Day at the Airport
Hey everyone, just stopping by with a bit of a travel shit-post just to say "hi." I've been away for 9 days without wifi and I'm Jonesing for Hive. All that to say, Don't expect too much from this post but me rambling on about various thoughts I have in the moment.
We went on an 8 day Carribean cruise last week and now we are waiting at the Fort Lauderdale airport for our flight home.
We got here around 9am and our flight doesn't leave until 5pm so I have an insane amount of time to kill.
That's one major draw back from cruise vacations when you live in Canada - the way home tends to be a very long travel day.
This is where I'm sitting while we wait right now, on a cold marble ledge next to the escalator. At least it's a place to sit though.
We are so early that our airline isn't even listed yet so we can't check our bags or go through security to the place where there would be shops and restaurants and more comfortable chairs.
Luckily there was a coffee shop here for beverages and I have Hive to pass the time and a book to read when I need a change.
I read one book this trip - The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann. It was very good in my opinion and a great change from what I've been reading lately. Now I'm working on another book called - Trust by Hernan Diaz. It is also good so far, though I'm only part way into it.
Editing photos is another way to be productive while I wait. I had been struggling to edit my massive backlog of pictures on my phone but during this trip have been picking away at them during waiting periods and have actually managed to edit over 400 so far. I'm almost caught up! Maybe today I'll get the rest of them finished, if I don't run out of battery on my phone while I wait, that is. It would be nice to do my posts about the cruise within a reasonable amount of time instead of waiting two years like I have been doing with my other travel posts. Maybe I'll make a point of it this time around. Here are a few unedited shots from our vacation, a little "sneak peak," as they say.
This was our first cruise in over 5 years, since before the pandemic and before we moved to France for a few years. It was our first vacation since our Austrian trip in the summer of 2022 as well (which I'm currently working through). The cruise was a much different style of vacation to that of traveling Europe, but still very fun and enjoyable in its own way. More reading, relaxing, sitting in the sun, indulging...etc. all good things in my opinion.
Like most trips, it's sad that it's over and I feel that impending sense of dread right now at the thought of returning to work and the stress and chaos of the hospital - the non-stop, go go go, no time for lunch or for leaving on time that comes with it.
In my head I'm already dreaming of next years cruise vacation, thinking that it can't come soon enough. I'll be fine once I get back to work, it's just a matter of getting there tomorrow. I wish that I had just one day buffer to regather myself and ease back into the week but alas, I only have so much vacation. We won't be getting home tonight until midnight so I expect to be tired tomorrow. Time will tell I suppose.
Okay, that's all I have for you today. Like I said I just wanted to say, "hi" and to get a post out there to get back into the Hive swing of things. Don't mind the shit-post style ramblings.
I know your head been AWOL!!
We have been talking about a cruise when the kids are older. We were even looking at one this year, I have always fancied it just for the visiting different places vibe and being at sea which I think I would love
We happen to really enjoy them and prefer them over an all inclusive resorts. Resorts can get boring for us just sitting on a beach or poolside for 7 days. we like the variety of a cruise and the quality of the shows and entertainment. We used to do a cruise every year so we have been on quite a few now. Things have changed a little though compared to pre-covid times. We noticed that the quality of food and drinks went down a little. Still enjoyable though.
The main thing is figuring out the right boat/cruiseline for you because they all appeal to different markets/age demographics. For instance Princess is a basically a geriatics cruisline. We did one and I'd say that after us the next youngest couple was probably 65+ lol. Great food on the boat, but it was boring as hell for us. We won't be doing that again. Royal Carribean is a good mix of ages and tends to be quite fun. The food isn't as good as some of the higher end lines but still very decent. Celebrity is a step up from Royal Carribean, slightly older crowd, more classy boat and better food, but we found it to be less entertaining in our opinion. Not as upbeat and shows were lacking for us just a little. Norwegian had great bars and the drink package was included which was awesome, but the food was the worst that we experienced compared to any other line and the shows were pretty substandard. Carnival is a younger crowd and has had so many problems, bad reports and bad press that we never bothered trying it. Royal Carribean has been the best mix of everything for us so we stick to them now.
I don't know much about all of the European lines so you might need to check out reviews or talk to others who have taken them to get their opinion.
Yeah, we would definitely do our research as the food thing is our greatest issue. We prefer not to do AI when on hols as someone the food is a nightmare. I think I have only ever had one proper good one. But aye, it does appeal. Maybe without the kids, that might be best!
Yeah, food is a big thing, probably the most important really. Our standards have gone up since living in France too and from just generally from getting older I guess lol. we have been debating shifting over to the Celebrity line for the next cruise since their food is better... We keep going back and forth on that though. The loyalty programs sort of trap you into one line. Luckily our benefits transfer over to that line since they are affiliated with each other, we just don't gain more points from them.
going without your kids would probably make it easier for you guys since you wouldn't have to find something that has everything that appeals to all age groups.
I think the getting older thing is definitely something. We have gotten so much more picky and discerning at the risk of sounding terribly snobby as we have gotten on a bit. To the point where I cant eat utter shit.
Yeah, it would make it easier. One step at a time though, we have only just got babysitters for the first time in a year together coming up this weekend. We ain't exactly nailing it! lol
Yeah I totally get it. I'm pretty sure I come across as snobby with food, beer, and probably coffee as well lol to name a few things. But also, when you have to pay so much to do anything nowadays or eat out at a restaurant, I feel pretty justified in expecting things to be good. A basic meal for two at a shitty restaurant in Canada (if you get one drink) is about $70 or more. At a good restaurant in Canada (about the equivalent of a standard restaurant in France) it costs probably around $250. That's about what we paid for dinner for my wifes birthday and I was like this is close to what we would get at a standard decent restaurant in France lol. We almost never go out anymore. It's not worth the disappointment lol.
It is so very true! We were arguing about where to go because we dont want to go to the same old tried and tested places but we have such a ridiculous fear no because we dont get many nights out that if we choose somewhere and spend a fortune and it is shit it might ruin the night a little. Fecking cost of living, its a pain in the arse!
I hear ya man. The difficulty finding a babysitter would add a whole other layer of challenge as well.
Yeah, it's totally shit. Don't have kids until you have a certified babysitter is what I say
Thanks for the advice 😆
Heh heh
Wow
I always feel good when I see someone who is traveling by the plane, lol
I’ve never had that experience but I will surely experience it someday and I can’t wait
I’m sure you are going to enjoy the trip
Well I hope that you wgt to experience it one day soon.
I never saw you as a cruise person as you did so much travelling around Europe, and a balcony room as well!! Nice one.
Look forward to see where you visited, I've never been to the Carribean before.
btw, I'm planning my next city break in Europe and doing some research on Pinmapple. I see all your posts again. Is there anywhere in Europe you haven't been 😄
We love cruises and used to do one per year before going to France. Now we are back on the cruise train haha. This was our first time getting a balcony. The price was just a little more when we booked so we went for it and we didn't get a drink package so we saved a lot of money that way to make up for it. We only ever did inside state rooms in the past so the extra space and the balcony was a nice bonus.
Haha well we were able to do a lot of Northern Europe and obviously all of France, since we lived there. Believe me, there are still a lot of places in Europe on our list though, including the UK. It will be much harder to see Europe now that we are back across the pond. Vacation time and expense are barriers again. I'm glad we made the most of it while we were there.
Oh I wanted to ask you, how would one do a cruise line post on pinmapple? Is that possible?
Yes, still gutted you never made it across to UK when you were here!!!
I normally do each port just like a normal travel post, there's only so much you can write for a day trip. And if the cruise ship was interesting, another one to cover the overall on the board experience.
Yeah makes sense- but where would you "pin" the post specifically about the ship on the map? In the ocean...lol or one of the ports?
I see what you mean.
I think I pinned it on the departure port which is the biggest one for my cruises if its 'travel' related, depending on what angle I write my post
Okay, yeah Departure port makes sense. I was actually considering just pinning it in the ocean just off the coast of the carribean since that is where the boat generally travels - i.e. Carribean Cruise.
I did take photos of the port surroundings though as the boat was leaving so he Fort Lauderdale port would make sense also. Okay thanks 😊
Awesome!! I just went on a cruise as well last week to the southern Caribbean. It was my first time on a Royal Caribbean ship. I flew into Puerto Rico and then we went to Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia, and St. Maarten/St Martin. I do love cruising!
Sounds like a good trip. We like the Royal Carribean cruiseline. What ship did you take?
We are still sitting in the airport baggage claim area by the way. Still too early to check our bags or go through security. On the plus side, we found some real chairs.
Also, it's surprising how many people do not wash their hands after using the toilets. While I was using a urinal, 2 out of 3 people walked out of stalls and straight out the door without washing their hands...
gross...
We are looking forward to seeing those posts from your cruise trip. I saw the last comment you made in the meantime, that at least you have normal chairs now :))
Yay!
Actually we just realized that we were in the wrong terminal (our tickets showed terminal 1 but online it says terminal 2) so now we are in a different spot and standing room only lol
pffffff standing room only... 😅
Duh!
I wondered what had caused your absence from here!
Looks like you had a great time, and i'm looking forward to enjoying your uploads. Don't worry about the delay, all of my snaps from 2023 are still in the camera LOL.
Erm now I have stopped laughing I must ask , Why?? lol lol lol
Yeah it's hard to keep up with it all when you take so many photos on each trip. I have a zillion.
They kick you off the boat very early on the last day to prepare for the next passangers boarding in just a few hours. We had to get off at 8:30am and had our luggage with us so there wasn't much we could do but go to the airport. We didn't want to wheel our suitcases around the town. The earlier flights were either too early with risk of missing them or just way more expensive- like $500 extra per person, so we weren't going to spent that much extra.
Ah got it now! makes sense
Haha welcome back! To say I can relate is a bit of an understatement. Allow me to illustrate:
Settle in nicely and share more of those travel shots to warm us winter folks up!
Haha that's awesome. What ship were you on? Must have been Royal Carribean. We did the Odyssey of the Seas but liberty of the seas was also there at the same time
Mariner of the Seas (had to look back on my pics) for our yearly Jiu Jitsu cruise!
Nice! I haven't been on that ship. Looks like a fun time though.