I was On Tue, 22 Sep 2015 17:16:05 -0400, John H. wrote:

On Tue, 22 Sep 2015 16:18:39 -0400, wrote:

On Tue, 22 Sep 2015 15:07:58 -0500, Califbill billnews wrote:

wrote:


Just spend a few extra bucks and fly up front.

By the time you factor in all the BS fees it isn't even that much more
on a lot of routes.
When we went to Montana, the difference was about $350 and that did
not take into account 3 "extra" bags, food, drinks and convenience.
It wasn't even enough to burn airline points on.

Last two trips I went on, up front was outrageous. To Africa ways an extra
$5700 each for business, not even first. And NZ was $10K for both of us.

We did 1st class to LAX and premium economy to NZ. The bill was $8k,
not horrible and the "space seat" on Air New Zealand was not that much
different than the 1st class seat.
I think the food was the same and the drinks were still free.
I can't imagine doing that trip back in the cargo section.

Given the kind of money you guys are talking about, I wonder what a cruise would
cost. At least it would be enjoyable.

Dunno, I did see a nice looking "Bright Horizons" cruise (Holland
America) from FTL down the coast to Colombia and back up through the
western Caribbean and it was about $15k for a nice cabin for two by
the time you add up all the fees. That was if you did not attend the
seminars. (another $3k)
You can save about $4.5k a head if you are willing to live in the
bilge.
That still does not cover your bar tab and the excursion fees.

For our trip, being there in New Zealand was the point.
A boat ride is a boat ride.
Two ways to the South Pacific by boat would be tedious and very
expensive. Maybe if I was rich and wanted to be gone a couple months
it would be an option. I would like to see the canal.
In real life, the airports were the only bad thing about the flight.
ANZ takes very good care of you on the long stretch and the other two
hops are tolerable in 1st class.
We did crash in the Marriott in LA on the way home to break up the
trip. My wife got it free with bank points and it is 5 minutes from
the airport. That made it very tolerable. The only mistake I made was
not taking a later flight from LAX to ATL because we had a few hours
in ATL. The Ft Myers flight was the first one of the day. We could
have kicked it in the Marriott for a couple more hours and took the
late flight out of LAX.