TC1

The best one-word summary for our first transatlantic cruise (TC1) is “disaster.” Of the 16 ports on the itinerary, I saw 4 and Jett saw 2. I saw none of the ports that were the real attractions of the trip: Livorno (Florence), Civitavecchia (Rome), Naples, Dubrovnik and Venice. And while the transatlantic portion was mostly … Continue reading »

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. 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 … Continue reading »

Day 20 (Sunday) was a waiting game – waiting for the extraction trip to begin. Jett was feeling a bit better, so she went down to the hotel bar for coffee and to write letters while I blogged. Then I joined her and we strolled down the street (a nice, sunny day, about 70 degrees). … Continue reading »

On the morning of Day 18 (Friday) I learned, via a phone call, that the plan for our extraction, in the company of a nurse companion, involved a 3-hour ride by car to Valencia, a 3-hour flight to Frankfurt and a 9-hour flight to Miami. This thrilled me not at all. I believe the term … Continue reading »

Jett passed her blood test and was released from the hospital. But it wasn’t as easy as it sounds. It was a day of telephone calls, text messages and trips to the reception desk. There was a problem getting the insurance paperwork sent to the hospital, due to a miscommunication of the email address. Ultimately, … Continue reading »

Jett remained in the hospital on Day 16 (Wednesday). I survived a night on the hospital room sofa (more like a weight bench with very little padding). While she received 2 more units of blood, I went exploring, more to get information on ways to get out of the city than to sightsee. But I … Continue reading »

It didn’t take long, once we were off the ship and in the hospital, to figure out that our cruise was over. The doctor said that Jett would be admitted for a minimum of 3 days of treatment and possibly more. That meant that the earliest we could reboard the ship would be in Monte … Continue reading »

Malaga. This is a beautiful little port city with some great ancient fortifications and very interesting downtown and port areas. But it will always be associated in my mind with illness and loss because the day that started so well ended in disappointment in the infirmary. Jett’s illness was unabated in the morning and we … Continue reading »

I am told that Columbus embarked on his trip to the New World from Huelva, Spain, the port city for nearby Seville. I hope he had better weather than we did – cloudy and cool, with a little drizzle. The gloomy weather was compounded by Jett’s continuing illness, which is now less fever and more … Continue reading »