My wife and I were thinking of going back to the Maldives for Thanksgiving. We’ve cancelled stays at the St. Regis there several times. I’ve still only stayed (5 times) at the Park Hyatt. We even had a redemption stay booked at the St. Regis at the old 60,000 point level, and Etihad First Apartment awards – although at the time there was a problem booking infant tickets in conjunction with AAdvantage redemptions on Etihad that’s since been fixed.
The idea, though, of traveling all the way to the Maldives with our daughter was daunting. At three months we took her to Paris. At five months we took her to Sydney. She’s a great traveler but she’d be over a year old come Thanksgiving and wanted something a bit easier to manage. That’s when business class awards on Air Tahiti Nui popped up and I booked those to give us another option. We were meeting friends for Thanksgiving and had to coordinate those plans as well.
Here’s a brief synopsis of what to expect, with reports coming describing each leg of the journey from booking and cost to the actual experience.