Mar 5-10 make that 11 – Have we had supper yet?

When we were in Vegas in November we said that’s it for Vegas for a while. However, a couple of weeks ago I started to get the itch again and began to investigate our options.

We live in BC Canada, close to the border so flying out of Washington state often makes financial sense. A while back I learned about Alaska having direct flights from Everett to Vegas. I had enough travel dollars with Alaska for two of us to fly Everett/Vegas return.

The trip started Mar 4 with an overnight in Everett WA. We have regularly flown out of Bellingham and sometimes out of Seattle. Everett is a great little airport. A beautiful new building and a very relaxing atmosphere. We’d come to regret the decision of flying out of Everett though.

This trip included my husband G and myself L. Something unique about us is that we are both recovering gambling addicts. We actually met in a gambling recovery group after gambling destroyed both our marriages/lives. He is 19 years clean and I’m at 9 years. About 5 years ago I had a conference to attend in Vegas. We decided to go and see what it was like. We had a great time on that trip and have been 6 times since. Some might find it odd. I have to admit the first couple of trips there were some twinges but we supported each other through it. I wouldn’t consider going to Vegas with anyone else other than him. Now it is all good. We enjoy all that Vegas has to offer besides gambling.

I am Diamond with Caesars Rewards. How did I get this you may ask? Last March we took our 3 adult children to Vegas. Everyone required a separate room. We paid for everything. Cost us a bundle but we had to cancel a planned European vacation due to an illness so had money to spend! There was a bit of a cluster* getting all my 5X rewards points for all the rooms and get to Diamond. It took another trip to Vegas to sort it out!

One thing to note though is that even though I’m Diamond I get no offers for free rooms nor do I get the $100 Diamond dinner because none of my tier credits are from gambling. I learned this after several trips to the rewards desk and some investigation by various staff. I guess they don’t get too many people that are Diamond and don’t gamble at all.

We stayed at Harrahs. At least I get the benefit of no resort fees. I had booked a King Studio in the Valley tower. At check-in I upgraded to an Executive King Suite in the Valley tower for $50 a night. I wanted it for the coffee maker, the soaking tub and the fridge. At check-in I was told that not all Executive King Suites have tubs so I’m glad I mentioned I wanted a bathtub. We loved the room.


Day 1 Thursday March 5

After we landed we decided to take the city bus to Harrahs. We’ve tried taxis, limos, Uber etc and thought it might be fun to try the bus. We were in no hurry to get anywhere. We took the CX bus to Flamingo and the Maryland Parkway and then transferred to the 202 up Flamingo to Las Vegas Blvd. It was quite easy and kind of interesting to try. After checking in about 2:00 we headed to Carnival Court for a drink. We both love it there. Afterwards we walked to CVS for some Titos and soda for the room. We also visited Planet 13.

We did plenty of imbibing throughout the afternoon. We weren’t sure where to go for dinner. We decided to just grab something from the Fulton Street Food Hall. We brought it back up to the room to eat. About an hour later we were getting ready to head out to Blue Man Group. I guess we were more loaded than we thought because my husband then asked, ‘Have we had supper yet?’. I found that hysterically funny and we both laughed til we cried as we had eaten only an hour previous. All during our trip in order to get a chuckle out of each other we would say ‘Have we had supper yet?’ and laugh and laugh. (hence the title of this trip report).

We went to Blue Man Group that night at Luxor and we thought it was fantastic. We had bought our tickets a few days ahead on Vegas.com. I think they were $65 each.

 

Day 2 Friday March 6

It is tradition that we always start our trip with breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi. We slept in til 10:30 and by the time we got there it was lunchtime. We each enjoyed a bloody mary at the bar while we waited for our table. Instead of sitting on the patio which seemed too hot (and they had no umbrellas out for shade) we sat just inside in the atrium area. It took forever to get our water and our bread. My husband ordered mussels and I ordered the Cubano sandwich. When our meals finally arrived the frites we got were almost cold. We sent them back and quickly got hot ones. I feel the frites have really gone downhill. They seem to be too skinny now and overcooked. The mussels were fine, but not very hot. The Cubano sandwich was delicious.

We spent some time at the Harrahs pool in the late afternoon. Managed to snag a couple of chairs in the sun. We had bought plastic cups with straws and mixed up our own vodka and sodas and took them to the pool, no one seemed to care that we brought our own drinks in.



That night we headed down to Fremont. We love it there. It is always a great party atmosphere. After buying drinks that I’m sure are quadruples of liquor we wandered around. We had a quick bite in the Golden Nugget, I’m not sure where. I had a quesadilla and didn’t eat much of it. I had it packed up to give away to someone. We were standing in line for more drinks and this young man came up and asked for my leftovers. He said he was homeless and hungry. I was very happy to hand them over.

We watched and danced to a great band called Alter Ego and took an Uber back to Harrahs around 11.

 

Day 3 Saturday March 7

We started off with breakfast at Giadas. This might be my new favorite spot. I had a groupon for $32 you got $65 worth of food. I had the polenta waffle with eggs. G had the salmon eggs benedict and the bottomless mimosa. All were excellent. They even let him take a mimosa for the road when we left.



We then spent the day at the pool at Harrahs. We rented a daybed for $75 plus $25 food and beverage. We probably didn’t need to do that but I like knowing I have my own space and not spend time wandering around looking for chairs in the sun. When we arrived our daybed was in the shade but my husband assured me that in about an hour we would be getting sun.

When the waitress arrived to take our drink order we mentioned something about the sun and our location. Her answer was ‘In three weeks you’ll be begging for the shade’. After she left, we both cracked up laughing, for some reason we found that answer incredibly funny. Perhaps Planet 13 had something to do with it. That became another catch phrase for the trip that we would repeat to each other often and laugh.

That night we ate dinner at Yard House on the Linq promenade. G had vodka shrimp pasta and I had tacos. Both were delicious. We then went to see X Country burlesque at Harrahs. The tickets were our free diamond tickets. The show was ok, some talented dancers but I’m glad we didn’t pay for the tickets. We had some Fulton Street Food Hall pizza for late night munchies.

 

Day 4 Sunday March 8

Slept in a little and then went to Mesa Grill for brunch. G had the blue corn buttermilk waffle with a side of bacon, and I had the spicy scrambled eggs. Everything was delicious. To drink my husband had a Hendriks gin and tonic. We noticed at the bar they had a different looking Hendriks bottle and asked to see it. It was called Orbium and was a small batch version. We love Hendriks gin, so G tried it. It was very good, maybe a little more floral than regular Hendriks. I had a cocktail called a Bitter Frenchie which was superb.

We then went to Caesars Palace pool in the afternoon. As a Diamond you have free access there. Only one of the pools was open. When we walked in they asked for our room number. We said we were staying at Harrahs and were Diamond. Ok they said and waved us through. We never showed any cards or anything. We found a spot in the sun and relaxed for a few hours.

That night we had reservations at STK steak in the Cosmopolitan. It was an absolutely delicious meal with impeccable service. The most expensive meal we’ve ever had I think and of course ordering a bottle of 2015 Jordan Cabernet didn’t help. No regrets.

Next up was Michael Jackson One at Mandalay Bay. I had wanted to see this show for awhile and was happy that we were able to get tickets for a reasonable price. I think they were $75 each from a sale on the Cirque website. The show to me was just OK. If there was a story, I couldn’t follow it. My favourite Cirque show is still Love.

 

Day 5 Monday March 9

We had breakfast at the Fulton Street Hall café. It was pretty good and reasonably priced. Today was the day for Battlefield Vegas. We were going to shoot some guns! I had never shot a gun before and was curious to try it. We had bought packages on Groupon. They were $89 each and included Humvee transportation, a t shirt and 3 guns to shoot.(Glock, Uzi, Colt). I just about jumped out of my skin when someone beside me shot what sounded like a cannon. I grabbed onto the guy helping me. Even with ear protection it is incredibly loud. It was fun but I don’t think I’d do it again. My husband used to be in the army and has shot lots of different guns. The visit to Battlefield Vegas has reignited his interest in shooting and he is going to check out local ranges.



That afternoon we went back downtown. Had more of the incredibly strong drinks they pour on Fremont. Ate some onion rings at 4 queens. After that we went to Whiskey Liquor Up for a drink. It wasn’t very busy but seemed like a fun place. By this time I felt pretty wasted. We caught an Uber back to Harrahs. Got some late-night chicken strips and fries at Fulton Street Food Hall.

 

Day 6 Tuesday Mar 10

Today was leaving day, NOT! Woke up to a notification from Alaska Airlines that our flight at 1:05pm to Everett was cancelled. Tried calling Alaska, an hour and 45 minute wait but luckily they had the call you back feature set up. We went for breakfast again at the Fulton Street Food Hall while we waited for a call back.

After talking to Alaska we got rescheduled on a direct flight to Everett leaving at 9:15pm. Apparently Air Traffic Control had cancelled the flight. I have no idea what that meant. We checked out of our room and left our bags with the bellman. Now what to do? We decided to look for an afternoon show and settled on Menopause the Musical. It turned out to be a pretty good show. I thought the performers were very talented. We bought the cheapest seats and since the theatre wasn’t full they moved us up closer.

After the show we found out that the 9:15 flight got cancelled too. We tried to call again, this time there was a 3 hour wait. We decided to take an Uber to the airport and see if we could sort it out there. We grabbed our luggage and headed out. We went to the Alaska counter and spoke with an agent . She couldn’t have cared less about our situation. She instructed us in a very scripted reply that it was ‘the weather’ that forced the cancellation. She advised us that the direct flight the next day at 1:05pm was full and she booked us on a flight leaving the next day around 1:30pm and connecting through LAX. She said we could check in the morning at the airport to see if any seats opened up on the direct flight.

We grabbed an Uber back to Harrahs and checked into a regular king room in the Mardis Gras tower. The room was ok but an obvious step down from our suite. Only $35 a night though.

We walked over to Battista’s Hole in the Wall. It was super busy at 8:00pm. We waited in the bar for about 45 minutes. The food was pretty good. The wine that comes with the meal is not great. We had a super drunk guy at the table beside us that kept yelling about the accordion player that is usually there. He ended up falling asleep before their food arrived. His friends got him up and out of there finally.

 

Day 7 Wednesday Mar 11

Got up and got ready and headed to the airport. Checked with Alaska and learned the direct flight at 1:05pm had again been cancelled. ‘Weather’ they said. Got through security and got settled into the Club lounge. Got a notification that our flight to LAX was delayed and we would no longer be able to make our connection to Everett. Left G in the lounge and went to talk to an agent. After looking at our options we chose to leave on a direct flight to Seattle around 4:30pm. Thank goodness we were able to spend the day in the Club lounge, it made the waiting around easier.

The flight to Seattle was uneventful, yay. We caught an Uber from Seattle airport to Everett where our car was parked. $100. An hour and half drive home after that. Got home about 10:00pm after stopping to buy some duty-free liquor.

 

In Conclusion

I will now spend some time gathering various receipts for expenses we incurred as a result of the cancellations. I hope that Alaska will reimburse us but I’m not sure. Apparently ‘Weather’ and ‘Air Traffic Control’ are out of their control and not their fault so they aren’t liable. But one of the agents I talked to told me to contact customer care and they may do something.

We didn’t see the Bellagio fountains at all. That’s unusual for us as we usually catch one show at least. Otherwise we did most of what we set out to do and see. I’m not sure how long it will be until we are back. Maybe in the fall. We are scheduled to go to France for three weeks at the end of April but that is now up in the air given the virus situation.

I want to end this report by thanking everyone who posts on this message board. I’ve gained some great information and really enjoy reading the trip reports. I particularly want to give a shout out to Gaggles/JR and NotFromConcentrate as they are fellow Canadians and their reports are so entertaining. I also enjoy the vlogs from Team Clare and Matt Bridger. But really everyone is fantastic!

Stay safe everyone.

 

Glad you are safely home after the messy departure flights! Thanks for the report!

 

Quite the adventure getting home

I’m a big fan of breakfast at Giada’s too and always take a “traveler mimosa”.

I enjoyed your report; thanks for sharing.