TravelBluebird

@Spinelli1107 Yes, that exactly—rollatini not parmesan! I way prefer the parmesan; the eggplant is in larger pieces and not as dry. They do have an extensive menu; if I ever use them again I’ll have to branch out. And no trouble at all; I will post the Daily Newsletters here! What do they call them on Royal? They are the Fun Times on Carnival.

@MrsKnuts2 I’m so sorry about your DH’s passing. But great that you are still going to travel. Solo is totally new for me; don’t really know what to expect. Well, for cruise travel. I’ve traveled to many conferences and work things solo, but that so different. Glad to have you following along!

Got to the hotel and checked in to see the Mardi Gras from Fishlips. Didn’t feel like fighting the crowd, and I’m pretty tired from not sleeping last night. so decided to get Eggplant Parmesan delivered from Papa Vito’s—fast, tasty, and not too expensive ($18.95 for the Eggplant Parmesan, dinner salad and a side of spaghetti). No delivery fee. Was better last time I got it; this time they rolled the eggplant which I don’t like. But still good. Going to work on a video of the hotel I’m at. For security reasons, not going to tell you all about the hotel till tomorrow, but I’m quite pleased with it. And the hotel has the SEC Network so I can watch the Vols game at 7, so all is good! Reserved the hotel shuttle to the port for tomorrow—$10, Really the same price as getting an Uber; possibly more expensive, BUT worth it so I don’t have to scramble for an Uber in the morning.

In Orlando! In Uber to PortCanaveral hotel only $52 so not bad—but then I could get an Uber X Toyota Corolla since just me. Lovely driver Ruby and great air conditioning. Only 7 minute wait. Baggage took forever—the Belt got stuck. photo is the giant Orlando line up for TSA security. Always so long! so happy to be here! Beautiful weather—83, warm, of hot, partly cloudy. Maybe a few showers later.

Free Delta WiFi working! Why do they shut the lights on ALL flights now? I hate sitting in the dark on a plane with the windows closed unless it’s a night flight.

@Eastern flygirl That is wonderful, please look for me! I also don’t have a schedule yet, other than some show reservations. See you on board!

@BecciBoo Your travel outfit sounds lovely! And I get that phobia. I’m more worried about being cold on the airplane, so wear comfy black pants. And thanks for following along!

It was hilarious! And, well, true. Plane is stuffed to the gills, The economy seat is fine for a short trip (1 hour in air) there’s just SO MANY PEOPLE (says the gal going on The World’s Largest Cruise Ship). 😂

An entire flotilla of wheelchairs and strollers are now boarding!

At Gate on time! See you in Orlando!

Mystery Bag 😂 But, that is accurate. I always cruise during Hurricane season, and so far my mystery bag has always included what I expected (the ports I booked). That said, I AM prepared for possible itinerary changes, and that is OK with me when safety is involved. I do feel sympathy with those who are upset by the change. During the pandemic DH and I had a bucket list cruise scheduled through the Caribbean and up the Amazon river in Brazil (Regent Seven Seas). It was canceled twice, and the third time they simply changed it to a cruise up to New England and Canada (and I think maybe Greenland but I can’t remember now). Luckily, we’d already gotten refunded for the cruise, but we knew some very disappointed people (28 day cruise!). Amazon River vs. New England…one of these things is NOT like the other!

@Spinelli1107 Thank you! LaGuardia was a mess yesterday. There are some crazy videos on Twitter—err X— that show Terminal A completely flooded with people trying to walk through holding their shoes! Ooh must be nice to be back after an 8 year break! That is what it will be like for me on HAL in January. Glad to have you along!

Welcome @LuCruise! Glad to have you along, and thank you!

In Atlanta! Would have JUST made the originally scheduled flight, but no regrets on changing because I’m totally stress-free. Decided to get an Einstein’s Bagel Egg Sandwich and sit a bit since I have time, and not eating again till dinner, ATL is packed but nearly every plane is on time here, so everyone coming this way will make it to the cruise tomorrow!

Interesting—our delay was a cascading effect from that flooding mess up in LaGuardia yesterday, according to the pilot. plane door about to close—see you in Atlanta!

On first plane!

There’s a guy talk-texting right next to me at the gate. So awkward. Evidently John wouldn’t wake up earlier to take him to the airport today 😂

Got the First Class upgrade for the hop over to ATL! Nice. No way I’m getting into Comfort + for the next flight…I’m 6th on that list in spite of paying for it; perhaps the 5 people ahead of me (for 2 seats) are in the same situation. Like I said, short flight!

At the airport! I LOVE my home airport. Not too big, not too small. Just 12 gates. Reminds me of the Portland ME airport I flew into many years to visit family. Lovely surprise when hubby drove me up to the airport departures area—the outside baggage drop was open! I haven’t seen that manned since before the pandemic. No line…hubby handed a tip for him, and I had my luggage tags and boarding passes is about 2 minutes. Fast and efficient. Also zero line for TSA Pre. We have those nifty-looking baggage check machines that look like MRI machines now. I always have to get patted down due to all the hardware in my knee and my ankle though; I miss the days I could just fly through TSA. I am at the airport WAY too early….should have adjusted arrival time more after I heard about the delay. No worries; limited but good options for shopping and breakfast here. Flight still showing the same delay. At the airport, we have a great little shop called Tennessee Marketplace. They have an impressive selection of Tennessee Vols, Tennesseee and Knoxville shirts. I often buy one, but not this trip. got my bottle of water for flights and an emergency snack (Famous Amos cookies in a little bag...I mean, if there is an emergency, I need something tasty). Our airport also has a Starbucks, a Cinnabon, a Quiznos, and a Ruby Tuesday. We even have an art installation! Checked my app when I sat down at the gate. Hmm.. enough frequent flyers fled my flight for the earlier one (there was a 6am-ish flight that I just didn’t want to wake up for) that I’m now #2 for a First Class upgrade, and there are 2 seats left. Would be nice but not a big deal; the flight is such a quick hop to ATL and the plane is a commuter. Still showing Economy for plane #2 with 2 seats in Comfort Plus. However, no seats left in Economy at all; glad I changed my flight from ATL last night. You’ll notice in the photo of me at the airport I’m in the same outfit I always seem to be in at the airport. it’s my favorite fly-to-a-cruise. outfit. Vaguely tropical and very comfortable, plus jacket has a bit of a sleeve for cold planes (and later air conditioned ships!). And sneakers so I can run through ATL if necessary. Do you have a go-to flying outfit? Off to find more coffee!

Awake, coffee travel mug in hand, and about to pop in the car for my trip the airport! Flight delay I told you about last night has not gotten any worse, so I continue to keep my fingers crossed for no further delays. Let the trip begin!! 🎉

Thanks! You’re lucky to be able to drive. I just wish my airport had direct flights to the Florida ports; nearly everything is through Atlanta. I did inquire about getting $$ back and I have to wait till after the flight to put in for reimbursement, and I most definitely will do that.

Well one nice thing is I still get to board with the COMF+ people even though I’m in Economy (as I just saw in my app). Shows 2 seats available in COM+ but cannot select them for some reason on the app. Really I was lucky to get on the plane at all—its packed; 5 seats available on the whole plane.

Ugh. So about 1/2 hour ago I get this text message from Delta: “Your flight XXXXX is now departing at 9:32 am on Sep 30 from TYS. If you'd like to stay on your current flight, you don't need to do anything at this time. If you would like to search for alternative flights, you may change your flight at no additional cost at https://tw.delta.com/eBBlS4fVrT and selecting ''Find Other Flights''. We apologize for the inconvenience and will keep you updated on any future changes.” That is a 45 minute delay, which would get that flight in now less than 10 minutes before boarding for my plane in ATL to MCO. I’v had some 20 minute plus between gates in Atlanta, so that would be stressful (especially with any further delays!) AND such a tight connection in Atlanta is a great way to not have your luggage make it with you. OK, I definitely want a later flight out of ATL now. First I go and try the “Find Other Flights” as suggested in the text. I try on computer and on my app and there is NO such link. As link to cancel, sure, but not to “find other flights” So I call Delta instead. Not a bad wait (3 minutes) My agent (definitely in India) is hard to understand and seems to have a hard time understanding me. First, she wants to set me up with a flight leaving ATL at 6pm. There are like 4 other earlier flights! Then she suggests a flight that gets in at 10pm. Um NO. I tell her please get me on the 12:46, the 1:47 or the 3:10 direct flights. She finally gets me on the 12:46 flight (so I’ll have an extra hour plus 15 in case of further delays. Can’t get me in Comfort Plus, but at this point I’ll sit on the wing if I have to, so I’m back of the plane, but in a window seat at least. Short flight, I’ll live. Still a little nervous there might be additional delays on my flight from TYS, but I suppose I can always hop that 6 or 10pm flight if that happens. I do ask why the delay and she told me it was for a crew re-arrangement. At least I got a a text tonight and didn’t find out in the morning! I’m a little hyped up; need to have some calming tea before bed.

Another night owl married to an early bird here! I’m trying to go to bed “early” because of my early flight tomorrow, and I’m hoping for midnight. Don’t judge me 😂 Thanks for the subscribe and for following this LIVE! Have a fantastic trip; condos seem so big after ship cabins, don’t they?

I think HAL has come a long way since my last cruise, so we shall see! I do love live music. And I remember you from the Venezia Live! Thanks for the subscribe too—I’m SO close to 1,000 subscribers and can’t believe it!