabout:
The one amazing this was actually getting a BUCKET of ice tonight, apparently I’d broken through the language barrier. Of course the guy I got on the phone wasn’t sure if there would be a charge, if so he’d call back. Apparently $20HKD is the answer. And apparently this might have been the first time someone asked for ice – but it came in a regular white wine ice bucket and everything.
Finally – Bourbon and Diet on the rocks. Too bad the bucket didn’t fit completely into the fridge.
To bed a little earlier tonight – should have taken the Ambien on the airplane, sleeps been kinda rocky. Early morning tomorrow.
Another week another trip – this one to check something off SalamanderHellBender’s Bucket List – Hawaii.
The initial spreadsheet shows about $425 per person for 4 days, 3 nights with guaranteed First Class on the way there and most likely an upgrade on the way back. That doesn’t include food and other stuff while we are in Waikiki, but it’s still cheap in my mind.
The downside/upside is that we travel out of Bellingham, but they do have a great restaurant in the terminal:
Crap – is that a Manhattan in my hand and some fish and chips on my plate – bad UncleMarkie! We got there in plenty of time – time enough for three Manhattans — $8.00 each, which for an airport isn’t bad – and I saw them pouring Maker’s Mark to make them.
Onto the plane we go into seats 1A and 1C:
Too much fun. I’m really glad my friends have “bucket lists” and this one is in honor of Salamander’s 51st birthday which was last week.
Nothing like starting the flight with a POG Mimosa (Pineapple, Orange Guava) followed by our meal:
Appetizer:
Green Papaya Salad
Haricot Vert and Roma Tomatoes
Sweet Thai Chili Lime Dressing
Warm Hawaiian Sweet Roll
Choice of Entrees:
Mango BBQ Beef Short Ribs
Coconut Milk Mashed Potatoes
Buttered Green Beans
Or
Red Curry Shrimp and Pineapple
Cucina Fesca Rigatoni
With a dessert of Pineapple Upside Down Cake, and all the booze we could choke down.
We got in around 7pm and made our way to the bus to Waikiki – if you just have carryon luggage for $2.50 a person you can just catch the bus to Waikiki, which beats the $15.00 a person slower than the bus (which takes at least 45 minutes).
We missed check-in times so we grabbed the keys from security for our one-bedroom condo at the Royal Kuhio:
And the view…
Nope, no ocean view, but we can see the canal.
First stop of the night is to Foodland for a Rotisserie Chicken, bourbon, mixer, salad, eggs, and breakfast meats – basically condo supplies. We pulled some pieces off the poor dead bird but were ni bed before any thought of salad happened.
In the morning we are off to Hilo Hatties – not so much for the overpriced Hawaiian shirts but for the shuttle that takes us a couple of blocks from the K-Mart and the Salvation Army where I convinced Salamander to get a couple of Hawaiian shirts – the one I wanted (A Tommy Bahama) didn’t have a price tag so they wouldn’t sell it to me – damn.
Salamander and I are on different agendas – his more gogo boys, mine more laying in the sun. Luckily we don’t need to run together.
Dinner tonight is trip-tip steaks, salad, Hawaiian sweet rolls (yes, I know they are bad for me, but then in Rome…)
The next day my goal is laying in the sun and Salamander is out and about…in the on again off again rain – which cut short my suntan time. Don’t trust Salamander with a map in the rain:
And I have to say that the next day – another ruined map:
A little better, but still a mess – good thing it’s out last day in town.
But let’s not forget interesting things we ate when we were in the islands….
Salamander needed Spam since he was in Hawaii – it was a side dish with the Filet Mignon and the salad for dinner.
Our final day was a tour of the island after we checked out and picked up a rental car from the airport – here are some random pictures:
The above were the result of an around the island car tour… a great way to see the island and really make sure that Salamander has ticked off Hawaii on his Bucket List.
At the end of the day we returned the car and checked into the Delta Sky Room before our 11:55pm red-eye (yes, upgraded) back to Bellingham:
What can I say, Salamander needed a Burger King snack and I was stressed from trying to find a gas station near the airport returning the car – FOUR that were in GPS were no longer there (smells like a conspiracy to me). They did say “welcome your majesty at the front desk”…. Even got Salamander to try on the crown…
I got a little sleep on the return flight (just a small snack so no reason to stay awake)… but not enough. Still had to take a nap or two driving back south for a full day of errands – AND – cooking dinner for a sweet man who I have a crush on (no, not Salamander).
All together a VERY long Friday, the final day of holiday. Wish that sweet man that I was necking with had spent the night, but alas, he has a job interview in the morning and needs to be fresh.
My first overseas trip in 18-months. The lead up was a mix of excitement and anxiety. Equal amounts.
I booked the trip in early March, probably after I’d cancelled, moved out, rebooked Australia and Cape Town trips. It was a lot of miles (180,000 Alaska miles) for a one-way ticket, but in was in First Class from Seattle to Dubai to Warsaw on Emirates. I’d had the opportunity to upgrade to First on a Dubai to Dallas flight years ago, and I was too cheap – Business Class was (and still is), fine.
That plan got derailed months ago with the pandemic continuing, Emirates downgauged the 777-300ER 3-class aircraft (economy, business, first) to a 777-200ER 2-class aircraft (economy, business) with no refund of miles since for the 6-hour segment (getting to Dubai is 14-hours) was still in First. Confirming seats a week ago, noticed that they had gone back to the 777-300ER with First Class seats, but they weren’t selling them. Turns out they were used for crew rest. Lucky crew. There are eight seats in First and 42 in Business. Considering that on my flight only eight of the 42 business class seats were booked – that would have been a lot of expensive catering for the one or two First Class seats filled. There were only 60 in the back on a plane that carries 304 in the back. VERY light load.
Getting to the airport 4-hours early, as required these days to check passport, vaccination cards, negative COVID-19 test, and in my case, the Polish Passenger Locator Form, meant plenty of time in their “contracted lounge”, Club SEA.
Sadly, while the booze is of a higher quality at Club SEA, the food is not as good.
Should have just gone to another terminal and gone to the Alaska Lounge.
Plane at the gate:
My seat awaits:
With lots of charging ports, HDMI ports (so you could play your own movies?):
And a cubby to hold a glass and refreshments:
And two separate devices to control the flat screen (which is also touch screen).
For reference, the First Class enclosed suites look like this:
Then comes the Champagne (Piper-Heidsieck) and menus:
Then, the amenities kit:
And there are decent bathrooms:
Once we are up in the air, food and booze starts coming!
Cocktails and nuts with Katherine Hepburn (Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner with Sidney Poitier, 19697). Forty-five years later we are still dealing with the same racial issues.
And more Champagne, this time Veuve:
To go with the starter of air-dried beef and the salad – then the main of lamb chops (almost went for the cod):
Which I had a nice red:
Before launching into the cheese course with a little port:
To give you an idea where we were – here:
This is what the bed looks like all made up with the mattress:
Opened the shop today, and it was dead until 1pm, so basically two hours of quiet time, then, by 1:30 when Jim showed up, $450 in sales. The “whale” showed up – he tends to by his wine by the case and half-case from the Saturday tastings and then picks them up the next week. We love our whale – wish he’d find a pod to bring in.
Left Jim running the shop after the tasting and headed home for dinner with Roxy – my soon to be boss.
Tonight’s activity before and after dinner is to read the scholarship applications that arrived on Friday. I did my reading last night so I’ll be cooking while he’s reading. Apparently, reading scholarship applications and awarding money based on those application is on Roxy’s “Bucket List”. I mean, I like doing it, but not sure I’d consider it a bucket list item. Apparently in his job interview at Nordstrom he said is eventual goal in the Corporation was to end up in their philanthropic wing.
And he’s pretty good at it – he caught two applicants that shared exact wording between their two applications:
Both were in their cover letters. Not knowing who filched from whom, we disqualified both of them – but even my initial rating of the papers, they were at the bottom of the rankings.
Since Roxy is a pescatarian, it was a fish meal – guess I should have had him over yesterday since aren’t we in Lent?
An amazing after-dinner conversation about the direction of the company that we both now work for (well, for me, starting Monday). Seems the owners want to divest themselves of the company and Roxy thinks it should be turned into a Foundation like the Newman Foundation, with the profits of the business going for scholarships at the various schools we service which would make a GREAT marketing pitch tool to get other schools to join in. Roxy on the operations end, me on the sales/management end, the original owners on the board of the foundation. I guess I know how my next seveal months are going to be filled – working on a business plan.
To bed too late as usual – must start retraining body to be out of the house by 9:15am.
It wasn’t really on my “bucket list” to revisit St. Louis, but when presented with a free shared hotel room and free evening activities all for the price of an airline ticket…got to do it. Thanks DancingBear for making me your “plus 1” at your conference.
Used a MVP Gold Guest Upgrade coupon to get a seat next to DancingBear in First Class on the way out – and a good thing I did it in advance as there were 40 people on the upgrade list when I checked in. Was in couch (albeit 6C) on the way home – being number 18 on an upgrade list of 33.
Free Digi-Player (and lunch) up front. Too bad I’ve already seen all the content I like. Maybe I’ll have to start watching the movies I don’t care about. Damn “First World” problems.
But this is what I returned to AFTER the maid had done her service call:
Coffee pot to cleaned and returned to its proper place, coffee, cups, and bottled water not replaced. Ice bucket not emptied and returned to its nook. Basically the trash was emptied and the beds made – not even vacuumed. I thought it might be a fluke, but when it happened the second day I went down to the front desk as ask for the day manager. Brought Jeremy back to the room to show him the situation, and mentioned that this was the second day of lackluster maid service. He promised a fix and an hour and a half later I got a call that the room was ready – even saw what I assumed was the housekeeping manager (clipboard gave it away) checking on the room. And though I didn’t ask for it, Jeremy comped one of our nights. Thanks Jeremy – but you also might want to retrain some of your staff.
So the Sheraton Clayton is, you guessed it, in Clayton, which is the county seat for St. Louis County which, oddly, doesn’t contain the city of St. Louis which is an independent city. Being the county set, the hotel was surrounded by courthouses, legal offices, and more shoe repair, jewelry, tailors than you might expect from a small downtown. Also, plenty of good food:
A ton of space (including upstairs offices and tasting room), and a wonderful friendly knowledgeable staff. I felt bad for just picking up a bottle of the regular Four Roses – we only seem to get the “small batch” on the west coast.
The atrium area of Knight Hall is stunning – I love the amphitheater/stairs combination:
We all piled into two motor coaches for the ride to Cardinal Stadium (technically Busch Stadium). Our driver took on the scenic route (passed signs that said no tour busses) which included Millionaire’s Row. Lots of nice brick/stone work left in the city:
And views of The Arch! DancingBear went up in The Arch the day I arrived in the late afternoon. I never made it, but I was up in it when I was a teenager, low those MANY years ago.
Technically we weren’t IN the stadium, but across a small street in the ATT Roof Top Deck. We had wrist bands to get us into the park if we wanted – I didn’t, didn’t notice anyone else go either. Why go when there is a free (and GOOD) buffet with four lanes and a dessert lane with a chafing dish full of bread pudding. Since it was also an open bar, for dessert I had them put a splash of Evan Williams on mine. Yes, that would be one of the MANY free Evan Williams and Diet Coke – can’t believe my favorite everyday Bourbon is their Bourbon pour:
But there was lots of cook food, and some questionable Midwestern food:
And the aforementioned “questionable Midwestern food”:
Yes, that would be a Rice Krispies ball mounts on a chocolate-dipped waffle cone.
But it’s really about the view – I mean the ball game. Let’s start with the entrance – a huge mural made up from broken apart Rubik’s Cubes:
And the view from our two-level venue:
What a fun evening! What a fun game. I had be root for the Cubs because of Barb (my cruise travel agent) – and they whipped the Cardinals. 6 runs in the First Inning, Cardinals finally scored 2 in the Ninth Inning, final score 9-2.
The next evening’s adventure was at the Magic Chef Mansion (picture up several screens). But here are some interior and group shots. Headed towards the main house.
I mostly hung out at the bar since it was an “awards ceremony” that was much less interesting than an open bar and a chatty bartendress. Note the black table near the back door of the main house.
Said bartendress:
Speaking of the main house, a shot from the library:
And talk about “man cave”, complete with bowling alley:
Belt-driven machine shop:
Pinball machines:
And, of course, a full bar…
But my favorite shot is from the bathroom that was originally part of the maid’s quarters…talk about uni-sex bathroom:
The owner bought the place in the mid-90s for $450,000, but just putting a slate roof on the stables (the event space) cost her $150,000 – lord knows what the rest of the renovations cost – I’m guessing well north of what she paid for the house.
Our return ride was in a stripper limo – only thing missing was the stripper pole!
After our tour, and a little lunch for DancingBear, it was off to the airport and more specifically, the Admirals Club Lounge for drinks, soup, snacks – not the level of the Alaska Board Room, but free with my reciprocal membership.
For the return flight – DancingBear was up front in Seat 1F…
And me just behind the curtain in Seat 6C…
Another trip down after a shared Uber from the airport, dropping me off in South Park.
It seems like it was only a couple of weeks since I was on the Ruby Princess – wait – it WAS just a couple of weeks ago!
New partner this time, and a different itinerary, but with all the same stops, just in the opposite direction.
Now – just point the arrows in the other direction – I couldn’t find a graphic for our trip, and it seems that next late summer they are making other stops coming down the coast.
Our trip started with an early morning Amtrak ride to Vancouver, BC where I spied this “private car” parked at King Street Station. It is the Silver Rapids, part of the California Zephyr fleet. They mostly rent out the cars to parties, tours, etc., though they do some of there on tours as well – check on this page – but sit down before you read the prices.
As for Rache and I, we didn’t have such luxury, but they did assign us four seats in Business Class which was nice and roomy.
I do wish they would run a mid-day train. Getting into Vancouver at noon means waiting around the condo until our room is ready. Luckily it was at 2:30 rather 4pm which is the real check-in time. The extra time allowed me a nap in the rec room, Rache a walking tour of the city, lunch and grocery shopping for both of us.
Once we got into the 2-bedroom, 2-bath unit, the view was lovely – we even had one of the rare units that has a tiny balcony:
Dinner tonight is with Solus+, a longtime friend (and dinner companion.
Out of the condo a little before noon, cab to Canada Place and a relatively smooth boarding process. I’m afraid I’m spoiling Rache with Business Class on the train (first through immigration/customs), Elite passenger check-in a boarding for the Ruby Princess, and the mini-suite that we got for $179 plus $45 port fees per person. I can’t believe I didn’t take any shots of the interior; you can find them here on the previous trip on the Ruby. Here is the layout from Princess:
Of course, you’d have to flip our, but that’s basically it, except double the size of the deck since we were the last cabin on the side:
Since we were actually on before 1pm, we actually got to do a sit-down lunch! Tasty!
And, of course, we had to have dessert…both of which were EXCELLENT:
No shots of the mandatory life-boat drill. Rache got some so maybe I’ll link to his trip report at some point.
The boat was all decked out for Christmas:
As was Vancouver, BC:
Before you knew it was we’re departing, passing under the Lions Gate Bridge:
Then quickly off to the LGBT gathering set for 5:30 in the Adagio Lounge, deck 16 aft:
There were at least 25 of us who showed up – the group pictured I’ve been on other cruises with – probably upwards of 10 previous cruisers – seems there are a lot of us who like the little under a week cruises.
When 7pm approached, a couple of the ring leaders invited us next door to SHARE, a Curtis Stone (LA restaurant guide whose restaurant, Maude, is in Beverly Hills) venture. They’d gotten a tabel for eight. What the hell, opening night, new restaurant put in while the Ruby was in dry dock – I’ll swallow the $39 (per person) upcharge.
And, oh my god, the food. There were enough of us that we got to try EVERYTHING on the menu:
Said menu:
By the time all the dishes started coming out it became clear that there wasn’t going to be a cover charge for us tonight – I celebrated by ordering a $48 bottle of wine.
Truly a stunning meal – I wa even more stunned when I realized that the wine was going to be comped as well. Had I know that, I would have suggested the following pairings:
Patz & Hall (California) & Ridge Vineyard Lytton Springs Zinfandel for the mains
Punch reviewed the resaturant at 2am after dinner – by the morning, it had 2,000 views, by afternoon 5,000 views… read the thread here. First post is the about half the menu, scroll down for the rest of it.
But, then, of course we had to go see some of the entertainment…
Something about “Colors Of The World” or some such thing…kept us amused until it was time to return to the cabin be explore how the pull down bed worked.
Of course, you have to have a “special key” to drop the bed down, but I happened to have one in my suitcase – it’s called an “emergency tool”:
Good for beds, electrical cabinets, hose bibs, random screws…
There is a “downside” of a wonderful meal of shared plates – at 3am you are starving, and unfortunately room service is merely a phone call away – and oh, did we order:
Because, of course, by 3am, all the ice had melted – that would be “Ice – Bucket Of” – if you look two pictures up, you can see Rach ordering the above (as seen in the mirror). I didn’t need really need breakfast when IT showed up at 9am. I went back to bed.
Onboard, you can always see where you are (and there is always “The Love Boat” on one of the channels):
At that moment, I was basically off my brother and sister-in-law’s places in Coos Bay/Corvallis – but this was my view:
The weather is starting to get a little better, at least no rain. I REALLY like this extra large balcony!
Another think about cruise ships is that they like to carve things, luckily not the guests. This was from the Elite Lounge on night two where it was salmon (most likely farm raised) on toast points with capers and Bermuda onions.
You should see what they do with a watermelon!
Another BIG gathering at the Adagio Lounge for the LGBT gathering – more cocktails, after we’d finished the cocktails brought from our suite…and then it was off to dinner – which the queue up for the dining room was MASSIVE so we opted for the buffet on the Lido Deck. My meal:
Not bad, but I prefer sit-down service – but hunger trumped waiting.
The entertainment for tonight was “The Uncle Markie Show” – featuring yours truly posing on a pedestal meant for a poinsettia:
And then there was tragedy on the “dis-mount”:
I hit the marble with a thud, and suddenly there were four Princess staff swarming in – luckily I’m padded (and was lubricated). Of course, I need a room service bacon cheeseburger to ease the pain. Please notice the absence of fries (bucket of ice not shown):
Our final day at sea was STUNNING – and made the balcony more worth it.
This give a nice idea of how big out balcony was, and these too give you an idea of how the weather was:
Another well attended (25+) gathering of the LGBT crowd – not bad considering that this isn’t a “gay” cruise:
No shots of dinner, just a couple of shots of dessert:
We shot for another show after dinner and I made it through ½ of one song – it was like a bad junior-high-school musical. I abandoned Rache to go grab another cocktail from the room, but walked past the remodeled Wheelhouse which now has another “upcharge” restaurant called “Salty Dog Gastro Pub” and found “the boys” trying out the other new venue:
Technically, that’s one of the waitresses in my puss print Santa hat.
And the menu – mind you, I was just eating the lukewarm leftovers which still weren’t bad!
Sigh, out last night aboard, and our final shot of the post. Moon off the balcony…
We had to vacate the cabin before 8am – but we had squirrelled away muesli, bananas and yogurt so we didn’t have to brave the morning buffet line or have a lackluster final sit-down meal.
Reporting to the Elite Disembarkation Lounge (thankfully in Club Fusion, one deck below so we didn’t have to brave the elevators) we had a little coffee, juice, pastries, though not enough for the MASSIVE delay in getting off the board. The phrase “clusterfuck” comes to mind. When we got to the lounge boarding groups were running 20 minutes early – always a good sign. And then there was the announcement. “There will be a delay in disembarkation, we will have details soon.”
We were an hour late disembarking, then another hour in line for customs. It seems that MANY of the passengers decided to ignore their designated times and swamped the customs/immigration lines. This seems to be a problem with cruises between Los Angeles and Vancouver. I hear even worse stories of cruises terminating or ending on Hong Kong. Must be a cultural thing. Serious points off to Princess for not checking people’s disembarkation numbers
Add another hour waiting for people to get to the airport transfer, and I’m starting to stress out. Our flight is at 1:25pm and I’d planned on getting a couple of hours of work in at the airport in the Board Room. By the time we got checked in and through security (EVEN with TSApre for both of us) I barely had time to slurp down two cups of soup, a salad, and a couple of drinks.
We were number one on the upgrade list, but First was stacked full, at least I had the seat next to me open, and we both got a free cocktail (me for my MVP Gold Status, Rach’s from the middle seat MVP who didn’t want hers).
A wonderful trip marred at the end, but still a fun way to spend five days.
The answer is that they are free, without requiring any purchase whatsoever, though I feel compelled to buy something of about the same value with each trip to get one of the mugs. The coupon says “A $7 Value” which is a little high since some of their other mugs in the same size and quality are 2 for $5.
Think of it as a treasure hunt. Turns out, there is a use for the treasure, so don’t worry that you will be getting them for Christmas (unless you are an employee of Swanda, then expect it to be part of a gift basket). It gets me out and about — taking the shuttle seeing the sites, jumping off when the mood strikes.
And speaking of Swanda, I found the new car for him. He rented a Chrysler 300 (which Curtis refers to as the “Pimp-Daddy Car”) the last time is was in Texas on business. But I found one that is more in keeping with his size and style.
After the first Hilo Hattie run, I had lunch at Lulu’s across from Waikiki Beach — which when I walked in I got this weird deja vous feeling — I think I ate there years ago. Here is the link to their web cam if you want to see if I’m still there. http://www.luluswaikiki.com/cam2.htm
After lunch it was back on the shuttle to go back to the flagship store, and then be dropped off at the Ala Moana Mall store on the way back to Waikiki. Christmas ornaments for Swanda, plus surfing calendars (2 for $1.99) bring the total today to 3 more (plus 3 from yesterday) for a grand total of 18 mugs so far. And I still have three coupons.
Haven’t a clue about dinner tonight, could go back to the shopping center and ogle all the military boys on leave, or head south for Thai Food. Time will tell, and it’s cocktail time.
Ah — a little scotch on the rocks. I’m still on my first bucket of ice because the bucket is short enough to fit into the refrigerator. Handy, and energy saving. Another lovely thing about this hotel — the sheets and pillows. I don’t know whose brand they are, but the are the softest most comfortable (that goes for the bed, too) linens that I’ve ever slept on, on par with the Westin stuff.
Random comments on Waikiki:
It’s full of Japanese tourists and soldiers on leave.
I’m half a block from two backdrops for 1970’s TV shows — Magnum PI featured the Ilikai Hotel 1/2 a block down, and the marina 1/2 a block north was where Gilligan, the Skipper, Mary Ann, Ginger, the Professor, and the Howells set out on their three hour cruise (no extra charge for the extra days.)
Time to take another “cruise virgin” for a trip. I keep helping Salamander tick things off his bucket list. Not sure how I’m going to pull off Greenland – at least not this trip. This trip is a simple Vancouver to Los Angeles 3-night “cruise to nowhere”.
But first, we have to get to Vancouver – that means the early train – Business Class so we are the first to get off and grab a cab. At King Street Station in Seattle:
The hell that awaited us trying to check in and board the boat. Vancouver has consistently sucky boarding procedures. At least there is now an Elite line for us to use. It’s an improvement, but there are no Elite lines for the next long line, Immigration (which is handled by US Border Patrol in Canada):
Almost made me wish for a wheelchair since they go to the head of the line. But eventually we make it on board – but past the 1:30 cut-off for sit down dining.
This would be the “Mini-Suite”. In the “Balcony” cabins you don’t get the separate seating area.
After a quick bite, it’s time to settle into the real reason I cruise. To hang out on the deck with a cocktail and catch up on my reading:
Salamander on the other hand prefers the bed (and couch)…
After the life boat drill, which I wish they would do what Holland America does which is if you’ve cruised before, you can leave your life jacket in the room it was time to depart from Vancouver:
No LGBT Get Together on the schedule tonight – posted a note on the FaceBook Princess Sea Men private group about the absence – turns out there wasn’t one on the overnight from Seattle to Vancouver on Saturday. Guess I’ll be filling out the survey at the end of the cruise with a complaint or two.
Before long it was time for dinner – just some random food pictures…
Yep, that was a lot of food for dinner – add a bottle of wine and a double espresso and Cointreau to complete.
Got back to the room and Mary Gay (our room attendant) had thoughtfully arranged our booze selection and filled the ice bucket. All the minis are from the mini-bar that they fill free the first time for Elites:
When to one of the shows…the intro to the cruise show:
Tomorrow – a weather change…
And no LGBT gathering, AGAIN….but dinner is served!
Another show tonight, this one magic – and he was pretty good (and cute to boot).
And when we get back to the room – my laundry is back! Another Elite benefit is free laundry and dry cleaning, so I save mine up.
And another day – and it’s a sunny day!
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And it being the final day – its DUTY FREE time. Here is what I scored for $84:
Last night onboard there is finally an LGBT gathering – well attended! 38 people with a half dozen swinging through to say hello. It was almost like a gay bar.
And a zoo for the last night dinner. Lots of people waiting to get in for dinner – luckily we were number one in line with a request for a two-top (which we got).
No food shots – guessing you are tired of see them. But we did go see the comedian who used to be part of the Beach Boys:
Off the boat early and through customs (which was basically collecting the forms) and off to the airport we went – arriving 6 hours early which meant some wrangling to get our bags checked that early, but got it done, and off to the Board Room to hang out, eat, drink, check mail, watch TV:
And forgot to mention, Salamander and I got upgraded to First Class for the way home, which meant dinner on board:
Cab to the house, then Uber’d Salamander home. Time to head work for the weekend before heading out on the annual Birthday Ramble.
It was a reasonable 11am train north from Plymouth to London…time to stop by the shops for a snack for onboard…and onto the train I go:
Plymouth station was modern in 1961, not so much now – more Soviet-era Brutalist. But the boys saw me off at the platform!
And plenty of room on the train for me and my snacks…
That would be a Hoison Duck wrap (no mayo, so even though they say refrigerate, not that necessary).
Love the European train system— at least on this network, when I booked the trip the day before, they gave me a lovely little printout of my train changes:
It runs on time, or if it doesn’t, they tell you, and it’s less than 5 minutes off:
The travel time to Reading was quick, only a couple of stops in route, but to get me to Hounslow, it was two milk runs basically stopping at every stop. But I got there. Didn’t miss a connection.
Speaking on connections, my last connection was on a brand new Siemens rail car – so new it gave me a slight headache from the out-gassing from the new plastic materials:
Upon arrival in Hounslow I realized a big “oops”. I was at the Hounslow TRAIN station, not one of the three Hounslow TUBE stations.
I arrived at the lower one, needed to be at the upper one – which was a block from my hotel. Should have grabbed a cab – instead I wandered for an hour (or maybe should have asked where the hell to go). Should have been a 15-minute max walk. Live. Learn. Ask directions.
Mine would be the one on the left, not the Travelodge rounded one. Got checked into my “Executive Room”, which was UKP$5 more per night than a regular:
Being a member of the Wyndham Rewards Program, they give you a little starter bag – mine contained these:
And they have a bar downstairs, so I can get a “bucket of ice” – another picture to add to my collection of what hotels around the world call a “bucket of ice”. Yep, that’s a white wine bottle cooler.:
Hounslow is an immigrant-based neighborhood, fairly close to Heathrow as you can see in this shot:
After my wondering around, I needed to get off my feet, more than I needed a “fine dining” situation, so I just grabbed a box of Hallal Chicken from CKC. Apparently, they don’t use DHL as their shipper (that’s in reference to previous posts about the KFC debacle going on – STILL – in Britain during my visit):
They are a chain, and here is the two-piece with chips version:
The chicken is at the bottom.
I’ll close this post with one of the “oddities” of British life, the distrust of their electrical system, hence, the phrase, “Lucas, Prince of Darkness”. There are yearly inspection stickers for EVERY piece of electrical equipment in the room:
And, of course, switches on EVERY outlet. So odd (by American standards).
Before I start on about our butt-early departure from Seattle and a little miscommunication on my part between Swanda and I, I found this great picture from the cruise that didn’t make it into any of the cruise posts, foolish me:
This is a shot with our complimentary send-off champagne – I’m assuming this is only for the people in suites, or at least balcony units. Alvin (as in the Chipmunks), our steward, happily brings us a second round after the lifeboat drill.
But back to today…
Up at 5, ready to go at 5:45, panic at 5:50 when I call Swanda and he says “where are you” and I go, “where are you” – apparently he thought the ride to the airport was from his place, I from my place. Luckily he is a maniac on the road so we are at the airport at 6:15 for our 7:40 flight, which barely leaves time for a quick “eye-opener” and a couple of English muffins (yes, carbs) at the Board Room before emplaning to our exit row just across the aisle from each other seats. Coach is full, full, full, except for the middle seats in both exit rows, and CaddyDaddy and I are in the row that reclines.
Back to sleep for both of us after the first beverage course – since I’m MVP Gold, the first mini of liquor is on the house (or shall I say, plane). The Jack Daniels remained unopened and was zipped inside my headphone case for another day.
Hour and a half in LA – enough time to snag a cocktail and a couple of newspapers for the next leg, and three bottles from duty-free. The limit going into Mexico is two bottles per person so it was two bottles of whiskey and one of vodka (for bloody marys in the morning – a tradition with CaddyDaddy and I travel together). Rum, Mexican Brandy and some tequilas are cheap in Mexico, bourbon isn’t.
Check-in feels more like a time-share presentation than I’d like, and apparently as an owner (THANKS COLONELS!) I’ve been spared worse, and the free margarita is welcome.
The main plan now is to get settled in, find ice. Machines on 5 and 3 – one labeled professionally, out of service, the one on three not labeled, but out of service – but on the other side of the elevator (next to the door to the desalinization plant (or maybe it’s the generator for when the power goes out) is the underground entrance to the place – with a huge commercial size ice machine under lock and key – opened by someone the guard called over. Whew! Of course, there is no ice bucket in our room, but the blender body makes a fine temporary ice bucket – to supplement the two trays we just filled in the freezer.
After a cocktail in the room, it’s off to explore thinks like the convenience store – very convenient, not much of a store, and then to scout for a place to have dinner that we can put on the room card… the answer is the rooftop restaurant in the complex which is a branch of the Baja Brewing Company, one of their three restaurants, the original being in San Jose del Cabo which is a long walking distance from the WorldMark Cabo San Lucas where we usually stay . They also have one in the Marina as well which looks a little swankier, but doesn’t have nearly the view this one does.
Rich had the Fish and Chips which was good, I had the Basil-Bleu burger (yes, more carbs) which was also good, but a little large. Music started at 8 with typical live cover band doing 60-70-80’s hits. Downside was that the service was stretched thin even through the bar was less than half full – maybe I just haven’t calmed down (I mean, gotten my Mexican legs) yet.
As for the description of our room and the resort (what I haven’t already covered) I’ll spare you until tomorrow when I’m more logical, more rested, and generally more in the Mexico mode.
I know someone in Wellington, he’s been to dinner at my house in Seattle at least once, a friend of Roxy. We’d been messaging over the last couple of months – I added Wellington to my itinerary because he said it was his favorite city in New Zealand. Getting together with him is proving a little more problematic. Long gone is the hope of maybe crashing on a floor someplace, replaced with an hour after his massage a couple of blocks from my place and maybe a get together later in the evening – small crisis, he’s leaving for Australia tomorrow, and he left his passport in his place two hours away.
My morning is free so besides sleeping in until 9am (not sure what is up with this trip, but I’m popping awake 8ish (which is not my norm), I’m off to ride the Wellington Cable Car – it was closed yesterday for maintenance, but open today. And it’s three doors down from the lower hotel entrance.
Needless to say, this isn’t the 1902 version, but the 1979 rebuild (including track gauge change), refurbished in 2016.
It’s a fun ride and here is the view from the top:
With the Cable Car Museum (free) at the top (along with the Rose Garden, Arboretum, and a handful of other attractions.
Crappy exterior shot, but inside was fun.
Including some props to dress up in – I really should have gotten a shot of the couple that went to town with this!
I was done with the hill early, so I hung out in the Burger King around the corner until his massage was finished…and finally we connect and he takes me to the underground market – he only has an hour, but we might be able to hook up at the end of the day once he’s retrieved his passport:
One of the things the underground market holds, is a hot dog stand that usually is on the walk to the waterfront.
Fritz’s Wieners – which during the weekend is located in the Underground Market:
What I really wanted to taste was their lamb bratwurst.
Since Rache and I are going to Chile next year, I was tempted by the booth across the way:
Jake dropped me back at the hotel (he had a car with him, and I napped, then explored the city while he ran back to “Palmy” for his passport, and, of course, another crisis. He didn’t get back into town until after seven, so we settled for a drive to the top of Mount Victoria. It was LOTS of narrow windy roads to get to the top, but the lights were amazing.
They (Jake and his mate) dropped me (again) at the hotel then went off for dinner and packing for their trip tomorrow. I called for room service for another bucket of ice. They finally got the message and brought me a lot:
The half dozen requests before got me this much:
Some day I’ll do a post comparing all the “bucket of ice” requests I’ve made around the world, and what shows up at the door. The winner still is Novatel Citygate Lantau Island (Hong Kong) that brought this. They provided ice buckets in the room, but no public ice machine. (Full post here)
This is my last full day in Wellington, off to the South Island tomorrow.
Sometimes I wonder if I like the journey more than the destination…Looking forward to both on this trip, but it’s a close tie. Today is the first leg of a 10 day trip – a rarity for me. Here is the trip:
Leg Number One: Seattle to Dubai, Business Class – redeemed 75,000 Alaska miles for the one-way, Seattle-Dubai-Haneda (the close in airport for Tokyo). The cool thing with flying Emirates is the free town car service on both ends. I was a little worried about how this would work since there was no “contact” number, just a receipt saying it was booked. I booked earlier than I usually do, just in case the driver didn’t show up.
He did show up – like half an hour early. This would be my driver, Justin:
Plenty of room in the Town Car…and even bottled water – and yes, I tipped him since I made him wait 15 minutes while I finished checking email. He was, after all, 30 minutes early.
Since Emirates wouldn’t let me check-in on-line, I had to wait for 15 minutes for the ticket counter to open…but soon I was off to the lounge in the South Satellite, with one detour back to security to pick up my rollaboard – I’m so used to checking luggage that I was almost on the shuttle train when I remembered that I was missing something BIG.
I’d never been in this lounge before – it serves Emirates, Lufthansa and a couple of other airlines that only have one flight a day.
This is the first lounge that I’ve been in that actually has a drink menu, and someone to mix those drinks!
Snacks/food was on par or a little better than Alaska’s Board Room – maybe next time I’m at the Board Room I’ll ask if they can make a Manhattan which is what I had three off will waiting for my plane to board.
But soon enough it was plane time:
That would be a 777-300ER (tomorrows plane is a 777-200ER). But there was a HUGE number of wheelchairs (at least 13 by my count) and strollers (about twice that amount), that boarding for Business and First was delayed. Luckily I have a hard-side case which makes a nice rolling seat:
With a 14 hour flight, what’s a little waiting, especially when I’m sitting here on the plane:
That little screen on the left is the detachable handheld controller for the 17″ inch diagonal LCD that pops out of the console for the bulkhead aisle seats on the outside. Here is what the inner three look like:
Oddly enough, those seats remained open – too bad you can’t combine two into a really big seat with dual screens – even First doesn’t have that:
I like the fact that they have their own refrigerated mini-bar. Maybe next time (that would be an additional 25,000 miles one-way). Nice amenity kit even in Business Class, complete with Bvlgari products:
It will be interesting to see if I get the same kit on the flight from Dubai to Haneda – and to compare it to the ANA kit for the flight home.
And on the Emirates cocktail list…Manhattans (sweet, dry, perfect) – complete with shaker!
I was TOTALLY impressed – you don’t find THAT on domestic carriers, even on their overseas routes. No Martini glasses, but that just a First World (Class) problem in a Business Class world.
Speaking of Business Class problems, no vintage dated Champagne back here…just Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label (up front it’s the 2004 Dom Perignon). And soon, it was time for the first course for dinner:
That would be the smoked salmon served with pumpernickel croutons and marinated read and yellow baby beetroots and a seasonal salad. The two glasses of wine are:
2013 Domaine du Nozay Sancerre 2013 (the winner of the tasting)
2013 Larry Cherubino Pedestal Chardonnay (too buttery for my taste – didn’t even finish it)
For the main, I went with the Marinated Beef Tenderloin served with a peppercorn sauce, Mediterranean-style grilled vegetables and creamy mashed potatoes:
They could has done a better job on the presentation of the mashed potatoes – you can still see the warming tray marks. For the red with this course:
2008 Les Tourelles de Longueville (again, the French is the winner – damn that Jimmy and his stocking lots of old-world wines)
2012 Hahn SLH Pinot Noir (good, but Pinot from California is always a crap shoot)
My flight attendant brought me two of the reds from First Class since I told her I ran a wine shop and that was why I was trying everything open). She showed up with these two:
1995 Chateau Palmer (Margaux region) – dear lord, THAT’S the winner of the bunch
2011 Au Sommet Atlas Peak (your basic decent California Cabernet)
Then there was the cheese course with the 1985 Porto Dalva Colhheita (they were serving a 2002 Chateau Guirand Sauternes and/or a Sandeman 40-Year-Old Tawny Port):
Complete with Godiva Chocolates – and you can see a bit of the big-ass touchscreen TV in the background (more on the 500+ movies in 39 languages later).
But what meal is complete without an espresso and a Cointreau to finish it off!
Who knew that airplanes had espresso machines!
There were a couple of other amusing things in the galley other than the espresso machine….
And just because they had the fixings – I taught the flight attendant a new drink (for her), the Rusty Nail:
50% 15-year-old Glen Fiddich
50% Drambuie
But speaking of movies, which I mentioned earlier, here is the list of what I watched before I fell asleep (or passed out):
And then there was sleep, and then there was breakfast (which is odd since we are landing in Dubai at 7PM):
Totally British breakfast with the beans and roasted tomato….I paired that with a little more of the champagne, three newspapers left over from boarding and BBCWorldNews on the box, and then it was back to sleep until we landed.
Customs was a bit of a clusterfuck, just from lack of signage in the EasyPass lanes, which weren’t working – but this way I actually got a stamp in my passport – and then it was on to try and figure out how to get to my hotel (Premier Airport Hotel – recommended by one of my wine shop customers) – I printed the pre-paid confirmation, what I didn’t print was how/where the shuttle was – luckily the nice folks at the Emirates Hotel Desk (if I’d had a shorter layover they would have given me a room, as well as the car service).
Got to the hotel, dumped the luggage, toured the rooftop pool, gym area, took in the view….
Returned to the room, ordered room service and packed it in for the night….
And yet another photo for my “ice bucket” collection – what qualifies as an ice bucket in hotel around the world…and that would be a seriously HUGE (think half pound or more) cheeseburger – and I only had a couple of the fries. DAMN FINE burger, GREAT BUN. And the ice was for the minis of whiskey that I packed in my toiletries bag especially for tonight – which brought smiles to ALL the TSA workers in the line – comments like “THAT’S what to fill a quart ziplock with!”.
Tomorrow I get up and do it all again – wakeup call is set for 5:15AM, with take-off at 8:30, which will give me some time to get breakfast in the Emirates Business Class Lounge, which looks good from the pictures I’ve seen.
When I was in San Francisco in June, I saw a news segment on the reopening of the cable car system starting August 1st – and that they would be free for the entire month of August. Shortly after, I crafted a plan – go down for the day midweek and spend the day riding around the city. Normally, it’s $8.00 per ride, though there is a daily pass. When you start planning at 10PM at night, you can guarantee that there is alcohol involved – and probably with the people you are trying to draft to go along with you. Originally there were going to be three of us, a fourth came aboard a couple of weeks ago.
The table set with boarding passes instead of name cards:
And the four musketeers:
The downside of this plan was that the first flight out to San Francisco is at 6:05am – BUT there were First Class seats available using my First-Class upgrades. Sadly, it left no time for the lounge, so food was on the plane:
Tray service is back! Sadly, not real glassware.
BART into town to the Powell Street stop, which is also the end of the line for one of the cable car lines:
Most people want to ride on the outside, we were fine with “wherever”.
Since it was an early start to the day, even though it was 10:30am, we were all a little puckish. Food was in order, and one of my cohorts wanted crab bisque, and while there were lots of seafood places, best he could do was crab chowder at the Chowder Hut, which I didn’t realize was part of the Boudin bakery empire:
Chowder for two (one with sour dough bowl, one without).
Fish tacos for me:
And one wanted something lighter, so it was the hot dog, not realizing it came topped with onion rings and a massive amount of fries.
Exploring after our early lunch:
In the window of the Boudin Sourdough Bakery, that is a giant bread alligator.
Back on the cable cars, next destination was The Candy Store, another bucket list item for one of the companions:
Something about malted milk duds, which were good, but I’m not a candy guy. And it was multiple hilly blocks off the cable car line.
Took the line back to Market Street, then decided I needed a cocktail (mostly to get off my feet) and we’d noticed this place – Sam’s Cable Car Lounge:
Fancy cocktails were $14. Bar whiskey and Diet were $7.75. And there were peanuts and popcorn for free (no Cracker Jacks).
Next up was one my bucket list since I’d never done it – The Cable Car Museum. What none of us realized is that it is a “working” museum. It powers ALL the cable car lines in the city with its DC motors:
The coolness of the museum caught us all off guard – will return with other people. Geek heaven.
On the way back, transferred to the California line and went back to Market, and headed towards The Pied Piper, which is a bar in the Palace Hotel (used to be a Sheraton, now a Marriott):
It was an AMAZING charcutier platter. And the Maxfield Parrish mural is STUNNING.
Next up was sushi for dinner – at Maru Sushi (long-time favorite hole-in-the-wall place):
Oyster shooter, nigori sake, spider roll. Everyone else ordered way more than I did:
After dinner it was back on the Powell Street cable car, then BART back to the airport, arriving past security about 10 minutes before boarding – a little close for my comfort.
Home by midnight, with a WHOLE LOT of steps in today:
After staying up chatting until 3am – that makes it an almost 24-hour day. LONG.
Up painfully early (might have to do with the amount of scotch last night) and off to the airport by eight from Olympia — made good time so I had a couple of hours to kill eating and drinking breakfast in the Board Room of Alaska Airlines.
First flight is SEA to DFW — and strangely the food is really good — a Philly cheese steak sandwich with some German-style potato salad on the side. Only downside? Those damn prayer cards have resurfaced.
Once at DFW went to the Admiral’s Club (American Airlines) only to find that they only honor my Board Room membership in Chicago. Had to log on to find that in Dallas, the Continental President’s Room is where to go with my Alaska card — unfortunately they close at 2:30 on Saturdays. That would make dinner at TGIFridays and their Dragon Chicken with fried brown rice and broccoli.
Found Wendy and her mom at the gate when I got there. Hung out for a bit, and boarded with the rest of First Class for an uneventful flight to NOLA. Our driver awaited us — nice touch Wendy! Nice guy, answered all our questions about pre- and post-Katrina. Got us to the WorldMark New Orleans in one piece, what more can you ask for.
Weird thing about New Orleans when I went out to find some booze for a night cap. Nada. Did find a little store on the corner that closed at seven that I can hit in the morning, so a little Diet Coke and a Muffaletta Sandwich and it’s off to bed while watching a rerun of Saturday night live.
It’s lovely to get out of bed at a little before 10am and realize that you still have 3.5 hours until your standard Tuesday morning marketing meeting.No need to prepare the night before. More time to tick things off your “to-do” list.
Brunch was pan-fried potatoes and bacon, apples with peanut butter, questionable coffee made better by using both packets for the same pot (so technically it was half decaf).
It was a clusterfuck of trying to figure out how to get onto the conference call:
Skype headphone apparently dead (ok —- it was $10 years ago)
Calling card — 11 minutes left and no way to reload without talking to someone
Cell phone — BINGO — 150 minutes left out of 300, and those expire tomorrow.
After the conference call was done it was off to do shopping — but of course, Dan needs to be feed every 3-4 hours so we had a Bento Box lunch in the same strip mall as the grocery store. Good. Damn good. Tokyo Sushi was the name. Dan says the prices for sushi by the piece are good for Florida.
Full of Bento we are off to the store to figure out dinner. The answer:
boneless leg of lamb
over a bed of roasted root vegetables with some roasted garlic thrown in for good measure
romaine salad with a home-made maraschino cherry vinaigrette dressing
We thought the green beans would be too much for the three of use… though they might be bacon and green beans in balsamic for another meal.
Tonight’s wine is a lovely Malbec from Argentina (I say from Argentina now that Washington State is doing some Malbec grapes). Dona Paula Los Cardos 2008 from the Mendoza region of Argentina — yes, that region is on my “bucket list” if I’d every get around to making one.
An occasional feature of UMTravels are tips and tricks for maximizing your award potential. Today’s topic: Amtrak and their Guest Rewards Program.
The basics of the program are: Earn 2 points per $1 spent on your Amtrak travel. Unless you travel a lot on Amtrak it’s going to take you a long time to even get a coach ticket (one-way) on the Amtrak Cascades (1,500 points, 2,000 points for a Business Class seat).
But as we all know with any Frequent Traveler program, it’s hotels (Choice, Hilton, Wyndham Brands, La Quinta, Starwood), cars (Budget, Enterprise, Hertz), and a handful of oddball partners.
And then there is the credit card tie-in, which at the moment Amtrak Guest Rewards doesn’t have. The DID have a MasterCard (from Chase) with a 12,000 sign up bonus if you spent $500 in three months – a small sign-up bonus, but a TINY spend compared so some cards I’ve had ($5000 in three months). I did query Guest Rewards about what happened to their credit card and received this response (in under 48 hours which for Amtrak Customer Service is pretty good):
We apologize, however we are no longer accepting applications for the Amtrak Guest Rewards MasterCard credit card from Chase at this time. More information regarding the Amtrak Guest Rewards credit card will be shared in the near future.
We hope this information is of assistance and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
So, it sounds like there is something coming down the pike – and I will most likely sign up for it assuming the enrollment bonus/spend is decent.
There is one credit card that does offer a way to get Amtrak Guest Rewards points – the Chase Ink card offers a 1-1 transfer with 40,000-60,000 miles sign up bonuses (also 1-1 transfer with United and some hotel chains). When I signed up for this card I got 60,000 Chase Points (after the aforementioned $5,000 spend in three months).
Another way to get big chunks of Amtrak Guest Rewards point – you can purchase them outright for $0.0275 apiece ($275 for 10,000 – the yearly [calendar] maximum), but wait for sales where you get up to a 30$ bonus bringing the cost down to $0.021.
WHY would you want all these points? – well, it you like to travel by train in either Roomettes or Bedrooms, you know how expensive those rooms can be. A NOLA-CHI-LAX-SEA two-zone trip (20,000 point) that I took last summer would have been about $1445 six months out (value = $0.0723 per point), $1748 two months out (value = $0.0874), or $2092 (value = $0.1046) a month out. What I didn’t realize when I booked these first couple of trips is that the rewards are for TWO people (and all their meals). The point values that I’ve used are for ONE PERSON. Add several hundred dollars for the second persons rail ticket (sleeper is the same no matter how many people), so the saving are even bigger if you want to travel with someone else. A good example would be that NOLA-CHI-LAX-SEA Two-Zone trip which for two people six months out would be around $1700. Another nice thing about Amtrak is that they have VERY liberal change/cancel policies — as long as its 48 hours before the trip, you can change the days or just get a refund.
Having done trips with two people in a Roomette….it’s tight. A Bedroom unit is a better choice, but be prepared to have the majority of your luggage on the luggage racks by the boarding door.
As an added bonus, sleeping car passengers are allowed by bring their own alcohol (the porter will provide you with a bucket of ice – just remember to tip at the end of the trip, though my buddy Dwight always tips at the beginning for guaranteed service) and on many routes they will open wine you brought in the dining car as well – though that varies.
This is the rewards table for sleepers (I should ask if they have a Family Room redemption code):
Amtrak Guest Rewards
Sleeper Rewards
Zones
Roomette
Bedroom
1 Zone
15,000
25,000
2 Zone
20,000
40,000
3 Zone
35,000
60,000
The sweet spots that I see on the reward chart are the 1-Zone Bedroom at 25,000 and the 2-Zone Roomette at 20,000, especially if you are trying to maximize the distance/days of your trip.
To give you an idea of the sort of routings you can get within or between zones, here is the Amtrak Zone Chart:
Redemption Travel by Zone
A travel itinerary for a single redemption must follow a published route between the initial origin and final destination. A published route is an itinerary automatically generated by Amtrak’s reservation system.
A single zone entry or zone exit comprises usage of one zone in the redemption, irrespective of prior or future travel in that zone as part of the same itinerary.
Where a desired itinerary does not exist as a single published route, the trip must be constructed as a series of published routes using multiple redemptions.
Circle trips are not permitted using a single redemption. A circle trip is a travel itinerary comprised of a series of segments that exit, and later re-enter, the same zone.
An Amtrak station located on a zone boundary may be considered part of either bordering zone, if it is the initial origin or final destination for the redemption.
Where a published route requires a connection between two segments, a later connecting service may be chosen as long as it departs on the same date as the connection originally offered.
Where a published route contains a valid connection of 23 hours, 30 minutes or less, an overnight stay in the connecting city is permitted at the passenger’s own expense. (Example: one-way travel from New York to El Paso, where the published route requires an overnight connection in New Orleans, would be permitted on the same redemption.)
Where sleeping car service is not offered for the entire published route, and where an alternate direct routing exists with sleeping car service on all segments, the alternate routing is allowed. (Example: Denver, CO to Los Angeles, CA on Trains 5 and 11)
And there are a few Blackout dates around Christmas, Thanksgiving and other longs weekends, but it’s not that bad.
One-Zone routes in a Roomette that would work are (with a June departure):
ABQ-SEA via LAX (3 hour layover with lounge access) Retail $1100 [.073 value]
Includes: Dinner, Early Breakfast (to LAX) , Lunch, Dinner, Breakfast, Lunch, Early Dinner (to SEA)
ATL-DEN via WAS (6 hour layover with lounge access) and CHI (5 hour layover with lounge access) Retail $1300 (for two) [.087 value]
Includes: Breakfast (to WAS), Dinner, Breakfast (to CHI), Dinner, Breakfast (to DEN)
NOLA-DEN via CHI (5 hour layover with lounge access), Retail $1100 [.073 value]
And interesting concept is that two people buy the maximum amount of miles (2 @ $275) and then split the cost of transferring one set of miles to the other (1 @ $130 for a total of 26,000 miles, which is enough for either a 1-zone Bedroom, or a 2-Zone Roomette for $680 (for the two people) which is MUCH cheaper than retail. Of course, you can only do this once a year (up to 10,000 miles plus whatever bonus they offer), which is calendar year.
If you were to think a 2-Zone reward (20,000 points in a Roomette, 40,000 points in a Bedroom), you could do the 5-day long trip I did last year…
Rack rate (retail) is $2377 in the Roomette or $3543 in a bedroom. You could do NOLA-CHI-SEA (Empire Builder), but I was trying to maximize train time for the same number of points. I did it in a Roomette and got a value of .11885 from points I purchased for .021 — now THAT is a return on investment assuming you want to spend five days on the train having someone feed you and make your bed.
Or another would be Fort Lauderdale to Denver (I’m only thinking of Alaska Airlines cities), that comes in between $1100 and $1600 depending on whether you transit via NYC or DC.
All the retail numbers are for trips in late June, assuming there are rooms, the closer you are to travel dates means an even bigger savings.
Every time I look at the map I come up with new ones, like Fort Lauderdale to Albuquerque (Two-Zone) – that would be fun…
Well, that’s it for my tips and tricks on Amtrak Guest Rewards earning and redeeming. Stay tuned for an update once they bring out a new credit card offer.
All this pondering has me considering my Birthday Ramble this year…maybe DEN-CHI on the California Zephyr, then the Cardinal to Charlottesville, WV, then the Crescent to New Orleans—four days on the train, in a Roomette. Retail for two: $2706 (or $0.1082 per credit). That would be a two-zone ticket. Then stay a couple of nights at the WorldMark New Orleans. Now to convince Lisa to let me borrow Dan for a week.
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