No Regrets!

After our final hotel breakfast in Ibiza, we headed to the airport. That’s when the rain started coming down. We got really lucky with the weather in Ibiza.

Checking in for our Air Europa flight, there were no baggage fees. I was ready to proclaim that Air Europa kicks Vueling’s ass, but I had no idea what drama was about to unfold.

What was a light rain in Ibiza was apparently a storm in Mallorca and something catastrophic in Barcelona, with all flights to Mallorca delayed and all flights to Barcelona canceled outright. Our 1:30pm departure was delayed, but eventually we boarded, a fun little prop plane for Dave. Which turned out not to matter, as shortly after boarding, we were asked to get off the plane, return to the gate, and await further instructions.

The cascade of cancellations meant we’d spend nearly the entire day at the airport. Watching the monitors, our flight was delayed again, then delayed again, then delayed again. Then canceled.

At this point, there were no clear instructions about where to go, and no agents directing us anywhere. So we collected our bags and headed back to the ticket counter. But even that was confusing. The carrier on our boarding passes was Uep!Fly, and the Air Europa ticket counter we’d originally checked in at had somehow become Iberia. So we split up and waited in both lines.

Ultimately, the agent at Uep!Fly rebooked us for a 7:40pm departure but told us to get back into the Iberia line to collect our boarding passes and recheck our luggage. What a cluster.

With our new flight information, I called EconomyBookings, with whom I’d reserved our Mallorca rental car, at 6pm to let them know we’d be arriving in Mallorca on a later flight and to ask them to hold our car. They assured me they’d contact Record GO, the rental car supplier in Mallorca, with this information. I couldn’t contact Record GO directly, as their website explicitly stated that third-party reservations could only be handled by the third party.

After more delays, we even looked into abandoning our flight and taking a ferry to Mallorca, but the logistics didn’t work out. All we could do was continue waiting at the airport and hope for the best.

We finally departed Ibiza at 9:39pm and arrived in Mallorca at 10:25pm. We were all wrecked but euphoric that we’d finally made it to Mallorca. And Mallorca’s airport was very pretty.

After collecting our bags and waiting in a long line at the Record GO desk, it was about 11pm before I finally got to speak with an agent. She told me my reservation had been canceled. Apparently, they hadn’t been notified about my delayed arrival and had considered me a no-show. Boiling, I booked a new reservation on the spot for three times the original cost. Nasty letters will be written.

The new-ish Toyota Corolla hybrid drove pretty well. Heading into Palma around midnight, I was struck by the absolutely enormous, impressively illuminated cathedral dominating the city center.

Palma looked more concentrated and put together than Ibiza Town. The drive to our hotel took us past lively bars and restaurants. This seemed like a happening place.

We finally made it to our fancy hotel, the Hotel Victoria Gran Meliá. Our RedLevel Presidential Suite is stupidly amazing, with two large bedrooms, two large bathrooms, a giant living room, and a balcony view over Palma and the harbor and the illuminated cathedral looming in the distance.

Motivated by the nightlife I’d seen on the drive in, I got a second wind and wanted to head out for a drink. But Dave and Matt were tired, so we called it a night. We turned on the TV, put on Spider-Man: No Way Home in Spanish, and fell asleep.

Tomorrow’s a full day of Mallorca highlights, including a walk through the old town and a drive out to Cuevas del Drach, caves on the other side of the island.