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

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

  1. bro

    bro Your Mother’s Favorite Shitposter
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    You guys ever been asked by an airline to download verifly? Seems unnecessary since the US lifted restrictions
     
  2. Pasta88

    Pasta88 Canes, Bruins, Raps, Jays and Sunderland.
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    Yes for BA and it was quite annoying because it didn’t sync back to my BA booking reference like it was supposed to, leading to me not being able to check-in online.
     
  3. BayouMafia

    BayouMafia Thought Leader in Posting
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    Depending on how much work was involved it seems like something her job would pick up.

    Coming back from a work trip in Costa Rica a few months ago I had a flight cancel right at boarding time until the next day. I immediately left the airport, caught a ride back to my hotel and booked the room in Concur on the way and expensed it with the rest of my trip.

    Talked to a guy on the plane the next day who said the process of rebooking everyone with connections, giving everyone a hotel and meal voucher, letting those who needed them retrieve their bags, bussing all 150 of them to a Best Western and then checking in took more than 3 hours.
     
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  4. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    And they just canceled her 2nd flight. They put her on a later flight. Connecting through NC with a 2 hour layover bc. Everything completely sold put from all NY airports to Atl
     
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  5. bro

    bro Your Mother’s Favorite Shitposter
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    I was able to check in online without it so I’m just gonna ignore it I guess
     
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  6. Fran Tarkenton

    Fran Tarkenton Hilton Honors VIP
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    Anyone have any Bar recs for Vancouver? Either rooftop or good cocktails.

    did not see a city thread
     
  7. enjj

    enjj Well-Known Member
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    Leaving Thursday morning for Dominican for a week. Needed to get my sons passport and applied in person mid April. Was told no longer than a month. Nothing. Have called the 1-800 a million times and it hangs up. Email is a waste of time. Went down to the passport office and was told they haven’t processed it yet as they are still dealing with mid March applications.
    Now I have to go get in line at 4 am like an asshole to get thru the emergency 48 hour process.
     
    #25307 enjj, Jun 26, 2022
    Last edited: Jun 26, 2022
  8. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    There must be a summer rush bc there were a ton of issues last year. Like 16 week wait
     
  9. CoastalOrange

    CoastalOrange Well-Known Member
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    Have abt 1.5-2 days in the Portland (OR) area. Any suggestions? We were considering a wine tour but it was like $200 just for the ride and didn't include tasting costs.
     
  10. enjj

    enjj Well-Known Member
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    Apparently nobody applied for 2 years due to Covid. Who knows. Anyways, goodnight!
     
  11. Wee Bey

    Wee Bey racially ambiguous
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    Acropolis if you like steak
    Casa Diablo if youre a vegan
     
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  12. tjosu

    tjosu This is kind of like the breakfast club, huh?
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    Deschutes Brewery is great, as is Cascade on the other side of the river. A few blocks down from Cascade is the Hawthorne Asylum food truck area and we went there multiple times because of all the variety that we wanted to try. This past trip we also went out to the Arboretum for the first time and really enjoyed it. Oh and don’t skip Pine State Biscuits.
     
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  13. Lyrtch

    Lyrtch My second favorite meat is hamburger
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    apizza scholls is some of the best pizza in the country, crazy busy so plan accordingly

    han oak is fantastic if you can get a reservation
     
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  14. CoastalOrange

    CoastalOrange Well-Known Member
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    Any suggestions on things to do or should the focus be eating and drinking? Any wineries that can't be missed?
     
  15. Keef

    Keef Liked by Pierre Gasly
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    Yeah we needed it flying home on American from Madrid in April
     
  16. bro

    bro Your Mother’s Favorite Shitposter
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    Just got home. Didn’t need it
     
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  17. Keef

    Keef Liked by Pierre Gasly
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    Not sure why you'd need it now that restrictions are lifted
     
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  18. tjosu

    tjosu This is kind of like the breakfast club, huh?
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    Do you have a vehicle? If so, going east to Multnomah Falls then Hood River is great, and only an hour or so drive. There are several other small falls you can stop and do short hikes to that are nice to get out for as well. We’ve done the winery tours twice now and have loved it both times; Soter Vineyards is our favorite for wines that we’re actually able to get at home
     
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  19. BellottiBold

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    lmao I was gonna say someone says "Portland" with little context and everyone assumes "eat this, drink that"
    (I mean for good reason, but still)
     
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  20. gowolverines8

    gowolverines8 Well-Known Member

    Had a nightmare airline experience coming back from Naples Italy last week. Wife and i showed up and they said they couldn't find our reservations despite them being all confirmed and paid for. Seems like air canada fucked up booking the connecting flight with Lufthansa. No air Canada reps there, so I spent hours on the phone only to be dropped repeatedly by Air Canada. Couldn't get answers from anyone so i ended up spending 3500 on new tickets to get back to Denver. Now i have to go back and battle air canada/orbitz to cover the new ticket cost + money for all the troubles. Anyone have a similar experience and have any idea what i can expect and what i should ask for or steps i should take to expedite it?
     
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  21. BellottiBold

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    Sucks ass and sorry I can't offer anything from experience. I'll just say that in any case like this I always try to get "logged in" on the operating carrier's site as soon as I'm supposedly confirmed. Gotta make sure the record locator actually pulls up the booking, and that I'm set up for evential online check-in, etc.
     
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  22. Mix

    Mix I own a Fuddruckers with Scottie Pippen
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    Been reading so many Air Canada horror stories lately. Really glad we switched off them for Italy.
     
  23. gowolverines8

    gowolverines8 Well-Known Member

    It was fucking miserable. We got there at 4am to be stranded because of their fuckup and unable to get answers because theres no reps and their phone lines are so jammed up. I had to add a day international plan just to call them. Then we were trying to book new flights but naples airport times the wifi out at 1hr so we ended up having to buy tickets from some travel agency in the airport for absurd money. Originally it was suppose to be Naples through Lufthansa to Munich through Air Canada to Toronto through Air Canada to Denver but a month before we left they changed it to Naples through Lufthansa to Frankfurt through Air Canada to Montreal through Air Canada to Denver. I think what happened is they forgot to book the changed flight on Lufthansa.
     
  24. enjj

    enjj Well-Known Member
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    Got there at 3:45. 10 hours later I got it. Punta Cana on Thursday!!
     
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  25. enjj

    enjj Well-Known Member
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    Toronto is a nightmare right now. I’m flying out of Montreal and haven’t heard if the lineups are bad. Oh ya and flying AC.
     
  26. EagleDuck

    EagleDuck Well-Known Member
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    My wife is going through a nightmare of her own. She’s going to Bergen, Norway for the summer (I mentioned this earlier in the thread). She and her teaching friend were supposed to fly PDX-SEA-REF-BGO on Iceland Air yesterday, arriving this afternoon. About three hours before boarding in Seattle yesterday she gets and email that they’ve changed her flights. Apparently they canceled the REF-BGO flight and rebooked her to fly out of SEA today then going from REF to Oslo to Bergen tomorrow. They stuck her in Seattle last night and refused to at least get her to REF where I could have booked them a way into Bergen on other flights (there were flights and seats available, they just refused to even try to help). They tried to deny that they had to put them up in a hotel overnight but my wife is pretty good at going full bitch without causing a scene and they at least did that.

    REF= Reykjavik which I can’t spell even when looking at it.
     
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  27. gowolverines8

    gowolverines8 Well-Known Member

    international is just a disaster right now, on the flight I bought coming back the leg from paris to atlanta was pretty much all rebooks
     
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  28. EagleDuck

    EagleDuck Well-Known Member
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    the part that really pisses me off is that they clearly could have gotten her to REF. The flight wasn’t even full. Then there were Iceland Air flights available from there to either Oslo or even Stockholm where she could have gotten her own connections to Bergen if they didn’t want to put her on another airline (her final leg tomorrow is on SAS). She could have made it all happen by today but they refused to let her on the flight.
     
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  29. gowolverines8

    gowolverines8 Well-Known Member

    Yep lots of this happening, i missed a bunch of flights just trying to get in contact with someone to rebook. Its absurd how difficult they are making it to get a paid night of lodging when its the airlines fault too. Coming out our flight was delayed because of ground crew issues so a bunch of people missed connections in frankfurt. They told the guy in front of us he was going have to go out the next day so he asked about a hotel and they said no sleep in the airport.
     
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  30. BellottiBold

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    Not that it's at all confusing but KEF is usually the relevant airport when talking Iceland Air, since it's the international airport. REK is the domestic airport in metro Reykjavik. In any case that blows.
     
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  31. EagleDuck

    EagleDuck Well-Known Member
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    you’re right. Goes to show how scrambled my Monday brain is today.

    And I can’t wait to go through all of this in July when I fly out to meet her.
     
  32. tspa

    tspa Well-Known Member
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    Booking through Orbitz is probably going to make it more difficult to get anyone to help you. The airline will say it's Orbitz fault and Orbitz will say it's the airline's fault.
    I had a similar thing happen to last summer, which may mean Star Alliance partners have trouble with there systems linking. I bought tickets to Croatia, the first leg United and the second Lufthansa. Lufthansa just didn't give me seats
    United sent me an email to call them because there was a problem with my booking. So when I called United their only solution was to pay another $1000 to have the same ticket, it was still the same price online, roughly $600. After three hours of explaining to the lady what a bait and switch was I told her to cancel the flight. Then I bought the same flight for the same price I paid the first time.
     
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  33. gowolverines8

    gowolverines8 Well-Known Member

    Mine was also an issue with Lufthansa not giving me seats. In the mad scramble after they couldnt find the reservation we called orbitz and they said the flight was pending and that we needed to pay 79 each to get the seats, i said ok, then the guy came back and said no it should be covered and that he pushed it through. When we went back up they still couldnt find it though. Someone fucked up big time though and it was not us.
     
  34. Lyrtch

    Lyrtch My second favorite meat is hamburger
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    Supposed to fly them tomorrow but only to Montreal

    Going to be a coin flip
     
  35. chuckles

    chuckles Well-Known Member
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    What are this thread's thoughts on buying a guided vacation package versus just doing your own thing? I have traveled extensively and have always done my own thing but I'm contemplating a trip to South America soon, I don't speak Spanish, and for the first time in my life I have the money to be more than a backpacker staying in hostels. I've always been judgy about guided tours but some research I was doing earlier today made it seem pretty attractive. Thoughts?
     
  36. Nug

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    I think there's a stark difference between a package that books hotels, arranges travel, etc. vs doing a contained tour once at a location -- I wouldn't go for for the former. But, I'm all for guided tours once in a place. I try to do a free walking tour in a lot of places I visit, and have come to appreciate a guide for museums/historical sites.

    But I also genuinely enjoy finding my own lodging, making my own restaurant decisions, deciding what to do, etc.

    Where ya thinking about for Suda America?
     
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  37. chuckles

    chuckles Well-Known Member
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    Yeah, I just started doing my research but what I found doesn't include flights. It includes accommodation and inter country travel and breakfast (if I want it) so I'd still have the flexibility to go searching for restaurants, etc.

    My top choices are Chile and Argentina but it really depends when I'm able to take some extended time off and how the weather is that time of year.

    This is an example - https://www.southamerica.travel/south-america/argentina-chile-tours/buenos-aires-lake-district-andes
     
  38. Room 15

    Room 15 Mi equipo esta Los Tigres
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    Did someone say South America?
     
  39. Han Solo

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    I much prefer to do my own thing. More likely to end up off the beaten track and create a much more unique memory. Tour groups hit all the highs but generally stay to the really touristy areas. Plus I feel like all the research I put into planning my trips leads me to a greater appreciation for whatever I end up doing.
     
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  40. Hatfield

    Hatfield Charlie don’t surf
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    I was there in Feb/early March. Don't think we hit any rooftop bars, but the weather isn't great that time of yearso that's prob why. L'abattoir in Gastown is a trendy little cocktail bar. Keefer Bar in Chinatown is a cool spot as well. They have a pretty active patio w/ minigolf and stuff next door as well. Chinatown was a bit grungier than the rest of the city (lots of homeless, people doing drugs, some shuttered businesses, but never really felt "unsafe". Was just a bit of a grittier vibe than the rest of the city, although they certainly have some challenges on the whole with that.

    Vancouver was pretty Covid conscious while we were there so many places were closed, reservation only, or limited capacity. I assume that's changed a bit.

    Dinner at Le Crocodile and the SandBar sushi on Granville were highlights. Ton of great restaurants though so take your pick. Can probably provide some more recs, but I found the Vancouver Reddit particularly helpful with a lot of my questions.
     
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  41. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    You're talking about West Hastings St -- to call it rough would be an understatement. It's basically an open-air drug market for 2-3 blocks. It's real bad.

    Fran Tarkenton Richmond, about a 10-15 minute drive South, is lauded as "the best Chinese food in North America," and it's pretty damn awesome. They have a night market on weekends that is real popular, but I've never been. I would hit up Richmond instead of Chinatown for Asian cuisine, it's more of a suburb and not in a bad part of town. Eater has a great list of the best restaurants there:

    https://www.eater.com/maps/best-restaurants-richmond-bc-canada

    I've eaten at "HK BBQ Master" and "Parker Place," the latter being in a fucking shopping mall. Both awesome.

    Gastown is where I always stay. Cobblestone streets, lots of restaurants and bars, it's awesome. They also have Amsterdam-style coffee shops where you can enjoy your newly-purchased weed drugs, which I really wish the US would adopt soon.

    If you have a car, just taking a drive into North Vancouver and towards Whistler, like 20-30 minutes outside of downtown, is breathtaking scenery.
     
    #25341 Nug, Jun 28, 2022
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2022
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  42. Hatfield

    Hatfield Charlie don’t surf
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    Yea don't get me wrong, Chinatown/Hastings was p sketch. But we Ubered over there, walked like two blocks between a restaurant and that bar then dipped. Definitely people openly doing heroin and shit in alleys and what not.

    We did a daytrip to Squamish and it was worth it, took a shuttle to/from the gondola and downtown. Pretty easy and a nice "day trip". If we were to go back I would honestly spend more time in Stanley Park. We did almost a full day walking the seawall, exploring Stanley Park, getting beers at the brewery there/etc. but I could have gone back the next day. We also had a salmon fishing charter I was super pumped about that got cancelled b/c of shitty conditions. Looked like a pretty unique fishing experience around there if you're into that.
     
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  43. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    Squamish is gorgeous. Really cool area.

    BC in the summer will have you questioning your current city.
     
  44. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    5 Weeks to Sayulita.

    Can't wait.
     
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  45. BayouMafia

    BayouMafia Thought Leader in Posting
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    I've had the guy who wants to airdrop some funny meme on a plane before but this is a new one

     
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  46. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    Shooters shoot
     
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  47. Mix

    Mix I own a Fuddruckers with Scottie Pippen
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    What a moron. Just say my dumb boomer ass doesn't understand technology, sorry accidents happen when I'm so bad at this!
     
  48. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
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    I got hit with a hairy asshole like five years ago.
     
  49. NC Wolfpack

    NC Wolfpack Go Pack Go
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    Well this is encouraging as we will be flying with them from NC into Calgary in 3 weeks. Most concerned about connecting and going through customs in Toronto. Apparently it has been a shit show and we have just a 90 min layover.