Well, we just got back from my very first cruise, and it was
everything I had hoped it would be and more.
But first we had to get there.
I don’t fly often.
First of all, it is more expensive than other forms of transportation and
it has just become such a hassle. The
enhanced security checks….the strict rule about liquids that you can transport….the
checked luggage charges….the flight delays….the fact that they can’t even spare
a small bag of peanuts for you anymore on the flight…. And I KNOW it seems
minor, but I absolutely hate taking my shoes off to get through security.
However, the ship was leaving from Miami, so we had to fly. We weren’t able to fly down a day early, so
we arrived at the airport at about 5:15 a.m. in plenty of time for our 7:30
a.m. flight. There were no direct flights,
so we would be changing planes in Philadelphia.
We were scheduled to arrive in Miami a little after 1 p.m. in plenty of
time to get to the ship, which was scheduled to sail at 4 p.m.
We were sitting in the plane on the runway when we were
notified that because of a thunderstorm in Philadelphia, we were now
anticipating a 45-minute delay. We did
some quick figuring. Yep. This would mean that we would miss our
connecting flight in Philly, if it were on time. My husband called the airline who said that
they had a flight going to Charlotte about 15 minutes later than our scheduled
flight, and then we could take a flight from there to Miami. It would get us into Miami at 3:15 p.m.
There was a very real possibility that we might miss the
ship for our long-awaited and highly-anticipated cruise. My husband called the cruise line. They would have someone waiting for us at the
gate, whenever we arrived. If we missed
the ship, we could catch up with them the next day in Key West, with close to
$1000 of extra expense, including $600 in U.S. government fines, the hotel room
and the rental car.
When we arrived in Philly, there was an outside chance we
might make the original connecting flight.
We ran for the next gate – which was two terminals away. I should mention here that I can’t run. I can walk briskly for miles, but can’t run
for more than a block without becoming very winded– and I have been this way
since I was a kid. We made it to the
gate with 10 minutes to spare. But the
runway was “locked” and they wouldn’t let us on the plane.
We had about 15 minutes before the flight to Charlotte – our
last chance to make it to Miami on time- boarded. It was several gates away
at the opposite end of the terminal. My
husband took off ahead of me and I “ran” as fast as I could. We made the flight, but I was not doing well
when we got there. I felt like what I
imagined people who had just run a marathon feel like. I couldn’t catch my breath, my chest felt
heavy, and I couldn’t stop coughing, or weeping from the pain. It took me several minutes to recover.
Luckily, there was an angel disguised as a flight attendant
on that flight. She asked another
passenger to change seats so that my husband and I could sit together, saying
that I needed to be able to be comforted by him. She arranged for us to “gate check” our
carry-on luggage as the plane was full but she knew that we could not wait for
our luggage at the next gate. She gave
us sympathy and encouraging pep talks, and said how someday this would just be
an interesting story to tell from the trip.
We arrived in Miami a little after 3 p.m. and were greeted
by a rep from the cruise line. Once in
the competent and steady hands of cruise ship personnel we were fine. Our very happy Jamaican bus driver told us
that this happened “all the time.” Then he laughed, which is how he punctuated every sentence. We
boarded the ship at about 3:45 p.m.
So, in the end, we made the cruise, but it reminded us of
everything we hate about flying. We
realized that we would rather spend a day driving than flying. We always have a great time when we
drive. We take turns behind the
wheel. We talk and sing. The seats in the Caravan are roomy,
comfortable and adjustable. We stop whenever we want for food and rest rooms. We have some
level of control over our trip.
We are already thinking about our next cruise, and only one
thing is certain. The departure port
will be within driving distance of our house.
