So after we left the Vision of the Seas and our tour of Copenhagen, we found
ourselves betwixt and between our ships.
The tour dropped us off at the airport with all of our luggage. Have I mentioned yet how much I HATE
flying? I don’t just hate it, I loathe
it. I despise it. I’ll do anything (except drive long distances)
to avoid it. And it’s the reason why we
prefer cruising over land trips where you have to pack and relocate every few
days. I envy those who live near the
ports and can jump on a ship any time. Just
to be clear, it’s not actually flying
that I hate, it’s the airlines, airports, and the hassles of getting ON the
flight. Today was reinforcement for my
rule that you should NEVER EVER EVER
fly the same day you are boarding the ship.
Travel glitches could cause you to miss the ship.
Keep in mind, this is a 46-day trip in opposite climates,
which means we have a LOT of luggage. To be exact, we have 2 large 50# bags, 2
carry-on size bags, a big beach bag, and a brief case. So into the airport we go with all this stuff
in tow.
Here’s where the fun began, and yes, Mr. Murphy was at his
legal best for us all day. We found our
way to the baggage drop-off, but got in the wrong line. We figured out where we should have gone and
waited in a pretty long line. Here in Europe they are VERY strict about the weight of ALL bags,
not merely the checked ones. We have a
little scale, so we already had the weights figured out. The 2 large bags, no problem, they were spot
on at just ounces under 50 pounds. But
the small bags were more of an issue, because they only allow 8 kg, which is a
mere 17.6 pounds. My camera gear alone
maxes out 1 of them and I won’t let it out of my sight. We had soooo much stuff that we had no choice
but to cram the other small one full and go over weight with intention of
checking it. We about flipped when we
found out that they charged us $92 for checking that bag!! We definitely won’t let that happen again. Something isn’t coming home with us.
Our 2 small bags are nearly identical, except that one of
them was bursting at the zipper. So
guess what happened. You guessed it –
the ticket clerk mixed them up and sent the one with my camera (and almost no
padding to protect it) down the conveyor while we’re left with the overstuffed
one that will absolutely not fit into the overhead bin. I was almost frantic at the thought of my
poor camera bouncing around in that bag.
The supervisor was called to assist us.
We were escorted to the baggage claim area and told that
they would send all 3 of the checked bags back via the carousel (because we
didn’t know which claim ticket went to which bag) and we’d have to start all
over with checking the bags. Good thing
we had plenty of time! She also said it
would take 15-20 minutes before they would appear. So we waited… and waited… and 45 minutes
later still had no bags. Bruce went to
the lost luggage window to inquire. The
gentleman there was very helpful. He
phoned the baggage area and they located them right away. Up popped the small bag – and my camera
seemed ok. Whew! Then came the big bag with the red
strap. Yea! But the blue-strapped bag didn’t come. Another call downstairs and we found out we
didn’t need to re-check it since we found the small bag we were looking for. But I was very nervous that somehow blue-strap
wouldn’t make it to Barcelona. We moved the bar-coded tag over to the
correct bag and the nice man took us to a special bag drop instead of making us
stand in that long line again. And all
this time I’m getting REALLY hungry, which leads to being grouchy and getting a
headache. We had planned to have lunch
while we waited to depart, now we’re getting a bit tight on time.
Next stop: security.
They do that differently here, too.
Everyone crowds into a roped-off area and pushes and shoves their way
through a funneling process until you’re down to a single-file line. There is no document check and you don’t have
to take your shoes off. Just put all
your stuff through the scanner and that’s it.
We breezed through that.
There were no quick, easy choices for lunch so we ate a
power bar and a small bag of nuts from the beach bag and bought a drink. We got all settled in at the gate and started
eating. Suddenly we realized that this
plane was going to Rome. We were definitely at the gate listed on our
ticket, but we’d rather sail to Rome
in a few days than fly. So, where were
we supposed to be? We found the departure
board and realized they had changed the gate from B3 to A8. Lovely!
After a brisk walk, we got to the gate with only a few minutes to
spare. The boarding process went
smoothly and we were finally on board the right plane for Barcelona.
Can you believe they only use one runway for both arrivals
and departures? That’s a bit
old-fashioned. We had a 20-minute delay
waiting for our turn to take off. But at
last, it was wheels up. Other than some
moderate turbulence, the flight was fine, until Murphy stuck again. The lady sitting next to me was trying to get
the flight attendant’s attention and in the process spilled a glass of ice
water in my lap. I had a wet seat and
pants for the duration, but at least it wasn’t scalding hot coffee. Finally we arrived in beautiful Barcelona – late, famished,
tired, and I had a screaming headache.
To our relief – the blue-strapped bag made it, too.
We took a cab to our hotel.
Here’s a well-kept secret for you.
If you’re a consecutive cruiser (back-to-back), you’re changing ships,
and there’s a short gap between sailings, Royal Caribbean pays for 1 night in a
hotel and transportation to the port.
It’s a VERY nice benefit. They
don’t volunteer this service, you have to request it. They reserved a room for us at the Hotel Diagonal
– a contemporary hotel in a great location.
The metro and city bus both stop right in front and there’s a gigantic
shopping mall across the street with a food court and a huge grocery
store. The bathroom is “continental”
style. The shower has no curtain or
door, so the water just splashes everywhere and one end of it is a glass panel facing
into the room. We were warned about this
when the room was booked, as they won’t allow families with young children to
stay here.
The building next door is a bit unusual – it houses the
water department. Is it a bullet, a
lipstick tube, or something unmentionable (wink, wink)? You decide…
The Serenade of the Seas is larger than Vision, in the
Radiance class, my favorite. She just
went through the refurbishment process last Nov/Dec, so she has all the latest
features. It’s great to have wi-fi in
our cabin! We enjoyed a yummy steak
dinner in Chops Grille. Now if that cold
front would just stop following us around, life would be perfect. The forecast for our next 3 ports is rain and
cool temps. We’re off to Nice and Eze,
then Pisa, and Rome – no flying involved!! Stay tuned…
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