Goldens

That's great that you are going. Unless you purchased "cancel for any reason" travel insurance then they wouldn't pay.

ChgoGal

I do hope you have a great time, CFo4. I must say you've maintained an extraordinary level of grace, patience and good humor in the face of these unwieldy posts and not-always-nice replies that has earned my respect. All the best on your trip.

Leely2

I'll be in Prague while you are there.

crazyfamilyof4

well here's hoping you don't see the crazy family of four looking clueless! hahaha .. funny if we pass eachother in the street! Enjoy your trip Leely2.

Thanks ChgoGal for your nice comments . . I haven't taken it to heart . . everyone on here has been wonderful with helping me in my planning!

Leely2

If I see you I'll take your photo to prove to Fodorites that you're weren't just trolling.

Seriously, good luck on your trip. I've been to many--not all--of your destinations and they are all wonderful.

SusannahT

I echo the above best wishes Claire, as well as also being impressed with your graciousness in the face of some ungraciousness.

Let's hope the rain eases up for your holiday and for all those affected by the ongoing flood chaos in so many places.

crazyfamilyof4

oh and the pearl assist thing . . I thought it might be worth the money . .. after the long flight I can't imagine the kids are going to want to line up in the huge passport control lines .. I liked the idea of being fast tracked and looked after from the moment we step off the plane till we get into the transfer that the hotel has sorted for us

Aramis

You're an angel Claire.

Your graciousness in the face of all the self righteous crap heaped upon you is a wonder. We can only wish that some lessons were learned.

surfmom

Claire, know that some thing (or things) will go wrong. There will be mistakes... trains missed... cranky kids... overstimulated/tired kids... food not right. Just roll with it, start each day like a new one and forget the bad things.

I hope you come back to update us and fill us in! I love to read about others who travel with kids - in my experience, people (for example, waiters) are kind to people with kids. We've always had good luck when traveling with kids.

have a great trip!

Doppio

I think you should start your trip report now! It would be fun to see you all preparing, and how and what you are packing too.

Like surfmom said, many are interested in reading about others who travel with kids.

Start now - I don't think I can wait until the 21st!

crazyfamilyof4

Hi everyone! I have tried and tried again to pack with only carry on but I just can't so I have decided one case ...not too large but it will need to be checked in due to weight and one duffle bag on wheels for carry on
is what I am taking.
I have sorted the kids clothes into zip lock bags and I think I haven't over packed
less then 48hrs to go! Ritz has confirmed my high tea I haven't gone with pearl assist but we are using a private driver to take us to our hotel from heathrow ...figure it would be best with the kids etc.
I am not going to blog it just because I am nervous with it being so public. I will do a trip report here and then when I return figure out a way to do photo sharing.
To all those who have continued to support and guide me . .thank you . .I know there will be bumps along the way but at the same time I also know memories will be made that last a life time!

Tulips

I couldn't travel with just carry-on for such a long trip with kids. If you check your bags, you'll have your hands free at the airport, getting your children onto the plane.
Just make sure you can handle everything when you need to take trains.

Have a great trip!

Gretchen

Don't forget the advice long ago to have a tether for the kids. It just could NOT hurt, and it might help.
I am pretty sure NO one suggested just a carryon for you AND the kids. That would be very crazy. BUT the advice was for a piece of luggage you could handle with the kids and getting on a train quickly. That still holds.

thursdaysd

Bon voyage!

Could you start a new thread now? This one is way too long.

jenmorg

Many of us are keen to know how you get on! The good and the bad. So please do a trip report at some time. I hope you have a great trip.

Christina

I don't see why they couldn't do carryon with kids, every person gets their own one bag allowance, after all. That doesn't mean only one bag, it's one bag per person. And children's clothes are a lot smaller. But it might be difficult to handle that many bags since there are only two adults going over. One adult could pull 2 carryons, after all (21 inch). It's certainly possible, except for needing to deal with the kids, also, who are small, that's the issue (2 yr old). So I'm not sure dealing with one large suitcase that is checked will be easier or not, rather than 2 small ones. If you could get the 2 and 4 year olds stuff into one carryon, might work.

It's just a lot to deal with without that 3rd adult on arrival, checked or not.

Doppio

Why can't you do a trip report (new thread here) while you are there? Post from different places, let us know how it's going. It doesn't have to be a blog.

I have to say, I'm a bit let down if you don't post a bit while you are on your trip. "After all we're done for you!!!'

I know, you don't owe us anything, but it would be fun to have an ongoing thread here with your updates. Pretty please?

Gretchen

WEll, yeah, one carryon per person with at least two who can't carry anything on doesn't really work very well.
If the carryon can piggyback on the larger case it can be handled.

Tulips

Claire's kids are very young, they would not be able to handle their own luggage. Besides, you need quite a lot of stuff for kids on the plane, for such a long journey, to keep them comfortable. Don't know if any of them are still in diapers, but you would have that to carry in addition to your luggage.

When my kids were young, I checked as much as possible, and only carried on the plane what I absolutely needed during the flight. You have some time to wait at the airport, will have a buggy, bag of essentials for the kids, your own purse with passports etc, and you have to watch your kids, maybe hold on to them when it's busy. You don't want any extra bags to carry.

At least you have Ipads now to keep kids entertained during the flight, no books or toys needed.

Just make sure your luggage is not too unwieldy to manage for your train journeys.

crazyfamilyof4

Trip report has begun and Tulips I took your advice! Checked everything but a little backpack and it worked out perfectly! Loved being able to carry my daughter at midnight and hold my sons hands!