The return trip from H---
Jan 28, 2017 7:51:03 GMT -5
Post by Huronna on Jan 28, 2017 7:51:03 GMT -5
Most of you have read about some of the things that occurred in this trip.
The very high seas, with waves up to 30 feet. Two ports were canceled because of this.
Though it was supposed to be summer, the only place it was warm was Sydney. Luckily I had tossed in one sweater and a turtle neck at the last minute and was I ever glad because I can't tell you how many times I wore them.
The cruise ship was fantastic and the treatment of the guests was superb. Of course one cannot tame Mother Nature when she decides to roar.
I do have some more photos from the last couple of days, but That will take a while for me to get to.
Now for the trip home.
We disembarked the ship in Auckland around 9 in the morning and were taken to our hotel. Of course rooms are never ready this early, so you store your luggage there and go off wandering. The weather in Auckland was not what I call Summer, but at least I didn't have to layer my clothes. We got a map and off we went walking. The closest main attraction was the SkyTower which is 60 stories high. Great views of the city, finally had some time to get a few souvenirs and watched some videos all about Auckland. A very enjoyable time. On our walk back to the hotel, we stopped at a pub for lunch. The one thing that amazes me is every place had free wifi. There are also phone booth like places where you can be out in no where and go inside the box for free wifi. I know in the states places like Starbucks and McDonalds and a few places like that do also, but I mean everywhere!! After two local beers and good food, early rising and walking for over 2 hours we headed back to the hotel for a well deserved siesta. Around 7 we decided to get up and take a walk around the port area where there were lots of cafes and restaurants. But where did we stop? A local ice cream place. That was dinner and a very yummy one that was.
Now get ready....we had to get up at 3:30, have our luggage outside the door by 4 and be in the lobby at 4:30 (in the morning) for our ride to the airport. But at 4:30 there was no van and here we were 4 couples getting very very nervous. The concierge called the company and was told the driver was running later and that he would not be there until 4:50. Four of us had flights at 7:30 but other other 4's was at 7. They flagged down a can but of course 4 people and all that luggage would not fit, so they had to flag down another. Just as we were about to do the same thing, the van pulled up, in fact two of them?
Feast of famine.
We all got in the one van and he said...put on your seat belts because we are going to be movin!! And did he ever. I don't know ho many traffic lights there were , but somehow he managed to miss all but one. We got to the airport and luckily the four of us were all flying first class so there was no line at the ticket and checkin counter. The lines for economy were huge. We got to the gate with only about 5 minutes to spare and off we went to fly to Sydney. It was then I was really wondering why they flew is back to Sydney when there were flights going direct from Auckland to The US. Not only was this a three hour flight, but then we were to have a 5 hour layover before going on Qantas to the US. But ours in not to reason why....
When we landed in Sydney, the plane did not pull up to a gate but we had to use stairs from the plane to the ground and then a bus to take us to the airport. Joe did not had an easy job going down those steps and the two ladies we were with had a worse time because they had been transported around the airport in wheelchairs. a couple of people entered the bus but when Joe did, he misjudged the height of the entrance and caught his toes somehow and that tripped him and he landed which his shin scraping horribly. The blood really started to gush. Then an avalanche of things happened. They stopped the disembarking of the passengers, they removed all those from the bus that had already gotten in, they closed the doors and started first aid on Joe's leg. It was kind of make ship first aid because there really was no kit around. They took us in the bus back to the airport where a nurse was waiting for him to triage. He was going to have to go to see the Doctor because there was a possibility he would need stitches.
Because the medical office was outside of immigration , they had to take our luggage off the place and put it in holding because they didn't know if Joe would be cleared for flying. We had to go through customs and immigration and then the Dr office. I guess we should be thankful that we had 5 hour layover. No stitches were needed, the wound was just cleaned up and re bandaged and he was going the medical papers that gave him permission to fly. But now he was in a wheelchair because he could not put pressure on that leg for fear it would start to bleed again.
We were taken to the Qantas Business lounge which was a sight for sore eyes. We have always flown economy and this was the first time we had decided to upgrade and I'm sure glad we did. In the lounge they had anything you wanted , food, wine, beer, any type of liquid refreshment, News papers, wifi. We enjoyed the lap of luxury and finally were able to relax.....for a while. Then we heard that our flight was delayed which of course made our arrival in Dallas late and that is where you have to go through immigration and customs. When someone is in a wheelchair, you are taken to the areas where you need to go. Joe was able to sit in the lounge, but when it was time to move him the transporter with the wheelchair was right there.
The flight, though 15 hours was wonderful. I'm spoiled forever. Anything over 3 hours, I do believe I will upgrade from now on. I never minded flying, but this actually made it enjoyable....until we landed in Dallas.
Being late we had less than 90 minutes to deplane, get to immigration, go through that, get our luggage and go through customs, go back through security again, check in the luggage and get to the gate. I know I would have made it if I had been by myself as I can run and hustle, but Joe walks a lot slower than I do and now he was in a wheelchair. Well thank heavens we got the transporter we did because she was absolutely amazing. She had us through immigration and passport control in no time flat, she helped me get the luggage and fill out the forms in customs and get back through those lines. Because she had a handicapped person she was always able to go to the head of any lines especially with her "crew pass" After customs you had to recheck your luggage and then make it to your gate. Dallas is a huge airport with many terminals. We were in D and had to go to A. Up in the elevator we went and into the Skytrain. She and I were huffing and puffing all the way. She was pushing Joe, had had his carry on on his lap but I had my big travel purse with all the valuable stuff, meds, passports, jewelry paperwork everything. When we finally got to Terminal A, the elevator was out of order. (feast or famine). She told me to run to the gate, because they were already boarding and to tell them Wheelchair on the way, elevator broken.....so down the escalator I ran and ran to the gate. They had already started boarding and were on group 3.I told the gate person and though they didn't have to Hold the plane, we were the last two to board. I think I totally collapsed in my seat.
Our friends were picking us up at the airport. I had phones them in Dallas wt the gate to let them know ...we made it! So they were actually waiting for our right outside of security rather than in the cell phone lot. Joe again was in the wheelchair, the airlines had been really good about that, I was very nervous but they were there whenever we got off the plane. Down to get out luggage...i piece, 2 pieces...oh now where was #3? Not to arrive. So Nancy, when with the transporter, Joe in the wheelchair and the 2 piecesof luggage to the car which John and I went to baggage claim to fill out the paper work. Guess where my bag was....still in Dallas. Due to fly in on the next flight. which was due in at 11 PM. Filled out all the papers and they supposedly are going to deliver it today.
And now we are back home, doing wash, going through the mail which was held but all delivered yesterday, paid the bills , tracked my luggage, it is in Tampa now and we shall see when it is delivered. And we crashed around midnight. I woke around 5:30 and have been doing e-mails and tons of things. AT 10 I will get to pick up Powder and Scout. I sure did miss them, but did a lot of ferret education which on the cruise. Never did meet anyone who knew what a ferret was as a pet. You know me, have ipad will travel LOL
Guess that gets you up to date. See you later
The very high seas, with waves up to 30 feet. Two ports were canceled because of this.
Though it was supposed to be summer, the only place it was warm was Sydney. Luckily I had tossed in one sweater and a turtle neck at the last minute and was I ever glad because I can't tell you how many times I wore them.
The cruise ship was fantastic and the treatment of the guests was superb. Of course one cannot tame Mother Nature when she decides to roar.
I do have some more photos from the last couple of days, but That will take a while for me to get to.
Now for the trip home.
We disembarked the ship in Auckland around 9 in the morning and were taken to our hotel. Of course rooms are never ready this early, so you store your luggage there and go off wandering. The weather in Auckland was not what I call Summer, but at least I didn't have to layer my clothes. We got a map and off we went walking. The closest main attraction was the SkyTower which is 60 stories high. Great views of the city, finally had some time to get a few souvenirs and watched some videos all about Auckland. A very enjoyable time. On our walk back to the hotel, we stopped at a pub for lunch. The one thing that amazes me is every place had free wifi. There are also phone booth like places where you can be out in no where and go inside the box for free wifi. I know in the states places like Starbucks and McDonalds and a few places like that do also, but I mean everywhere!! After two local beers and good food, early rising and walking for over 2 hours we headed back to the hotel for a well deserved siesta. Around 7 we decided to get up and take a walk around the port area where there were lots of cafes and restaurants. But where did we stop? A local ice cream place. That was dinner and a very yummy one that was.
Now get ready....we had to get up at 3:30, have our luggage outside the door by 4 and be in the lobby at 4:30 (in the morning) for our ride to the airport. But at 4:30 there was no van and here we were 4 couples getting very very nervous. The concierge called the company and was told the driver was running later and that he would not be there until 4:50. Four of us had flights at 7:30 but other other 4's was at 7. They flagged down a can but of course 4 people and all that luggage would not fit, so they had to flag down another. Just as we were about to do the same thing, the van pulled up, in fact two of them?
Feast of famine.We all got in the one van and he said...put on your seat belts because we are going to be movin!! And did he ever. I don't know ho many traffic lights there were , but somehow he managed to miss all but one. We got to the airport and luckily the four of us were all flying first class so there was no line at the ticket and checkin counter. The lines for economy were huge. We got to the gate with only about 5 minutes to spare and off we went to fly to Sydney. It was then I was really wondering why they flew is back to Sydney when there were flights going direct from Auckland to The US. Not only was this a three hour flight, but then we were to have a 5 hour layover before going on Qantas to the US. But ours in not to reason why....
When we landed in Sydney, the plane did not pull up to a gate but we had to use stairs from the plane to the ground and then a bus to take us to the airport. Joe did not had an easy job going down those steps and the two ladies we were with had a worse time because they had been transported around the airport in wheelchairs. a couple of people entered the bus but when Joe did, he misjudged the height of the entrance and caught his toes somehow and that tripped him and he landed which his shin scraping horribly. The blood really started to gush. Then an avalanche of things happened. They stopped the disembarking of the passengers, they removed all those from the bus that had already gotten in, they closed the doors and started first aid on Joe's leg. It was kind of make ship first aid because there really was no kit around. They took us in the bus back to the airport where a nurse was waiting for him to triage. He was going to have to go to see the Doctor because there was a possibility he would need stitches.
Because the medical office was outside of immigration , they had to take our luggage off the place and put it in holding because they didn't know if Joe would be cleared for flying. We had to go through customs and immigration and then the Dr office. I guess we should be thankful that we had 5 hour layover. No stitches were needed, the wound was just cleaned up and re bandaged and he was going the medical papers that gave him permission to fly. But now he was in a wheelchair because he could not put pressure on that leg for fear it would start to bleed again.
We were taken to the Qantas Business lounge which was a sight for sore eyes. We have always flown economy and this was the first time we had decided to upgrade and I'm sure glad we did. In the lounge they had anything you wanted , food, wine, beer, any type of liquid refreshment, News papers, wifi. We enjoyed the lap of luxury and finally were able to relax.....for a while. Then we heard that our flight was delayed which of course made our arrival in Dallas late and that is where you have to go through immigration and customs. When someone is in a wheelchair, you are taken to the areas where you need to go. Joe was able to sit in the lounge, but when it was time to move him the transporter with the wheelchair was right there.
The flight, though 15 hours was wonderful. I'm spoiled forever. Anything over 3 hours, I do believe I will upgrade from now on. I never minded flying, but this actually made it enjoyable....until we landed in Dallas.
Being late we had less than 90 minutes to deplane, get to immigration, go through that, get our luggage and go through customs, go back through security again, check in the luggage and get to the gate. I know I would have made it if I had been by myself as I can run and hustle, but Joe walks a lot slower than I do and now he was in a wheelchair. Well thank heavens we got the transporter we did because she was absolutely amazing. She had us through immigration and passport control in no time flat, she helped me get the luggage and fill out the forms in customs and get back through those lines. Because she had a handicapped person she was always able to go to the head of any lines especially with her "crew pass" After customs you had to recheck your luggage and then make it to your gate. Dallas is a huge airport with many terminals. We were in D and had to go to A. Up in the elevator we went and into the Skytrain. She and I were huffing and puffing all the way. She was pushing Joe, had had his carry on on his lap but I had my big travel purse with all the valuable stuff, meds, passports, jewelry paperwork everything. When we finally got to Terminal A, the elevator was out of order. (feast or famine). She told me to run to the gate, because they were already boarding and to tell them Wheelchair on the way, elevator broken.....so down the escalator I ran and ran to the gate. They had already started boarding and were on group 3.I told the gate person and though they didn't have to Hold the plane, we were the last two to board. I think I totally collapsed in my seat.
Our friends were picking us up at the airport. I had phones them in Dallas wt the gate to let them know ...we made it! So they were actually waiting for our right outside of security rather than in the cell phone lot. Joe again was in the wheelchair, the airlines had been really good about that, I was very nervous but they were there whenever we got off the plane. Down to get out luggage...i piece, 2 pieces...oh now where was #3? Not to arrive. So Nancy, when with the transporter, Joe in the wheelchair and the 2 piecesof luggage to the car which John and I went to baggage claim to fill out the paper work. Guess where my bag was....still in Dallas. Due to fly in on the next flight. which was due in at 11 PM. Filled out all the papers and they supposedly are going to deliver it today.
And now we are back home, doing wash, going through the mail which was held but all delivered yesterday, paid the bills , tracked my luggage, it is in Tampa now and we shall see when it is delivered. And we crashed around midnight. I woke around 5:30 and have been doing e-mails and tons of things. AT 10 I will get to pick up Powder and Scout. I sure did miss them, but did a lot of ferret education which on the cruise. Never did meet anyone who knew what a ferret was as a pet. You know me, have ipad will travel LOL
Guess that gets you up to date. See you later
