Out And Abroad

For our Thanksgiving break, we are honoring this traditional American celebration by traveling to Madeira, Portugal. Fun fact, Christopher Columbus did stop in Madeira on his way to the New World which is not remotely related to Thanksgiving outside boats crossing the Atlantic. Matt and I will be staying in the city of Funchal for a 1 week as we desperately need some time away.

What is Madeira?

Madeira is a Portuguese Island off the coast of Morocco just north of the Canary Islands. You might have heard of Madeira wine (or sauce, made from the wine) which is generally what the island is most famous for. Many Transatlantic cruises stop here while German and British tourists use this island to escape the cold. What we love about it is once you arrive it is stunning and reasonably priced for what you get.

How the Heck did you Find This Place?

When Matt and I began searching for honeymoon destinations, we knew we wanted to travel somewhere in Europe that was gay friendly as this was 10 years ago. I remember searching Gay Friendly Hotels in Portugal and the Cliff Bay came up. The hotel looked stunning as it was built (shockingly) on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. We decided to go to Tuscany for our honeymoon instead, but we kept it on our list for a future vacation.

In 2015 we decided to give it a try. We were about to book the hotel when Matt asked me Where in Portugal is the hotel? I said Portugal is small, I am sure near Lisbon. I google mapped it and yelled f*ck, it is in the middle of the ocean, can we even fly there? Sure enough, you can, and it is easy through TAP Portugal which is Star Alliance member. We booked and LOVED IT.

Where Are We Staying This Time?

Previously we stayed at the Cliff Bay Resort which is the flagship property of the Porto Bay Group. Porto Bay is a Madeira-based company that has 4–5-star properties across Portugal and Brazil. We are in love with this company as they treat all their guests like elite (unlike Marriott where I am elite and get treated like cattle) across all of their properties. We are staying at their new boutique property, Les Suites at the Cliff Bay directly next-door where we previously stayed. It is a dramatically smaller property, which means less people!

What Will We D0?

Stuff that makes us happy….see previous post.

What Will We Blog About

I plan on reviewing our experience flying roundtrip on TAP Portugal, the Les Suites Hotel and a general deep dive into Madeira.

Bon Voyage,

Andrew

Matt and I are traveling overseas (more on that soon) for Thanksgiving and friends and family are naturally asking the question, ‘what will you guys do there?’ For some reason I always get a little defensive with this question because my response to this, and most vacations is, very little. Let me tell you why.

Why I Feel Defensive

Matt and I are off to Portugal next week. Friendly and colleagues are asking us what we will do there, and when I answer with basically nothing, I see a look of disappointment on their face. I see a what a wasted opportunity face, but to us it is not. Let me explain why.

Why We Do Very Little

Not Enough Quiet Time at Home

Matt and I have been in a part-time long-distance relationship since we met. He (and more recently in our marriage I) both travel quite a bit for work, shlepping on late night or early morning flights, staying at mediocre hotels and dealing with clients yelling at us all day. We come home to 3 dogs that require attention, so our quiet moments are minimal. I am not complaining and know we are fortunate in many ways, but life is hectic. We use vacation time for those quieter moments.

We Are Introverted

Hanging out in larger touristy areas doing activities sounds more stressful to us than relaxing. Not that we are against doing a few things like that on vacation, but we keep it to a minimum as returning home exhausted is not a goal of ours.

We like to Walk and Eat Our Way Around Vacation

Truthfully our favorite activity on vacation is walking aimlessly around a town. So many great shopping, photo and eating opportunities. This is an activity we could easily do at home, but we usually use our weekends to spend time with the babies and catch up on sleep. Most times by walking aimlessly we can come across the same stuff as a bus tour for free and without the people. If we see something interesting, we take a picture and look it up on Wikipedia instead of paying for a guide.

Random Places Also Have a Great Story

One of the reasons why I love oversea travel so much is quite often small towns, religious structures and buildings have just as much history as the more famous locations, but without the people. In Italy one can stroll in a Tuscan town such as Montepulciano, walk into a church and see a random Botticelli painting.

Never Apologize for Your Vacation

If you are someone who likes to wake up at 5am on vacation to go cliff diving, then power to you! If you want to ride around a bus visiting as many tourist destinations as possible, great! It is your vacation, do what satisfies you. My only caveat is don’t allow public pressure to influence your vacation destinations or activities. Go to the place and plan activities that will make you happy. Remember there is a huge financial interest in the tourism industry to sell activities, tours, and experiences. You don’t need to do them just to do them. If vacation to you is sitting on a lounger for 6 days and getting up for meals, have at it! If vacation is climbing a mountain, Godspeed!

Bon Voyage,

Andrew

I have not made it a secret that cruises are not my favorite kinds of vacation for a myriad of reasons such as;

• A lot of irritating people
• Hurry up and get in line mindset
• Mediocre food
• Expensive for what you get
• Frequent upcharge opportunities
• Too much food and drinks
• Most staterooms and bathrooms are uncomfortable
• Ports are generally boring and excursions are a fortune
• A lot of irritating people

The Margaritaville cruise possessed all of the things above, except that it was very cheap, and because of that, I enjoyed it!

Why Did This Introverted Very Lite Drinker Go On A Margaritaville Cruise?

My Mom won it at a raffle and invited me for a mom and son trip. We have taken my mother to Italy twice and I always love traveling with her so how could I refuse?

Margaritaville Paradise Basics

The Margaritaville Paradise is a 1500(ish) passenger cruise that does two-night voyages to Grand Bahama. The boat itself is old, but it has been refinished and looked good. Otherwise the ship had the same amenities any cruise such as Norwegian or Royal Caribbean has just smaller. The cost is what makes this trip standout as the base room is commonly <100 USD a person which includes their room, food (outside of specialty restaurants) and most onboard activities.

The Room

Honestly, considering it was free I thought it was quite nice! The porthole was quite large and the bed was comfortable. The bathroom was a bit small, but for 2 nights it was totally fine.

The Food

If we compare it to Carnival or Norwegian, I thought the food was good. I am not a huge buffet person but there were plenty of options. They also had a sit-down formal restaurant open for dinner which was quite good. Otherwise for those who did not want a buffet lunch, the Hamburger bar was excellent. Mom and I also tried to specialty steakhouse for an upcharge one night, and it was EXCELLENT. Steak was seared and cooked perfectly.

Service

While far from a St. Regis Hotel, the service was totally friendly and good.

Entertainment

The cruise had several bars across the ship and most had live music at some point throughout the day. Bingo, pool games, dancing were all there like any other cruise. We went to the evening show one night and it was enjoyable.

Destination

The cruise docks in a port outside of Freeport in Grand Bahama, There wasn’t much there as this port only serves the Margaritaville Paradise. Mom and I did an excursion to the Taino Resort and it was wonderful. The resort and beach were quiet.

Would I Do This Trip Again

For the cost, absolutely! Even if our stateroom wasn’t free, it’s still cheap. I would even argue it was luxury on a budget as it was free and there were some luxuries. I have blogged about this before, the less you spend, the more patient you are. Leaving from West Palm Beach was also quite easy and convenient. It is a perfect weekend getaway for those within driving distance of the port. Thanks Mom for a wonderful vacation, shall we do another one soon?

Bon Voyage,

Andrew

I have got to be honest with y’all. Mexico City was never on my list. I’ve heard good things in various travel circles, but there are a lot of cities to see. Fortunately, we had an opportunity to combine a business trip with a vacation and got to spend some time in this wonderful city

It is Gorgeous

Five minutes prior to writing this post I made fun of my brother for not knowing Mexico City had buildings. But truth be told, I really had no idea what to expect either. I knew it was a massive city population wise, but otherwise I had a completely blank slate. Yes, brother there are buildings! There are also beautiful parks and the entire city is surrounded by mountains and even a volcano or two!

Walkable and Café Culture

My favorite part of the city was just walking around. The weather was perfect, sunny and dry. It is also quite shady with trees everywhere. Café’s and restaurants are plentiful and one can easily have a cheap coffee, glass of wine or a few tacos and barely notice the bill.

The Food

OMG the food is to die for. I had by far the best tacos I have ever had during this trip. When walking the streets there are food stands everywhere and it smells like heaven. On a side note, we also had wonderful Indian food one night too because we can’t really get that in Maine ☹.

Safety

The American media enjoys displaying Mexico has a crime ridden country, but I felt completely safe walking the streets of Mexico City. Outside of a few homeless people asking for money (way less than most American cities) there was nothing remotely noticeable that made me question my safety, even at night.

The People

Everyone we interacted with was super helpful and nice. English was not as wide-spoken as more touristy Mexican destinations such as Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, but everyone nicely made it work.

Tourists

What made this city even more awesome was the lack of tourists everywhere. You would not know this is the second most populated city in the Western Hemisphere as there was plenty of room on the streets to roam around. There are tons to see in the city including museums, architecture and the best Aztec ruins within a short drive.

Gay Scene

We did not have enough time to truly experience it, but we walked through the gay hood and saw several bars and stores that all looked fun!

Overall

I highly suggest a few days in Mexico City, Flying within Mexico is very cheap and this would be an easy stop before going somewhere else! Matt and I look forward to returning for what we hope is a longer trip.

Bon Voyage,

Andrew

I guess it would make sense to occasionally travel internationally if one is writing a blog called Out and Abroad. We are off to Mexico City and Cancun combining business and vacation.

Flights-Short-Haul First Class

Delta Airlines from Portland, ME to Mexico City

Aeromexico from Mexico City to Cancun (might review this one as I do enjoy sharing my experience on an international airline)

United Airlines from Cancun to Portland

I won’t review all 3, but will likely write a comparison post so we can determine which airline offers the best short-haul business class experience.

Hotels

St Regis Hotel Mexico City

JW Marriott Cancun

Why Mexico City

Turning a quick business trip into an opportunity to visit a new city that is getting more and more popular as a gay destination. As a former World History teacher, I am excited to see this one and hoping we have time to check out Teotihuacan.

Why Cancun

Cancun is our annual vacation out of a box. We go once a year for the same amount of time, stay in the same room, eat at the same restaurants each night in the same order. Isn’t it nice to have that one vacation spot where you really don’t have to think at all? My brother is currently also living in the area and we are excited to see him!

Matt and I have had a few health scares over the last several months and we are ready to get away. More about the trip upon our return!

Bon Voyage,

Andrew

Every May I would get excited when I saw the white signs on the Wantagh Parkway. The white signs meant summer was looming, the school year was ending and my birthday was around the corner. Three things every child craves. However it also meant that the Wantagh Parkway would be closing for half a day due to the Long Island Marathon!

I remember asking my parents once driving back from Grandma and Grandpa (I miss them ☹) what a marathon was. They laughed it off and said something along the lines of something crazy people do, they run the entire highway. Every year I would continue to get more and more intrigued about one day running a full marathon.

I wrote the two preceding paragraphs above about 2 weeks ago in preparation for my ‘I Just Ran a Marathon’ post that unfortunately I will not be writing this year.

I Injured Myself

We were in Calgary a couple of weeks ago and was proceeding with my training plan. Unfortunately Calgary is quite hilly compared to my normal route in Maine and tweaked something in my leg. Forgetting I am no longer young, I decided to ignore it and continue running that day….and the following day. That was a mistake as it ended my running days for the summer.

I Was Devastated

Is it me or are we not allowed to admit when defeat makes us sad these days? I was sad for a good 48 hours. I spent a good chunk of my summer outside running in the Maine woods enjoying beautiful weather and increasing my distance well passed the half marathon to about 20 miles. I wasted all that time for nothing….

I Spent All Summer Outside

Then I realized, wait I spent a good chunk of my summer outside running in the Maine woods enjoying beautiful weather and increasing my distance well passed the half marathon to about 20 miles. In that time, I lost a bit of weight, felt amazing and spend more time outside then I have since my childhood camp days. What a win!

The Future

It is starting to get cool here in Maine. Fall is here and winter is coming. I will spend the next several months recovering from my injury and focus on lifting. However, I absolutely plan on trying again next summer, and if not, the following summer! It will happen 😊.

Until Then

I will wallow in my sorrows in Cancun next week. This is a travel blog after all!

Bon Voyage,

Andrew

Yesterday we casually booked a flight home from Paris. Yes, you read that right, ‘from Paris.’ Why did we book a flight from Paris without figuring out how to get to Paris first? Meh, details. Well as you know Maine gets a little chilly in the winter and we wanted to plot a March escape somewhere….to Paris where it is also chilly! 🤣

 Let the Redemption Dictate the Destination

I was scanning points/miles redemptions from a few places we were targeting. We were thinking either Rio or Paris…(they are so similar!), and Air France had a redemption that was too good to be true. 50,000 miles per person on the direct flight in business class between Paris to Boston. Air France (so far) has my favorite business class product so this was exciting! The seats, food and service are always wonderful. We booked, got excited…and identified a problem. How are we getting to Paris?

Business class flights between Boston and Paris were outrageous whether on points or money. Now, I could have waited weeks, months and hoped for better pricing. But don’t let this blog fool you, I have too much anxiety for that! I was hoping TAP Portugal would bail us out since they tend to have significantly lower prices, but alas the Portuguese failed me. They were a bit cheaper, but not enough.

I did notice United was on the lower end of miles and actual cost. We have plenty of United miles so I figured we could pay for one ticket and redeem for the other. Matt sacrifices so much to provide me and the dogs a wonderful life in Maine. He is always on the road shlepping around the country. If we were going to spend money on a business class ticket, I would prefer it to be on United as that is his airline of choice for frequent business travel and by paying for his ticket, he would get credits towards his status. United does not have a direct flight to Paris from Boston as that is not their hub and we would have to transfer from Newark or Chicago. Is it me or does United choose the absolute worst airports as their Hubs? Like who chooses Newark?

Reposition Yourself!

Then I had a thought! What if I just looked at the cost of the United flight between Newark and Paris and just skipped the connection part? I am glad I had that thought because it saved us 900 dollars and about 50,000 miles if we just booked the flight directly from Newark. We booked my ticket on miles and paid for Matt’s ticket. Then I checked to see what the cost of 2 tickets between Portland and Newark. The cost was 185 dollars for the two of us. We also save about 100 dollars paying for our driver to take us to Portland instead of Boston (which pays for one of our flights to Newark 😉). Repositioning ourselves saved us almost 1,000 dollars and about 50,000 miles.

Are There Risks to This?

The only risk is technically the Portland to Newark flight and the Newark to Paris flight are on different reservations. This means you would have to fetch and recheck luggage and if your first flight is delayed, you are f*cked as this is not considered a connection. To minimize the risk, Matt and I are flying into Newark the night before. We would have 24 hours to figure out how to get to Newark (including renting a car if we had to) if our Portland flight never took off, but as long as it leaves at some point, we will be fine with an overnight layover.

Doesn’t Paying for a hotel in Newark Negate Some of the Savings

Nope, because of flight times and us having to work, we would have stayed in Boston for an evening prior to our flight if we started our journey there. Actually, this saves money as Newark is (a dump) much cheaper than Boston.

Moral of the Story

We are going to Paris because I noticed redemptions were very cheap for the flight home. While I wish this vacation was completely on miles, by repositioning ourselves we are saving quite a bit of money/miles and not wasting any time as we would have had to connect anyway! Be open-minded, flexible or creative and deals are to be found!

Bon Voyage,

Andrew

As we continue through this series of lessons learned from booking our anniversary trip around the world, I want to discuss what I suppose will be controversial. Let’s be honest, the destination really doesn’t matter to most of you. You want good food, a few tourist attractions to see, a beach or a vineyard. Most countries offer these things.

Okay, you probably think I am nuts that I am arguing the destination doesn’t matter, but let’s try this experiment below shall we! Our hero really wants to go to Paris, but is trying to keep an open mind. Which vacation would you choose?

Vacation A

Destination: Paris

Flights: For two people, direct in business class.

Total Cost: $12,000

Vacation B

Flights: For two people, 7 Hours in Economy with an 8 hour layover, no lounge access and a second 3 hour flight

Destination: Paris

Total Cost: $2900

Vacation C

Flights: For two people, 7 Hours in Business with an 3-hour layover, lounge access and a second 3-hour flight

Destination: Paris

Total Cost: 250,000 miles

Vacation D:

Flights: For two people, 7 Hours in Business with an 2 hour layover, lounge access and a second 90 minutes flight

Destination: Madrid

Total Cost: 80,000 miles

Which Would You Choose?

Vacation A represents someone who is paying for convenience. They are booking the most direct flight in business and staying at a nice hotel. They will likely return home pleased as they got to go to their top choice and their accommodations were good! But they just spent 12,000 dollars!

Vacation B represents someone who will book the cheapest flight possible and stay at a cheap hotel. They do get to go to their top choice but will come home exhausted and full of complaints over how uncomfortable and loud their hotel and flight were.

Vacation C represents someone who prioritizes the destination over the cost and uses dramatically more miles to get to Paris.

Vacation D represents someone using points/miles to their fullest potential. They recognize that most cities in the world have lovely architecture, shopping and good restaurants. These people want to travel comfortably and stay in a hotel with beautiful facilities, top service and excellent amenities. While they would have loved to see Paris, they returned home seeing Madrid and still have several thousands of dollars in their checking account 😊.

How This Relates to Our Anniversary Trip

We had a list of possible destinations for our anniversary trip that included;

• Thailand
• Maldives
• Bora Bora
• Vietnam

Luckily we got a killer deal on miles for Thailand and we were able to hit one of our destinations. We knew our trip would likely include other places as well, but we wanted to check off one of those destinations above. We had another week to kill and had to get home and noticed redemption rates were easier if we flew west via the Middle East and Europe. By being open-minded over our next destination we were able to redeem miles and fly to Tel Aviv.

Lessons Learned

I am a former World History teacher and of course understand every country is unique. But, that helps make my point. Every country has something to offer. Be open-minded and you will have so many opportunities to travel luxuriously across the world on a budget. If you are too focused on one specific destination then you are at the mercy of the airlines hoping for a good redemption opportunity.

Bon Voyage,

Andrew

PS Madrid is lovely and once you get there, it only costs like 100 dollars to get to Paris 😊

I recently helped my mother and stepfather book business class seats for their trip home from Barcelona. They are using Capital One points and transferring them to a partner, Air France to fly home in business class. I am excited they both get to experience this for only miles! However, my stepfather then asked me if drinks were included, and it made me realize not everyone is aware of what long-haul business class consists of or the included amenities. Let’s have a look!

Context

I am aware not all long-haul business classes among airlines are created equal. There is a huge difference between Singapore Airways Business and Iceland Air. However, the overall majority will have the following amenities and services. Be sure to do your research prior to booking to ensure your targeted airline provides the experience below.

Priority Check-In/Security/Baggage/Boarding

Business class tickets allow travelers to use the priority check-in counter at the airport. Generally, these lines are very quick and you can check 2 bags per business traveler for free. You will have access to the priority security lane and be among the first to board the aircraft.

Lounge Access

You will have lounge access at your departing and (if connecting) transiting airport. Typically business class lounges offer free food (sometimes even waiter service), alcoholic drinks and even showers. If you are really lucky you may even have access to an Arrivals Lounge so you can shower after your long flight. See previous post on lounges for more information.

Pre-Flight Drink

This one isn’t as universal, but still an overwhelming majority of airlines off their business class customers a pre-flight drink. Usually it is a choice between champaign, water and orange juice.

Beverage and Snack

Usually once in the air the flight attendants will move quickly to provide a first round of drinks (including alcohol) and a small snack of chips or nuts. Beverages and additional snacks are also available throughout the entire flight.

Warm Towel/Noise Cancellation Headphones

Flight attendants also typically hand out warm towels at the beginning and towards the end of a long flight. They also provide noise cancellation headphones to all business class customers

Amenity Kits

A pouch consisting of tooth brush, toothpaste, lip balm, a pen, ear buds and lotion

Bedding

A superior blanket(s) and pillow than economy class. Sometimes even pjs, slippers and a mattress pad for your seat

Seat

Lie-Flat seats that turn into beds. Usually a pod of some sort

Food

1^st Meal: Multi-course meal with an appetizer, choice of entrée and dessert.

2^nd Meal: Usually right before landing. Meant to be a snack, but usually enough food for a meal. Served on one tray

Service

Flight attendants keep their presence known asking throughout the flight if they can get you more drinks. The galley also has an assortment of sandwiches and other snacks available.

Entertainment

Large tv screen that connects to your provided noise cancellation headphones.

Bathrooms

Usually, a bit larger and nicer than economy. Additional amenities could include lotion and facial toner.

Anything Else?

The list above represents the amenities and experience in the overwhelming majority of airlines. However additional perks could include

• Free private transportation to/from airport
• Nice hotel accommodations for long layovers
• Nicer hotel accommodations than economy class if the flight is cancelled.
• Turndown service on the plane
• Service: Huge disparity between airlines. Some (US-based) the flight attendants check the boxes, while others (Asia-based) treat you like royalty.

Is it Worth it?

No one who has sat in business class would ask this silly question.

Hope this helps as you evaluate whether business class amenities are worth it to you?

Bon Voyage,

Andrew