Thursday, November 29, 2018: Details

Working through the details of linking the Trans Atlantic trip with the Portugal river cruise. Here is the plan at this point:

I will fly from St. Louis to Bridgetown, Barbados via Miami on American Airlines on April 16. I will stay the night in the Hilton Resort Barbados. The Seabourn cruise begins on April 17. The flight to Miami is Economy Class and the flight to Barbados is Business.

I booked the Hilton using my Chase Sapphire points through the Chase system. The one night cost me 29,219 points. Going to the Hilton web site, the same room would have cost me 98,000 points. Hilton is not one of Chase's "travel partner", meaning that I cannot transfer points from my Chase account to my Hilton account. BUT, I can book Hilton rooms through the Chase travel system and my points go three times further!!!

Once I arrive in Lisbon on May 3, Maxine has booked a room for me at the Hotel Avenida Palace which, according to on-line, is "located in the center of Lisbon close to Bairro Alto and the Chiado, is a 5 star Hotel which combines luxury and charm and is regarded as part of the city’s historic heritage."

The Portugal river cruise begins on May 5, so I will stay at the hotel for two nights. Maxine is flying in early and is staying at the same hotel. Maxine has arranged with the hotel to have a driver meet me at 9:00 am, upon my disembarkation to drive me to the hotel. Per the hotel "This service will be made in a private car, with a professional driver. The driver will be waiting for your guest, holding a plate with your guest is name on it."

At the conclusion of the river cruise in Porto on May 14, I will take a quick (one hour) mid-morning flight from Porto back to Lisbon before catching a flight back to StL via Newark, arriving around 6:00pm. The flight to Newark is Business Class and the flight to St. Louis is Economy.

Lisbon to Newark

Newark to St. Louis

Tuesday, October 30, 2018: Flight upgrade; cabin companion

Maxine had upgraded my flights to/from Lisbon to Economy Plus. After my last trip to Europe flying Economy, I asked her what options I had to upgrade to Business. She contacted both Viking and United. Viking said it would cost me an additional $4,500 to upgrade. United said that they would put me on a waiting list for 40,000 mile/points plus $550. If I don't get the upgrade, I get the points and the money back. I told her I'd go with the United proposal.

I also asked Maxine if there was a cutoff point with regards to adding someone to my cabin. Maxine said I could add someone to the cabin up to a week before the tour begins on May 5, but I should probably make a decision by 90 days before due if we intend to book air flights using the Viking service. That would be by February 4, 2019.

I am paying double fare since I am traveling alone. On June 5, 2018, before even committing to the cruise, I sent out an email to friends and family (12 in all) to see if anyone would like to join me. I would pay for the cruise and anyone who joined me would be responsible for either own airfare. I got responses from only four people. Three thanked me for the invite but declined. One said maybe. The one was my next door neighbor, Morgan.

Despite his liberal politics, I think Morgan would be a good travel companion. I will hold off  until after the first of the year to see if any relatives decide to join me.

Plans

When I got home from my Portugal/Spain hike in May, Maxine asked if I might be interested in a Portuguese river cruise in May 2019. Apparently, several of her friends were interested in going and she thought I might be interested. I reminded her that Laura and I were booked to begin our China tour in late May. Maxine assured me I would home in time to make that trip. The trip she had in mind starts in Lisbon on May 5 and ends in Porto on May 14. We don't fly out for our China tour until May 26.

https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/europe/portugals-river-gold/2019-porto-pinhao-porto/index.html

I thought about it for several hours before telling her to go ahead and book me. They (Viking) were offering a two-for-one sale that expired in a couple of weeks. I will be traveling on the VIKING OSFRID, Veranda Suite, #312