Semi-live 48 day adventure: Prima, Getaway, Dawn, and beyond

[schmoopie17]

6 minutes ago, Travelicious said:

Today we walked to the Abba museum 
 

Wait...there's an ABBA museum??

Mama Mia...

 

Edited June 6 by schmoopie17

[Travelicious]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mommapadraig]

Safe travels. I’ve enjoyed touring with you. Thanks for taking us along.

[luvcruzing]

Thank you for the Live.  It was fun following along.

[Travelicious]

Only one more flight and then an hour drive home!  We are currently at CLT awaiting the last leg, which is still over 3 hours away.  Yesterday was somewhat of a mess.  The flights from Stockholm to London, and London to Pittsburgh were on British Airways, which is always kind of chaotic getting onboard.  These flights were no exception.

 

We opted for the Uber over the Arlanda Express.  For one thing, it turned out to be cheaper - about $40, compared to $30-something each for the train.  Only problem was it took a while for Uber to find a driver that actually showed up.  When I looked for the destination, it said 2 minutes away.  Of course, as soon as I ordered it, the app said it was looking to connect with a driver.  After about 5 minutes, it finally gave me the make and license number, and said 7 minutes away.  Then it just started looking again for another driver.  Finally found another one, about 10 minutes away.  Meanwhile, a taxi pulled up and offered to take us for 200 Euros.  I said, "No thanks."  Another pulled up and offered 750 SEK (roughly $75).  I told him I already had Uber on the way.  He then said 650 SEK.  I told him Uber was supposed to be 2 minutes away.  He said, "He's not coming.  I guarantee he is not coming because it is so cheap."  A few minutes later, the Uber arrived.

 

There was very little traffic, and we arrived at the airport in plenty of time.  We found the check-in location, which had a long line, and no one apparently working the economy part.  Luckily, we were in business class, so had a much shorter wait.

 

Of course, my emergency passport won't scan, so the check-in lady had to get help to enter it manually.  This was the first of about 7 times we had to show passports.  To get to our gate in Stockholm, we had to again show passports to a customs agent, and he questioned me a good bit, demanding to see tickets showing our first arrival in Europe.  Luckily, I had my cruise info saved on my phone, and was able to pull that up for him.  Finally satisfied, he allowed us through.  When it came to boarding, we walked through the gate, down some stairs, up some stairs, etc.  It was a pain to get on.

 

In London, again my passport would not scan when we got through customs.  Finally the officer just waved me through.  Again, boarding was chaotic.  There was no announcement of a gate until about 40 minutes before the flight, and once it posted it said, "Boarding now."  That set off a mad dash, along with all other passengers on our flight, to get on a train to another area of the terminal.  Once there and having scanned our passed and showed passports again, we took an escalator down, stairs up, stairs down, got on a bus, then had to take stairs up to the plane itself.  They just don't make it easy at LHR.

 

The flights themselves were fine.  BA has greatly improved their food offerings, though I took no photos.  I read on the first flight, and on the second, approximately 8 hour flight, I watched Killers of the Flower Moon, the South Park movie about post-covid (2 parts, one hour each), and episode 1 of Abbott Elementary.  I slept maybe for an hour, hoping I would sleep well last night.

 

We arrived at Pittsburgh around 8:30.  Luckily, we have Global Entry, which now just uses facial recognition, so I didn't have to deal with my passport issues.  We stayed at the Hyatt hotel connected to the airport.  By the time we got there and I got in bed, it was close to 10:00.  I had a hard time getting to sleep, then when I woke up a bit after 1:00 I did not go back to sleep.  The alarm was set for 3:00, but I was up and in the shower about a quarter till, as our flight was at 5:07 a.m.

 

We had to take a few escalators along the way, but no stairs to board the plane.  It was a quick one hour flight, and we are now in the Centurion Lounge, hoping the time passes quickly.

 

I heard from one of the friends helping out with the house and pool, and she said the house and pool are clean for our arrival today.  Can't wait to get there!

[Mommapadraig]

Welcome home!Thanks for taking us along.

[princess76021]

Thanks for taking us on your. Vacation!!

I had a wonderful time!!

Hugs from Texas

[McFins]

Thanks for a great report.   It was fun following along! 

[AKR2011]

Thank you for taking us along on this epic journey!  I look forward to reading your overall final thoughts and ship comparisons. Safe travels home tomorrow ❤️⚓️

[GALSews]

Thanks for letting us follow you on your oddessy.

 

[Seas2mountains]

Welcome back! Thank you for the time you spent to take us with you and share your experiences on the three ships. I look forward to reading any final remarks. The "adventures" with your need to get an emergency passport were unforgettable and I am sure that will always be something you will remember. I am so glad it worked out! 

[Travelicious]

Ah, falling asleep and waking up in my own bed = Heaven!  The final flight was uneventful, and soon enough we were back at LIT.  I shuttled to the nearby hotel to pick up the car, and returned to pick up Pookie and the checked luggage.  We stopped at the dollar store for a few staples, as I probably won't go to the grocery store until at least Monday.  Then home, sweet home.

 

There is much to be done here.  The yard definitely needs mowing, huge weeds are growing in places they ordinarily do not, and the pool is murky.  So, no swimming on this 93 degree, humid day.  I believe there is an algae infestation (not super green, but with a greenish tint), so I went ahead and treated for that yesterday.  It is already more clear this morning, but I believe it will be back to normal by tomorrow.  After running the pump 24 hours, I'll get it vacuumed, backwashed, and add another round of "opening" chemicals.  It will be fine.  

 

In retrospect, we should have just left it closed while we were gone.  I know the people who served as caretakers tried, but just didn't know what to do.  At least it wasn't as bad as a dream I had while still on the trip, which included the pool being filled with baby sharks that bit me when I inexplicably decided to get in anyway.

 

Anyway, no more long trips during pool season.  Our next big one is planned for March - May, 2026.  We'll open the pool when we get home.

 

Back to the trip and final thoughts.  Is it possible to be tired of cruising?  Yes.  Yes it is.  Maybe not the cruising so much as dealing with all of those people, and being a bit home sick.  Anyway, we both feel like we aren't in any real hurry to get on another ship.  We do have the FCC from price drops on these three cruises that we'll either need to use within the next year or lose.  I'm sure we will use them, probably in January or February.  And, of course, we do have the long one planned on Princess (1st time) for 2026.  This is a 54 or 56 day cruise, round trip from LA, to a bunch of the south pacific islands, Australia, New Zealand, etc.  

 

Being retired now, we'll probably start trying to do road trips here and there.  As a veteran, Pookie has lifetime free entry to national parks, and I'll be able to get mine for $80 when I turn 62.  So that is something we'll want to do.  There is much to explore in the good ol' US of A!  But most of the time, we'll be at home in the middle of nowhere, next door to chicken houses.

Edited June 9 by Travelicious

[www3traveler]

Welcome Home

 

Have you been to the Pacific Northwest on your adventures?

Edited June 9 by www3traveler
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[cruiseny4life]

On 6/9/2024 at 7:52 AM, Travelicious said:

There is much to explore in the good ol' US of A!  But most of the time, we'll be at home in the middle of nowhere, next door to chicken houses.

This sounds sublime. I think half the reason I travel is to realize how wonderful my home is. Also, in the middle of nowhere, but Central New York. 

 

Thanks for all the travel updates and I'm glad to hear you're relaxing, comfortably at home. Hopefully the grocery store treats you well today. I can't even imagine the bill at the end of the trip if I were away for nearly two months!!!

[Travelicious]

On 6/9/2024 at 8:21 AM, www3traveler said:

Welcome Home

 

Have you been to the Pacific Northwest on your adventures?

Yes, we’ve been to Washington and Oregon a few times to visit family and for an Alaskan cruise.  I’m sure there is much more to see there than we have.

[Travelicious]

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

This sounds sublime. I think half the reason I travel is to realize how wonderful my home is. Also, in the middle of nowhere, but Central New York. 

 

Thanks for all the travel updates and I'm glad to hear you're relaxing, comfortably at home. Hopefully the grocery store treats you well today. I can't even imagine the bill at the end of the trip if I were away for nearly two months!!!

The bills shouldn’t be too bad from traveling.  The cruises were prepaid, and most of the hotel stays were paid with points.  
 

But my washing machine won’t drain (scheduled for repair tomorrow, if they show up; trying to nurse this 23 year old machine because I know the new ones aren’t as good), the air conditioner stopped cooling yesterday (luckily, it is much cooler out today; also scheduled for repair tomorrow), the ice maker in my refrigerator doesn’t work and can’t be fixed, so I’ll probably look at getting a new one soon, and the ceiling fan in my bedroom started wobbling like a mofo yesterday.  On the upside, the pool is back to clear and sparkling.  

[Travelicious]

Now that we've been home for a week, most of the issues have been resolved:  pool is clean and sparkling, washing machine is fixed, a/c is properly functioning, and my ceiling fan has been replaced.  Pookie came home with strep throat, and has been taking antibiotics since last Sunday.  She is better, but still has a lot of fluid in her ears and is feeling run down.  Hopefully that will all be resolved in the next few days.

 

There were so many great things about this adventure, with a few hiccups along the way.  I feel so lucky to be able to take an extensive trip like this.  Because it was so long, though, the days and ports kind of run together in my memory.  That makes me especially glad that I wrote this trip report.   Whether or not I publish another here for future trips, I do need to at least keep a journal to preserve the memories.

 

Thanks to all for following along.  I wish you all happy and safe travels!

[schmoopie17]

On 6/10/2024 at 11:37 AM, Travelicious said:

the ceiling fan in my bedroom started wobbling like a mofo yesterday.  

Just out of curiosity, how does a mofo shake?

[Travelicious]

1 hour ago, schmoopie17 said:

Just out of curiosity, how does a mofo shake?

Don’t know about shaking, but they wobble like crazy! 🤪