Holiday travel is oh so fun! We were asked by the airline before we even checked in if our plans were flexible and if we could change our first flight. That was a big no since we had a connecting flight and a cruise ship to get to. There were many people on standby, not all got seats. The first plane was late arriving, so we left late and arrived late.
Connecting flight was on time, with lots of families, including some with screaming babies. Although it’s difficult for us as fellow passengers, to try to sleep through the babies, imagine what it’s like for the parents. I just turned up the movie and did my best to at least dose. American did not have TVs on the flight. There is now a drop-down tray for your phone – you connect to the WiFi and browse the entertainment and watch on your phone. Because of this, they have put a USB charger next to it. This flight was additionally eventful as we had a medical emergency – in the row in front of me. The fast acting flight attendants jumped into action and fortunately we had a couple of RNs onboard who stepped in to assist. The person was stabilized and they had an ambulance waiting to check them out when we landed. I wished the family well as they debarked and kept them in my thoughts.
Once off the plane, we grabbed our bags and headed out for a cab then it was off to the cruise port. Once there, we had to wait outside as it was about 8:30-9:00 in the morning. The ship had arrived an hour or two late, so they didn’t even want new passengers inside the terminal until they had debarked the current passengers. Around 11:00am we were let inside. We happened to be in the front of one of the lines so we got up to the first check-in counter in a flash. Then it was through security and to the health check. We got through all of this part in a matter of about 5ish minutes. We were then escorted to the Platinum/Elite lounge to wait the remainder of the time for boarding.
In the Platinum/Elite lounge, we were the first there, followed by only a half dozen people. There was coffee, tea, and pastries to enjoy while waited. After about 30 minutes, an officer came to walk us up to the boarding gangway. Husband and I were the very first to board. It was, as always, very exciting to be back onboard a ship!
We were a few minutes early for lunch in the dining room so we walked around the Piazza area for a few minutes then had lunch. Just before 1:00 PM, an announcement came on that cabins were now ready.
After lunch we dropped my backpack in the cabin, met our steward, played our safety video, went and checked in at our muster station and headed back to the cabin for a nap! As we were in the cabin, our steward knocked and he had our suitcases already so we were able to unpack before throwing on a movie and catching up on some missed sleep. ZZzzzz
Port Side Travel By Jill 