weird i flew iberia and i don't remember having to give a credit card to get a boarding pass i just checked in online and printed a boarding pass from my computer
iberia is known to require 90 days fro a passport but if its 89 days they should have let it go
wow does your phone take nice pictures
Iberia said that it was a restriction put on my ticket since it was my first flight with Iberia and I used avios points to book it. Not sure what having the exact credit card accomplishes other than jamming me up. Claimed that there was a notification at time of booking. I do not recall that and was shocked that it wasn't mentioned in any of the email communications received from Iberia anywhere. I had multiple forms of ID that matched the information on my Iberia account that I pulled the avios from and ability to show them the account of the British Airways CC I used to pay the taxes with. Still think they were looking for any reason to deny people boarding because the flight was overbooked. Surprised/irritated that the airline didn't flag it when we entered the passport data into the traveler info. Live and learn but expensive lesson.
Some pics from phone, most from Canon 7D that needs a good cleaning/service after everything I have drug that camera through. Glad you enjoyed them.
Note on passport restrictions - We had travelled to Belize a few months earlier. They indicate 6 months required. My wife's passport expired 3 days after we returned and we had no problems so I guess that is why she didn't think that 89 days would be a problem on a 90 day rule.
itinerary
Day 1 - Drive Naples to MIA, fight with Iberia. lose. Overnight MIA, get new passports, rearrange flights
Day 2 night flight MIA - MAD - BCN, stay HI Express in BCN, arrive midday, tour Sagrada Famila in the PM
Day 3 - Walking tours, hop on, hop off bus tour around Barcelona
Day 4 - Day trip to Montserrat, train up and back, visit monastery, do some hiking there
Day 5 - Flight to Oslo - Stavanger, drive Stavanger to Forsand Air BNB
Day 6 - Watch the rain fall, take ferry from Forsand up to head of fjord and back, wife hiked Flam 4444
Day 7 - More rain, - Car tour Forsand to Egersund back to Stavanger, explore Stavanger and N Sea Oil Museum
Day 8 - Hike Pulpit Rock, drive to Bergen Air BNB
Day 9 - Walking tours, shop, dine, relax in Bergen (tried Orca sausage at City market, not impressed)
Day 10 - Norway in a day tour (train, bike, bus, boat, bus, rafting, train)
Day 11 - Drive out and visit Stave Church in Hopperstad, do some hiking in the hills above Hopperstad
Day 12 - Train from Bergen to Oslo, flight to Dublin, walking tour Dublin, stay Marriott in Dublin
Day 13 - Second walking tour Dublin, drive to Killarney Air BNB
Day 14 - Drive Ring of Kerry with 5 stops along the route, explore Killarney
Day 15 - Visit castles west/south of Killarney, guided pub tour Killarney
Day 16 - Visit Cliffs of Moher
Day 17 - Drive back to Dublin, fly DUB - DFW, overnight DFW
Day 18 - Fly DFW - RSW, begin long and fruitless debate with Iberia / American to try and recover some miles
Note on driving around Dublin. One of the toll roads there (M50) has to be paid by 8 PM the day after your travel or penalties begin to accrue. You have to recall how many times you passed the toll cameras as the system doesn't tell you and if you don't pick the right number of times you drove past the toll station penalties will accrue. At least you can pay with CC unlike the parking tickets in Bergen that required a Norweigian bank acocunt to pay
https://www.tripsavvy.com/dublins-m50-road-tolls-1542998Impressions -
Iberia Airline customer service in Miami is worst and the most unexpected expensive airline experience I have ever had. Flight was good, good wine selection in first, decent dinner. We picked Spain as our first stop due to the best value first flights to Europe were the MIA - MAD Iberia flights. Chose Barcelona over Madrid as it seemed to have much more to offer.
Barcelona mass transit was good, food and wine was moderately priced and good, friendly people. Love the walking tours, very infomative, one of our favorite things to do in urban visits.
Norway - great scenery, accomodating people, expensive dining $120 for lunch for 5, $200 for dinner for 5. Surprised at lack of wildlife and drive times even though I had been warned about drive times. Ferries easy to use. Weather impacted us more than I had hoped. Norway in a day tour was great but expensive ($2300 for 5), rafting in Voss was great
Ireland - Loved Dublin, very welcoming/friendly people with postive attitudes. Library at Trinity College was impressive. Surprised at how sparsely populated the country is. Killarney had lots of good restaurants and pubs. As a regualr visitor to Alaska (family there) and having explored most of the great national parks in the US the scenery that we toured was not impressive other than Cliffs of Moher. Enjoyed the castle visits and would pick Blarney Castle if I only had time for one. Dublin walking tours were very informative.
Car rental insurance in Ireland is a ripoff. Citipoints rep said I was covered when I arranged rental but Eurocar would not give me car until I agreed to pay and agent only offered no deductable policy. After 12 hour day of traveling I capitulated and just signed the agreement after being on hold for 45 minutes with Citipoins reps transferring me around in circles. Seriously considerd side swiping a wall or two to get my money worth but figured there was likely some language in there that would have added much additional cost if any damage occurred ( and wife would have not been happy). The insurance costs more than the rental. Every credit card that I checked afterwards exclude Ireland in their car rental insurance coverage. Food prices not as high as Norway but more than Spain or at home in the US
Going through US customs in Dublin was great, much better than waiting on customs stateside after long flight.
