- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
re: 2022 Honeymoon Adventure: Maldives, Amsterdam, Santorini, Athens
Posted on 12/15/21 at 3:37 pm to H2O Tiger
Posted on 12/15/21 at 3:37 pm to H2O Tiger
quote:
I love flying, so I'll go out of my way to fly new and exciting (to me) airlines and products.
Ideally, some award availability will open up on AAdvantage and I can swap the DFW-IAH-DOH-CMB-MLE to DFW-DOH-MLE, which would cut out 2 flights, but it's hard to find award availability for 2 in business to begin with this far out so I wanted to get an itenirary booked and then I can edit later.
I get that some people like to fly...I don't mind it when in business. But you seem to leave yourself little to no room for error if something goes wrong. Delays happen...you're already short at most stops, losing a night at any would not be good. Forget covid shutdowns...worry about flight rescheduling and/or cancellations.
And really look into the logistics...that concerns me far more than the rushing. What time do you arrive in Male? What time do you depart from Male? What are the checkin/checkout times of your resort? Boat timing to/from the resort? Will they make exceptions to that? Everything I can recall from planning our Maldives stop recommended not staying on Male (except for a travel overnight if needed). What is your backup plan if you have IRROPS? Same for your two nights in Amsterdam. If you want to see someplace new, skip Amsterdam and do Abu Dhabi/Dubai - 2 nights should be fine for that.
quote:
Also very excited to check out some of the flagship lounges for Qatar, Etihad and KLM.
I wouldn't be that excited. I checked in to AUH as an Etihad first class customer and got the whole 9 yards. It's great, but you're still at an airport. Point being, don't get wrapped up in checking off boxes - especially on your honeymoon. I've been to First class lounges at the home bases for Cathay, Singapore Airlines, Etihad, Lufthansa, Qantas, and Air Malaysia (plus countless business class lounges) and none of them are remotely worth risking a honeymoon blowing up because of delays/reschedules/cancellations.
Anyway, that's the last I'll bother you with that.
Maldives - the Park Hyatt was fantastic. Beautiful property, good food, and a fantastic house reef with a good diving operation. Plus, they actually usually have award space if you have Hyatt/UR points. The Conrad Rangali is supposed to be nice too, but I think base level points awards are not common there.
Greece...I'd stick with one night in Athens. With 3 nights for islands, I wouldn't try to do more than one. On Santorini, I'd stay at Oia if you want to be in a busier area and Imerovigli if you want a quieter area. Look at some vacation rentals in addition to hotels - you're more likely to find a great balcony/view at a not outrageous price.
If you free up some time in Greece, I'd add Naxos if you want a more laid back, beachy island or Mykonos if you want more night life (or so I've read). Crete is awesome, but it is probably too out of the way unless you really rearrange things to focus on Greece.
1
Posted on 12/15/21 at 3:50 pm to JustinTI
quote:
And really look into the logistics...that concerns me far more than the rushing. What time do you arrive in Male? What time do you depart from Male? What are the checkin/checkout times of your resort? Boat timing to/from the resort? Will they make exceptions to that? Everything I can recall from planning our Maldives stop recommended not staying on Male (except for a travel overnight if needed). What is your backup plan if you have IRROPS? Same for your two nights in Amsterdam. If you want to see someplace new, skip Amsterdam and do Abu Dhabi/Dubai - 2 nights should be fine for that.
We arrive in Male at 8:25a local time and depart from Male at 6:40p local time. Which will give us plenty of time to make any boat/seaplane transfers. From everything I've read about Trans Maldivian Airways they are extremely flexible with your flight times in the event of an inbound delay as they know everyone is connecting.
quote:
Maldives - the Park Hyatt was fantastic. Beautiful property, good food, and a fantastic house reef with a good diving operation. Plus, they actually usually have award space if you have Hyatt/UR points. The Conrad Rangali is supposed to be nice too, but I think base level points awards are not common there.
The bulk of my points are with Hilton/Marriott. With the taxes and fees being so high in the Maldives I'm considering just paying cash for our room there and saving points for another time.
quote:
Greece...I'd stick with one night in Athens. With 3 nights for islands, I wouldn't try to do more than one. On Santorini, I'd stay at Oia if you want to be in a busier area and Imerovigli if you want a quieter area. Look at some vacation rentals in addition to hotels - you're more likely to find a great balcony/view at a not outrageous price.
Staying one night in Athens seems to be the norm, so I doubt we'll change that as we really only need it to make our 6:00a flight home. Will look into the vacation rentals on Santorini as well. Would you reccomend getting a rental car for Santorini or are enough things walkable in/around town?
Posted on 12/15/21 at 4:09 pm to H2O Tiger
That's better than I would have guessed on the timing - hopefully you can find more direct routing award space regardless of your final plans.
The inter-island flights can vary. If you're farther away from Male, you'll likely be on a regional prop plane. We had ~50 people on our flight. They will be firmly scheduled. Given the timing, it may be worth looking into options within a boat/sea plane ride from Male.
I'm not a big Marriot guy. We have a boatload of Hilton points because I always seem to struggle to use them at a reasonable redemption rate. Can't offer too much more there.
On Santorini, I would not rent a car for the duration of your stay. You can get a rental to explore for a day and return it at the end of the day.
The inter-island flights can vary. If you're farther away from Male, you'll likely be on a regional prop plane. We had ~50 people on our flight. They will be firmly scheduled. Given the timing, it may be worth looking into options within a boat/sea plane ride from Male.
I'm not a big Marriot guy. We have a boatload of Hilton points because I always seem to struggle to use them at a reasonable redemption rate. Can't offer too much more there.
On Santorini, I would not rent a car for the duration of your stay. You can get a rental to explore for a day and return it at the end of the day.
Posted on 12/15/21 at 4:25 pm to JustinTI
Yes, the flight times worked out well and if I'm able to route directly DOH-MLE the plane will still arrive in Male in the morning. Everything we're looking at will either be seaplane or boat transfer due to the risk of delays.
Thanks for the insight on the rental car as well. I;ve only rented out of the country in Mexico and Italy but have heard it can be hit or miss on the islands and would rather go wothout one if possible.
Thanks for the insight on the rental car as well. I;ve only rented out of the country in Mexico and Italy but have heard it can be hit or miss on the islands and would rather go wothout one if possible.
Posted on 12/15/21 at 5:30 pm to H2O Tiger
We just went to Maldives for our honeymoon over Thanksgiving week. If you at titanium and booking on points, you should stay 5 nights. Reedem 4 nights and the 5th is free. We stayed at JW bc their base unit is an overwater bungalow so if was one of the better redemption rates.
The Ritz looked amazing but I didn’t have enough points. Also, Marriott is about to change how they redeem points so book soon.
That flight to the Maldives is a bitch. 3 days is not enough. People forget about the seas plane transfer after you are in Male. That could be another 2-3 hours after long flights. It was 31 hours door to door and we flew out of Houston. Houston >Dubai>Male>JW….and that 31 hours is NOT adjusted for time change.
The Ritz looked amazing but I didn’t have enough points. Also, Marriott is about to change how they redeem points so book soon.
That flight to the Maldives is a bitch. 3 days is not enough. People forget about the seas plane transfer after you are in Male. That could be another 2-3 hours after long flights. It was 31 hours door to door and we flew out of Houston. Houston >Dubai>Male>JW….and that 31 hours is NOT adjusted for time change.
Posted on 12/15/21 at 6:02 pm to kciDAtaE
quote:
It was 31 hours door to door and we flew out of Houston.
if that’s the case I’ll have to not ever see the Maldives LOL
Posted on 12/15/21 at 6:07 pm to kciDAtaE
I had forgotten about the 5th night free promo, thanks for the reminder. We should be sitting pretty on points as our reception is at a Marriott property and I believe we get 3x or 5x points per dollar spent but because of the high taxes/fees associated with a points redemption we may just pay in cash.
Also good info on the JW, didn't realize the base room was an overwater villa.
Our flights are blocked at 28 hours from Houston to Male, hoping I can clean up some of the itenirary as award space opens up closer to booking.
Also good info on the JW, didn't realize the base room was an overwater villa.
Our flights are blocked at 28 hours from Houston to Male, hoping I can clean up some of the itenirary as award space opens up closer to booking.
Posted on 12/15/21 at 8:36 pm to H2O Tiger
Our flight time was similar. But travel time came to 31 hours as I included Uber to airport and waiting at IAH. Plus the seaplane transfer and time waiting for that.
Posted on 12/15/21 at 10:32 pm to kciDAtaE
I'm really hoping I can switch to the DFW-DOH-MLE direct, that would cutdown the travel time significanty
Posted on 12/16/21 at 7:59 pm to H2O Tiger
Santorini is very missable if the other option is more days in the middle of the pacific.
Also Athens, despite it paining me to say this, is probably one of the most skippable cities in Europe. I didn’t want to believe the fine posters on this board who said as much but Christ it sucks.
Also Athens, despite it paining me to say this, is probably one of the most skippable cities in Europe. I didn’t want to believe the fine posters on this board who said as much but Christ it sucks.
This post was edited on 12/16/21 at 8:02 pm
Posted on 12/16/21 at 8:15 pm to H2O Tiger
quote:No you didn’t “do” them.
We did Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Portugal over 2 weeks in the Summer of 2019.
You did a drive-by on them.
Jesusgod man.
With your Honeymoon itinerary, when she gets back home, she’ll be complaining about being chafed & raw.
And it won’t be from the bone dance.
Posted on 12/16/21 at 8:49 pm to H2O Tiger
Most of these people have never flown international business class and have no appreciation for the fact that it is, in fact, fun.
That said, I still don't understand anything about your itinerary. If you're trying to do a trip that is impressive, this isn't it --- it's just confusing, especially the Amsterdam part.
Personally, if I were going to the Maldives and wanted to combine it with something else, I'd go to Jordan and see Petra (lives up to all the hype, IMO). Or I'd go to Egypt. Or, as someone suggested, Istanbul, which is an amazing historical and romantic city.
That said, I still don't understand anything about your itinerary. If you're trying to do a trip that is impressive, this isn't it --- it's just confusing, especially the Amsterdam part.
Personally, if I were going to the Maldives and wanted to combine it with something else, I'd go to Jordan and see Petra (lives up to all the hype, IMO). Or I'd go to Egypt. Or, as someone suggested, Istanbul, which is an amazing historical and romantic city.
Posted on 12/16/21 at 9:11 pm to GOP_Tiger
Yes international biz class is awesome. Flying past Greece to get Amsterdam to just head back to Greece is a bit bizarre.
Posted on 12/16/21 at 11:03 pm to GOP_Tiger
quote:
Most of these people have never flown international business class and have no appreciation for the fact that it is, in fact, fun.
That's a bold assumption.
As far as whether international business class is fun...that's debatable. Infinitely better than economy without a doubt. But I'd say it is only fun if you haven't flown international business class that much. You're still stuck in a tin can being served $15-$20 wine and meh food with less space and entertainment options than I'd have at home. For me, it's absolutely less fun than what I'd be doing in Greece or the Maldives, etc.
Now first class on an airline like Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Etihad, Emirates, JAL...that is something I'd actually go out of my for.
Posted on 12/17/21 at 12:51 am to H2O Tiger
I guess you are wired differently than me, but a damn airport lounge is not on my radar for a honeymoon. Or practically any leisure trip for that matter.
Posted on 12/17/21 at 8:42 am to sdw1002
"clark, don't you want to see the maldives?"
"c'mon honey, we've got three more airport lounges to see!"
"c'mon honey, we've got three more airport lounges to see!"
Posted on 12/17/21 at 8:55 am to H2O Tiger
The only problem I see with your plan is that you haven’t included Australia and Alaska.
This post was edited on 12/17/21 at 9:06 am
Posted on 12/17/21 at 9:12 am to GOP_Tiger
Literally flew international business two weeks ago and do so relatively regularly.
its a hell of a lot nicer than coach but its still fricking flying and traveling.
I always look to cut my connections, flight times, etc down to a minimum while still factoring things like price and logistics in.
In the current age of covid and flight cancellations and shortages, I have amped that up.
You really, really, really want the least amount of flights possible.
its a hell of a lot nicer than coach but its still fricking flying and traveling.
I always look to cut my connections, flight times, etc down to a minimum while still factoring things like price and logistics in.
In the current age of covid and flight cancellations and shortages, I have amped that up.
You really, really, really want the least amount of flights possible.
Posted on 12/17/21 at 12:57 pm to Fun Bunch
See, I've only flown nine segments of long-haul biz, so maybe that's why it still seems special to me. I really enjoy the fact that my phone cannot ring, and I won't get emails unless I specifically want to. I'm away from it all and can truly relax while people wait on me to bring me food and drink.
Posted on 12/17/21 at 1:18 pm to cgrand
This made me chuckle, I watched that movie the other day
Page 3 of 6
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News