She Let Me Get Away With This?: A Semi-RTW Honeymoon via UA, QR, EY and AF J
Apr 24, 2022, 11:36 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: BAEC Gold, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Titanium, UA Gold (*G), DL Silver, Makers Mark Ambassador
Posts: 4,642
She Let Me Get Away With This?: A Semi-RTW Honeymoon via UA, QR, EY and AF J
Introduction
It is wedding week everyone; we are currently in the final stages of planning and getting ready to jet off on our honeymoon! In just a few days, the future Mrs. WS93 will become Mrs. WS93, and we will set off for our first trip as a married couple. From the moment we got engaged, my focus has been on the honeymoon as my obsession over points and miles overshadowed my opinions on tablecloths and the like. Fortunately, my fiancé is better at those things and, I am better at locating award availability and scheduling transfers.
From the time I first found the trip report forum and stumbled across travels from SFO777, IronmanJT, WorldTraveller73 and my all-time favorite, 8 bottles of Dom in SQ F by macabus, I was looking forward to the day that I had an amazing, global trip to embark on. It was even better that I was able to do it with my favorite person. Those prior reports that encompassed some of the world’s finest first and business class seats as well as far-flung destinations, served as an inspiration and I am happy to report that I am finally able to write my own (semi) RTW trip!
When Mrs. WS93 first met me, she was well aware of my love of travel, as she also enjoys an adventure, and was willing to let me plan an amazing honeymoon with only a few minor requests. The main one being an overwater villa. The rest was left up to my imagination and award availability. Planning a global honeymoon on points and miles required quite a bit of maneuvering, which I will outline in detail in the next section, but we managed to put together a trip that we both are excited about!
Thanks for following along as we embark on our trip to the Maldives, Netherlands, and Greece via United, Qatar, Etihad and Air France for our honeymoon! I will do my best to keep this going in real-time, but I will also make sure I am taking the time to enjoy the moment and the lack of cell service!
In this Trip Report
Links to Previous Trip Reports
It is wedding week everyone; we are currently in the final stages of planning and getting ready to jet off on our honeymoon! In just a few days, the future Mrs. WS93 will become Mrs. WS93, and we will set off for our first trip as a married couple. From the moment we got engaged, my focus has been on the honeymoon as my obsession over points and miles overshadowed my opinions on tablecloths and the like. Fortunately, my fiancé is better at those things and, I am better at locating award availability and scheduling transfers.
From the time I first found the trip report forum and stumbled across travels from SFO777, IronmanJT, WorldTraveller73 and my all-time favorite, 8 bottles of Dom in SQ F by macabus, I was looking forward to the day that I had an amazing, global trip to embark on. It was even better that I was able to do it with my favorite person. Those prior reports that encompassed some of the world’s finest first and business class seats as well as far-flung destinations, served as an inspiration and I am happy to report that I am finally able to write my own (semi) RTW trip!
When Mrs. WS93 first met me, she was well aware of my love of travel, as she also enjoys an adventure, and was willing to let me plan an amazing honeymoon with only a few minor requests. The main one being an overwater villa. The rest was left up to my imagination and award availability. Planning a global honeymoon on points and miles required quite a bit of maneuvering, which I will outline in detail in the next section, but we managed to put together a trip that we both are excited about!
Thanks for following along as we embark on our trip to the Maldives, Netherlands, and Greece via United, Qatar, Etihad and Air France for our honeymoon! I will do my best to keep this going in real-time, but I will also make sure I am taking the time to enjoy the moment and the lack of cell service!
In this Trip Report
- Planning
- The Westin Dallas Downtown: Trinity Suite
- The Westin Dallas Downtown: Presidential Suite
- Wedding Weekend
- American Express Centurion Lounge: DFW
- DFW-IAH via United Domestic First
- American Express Centurion Lounge: IAH
- KLM Crown Lounge: IAH
- IAH-DOH via Qatar QSuites
- Qatar Al Mourjan Lounge
- DOH-MLE via Qatar Business
- Westin Miriandhoo Resort Lounge: Male Seaplane Terminal
- Seaplane Transfer: Trans Maldivian Airways to the Westin Miriandhoo Resort
- Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort: Overwater Villa
- Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort: Property Overview
- Seaplane Transfer: Trans Maldivian Airways from the Westin Miriandhoo Resort
- Leeli Lounge: MLE
- MLE-AUH via Etihad Business
- Etihad Business Lounge: Abu Dhabi
- AUH-AMS via Etihad Business
- Kimpton De Witt Amsterdam
- Exploring Amsterdam
- Aspire Lounge: AMS
- AMS-ATH via Aegean Business
- Aegean Lounge: ATH
- ATH-JTR via Aegean Business
- Oia Mare Villas: Santorini
- Exploring Santorini: Day 1
- Exploring Santorini: Day 2
- JTR-ATH via Sky Express Economy
- Moxy Athens
- Exploring Athens
- Goldair Lounge: ATH
- ATH-CDG via Air France EuroBusiness
- CDG-DFW via Air France Business
Links to Previous Trip Reports
- Better Make it a Double: Bachelor Party on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail
- Silicon Hills: Moving to Austin
- Another Birthday Adventure: Skiing in Park City
- Denver, Tahoe and Points In-between: Mileage Running for 2022 Status
- The Redneck Riviera: A Week in Destin
- On Our Way to See the Tigers Play!: Weekend in Los Angeles
- Especially in Michigan: 48 Hours in the Great Lakes State
- A Semi-International Vacation: Long Weekend in the US Virgin Islands
- Searching for Snow: Skiing in Colorado Again and Again
- Sun, Sand and Surfveza: Christmas in Tulum
- South Texas Road Trip: 36 Hours in the Gulf
- Crisscrossing the EU: Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Portugal
- On my way to see the TIGERS Play: National Championship Weekend in New Orleans
- Heaven to Hell and Back: Colorado, Chicago, and the Cayman Islands
- Traveling for Turkey: Thanksgiving in Western North Carolina
- Christmas in Europe via AA, BA, and AF
Last edited by wakesetter93; Nov 29, 2022 at 2:29 pm
Apr 25, 2022, 10:16 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: BAEC Gold, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Titanium, UA Gold (*G), DL Silver, Makers Mark Ambassador
Posts: 4,642
Apr 25, 2022, 2:45 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: BAEC Gold, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Titanium, UA Gold (*G), DL Silver, Makers Mark Ambassador
Posts: 4,642
Thanks Synapseturquoise! When are you going to be in Greece and where? Since I'm writing this up in real-time I won't actually be on that part of the trip for 2+ weeks!
Apr 25, 2022, 6:29 pm
#8
Join Date: Sep 2015
Programs: Delta Gold, Marriot Gold
Posts: 371
safe travels!
Apr 26, 2022, 7:45 am
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: BAEC Gold, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Titanium, UA Gold (*G), DL Silver, Makers Mark Ambassador
Posts: 4,642
Thanks aquanine! Can't wait to share it!
Very nice, enjoy!
Thanks planes&trains. I looked at the business class options and anything reasonably priced involved a couble connection in MUC and ATH. Since Euro J isn't anything to get excited about, I booked the highest level Y fare that allowed me to select exit-row seats and had the right baggage allowance for a third of the price. I can buy a lot of on board snacks for that price difference.
Thanks antebellum! Hoping to get the next part up today.
Thanks planes&trains. I looked at the business class options and anything reasonably priced involved a couble connection in MUC and ATH. Since Euro J isn't anything to get excited about, I booked the highest level Y fare that allowed me to select exit-row seats and had the right baggage allowance for a third of the price. I can buy a lot of on board snacks for that price difference.
Thanks antebellum! Hoping to get the next part up today.
Apr 26, 2022, 9:46 am
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: BAEC Gold, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Titanium, UA Gold (*G), DL Silver, Makers Mark Ambassador
Posts: 4,642
Planning
The planning for this trip started with some very simple, open ended, criteria. All my fiancé wanted was an overwater villa in Thailand. After some quick research, I did not love any of the overwater options I could find in Thailand and, back in August of 2021, Covid shutdowns were still a very real possibility, so I wanted to avoid Asia. After some additional research we settled on the Maldives as they had a large number of properties available that fit the bill. From there, we knew we wanted to make a stop in Europe on our way back to the States. Initially we planned to go to Amsterdam and make our way through the countryside to Brussels as our trip coincided with the end of the Dutch tulip season. Ultimately, we decided to skip Belgium and instead headed for Greece after our time in Amsterdam before returning to the US.
Planning Flights
The first thing I booked for the trip was our flight to the Maldives. Since it was by far our longest trip and most remote location, I wanted to get it locked in early. In September of 2021 I managed to find two seats on Qatar Airways from Houston to Male with layovers in Doha and Colombo for 70k AAdvantage miles per person. Initially, Mrs. WS93 and I booked on separate PNR’s and her CMB-MLE segment booked into economy while mine booked into J. Fortunately, a quick call to American Airlines fixed that problem and ensured that our marriage would at least last until we got to our destination. They were also able to link our PNR’s which made any future changes much easier.
At the time I booked Houston was the closest I could get to Dallas for our dates with two J seats, but I was holding out hope that space would open from DFW. I continuously checked for award availability for two out of DFW, but it never materialized. However, I did manage to find space on one of the QR DOH-MLE direct flights allowing me to cut off the additional layover in Colombo. QR operates four daily flights between Doha and Male with three on the 77W and one on an A320. Unfortunately, the only flight with space was the one operated by the A320. While I would have loved to have had another flight in a QSuite, this would be much better than an additional layover especially considering our DOH-CMB flight was downgraded from an A350-1000 to an A330-300 with the old angle flat seats. A quick call to an AAgent and they were able to confirm the change instantly.
With our flight to the Maldives nailed down, next we had to get out of the Maldives. At the time of booking, I was looking for space to almost anywhere in Europe and came across availability on the dates we needed from Male to Amsterdam with a stop in Abu Dhabi. I used 100k Aeroplan miles transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards for this booking. We also got lucky as our MLE-AUH flight was upgraded from an A320 to a B787-9 a few months after booking.
Our final long-haul flight was initially going to be out of Brussels and one of the “flights” was a train from Brussels to CDG with an overnight layover. Once we decided to go to Greece, I was able to find J availability for two for 110k Flying Blue miles transferred from American Express Membership rewards with a 20% transfer bonus. Our flight was initially booked from Athens to Austin on KLM with a stopover in Amsterdam as we are planning a move to Austin and figured we would have been there by now.
A few months after booking I got an email saying our flight from Amsterdam to Austin had been upgraded from an A330 with the 2-2-2 seating in J to a 787 with 1-2-1 seats. As we got closer to the wedding it became obvious that we would not be moving to Austin prior to the wedding so we needed a way back to Dallas. I could not find any award availability to get to Dallas and was resigned to buying a cheap Southwest ticket from Austin to Dallas to get us home.
Just before booking my flights on WN, I found two award seats on Air France ATH-CDG-DFW on the 77W. The first Flying Blue agent I called quoted me some ridiculous price of almost one million Flying Blue miles with a double connection in AMS and ATL stating he could not see the availability I was seeing online. After a HUCA, I was connected to a fantastic agent who not only found the award space, but quickly processed our changes and reissued the tickets.
With the major flights set, I took advantage of a half-price UA F sale to get us from Dallas to Houston. For our intra-Europe flights, it did not make sense to pay the premium for Business over Economy when all you get is a blocked middle seat and a meal. I booked the highest-level Economy ticket on Aegean which gave us the necessary baggage allowance as well as exit row seats from Amsterdam to Santorini via Athens. Our final piece to the flight puzzle was a cheap Y fare on Sky Express from Santorini to Athens as the timing worked the best for our schedule.
Planning Maldives
In the Maldives, we took advantage of the ‘legacy’ Marriott Bonvoy award chart and booked three nights in an overwater villa at the Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort. While I had plenty of SNA’s and I felt relatively confident that we would get an upgrade to an overwater villa, I did not want to roll the dice as it was the boss’s only request. I still applied SNA’s hoping to score an upgrade to a villa with a plunge pool or the massive Westin Heavenly Villa.
Though we paid with points, the taxes and fees were quite steep as there was a $500 per person seaplane transfer as well as the local taxes and fees which is something to consider when planning a trip here on points or with cash. The flights to/from the hotel to Male were coordinated by the hotel through Trans Maldivian Airways and they reached out to us to coordinate everything roughly a month in advance.
The hotel was very responsive but communicating with them did take a long time as we could only send an email each day given their working hours are different from ours. They also provided us with restaurant menus and a listing of activities and the pricing to allow us to plan our stay in advance.
Planning Netherlands
Since Amsterdam was our only major city on the trip, we wanted to stay close to the action. We elected to use our hotel credit that we earned through the AmEx Platinum and booked our stay through Fine Hotels and Resorts on the American Express site. We settled on the Kimpton De Witt given its convenient location and given our limited time in the city, convenience won out over brand loyalty to Marriott/Hilton properties.
Planning Greece
In Greece I actually planned our hotel in Athens before planning Santorini. With our late morning arrival into Athens and an absurdly early departure the next morning, I just booked us a room at the Sofitel Athens Airport which is across from the main terminal building. Even if a room wasn’t ready for us, we would at least be able to drop our bags at the front desk before heading into Athens for the day.
For Santorini, Mrs. WS93 commandeered that portion of the trip as she had some very specific criteria regarding views, pools, and location. She ended up finding us a suite at the Oia Mare Villas in the town of Oia overlooking the bay. This was also one of the few hotels we found that offered both pick-up and drop-off services at the airport. Unfortunately, our arriving flight from Athens was after the cut off time for an airport to hotel transfer.
At the time of this writing, we are still communicating to see of they can accommodate an after hours transfer or if they have a car service that they would recommend.
With that, all our lodging and travel was booked, and we were ready to go!
Our itinerary was as follows:
Initially Booked
Flown
Planning Flights
The first thing I booked for the trip was our flight to the Maldives. Since it was by far our longest trip and most remote location, I wanted to get it locked in early. In September of 2021 I managed to find two seats on Qatar Airways from Houston to Male with layovers in Doha and Colombo for 70k AAdvantage miles per person. Initially, Mrs. WS93 and I booked on separate PNR’s and her CMB-MLE segment booked into economy while mine booked into J. Fortunately, a quick call to American Airlines fixed that problem and ensured that our marriage would at least last until we got to our destination. They were also able to link our PNR’s which made any future changes much easier.
At the time I booked Houston was the closest I could get to Dallas for our dates with two J seats, but I was holding out hope that space would open from DFW. I continuously checked for award availability for two out of DFW, but it never materialized. However, I did manage to find space on one of the QR DOH-MLE direct flights allowing me to cut off the additional layover in Colombo. QR operates four daily flights between Doha and Male with three on the 77W and one on an A320. Unfortunately, the only flight with space was the one operated by the A320. While I would have loved to have had another flight in a QSuite, this would be much better than an additional layover especially considering our DOH-CMB flight was downgraded from an A350-1000 to an A330-300 with the old angle flat seats. A quick call to an AAgent and they were able to confirm the change instantly.
With our flight to the Maldives nailed down, next we had to get out of the Maldives. At the time of booking, I was looking for space to almost anywhere in Europe and came across availability on the dates we needed from Male to Amsterdam with a stop in Abu Dhabi. I used 100k Aeroplan miles transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards for this booking. We also got lucky as our MLE-AUH flight was upgraded from an A320 to a B787-9 a few months after booking.
Our final long-haul flight was initially going to be out of Brussels and one of the “flights” was a train from Brussels to CDG with an overnight layover. Once we decided to go to Greece, I was able to find J availability for two for 110k Flying Blue miles transferred from American Express Membership rewards with a 20% transfer bonus. Our flight was initially booked from Athens to Austin on KLM with a stopover in Amsterdam as we are planning a move to Austin and figured we would have been there by now.
A few months after booking I got an email saying our flight from Amsterdam to Austin had been upgraded from an A330 with the 2-2-2 seating in J to a 787 with 1-2-1 seats. As we got closer to the wedding it became obvious that we would not be moving to Austin prior to the wedding so we needed a way back to Dallas. I could not find any award availability to get to Dallas and was resigned to buying a cheap Southwest ticket from Austin to Dallas to get us home.
Just before booking my flights on WN, I found two award seats on Air France ATH-CDG-DFW on the 77W. The first Flying Blue agent I called quoted me some ridiculous price of almost one million Flying Blue miles with a double connection in AMS and ATL stating he could not see the availability I was seeing online. After a HUCA, I was connected to a fantastic agent who not only found the award space, but quickly processed our changes and reissued the tickets.
With the major flights set, I took advantage of a half-price UA F sale to get us from Dallas to Houston. For our intra-Europe flights, it did not make sense to pay the premium for Business over Economy when all you get is a blocked middle seat and a meal. I booked the highest-level Economy ticket on Aegean which gave us the necessary baggage allowance as well as exit row seats from Amsterdam to Santorini via Athens. Our final piece to the flight puzzle was a cheap Y fare on Sky Express from Santorini to Athens as the timing worked the best for our schedule.
Planning Maldives
In the Maldives, we took advantage of the ‘legacy’ Marriott Bonvoy award chart and booked three nights in an overwater villa at the Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort. While I had plenty of SNA’s and I felt relatively confident that we would get an upgrade to an overwater villa, I did not want to roll the dice as it was the boss’s only request. I still applied SNA’s hoping to score an upgrade to a villa with a plunge pool or the massive Westin Heavenly Villa.
Though we paid with points, the taxes and fees were quite steep as there was a $500 per person seaplane transfer as well as the local taxes and fees which is something to consider when planning a trip here on points or with cash. The flights to/from the hotel to Male were coordinated by the hotel through Trans Maldivian Airways and they reached out to us to coordinate everything roughly a month in advance.
The hotel was very responsive but communicating with them did take a long time as we could only send an email each day given their working hours are different from ours. They also provided us with restaurant menus and a listing of activities and the pricing to allow us to plan our stay in advance.
Planning Netherlands
Since Amsterdam was our only major city on the trip, we wanted to stay close to the action. We elected to use our hotel credit that we earned through the AmEx Platinum and booked our stay through Fine Hotels and Resorts on the American Express site. We settled on the Kimpton De Witt given its convenient location and given our limited time in the city, convenience won out over brand loyalty to Marriott/Hilton properties.
Planning Greece
In Greece I actually planned our hotel in Athens before planning Santorini. With our late morning arrival into Athens and an absurdly early departure the next morning, I just booked us a room at the Sofitel Athens Airport which is across from the main terminal building. Even if a room wasn’t ready for us, we would at least be able to drop our bags at the front desk before heading into Athens for the day.
For Santorini, Mrs. WS93 commandeered that portion of the trip as she had some very specific criteria regarding views, pools, and location. She ended up finding us a suite at the Oia Mare Villas in the town of Oia overlooking the bay. This was also one of the few hotels we found that offered both pick-up and drop-off services at the airport. Unfortunately, our arriving flight from Athens was after the cut off time for an airport to hotel transfer.
At the time of this writing, we are still communicating to see of they can accommodate an after hours transfer or if they have a car service that they would recommend.
With that, all our lodging and travel was booked, and we were ready to go!
Our itinerary was as follows:
Initially Booked
Flown
Last edited by wakesetter93; Apr 26, 2022 at 9:57 am
Apr 28, 2022, 1:51 am
#15
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: CGN
Programs: A* Gold, OW Sapphire, Thalys Platinum, Accor Gold, member of BahnBonus
Posts: 210
Looking forward to it, especially because we will be in Santorini from 5th till 9th this month as well ... ;-)
Be sure to drink some donkey beers from the local craft beer brewery (available all over the island): https://www.santorinibrewingcompany.gr/
Be sure to drink some donkey beers from the local craft beer brewery (available all over the island): https://www.santorinibrewingcompany.gr/