Scoop Airport/Hotel/Travel Thread

[dgies9156]

Had the complete opposite experience on our United International flight in September. Service was excellent, there were a few good food options, and they were all prepared well.

Was that an Asia/Pacific flight or Europe?

I find United's on-board experience inconsistent. Sometimes, as you note, staff is good and they really care. Everything is wonderful and you get the service you pay for. Other times, like this flight to MCO from EWR, the service is crappy and the flight crew inattentive.

It's interesting that Scott Kirby is committing United to having an onboard experience exceeding Delta's. I hope he pulls it off, but they have a long, long way to go.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Planning on going to the West Indies in March.

Planning on sending a week in either Barbados, Antigua, or Grenada and don't plan on island hopping (going to watch a cricket match).

Any preferences from the board on which island is the best to spend a week at?

[BM1090]

Was that an Asia/Pacific flight or Europe?

I find United's on-board experience inconsistent. Sometimes, as you note, staff is good and they really care. Everything is wonderful and you get the service you pay for. Other times, like this flight to MCO from EWR, the service is crappy and the flight crew inattentive.

It's interesting that Scott Kirby is committing United to having an onboard experience exceeding Delta's. I hope he pulls it off, but they have a long, long way to go.

Europe. Chicago to Dubrovnik with a connection in Munich.

Flew SW yesterday. No alcohol served as noted earlier

[Dish]

Planning on going to the West Indies in March.

Planning on sending a week in either Barbados, Antigua, or Grenada and don't plan on island hopping (going to watch a cricket match).

Any preferences from the board on which island is the best to spend a week at?

I've been to Antigua a couple times (work trips) and to me, it's one of my least favorite Carribean islands.

Loved Barbados, had a different feel to it from other islands, felt more authentic than touristy.

[warriorchick]

I've been to Antigua a couple times (work trips) and to me, it's one of my least favorite Carribean islands.

Loved Barbados, had a different feel to it from other islands, felt more authentic than touristy.

I agree. Haven't been to Grenada, but it's definitely on my list.
I have a feeling that airfares to Barbados are going to be more reasonable than Grenada.

[shoothoops]

Planning on going to the West Indies in March.

Planning on sending a week in either Barbados, Antigua, or Grenada and don't plan on island hopping (going to watch a cricket match).

Any preferences from the board on which island is the best to spend a week at?

I can help you with Barbados. Good experiences. Haven't been to the other two.

[pbiflyer]

Does your new healthy lifestyle allow for 2 bags of the Southwest Chex mix?

Just 1! 

[4everwarriors]

Planning on going to the West Indies in March.

Planning on sending a week in either Barbados, Antigua, or Grenada and don't plan on island hopping (going to watch a cricket match).

Any preferences from the board on which island is the best to spend a week at?

Maui, hey?

[Galway Eagle]

Anybody have any distillery (not Jameson/Middleton) or brewery (non Guinness) recommendations for Ireland? Anybody been there since Covid hit?

Heading there with one of my best friends and weirdly he isn't interested in spending a week with my family in rural mayo nor spending a week with my grad school friends so it's the first time I've had to actually plan for going there since I was 18 and finally able to head to pubs.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

 If you're heading north along the Great Atlantic Way  in Donegal  near the entrance of Sleive League (which is far more exciting than the Cliffs of Mohr)  there is a tiny,ancient pub called the Rusty Mackerel . Worth having a pint after hiking along cliffs taller than 3 Empire State Buildings. Lough Eske is worth a night's stay if you are do go there. Great staff , good food and a neat pub in the castle.

 

[Galway Eagle]

If you're heading north along the Great Atlantic Way  in Donegal  near the entrance of Sleive League (which is far more exciting than the Cliffs of Mohr)  there is a tiny,ancient pub called the Rusty Mackerel . Worth having a pint after hiking along cliffs taller than 3 Empire State Buildings. Lough Eske is worth a night's stay if you are do go there. Great staff , good food and a neat pub in the castle.

Great recommendation, never been up there. Only northern area I have been to Belfast.

[MuggsyB]

If you're heading north along the Great Atlantic Way  in Donegal  near the entrance of Sleive League (which is far more exciting than the Cliffs of Mohr)  there is a tiny,ancient pub called the Rusty Mackerel . Worth having a pint after hiking along cliffs taller than 3 Empire State Buildings. Lough Eske is worth a night's stay if you are do go there. Great staff , good food and a neat pub in the castle.

This is supposed to be a secret!!! 

[WellsstreetWanderer]

   


     OOPS!

[MuggsyB]

   


     OOPS!

No worries WsW.....as long as it doesn't become like those Ciffs in Clare. 

[Galway Eagle]

If you're heading north along the Great Atlantic Way  in Donegal  near the entrance of Sleive League (which is far more exciting than the Cliffs of Mohr)  there is a tiny,ancient pub called the Rusty Mackerel . Worth having a pint after hiking along cliffs taller than 3 Empire State Buildings. Lough Eske is worth a night's stay if you are do go there. Great staff , good food and a neat pub in the castle.

Holy crap is that remote. Trying to decide if I should just rent a car at that point.

[JWags85]

So I just got back from Europe on Tuesday afternoon.  While some things they have around COVID are great, there are so many obnoxious bureaucratic nightmares.

So we flew into Brussels.  Belgium requires arrival testing and against 7th day, but you don't need to quarantine during that time if you have a negative test on arrival.  However, this is not necessary if you will be in the country less than 48 hours.  We were heading to Paris so I clearly called that out on our PLF forms we filled out online before departing, no issues with customs or security.  Get on our train and all of a sudden both my wife and I get bombared with poorly formatted texts, in Dutch no less, demanding tests and giving us codes to use when scheduling.  We disregarded them and carried on.

Get to France, and pay 35 Euros each for the "Passe Sanitaire" basically inputting our vaccination records into the system and getting us the QR codes and access to the French Covid Safe app which we needed to scan in everywhere, including even Starbucks in a train station.  There were also small white tents throughout the city, sometimes multiple within a block or two, with nurse practitioners administering rapid anti-gen tests.  I'll give the French police credit, they were scanning QR codes (in our case looking at our Vax cards as we didn't have them yet) as people disembarked trains from other countries.  We didn't encounter any of that in Belgium.

We headed back to Brussels over the weekend where they had a different Covid app (this one was free) but after loading everything in, we realized the French one we had scanned at the hotel would have been fine.

Given that its 3 days before our flight, we thought best to get our return tests from travel back to the US out of the way.  The Belgian government strongarmed the SEM/SEO so the first 10 results were some form of government structured testing.  But it was all PCR testing with 48 hour result windows.  Eventually I find out that a pharmacy chain will administer them.  We go, find out they only do 50-100 a day, and they are closed on weekends.  WTF?!  Finally our concierge tells us there is a mobile testing center in a trailer in central Brussels near the courthouse.  So we go, wait in a queue for 20-30 min, pay 20 Euros and get a rapid test and our negatives.  Would have killed for one of the Parisian tents. This is all in their system (the verification and results came via text from the same number as before but in English  ).  We're assured we're all good.

No issues with United and our materials but Ive still gotten about 4 messages from Belgium asking about my day 7 test and sending me codes.  The 3 biggest exports of Belgium...Beer, Chocolate, and Bureaucracy!

[MuggsyB]

Holy crap is that remote. Trying to decide if I should just rent a car at that point.

Of course you should rent a car if you decide to go there.  Off the subject if you haven't seen the film Hear My Song I would highly recommend it.  It's a real gem and I think came out around the same time as  Crying Game....   like '91.  The guy who wrote and starred in it is Adrian Dunbar who coincidentally was also in the Crying Gane but in a vastly different role.  What's your top 5 Irish films  Galway ?  Excluding those with D-D-L because that's just not fair. 

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

  What's your top 5 Irish films  Galway ?

Grabbers obviously 

[Galway Eagle]

Of course you should rent a car if you decide to go there.  Off the subject if you haven't seen the film Hear My Song I would highly recommend it.  It's a real gem and I think came out around the same time as  Crying Game....   like '91.  The guy who wrote and starred in it is Adrian Dunbar who coincidentally was also in the Crying Gane but in a vastly different role.  What's your top 5 Irish films  Galway ?  Excluding those with D-D-L because that's just not fair.

Ugh, I was hoping to avoid renting a car. Got a wedding and a new bathroom to pay for.

Boondock Saints
The Departed
Irish Jam

1. Waking Ned Devine
2. Wind that shakes the barley
3. Young offenders
4. Michael Collins
5. Secret of Roan Inish

(Extended answer Angela's Christmas 2 makes me cry if I'm drunk enough)

[JWags85]

Ugh, I was hoping to avoid renting a car. Got a wedding and a new bathroom to pay for.

Boondock Saints
The Departed
Irish Jam

1. Waking Ned Devine
2. Wind that shakes the barley
3. Young offenders
4. Michael Collins
5. Secret of Roan Inish

(Extended answer Angela's Christmas 2 makes me cry if I'm drunk enough)

No love for Once?! WTF.

Fun fact, Waking Ned Devine wasn't actually filmed in Ireland

[MuggsyB]

Ugh, I was hoping to avoid renting a car. Got a wedding and a new bathroom to pay for.

Boondock Saints
The Departed
Irish Jam

1. Waking Ned Devine
2. Wind that shakes the barley
3. Young offenders
4. Michael Collins
5. Secret of Roan Inish

(Extended answer Angela's Christmas 2 makes me cry if I'm drunk enough)

I probably mentioned the Secret of Roan Inish was shot primarily  in Donegal.  Beautiful film.  Great call on Wind that Shakes the Barley.  No love for Joyce's The Dead ?  The Butcher Boy?  Bloody Sunday (2002)?  If you haven't read the Butcher Boy you should Galway.  The film was well done but the novel is absolutely brilliant.  I'm surprised none of Colum McCann's novels have been made into movies. 

[MuggsyB]

I'm not sure if you can count In America?
But clearly you can if you're throwing in The Departed.

[Dish]

Rudy?

[MuggsyB]

Rudy?

Sweet Jesus.  You cannot base a film on a "true story" and then put out that garbage. 

[warriorchick]

Sweet Jesus.  You cannot base a film on a "true story" and then put out that garbage.

I was going to suggest "Knute Rockne - All American"