Las Vegas thread and MSE guide 2009

nvh

The Bellagio Fountains

Fragments:
If you do want to ditch the travel agent completely (you honestly dont need one), then for your dates you can fly continental (1 stop there (3hr), 1 stop way back (4hr)) - departs manchester @ 11:30 (see kayak.co.uk) - £382

then for stratosphere (http://www.stratospherehotel.com/rooms_and_suites/), for 7 nights (basic room) its $266.36 (~£190)

that comes in @ £572 total

only problems i can see are:
1) you're possibly on a different flight to the rest of the party... (which in turn means they'll probably arrive at a different time, and you'll have to stump up the ~$30 taxi to the hotel on your own)
2) the flight is indirect
3) the price you see isn't the price you pay (remember the exchange rate can vary and you will pay for your hotel on departure, so if the exchange rate gets better, you'll pay less than £190 - if it gets worse, you'll pay more. You have the option of buying the dollars now if you wanted though, and then you can pay cash when you're there (tho you usually have to pay deposit of one night on a CC) - don't forget there's approx. 9% tax on top of the room price that i don't think is included in the price i've put above)

of course 1 and 2 may not be problems --- who is your flight with via. the Travel agents?

if i were you tho, i'd see if you can just get it changed to 'flights only' first - just so you have people to chat to on the plane good luck!

luci

The Bellagio Fountains

Has anyone here seen Le Reve? I would really appreciate your honest opinion and a good idea what I am likely to see.

One minute I am keen to see it and the next I'm not sure. The last comments I read about it were that it was people splashing about in water (Yes I do know it's done in water) and that it's like watching synchronised swimmers. Now that puts me off.

I really need to decide by tomorrow night as Travelzoo has an offer than is supposedly only for a week, but may get extended.

trets77

The Bellagio Fountains

luci wrote: »

Has anyone here seen Le Reve? I would really appreciate your honest opinion and a good idea what I am likely to see.

One minute I am keen to see it and the next I'm not sure. The last comments I read about it were that it was people splashing about in water (Yes I do know it's done in water) and that it's like watching synchronised swimmers. Now that puts me off.

I really need to decide by tomorrow night as Travelzoo has an offer than is supposedly only for a week, but may get extended.

I'm no Sync swimming fan , and i do not like pretentious arty stuff either .

Le Reve is none of these IMO. how to really describe it is difficult though.
Le Reve ( The dream) is like a Adult fairy tale set on stage that is water based . is it like watching synchronised swimmers ...no way .

my Honest opinion ....best show i have seen in Vegas ...and i have seen a lot of shows in Vegas . My wife says the same .

It is quite Abstract in it's story line but the stunts and Chorography are Amazing .

My advice is book it , go in with open mind and you will almost certainly enjoy a great evening . :beer:

3) the price you see isn't the price you pay (remember the exchange rate can vary and you will pay for your hotel on departure, so if the exchange rate gets better, you'll pay less than £190 - if it gets worse, you'll pay more. You have the option of buying the dollars now if you wanted though, and then you can pay cash when you're there (tho you usually have to pay deposit of one night on a CC) - don't forget there's approx. 9% tax on top of the room price that i don't think is included in the price i've put above)

Fair Point about the exchange rate , but what i was trying to Convey was that she would not be asked to pay anymore at check in if she took the price offered direct by The Stratosphere . The direct booking includes all taxes and Resort fee's ( Total price is $342 All in if i remember right ) . i have priced this up as 7 night stay starting on 11th of October
if she booked this it would be about her Budget ( £244 @ at Current Exchange rate of $1.40 + £382 flight = £626 ) , would not be the end of the world if she did end up with this booking seeing as all her friends are staying there , and can be cancelled easily ( i assume but see my edit at the bottom of the page ) when the good hotel offer appears nearer to departure.

$7.50 !!! a day per room Resort fee is a bit steep Stratosphere if you ask me and it's thing's like that that put me off booking places like The Strat ( That and all it's other problems )

. but does the Travel Agent price or The hotels.com price include that resort fee ??? i think they probably do not meaning you may be ask to pay that on top of any 3rd party booking on arrival .

hence to my way of thinking it would be wise to book direct with the view to cancel and then take a offer price at somewhere like the MGM Grand for example where you don't have Resort fee's tacked on at then end.( edit : and where we know for sure there are no cancellation charges unless clearly stated before booking )


EDIT

Your reservation is subject to the cancellation charges.

from Stratosphere booking page ..... but does not say what . The Ryanair of Vegas hotels .....call them up if you do go down this route and find out if there are any penalties for cancelling . i have never heard of any one mentioning any on other websites so it may just be the standard 1 day charge if you cancel less than 48 hours before your stay .

you don't get this kind of trouble booking with the likes Harrahs do you !!!! you book, you cancel, you get no charge .

luci

The Bellagio Fountains

nvh wrote: »

2 things:

1) long shot, but has anyone tried new T&T (mexican restaurant) @ Luxor?
http://www.luxor.com/dining/dining_t_and_t.aspx

2) right then you April vegas nuts, the cirque 25% discount for April is now up - think we're going to try Mystere have fun!

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/lasvegas/en/promotions/index.asp


edit: argh! nuts!... we're splitting our trip between two hotels.

When we're up @ Paris, the Mystere (TI) offer isn't on for the dates we're there... but it is for when we're at MB!

So i thought, 'ok' Ka (MGM) instead for when we're down @ MB... and it's the opposite way round!! (offer only available when we're at Paris!) ... typical! argh! lol

What about seeing Ka while you are at Paris as it's not a million miles away?

Thanks for the link, but I keep getting error message when I click on Buy Tickets. It may be the connection at work which is like watching paint dry. Will try again from home tonight.

** Edit - Finally got the link to work.

luci

The Bellagio Fountains

Thanks trets. What did you think of Mystere? I wasn't that impressed and wondered if Cirque type shows are my thing.

Oh decisions, decisions. I'm not normally this indecisive about a show, I either want to see it or I don't.

luci

The Bellagio Fountains

Trets, also what did you think of "O"? That's now in to the mix with having 25% off.

If I ask hubby what he thinks one more time then I think he will crown me!

ferf1223

The Bellagio Fountains

luci wrote: »

Has anyone here seen Le Reve? I would really appreciate your honest opinion and a good idea what I am likely to see.

We really liked it...always difficult to say if someone else will.
Have you had a look at any of the video you can find online to get an idea what you will be seeing?

There one here that has a lot of clips - though I wouldn't necessarily suggest watching all of it as part of the fun of these shows is being surprised.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45SW5LdYGZ0

I think it helps if you read about the story of the show - sometimes you can spend a lot of time at Cirque shows wondering what's going on - but like Trets said it's best to go in with an open mind...most Cirque shows don't have a linear storyline and understanding any story at all is somewhat secondary to the spectacle itself I think.

I found this about the story in case it helps.

“Le Reve,” which means “The Dream” in French, tells the story of an “everyman” character named Wayne and his dreams. Guiding him through his journey is Morpheus, a character reminiscent of an ancient warrior. Along for the ride are the Four Angels, a comic quartet “who enter the world and are fallible in every way,” said John Gilkey, who worked with Dragone on developing the characters.“They come down into this world with every intention to guide Wayne on a wholesome journey, but they fall prey to every temptation along the way,” Gilkey said.

“The theme that crosses the show is really how men can be great and little, how men can do beautiful, great things like walk on the moon, and at the same time do bad, ugly things like war,” Dragone said.

duchy

This was the main reason I walked out from a job with Thomas Cook a year ago. They are still trading on their previously good and deserved reputation but things have changed and I saw first hand at the branch I worked at that staff were told to say just about anything to get and keep a sale. I wouldn't do it-I'd tell the truth (I'm an experienced travel agent and had in fact worked for Cooks previously durring their better days).
It should have been made clear at the point of booking of YOUR flight that a single room supplement was payable and you (or your friend if she booked it) would have been given a price. To be fair to Cooks I've never known them not to do this so maybe some of this is down to your friend.
Go back to Cooks and tell them you don't need the room but still need the flight and ask them what the cost to Amend (not cancel ) the booking is-and then if it's quite high -ask them if they will consider reducing this fee as the single room supplement was not made clear at the time of booking. Don't speak to a sales person-tell them you want a manager involved as you are unhappy at the poor service you got. If they won't reduce it -ask them to escalate to their area manager and arrange that he or she contacts you within 48 hours.
If the single room supplement was NOT advised when the deposit was paid then you definitely have a case for them waiving the amendment fee but you'll need to push for it.

Congratulations to Sew ..........Thank goodness the baby wasn't concieved at Bills -would be a rotten name if it's a girl

ferf1223

The Bellagio Fountains

If it helps - I've seen O and Mystere...Mystere is the sort of basic, starter Cirque show - mainly acrobatics and a pretty cool transitioning stage...but O and Le Reve (and Ka) are more spectacular (and IMHO Love is even moreso). O and Le Reve have the water thing going for them and Ka has the ridiculous stage.

It's been ages since we've seen O but I thought for a long time it was my favorite - at the moment I need to see it again to see if Love has displaced it...I did personally like O better than Le Reve, but not by a lot...and the Le Reve clowns are less annoying than the O clowns - at least they were to me. Le Reve is a smaller theatre and in the round - doubt there's a bad seat in the house. For O we had balcony seats which were good, but we could see quite a lot of the stage mechanisms working - which was cool in a way, but perhaps non-balcony seats would have made it that much more seamless when it changes from solid stage to water.

trets77

The Bellagio Fountains

luci wrote: »

Thanks trets. What did you think of Mystere? I wasn't that impressed and wondered if Cirque type shows are my thing.

Oh decisions, decisions. I'm not normally this indecisive about a show, I either want to see it or I don't.

Trets, also what did you think of "O"? That's now in to the mix with having 25% off.

If I ask hubby what he thinks one more time then I think he will crown me!

Okay haven't seen O , they were on holiday one visit and the other times i tried to see them we always ended up going for better discounted shows .


as for Mystere , on the whole i did not like it . Big Babies on Golf carts do me a favour :mad: :mad: :mad: !! some of the stunts where good , but generally i thought it was French circus crap in between .

Le Reve is nothing like Mystere IMO ( NO sillyness in it !!) , it is not a Cirque show either , it is by the guy (Dragone ) who used be with them .