On the Road, I mean Sea, Again

Monday, April 17, 2023

When we booked this 11-Day cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Montreal on the Holland America (HAL) Zaandam, we did not really consider that it was going to start only three weeks after our previous one ended. Seemed like I had just gotten all the clothes washed and put away when I had to start packing again. Of course, this time I had to pack some cold weather clothes along with my shorts and t-shirts.

This trip began just like the last one. We left the house at 9:00 a.m. for our 40-minute ride to the shuttle company. Our shuttle service to the airport left promptly at 10:00 a.m. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day.

We had one stop along the route and made it to the airport at 12:15. There was a long line for CLEAR access. This time Chuck had to show ID and I sailed through without an issue. There never seems to be rhyme or reason on whether or not we have to show ID.

No issues through the security screening and we arrived at our gate at 1:15. My weather app said Ft. Lauderdale had rain, but our flight app said we were still on time. I was concerned because a fellow traveler on the shuttle had said her flight to Florida on a different airline had gotten cancelled because of the poor weather. She was going to the airport to get a different flight as she had to fly out that day. She was stressed. I would have been too.

We ate a McDonald’s lunch while we waited for boarding to start.

The gate officials had just started letting the first people down the gangway when they announced our flight would be delayed for 30 minutes as it was still raining hard in Ft. Lauderdale. Everyone came back from the gangway. Not a great beginning.

Thirty-minutes later, we boarded, and I started watching a TV show. The 30-minute show ended, and the plane was still at the gate. Hmm.

A few minutes later, the Captain announced that he had been informed that it might be as late as 7:00 pm before we could leave and that was too long for us to sit on the plane. We had to gather our carry-ons and get off and go back to the gate waiting area. Damn.

The flight crew told us to stay near the gate area in case there were more updates. As the time passed, we ate more McDonalds as it seemed pretty certain we would be getting to Ft. Lauderdale well after dinner time, if at all.

I called the hotel to let them know we might be very late. No problem – your room is ready but our hotel shuttle only runs until midnight. Okay – just don’t give the room away. And we waited and hoped for the best.