Heading Back to Snow
Photo above: killing time, cruising very slowly into Port Everglades. We don't want to be early to the party!
And right on time.
I don't sleep well when I have an alarm set. I wake up every hour or so, checking to see if I slept through the alarm. I finally gave in and turned on my reading lamp to write some more. At 5:45, I got into the shower and dressed, then went to the Lido Market for breakfast at 6:00. Back to the room at 6:30, finishing last minute things and finding hidey holes in our carryons to tuck in PJs and my toothbrush. At 7:45, as expected, our number was announced on the television and we shouldered our carry-on bags and headed out.
Photo: Goodbye, Eurodam and wonderful crew. We'll see you again on June 6, 2025. 🚢
Holland America (and maybe other cruise lines) has a program called "Luggage Direct." For $25 per person (and any applicable airline baggage charges), you leave your check-in bags outside your door before midnight, and the next time you see the bag is at your home airport. All you have to deal with are your carry-on bags. It's like magic. Even the lady on the curb outside the cruiseport directing us to our airport shuttle said, "That's the best decision you ever made."
We exited the shuttle outside Terminal 1 at FLL, walked into the terminal and up two escalators, and right into TSA Precheck. Out of Precheck and to the United Club to wait comfortably for our boarding time. Sweet!
We had been told we would board around 11:25, so a few minutes after 11:00 we headed to the gate. There were several wheelchaired passengers, and a number of small children in strollers, including a family group with three small children and two Chihuahuas! Then we boarded and settled into our first class seats. (Cheering for the Chase United Explorer card and the miles and the lounge passes!) The plane was full, the boarding was progressing slowly, and we were not going to make our scheduled departure time.
Finally everyone was onboard, we had watched the safety video, and we were taxiing. There were 12 planes ahead of us. I noticed a flight attendant racing down the aisle to the back of the cabin, then racing forward again, several times. In a couple of minutes, the pilot came on and said that, unfortunately (don't you hate that word?), a seat belt was not functioning and we'd have to return to the gate for a service person to repair the seatbelt. And just like that, our departure was delayed by an hour.
Finally, we were taxiing and then taking off, and ultimately reaching Cleveland about an hour-and-a-half late. Wait for luggage, call the hotel shuttle, feel thankful for remote starter to begin the heating of our seats, and we were on our way home. After a two week trip, we knew there was nothing in the refrigerator, so we stopped at our usual Sunday night haunt, El Tapatio, and the guys watched the Houston-Cleveland football game while we ate. And then we were home and back to our normal life.
Honestly, that trip home could have been so much worse. We heard from our neighbor that truck drivers of high-profile rigs had been ordered to leave the roads Saturday morning because of the high winds. Many flights had been cancelled. We were very lucky that our flight hadn't been cancelled! And the snow remaining on the ground in Cleveland and on the turnpike was minimal. I did not feel unsafe at any point in my drive home. So yay for that!
Oh, did I mention it was cold?!
Photos: 1) The view I woke up to on Sunday morning. 2) Our forecast for this very long and cold week.
Next Cruise Countdown: 510 Days, 13 hours, and 50 minutes
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