Off to Venice

November 8, 2022

Yesterday afternoon we parked at ParknGo and were shuttled to terminal C at the Orlando airport. It opened in late September and everything was brand new with all kinds of facilities, amenities and diversions. We have TSA prepass so zipped through security and skipped the long line which had formed, We had been upgraded to Business class so we had access to the lounge and had good food and drinks. After a few hours we went down to our gate.
There was power at every seat and wireless chargers in every other armrest. When we boarded our seats which were pods which reclined to beds for sleeping. After we opened our little ‘gift’ bags, we took off, were served a gourmet meal of our choice with drinks and as the lights dimmed we settled in. Alesa slept and I watched ‘Top Gun – Maverick’ and played some games. After we landed in Frankfurt things got a little dicey. Our plane parked on the airfield and we were bussed to the terminal. We now had an hour or so for our connection to Venice. The only way to our departing terminal was by shuttle bus and there were mobs and mobs of angry people waiting for it. In the past we had walked to it. So after much confusion we decided to walk. Nobody would/could help and the signs kept directing us to the shuttle busses. After much fast walking and confusion we arrived at our terminal only to learn that we had to go through security and customs. After long lines and confusion we were through and made it to our gate with minutes to spare only to find the flight had been delayed. We were bussed to our plane and the flight was fine. We were greeted by Viking representatives then bussed to our ship about 20 miles south. We had tried to get Euros at the airport only to be told that we did not have enough in our account. On the bus I called our finance guy and he said our card now pointed to the new trust account we had just set up last week. He hadn’t realized that when we checked with him last week to be sure we didn’t have a problem. He then moved the money to the new account as we spoke and we were able to get some Euros the next day. We boarded the ship, met Steve and Laura and Glen and Laura (Steve’s sister), collapsed and settled in for a wonderful cruise.
***Wi-Fi access is slow and unreliable so postings will be short and late and will not contain many pictures if any. I will add them later. *** Plus free time is limited due to tours, entertainment and a plethora of restaurants and bars. We have free drinks with the Silver Spirits package and have to get our money’s worth.*******Called neighbors last night to check on the hurricane and have 4G access for the day so I can easily post but will depend on wi-fi for most of the trip.