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***LIVE*** From the Epic Transactlantic

SuiteCruiser

By SuiteCruiser,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

Posted
Posted

Off to a roaring start Trans-Atlantic!!

 

Day-2:

 

Hello everybody :) I'm hoping to do a day by day live report from the Epic as we bring her from Barcelona to Miami.

 

We sail on Sunday at 5:00 PM, so today is officially Day -2, as I arrive at the airport and prepare for my flight.

 

I am mid forties, very happily married with twin 14 year old boys. I run my own business, and have done so for 25 years. My husband just dropped me off at the airport after returning from the store with candies for the trip. He likes to have a few candies at night, and occasionally I would steal some, but I would never buy myself any. I now have bags of them, and I think it's the sweetest thing ever (no pun intended) for him to think of doing something so nice, when he's already being awesome in encouraging me to go and do this trip. He's definitely a keeper.

 

He suggested that I take a photo of he, who is 6'9 and our 6'4 and 6'2 kids to show anyone who may take a fancy to me (not gonna happen!). He thought it might be a good idea to include an object in the photo as a reference to the size of them all, and thought a baseball bat would fit the bill :).

 

Enough about me and my peeps and onto the trip :) I am currently sitting in the Maple Leaf Lounge, at the Ottawa International Airport. I got some chips and salsa and a glass of Pinot Grigio and figured it safer to start writing than thinking about the fact that I'm heading off alone, as I'm already missing my husband and the kids.

 

This year has been a whirlwind of travel from 6 cruises, London for the Olympics, a land trip to Tuscany and sailing through the Virgin Islands for 7 days on a 42 foot catamaran. I'm not sure why my travel went crazy this year, but it could be because I was very sick for a long time and finally am WELL, and I'm living it up :)

 

This time, I'm stepping out of my comfort zone, and traveling for 15 days by myself. Leaving the husband, the kids, the family, the best friends, everyone behind for a solo adventure in a studio cabin.

 

The planning for this adventure has been incredibly fun. We have a great roll call with really active and fun people. My awesome dream cruise has been essentially free, outside of taxes and port charges, thanks to my friends at Casinos at Sea, Starwood and Aeroplan :). I am flying executive class :), on points, I'm staying at the W on points and sailing as a guest of CAS.

 

I had initially booked the cruise on my own and paid in full. I had two other booked cruises through CAS, so couldn't book this one through them as two pending cruises was my limit with them. One day, I received a letter from Casinos at Sea offering me a complimentary cruise on certain sailings. One of those sailings was this transatlantic, so I called them and they refunded me the bulk of my payment, kept me in the same cabin and made me a very happy girl. They initially offered a bigger cabin, but I've been gearing up and am excited to try out the studios, so I declined. I have sailed several times on their dime and on the first few trips came home with wads of cash, enough to supplement my next trip and then that luck ran out and I've made a few recent donations. I plan on turning things around again this time, so wish me luck!

 

I hope to share my thoughts and experiences along the way, including the flight and the hotel. I'm not wealthy by any stretch, so the executive international flight and the upscale hotel are new enough experiences that I want to share them with someone. It's now 6:55and my flight boards in 15 minutes!

 

See you in Barcelona!

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Cruisin&Relaxin

Cruisin&Relaxin

Posted
Posted
Day-2:

 

Hello everybody :) I'm hoping to do a day by day live report from the Epic as we bring her from Barcelona to Miami.

 

We sail on Sunday at 5:00 PM, so today is officially Day -2, as I arrive at the airport and prepare for my flight.

 

I am mid forties, very happily married with twin 14 year old boys. I run my own business, and have done so for 25 years. My husband just dropped me off at the airport after returning from the store with candies for the trip. He likes to have a few candies at night, and occasionally I would steal some, but I would never buy myself any. I now have bags of them, and I think it's the sweetest thing ever (no pun intended) for him to think of doing something so nice, when he's already being awesome in encouraging me to go and do this trip. He's definitely a keeper.

 

He suggested that I take a photo of he, who is 6'9 and our 6'4 and 6'2 kids to show anyone who may take a fancy to me (not gonna happen!). He thought it might be a good idea to include an object in the photo as a reference to the size of them all, and thought a baseball bat would fit the bill :).

 

Enough about me and my peeps and onto the trip :) I am currently sitting in the Maple Leaf Lounge, at the Ottawa International Airport. I got some chips and salsa and a glass of Pinot Grigio and figured it safer to start writing than thinking about the fact that I'm heading off alone, as I'm already missing my husband and the kids.

 

This year has been a whirlwind of travel from 6 cruises, London for the Olympics, a land trip to Tuscany and sailing through the Virgin Islands for 7 days on a 42 foot catamaran. I'm not sure why my travel went crazy this year, but it could be because I was very sick for a long time and finally am WELL, and I'm living it up :)

 

This time, I'm stepping out of my comfort zone, and traveling for 15 days by myself. Leaving the husband, the kids, the family, the best friends, everyone behind for a solo adventure in a studio cabin.

 

The planning for this adventure has been incredibly fun. We have a great roll call with really active and fun people. My awesome dream cruise has been essentially free, outside of taxes and port charges, thanks to my friends at Casinos at Sea, Starwood and Aeroplan :). I am flying executive class :), on points, I'm staying at the W on points and sailing as a guest of CAS.

 

I had initially booked the cruise on my own and paid in full. I had two other booked cruises through CAS, so couldn't book this one through them as two pending cruises was my limit with them. One day, I received a letter from Casinos at Sea offering me a complimentary cruise on certain sailings. One of those sailings was this transatlantic, so I called them and they refunded me the bulk of my payment, kept me in the same cabin and made me a very happy girl. They initially offered a bigger cabin, but I've been gearing up and am excited to try out the studios, so I declined. I have sailed several times on their dime and on the first few trips came home with wads of cash, enough to supplement my next trip and then that luck ran out and I've made a few recent donations. I plan on turning things around again this time, so wish me luck!

 

I hope to share my thoughts and experiences along the way, including the flight and the hotel. I'm not wealthy by any stretch, so the executive international flight and the upscale hotel are new enough experiences that I want to share them with someone. It's now 6:55and my flight boards in 15 minutes!

 

See you in Barcelona!

 

Looking forward to hearing about all your experience. My wife and I are on the same cruise next year.

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SMSACE6

SMSACE6

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Thanks for sharing your experience. I will be following along your travels. I have not been able to cruise since 2010, but I finally took the plunge and booked a solo suite on Epic for late next year. So I will be interested in hearing your thoughts on the ship, as well as the room. Have a great flight! and especially a great cruise!:)

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mali06

mali06

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You go girl! Aren't those pods the best? Got to go first class twice to Beijing in the last year (once just for Christmas shopping with my sister-in-law and once taking hubby along too for sightseeing). I am having a similar life experience since breast cancer and chemo . . . we are living it up with as much travel as possible! I am not happy unless I have at least three trips coming up! Did you love the Olympics? We took our 3 sons ( one 6'5" and two 6"4" LOL) to the Olympics when they were in Atlanta and it was amazing! Can't wait to go again but want to try the Winter Games this time. As much as I adore my husband, and as much as we travel together, I love traveling alone once in a while. So steep yourself in the experience and enjoy!

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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Day-1

 

We're about 45 minutes from Frankfurt. *The sun is up and my watch still says 2:30. I lay down for a bit, but never really slept. It seemed every time I started to doze off, we would hit turbulence. *We've hit a few nasty pockets but bounced most of the way.

 

Dinner was very good, choice of Steak, Cornish Game Hen, Cod or Ravioli. I opted for the ravioli. Starter salad with balsamic vinaigrette was really nice.

 

I'm trying to psych myself up for clearing customs and changing planes in a short time. We're due to land about a half hour late and I only had an hour layover, so feeling a smidge stressed to say the least!

 

Breakfast was served about 30 minutes ago, and it's sitting like a lump in my stomach, and now we're bouncing down to Frankfurt, not really all that pleasant!

 

Hopefully I will be checking in from my Barcelona flight shortly :)

 

.........

 

Well who'd a thunk my adventure would turn into a game of fortunately/unfortunately?

 

We're late, 45 minutes late, in fact. I ask the flight attendant about customs and if it's quick because I now have a very tight connection. She tells me that we are parking off terminal and need to take a bus in. Fortunately, the buses are there quickly and we're off to the terminal. Unfortunately we get stuck waiting for other buses. Fortunately when we exit, there are wide open customs booths, so I just walk right up. Unfortunately I need to clear security again. Fortunately I'm flying business so get in the short line. Unfortunately the guy working the line insists on people lining everything up in their bins, cells and iPads all need to come out. Fortunately the elevator to the terminal I need is close by. Unfortunately there's now an insanely long walkway under the Tarmac. Fortunately my gate is close to the terminal entrance. Unfortunately I'm almost an hour past boarding and my plane is long gone. Fortunately they got me on another flight. Unfortunately I need to wait around for two hours. Fortunately I can use the lounge and it has free wifi :)

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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OH was curious as to how you will be getting internet on the ship. Do they have wifi?

 

I will be buying a package of minutes on the ships wifi. It's pricey, but I plan on only logging in to download/upload and then sign off. It's painfully slow as well, but hopefully I can make it work :)

 

Thanks so much for everyone's comments, it's great to share the journey :)

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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You go girl! Aren't those pods the best? Got to go first class twice to Beijing in the last year (once just for Christmas shopping with my sister-in-law and once taking hubby along too for sightseeing). I am having a similar life experience since breast cancer and chemo . . . we are living it up with as much travel as possible! I am not happy unless I have at least three trips coming up! Did you love the Olympics? We took our 3 sons ( one 6'5" and two 6"4" LOL) to the Olympics when they were in Atlanta and it was amazing! Can't wait to go again but want to try the Winter Games this time. As much as I adore my husband, and as much as we travel together, I love traveling alone once in a while. So steep yourself in the experience and enjoy!

 

That's so cool, loads of similarities! Hope you're well clear of the cancer now, and I'm glad to hear you're living it up too :)

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Single Cruiser

Single Cruiser

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Day-1

 

We're about 45 minutes from Frankfurt. *The sun is up and my watch still says 2:30. I lay down for a bit, but never really slept. It seemed every time I started to doze off, we would hit turbulence. *We've hit a few nasty pockets but bounced most of the way.

 

Dinner was very good, choice of Steak, Cornish Game Hen, Cod or Ravioli. I opted for the ravioli. Starter salad with balsamic vinaigrette was really nice.

 

I'm trying to psych myself up for clearing customs and changing planes in a short time. We're due to land about a half hour late and I only had an hour layover, so feeling a smidge stressed to say the least!

 

Breakfast was served about 30 minutes ago, and it's sitting like a lump in my stomach, and now we're bouncing down to Frankfurt, not really all that pleasant!

 

Hopefully I will be checking in from my Barcelona flight shortly :)

 

.........

 

Well who'd a thunk my adventure would turn into a game of fortunately/unfortunately?

 

We're late, 45 minutes late, in fact. I ask the flight attendant about customs and if it's quick because I now have a very tight connection. She tells me that we are parking off terminal and need to take a bus in. Fortunately, the buses are there quickly and we're off to the terminal. Unfortunately we get stuck waiting for other buses. Fortunately when we exit, there are wide open customs booths, so I just walk right up. Unfortunately I need to clear security again. Fortunately I'm flying business so get in the short line. Unfortunately the guy working the line insists on people lining everything up in their bins, cells and iPads all need to come out. Fortunately the elevator to the terminal I need is close by. Unfortunately there's now an insanely long walkway under the Tarmac. Fortunately my gate is close to the terminal entrance. Unfortunately I'm almost an hour past boarding and my plane is long gone. Fortunately they got me on another flight. Unfortunately I need to wait around for two hours. Fortunately I can use the lounge and it has free wifi :)

 

 

Reminds me of when I connected in Amsterdam, same sort of issues. I try and fly direct now, at least outbound.. Just packing my case and I'll also be blogging live from onboard :D but alas from steerage class .. :eek:

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SuiteCruiser

SuiteCruiser

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Reminds me of when I connected in Amsterdam, same sort of issues. I try and fly direct now, at least outbound.. Just packing my case and I'll also be blogging live from onboard :D but alas from steerage class .. :eek:

 

See you tomorrow Craig! I will be steerage on the ship and I wish we had direct flights, but they aren't offered from our airport :( Almost time for you to start packing!

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meltingmoments

meltingmoments

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Oh my, I am SO looking forward to reading this blog! :)

You sound like an amazing lady and I wish you the happiest of times onboard the Epic! Happy cruising!

 

Reminds me of when I connected in Amsterdam, same sort of issues. I try and fly direct now, at least outbound.. Just packing my case and I'll also be blogging live from onboard :D but alas from steerage class .. :eek:

 

Yay, Craig.......your next adventure is about to begin! Happy and safe travels! :)

Will be checking in daily from now on to read about these adventures! ;)

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DGP1111

DGP1111

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For you, I hope the sailing seems like a very-long-duration cruise vacation with lots of enjoyment throughout. :)

 

For me, I hope your cruise goes by really really quickly, as I'm on that first sailing when you get back to the US. :D

 

Big BON VOYAGE wishes to you all!! :)

 

.

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mali06

mali06

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SuiteCruiser: I am three years done with chemo but had a lot of complications from the chemo for the next year (1 1/2 years of chemo) so only really count myself "free" for two years! But everyday is a celebration around here!

 

Too bad you couldn't get out and see a bit of Frankfurt. I was "made" there (my Mom was a war bride and my Dad was in the battle of the Freuleins :D) and I have a lot of family around there. It is a beautiful city!

 

I am glad to see that you are making lemonade out of lemons! The most important part is not missing the ship! Right? :) Can't wait to read more! Have a blast!

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Proud Dance Mom

Proud Dance Mom

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SuiteCruiser, I hope you have a great cruise. I anxiously await each of your posts, as your cruise progresses it means mine gets that much closer. As you bid a fond farewell to her in Miami I will boarding her for a glorious week in the sun. Enjoy each and every moment of your vacation.

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NJLVW

NJLVW

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Thank you for taking the time to share. I am so looking forward to reading your daily life onboard the Epic. I too am glad she's heading to Miami. That means we'll be getting onboard soon as well. YAY! Enjoy your trip.

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