Monday and Tuesday, August 4 & 5, 2025
When we have an early flight, I prefer to go to the airport the day before. Chuck indulges my nervous-traveler needs. After reviewing my travel check-list for the 3rd time and being snubbed by Pumpkin when we tried to say good-bye, we got to the shuttle office at 1:30 and left promptly at 2:00.
The driver must have been new because he had a long spiel “Buckle up – we’ll do our best to get you there on-time, let me know if you get hot or cold.” In the past, most of the drivers just say buckle up and they take off. Maybe it’s a new rule.
The van was full, but everyone was going to the airport, and the driver didn’t have to drop-off or pick-up anyone up at the auxiliary locations. Since we were just going to an airport hotel, I didn’t care but I’m sure the other passengers trying to get to their flight were anxious because the weather soon started getting worse and the traffic was snarling.
We arrived at the domestic terminal only about 20 minutes later than expected which I thought was pretty good given the conditions. While the others spread out heading for the different airlines, we went to the hotel shuttle area. With all of the construction that has been going on (and is still going on), we discovered that the hotel shuttle and the regional shuttle areas have been moved farther away from the airport exit.
We had to cross the street, go down a long ramp, and then cross another street. Instead of having someone let you know which hotel shuttle was arriving, you had to look at the sign and go to the area where your shuttle would eventually arrive. Annoying.
We stayed at the Hyatt Airport South again. We were on the 5th floor. They have done some renovations to the building and inside, but more is needed. Especially having more than one elevator working. We like the location. It was still misting so we decided to just go next door to the Burger Place at the Sonesta hotel.
Chuck had a burger and I had a bar-b-que sandwich. Good service and food. Pricey for what you get but not unexpected.
Watched some reruns of Big Bang Theory and went to sleep early. Wish I could have stayed asleep, but I tossed and turned all night. Just got on up at 5:00.
The hotel still offers a decent free breakfast and good coffee. When we checked out and went outside to wait for the 9:00 hotel shuttle, I saw a fire truck arrive at the Sonesta and block the road the shuttle typically takes. Luckily, they didn’t stay there very long. Not sure what the issue was.
We had a very smooth transition from the pick-up at the hotel to sitting down at our gate – 40 minutes. Couldn’t believe how easy security was this time. Typically, one of our bags goes down the naughty line to be examined. Not this time. Started talking with a couple near us who were also going on the cruise. They had flown in from Hilton Head early that morning.
With the dreary weather, I was concerned we might not take off on time, but we did. However, the pilot kept the seatbelt light on longer than usual because we were bumping along as we tried to get well above the bad weather. I watched the MineCraft movie. It was cute. Chuck watched some old reruns of Fraiser.
After retrieving our bags, we found the Holland America (HAL) representatives who escorted us and one other couple to our driver. I was glad it was him and not me battling the Boston traffic.
The last couple of times in Boston, we stayed at the Marriott Copley. This time, HAL had us booked at the W Boston (also a Marriott property). It is located in the Theater District and is a more modern building than the Copley.
Our room was ready so we dropped off our luggage. We were on the 11th floor. We found the HAL representatives to get information about the transfer to the pier tomorrow. Unlike last time, we would be responsible for bringing our luggage down to the lobby. I was okay with that change because they always picked up our luggage so early and now I wouldn’t have to rush to get everything ready.
After so much sitting today, we needed to walk around so we wandered around the Theater District and then on to the Boston Commons.
Once we made it back, we ate falafels at The Halal Guys across the street from the hotel. We enjoyed sitting outside people watching. We didn’t really care for all the pigeons watching us.
After dinner, we had run out of steam and were ready to call it an evening.
Tomorrow: Embarkation
