We’re off on a whirlwind round-the-world journey prematurely of Ricky’s upcoming nuptials this summer time.

Ricky can be stunned with flights, locations, and experiences, and we’ll be updating this text (with the points of the journey which might be match to print) as we trot our manner throughout the globe. 

Prologue: Hatching a Plan

Courtenay, British Columbia. February 2023.

Josh

Rewind a couple of months. I made a decision to pay my good buddy T.J. a go to at his house on Vancouver Island for a few days. We had some laughs, busted open his Georgian cookbook, and took a uncommon alternative to get some work finished in individual collectively. A standard week within the lifetime of our totally distant office at Prince of Journey.

One night time, after we’d wrapped up the work day, we cracked open a few cleaning ales, and the dialog shifted to our private lives.

T.J.

Hey, Ricky’s having a small wedding ceremony, and I haven’t caught wind of any bachelor get together plans. We must always actually plan one thing particular for him, one thing memorable. He solely will get to do that as soon as, so we higher make it depend.

I shortly agreed, and we began scheming.

However what do you do for the man, the so-called “Prince of Journey”, who can journey anyplace, anytime?

How do you create an outlandish, once-in-a-lifetime expertise for the champion of the concept anybody can elevate their journey to make the unimaginable a actuality? What may we presumably do, leveraging the facility of Miles & Factors, that Ricky hadn’t finished earlier than?

We racked our brains, considering of how to deal with Ricky to an aspirational expertise he’d by no means had earlier than. Weaving in a cheeky boys’ journey, in fact – with a vacation spot the place we may stand up to no good.

And what higher method to do it than to make the entire journey a shock? We’d whisk him away to a thriller locale, revealing each cease on the itinerary as we go.

And so, T.J.’s spouse Ashley rolled her eyes and retired to mattress early, as he and I cracked a couple of extra beers, and sat down to begin hammering out award searches for the subsequent couple of hours.

Prologue, Half 2: A Turbulent Flight Path

Vancouver, British Columbia. Could 6, 2023.

Josh

Quick-forward to the weekend of the Prince of Journey Signature Occasion in Vancouver.

Throughout a staff bonding session within the night, whereas Ricky was away with our VIP friends on Bowen Island, we enlisted the assistance of the Prince of Journey staff to maintain it beneath wraps and assist us brainstorm concepts.

We additionally pitched the concept to Leo, our Video Producer. We’d be foolish to not ebook a shock round-the-world bachelor get together on factors and never make a video out of it, proper? For sure, he was in, with no questions requested.

Ricky’s fiancée Jessy was additionally in on it at this level. She’s grounded him for six weeks within the lead-up to the marriage, and gave us her blessing to snag him for per week inside that interval.

At this level, we encountered a moderately uninspiring roster of award availability. If you happen to’re not reserving a yr out or per week out, there aren’t many choices for a number of passengers, particularly when you’re adamant to ebook an aspirational expertise.

Nonetheless, we trudged ahead, decided that we’d have the ability to put our experience to good use and discover one thing juicy.

Our problem was discovering a home-run factors redemption, whereas making an attempt to align it with Ricky’s opaque schedule and the fast-moving wants of the enterprise.

Plus, as an enormous Arsenal fan, Ricky was planning on attending the championship parade in London in late Could in case they received, which created numerous uncertainty within the planning levels for a shock journey.

It will be loads simpler to lock issues down prematurely, however regardless of our greatest efforts, that was proving unimaginable. The method started to take a toll on T.J. and me, as we devoted massive swaths of productive working hours our free time to futile award searches, scouring actually the complete earth.

Ultimately, we determined that it could be extra cheap to have a conventional weekend away someplace close by. We settled on doing one thing memorable and new. The annual Iceberg Pageant in St. John’s, Newfoundland was calling, as a particular however way more real looking choice.

T.J.

Getting from Vancouver to Newfoundland would require us to make no less than one connection.

Because it seems, there was bountiful eUpgrade house on widebody plane between Vancouver and Toronto or Montreal with Air Canada, which was nice. Nonetheless, the Premium Rouge cabins on Air Canada Rouge flights to Newfoundland have been full, and so we thought it will be humorous to stay Ricky within the center seat in economic system.

We booked the flights, made resort reservations, and began trying enjoyable issues to do in and round St. John’s.

Prologue, Half 3: Wheels Up

Vancouver, British Columbia. Late Could 2023.

Josh

After which Ricky caught wind that one thing was up.

We’re undecided what he knew, or how, however he knew the staff was planning one thing. Now the stress was on for us to do one thing over-the-top, as initially supposed.

As luck would have it, we have been now within the timeframe the place last-minute award availability had began materializing for our window of alternative to take Ricky away.

T.J.

After we discovered that Ricky knew one thing was up, Josh and I have been mad. We’d put a lot effort and time into making a plan and holding it secret from him, and he nonetheless managed to one way or the other thwart our greatest efforts.

Pondering that our Newfoundland plans have been not a secret, we then moved to planning a brand new journey out of spite.

One factor led to a different moderately shortly, wheels have been put in movement, and, nicely…

Chapter 1: Montreal, Quebec

Josh

Ricky was on a enterprise journey to Toronto and New York for per week. Jessy had insisted that he return house in time for a {couples}’ retreat beginning Wednesday, June seventh on Galiano Island, which might final by means of the weekend.

Ricky had booked himself on a flight from Newark to Vancouver, and was set to return the night of Tuesday, June sixth.

In the meantime, T.J., Leo, and I deliberate to rendez-vous à Montréal to catch a flight out the night of the sixth to our first thriller vacation spot.

We booked Ricky from Newark to Montreal, on a flight departing half an hour earlier than his scheduled journey to Vancouver.

T.J.

On the night time earlier than our plans have been to take form, I invited Ricky to an important assembly about an undisclosed matter. At this level, I’d left my house on Vancouver Island, and was spending the night time an airport resort in Vancouver.

In the course of the name, I instructed that we meet up in Montreal on Tuesday and spend a couple of days visiting a few of our favorite locations. A couple of years in the past, we have been each dwelling in Montreal on the identical time, and I attempted to promote it as a nostalgic journey reliving recollections from days previous.

I then offered him with a reserving reference, and stated no extra.

As a part of a welcome reward from his resort in New York, he was given a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne. To get from Manhattan to Newark, he’d booked himself a BLADE Helicopter that was as a result of arrive at round 4:35pm.

His flight to Montreal was set to depart at 5:30pm, and at this level, he realized that he’d should half methods with the bottle of bubbles (he wound up gifting it to a buddy), as there wouldn’t be sufficient time to test a bag.

I met him landside in Montreal, after which made a weak excuse to take a fast detour again as much as the departures degree.

We handed by means of safety, after which I offered him with a boarding move for a flight to St. John’s. He didn’t look thrilled at being in a center seat in economic system, however was in any other case up for an journey.

We made our manner in the direction of the gate, solely to search out…

Ricky

I got here by means of home safety to search out Josh and Leo posing on the CIBC Aventura sign-up desk, with no concept that they’d be coming alongside for the experience as nicely. After somebody instructed that we choose up some bagels from a close-by store, we then proceeded by means of to the worldwide departures space.

At this level, I had a suspicion of what we may be doing. There aren’t that many tantalizing worldwide flights leaving from Montreal late within the night, and there have to be a motive why there have been 4 of us travelling collectively…

Chapter 2: Qatar Airways Qsuites Quad, Montreal to Doha

Josh

This was it. The most important piece of the puzzle. The aspirational flight that Ricky had by no means taken earlier than, and it will be our deal with.

Qsuites is known for the “quad” configuration, the place the partitions could be withdrawn between teams of 4 personal seats in adjoining rows of the center part of the 1-2-1 cabin, making a four-person pod.

Most of us had flown Qsuites earlier than. Qatar Airways’s bespoke product is infamous for being the most effective enterprise class experiences in aviation, arguably on par with First Class remedy. However none of us had ever flown it with a gaggle of 4 earlier than.

Reserving a Qsuites quad is notoriously tough, because it’s exceptionally uncommon to search out 4 award seats within the enterprise class cabin on the identical route. Moreover, not all planes use a Qsuites quad configuration, typically various among the many identical mannequin of plane of their fleet.

Qatar Airways has a penchant for gear swaps, so that you won’t at all times get a quad while you’ve booked right into a quad. And that will clearly be unacceptable, so we have been adamant to search out availability on a route with dependable Qsuites quad planes.

After months of observing seat launch patterns, and with somewhat little bit of dumb luck, we observed that we’d have the ability to discover ample last-minute house on the Montreal–Doha route, when reserving through Qatar Airways Avios.

These seats could be within the greater fare bucket, costing twice as a lot as saver awards that are additionally bookable by companion packages, however it was the one viable method to reliably safe 4 seats in a assured quad configuration.

A couple of hundred thousand factors later, we had no alternative however to strike when the chance offered itself.

T.J.

This was really my first time experiencing Qsuites, and I used to be virtually as giddy as Ricky seemed to be as we moved the partitions to open up our quad.

The flight attendants got here round with our welcome drink, and all of us toasted the event with a glass of rosé.

After we hit the skies, the bubbles saved flowing, and we did our greatest to order as a lot meals from the menu as we may presumably deal with. Celebrations are finest finished with ample quantities of food and drinks, and Qatar Airways definitely didn’t disappoint on this regard.

Travelling solo is enjoyable, travelling as a pair is nice, however travelling as a gaggle of 4 is a very totally different expertise. For the subsequent couple of hours, we laughed, shared tales, and feasted in what turned out to be an epic flight.

Ricky

Whereas I’ve flown by means of Doha many instances earlier than, this was certainly an epic expertise, and one which I absolutely wasn’t anticipating.

For sure, T.J. and Josh set the bar excessive for this shock journey, and I’ll be curious to see what else they’ve up their sleeves.

To be continued…