ldsant
Nov 2, 03, 3:13 am
I have had multiple requests to start posting some trip reports of my most recent trip to New Zealand. Ok, so one person asked and I'm sure it was out of courtesy more than anything (or at least not having to actually listen to my entire trip report via phone or IM), but anyway, I digress. I am filled with insomnia tonight, so I will begin from the last to the first. . .Buckle up, this may be a bumpy ride.
FlyerTalk is a cult. Pure and simple. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I have been brainwashed by Iluv2fly to meet him in LAS after I have flown in to LAX from AKL. This is Halloween too. However; in all fairness, he did promise me a massage upon my arrival in LAS (and not by him, but rather by the New York New York spa staff). Being an avid spa junkie, I accepted. After all I figured, what's another hour after flying in from AKL?
Sheesh. . .Flew on Qantas (economy) from AKL-LAX on Friday, October 31st. Arrived at AKL airport 3.5 hours BEFORE my flight. My thought was - oh this will be great, I can relax, use the Air New Zealand lounge for a bit, shop some duty free, and try and get my seat changed from 39 (exit row) to whatever they may have available that will be better.
I arrived 3 minutes before takeoff as the last passenger to board. . .LESSON LEARNED: DO NOT BUY A LOT OF WINE IN NEW ZEALAND. It weighs a lot and Qantas is VERY serious about weight on the plane. I was ready to start opening up some of the bottles then and there and drink wildly since my stress level (which had been visibly and tremendously reduced by my lovely visit to New Zealand) was shooting up! However; I digress. . .I was sent to the pack and ship office at the airport where the nice man found a box, bubblewrapped everything, and we sent it through cargo with lots of Fragile stickers on the box.
When I got on the plane, I noticed that there seemed to be very few people on the plane. I was concerned that I had gotten on the wrong plane during my sweating delusional period of trying to MAKE the plane!. . .no said the FA, there were 97 people total in economy and 15 in F and C. Woohoo! I got an entire row of 5 seats to myself. Listened to the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean (wonderful imo) although the IFE headset did not work and continued to send static bursts into my ears every so often .. the FA said that all she could do was plug me into another row (where it was all in Italian. . .). So I missed about 1/4 of the movie. Took an ambien and 7 hours later, I was in LA.
What a zoo. Honest to pete, I do not understand how people who travel through that airport put up with it! After travelling throughout NZ for 10 days via airplane, this was a total shock to my system. How soon we forget the horror of airline travel these days in the US. Arrived at 7, picked up my bags at 7:15, stood in line through customs and immigration finished at 8:15. Had to walk over to Terminal 4 for my AA flight to LAS. Arrive at 8:15 AM for my 10:10 AM flight. . then stood in line to get to security for an hour. Arrived at security at 9:15 AM. Took 5 minutes to get through, arrived at the gate at 9:30 at which time they said that the Maui flight was held up because there were too many planes on the tarmac and the plane itself couldn't get to the gate. They switched our gate. Walked to the new gate, finally got on the plane. Plane was full - no empty seats. Sat on the tarmac for 1/2 hour - left at 10:40 AM. Service was a beverage (Diet Coke) and peanuts. Landed in LAS. Grabbed my bags and started my night in LAS.
Checked in using the airport facilities for Paris. Check-in was a hassle since I didn't have the printed confirmation of which package I had received (heck - at this point, I was lucky enough to remember what hotel I had MADE the reservation for). I then took the shuttle bus over to Paris. Bellman told me that I would have to take all of my luggage (realize that I had 4 pieces plus a box full of wine) through the entire casino. Lesson learned by bellman: do NOT piss off a woman who has just travelled in the same clothes without a shower for over 18 hours. . .it's NOT a pretty scene http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Miraculously, a bellman appeared to help me with my luggage to my room.
The rooms at Paris are nice imo. Lovely corner room, very spacious, and a wonderful bathroom (with a separate walk-in shower and a tub). However; the staff is snooty, snotty, and I did not spend a penny other than the room charges at this hotel. At New York New York my facial and massage awaited me due to ILuv2Fly's generosity. I passed out during the massage. Absolutely heaven. My body felt brand new at the end although I must have looked like total mush http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I was in heaven. A quick nap back at my hotel then dinner at Gallagher's. After that, it was the penny slots!!! Woohoo! What a GREAT invention - penny slots and amaretto sours. . .does life get any better than this? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif. I LOVE The Bevery Hillbillies now (Jed is my man!) Very fun time until 4:45 AM at which time I took a taxi back to Paris for a nice snooze. . .
FlyerTalk is a cult. Pure and simple. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I have been brainwashed by Iluv2fly to meet him in LAS after I have flown in to LAX from AKL. This is Halloween too. However; in all fairness, he did promise me a massage upon my arrival in LAS (and not by him, but rather by the New York New York spa staff). Being an avid spa junkie, I accepted. After all I figured, what's another hour after flying in from AKL?
Sheesh. . .Flew on Qantas (economy) from AKL-LAX on Friday, October 31st. Arrived at AKL airport 3.5 hours BEFORE my flight. My thought was - oh this will be great, I can relax, use the Air New Zealand lounge for a bit, shop some duty free, and try and get my seat changed from 39 (exit row) to whatever they may have available that will be better.
I arrived 3 minutes before takeoff as the last passenger to board. . .LESSON LEARNED: DO NOT BUY A LOT OF WINE IN NEW ZEALAND. It weighs a lot and Qantas is VERY serious about weight on the plane. I was ready to start opening up some of the bottles then and there and drink wildly since my stress level (which had been visibly and tremendously reduced by my lovely visit to New Zealand) was shooting up! However; I digress. . .I was sent to the pack and ship office at the airport where the nice man found a box, bubblewrapped everything, and we sent it through cargo with lots of Fragile stickers on the box.
When I got on the plane, I noticed that there seemed to be very few people on the plane. I was concerned that I had gotten on the wrong plane during my sweating delusional period of trying to MAKE the plane!. . .no said the FA, there were 97 people total in economy and 15 in F and C. Woohoo! I got an entire row of 5 seats to myself. Listened to the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean (wonderful imo) although the IFE headset did not work and continued to send static bursts into my ears every so often .. the FA said that all she could do was plug me into another row (where it was all in Italian. . .). So I missed about 1/4 of the movie. Took an ambien and 7 hours later, I was in LA.
What a zoo. Honest to pete, I do not understand how people who travel through that airport put up with it! After travelling throughout NZ for 10 days via airplane, this was a total shock to my system. How soon we forget the horror of airline travel these days in the US. Arrived at 7, picked up my bags at 7:15, stood in line through customs and immigration finished at 8:15. Had to walk over to Terminal 4 for my AA flight to LAS. Arrive at 8:15 AM for my 10:10 AM flight. . then stood in line to get to security for an hour. Arrived at security at 9:15 AM. Took 5 minutes to get through, arrived at the gate at 9:30 at which time they said that the Maui flight was held up because there were too many planes on the tarmac and the plane itself couldn't get to the gate. They switched our gate. Walked to the new gate, finally got on the plane. Plane was full - no empty seats. Sat on the tarmac for 1/2 hour - left at 10:40 AM. Service was a beverage (Diet Coke) and peanuts. Landed in LAS. Grabbed my bags and started my night in LAS.
Checked in using the airport facilities for Paris. Check-in was a hassle since I didn't have the printed confirmation of which package I had received (heck - at this point, I was lucky enough to remember what hotel I had MADE the reservation for). I then took the shuttle bus over to Paris. Bellman told me that I would have to take all of my luggage (realize that I had 4 pieces plus a box full of wine) through the entire casino. Lesson learned by bellman: do NOT piss off a woman who has just travelled in the same clothes without a shower for over 18 hours. . .it's NOT a pretty scene http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Miraculously, a bellman appeared to help me with my luggage to my room.
The rooms at Paris are nice imo. Lovely corner room, very spacious, and a wonderful bathroom (with a separate walk-in shower and a tub). However; the staff is snooty, snotty, and I did not spend a penny other than the room charges at this hotel. At New York New York my facial and massage awaited me due to ILuv2Fly's generosity. I passed out during the massage. Absolutely heaven. My body felt brand new at the end although I must have looked like total mush http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I was in heaven. A quick nap back at my hotel then dinner at Gallagher's. After that, it was the penny slots!!! Woohoo! What a GREAT invention - penny slots and amaretto sours. . .does life get any better than this? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif. I LOVE The Bevery Hillbillies now (Jed is my man!) Very fun time until 4:45 AM at which time I took a taxi back to Paris for a nice snooze. . .