The Las Vegas Thread and MSE guide

stoneman

May

trets77 wrote: »

i flew US Airways to Philly from Manchester and then onto Boston. i agree they weren't the best but I'd take the 2 window seats ( on their own) we had on that over Virgins 747 any day . i cannot remember the class of plane so we maybe talking about completely different aircraft.

I think another thing that really gets under my skin is that you know Virgin could do better. where they have direct competition for your cash , they can provided a very good trans Atlantic flight . the flight from HRW to LAX was excellent in all departments. but while they can still fill that 747 most days and charge a obscene amount for the seats in summer / bank holidays and weekends , why spend a few million quid on a new plane ??.

Apart from the safety video the only thing that played properly on my in seat screen was a message from Beardy Branson himself.


well guys , sitting back and getting comfortable is something you cannot do in economy on that plane and the feedback they are getting for the Las Vegas flight from this thread is pretty much 100% negative.

Come on Tretts don't beat around the bush, what do you really think of Virgin?:doh:

ITRUK

stoneman wrote: »

I assume that because you are transiting at ORD you are flying with AA. 2 hours is plenty of time. You will clear customs (no, they won't put you to the front, as most of the people on your flight will be connecting as well) then you wait for your bags. as soon as you have them you will see a door that says "AA connections" go through there and on the other side there will be some very nice men who will just check your tags and put your bags on a conveyor. You then need to go to the next terminal which only takes 2 minutes on the train. Now this is where you might get bogged down, you have to join the line for security, there are several of these, so don't join the one that is right in front of you as you come down the stairs, everyone gets in that one. The flight to LAS is only about a 3 minute walk after security

I'm actually flying with Bmi (sorry, forgot to mention)
Didn't realise you had to recollect your bags - never had to before when connecting to other flights..!!
Hopefully this will be more reassuring than not seeing them for 14 or so hours of travel!
Whats the chicago customs like?

ferf1223

March

stoneman wrote: »

Takes me and OH about 2 minutes to clear immigration as I have a U.S. passport and they let her go through with me. :beer: :j
I love the look on everyones faces as we just walk past the line
Mind you, my bags are still usually the last to come out, so swings and roundabouts:mad:

Wait, wait, wait!!

I have a US passport but we have previously been told that my husband cannot come through with me on his UK passport...is this in Vegas that they let you do this and do you ever have any difficulty (I know we've been told no at ORD and ERW - not sure if we've ever tried or asked at LAS out of fear of the same thing happening).

ferf1223

March

Did everyone read this today about the upcoming requirement to register your trip to the US at least 72 hours before? Expected start in January.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/jun/03/terrorismandtravel.terrorism

At least it sounds like once you've registered you're good for 2 years.

I bet that travel agents and other sneaky people will offer the service for a feee as many do for the Australian ETA (which most airlines will do free).

ferf1223

March

ITRUK wrote: »

^^ I'd quite like to know this too, but with Chicago.
Im flying to Vegas from Manchester on Thursday and stopping of in Chicago for about 2 hours before getting a connecting flight to Vegas - is this enough to clear customs?
I suppose if it comes close to time i could mention to a member of staff that im close on time for connecting and hope they put me and my partner to the front of the queue.

stoneman mentioned the potential delay to clear security...you can check the day of the week and time of day you will be hitting the security queue to see estimated wait times if it helps (the state is Illinois - I only mention this as people have asked me 'what state is Chicago in?' more times than I can count. :

http://waittime.tsa.dhs.gov/index.html

trets77

April

stoneman wrote: »

Come on Tretts don't beat around the bush, what do you really think of Virgin?:doh:

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rotfl: :rotfl: that depends on what airplane i'm on. i can live with no frills like food, drinks and films but i cannot tolerate being squeezed into a space that a small child would find cramped for 10 hours . so it is all about the planes for me chap. and i give virgin a thumb up for LA and 2 thumbs down for Las Vegas.

I'm actually flying with Bmi (sorry, forgot to mention)
Didn't realise you had to recollect your bags - never had to before when connecting to other flights..!!
Hopefully this will be more reassuring than not seeing them for 14 or so hours of travel!
Whats the chicago customs like?

you have to recollect your bags as Chicago is your point of entry to USA and US customs don't want to rely on foreign customs for the safety of the planes that leave their airports ect. when you hand your bags off to the baggage handlers in USA they just glance at the tags then chuck them onto a conveyor with all the others. you then re enter the secure area by going through US security .

on the way back you won't have to do this , as your bags and person will have already have been through all the procedure , so your bags will be checked to your final destination without you seeing them at Chicago :T

how this will work in , by traveling with connection in Canada ..i don't know but you will have to go through US customs and entry at Las Vegas i would think, if you will need to go through the same sort of thing in Canada before catching your connection i don't know. Canadian Customs are pretty similar to USA customs in that they will ask you a few questions , but we didn't get fingerprinted or photographed when we visited 2 years ago.

trets77

April

martmonk wrote: »

Hi all,

Me and the better half are off to Vegas early next year. We've decided to do tandem skydiving and I wanted to canvass any opinion there might be on who to go with as there are a few options thrown up by google.

Anyone got any past experience of any provider?

My favourite so far is looking like
www.vegasextremeskydiving.com

i hope someone has some advice for this but if they don't could you post back on your experience with whoever you go with.;)


okay rather worryingly a offer for the Luxor

https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?pid=LUX&host=promo&code=CPSTAY&kbid=27920

has appeared on Fatwallet that requires you input your players club account number and password and then the site decides if you can take advantage of the offer :huh: . okay this is no much different than comped offers sent out to people who have gambled at casinos in the past , but hopefully this won't be the way all the offers that get released go.if memory serves me correct the Luxor was the first to start releasing NO REFUND offers , and they have defiantly not become the norm .

for the moment there is nothing to worry about as Vegas is obviously having job to fill rooms , what with the current economic climate ect.


Mirage from $79
from Fatwallet . stays until June 15th

https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?host=promo&pid=160&code=FATHER&kbid=27920

Palazzo from $159
from fatwallet. stays until september 2nd . expires june 11th

http://www.palazzolasvegas.com/EPB0608.aspx?EMC-EPB0608

Signature @ MGM Grand from $149
from fatwallet . stays until august 31st. expires june 19th

https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?host=promo&pid=005&code=SUM013&kbid=27920

https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?host=promo&pid=005&code=SUM012&kbid=27920

Mandalay Bay from $100
from fatwallet. stays until sept 4th

https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?pid=mbh&host=promo&code=spfaff&kbid=27920

THE HOTEL @ Mandalay Bay from $140
from fatwallet .stays until sept 4th

https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?host=promo&pid=276&code=SPFAFF&kbid=27920

ruthy14

April

well done trets you work really hard for us all on moneysaving vegas style!!!
when they gonna release specials for october i am getting really impatient,
nice impatient though as cant wait 4 a bargain.

trets77

April

ruthy14 wrote: »

well done trets you work really hard for us all on moneysaving vegas style!!!
when they gonna release specials for october i am getting really impatient,
nice impatient though as cant wait 4 a bargain.

http://www.vegas-promotions.com/October-2008/dp/1.htm has some reasonable looking TI and mirage deals worth a look . keep regular tabs on the above site and the latest Fatwallet posts + round up page , as they should start coming in numbers in the next few weeks if not sooner ( 28 current offers for October on Vegas promotions, where as this month has probably nearly topped out at 62) .

also keep and eye on all the latest posts with all the links under accommodation in post #1 (from now i would say , you never know that right deal for you may appear sooner than expected) .the prices on these offers do go up if there is a lot of takers , i remember the Mirage deal we booked last year , when it was released i got our dates for $79 weekday $109 weekend , but they were $109 weekday and $140 weekend when i checked the the same link/ same dates a few weeks later.

when looking for myself i look at as many as possible to get a feel for the price for the dates , and then check as often as possible , i usually check everyday that way you keep on top of the new ones as they appear , it only takes about 10 mins per day for me. good offers tend to sell faster than okay offers , so it really does pay to keep em peeled IMO .

as we have said many times , it's a good idea to book up a "fall back" ,something that isn't going to break the bank at somewhere you would accept but not necessarily your 1st choice, even if you don't intend on using it. that way you have all your bases covered. :A and can relax and cherry pick the better offers as they get released.


also i think it worth bumping up the info i posted in post #124 about the lowest price found for each hotel by LVA last year ( it is for the whole year so obviously youu should not expect to pay these prices at busy times ) . offers on the usual links beat a fair few but it is a good guide to what price is probably as low as it gets

LVA has published it best found rates for the last year. makes a good guide to expected prices.

Under $20
El Cortez
Under $30
Arizona Charlies East , Four Queens , Gold Coast , Gold Spike , Palace Station , Sam's Town , Suncoast, Vegas Club, Wild Wild West
Under $40
Arizona Charlies west , California , Circus Circus ,Excalibur , Fiesta Henderson, Fiesta Rancho, Fitzgeralds, Fremont, Golden Gate , Hooters , Nevada Palace , Orleans, Plaza, Sahara , Stratosphere, Terribles, Texas Station, Tropicanna, Tuscany.
Above $40
Flamingo $49 , Harrahs $52, Hilton $54, Luxor $55, Ballys $59, Golden Nugget $59, Monte Carlo $60 , Hard Rock $63, Rio $63, TI $69, NYNY $70, MGM $80, Planet Hollywood $84, Mirage $88 , Palms $89, Paris $89, Westin $109, Mandalay Bay $110, Green Valley $129, Red Rock $129, Caesars $132, Bellagio $159, Venetian $179, Wynn $189

i beat Ceasars price by $32 this year by grabbing a great deal when it was released , so like i said , it pays to make the effort of regular searching

. good luck with your hunting.

alibongo42

Can anyone tell me if connecting in Canada is any different to the thread above (connecting in Chicago)? I'm thinking I'm going to have to clear international customs twice (both in US and Canada)?

Thanks