Thursday, May26, 2022
Well, it’s certainly been an experience these past few days!
But, they were days away from the normal grind of work, so all is well. (Sort of)
The day began early on Tuesday morning. We planned to be at
the airport by 12:30 or so. At 9am, I
received a text stating our flight from Dallas/Fort Worth to Vancouver was
cancelled due to “weather”. WHAT? I
immediately tried to book a different flight. There was NOTHING. I called the American “customer service”
number and was told I could get a call back in about 45-60 minutes. OMG I continued to look for options---other
airlines, later flights, etc. NOTHING.
We proceeded to the airport and tried to check in outside to
avoid the massive lines inside. After
waiting 10 minutes or so, we were told we could not check in outside because
our flight included an international destination. This, despite our
international reservation being cancelled.
We trek inside and are directed to this obscenely long line for
passengers with cancelled flights.
Enough of this nonsense I said after about 15 minutes and I
left Cathy in the line and went over to AA Priority Member line and after a few
minutes, was in front of an Agent. After explaining our situation, we decided
to proceed to DFW as we were told we would have a better chance of getting a
flight to Vancouver if we were further west.
I explained there was an Air Canada flight that we could catch---no can
do I was told. We don’t put you on another airline when flights are cancelled
due to ‘weather’. But I was welcome to cancel my flight and have my points
refunded and I could pay for the flight on Air Canada which was over $3k per
person. Ummm, yeah, no—I think not. Just then my RETURN call from American rang.
After speaking to the agent AND her supervisor and hearing the word “weather”,
at least 84000 times, we learned we could get a flight to Portland Oregon that
evening and then we could pay $700 to book an hour long flight into Vancouver
the next morning at 6am. Whatever, after all what is money at this point.
So, the agent checked our luggage to DFW/Portland. And off
we went in search of an Admiral’s club in which to have some adult beverages and
check in with the far more friendly agents to see if they could help us out……..
THEN….. DING….American flight to Portland has been cancelled. OMG WTF. Back to
the agent at the desk. There’s nothing
available and it’s too late to pull your bags from this flight. So, off we go to our gate and boarded the
damn plane to DFW.
Once we landed, we, once again, went to the Admiral’s Lounge
to plan our next move. We immediately
went to the agents on duty and explained our sad situation. What we learned, was that MY bags were
enroute to Vancouver and Cathy’s luggage was on its way to Portland. AND we
were booked on a flight the following morning from DFW to Vancouver!!!!!! WHAT?
And Cathy’s luggage was still enroute to Portland. Sigh.
So, we retired to the bar to plan ‘what’s next’. I will say the DFW Admiral’s Club is a thing
of beauty. In addition to a decent well
brand of vodka, they had this free food bar.
We had the most delicious pulled pork sliders with cole slaw and pickles
and hot peppers. We each had two to counter the effects of the many, many
Vodkas we drank. I managed to book a hotel that was supposed to be 3.5 miles
from the airport using points.
We stumbled from the airport and ordered an Uber. We only
had what we had carried onto the plane to lug with us. Our Uber arrived about 9
or so. We went to climb into the car (in the pouring rain) and the driver was
babbling about his back seat. The side I was getting into was covered with a
backpack and t-shirt. We finally made out that the driver was telling us his
son had peed on the seat. I asked to sit in the front and he said NO, you sit
in the middle. So I crawled over the pee to the middle. Although by this point,
I was drenched and I don’t think I could have been able to tell if my pants
were rain wet or pee.
After a 26 mile trip in horrendous weather, we arrived at
our destination. A Holiday Inn, directly across from 6 Flags. We stumbled into the hotel to check in and
learned the bar was closing “soon”.
Well, check us in and by the way, we have no luggage so we need a
toothbrush and toothpaste, anything you have.
Ummmm, we are all out of toothpaste. WHAT? Can you like,
look in the back? Sure, we have none.
Ok, we are going to the bar. Ma'am, wait, you can have 500 points or a
drink. Hey Lavon, we need 2 drink coupons.
Sorry, I can’t do that. C’mon
Lavon, you’re running the show here, please give us 2, we’ve had a long, long
day. (And far more alcohol that 2 people should consume). But Lavon came through with 2 vouchers. We go
to a packed bar and find a seat at the bar and were immediately informed the
vouchers were only for beer and wine.
Okay, we’re flexible—2 beers. Aaand so the endless day came to an end 2
additional rounds later.
(We even asked the bar tender if he could round up some
toothpaste---no luck)
Our room was standard Holiday Inn. Comfortable and
predictable. I made Miss Cathy take ½ of
my ‘mild’ sleeping pill and I took the other half. We were far too keyed up
from the day to even attempt sleep. We set the alarm for 430 and settled into
sleep.
The alarm scared us awake at 430 and we had the worst coffee
ever and called an Uber. Thanks to the
Gods, we had a lovely woman driver that knew her way around the airport and the
general area. 5 stars and an extra tip
and we were back where started---back at the damn airport. (Still no email from the airline that we were
even booked on this flight, let alone we were stand-by.
(And we learned that Junior Mints are an acceptable mouth
wash.)
I ended up #1 on the list and Cathy was #7. What? After much frustration trying to get answers
from a most surly gate agent, the Calvary arrived in the form of 2 no nonsense
women. She told me I would clear for
sure but they didn’t know about Cathy. So, I said, I’m not traveling without
her so we’ll go if we can both get seats.
The flight was scheduled to depart at 926AM. After every other person in the gate area was
checked-in, the flight was boarding, we were informed we got the last 2 seats
on the plane. Rows 32 and 33 seat D and
they were both aisle seats. At this
point, we were so happy to be on the plane I would have sat in the toilet. Turns out I almost did.
My seat, that I named the “shit seat” was in the last row of
the plane, smack against the wall and jutting out into the aisle so that every
single bladder incompetent or worse individual on the plane brushed their ass against my
left arm. I told Cathy, I was burning my
sweater after 4+ hours of this shit. AND
even better, was every time one of the toilet doors opened, a blinding light
would shine in my face and the smell would occasionally overpower me and I
would gag. Not even kidding one little
bit about this.
And the best part, Cathy was in the row in front of me and
her seatback was broken and permanently reclined and the plane was delayed for
more than 30 minutes because they could not disconnect the jetway. OMG
But we were on the effing plane heading to Vancouver.
We finally arrive in Vancouver and waited until all 32 rows of seat deplaned before us and we were able to get off the damn plane. I felt like I reeked of shit, but Cathy reassured me I did not. But she may just have been being nice. We walked 42 miles through all these corridors and down an escalator to these kiosks to scan our passports and have some random piece of paper spit out. Then (with no direction from anyone) we got in a long, long line and queued like the cattle we felt like until we made it to a customs officer that briefly glanced at our passports and had us lower our masks. Boom Done! Hahahahahaha
Then we queued again for another spin to show our Arrive
Canada nonsense and our vaccination cards etc. We made our way to baggage claim
where Cathy headed to the American Lost Luggage desk. And guess what? Another
line. My luggage was amazingly on the
carousel. Cathy gets this lame paperwork
from the agent and we get in another line to get the hell out of the
terminal. I am not even kidding. We spot a Holland America representative that
listened to our sad story and for a mere $58 we could board their bus to Canada
Place. It was so far past check-in time
for the cruise.
We made our way off the bus and through 89 more miles of
corridors and big warehouse style rooms where we were greeted by more
representatives and showed our COVID test results and boarding passes to the
ship and on and on. More escalators, walking and we were finally able to board
the ship.
I kid you not, they were rolling up their stuff and
following us up the gangway. We were the last people to board. SIGH of relief.
After a quick trip to our room (Cabin keys were in our mail
slot) we listened to the safely briefing. The ship was already sailing. They
left late because of US. LOL We headed
to the lido deck for a refreshing drink and a purchase of the Signature
Beverage Package. Ahhhhhh, life is good
once again.
Cathy was told to purchase the things she needed until her
luggage caught up to us (maybe in Juneau). The store on board had very little
to chose from, but she did get a few things to, hopefully hold her over until
her luggage arrives.
Back in the cabin, we went through my clothes to see what
may fit Cathy. (She is a tiny soul) Let’s just say at this point, we are sharing
more than just friendship. LOL But, it’s
all good. We are here and that is what counts. What is a travel experience
without a bit of drama?
We went back up on deck – aft to watch the scenery go
by. It really was beautiful and the sun
obliged us by shining for a few hours!
Fast forward to dinner. We asked to be seated at a large
table and 3 other couples joined us. Dinner and conversation was excellent.
Unfortunately, I have no food porn pictures to share because we were starving
for “real food”. I had a seafood medley,
beautifully presented in a martini glass, with lettuce and this delicious
dressing, a chicken, beef and pork croquette and a garden salad. For my entrée, chose the Mahi Mahi, that was
served with this delicious lemony risotto and fresh mussels and clams. OMG Five
stars! It was excellent. We also ordered
dessert and coffee. I cannot even remember what it was…lol but it was good and
not super sweet—it was actually sugar free.
Our table mates were all very well travelled and spoke about
trips and places they’ve experienced. All in all, a good first day on the
ship.
Cathy and I walked around for a bit and then I heard the
casino and 3 card poker calling me. Not
a good night for this girl. And all of a sudden, we were both so exhausted we
just went down to the cabin to bed. I slept like the dead but unfortunately
Miss Cathy was awake all night and it wasn’t because I was snoring. Sigh.
And so ended the 48+ hour ordeal.
