Saturday September 07
Just one bounce and we’re home.
We checked out from the hotel, but just stuck around soaking up the atmosphere and sun till our pickup. I had woken up with a back issue, so wasn’t doing much walking. God knows how many times Sarah asked if she needed to order me a wchr at the airport. Sounds very caring, doesn’t it? Yeah, not so much. Have you MET my wife?
Had a little glitch when I paid the final bill, but it was easily fixed. They didn’t think we had prepaid the resort fee, but we had.
Resort fees are one of those annoying Americanisms that has come out of the woodwork in recent years, and it is something they expect you to pay directly to them, not to your agent. Another annoying Americanisms is to lay every detail of your bill out on the page. It is so convoluted that you really need to be paying attention to ensure you are not being double-charged. One reason the final account is messy is because, like every Amrikan purchase, they price things and then add plus plus. Taxes and fees. Why not have a quoted price that is the final price!!!??? It’s illegal in NZ or Oz to not include the taxes in the final price advertised. That would be nice, Mr Trump.
We book most of our accommodation through Bookings.com or Hotels.com etc. Sarah likes to make sure that she pays for the hotel on the spot. Some sites will make the booking, but tell you to pay the hotel. That sounds like a great idea, but you are at the mercy of the exchange rate on the day. Prepaying avoids a rate that will kill your credit card.
So my advice is this; by all means book and pay in advance, but take a printout of the confirmation with you. It will show what is included. All I needed to show them was our email from Bookings.com saying very clearly that the 14% tax, the 7% city tax and $30 per day resort fee is included in the paid figure. The hotel was happy to honour the document and take it up with Bookings.com later if they need to.
So off to the airport, and check-in is just opening. Not long and we’re heading for the Star Alliance Lounge that Air New Zealand runs. Not bad, but Sarah was very impressed with the range of food available in the SQ lounge we use in London.
And then it was time to board. Being old and crippled is exhausting. Apparently I was asleep before pushback. After an hour or so, I woke up and the crew helped me to flip my seat over into a bed. Sarah actually started doing it for me, before the crew appeared. She has mastered this. I think she wants to be a hostie when she grows up.
I think I mentioned at the beginning of this trip, that I had been getting some negative feedback about business class. Not me. I’ve now done four sectors in business, and I cannot fault anything. I think there was one sector when nothing on the menu appealed. Not their fault. Just like going to a restaurant, and not enjoying the meal. Just because their version of something doesysuit you doesn’t mean they did a bad job. Not everyone likes the same things.
All crews on all flights were great. I always smile when the announcement includes the scripted warning about ensuring kids fingers don’t get caught in any of the moving seat components. I just wish one day someone will grow a pair and modify it to include kids and husbands. That would be hilarious.
Just one bounce and we’re home.
We checked out from the hotel, but just stuck around soaking up the atmosphere and sun till our pickup. I had woken up with a back issue, so wasn’t doing much walking. God knows how many times Sarah asked if she needed to order me a wchr at the airport. Sounds very caring, doesn’t it? Yeah, not so much. Have you MET my wife?
Had a little glitch when I paid the final bill, but it was easily fixed. They didn’t think we had prepaid the resort fee, but we had.
Resort fees are one of those annoying Americanisms that has come out of the woodwork in recent years, and it is something they expect you to pay directly to them, not to your agent. Another annoying Americanisms is to lay every detail of your bill out on the page. It is so convoluted that you really need to be paying attention to ensure you are not being double-charged. One reason the final account is messy is because, like every Amrikan purchase, they price things and then add plus plus. Taxes and fees. Why not have a quoted price that is the final price!!!??? It’s illegal in NZ or Oz to not include the taxes in the final price advertised. That would be nice, Mr Trump.
We book most of our accommodation through Bookings.com or Hotels.com etc. Sarah likes to make sure that she pays for the hotel on the spot. Some sites will make the booking, but tell you to pay the hotel. That sounds like a great idea, but you are at the mercy of the exchange rate on the day. Prepaying avoids a rate that will kill your credit card.
So my advice is this; by all means book and pay in advance, but take a printout of the confirmation with you. It will show what is included. All I needed to show them was our email from Bookings.com saying very clearly that the 14% tax, the 7% city tax and $30 per day resort fee is included in the paid figure. The hotel was happy to honour the document and take it up with Bookings.com later if they need to.
So off to the airport, and check-in is just opening. Not long and we’re heading for the Star Alliance Lounge that Air New Zealand runs. Not bad, but Sarah was very impressed with the range of food available in the SQ lounge we use in London.
And then it was time to board. Being old and crippled is exhausting. Apparently I was asleep before pushback. After an hour or so, I woke up and the crew helped me to flip my seat over into a bed. Sarah actually started doing it for me, before the crew appeared. She has mastered this. I think she wants to be a hostie when she grows up.
I think I mentioned at the beginning of this trip, that I had been getting some negative feedback about business class. Not me. I’ve now done four sectors in business, and I cannot fault anything. I think there was one sector when nothing on the menu appealed. Not their fault. Just like going to a restaurant, and not enjoying the meal. Just because their version of something doesysuit you doesn’t mean they did a bad job. Not everyone likes the same things.
All crews on all flights were great. I always smile when the announcement includes the scripted warning about ensuring kids fingers don’t get caught in any of the moving seat components. I just wish one day someone will grow a pair and modify it to include kids and husbands. That would be hilarious.
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