Flying Internationally and the Vacation of a Lifetime

So I received a last minute acceptance to do a Seminar at Sea with Royal Caribbean aboard the Majesty of the Seas for their Mediterranean Itinerary. Having only ever been to London, England in Europe and is that really Europe back in 1996 I kind of figured that this was an opportunity of a lifetime and I agreed it go. Now most working trips commonly referred to in the travel industry as familiarization trips are for the travel agent only so really they are not a vacation and you can not bring family. This trip was different. You were allowed to bring a companion. So I asked my mother if she would like to travel with me and she jumped at the opportunity as she has not traveled outside of North America. So my father got to come and stay at my place for a week with my husband and children and be me. I think he may still be recovering.

So the first thing we had to deal with was getting flights to Barcelona. Now my mom lives in Ottawa and I live an hour south of Ottawa. We could fly out of Ottawa but they had no real direct flight options which means we would have to transfer to Montreal. I am just over an hour away from Montreal so it made more sense for us to just leave from my house and go straight to Montreal. Montreal does have two park n fly lots and then they shuttle you to the airport. One of the options even has valet parking which I was going to use. The difference was marginal and I would not have to remember where I parked the car. Which I had a problem with when I flew to Mexico with a friend and when we came back I could not remember the make of my car and some other pertinent details (in my defense it was our second vehicle and I knew it was silver and I liked it lol). Also I usually have discount codes for park n fly so if you book through me for your vacation I can provide you with one.

So I found awesome flights with Air Transat direct from Montreal to Barcelona. We would fly out Saturday September 16th at 10:00 pm and arrive Sunday the 17th at 11:30 am. No come seat selection for $600 dollars more we could have club seats and we figured it was just too much and opted for regular seats. Let me tell you I am an obese woman and my mom is heavy also. We should have gotten club seats. While squeezing into economy seats on a 3 hour flight is doable 7 plus hours is insane. Now we did upgrade to option plus which  have to say is totally worth it. Option Plus allows you to pick your seat, you get a comfort package (a blanket, a sleep mask, a head rest and headphones), an extra snack, 2 checked bags plus your carry on and priority check in. Let me just say this priority check in is worth its weight in gold. The reason I say this we walk into the Montreal airport 3 hours before our flight the line to check in had to be at least 50 or more people long. My mother who has difficult walking face sunk. I directed her to priority check in. There were 3 people being served at the counters and 1 person in line. We waited less than 5 minutes and were through security less then 20 minutes later. This was heaven and we could sit and wait and not stand in a line for an hour plus and then stand in line for security.

The flight as I mentioned was not heaven three people stuck in a row and I was very uncomfortable. I thought being an overnight flight I would be able to sleep and hit the ground running and go to bed at the regular local time and be good to go. Well I was in the aisle seat so I felt everyone's coming and going and because I was so uncomfortable I just could not sleep at all. On the overnight flight to Europe Air Transat started service with a drink for everyone and a paid snack. As option plus our snack was free. They then had a late super service I would say close 11:30. The options were hot sandwiches. I chose ham with brie it came with a salad and a drink also. They also have a chicken and a vegetarian option. This was provided to all passengers. About an hour before we landed they served a loaf cannot remember what it was but it was good. So you definitely will not starve on an European flight.

Barcelona is a huge airport but did not seem overly busy when we landed. We quickly collected our luggage and headed to arrivals and found our private driver. My mother did not want to take a taxi to the port which was about 20 minutes away as it was a "foreign country". Also we did not have transfers arranged with the cruise line which is a possibility. We were picked up in a Mercedes van and it was just the two of us. I have to say a private transfer was actually a really nice touch and I would recommend this to my clients whether you are two or a group.

Our experience at the port was also very quick. I did not have  priority check in. One because I do not have the crown and anchor points and I had not completed the steps for the perk in time but really I did not feel that we were harmed in any way from it. Our wait was 20 minutes at the most. The process was very smooth and I had done most of the necessary steps on line before hand. It makes it quicker for sure.

Well I am going to leave you here and pick this back up with the ship and the beginning of the cruise.

The freedom of the Seas waiting to leave port

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Email slough@exclusivetoyoutravel.com