Interestingly, Globus themselves say:
Pre-nights are normally recommended to help combat any jet lag, and to make sure you are on time for the tour. If you are able to secure a nonstop flight that arrives early enough in the day, you may not need the pre-night. It is a personal preference, really.
We are going several days early, to enjoy the city before our cruise. We have a plane change in LAX, but there is only on flight an day on Delta from LAX-AUK. if something happens (missed connection or cancelled flight), trying to arrive the day of would be a problem.
For a trip that long and that $$$, I would definitely arrive at least 1 day early for piece of mind. If the flight is cancelled due to mechanical issues, pilots timing out, weather, strikes, etc… think of how many other people on that giant plane are also going to be frantically rebooking. Can you make it in time? No way would I risk a trip that important.
in 2019 my parents took my family and my sister’s family on a very long and complicated trip to Europe. Our initial non-stop flight from Charlotte to Barcelona was cancelled due to “mechanical issues.” Later, they called it a mechanics strike. They couldn’t get us on another flight until the next day at the same time. (Of course, my son flying from Dallas made it on time and was stuck in Barcelona by himself with no accommodations!) Then, on the rebooked flight, they messed up our luggage and it took them 4 days to get it to us. Thank goodness we were still in Barcelona.
And the only time I booked a tour the evening on the arrival date was in 2021 when we flew non-stop to Maine/Acadia for vacation. Of course, that flight was delayed, delayed, delayed… We had to rebook and wound up getting in 12 hours later and missed the tour. Fortunately, it was just cheap ghost tour… But still, no way would I chance something important.
Oh that would be my worst nightmare!.
We arrived a day early when we went on Safari last summer, and had planned to eat in a particular restaurant (Carnivore) but there was a scheduled protest in the downtown area that day!! So alas, we couldn’t go.
When traveling half way around the world, we are accommodating jet lag recovery also. We don’t mind getting to our destination early.
And if winter weather causes a problem, we have a few days to reconcile that.
We took a Viking river cruise Sept 2023, with perk of free flights. We paid $100(?) each extra to arrange flights with time before/after. No regrets. Spend two lovely nights in Amsterdam pre-cruise. Got to see many things on our own. AAA travel agent arranged hotel, cheaper than Viking packages
(Afterward we took the train to Florence and spend 4 nights there. Then a day driving through Tuscany, and a night near Rome airport before flying home. Those logistics were trickier. But our travel buddies were celebrating their 50th anniversary and had never seen Italy, on their bucket list. So no regrets on that either.)
DH and I are leaving for Japan next week for two weeks. We are excited to experience a new culture. Friends who have gone are bombarding me with shopping tips. They fill check luggage with everything from skn care to kitchen gadgets. I’m not sure I want to shop like that but I"m bringing a packable tote just in case. Haha. DH and I are carry-on travelers and rarely check bags.
We often do carry-on, to ensure we get our luggage as well as make i easier to get around. But coming home from Europe we’ve had to check our bags (free with our United Visa card) because their size limits are stricter… my largish carry-on does not comply.
Thank you for this clip. I’ll be on the lookout for more discounts when I schedule travel!
I loved our trip to Japan. I’m terrible about shopping. I’d hoped to pick up some little cups like the ones my mother bought when we lived in Japan and we used for OJ. A lot of them are now chipped and cracked, but I didn’t find anything as nice. I did pick up some nice art supplies! The best thing we did was see the moss garden in Kyoto. (You need to get reservations ahead of time via a special sort of postcard and their system makes it very hard to do from the US.) Luckily my DIL was able to arrange it. I’ve heard others have managed through their hotels.
Many years ago, my sister, BIL and I were flying to a wedding but since we were to arrive after midnight, the car rental places wouldn’t give us a reservation till the next morning. When we got there we could see the rental places were still open with long lines. We took the little shuttle bus to plead our case to get a car, but on the bus we met a guy who said he had 2 reservations and he was going to use Avis and we could have his Hertz reservation. We get there, give his name and then we all started pulling out our membership cards and discounts. The clerk said “there is already a government rate.” Oh, we said, none of us work for the government so we’d like to use one of these 27 discounts (we all traveled for business in those days).
The clerk looked at us and said “there is already a government discount on this reservation.” Yes, but… “there is already a government discount on this reservation.” She didn’t CARE that we didn’t work for the government, she didn’t want to reprocess the rental. At 1:30 in the morning.
Yes, these are the things I would definitely bring back from Japan. Their housewares section is incredible.
We have a huge payment due next month on our big anniversary cruise next year. I am torn about it now with the uncertainty. No real expense to cancel. Wondering if it makes sense to cancel and rebook if things settle down. We might loose our before and after tours though. I am waiting it out right now.
Interesting. I just paid a balance on an Alaska cruise for July.
With the economic uncertainties, I paid it wondering what others are doing — and if there are enough non-payments to impact the cruise.
I thought about canceling and rebooking, but I like the suite we selected and would hate to lose it!
I paid for my cruise in full last month.
I have until July to cancel for a $100 per person fee but I assume I would also lose the insurance.
I’m still planning on going. I just can’t stop everything.
We’ve already procrastinated on our remodeling plans
With friends we are doing a 20+ day road trip to the Canadian Maritimes. We are super excited that we get to spend the night in a historic site at the Fortress of Louisbourg.
I flew to visit my daughter yesterday.
Some stream of consciousness thoughts 
Flew carry on, I need a new suitcase, the wheels did not roll correctly. Had to gate check, only on the second flight. Had to pick up at baggage claim.
Decided on the way home to upgrade to comfort plus. Will have a dedicated spot for my bag and it wasn’t any more than checking my bag. Maybe I’ll gate check to my final destination.
The Delta terminal in Detroit must be the warmest terminal in all of the US. I forgot how hot it was!
Geez Delta, the second plane was the oldest shaking beast. No entertainment options, no WiFi. I paid a premium to fly you, your equipment was subpar.
To the younger generation, and I’m not taking about helping me. It would be nice to help out the older people struggling getting their bags out of the bins. It’s common courtesy!
That’s all! The flights were on time. I’m delighted to be visiting my daughter. The weather could cooperate better. I brought my cold and rainy weather with me 
After a few difficult years, we’ve just returned from a relaxing trip. Honestly I’d rather have a few trips but have them be everything I enjoy. We flew business class to Miami where D and her friend joined us. We stayed in Surfside (my treat to them), relaxed by the pool and beach, D and I went to the spa, H and friend explored Miami, the kids hit South Beach. It was a wonderful family time. Only the flights were an issue with significant delays both times. Big expenses but well worth it.
If you are going on a cruise, I’d follow this developing story.
