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 smooth and enjoyable, Jett’s low energy levels kept us away from the evening shows. The big on-board activities for us were watching TV (yes, we binge-watched the entire Downton Abbey series again) and, for me, jigsaw puzzling. Fun activities, but not what I had in mind for a transatlantic cruise.

We did meet some interesting people. I have no expectation that they will see this as I neglected to give them any kind of contact information when I left the ship, but I want to thank our dinner tablemates for providing some of the best times we had on board. And the people we met in the smoking area were all interesting in their own ways.

The ports I visited – Funchal, Madeira (with Jett), Lisbon, Malaga and Cartagena (with Jett) – were all very nice. I would say that they all exceeded my expectations, largely because I had none. As I said before, these were not the expected highlights of the trip so I did not research them much. All were clean, colorful and full of beautiful old buildings or ruins. I learned quite a bit about each and wouldn’t mind returning to them all.

One of the positive aspects of Jett’s hospitalization (stay with me folks, I am grasping here) was an extended stay in Cartagena, Spain. I don’t know what I would have done with the planned short day there (the ship left at 1 pm), but it probably would have been just a quick walk up to the castle at the top of the hill near the cruise terminal. Maybe a visit to the Roman Theater. But because we stayed 5 days I was able to see much more. And learn much more. This is a great city for learning about ancient history.

Other positives? The flight home and the surprising benefits of trip insurance. The flight home – described in my previous post – was an unexpected (and much-needed) joy and the trip insurance provided benefits that I had not anticipated, most notably our intrepid travel nurse Tish. Her presence made the last day of the journey so much easier and for that we are grateful.

The negative? Illness. Jett is seriously ill and while the treatment she got in Spain was effective it was not a cure. We will need to do further tests and, hopefully, arrive at a long-term solution. But while departing the cruise when we did was deeply disappointing (Jett shed a lot of tears), it may have saved her life. The doctors both on the ship and in Cartagena could not understand how she could still be standing and functioning with her hemoglobin so low.

If there is a lesson to be learned from all of this (besides to check your hemoglobin level regularly) it is this: buy the best trip insurance available. Two levels – gold and platinum – were offered and the difference in price was not huge – a few hundred dollars. I remember, when choosing between the two, focusing on the relative benefits of cancellation prior to embarking – gold provided about 50% reimbursement and platinum 80%. For a trip as pricey as this one, that difference alone made platinum worthwhile. And, at the time, with Jett not feeling very well, I figured that the real risk was not going at all. I thought that once we embarked we would complete the journey.

Well, our trip was interrupted and I can tell you that from the moment we got off the ship to the time we got safely back home, I thanked my lucky stars many times for choosing the platinum plan. Consider that the medical costs – about $5,000 – were covered in full. The airline fares home – business class for Jett, which were over $11,000 for her ticket alone – were also covered in full. So far the benefits of the travel insurance are probably pushing $20,000 for us and Tish probably added another $20,000 to the costs for the insurance company. I haven’t filed the claim yet for all of the other expenses – hotel, meals, taxis – and the cost of the unused portion of the cruise itself. The total cost to the insurance company may exceed $50,000.

The decision to take the platinum trip insurance proved to be one of my best ever.

As American Express would say… don’t leave home without it.

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.

Music in the plaza on Sunday

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). We made it as far as the Roman theater, which made me feel good because it meant that Jett got to see something that qualifies as a tourist site on this disaster of a trip. We had lunch at a café along the way and dropped in on a Sunday afternoon party with live music in San Francisco Plaza.

Main road of Roman Cartagena

We also visited the remains of the first-century AD Roman roads that marked the center of Cartagena. We took a break at the intersection and tried to imagine what that corner might have looked like in the time of Christ. Quite different, I am sure.

One of the better days of the trip.

We had several messages from Tish in the morning which proved that she was doing her best to improve the itinerary, but, as expected, was not having any success. By noon the opportunity to switch the itinerary disappeared as I had to commit to taking the room for Sunday night.

In the afternoon we sat in the sun at the outside area of the hotel bar and I had a beer. Then we went upstairs to nap. We hoped to get to a local Mexican restaurant for dinner but, being Sunday, most places were closed. So we dined at the bar again then went back to the room to await the arrival of the van that would take us on the 3-hour trip to the airport in Valencia. We tried to sleep but were not successful.

By 12:30 am we were packed, had checked out of the room and were waiting in the lobby.

We were not looking forward to the trip, but it was time to get this disaster of a trip behind us.

Town hall?

Strolling the pedestian mall

Gran Hotel

Ancient crypt under the Punic Wall

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 I used to the travel consultant was “insane.” I tried to convince them that this itinerary would do more to kill Jett than traveling without a nurse. I tried to get an explanation as to why this itinerary was superior to a more direct one via Madrid, in the daytime, which would cut about 2 hours off of the flight times and would cost about $1000 less. Deaf ears.

In subsequent phone calls I learned that the nurse would arrive about 9 pm Saturday.

All of this was done while both Jett and I suffered through a day with severe head colds. We got out of the room (I should say rooms – more on this in a minute) long enough to eat lunch at a nearby cafeteria and dinner at the hotel restaurant but otherwise hunkered down and napped.

Dessert

I said “rooms” because all doubles were booked at the hotel for Friday night, so we had to stay in two single rooms. I was able to get a double again for Saturday and Sunday nights. Yes, we have a room for Sunday even though we will be stealing away at 1 am like thieves in the night.

Punic Wall

By Saturday morning our colds had improved a bit. We switched rooms at noon, then went out for a stroll and had lunch at a sidewalk café near the train station. After lunch we bought a couple of items at the nearby supermarket which was a very interesting place. Strange items (e.g., a package of baby eels that looked like worms – yummy!) and some very surprising prices (e.g., less than 59 cents for a baguette – a loaf of French bread).

After lunch Jett napped and I did some sightseeing, first visiting the Punic Wall, then climbing over 200 steps past the Cartagena Cathedral and up to the Castillo de la Concepción which has a museum and some panoramic views of the city. Finally I descended past the Roman Theater (very cool) and returned to the hotel for a nap.

The cathedral is a recent ruin – it was bombed in 1939 during the Spanish Civil War.

We went to a new café for dinner and Jett tried the tapas – a first (and probably last) for us. One of the tapas plates was sliced ham swimming in olive oil. Ew. For dessert Jett tried “Grandma’s cake” which was so sweet that we understood why Granny had no teeth. My custard was better, but bland.

We got back to the room by 8:30 pm and awaited the arrival of the nurse. She knocked on our door at 9 pm, right on time. Her name was Tish and she checked Jett’s vitals and we chatted a bit about Jett’s condition, what she would be doing for us on the trip back (pretty much everything, as it turned out) and about her nursing experiences in general. We liked her a lot and I am not saying that just because I gave her the blog address (Hi, Tish!).

She agreed that the 1 am pickup for a 7 am flight out of Valencia was insane and promised to try to get it changed. I wasn’t optimistic that she would be any more successful than I had been, but I was glad that she shared my view. If the plan proceeds, the trip Monday is going to be very difficult.

Panoramic view

Peacock at the castle

Ruins of Cartagena Cathedral

Theater from below

Street scene featuring cool streetlights

Ruins above the theater

Beautiful residence

Narrow streets

Roman theater

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, I had the email containing the forms sent to me and I forwarded it to every possible combination of the email address that I could think of. One of them worked.

The paperwork consisted of 8 pages – 5 for the doctor and 3 for me. I filled out my 3 pages and had the reception desk fax them back to the US. The doctor, however, did not get back to the hospital until the afternoon, so I spent the morning planning our escape route: train to Madrid, overnight in Madrid at the hotel at the train station, taxi to the airport, nonstop fight to Miami. Easy. But I couldn’t book anything until the doctor released her.

The doctor appeared around 3 pm and did, in fact, release her. I was not there at the time (I was out shopping), but saw him in the hallway shortly thereafter. He assured me that the paperwork had been sent to the US, that he had received a phone call confirming that everything was fine and that arrangements were being made to drive us to the airport. The first two pieces of news were comforting but the third was disturbing. Why were they telling the doctor about my travel arrangements when no one had spoken to me?

This left me a little suspicious, so I decided to check with the reception desk that the report in fact had been sent. Besides, I needed a copy of the report. When I got to the desk I found the person who spoke the best English on the phone, exasperated, saying “I don’t understand you.” I checked with the supervisor who said that he was talking with the insurance people and that they had a problem with the report because it was incomplete. It turns out that the “incomplete” was the 3 pages that I had sent earlier. The insurance company seemed to have difficulty collating the two portions that had been sent separately. Rather than argue about it, I added my three pages to the doctor’s 5 and sent them all as a batch.

Then we had to wait for the insurance company. First they had to confirm that the forms had been filled out completely (they had). Then we had to wait for their medical team to review the doctor forms and approve her for travel. That took until about 6 pm. Finally, at 6:30 we got our bags out of the room and down to the reception area and I paid the bill. Just as we were about to get a taxi I got a phone call from the insurance company informing me that their medical team had decided that Jett needed a travel nurse. And that travel arrangements would be forthcoming.

So much for the train/plane plans.

We were pretty deflated. All we could do is get a hotel room. And wait.

The good part of all this, if there is one, is the cost. Somewhat irrelevant as it is all covered by our travel insurance, but the three days in the hospital, with four units of blood, totaled less than $2,000. In the US I am sure it would have been over $5,000.

Ruins overlooking port

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 did happen across some interesting scenes in the city.

I have learned that Cartagena was founded in the 3rd century BC by the Carthagenians and the name means either “New Carthage” or, more generically, “New City.” There are numerous ruins in an around the city. Most are Roman, though one portion of the original fortifications from the 3rd century BC remains – the Punic Wall. I passed by this wall but did not go inside to view it. Instead, I went to the train station to check out the train options. I am thinking that the best option will be to take a train to Madrid, get a hotel overnight, then fly out of Madrid to Miami. Of course that all depends on Jett getting released from the hospital, so I couldn’t book the tickets.

I also learned that Cartagena is, today, Spain’s primary naval port.

While walking around the city, I discovered that Jett was not the only one with physical problems. At one point in my 3-mile walk I had to stop and rest because my sciatica started acting up, first with pain shooting down my leg, then with my left thigh going numb. It went away, but it is cause for concern.

I also started sneezing and by the time I returned to the hotel, I could tell that I was getting my first cold in over two years. Not a great time to get sick. But, really, what did I expect, staying in a hospital?

Ruins in archaeological park

19th century gate?

Shady streets

Train station

Jett in the ER

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 Carlo, Monaco, which would be a long trip and would possibly require a plane trip. Given that we were far from certain whether she would be fit enough to reboard – and because no one could tell us why the hemoglobin was so low – we decided to terminate the cruise and try to get back to the US ASAP for further tests.

Which meant that I had to go back to the ship, collect the luggage, close the ship account, take the luggage through customs and try to find a hotel. As it turns out, I didn’t have to get a hotel. The hospital – Perpetuo Socorro Cartegena – would let me stay in the room with Jett. They even provided meals for me (hospital food – my favorite). The most annoying thing was that I was permitted to bring only 2 cartons of cigarettes ashore, which meant that I had to donate 3 cartons. I gave 2 cartons to security people at the gate (I don’t quite understand how giving cigarettes to people on shore is different than bringing cigarettes ashore) and gave the third to people in the smoking area of the ship. Our loss is their gain.

Hotel Manolo

Very few of the nurses or other staff – including the ER registration desk – spoke English. We fought our way through the experience and, with the exception of my walkabout to check out the nearest hotel, stayed in the room all evening. The food was forgettable, the TV didn’t work and no ice was available. Pretty miserable.

My walk to the nearest hotel was somewhat interesting, though. The hotel looked quite nice, but with all the uncertainty about how long she would be in the hospital and how we were going to get back to the US, I opted to spend the first night with Jett. I also checked out the nearby department store – El Corte Ingles – which is the largest single store that I have ever seen. Eight stories. Huge. But the cafeteria also had no iced drinks, which was what I was most urgently seeking.

I am missing the ship already.