Thank you for your input!!
Originally Posted by
geo1005
Have you already booked the HNL-CDG roundtrip award ticket?
In your case, you would need to have booked an "open jaw" ticket from (for example) HNL to CDG and then book the return VCE to HNL. You would be on the hook to get another one-way ticket from CDG to VCE in the middle. This way, you can get to CDG and stay in Paris and London for whatever amount of time you desire, then fly on the separate one-way to VCE, and then fly home on the VCE-HNL return.
What you can't book on one itinerary is HNL to CDG (stay for a while in Paris and go to London for the Olympics) and then fly on to VCE (and stay there for a while) and then back to HNL. That's two stop-overs and not allowed.
Unfortunately, no Star Alliance carriers fly non-stop between Venice and CDG. (LH, Swiss and a few others do serve both airports but require a connection somewhere else in Europe). There are several low-cost carriers that fly non-stop between CDG and VCE so they may be your lowest cost option (XL Airways France and eastJet both fly this route).
I guess, since CDG is our actual destination, I wasn't counting it as a stop-over. But I do understand now how I misinterpreted the "free stop-over". I did discuss the possibility of doing an open-jaw with my SO and we're still mulling it over.
Unfortunately, we have already booked our reward seats and therefore will incur change fees if and when we decide to add the Venice leg.
Originally Posted by
Palal
Depending on the carrier and MPM you may or may not be able to book the side trip to VCE. It's also not on direct routing from HNL so you may be SOL on this one. CO's website might be a bit more forgiving however.
As to the microchip "issue" -- it's a non-issue. You might not be able to pay at gas station pumps and/or train ticket or public transport machines, so carry some cash.
I think we are indeed SOL on this one (for now) unless more availability opens up in the future. I was on the phone with CO last night for over an hour while they checked other options to no avail.
We've decided to wait and see if there will be availability in the future and, if so, may just bite the bullet and pay the $75pp change in routing fee to add on the CDG-VCE or even change to an open-jaw as suggested by geo1005.
Thank you for clarifying the micro-chip "non-issue" - that is a relief!
Originally Posted by
stut
However... Lufthansa Italia do fly CDG-MXP, and Milan-Venice is an easy 2h30 journey (which also let you stop off in central Milan, and Verona, both of which are very worthwhile).
Alternatively, there is a sleeper train from Paris to Venice -
Artesia. It's not cheap, but does save you a night's accommodation. Plus, there's something very special about waking up and walking straight out on to the Grand Canal...
For the Eurostar portion, be aware that, unusually, tickets for the Olympic period are already on sale, and you should book as soon as possible. There is a special site for this
here. Many trains are already sold out of cheap tickets. You should also book accommodation very soon.
We were also looking into the Artesia option but were unsure about losing too much time. However, with the way you described it, I think we will be more inclined to take Artesia route!
Thank you also f0or advising me on the Eurostar booking window! I checked their website and didn't realize they are already taking bookings for Summer 2012.
We've started making lodging arrangements for both Paris and Venice (can be cancelled at the last minute) but London is proving to be a challenge (as expected).
Will probably be posting more questions as I go along. I appreciate this community so much!