Saturday Aug 30 - Boston

We received an email from Princess that we will not be able to board before noon time. We change plans, Adrienne and Steve are going to be tourists and Lynn and I will take all the luggage and meet them on the ship.

Knowing the limited facilities in Boston, we arrange a late checkout from the hotel. Adrienne and Steve had checked their bags with the hotel and given me the claim tickets. 

It is time to leave. The hotel staff can't find the checked bags. Fortunately I have a vague idea what they look like and help the clerk sort through 2 rooms packed with luggage.  They are soon recovered.

A call to Uber.  A nice gentlemen with his first run for the day. He puts our cruise terminal destination into his navigation app. I neglect to follow our progress. After about 20 minutes he pulls up to a hotel. No way is our ship in the back yard.  He is lost, but I am not concerned. I still have a couple of hours to board.

He goes and talks to the bell hops standing by the curb. I now open up Waze. We are about 15 minutes from the ship.

I soon learn the hotel gets dozens of people looking for the cruise terminal each weekend. Another case of of the gps database containing an error that never gets fixed.

I now give the driver turn by turn directions, and hold my phone so he can follow my map. We soon make it to the cruise terminal. Our luggage is placed on a cart to be sent to the ship.  We head to passenger check in.

It is now 1:30. It does not appear a single passenger has cleared port security. We join the line with thousands of other pasengers. Ŵe eventually board just after 3:00.  Needless to say, Boston does not have a good system to deal with cruise ship passengers. Unfortunately the cruise lines will get the brunt of the complaints, but shore side is totally controlled by local authorities.

The up side is that the cabins are ready and we can drop our carry on stuff. Our luggage is also there ready to unpack and be stowed.

The usual routines of safety video, checking in at our muster station, and finally a bite of lunch at 4pm.

The ship gets underway a few minutes late just after 4.

Dinner at 7:00. No show tonight, everyone is beat. Tomorrow we will be in Portland, Me.

Boston to Quebec City

It is mid June. My daughter Adrienne asks about doing a cruise with them from Boston to Quebec City departing Aug 29 and ending September 9.

We said sure, never considering departure is on Saturday of labor day weekend. Once we realize the foolishness we conclude the wise thing to do is to get to Boston a day early. If nothing else this gives us several backup flights if something goes astray. The stupidity of me to be flying on labor day weekend.

Fast forward to Friday afternoon. We load the luggage in Tim's suv. A long time friend, he has graciously offered to take us to the airport. It takes several attempts to get the luggage arranged so the door will close.

We arrive at the terminal dropoff area. Deafening alarms are sounding. It is impossible to communicate with the baggage counter. Finally the alarms cease but my ears continue to ring. There is a problem with the conveyor that takes the luggage to where ever it goes prior to being placed on the plane.

TSA takes about 20 minutes. Pretty good. We head to the tram to take us to the gate.

Despite our plane arriving 50 minutes early on it's previous flight, it is just announced that our flight is delayed 30 minutes. The terminal is packed, barely a place to stand.

We find a restaurant and order a beverage to pass the time.

The next few hours are uneventful. The plane is full without an empty seat. I have been flying comfort plus in recent years. It helps tremendously!

We arriive in Boston just too late for the complimentary shuttle to our hotel. Internet wisdom of prior travelers says Uber is better than a taxi.  Uber fares are quoted at about $70.00, but it appears we need to lug our luggage to a nearby parking garage. The line of taxis is about 200 feet down the sidewalk. At least in sight.

We opt for the cab. Our luggage quickly loaded we are on our way. The meter slowly displays larger numbers. It is almost midnight. No traffic, he makes an illegal left turn into the driveway of our hotel.

The meter has stopped climbing. $26.00!

We check in and get a much needed nights rest.