Good Morning from somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. We have left the calm waters of the Mediterranean for the rough and tumble Atlantic Ocean. We have crossed in Spring and Fall, Fall tends to be warmer. As we sail back to the US, our clock fall back an hour almost every night. So, it is currently 4:15 in the morning. I think I managed to stay up until 9:00 new time last night. Cicada rhythms at sea are interesting. I wander the ghost ship and see where I can find coffee. I have seen the full moon retreat and sunrises almost every day. Good Plan B for me. There are crew members going about their normal jobs, and a few hardy passengers. None from the Zombie Decks (2 & 3). They party late, get up late,..these people paid more for their liquor + Wi-Fi packages than they did for their cabins with the little round port hole. Ahh, the bliss of being young and bulletproof. No, Plan B for them, not necessary.
Our last scheduled stop in Europe was in the Azores. If you look at a world map, there are several clusters islands just off the coasts of Portugal and upper Africa. Azores, Madeira, Canary. They all are Portuguese. They are beautiful islands, with unique topography, vegetation and things to do. A couple of days ago, the Captain announced that they were going to Plan B. Our day in the Azores had been replaced by a day in Madeira. Why? The last winds and rain from Hurricane Melissa were promising 45-50 mph winds and rain in the Azores. Pivot. I guess there has been enough posting of Instagram reels, Tik Tok, FB videos showing the carnage of cruise ship meets high winds. Not good look for a cruise company’s bottom line. So, Plan B it is. 24 hours out, the shore excursion and internet searches were sure hopping. We have been here a couple of times before. First trip we rode the wicker sleighs down the side of a mountain. If that sounds dangerous, it was. Not sure what we were thinking…I noted either because this was Plan B and two other ships (Plan A for NCL and Silversea) were in port or the ambulance count (currently at 7 total, for those keeping score), there was not ship board excursion featuring the sleighs ride. To keep the natives happy, the Ship chose not to charge us 10 euros each way, each to go into town.
Most of our friends and family know that I have problems with mattresses. Just call me Goldilocks. Ed can sleep on almost any surface. I need soft but good support. The mattresses on board have always given me fits. I know to ask before the cruise (yes, in a suite that is allowed) to have an egg crate topper put on my side of the bed. Eddie’s requirement is for the duvet to be be replaced by a blanket. Well, Eddie had egg crate envy, as the bed seemed to be broken down so that you rolled to the left (in Eddie’s case off the bed). On our stop in Malaga, there were several semi truck loads of new mattresses being delivered. New mattresses for the regular cabins, no Cashmere bedding would be replaced. So, I ordered him an egg crate. Fast forward, the seas have have become a little rougher than inside the Mediterranean. Eddie had to brace himself…shades of “X” sleeping from Oceania. So, as I became the mattress ninja, I rotated the mattress so the bottom was now at top. These are mattresses that are both box springs and sleeping surface in one, so a simple flip would have been Eddie meets springs. The only problem is these specially designed mattresses have a curve to fit the foot of the bed. That curve is now at the top inside. And yes, Eddie was right, the mattress headboard visual showed a huge slope to the center of the bed. I stuffed one of the 9 worthless additional decorative pillows in the hole, and one under-the mattress replaced the egg crate and Voila, Plan B for the win. I did have to leave a note for our room steward so she would not undo my handy work. Our traveling companions have a 1/4 inch plywood piece placed under their mattress. Did not even know that was an option. So, there is a Plan Bb if this does not work.
On to our biggest possible Plan B, and the return of my anxiety monster. When we first started to cruise (1999), it was the only time Eddie could not be reached by a phone. Satellite TV was about as reliable as the power in Kingwood in a high wind. It was a total disconnect from the world around you. 25 years of advancements has made us addicted to our phones,news feeds, Social media platforms. We are connected to everything to include the TSA ATC mess at our nation’s airports. I have received the Greeting from United’s CEO letter advance warning us that today (Friday) will be first the reduction of flights to meet the 10% reduction goal set be the FAA. They are hopeful that the problem will be solved by the 13th and they can resume normal operations. Okay, Airlines, if you are losing as much money as you say, perhaps a Plan B for you would be to offer the TSA and ATC a bridge loan, interest free, in lieu of their paychecks. You might earn some loyalty from those folks, avert the drama and rerouting, and you would look like heroes on social media and news to the flying public. Net, net same amount of money…one makes people mad, they other makes folks happy. You pick. On to my Plan B. Eddie is not worried. Here again, a failure to plan is a plan for failure. Today we have a 4% chance of getting cancelled. We have both Tampa and IAH on our flight home bingo cards…they are 2 of the 40 airports effected. What is my Plan B? Well, I have determined where the closest Budget Rental car to the port is. I have both my United app and Budget Car app up and ready I figure it will take 2-3 days to drive home. Now for the best part of Plan B. We rent a SUV and ask Robert and Nancy Dillard (most of you know them) to share the ride. We stumbled into them in our first night aboard. They B2B cruisers, regular cabins not suite folks. A tad awkward since we have our Portland cruising peeps. They do not share well. We quickly figured out a Plan B and met them during the day and have a dinner in a Specialty restaurant planned. So, stay tuned for updates.
Finally, an update on our credit card being never lost or stolen, but cloned to a digital wallet. . There are now (a week later) stories about the newest scam. It is called “ghost tapping”. Banks are reporting a high number of these incidents…complete with low value test charges. They are not even sure how it is happening, but it is. Typically in crowded situations. I love when we are on trend and ahead of the curve. Until I write again, my monster and I are checking our phones frequently for updates.
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