Pre-cruise craziness! Some of it's a good kind of crazy. Had asked my travel agent to see if she could get me approved to go on the tour of the Infinity which will be in Ft. Lauderdale with us and has just been Solsticized. For the non diehard Celebrity cruisers among you, this means they have added some of the features of the Solstice class of ships to this ship, which is a Millennium class ship like the Constellation that I'm cruising on.
Now normally I wouldn't be in Florida to get to take advantage of such a tour, so this seemed like a good coincidence that I should take advantage of. Then a few wrinkles crept in. The Connie is just returning from Europe and has announced delayed boarding because of customs inspections and various other issues. The Infinity is suffering from the same problem. Although they're both at the same port, they are a bit far apart.
The original plan (without seeing Celebrity's written plan for the tour) was to check in at the pier, divest myself of my carryon, and go to the Infinity. Host Andy of Cruise Critic was planning to do the same. The delayed boarding tossed that plan out. Time for Plan B. Except there wasn't a Plan B.
Published the dilemma on Cruise Critic and all sorts of alternative plans popped up—offers of a ride to the port, people to deal with my luggage, an invitation to lunch, etc. Cruise Critic members are a wonderfully helpful bunch! No wonder cruising is so much fun.
In the meantime, the written invitation finally arrived. Celebrity is talking boading of the Infinity between 12 and 1, a luncheon, a presentation, and FINALLY the tour. They mention getting off the ship between 3:30 and 4 with potential delays. Oops! I need to be on board the Connie an hour and a half before sailaway (at 4:30) or the Feds freak out and can deny me boarding and you know we don't want that.
So I sent a note to the helpful Celebrity rep who set it all up, told her I appreciated her efforts, but I'd either have to tour the ship on my own or I wouldn't be able to go. I suspect they won't want that, as embarcation days are crazy already without the added problem of extra people wandering around the ship.
Anyway, the whole experience has me feeling great about my fellow cruisers and I know we'll have a wonderful time together!
Now, I must repeat my mantra for the day: Step away from the computer and PACK! I leave early in the morning for Ft. Lauderdale, so I have to get the packing done today. Where's my butler when I need him? I do love traveling; packing, not so much.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Off to the airport early. I had originally booked a flight that left at a civilized hour but Delta changed it to 9:25 a.m.
No problems with the flight, arrived in sunny Ft. Lauderdale on schedule. Waited forever for the Marriott shuttle. Had to call them 3 times.
Got to the hotel and met up with other cruising buddies. We sat by the pool and chatted for a while and then went to The Field for dinner. It's an Irish pub fairly close to the hotel. Food and service were good and we had a great time.
Came back to the hotel, checked e-mail, and crashed. None of us got much sleep last night.
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