The New Travel Thread: Now with write ups in the OP

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by Jax Teller, Apr 8, 2015.

  1. THEBLUERAIDER

    THEBLUERAIDER Well-Known Member
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    Damn, man. Sorry for your loss.
     
    #20551 THEBLUERAIDER, Feb 11, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2020
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  2. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    Damn that's awful

    Sorry
     
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  3. rezy

    rezy Member
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    Fuck man so sorry to hear that, get back safely. I am sure someone here is more knowledgeable than me with credit card trip insurance and what would be covered, but I would definitely reach out to the hotels directly and see what they can do.
     
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  4. 941Gator

    941Gator TMB's resident beach bum
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    safe to say you have won the travel agent argument

    Sorry for your loss

    and we all love you.
     
  5. Louis Holth

    Louis Holth but we also just might be those motherfuckers
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    I can’t imagine what you’re going through. Really hate to hear it.
     
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  6. Tiger Tiger Woods Y'all

    Tiger Tiger Woods Y'all Putting big balls in little holes, circa 1995
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    My father took his own life while my wife and I were in vacation in Baltimore (going to all mlb stadiums) we were just about to have our tickets scanned when my mom called me. It’s 6pm in Baltimore rush hour. We had just spent the whole day using birds in the city having a blast exploring and scooting around.

    It was going to take almost an hour Uber to go 6 miles back to our hotel to grab our stuff and we would miss our urgent flight back.

    I ended up having to ride our birds all the way back to the hotel. The most miserable day of my life. I remember being in shock that whole scooter ride back.

    That was almost 2 years ago. The sadness never goes away but dulls with time. I wish everyday only for a little more time on earth with him.

    My thoughts are with you and your family. I hope you guys can find peace.
     
  7. Whammy

    Whammy Donde es
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    Damn dude, that’s horrible. Stay strong, so sorry for ya

    Also, was this a typo or are you the an evil, shitty Wu
     
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  8. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
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    I'm so sorry to hear this man. Thinking about you.
     
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  9. 941Gator

    941Gator TMB's resident beach bum
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    You know he is a true TMB’er when he still worked in an argument in his post. Have to respect it.
     
  10. Det. Frank Bullitt

    Det. Frank Bullitt God Bless Texas
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  11. Oranjello

    Oranjello Well-Known Member
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    Thank you all, especially Tiger Tiger Woods Y'all That had to have been an awful ride and I’m sorry you had to experience it.

    Hug your parents.
     
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  12. Oranjello

    Oranjello Well-Known Member
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    That’s something to figure out down the road, but my travel agent has spoken with the other 2 resorts. One agreed to honor our booking for up to 90 days or give us a 50% refund, while the other has released our room and will give a refund to the extent it’s rebooked. Figuring all this out (if at all) will be a headache.

    The entire trip was put on a Citi Aadvantage, but something tells me Chase Sapphire Reserve has a better trip insurance policy so I’ve put my flight back and what not on there. Maybe not smart to switch up cards, not sure.

    not to mention I probably have to do another honeymoon? I feel bad for my wife but she obviously doesn’t care about the honeymoon
     
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  13. Homo Erectus

    Homo Erectus The important thing is, you think I'm attractive
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    Sorry to hear that man.

    I lost my dad 4 years ago April. I still remember driving 5 hrs overnight when he was unconscious and that was unbearable. Cant imagine having to trek that whole way back during a vacation.

    It eventually goes from an all encompassing sorrow to a dull pain. It just takes time.
     
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  14. THEBLUERAIDER

    THEBLUERAIDER Well-Known Member
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    Definitely a typo. My bad
     
  15. CoastalOrange

    CoastalOrange Well-Known Member
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    Even ignoring everything else, that sounds exhausting to me.
     
  16. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    For future reference, everyone should put every trip on CSR or comparable luxury card. But in this case it didn't change anything, you wouldn't be covered by any card for this

    Hope the hotels are generous
     
  17. BayouMafia

    BayouMafia Thought Leader in Posting
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    So sorry man
     
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  18. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
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    My parents checked in to the Ritz a few years ago for their honeymoon. 30 minutes later they get a call that my grandmother had unexpectedly passed away. My dad fought them for a while just to get them to give him a future weekend at the hotel's discretion.
     
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  19. COVIDiskilingme79

    COVIDiskilingme79 Well-Known Member
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    First and foremost, Oranjello I'm sorry for your loss. I just feel awful for you guys.

    Secondly, I'm headed to Munich for the weekend. Does anyone have any restaurant recs?
     
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  20. CoastalOrange

    CoastalOrange Well-Known Member
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    Catching up on the thread and now I feel like an asshole. I'm really sorry for your loss Oranjello and Tiger Tiger Woods Y'all
     
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  21. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    Your parents just got married?
     
  22. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
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    Anniversary. Had oranjello on my mind.
     
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  23. Oranjello

    Oranjello Well-Known Member
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    Thanks and thanks for the rec of El Monasterio in San Jose. Great view and good steak
     
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  24. Oranjello

    Oranjello Well-Known Member
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    Damn, really? Was going to dig into the fine print and hope something applied.
     
  25. Oranjello

    Oranjello Well-Known Member
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    Thanks for the kind words everyone. It means a lot.

    Left the Pacuare Lodge at 9:20am yesterday, rafted ~6 hours, drove to San Jose in about 3hrs and arrived around 6pm, left for the airport at 4am and flew out of San Jose at 7am, connected in Atlanta and landed in Huntsville at 2pm today. Drove to Birminghan and was here by 3:30 today. After packing for the funeral and going to a doc in the box for some mood tranquilizers, decided to stay here tonight and finish the 5 hour drive in the morning. Quite the exercise to get home.

    oh and as soon as I got to Alabama, I saw this. Unfortunately they didn’t react to me flipping them off
    D18CF66A-4168-4F5B-91D3-99078EAD0205.jpeg
     
  26. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    Honestly it's pretty vague in the terms for the CSR (probably to help them get out of claims) but it could help you here...hopefully you put something on your CSR in advance and they're sympathetic

    Just be prepared for a disgusting process where they try to get out of it

    Most likely: they say there was no "immediate" need to go home
     
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  27. Oranjello

    Oranjello Well-Known Member
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    Excluding the things we did in CR and flights, I’m currently looking at a ~$9k loss. I’ve sent multiple letters over $60 with shitty landlords before, so I guess I’m somewhat prepared. Having a law firm’s letterhead to use helps optics-wise.

    I currently have a flight booked back on AA from Liberia to the States for Monday that I obviously won’t be making. Any suggestions on how to recoup it?
     
  28. cheddarisbetter

    cheddarisbetter Well-Known Member
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    Shit dude, I was telling my wife of the weird coincidence of knowing a fellow poster was at the same honeymoon spot as we we were driving to from santa Teresa. I am sorry for your loss.
     
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  29. cheddarisbetter

    cheddarisbetter Well-Known Member
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    Oranjello if there is anything I can do while here to help you recoup some things, just let me know
     
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  30. CoastalOrange

    CoastalOrange Well-Known Member
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    Honestly, I'd just call AA and let them know. I had to cancel a flight on Delta due to lesser circumstances (though was done more in advance) and the lady was super nice and offered me a Delta voucher for the amount I paid.
     
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  31. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
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    Debating on taking a quick trip this weekend to Puerto Vallarta or Hawaii to get some lazy, warm beach time in.

    Leaning towards PV because of cost. Is any Hawaiian island accessible without a rental car? I really want to avoid that at all costs.
     
  32. PJP3

    PJP3 Well-Known Member
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    You can get away with no car if you are on Waikiki but that area sucks so I wouldn't recommend that. PV seems better for a weekend trip. It must be closer.
     
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  33. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    My suggestions are, in order:

    1. Call AA as soon as possible, tell them you're already home and stress the urgency of your return (especially if you are an executor or had to make arrangements)
    2. After that, go after Citi through calling 1-866-918-4670, again stressing the urgency of your return (especially if you are an executor or had to make arrangements) for any portion AA didn't cover
    3. Scour your Chase statement and see if you had anything booked through them, if so go for the rest that AA and Citi didn't seem to cover. Make sure not to make claims that overlap or you're committing a crime

    Again just to reiterate, you do have a claim and it does qualify but if you've never done claims like this before, they can be absurd. I'm talking "six calls to get a cell phone screen fixed when you have cell phone accident insurance" ridiculous
     
  34. Pasta88

    Pasta88 Canes, Bruins, Raps, Jays and Sunderland.
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    Maybe wishful thinking, as I’m basing this off of nothing, but I would think the airlines/hotel chains would be willing to help since it’s a great chance to potentially lock in a customer for life.
     
  35. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    No chance if he stayed at a Marriott
     
  36. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    from the credit card thread:

    Alaska Airlines has partnered with AA

    Effective immediately:
    • Redeem Alaska Mileage Plan™ miles on all American Airlines flights.
    • Access any of American’s 50 Admirals Club locations worldwide with an Alaska Lounge membership.
    • Continue to earn and redeem Alaska Mileage Plan miles on our current portfolio of 16 Global Partners.

    Starting Spring 2020:
    • Earn Alaska Mileage Plan miles on any American Airlines flights, domestically and internationally.

    Starting Summer 2021:
    • Earn and redeem Alaska Mileage Plan miles on all oneworld airlines.
    • Alaska elites will enjoy privileges, including priority boarding, premium seating, baggage benefits and more when you fly on American Airlines or any oneworld airline.
    • Access 650 lounges within the oneworld network as an MVP Gold or Gold 75K member.
     
  37. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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  38. Oranjello

    Oranjello Well-Known Member
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    I used AA points for the flight. A surprisingly quick call and they refunded the points and taxes.

    The hotels/resorts aren’t chains, and I’ll need to deal with them either directly or through my travel agent. Agent has helped a lot but I can see how her need to maintain relationships hinders her ability to be forceful. Will deal with it when I have more time
     
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  39. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    Nice, didn't realize they were points. Those calls go much easier
     
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  40. Tiger Tiger Woods Y'all

    Tiger Tiger Woods Y'all Putting big balls in little holes, circa 1995
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    This still doesnt help getting Chase or Amex points to AA right.

    That is a bitch.

    Best way for AA points? They have good redemption prices.
     
  41. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    [​IMG]
     
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  42. Tiger Tiger Woods Y'all

    Tiger Tiger Woods Y'all Putting big balls in little holes, circa 1995
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    [​IMG]
     
  43. dahldennsull

    dahldennsull Living in the best state
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    also watching. Haven't been in a long time, and had a friend ask me recently. Need more stuff than the traditional beer halls to send them to.
     
  44. rezy

    rezy Member
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    Just bought tickets to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Athens June 5th. Anyone have recs for Athens?
     
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  45. AptosDuck

    AptosDuck Pedantic Hausfrau
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    So I was at my local AAA office yesterday getting my International Drivers Permit and I decided to ask an agent about insurance for rentals overseas since I felt like I'd been screwed in France by Hertz in 2016. Turns out my policy doesn't cover any overseas rentals (I suppose that should have been obvious to me but I still wanted to hear it from them), and the insurance agent handed me over to a travel agent to see what deals they could find for me in terms of rental cars out of Milan for driving around Switzerland in June. Agent found me a Mercedes minivan with GPS and auto transmission, with full walk-away insurance coverage, for less than I could find a manual transmission minivan without GPS and only theft insurance on my own (my own initial recon with Hertz was frustrating and unsatisfying). It would seem that sometimes it's a good idea to use a travel agent to get some specific things done. "Hi I'm calling from AAA on behalf of a client" is better for getting deals than "random idiot navigates website"
     
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  46. dahldennsull

    dahldennsull Living in the best state
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    sorry I didn't get to you, had a friend send me stuff to forward to that friend of mine.

    here is what he sent. Curious what you found over the weekend:

    I'm sure you know the basic breweries, but if not let me know and I can provide some recs. Here are some other places I really like...

    I'll go back through my pictures and see if anything else comes to mind.

    Wirtshaus Zum Straubinger: great German food (we went twice last trip), nice spot but nothing fancy

    Andechs Monastery: old monastery outside of town (30-45 min train) with beer that has been made by the monks for decades / centuries? good food and great view of the German countryside; would be better if the weather is nice / warm as the outside area is cool; you can either do train to the town + bus/uber/taxi when you get there ... or train plus ~45 min hike up the mountain

    Eataly: not German haha, but I still love this place; have you been elsewhere in NYC or Europe? They have a ton of food options, several bars, nice coffee shop, gelato etc. in a full scale Italian market

    Augustiner Keller: probably my favorite of the beer halls, classic and historic looking

    English Garden: weather permitting, rent bikes and stroll through the garden - it's massive with people just hanging, sports areas, naked areas, beer gardens, paddle board, rowing etc.

    Neni: again, not German haha, but another spot I like - there are several locations around Europe with Middle Eastern / Mediterranean cuisine in a trend setting that is always good

    Schiller Brau: another good German food / beer spot

    I also liked this place for beer and food. Sort of a “fancier looking” brewery near eataly and wirsthaus

    Der Pschorr – das bayerische Wirtshaus am Viktualienmarkt
     
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  47. xec

    xec Well-Known Member
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    Be careful renting at Milano Malpensa Airport. I rented from Avis/Budget there last October. I made the reservation a few months earlier and was told the rate covered all insurances needed for collision and theft. I verified it again before leaving the USA. At the airport they were adamant that my rate did not include insurance and they would not rent me the car unless I purchased insurance from them (600 Euros for 2 weeks) or signed a document waiving coverage and accepting all financial responsibility for collision and theft. I asked if the waiver also negated the insurance I already had. They again told me there was no insurance in my reservation. So I bought the insurance but added a narrative onto the agreement that I did it under protest because Budget USA had twice assured me that insurance was included in the rate.

    I called Budget the next day and they explained that as long as I had the car they couldn’t help me, and said I should call back after I turned it in.

    After I turned it in, I called the next day. They said they couldn’t help me because it was a customer service issue. They gave me another number to call. I did. They told me that the completed transaction had not cleared in the system yet and to call back in a few days.

    I did and was telling my story to the agent, when the call was dropped. I called back and got a message that the number was not available and to enter the extension of the party I was calling (which wasn’t known). By the way, this happened several times in my dealings with Avis/Budget USA. I’m pretty sure it’s intentional and they figure people will get frustrated and just go away.

    After a couple of weeks of calling an agent finally took down my story and I sent a pic of the protest I had written on the rental agreement. The agent forwarded it all to “Legal” and advised it would take a month for them to review it. A month later I got an email from someone telling me that I had “freely accepted the supplemental insurance offered at the airport” and that they were closing the case. That was the first time the word “supplemental” had ever been used by Avis/Budget. In the email the “Legal” person also informed me that Avis\Budget is not responsible for whatever their desk agents tell a customer.

    Anyway, I am preparing a complaint to the Virginia agency that regulates corporations, and am preparing write-ups for my Senator and Representative. I’ve considered hiring a lawyer, but don’t know if it is worth it.

    Anyway, I exclusively used Avis and Budget for decades, but will never rent from them again. To get back on topic, be careful at Malpensa. My brother rented from Hertz there and his experience was not good either. The car had dents and scratches all over it and he refused to accept it. He eventually was given an undamaged car, but it took him 4 hours to get it.
     
    #20597 xec, Feb 17, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 17, 2020
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  48. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    Social Media is a good agent to get some restitution

    My wife started blowing up China Southern about out lost bags and someone contacted her.

    Eventually the bags were found. Not sure if was her or the they were eventually found
     
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  49. pianoman

    pianoman my drinks are free
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    This has been my experience every single time I've rented in a foreign country. I had almost the exact experience as you with Enterprise two years ago when I rented a car for a week in Scotland. I prepaid for insurance, landed went to pickup the car and got told I'd need to buy insurance for the week that cost more than the rental itself.
     
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  50. xec

    xec Well-Known Member
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    I am a pretty regular poster on Trip Advisor. I went there to post about it, but noticed that every time someone does this there are several “members” who regularly reply that it must have been a rogue desk agent, or The OP must have misunderstood something or even that it’s an out and out fabrication (someone with “sour grapes out to get the company”). So, I’m waiting until some more time has passed so that I can counter those people. I’m pretty sure they are on the payroll of the rental companies.