Day 21 (Monday) – the day of our extraction from our forced exile in Cartagena, Spain.
Nothing against you, Cartagena, but it felt good to leave you behind.
Tish checking us in at Valencia
The extraction began with a 3-hour auto trip to the airport in Valencia. The van and the driver were arranged by Tish, our travel nurse/angel. They arrived at our hotel right on time at 1 am. I thought the trip would be quiet and I would nap, but I underestimated the loquaciousness of Tish and Jett. And, yes, I joined in from time to time. So the trip went very quickly.
Tish handled all the check-in details and checked our 4 bags through to Miami. She tried – and failed – to get an upgrade for me, but I credit her with the attempt. So I sat in economy while they sat in business. The fact that Jett was in a wheelchair got us priority boarding. I was in a row with just 2 seats and no one sat in the other seat, so I had plenty of space for the nearly 3-hour trip to Frankfurt.
Jett had to walk down 16 steps when we arrived at Frankfurt and despite being assisted into the little bus that they had waiting for us (and only us), she nearly fell. Close call.
The bus dropped us off at a special needs office which turned out to be at the wrong end of this huge airport. When we got a wheelchair and pusher we had only an hour to boarding. Still, we thought we would have plenty of time to get to the VIP lounge for their legendary fresh German pretzels. But we didn’t count on the customs snafu.
FYI: Make sure your passport get stamped when you enter an EU country. We entered, unexpectedly, when we departed the ship at Cartagena. The customs guy there – in an office the size of a telephone booth – was more concerned about getting rid of my excess cigarettes than in stamping our passports. Result: when we got to Frankfurt and went through customs there on our way out of the EU there was no stamp. Which immediately got us the attention of the police. They asked us, over and over again, why there was no stamp. And I said, over and over again, because the customs guy in Cartagena didn’t give us one. The police mulled this for a while, as the clock ticked down to our departure. Finally they gave us our passports and let us through, saying “You were never in Europe.” Like if anyone stopped us before getting on the plane we could just say “we aren’t really here.” But I count it as a victory as they could have easily kept us until they got some kind of confirmation from Cartagena that we were telling the truth. Which would have cost us at least another day. So Thank You, Frankfurt polizei!
A320-800
The rest of the trip was very long – 9.5 hours to Miami – but surprisingly pleasant and very interesting. Our plane was an A320-800 and the airline was Lufthansa. Incredible plane – two decks of seating – run by an airline with legendary service. It was a pleasure from start to finish.
Again, I was separated from Tish and Jett, who flew business class. I flew in “premium economy class” which is, of course, an oxymoron. But it was, hands down, the finest “economy” seating that I have ever had. Big seats, free headphones (very comfortable, very fine quality), complimentary blanket, pillow and a video entertainment system unlike any I have ever seen. I had a choice of hundreds of movies, live shows, sports, documentaries… many other categories that I never got to. And video games. All free.
And the food and snacks. Lunch served first, then dinner before we landed. Each with a choice of chicken or vegetarian (Jett had beef in business class). Free wine, soft drinks, mixed drinks, beer – you name it, they had it. Free. Glassware, real silverware, cloth napkin. The food was delicious and very filling. Between meals the attendants came by at least 4 times offering orange juice or water. This is in addition to the free bottle of water that was at the seat when I arrived.
I did not want for anything other than sleep. I really intended to nap, but started watching Star Wars – The Last Jedi (not great, but I feel like I checked a box on my “cultural necessities” list), then started on The Shape of Water. That was more enjoyable, but is admittedly a weird movie. I may have napped briefly then before launching into Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri, which I think was the best of the three. Complex characters, great acting, kept my attention.
Then I played some video games and before I knew it we were landing in Miami. A quick disembarkation, a speedy trip through customs, a ride by van (again, arranged by Tish) to the hotel where the truck was waiting, some quick goodbyes and we were off to Naples.
With a stop at Burger King. Had to get a Whopper.
Two hours later we were at our RV which was waiting quietly for us. It took a few moments to get it all back in operating order (I had detached the water and pulled in the slides), but Jett was soon napping. I was in bed by 9 pm (3 am body time) – 26 hours after leaving Cartagena.
And so our aborted “dream cruise” ended – not with a bang but a very tired whimper. And a Whopper.