All right, today is Thursday and we're leaving on Monday. So close we can almost taste it. I've
been pretty quiet here lately because there's really not much to report. We've done most of our
packing at this point. Just a few things that need to be washed on Friday or Saturday to top
everything off.
I've been doing a lot of reading to be as prepared as possible; I don't want to get back to the
US and realize, "We walked right past this-important-place and missed it!" In the process I have
been reading a lot of articles/blogs/etc written by people who have gone on trips similar to
ours. It helps us to avoid pitfalls, etc. More on that in a bit.
First, I have to give a massive, massive, massive thank you to International Travel News.
I have read this magazine cover to cover for the past four years. My former boss introduced me
to it and would pass his copy on to me. One birthday he got me a subscription and I've kept
renewing it--and I generally hate magazines. This one is different, though. It is printed on
newsprint (to reduce the need for advertising) and is mainly written by the readers themselves--
ordinary folks who like traveling. Not writers who are put up in five-star hotels and complain
about the wine list being "pedestrian" or something ridiculous. They cover the nitty-gritty
about traveling. What's the best shoe for what type of excursion? What's the best way to take
money to another country? Which travel guides/books are the best? And TONS of recommendations
about dining, accommodations, and sites to see. I highly, highly recommend ITN to anyone who has
the travel bug. It will help guide your planning, give you honest tips and warnings, and give
you ideas you never would have had otherwise.
Anyway, it was in an article that a traveler had written that I realized I needed to re-confirm
our airline tickets. This couple took a trip to New Zealand, booked it through Orbitz, and flew
on the same airline for the American legs of the trip as we will be. Two days before departure
they decided to be 100% sure about their tickets being confirmed because of a small curiosity in
their online account. Turns out, they weren't in the airlines' systems at all as having booked
tickets even though they had e-mails that clearly stated they were good to go! They spent more
than four hours on hold on the phone sorting it out and more or less got where they needed to go
and when, but it was such a terrible mess. So, today I decided to re-confirm.
I called the US-based airline and had such a run around with the automated menu that I gave up
after four attempts. Then I went on to the South American-based airline and had no problem
reaching a human being in 10 seconds. The only snag there is that, for some bizarre reason, the
computer assigned us to seats that are not near each other on the flight from Miami to Lima,
though the fellow I talked to said I may be able to get the crew to persuade someone to switch on
the day of the flight. That would be nice because I don't want to be leaning against some
drooling stranger on the longest part of the trip. I want my drooling husband by me.
Okay, so, I decided to try the US-based airline again. But, this time, I looked for a different
phone number to reach them. I found one and dialed. The automated system was different this
time--weird. I continued and after quite a bit more wrangling I finally got to the
reconfirmation bit (all automated). It said we are definitely confirmed. The flight from
Cincinnati to Charlotte and Charlotte to Cincinnati has assigned seats but it seems from
Charlotte to Miami and Miami to Charlotte assigns seats at boarding. Southwest called this open
seating when we went to Chicago recently. That is, assuming it's the same drill on this airline.
Hope it is, otherwise . . . uhh? Anyway, I'm hoping no disasters happen as hard as I have worked
to confirm/reconfirm/rereconfirm/etc.
Well, that's it for now. I just had to gush about my favorite magazine and mention the struggle
it took with the ticket reconfirmation. More to come. :)
