December 2010/January 2011 Trip Planning Thread.

[steve2]

I'm aware of GUM-CNS on CO, but availability from CLE-HNL-GUM-CNS is nil.
And the thought is doing all that in a 73G/738 makes my back and knees hurt.

Now the Sheraton in PD is tempting though.  Maybe I should stay there with points instead shelling out the $$$ in the Whitsundays.  Only issue is neither of us are divers so from what I understand PD would be somewhat pointless.

 I guess I ddint put it correctly, you dont need to fly CLE-GUM get over to Asia and once there fly a short flight on CO MicroAsia to GUM then to CNS  BTW GUM is suppose to have some nice beaches as well,

I havent checked up on who flys to GUM but lets say ANA does so get to say NRT in comfort and then to GUM and then suffer intio CNS.

I dont care what was said on the other thread it was worth Snorkeling would have been better alot nicer had the sun not gone away after the 1st stop. The Hilton cost me 35k pts a night and was a 2 min walk to the boat dock and a 15 AU r/t shuttle ride per person, no HH pts trade for them (Flew up from SYD on QF FC is 35k r/t) but you probably only need a 1 way as you can do an open jaw and fly out of SYD or MEL back here

 the boats that go out for the drives also carry the snokelers I highly recommend QuickSilver new boats and great team of employees even thou they charge alittle more then the others it was well worth it

[Eli]

Wow, I just read all 7 pages. This sure beats my trip in the summer to 8 countries in 2 weeks 2 days.

One thing I would tell you is that I had a very nice time in SIN over Shabbos, and I can most likely hook you up big time in the Fairmont located 8 minute walk from the shul/restaurant.

[Dan]

SIN looks great, but HKG-SIN award flights seem to be borderline impossible.

[Dan]

Currently held itin (I love having a month long hold to change freely as flights open!!!)

This uses all 16 segments allowed (including 1 land segment) under Oneworld rules and is 34,830 miles.

I have 3 main concerns that I'd love to hear your suggestons about.
1. Just 33 hours in Hong Kong.  Maybe I should skip the wedding in London to get an extra night in HKG.  Just how much time do you need in HKG?
2. Arriving in HKG on 12/26 at 10:45pm and departing early the next morning.  Doesn't seem worth going into the city for that.  Any airport hotel recommendations?
I could also take an earlier flight from Phuket to Hong Kong but the earlier Air Asia flight is an extra $30pp and the earlier Bangkok to Hong Kong flight is on Royal Jordanian which seems to have a very substandard reviews in business compared to Cathay Pacific.  Although it's just a 3 hour flight and if we do that option we'll arrive in HKG 7pm instead of 10:45pm.
3. Not very happy with spending shabbos in Toronto at the end of the trip.

Su 12/19 AA 3457, CLE-DFW, 11:30am-1:30pm, First
Su 12/19 BA 192, DFW-LHR, 4:55pm-7:35am+1, First
1 night in London at a relative's wedding
Tu 12/21 BA 270, LHR-AMS, 7:25am-9:40am, Business
Tu 12/21 CX 270, AMS-HKG, 1:05pm-7:05am+1, First.
1 night in Hong Kong
Th 12/23 CX 701, HKG-BKK, 4:00pm-5:55pm, First
Insert Air Asia Flight BKK-HKT here
3 nights in Phuket
Insert Air Asia Flight HKT-BKK here
Su 12/26 CX 702, BKK-HKG, 7:05pm-10:45pm
1 night in Hong Kong
Mo 12/27 QF 30, HKG-MEL, 9:50am-8:45pm, First.
6 nights in Melbourne/Great Ocean Road
Su 01/02 QF 2051, MEL-DPO, 8:30am-9:35am, Coach
4 nights in Tasmania
Th 1/06 QF 5720, HBA-SYD, 9:25am-11:10am, Coach.
4 nights in Sydney
Mo 01/10 QF 5842, SYD-HTI, 11:55am-1:25pm, Coach
3 nights in the Whitsunday Islands
Th 01/13 QF 5863, HTI-MEL, 10:55am-2:50pm, Coach
Th 01/13 CX 178, MEL-HKG, 11:45pm-6:00am+1, Business
Fr 01/14 CX 828, HKG-YYZ, 10:45am-12:35pm, First
2 nights in Toronto
Su 01/16 AA 4646, YYZ-LGA, 1:10pm-2:45pm, First
Su 01/16 AA 4674, LGA-CLE, 5:55pm-7:40pm, First

Any people that have done HKG have any answer to concerns #1 and #2?
As for #3 it looks I'll have to suck it up unless something else opens up on Cathay Pacific or JAL.

[damaxer91]

SIN looks great, but HKG-SIN award flights seem to be borderline impossible.

Be patient. They almost always open.

Any people that have done HKG have any answer to concerns #1 and #2?
As for #3 it looks I'll have to suck it up unless something else opens up on Cathay Pacific or JAL.

1) I think that its fine. There really isn't much to do there.

2)The Train takes about 18 minutes to get to Kowloon. the W is right on top of the train station. Probably the easiest option.

You may want to try and get into HKG by 7 PM so you can have a good dinner at one the fantastic establishments there. RJ isnt half bad but you may want to stick to CX so you are flexible in case you want to change. My guess is that an earlier flight on CX opens

[Dan]

Be patient. They almost always open.
1) I think that its fine. There really isn't much to do there.

2)The Train takes about 18 minutes to get to Kowloon. the W is right on top of the train station. Probably the easiest option.

You may want to try and get into HKG by 7 PM so you can have a good dinner at one the fantastic establishments there. RJ isnt half bad but you may want to stick to CX so you are flexible in case you want to change. My guess is that an earlier flight on CX opens

I'll keep checking SIN, but once ticketed it looks like that will be it.  Would you recommend Singapore over Phuket?

Has anyone been to the new category 3 Westin in Phuket?  It has cash and points availability whereas the category 3 Le Meridian in Khao Lak only has regular points rooms.

So you can really do everything in HKG in just 33 hours? Is it worth even going at all to HKG?
The W seems like a good option.  Is there any hotel attached to the airport though?
Too bad the CX lounge isn't 24 hours...

[damaxer91]

I'll keep checking SIN, but once ticketed it looks like that will be it.  Would you recommend Singapore over Phuket?

Has anyone been to the new category 3 Westin in Phuket?  It has cash and points availability whereas the category 3 Le Meridian in Khao Lak only has regular points rooms.

So you can really do everything in HKG in just 33 hours? Is it worth even going at all to HKG?
The W seems like a good option.  Is there any hotel attached to the airport though?
Too bad the CX lounge isn't 24 hours...

1) Yeah, SIN is probably the nicest city in the world and there are lots of attractions.

2) I think that Levi was there and did not like the Westin. I would reccomend that you forget loyalty programs for a minute and try and get a private pool villa at a place like SALA

3) Yes. Hong Kong is perfect for 33 Hrs and very easy to get into/outta with the train. I'm not sure if there is an airport hotel but I would very much recommend the W. The 70th floor outdoor pool is something worth writing home about.

4) The CX F lounge is amazing! I've spent full days working at both the Wing and the Pier. I just wish that they could provide Kosher meals there. Haggen Dasz is good but there is only so much Ice Cream that one can eat

[Dan]

1) Yeah, SIN is probably the nicest city in the world and there are lots of attractions.

2) I think that Levi was there and did not like the Westin. I would reccomend that you forget loyalty programs for a minute and try and get a private pool villa at a place like SALA

3) Yes. Hong Kong is perfect for 33 Hrs and very easy to get into/outta with the train. I'm not sure if there is an airport hotel but I would very much recommend the W. The 70th floor outdoor pool is something worth writing home about.

4) The CX F lounge is amazing! I've spent full days working at both the Wing and the Pier. I just wish that they could provide Kosher meals there. Haggen Dasz is good but there is only so much Ice Cream that one can eat

Thanks, will keep checking SIN.  How much time would you recommend to get a taste of SIN?

The Westin Siray Bay just opened 2 months ago, are you sure Levi was there? At just 2,800 points+$45 (even less than that due to platinum amenity) it's hard to ignore.  Ill try contacting the GM there to see if I can get a pool villa room.

Otherwise I guess the itin should work out though!

[Dan]

I can get to SIN from Thursday evening to Sunday evening for $600 RT on Jetstar for both of us versus $280 RT for both of us to go to Phuket on Cathay Pacific and Air Asia.

Is SIN that much better?

[Dan]

Another SIN option.

I can take the CX flight as I have on hold into BKK, buy a one-way $80 Jetstar flight from BKK-SIN arriving in SIN at 12:30am Friday, and then fly SIN-BKK-HKG on CX on Sunday at 1:55pm arriving in HK at 8pm.
And then fly out of HKG on Monday morning to MEL.

But is it worth the extra headache to get to SIN over staying at the Le Meridian Khao Lak near Phuket?

[Dan]

Just got MEL-HKG in QF F instead of CX J!
AA AAgent upon seeing my itin: "That's big! That may be the biggest one I've ever seen!"

Current Itin: Uses all 16 segments allowed (including 1 land segment) under Oneworld rules and is 34,830 miles, just 170 miles shy of costing 330K miles instead of 280K!

Su 12/19 AA 3457, CLE-DFW, 11:30am-1:50pm, First
Su 12/19 BA 192, DFW-LHR, 4:55pm-7:35am+1, First
1 night in London at a relative's wedding
Tu 12/21 BA 270, LHR-AMS, 8:40am-10:55am, Business
Tu 12/21 CX 270, AMS-HKG, 1:05pm-7:05am+1, First.
1 night in Hong Kong
Th 12/23 CX 701, HKG-BKK, 4:00pm-5:55pm, First
Insert Air Asia Flight BKK-HKT here
3 nights in Khao Lak or Phuket
Insert Air Asia Flight HKT-BKK here
Su 12/26 CX 702, BKK-HKG, 7:05pm-10:45pm, Business
1 night in Hong Kong
Mo 12/27 QF 30, HKG-MEL, 9:50am-9:45pm, First.
6 nights in Melbourne/Great Ocean Road
Su 01/02 QF 2051, MEL-DPO, 8:30am-9:35am, Coach
4 nights in Tasmania
Th 1/06 QF 5720, HBA-SYD, 9:25am-11:10am, Coach.
4 nights in Sydney
Mo 01/10 QF 5842, SYD-HTI, 11:55am-1:25pm, Coach
3 nights in the Whitsunday Islands
Th 01/13 QF 5863, HTI-MEL, 10:55am-2:50pm, Coach
Th 01/13 QF 29, MEL-HKG, 11:55pm-5:50am+1, First
Fr 01/14 CX 828, HKG-YYZ, 10:45am-12:35pm, First
2 nights in Toronto
Su 01/16 AA 4633, YYZ-LGA, 3:20pm-4:50pm, First
Su 01/16 AA 4674, LGA-CLE, 5:55pm-7:40pm, First

[Deal Guy]

Just got MEL-HKG in QF F instead of CX J!
AA AAgent upon seeing my itin: "That's big! That may be the biggest one I've ever seen!"

Current Itin: Uses all 16 segments allowed (including 1 land segment) under Oneworld rules and is 34,830 miles, just 170 miles shy of costing 330K miles instead of 280K!

Su 12/19 AA 3457, CLE-DFW, 11:30am-1:50pm, First
Su 12/19 BA 192, DFW-LHR, 4:55pm-7:35am+1, First
1 night in London at a relative's wedding
Tu 12/21 BA 270, LHR-AMS, 8:40am-10:55am, Business
Tu 12/21 CX 270, AMS-HKG, 1:05pm-7:05am+1, First.
1 night in Hong Kong
Th 12/23 CX 701, HKG-BKK, 4:00pm-5:55pm, First
Insert Air Asia Flight BKK-HKT here
3 nights in Khao Lak or Phuket
Insert Air Asia Flight HKT-BKK here
Su 12/26 CX 702, BKK-HKG, 7:05pm-10:45pm, Business
1 night in Hong Kong
Mo 12/27 QF 30, HKG-MEL, 9:50am-9:45pm, First.
6 nights in Melbourne/Great Ocean Road
Su 01/02 QF 2051, MEL-DPO, 8:30am-9:35am, Coach
4 nights in Tasmania
Th 1/06 QF 5720, HBA-SYD, 9:25am-11:10am, Coach.
4 nights in Sydney
Mo 01/10 QF 5842, SYD-HTI, 11:55am-1:25pm, Coach
3 nights in the Whitsunday Islands
Th 01/13 QF 5863, HTI-MEL, 10:55am-2:50pm, Coach
Th 01/13 QF 29, MEL-HKG, 11:55pm-5:50am+1, First
Fr 01/14 CX 828, HKG-YYZ, 10:45am-12:35pm, First
2 nights in Toronto
Su 01/16 AA 4633, YYZ-LGA, 3:20pm-4:50pm, First
Su 01/16 AA 4674, LGA-CLE, 5:55pm-7:40pm, First

Dan, that's an awful long time to be gone from this website! We are gonna miss you.   I hope you have someone in mind to post all the deals for a month.

[Dan]

Dan, that's an awful long time to be gone from this website! We are gonna miss you.   I hope you have someone in mind to post all the deals for a month.

I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that even while traveling I have to go online to update fairly often.

[steve2]

Just got MEL-HKG in QF F instead of CX J!



Mo 12/27 QF 30, HKG-MEL, 9:50am-9:45pm, First.


Th 01/13 QF 29, MEL-HKG, 11:55pm-5

 if either of these are on QFs 763s Id rather be on CX, I flew on a QF SYD-CNS which was heading then to SIN or BKK I believe and it was better then Coach but was like COs FC on 767, and nothing to talk about.I wanted coach but I would have had to grab the 6am flight so I went Biz on the 9am

[Dan]

if either of these are on QFs 763s Id rather be on CX, I flew on a QF SYD-CNS which was heading then to SIN or BKK I believe and it was better then Coach but was like COs FC on 767, and nothing to talk about.I wanted coach but I would have had to grab the 6am flight so I went Biz on the 9am

They are both on 744's.

[eliteflyer]

Just got MEL-HKG in QF F instead of CX J!
AA AAgent upon seeing my itin: "That's big! That may be the biggest one I've ever seen!"

Current Itin: Uses all 16 segments allowed (including 1 land segment) under Oneworld rules and is 34,830 miles, just 170 miles shy of costing 330K miles instead of 280K!

Su 12/19 AA 3457, CLE-DFW, 11:30am-1:50pm, First
Su 12/19 BA 192, DFW-LHR, 4:55pm-7:35am+1, First
1 night in London at a relative's wedding
Tu 12/21 BA 270, LHR-AMS, 8:40am-10:55am, Business
Tu 12/21 CX 270, AMS-HKG, 1:05pm-7:05am+1, First.
1 night in Hong Kong
Th 12/23 CX 701, HKG-BKK, 4:00pm-5:55pm, First
Insert Air Asia Flight BKK-HKT here
3 nights in Khao Lak or Phuket
Insert Air Asia Flight HKT-BKK here
Su 12/26 CX 702, BKK-HKG, 7:05pm-10:45pm, Business
1 night in Hong Kong
Mo 12/27 QF 30, HKG-MEL, 9:50am-9:45pm, First.
6 nights in Melbourne/Great Ocean Road
Su 01/02 QF 2051, MEL-DPO, 8:30am-9:35am, Coach
4 nights in Tasmania
Th 1/06 QF 5720, HBA-SYD, 9:25am-11:10am, Coach.
4 nights in Sydney
Mo 01/10 QF 5842, SYD-HTI, 11:55am-1:25pm, Coach
3 nights in the Whitsunday Islands
Th 01/13 QF 5863, HTI-MEL, 10:55am-2:50pm, Coach
Th 01/13 QF 29, MEL-HKG, 11:55pm-5:50am+1, First
Fr 01/14 CX 828, HKG-YYZ, 10:45am-12:35pm, First
2 nights in Toronto
Su 01/16 AA 4633, YYZ-LGA, 3:20pm-4:50pm, First
Su 01/16 AA 4674, LGA-CLE, 5:55pm-7:40pm, First

Whats happening in Toronto?

[Dan]

Whats happening in Toronto?

Nada, that's just the only CX F flight back from HKG that entire week and it's too late to get anywhere else before shabbos.

But now that I think about it, I wonder if that flight somehow bumps into Shabbos?
Any dateline experts here? If you leave HKG at 10:45am and arrive YYZ at 12:35pm will there be any issue?

[eliteflyer]

Nada, that's just the only CX F flight back from HKG that entire week and it's too late to get anywhere else before shabbos.

But now that I think about it, I wonder if that flight somehow bumps into Shabbos?
Any dateline experts here? If you leave HKG at 10:45am and arrive YYZ at 12:35pm will there be any issue?

Generally, the only issue with Shabbos is that you may arrive late into Toronto.
Traveling across the north pole/pacific ocean/Siberia (the exact routing will depend on the weather) in an easterly direction will usually cause a halachic problem if you leave HKG on Motsei Shabbos or Sunday. The theory is that you cross into the previous day as you are flying. This happened to me when I booked a flight PVG-EWR at 4:30pm the day after Yom kippur. Fortunately, the sun was down and we were still flying north over Tokyo.
   Now, if you leave late you will have a double edged problem. The first and most blatant issue is that you will not land in Toronto before Shabbos starts. The other problem is that the sun will set (indeed, it will be dark outside) while you're  still flying over a part of the world that is a day ahead of Toronto. According to some shitas, that could include points as far east as Alaska. Whether that experience of sunset will compel you to observe shabbos is a question to ask your rov about. Ive heard it argued that even if you pass the supposed "date-line" when the sun sets, in a certain sense the seventh day of the week has commenced about you...
For an authoritative treatment of the subject, consider attending these free internet shiurim by a cousin of ours: http://www.mcssl.com/SecureCart/ViewCart.aspx?mid=94F510DD-F7F6-4C5B-AEBB-8671899CC217&sctoken=ecd66ef31ca94f45a78139536ba70e94&bhcp=1

[Dan]

Generally, the only issue with Shabbos is that you may arrive late into Toronto.
Traveling across the north pole/pacific ocean/Siberia (the exact routing will depend on the weather) in an easterly direction will usually causes a halachic problem if you leave HKG on Motsei Shabbos or Sunday. The theory is that you cross into the previous day as you are flying. This happened to me when I booked a flight PVG-EWR on the day after yom kippur. Fortunately, the sun was down and we were still flying north over Tokyo.
   Now, if you leave late you will have a double edged problem. The first and most blatant issue is that you will not land in Toronto before Shabbos starts. The other problem is that the sun will set (indeed, it will be dark outside) while your still flying over a part of the world that is a day ahead of Toronto. According to some shitas, that could include points as far west as Alaska. Whether that experience of sunset will compel you to observe shabbos is a question to ask your rov about. Ive heard it argued that even if your past the supposed "date-line" when the sun sets, in a certain sense the seventh day of the week has commenced about you.

Candle-lighting is 4:46pm in Toronto, so we're schduled to arrive 4 hours and 11 minutes before then.
I guess if the flight is delayed by over 2 hours we would just wind up staying in HKG for shabbos.

[aussiebochur]

Candle-lighting is 4:46pm in Toronto, so we're schduled to arrive 4 hours and 11 minutes before then.
I guess if the flight is delayed by over 2 hours we would just wind up staying in HKG for shabbos.

Just hope you don't get stuck on the tarmac...