The all encompassing travel thread (for your tips, tricks, recs, questions, help).

[EmirOfShmo]

9 hours ago, China said:

Anybody got any good hotel recommendations for Manhattan?

 

We've only stayed at Marriott related hotels in Manhattan: Ritz Central Park South & JW Marriott Essex House. Good location for our sightseeing activities, restaurants, etc.

[PleaseBlitz]

11 hours ago, China said:

Anybody got any good hotel recommendations for Manhattan?

 

https://www.iroquoisny.com/

 

Rooms are small, but the hotel is nice and it's right by Bryant Park, Rock Center, Times Square, 8 blocks from the Empire State Building. 

[ixcuincle]

These Vegas plane tickets are like 1000 because the packers play at Vegas that Monday after the weekend. 😭

 

I don't care about that game I'm just trying to spend the weekend there f***

 

Without using spirit, frontier or allegiant how do I get to Vegas Oct 6-8

[ixcuincle]

Disregard my above question, I looked through my receipts and I flew Frontier in 2018 to Vegas I had no issue.

[EmirOfShmo]

These 7 Las Vegas Strip Hotels Were Named in a New Bedbug Report

 

The Las Vegas Strip has been hosting very unwelcome guests at some of its most popular hotels. According to Southern Nevada Health District records obtained by 8 News Now, seven hotels in Las Vegas have had bedbugs in the last year and a half. The bedbugs were discovered via complaints that prompted inspections at the properties.

The seven hotels reportedly named in the records are Circus Circus, Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood, Palazzo, Tropicana, MGM Grand, and Sahara. Filings show that at Circus Circus, the bedbugs were found, and given a two-week treatment.

 

https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/las-vegas-strip-hotels-bedbug-report

[Ball Security]

On 9/5/2023 at 9:51 PM, China said:

Anybody got any good hotel recommendations for Manhattan?

We are going to stay at citizenM in Time Square later this month. It’s very close to the theater and restaurant. The room looks tiny, but nice. 
 

How are you getting there? We are taking Amtrack and it’s a lot pricier than I hoped.

[China]

1 minute ago, Ball Security said:

We are going to stay at citizenM in Time Square later this month. It’s very close to the theater and restaurant. The room looks tiny, but nice. 
 

How are you getting there? We are taking Amtrack and it’s a lot pricier than I hoped.

 

Good question.  Hadn't really thought about that yet.  In the past we've gone up a variety of ways including some of the charter bus services that run a direct route from Rosslyn to NYC.

[Ball Security]

1 minute ago, China said:

 

Good question.  Hadn't really thought about that yet.  In the past we've gone up a variety of ways including some of the charter bus services that run a direct route from Rosslyn to NYC.

This is our first time going there since the kids were born. I have an expectation of stepping it up from Vamoose this time around. 😂 But yeah, grab a sandwich from Cozi and take off from that corner. I know it well.

[PleaseBlitz]

36 minutes ago, China said:

 

Good question.  Hadn't really thought about that yet.  In the past we've gone up a variety of ways including some of the charter bus services that run a direct route from Rosslyn to NYC.

 

The train is BY FAR the best way to get from DC to NYC.  Charter buses are pretty miserable and take forever unless you go at night.  

 

I would check Amtrak's website and see what fares are throughout the day and by different stations.  You may be able to get a cheaper fare leaving from Alexandria rather than Union Station.  And you don't need to take the Acela, the Northeast Regional is just as good. 

[Corcaigh]

Yeah … my kiddo goes to Manhattan for work reasonably regularly and the train beats everything else by a long way for reliability, comfort etc

[Warhead36]

1 hour ago, EmirOfShmo said:

These 7 Las Vegas Strip Hotels Were Named in a New Bedbug Report

 

The Las Vegas Strip has been hosting very unwelcome guests at some of its most popular hotels. According to Southern Nevada Health District records obtained by 8 News Now, seven hotels in Las Vegas have had bedbugs in the last year and a half. The bedbugs were discovered via complaints that prompted inspections at the properties.

The seven hotels reportedly named in the records are Circus Circus, Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood, Palazzo, Tropicana, MGM Grand, and Sahara. Filings show that at Circus Circus, the bedbugs were found, and given a two-week treatment.

 

https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/las-vegas-strip-hotels-bedbug-report

Glad when we went back in early June we switched from Planet Hollywood to Cosmopolitan

[EmirOfShmo]

Wow! This is going to piss off some people. 

 

Delta Air Lines Announces Horrendous Changes To The SkyMiles Program & AMEX-Based SkyClub Access

 

As anyone can imagine, these changes are not positive and in fact turn the entire program structure on its head – it’s pretty much a disaster for members who might currently find the elite status quite comfortable to achieve.

Delta SkyMiles was already not the most rewarding program, but obtaining and maintaining Elite status with SkyMiles and the fact that Delta is still one of the better airlines to fly domestically has kept many loyal customers around over the years.

This loyalty could now be tested to its limits as Delta gives members another shot across the bow with the changes that were just announced (access the SkyMiles website here).

Earning Medallion Status has never been this simple. Beginning January 1, 2024, all SkyMiles Members will earn towards their 2025 Status and beyond only through Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) with no change to how miles are earned and redeemed. Continue to enjoy benefits you love and earn MQDs how you want, when you want — with us and our partners.

Simple, maybe. But definitely not easier, especially compared to previous (current) requirements.

SkyMiles Silver Medallion requires 6,000 MQD’s (3,000 MQD’s currently) -> 100% UP

SkyMiles Gold Medallion requires 12,000 MQD’s (8,000 MQD’s currently) -> 50% UP

SkyMiles Platinum Medallion requires 18,000 MQD’s (12,000 MQD’s currently) -> 50% UP

SkyMiles Diamond Medallion requires 35,000 MQD’s (20,000 MQD’s currently) -> 75% UP

 

https://loyaltylobby.com/2023/09/15/delta-air-lines-announces-horrendous-changes-to-their-skymiles-program-skyclub-access/

[Warhead36]

Yeah Delta is dog doo doo in terms of redemption and now is even worse.

[ixcuincle]

booked my flight to Vegas after realizing that Frontier's prices and United were almost identical. I know it seems hard to believe! Both were about 760 dollars but Frontier flies out of DCA and United flies out of IAD. And IAD is like 3 minutes from my house.

[PleaseBlitz]

Anyone have tips/advice for Great Wolf Lodge near Baltimore?  I’m going this weekend. 

[Fergasun]

@PleaseBlitz

Your wife and kids will have a blast.  I took my daughter to GWL one time maybe when she was around 9 to 11?  12 or 13 is the limit - it is a younger family friendlt place.  She loved it and slept like a baby.  One of the hints was change into your swim gear ahead of time (also in case your room is not ready). It will be 4 to 5 hours of water play.  Kids will zonk out.  You might spend all day riding their artificial  boogieboard wave which was really fun.

 

Prepare to be nickel and dimed for everything (it is a resort) and prepare to get norovirus or similar... 

 

It's fun to go once.  I can't say that I hear of people who swear by it (then again, I live in the Southern California region).  

 

 

[ixcuincle]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CxYQ5KOsqkf/?igshid=MWZjMTM2ODFkZg==

[PleaseBlitz]

Great Wolf Lodge:  A Review

 

I took the wife and kids (3 and 7) to GWL and stayed the night.  Kids loved it and were tired AF by the end of the day.  So that's a win.  I enjoyed the water slides and the lines werent too bad.  Had a few drinks at the bar in the waterpark during the afternoon. It was roughly the same cost as other bars where you are captured, like at airports or sporting events, so not too bad.  Still, glad I brought a fifth of Woodford with me.  The room was fine.  The dinner place was pretty good, exceeded expectations.

 

It was a bit more, um, rednecky than I expected.  I guess people go there for like week-long vacations?  We got there at 9am and people were already drinking.  Anyways, I'm cool with rednecks, nobody got out of hand although later in the afternoon there were a few people passed out.  My wife and I spent a good deal of time reporting on the many very sad tattoos, both poorly drawn and questionable decision-making.  Notable ones were a cat wearing a fedora playing a saxophone, the "shocker" that took up the dudes entire lower leg, and among the 50 or so Jesus tattoos, one was Jesus directly next to the Playboy bunny (on a guy).  I really can't get over the cat with a fedora playing a saxophone.  

 

It took me 90 minutes to drive there.  We probably won't go back simply because 90% of the waterpark stuff is at the waterpark that is 10 minutes from my house.  But it was a fun day trip with the fam, glad we did it. 

[Ball Security]

We went to NYC and stayed in Midtown this weekend. I knew it’d be pricey, but this was a special occasion and I wasn’t too concerned. We went to a fancy restaurant on Saturday night and it was quite nice, but eerily quiet. It was a 7:30 reservation and maybe most people had show reservations. We got there at 6:30 and waited at the bar. My drink was $25. 
 

There were two situations where I was shocked at how pricey things were. They were my “I got got” moments. At lunch, we had Mexican. We asked for a side of chips and salsa. Many places that’s free. Some places charge like $5. I was thinking, NYC, maybe $10. $14 - I got got.

Then at intermission at the show, they were selling wine. They came in plastic cups with the show name on them. I ordered two. Bracing for a charge of up to $30. Nope. $62 for two things of wine which was probably a glass and a half each.  I got got!

My main observation is how much people just suck. We got seated about a half hour before the curtain went up. Lots of chatting going on. There was a young bro and his hot date spending someone’s money. But when the curtain went up, they got quiet. Great! That’s how it should be. The couple beside us? Guy just kept his conversation going. I was like, “what the ****.” I don’t go to popular movies at popular times because I expect this, but the theater? 
 

We took Amtrak from Union Station. Definitely the way to go. On the way back though, Penn station does a poor job queuing up the lines. It was a free for all. This young girl wearing a Georgetown cap cut a woman a few people behind me. The woman called her out, and she responded with her grating Gen Z voice, “like, so, we’re all going the same place anyway, so why does it like matter?”  I made it my business and said, “hey, you know when all the guys line up to run train on you, and the sixth guy gets cut in line by four other dudes? He gets pissed off. I get that they are all going the same place anyway, but that dude has the right to be upset.” —but, in reality, I only said that in my head.

 

Anyway, that was NYC. 

[ixcuincle]

heading out to Vegas today very excited 

had a 100 dollar Howard Johnson reservation but did some reading and that place was really dirty so switched out. 

of course once I get there most of the staff will be on strike lol 🤔

[Fergasun]

@PleaseBlitz

But here's the real question - did you avoid the Norovirus?  

 

Random personal thought, I know waterparks are not everyone's cup of tea...  but going to waterparks is one of my guilty pleasures as an adult with children.  I feel like I begged my parents to take me to Water Country USA -- you know when you pick up brochures from places?  Same thing with the Disney waterparks in Orlando. 

 

As an adult.... no way was I depriving my my own kids.  We did our local Six Flags multiple times, Jolly Rogers in Ocean City, I can't remember which Disney... maybe it was Blizzard Bay,  GWL once... and every time I transformed from an adult male responsible for his family to an 11-year old running back up the stairs to do waterslides.

 

Incidentally, the best waterslide in America is the loop, "bottom fall out" slide at Jolly Rogers.  Their slide-coaster is also very strong.  

[purbeast]

Speaking of water parks, we went to De Palm Island when in Aruba a couple weeks ago and they had one of those "the floor drops out from beneath you" water slides and I had never been on one of those.  It was pretty fun and super fast but I couldn't really tell wtf was going on because as soon as you drop you have water in your face and I had my eyes closed the entire time until I came out in the little funnel thing to slow down.

[skinsmarydu]

10 minutes ago, Fergasun said:

@PleaseBlitz

But here's the real question - did you avoid the Norovirus?  

 

Random personal thought, I know waterparks are not everyone's cup of tea...  but going to waterparks is one of my guilty pleasures as an adult with children.  I feel like I begged my parents to take me to Water Country USA -- you know when you pick up brochures from places?  Same thing with the Disney waterparks in Orlando. 

 

As an adult.... no way was I depriving my my own kids.  We did our local Six Flags multiple times, Jolly Rogers in Ocean City, I can't remember which Disney... maybe it was Blizzard Bay,  GWL once... and every time I transformed from an adult male responsible for his family to an 11-year old running back up the stairs to do waterslides.

 

Incidentally, the best waterslide in America is the loop, "bottom fall out" slide at Jolly Rogers.  Their slide-coaster is also very strong.  

I get silly when at parks, too...I can run from coaster to coaster at Six Flags, put my back through absolute hell on those things, then lay around with ice packs everywhere the next day still enjoying myself. 

We've got a cool water park near my house and the days there when the grandkids were young were oodles of fun. 

[ixcuincle]

the Rockville pool used to have a slide. Wonder if it's still there. that's the only water park I went to. I've seen them at parks but never bothered. 

 

some that **** wild like wave walls lol 

[PleaseBlitz]

27 minutes ago, Fergasun said:

@PleaseBlitz

But here's the real question - did you avoid the Norovirus?  

 

 

Yes, no issues.