Las Vegas thread and MSE guide 2009 part 2

pebblesmax

October , November

I'll look forward to it.

DaveyGee_2

September

Right here goes....

Day 1 : Well we arrived on the Weds after a long flight from the UK, arrived around 7pm Vegas time. Got our bags and made way to the taxi rank where we got a taxi pretty quickly. Went the 'freeway' which turned out to be via the tunnel so ended up costing about $20 to the Excalibur! Was too tired to care too much! Just taking the sites in when driving to the hotel was amazing, really hit home then that we were in Vegas! Check in at the Excalibur was fairly quick, waited a couple of minutes and wasnt bombarded with timeshare people as expected! Basically got to the room (widescreen room) dumped the case, had a look at the view out of the window which was of part of the Excalibur turrets, the Luxor pyramid and the Mandalay Bay. Then headed straight to my bed to get some much required sleep!

TBC (knackered, jet lags wearing off)

a8vip

September

stoneman wrote: »

I don't think that is correct, as you can still put up to 32KG in one bag, U.S. carriers are the same (70lbs). that must have been a story put around by the airlines trying to blame their reduction in allowance on the handlers.

You are very wrong.

Visit any airlines website and view their trans-Atlantic baggage allowance, it is 2*23kg (50lb). My last visit to Los Angeles in April of this year have me juggling around a few bits and peices on my return, as one bag was 21kg, the other was 27kg, and I had to even them out to 'around' 25kg each, as this was the allowed margin over the 23kg limie.

nvh

Just had the following email from Crown Currency Exchange - there are 'risks' (ie. you can only pay them with Cheque / Bank Transfer so no protection if they go bust) - but these rates are very good... i've used them before on these cancelled contract deals and you have to be quick! (note: you don't have to take the full remaining amount )

Due to the current market turmoil we have had a number of customers who have had to cancel their travel plans due to changes in their circumstances.
As a result of this we have forward contracts for US Dollars and Euros which we will be selling back to the currency markets if they are not filled.
First come, first served! Telephone orders only. ( 0800 612 7273 )
Customers can order any amount of the contracts below - but hurry...grab a bargain while stocks last!

Week Ending (for delivery) - 09/11/09
Amount Remaining - $28,000.00
Rate - 1.7103
---
Week Ending (for delivery) - 30/11/09
Amount Remaining - $47,500.00
Rate - 1.7187
---
Week Ending (for delivery) - 14/12/09
Amount Remaining - $39,250.00
Rate - 1.7207

luci

September

United are also changing to one x 23 kgs free baggage from 30 September. Looks like the days of getting 2 bags are over.

http://www.unitedairlines.co.uk/core/english/SI/baggage/checkedbaggage/other_checked.html

DaveyGee_2

September

Day 2 : Got up early, got some breakfast at the Excalibur buffet, the food was good but a bit expensive. We then went out to explore the strip, it was hot out there, that was my first impression, then looking out over to NYNY and the MGM it was kinda like 'wow'. So huge, so much going on.

We took a walk down the strip to find our bearings, walked down to Caesars Palace while going through the Miracle Mile shopping mall and some other shops/casinos on the way down. We got down to Caesars Palace and feeling quite hot and tired (doesnt look to far away but trust me its a decent walk!) we decided to head back to the Excalibur.

We then got some lunch at the Excalibur (dog & draft for $2.50) which was great value for money and surprisingly quite tasty!

Then decided to go to the pool and cool down, wasnt too impressed with the pool as it was very shallow about 3ft and pretty cold, although normally cold would be good in this case the clouds had came over so it wasnt that hot!

Then went back to the room to get ready for dinner. Went down towards TI and the fashion show mall is i thought there was a Tony Romas down there but couldnt find 1 and asked someone in the hotel but they said it would be a taxi ride away so we just ate in an Italian inside TI. Was really nice, we shared a pizza as it was massive and got some homemade garlic bread which was also nice, it was also great value for money as i think the bill came to about $42 after the tip!

By this point the tiredness from the long flight before was kicking in so ended up asleep for about 9.30pm

DaveyGee_2

September

Day 3 : Had breakfast a McDonalds, egg mcmuffin was good and cheap

Headed down to the Venetian via the Deuce bus, bought a ticket $7 for 24 hours. Good value and was pretty frequent. Got off at the Venetian, really liked that part of the strip with the Venetian, Palazzo, Wynn and Encore, probably the nicest part of the strip! Went to Madame Tussuads, had vouchers for $5s off each ticket so we saved $10, think it worked out about $20 each. Quite enjoyed Madame Tussuads, took plenty of pics.

Then headed to the Venetian to go on the gondola, $16 each. Wasnt that keen on this as it was more the GF idea but actually quite enjoyed it. Decided to go on the gondola inside as it was a replica of Venice and it was roasting outside so didnt fancy getting fried! Well worth it though it thought!

Headed back to the Excalibur for another Dog & Draft Had a brief shot of some slots, went to the MGM to pick up our Ka tics then headed back to the room to get ready for dinner.

Went to Diegos in the MGM for dinner. Really nice place, good dinner, just about finished the Enchiladas! After dinner headed to see Ka, really enjoyed it, went to the 930 show. Had good seats just right of centre and about 10 rows up. Was a good show with a lot going on, great performers, I would definitely recommend it to anyone. After the show headed to bed, still trying to get used to the time difference!

davidmcg2u

September

luci wrote: »

United are also changing to one x 23 kgs free baggage from 30 September. Looks like the days of getting 2 bags are over.

http://www.unitedairlines.co.uk/core/english/SI/baggage/checkedbaggage/other_checked.html

I printed off my Expedia confirmation last night, saya I can check in 2 bags for free. Not that bothered to be honest as we have never take that much, although never say never.

I'm hoping my $ arrive tomorrow instead of Monday, would save a bit of time Monday morning - getting excited now. Although I have 2 days of work remaining (Mon & Tues), I've been in holiday mode all this week.

Luci - what type of tickets did you get for The Killers? Do you still want to meet for a drink before the show?

scott007118

ferf1223 wrote: »

I'm not sure you said flights from where and what time next year.

The best hotel deals won't be out for next year yet so it's hard to compare apples with apples. £750 per person assuming 2 people sharing a room at MGM doesn't sound like a great deal to me - assuming flights are £400 that's £700 for the room or £100/night or about $160 at today's exchange rate...that's quite a lot for MGM...even if you assume £500 for the flights, £500 is still quite a lot for a week at MGM I think - though you don't say what type of room at MGM.

But it really depends on what exactly you're looking at in terms of flights and when, etc. If right now expedia is marginally better than booking direct, chances are very good that you'll do better on the hotel closer to your dates - so booking flights and hotel separate may make more sense (and give better flexibility).

We are looking at going from the the 21st -28th december. I've tried several flight websites and there all coming back at about a minimum of 550 each.

Froggitt

December ( including Xmas and New Year )

School holidays for you. We considered same dates. Try Miles and Money to save fifty quid or so.