Here I am, in the middle of the ocean writing again. I would have love to name this post something like our trip to Miami, but I can’t.
We woke up this morning and went to the airport. In the airport they told us that we did not have the right seats in order to get a crib. We booked this flight long time ago! and after booking it, we called Iberia to make sure we had the right seats in order to put the baby with a crib. Right.
In Barcelona the supervisor changed everything so we could get this seats. We took the plane towards Madrid, we learned that we had to change planes… and they call it technical stop… but it is a joke, not only you have to change planes, you have one hour to go to the other corner of Madrid airport… so quite a bad start…. landing in Madrid Kai crying because he was hungry (he had great flight by the way) and running to get the connection train and to the other terminal…
Up to here OK. We made it. Now, when boarding they tell us that the seats we have are not the right ones for having a crib… I could not believe it. That the flight is overbooked and we have to see once inside.
Indeed the row 29 or the Airbus 340 is just one more raw, so of course we complained… I could not believe that after booking in advance (you already say you are traveling with a baby), calling by phone, and in Barcelona asking again, and being the 8th passenger to board (we went in advance to the airport) we did not have the seats for the crib… a 12 hour flight with a 8 weeks old baby and no place to lay him… incredible. 
The story does not finishes here. We discussed with the cabin crew, and the chief ot the crew, but the people occupying those seats did not want to move. Can you believe it? There are a couple of places where the crib can go, one with 4 passengers (all together) and 2 couples. They all argue that for a long trip this is the best seats, and I agree, it is not their fault, it is Iberia’s incompetency, but come on!! don’t they have a heart? Could you tell a mum with her 8 week old baby to go and fuck off?
The cabin crew tried but no success. I also cannot believe that they don’t have the authority to tell the to move. How legal or just how can they allow this?
Well here we are, in a 3 seat for us, and we managed to put the crib on the floor. I did not want to go to this rows myself because I would be capable of beating them in the face with the laptop until their mother cannot recognize their faces… sorry this is how I am feeling now.
Iberia sucks. It doesn’t mater if you are a frequent flyer, if you have a baby… Ah, and if you seat in the seats at the end of the plane, remember you will not be able to choose your food… so we had pasta.
Anybody knows how to put a claim? I guess I should count 1000 and continue our trip…
Anyway, I will continue from Miami.
We are now in Miami, at the Clay Hotel in Washington avenue. What a cool place! This is a little street packed with bars and restaurants and the hotel is in an old style Spanish house, very nice. A bit noisy but nice.
We landed with delay, we went to customs which is process in itself where you have to put all your fingertips (digitally now) and photo. Now you understand how this TV CSI series have this incredible databases… well, the airport is pretty old. We arrive when the sun was going down. Once outside the terminal there are shuttles that take you to the rent a car dealers. We took the budget one and we were worried because it was taking us damn far. Once you get there you understand… a huge place with tons of cars. We cued for 10 minutes and we got our car. We took the option of baby seat for Kai and an economy car. Wow though, the economy car we have is a brand new car as big as our volvo… with 1000 miles in the counter! Very nice. It will cost us around 90 usd for 2 days. It is OK considering we are dropping it 80Km north where the cruise starts.
Well, we fitted the seat plugged the iphone to have the GPS, searched for POIs of hotels in Miami Beach, and headed towards the Clay hotel. We had to pay 1.25usd of toll road. In 30 min we where at the hotel. The valet .guy took the keys and parked our car.
We went upstairs to our room, where I am now, I found a free hotspot (typical linsys open router) and here I am.
We went for dinner downstairs to this busy street. We had a Caesar salad and Nuria tuna. Californian wine. We shared a desert. Delicious! The tip is now included (18%!!) in the bill, so it is a bit misleading in the US. When you order food the price you see is without the taxes and without the tip.
Tomorrow will be another day.
1 comment
Comment by MORK
MORK February 26, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Ahora ya lo sabes si puedes elegir, evita Ibirria!!