MIA-DEN Logistics ✓

After many months of checking for a reasonably-priced flight to return us to Colorado Springs at the end of our fall-winter trip, today we made a decision and took the plunge.

Since the fares on 15 December — the day we disembark NCL's Encore in Miami — were higher than we wanted to pay, Mui agreed to postpone his 12/16 appointment. Thus allowing us to book award tickets on the 16th instead ... on the 8:00a non-stop flight on United ... for a very reasonable number of miles.

True, flying out on the 16th means having to stay overnight in Miami on the 15th. But we knew that we could do so for less than the cost of the airfare we'd have to shell out to fly out on disembarkation day. So, we now have a hotel reservation near the Miami Airport ... booked through United's hotel portal.

Both the airfare and the hotel are fully refundable. If we find a better deal, we can cancel and rebook. In the meantime, it's nice to have these logistics checked off the to-do list.Read more