Barbara J. Hamby

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Midnight Flight

Too late Floyd and I learned that the Caribbean cruise we had booked, left from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Super Bowl weekend. So, rather than take a chance on being lodged hundreds of miles away or paying $300 plus for a room for one night, we decided to take a redeye Continental flight and left Portland at 12:30 a.m., Friday, February 2nd, on a fully loaded 737.

We managed to get two seats together in the last row that, of course, did not recline. The lavatories were very handy just across the aisle. With flight attendants gathering behind us and passengers waiting beside us, outside lavatory doors, sleep was nearly impossible. Our flight from Portland left nearly a half hour late due to deicing, but arrived in Houston only a few minutes late. We started the long walk to the gate for our connecting flight, but were rescued by an airport shuttle, so arrived right on time to board. The shorter flight to Fort Lauderdale was not as crowded, but was also a 737, so not overly spacious.

Airport security at PDX had tightened considerably since I flew to Asia nearly a year ago. I knew that all liquids had to be in small bottles (3.5 ounces), but didn’t know the limit of bottles per person, so we had to string all our toiletries out and repackage them. We didn’t have to throw anything out, but I will before we return. The security personnel were kind and courteous and supplied us with zip lock bags.

I substituted a swim and hot tub dip for a nap the day we left and was only able to manage a few short catnaps on the flights. Floyd had slept three hours on Friday afternoon and was awake to read on the planes, but we were both exhausted when we arrived at the pier. It was a short, but wild cab ride from the airport to the dock, and boarding the ship was a pleasant experience even though we schlepped our own luggage to be sure it didn’t get lost.

Holland Cruises is well organized and moves people expeditiously, to my delight. Airline and airport personnel were kind and courteous everywhere we went, but fellow travelers in the Fort Lauderdale airport seemed willing to push us old folks out of their way without a word. No wonder the world sees us as ugly Americans.

We boarded Holland America’s Maasdam (downhill all the way--no climbing the gangplank) around Noon and were offered a huge buffet lunch while we waited for the staterooms to be ready at about 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. We were more than ready for the food and relaxation, having been served only a few peanuts, a muffin and a couple of beverages on our flight.

Most of Saturday afternoon is a blur. The usual lifeboat drill was a drag, even though we did get a short rest before that. We didn’t last long after dinner, but did manage to get unpacked and get in a swim and hot tub soak before collapsing.