Kolek planning to go pro
Keep in mind... you're not paying a premium for Polaris. You're paying the premium to not be in coach.
Has anyone flown in "real" United Polaris in recent months. Being a United UDP ("Unprofitable Domestic Passenger"), I never see "real" Polaris, so when I booked a flight to Paris last month for last week, I was really intrigued.I was incredibly disappointed. In fact, I had trouble fathoming the big deal about Polaris. The product is marginally better than United's non-Polaris equipped planes and the service, candidly, is typically United -- spotty to indifferent where the flight attendants are "there" but seem generally disinterested in going the extra mile, or even doing their job.Full disclosure: the service on the return flight has been exponentially better than on the outbound. The pulsar is the same hard worker but the rest of the flight attendants on this trip are outstanding. United needs to bottle and sell this service quality. The seats are still indifferent, though.The Polaris Lounge in Chicago is great, but the lounges are only in Chicago, Houston, San Francisco and Newark. Pity the poor sucker that flies through, say, Dulles (America's worst hub) or Los Angeles.The five-across seats solve the problem of crawling across your neighbor, but trying to sleep is like trying to sleep in an MRI tube -- or a coffin. The area around the seat where you place your head is inadequately wide for the human shoulder -- an ergonomic sacrifice on the altar of efficiency. It's easier to move in an MRI tube than it is to move in one of these seats. And getting in and out, well, yuck.I'll admit it's better than the eight-across coach masquerading as first class in the 777-200s. But damn, if your competition is the foreign airlines, I suspect United has a long way to go. I suspect this makes their premium economy product attractive.Am I too harsh????????
What route did you fly? ORD to CDG? They don't have any routes with the new Polaris seating out of Chicago yet, save for random unplanned planes that get moved around. Not sure what you mean by 5 across? The new layout is 1-2-1 and every seat has aisle access.As someone has flown the majority of my 1K business class upgrades on the terrible 777-200s, its a HUGE upgrade. They finally started flying it on the EWR to BOM routes, so I finally flew it in Jan, and then again on a HKG to EWR flight in March. I had no issues with the new seat and love the privacy/direct aisle access. I have no clue what you expect if 4 across business is "cramped". Literally no other airline has less.United can't compete with the foreign carriers, name the Asian and Middle Eastern, but their seats have been reviewed very favorably across the internet. Service is spotty, I agree. You'll have great FAs and some that don't care, its not consistent. But the bedding/pillows are fantastic. The new seats are a huge improvement.
Traveling to Spain/Portugal in September. Barcelona, Sevilla, Lisbon, Porto. Four days in each city. Any recommendations?
When my first daughter turned 10, I took her to Washington DC. I really just wanted to see the Cubs play the Nats, but it turned into a birthday present and, I guess, a tradition I will now do with the other kids.On June 9 I'm taking my 10 year-old daughter to New York to see a Harry Potter play on Broadway. We're staying in Times Square and flying into LaGuardia. Does anyone have a good recommendation for getting to the airport to our hotel? (I'm not trying to start another debate), but I should probably mention I don't have a unnatural carnal knowledgeing smartphone.
I’d add a. Day to Barcelona and take one away from Sevilla.There are some great beer bars in Barcelona. Will get you a list if interested.Take tuk-tuk tour in Lisbon. Great way to see the city. Do it on the first day. Eat in the a Time Out market. Eat peri peri chicken. Go to Belen. And Sinatra. Make a day of it.
Would love a list. Thanks for the suggestions!
Oh, and in Sevilla, find a park, square, plaza where there is a stand that sells fresh squeezed orange juice, sit and have a glass and watch the world go by. You will never be happy with store bought OJ again. And have a second glass and ask them to add vodka. Repeat. Looking back at my posts, I think I may have a drinking problem.
.I can confirm.
When do you go? BarcelonaBars: Red Fish Barcelona - great beach bar - https://www.facebook.com/redfishbarcelonaBiercab - Beers from around the world - https://www.facebook.com/biercabGarage Beer Co - Local microbrew, they did a collaboration with our local brewery - https://www.facebook.com/Garage-Beer-Co-228690754358087Kælderkold - great beer selection in the Gothic quarter - https://www.instagram.com/olgodcraftbeer/Cocovail - https://www.facebook.com/cocovailbeerhallTapa Tapa Maremagnum - touristy, but a great location on the marina if you can get an outdoor seat. good cheap tapas and wine. https://www.facebook.com/Tapatapabar-306968553174204/Lisbon:Bars:Crafty Corner - good local beers, good wings - https://www.craftycornerbeer.com/Castro Beer - https://www.craftycornerbeer.com/Walk along the river, ton of little outdoor stands. Go to the main square on the water, hang a right, start walking. Sit, have a drink, watch the world go by.Stop at any hole in the wall that has Ginja, a cherry liquor that is a tradition. Have a shot. Food:Time Out Market (good local beers too): https://www.timeoutmarket.com/lisboa/Piri Piri Chicken - It is just grill chicken with piri piri sauce, a national favorite Two places that had good ones:Piri Piri - R. do Arco do Marquês de Alegrete 9, 1100-034 LisboaBonjardim - a bit more touristy, but good - Tv. de Santo Antão 12, 1150-265 LisboaGet out to Belem and see the Belem Tower and the Monument to the Discoveries. Go to the top of both. As I said, do a tuk tuk tour when you get there, gives you a great overview of the very hilly city. We used these guys, but there are a ton out there - https://www.lisbon-tuk-tours.com/tuktukbestsellersSintra is cool if you have the time. Could be combined with Belem
LGA is a mess right now with the major construction. As suggested taxi or Uber are really the only choices. (JFK has a train option.). Just allow yourself a few extra minutes getting to LGA. I fly out of there frequently. 2 weeks ago I forgot to reserve the parking for Terminal D and had to park in B and it added 30-40 getting in & out of the terminal waiting for shuttle busses then going around the LGA loop. Thank goodness for Pre-Check and Silver Medallion status.
Sincere thank you for all the suggestions. We'll make sure to check some (or all) of these places out in each city. We're already planning on Sintra and Belem.We go the first few weeks of September.
Just a quick heads up.Came back from Normandy a little over a week ago. The tour of the beaches is moving, especially given the sacrifices that many made on the day of the invasion. It was special to be able to tour the area and to realize what type of country we and our allies are. Stayed in Bayeaux, France, about 20 minutes away. Bayeaux is a fascinating little town that was untouched by World War II. Good food and very friendly people. Scenery is very pretty in the area. Also went to St. Lo, where we saw an 11th century cathedral that had been badly damaged in WWII but reconstructed. Damage from artillery was still there in the walls. Most interesting piece: seeing the new and legacy stain glass. How do I know it's new: It had a drawing of a farmer on a Ford tractor in it and another had etchings of St. John XXIII and Maximillian Kolb in it.
Mont St Michel was worthwhile, although incredibly touristy nowadays.The food in Normandy is incredible. I've never had anything like the fresh seafood from there.
I did Mont St. Michel on the Sunday I was there. What was amazing about it was that they built this massive abbey on top of a rock in the Atlantic Ocean. They did so by moving massive stones to a large rock outcropping and then lifting them to the final location. In the 10th Century!No steel. No iron and no other supporting structures. Just stone. Amazing.Think about it. The work was done without cranes, without hydraulics and without bulldozers and dynamite. The notion of being able to do this with, what by today's standards, is primitive and almost primordial construction techniques is beyond fathoming.P.S. -- The tapestry was a hoot as well. There were some scenes of everyday life in the first few panels that were, to say the least, amusing.