We interrupt this blog to bring you a special bulletin.
If you know your friend is selfish, a control freak, and ungrateful on a normal day don’t expect her to be any other way when she is moving to a new home. In fact, when she is under stress expect her to be all of those things, just more so
I’m just saying…
Sunday, September 28
Thursday, September 25
The Cruise - Day 1
The day the three women left for the cruise everyone was up very early. In order to catch their 7:20 AM flight they had to leave for the airport at 4:15. Once there, the friend headed to First Class check in and the mother and daughter headed for general check in. The mother and daughter had 3 bags between them and were unaware that the airline the friend booked them on charged $25 for additional bags. First class however, can check 2 bags per person with no additional charge.
Since they had so much time to wait until the flight, the three women went to breakfast before heading to their gate. After that, it was boarding time and all went well. The first leg of the trip was fine, the mother and daughter had aisle seats and had things to keep them occupied. The second leg of the trip was also fine as the same arrangement was made on the second flight as the first.
When they arrived in Miami they had to go collect their luggage and find the cruise line representative. The representative, Jorge, was a very nice gentleman and carted their luggage to the meeting point for the cruise line. Once there the women found that the shuttle to the ship would not leave for another hour. The daughter asked how much a cab to the ship would cost. Turns out it would cost the same amount as the shuttle. The daughter asked if they could get a refund for the shuttle and just take a cab and everyone laughed…but the daughter was serious. She was tired of being in the airport, tired of travelling and tired of being hot and sticky. They waited the hour for the shuttle.
Once they arrived at the port, they checked in and got their room keys. The room keys are multi-functional since they also serve as a credit card. The ship charges a certain amount on the credit card of your choice and then that amount is the balance on the room key card. So anything that is purchased on the ship just goes on that card. It is convenient, but also sneaky on the ship’s side since it is easy to lose track of what is charged from day to day.
After they checked in it was time to find their room. There were phone calls made before the arrival concerning an upgrade and before the women went to their room the friend wanted to check on the status of the upgrade. That had to be done on the reception deck of the ship so it was onto the ship the women went.
As soon as they stepped on the ship they were greeted by a ship member holding a tray of champagne flutes. They each took a flute and headed to the atrium to sit and look out the huge windows. They headed towards the atrium so the friend could go check on their upgrade status. The mother and daughter sat and relaxed and waited. And waited…and waited. Finally the friend came back and by this time the mother and daughter were annoyed because they had to wait so long. When they asked what took so long the friend stated that she went and booked her next cruise…oh, and they didn’t get the upgrade. The mother and daughter just exchanged glances – they were too tired to do much else.
When they arrived at their cabin they were greeted by their luggage at the door. Once inside they were surprised to see how small the room was. They were told that the room would sleep three but the cruise line failed to mention that the three it slept would need to be super model thin and midget short. At that point they were just happy to be in the room – and they did have a balcony.
Next Blog: The departure, the party, the balcony and the drapes. Stay tuned for more of...As the Boat Floats.
Since they had so much time to wait until the flight, the three women went to breakfast before heading to their gate. After that, it was boarding time and all went well. The first leg of the trip was fine, the mother and daughter had aisle seats and had things to keep them occupied. The second leg of the trip was also fine as the same arrangement was made on the second flight as the first.
When they arrived in Miami they had to go collect their luggage and find the cruise line representative. The representative, Jorge, was a very nice gentleman and carted their luggage to the meeting point for the cruise line. Once there the women found that the shuttle to the ship would not leave for another hour. The daughter asked how much a cab to the ship would cost. Turns out it would cost the same amount as the shuttle. The daughter asked if they could get a refund for the shuttle and just take a cab and everyone laughed…but the daughter was serious. She was tired of being in the airport, tired of travelling and tired of being hot and sticky. They waited the hour for the shuttle.
Once they arrived at the port, they checked in and got their room keys. The room keys are multi-functional since they also serve as a credit card. The ship charges a certain amount on the credit card of your choice and then that amount is the balance on the room key card. So anything that is purchased on the ship just goes on that card. It is convenient, but also sneaky on the ship’s side since it is easy to lose track of what is charged from day to day.
After they checked in it was time to find their room. There were phone calls made before the arrival concerning an upgrade and before the women went to their room the friend wanted to check on the status of the upgrade. That had to be done on the reception deck of the ship so it was onto the ship the women went.
As soon as they stepped on the ship they were greeted by a ship member holding a tray of champagne flutes. They each took a flute and headed to the atrium to sit and look out the huge windows. They headed towards the atrium so the friend could go check on their upgrade status. The mother and daughter sat and relaxed and waited. And waited…and waited. Finally the friend came back and by this time the mother and daughter were annoyed because they had to wait so long. When they asked what took so long the friend stated that she went and booked her next cruise…oh, and they didn’t get the upgrade. The mother and daughter just exchanged glances – they were too tired to do much else.
When they arrived at their cabin they were greeted by their luggage at the door. Once inside they were surprised to see how small the room was. They were told that the room would sleep three but the cruise line failed to mention that the three it slept would need to be super model thin and midget short. At that point they were just happy to be in the room – and they did have a balcony.
Next Blog: The departure, the party, the balcony and the drapes. Stay tuned for more of...As the Boat Floats.
Wednesday, September 24
The Cruise - Prologue
Once upon a time there were three women (actually, there were more than that but for the purposes of this story, there are just three main ones), a mother, a daughter, and a friend. One day the friend visited the mother and daughter and said, “Lets take a cruise. I can get us a great deal on a cruise to the Bahamas if you book it through me. And my cost for the cruise is only going to be $175” The mother and daughter thought about it and decided to go ahead. They each paid the $419 for the cruise.
A few weeks later the friend said that they all had to make their airline reservations since the cruise was out of Miami. The mother and daughter started thinking it over and decided to see what was available leaving from the Port of Baltimore since that was only 30 minutes away. Considering the cost of airfare was an additional $300 on top of the cruise price, the mother and daughter started looking into cruises in the $700 range. The friend said that she didn’t like any of the cruises out of Baltimore and that she was happy with the one out of Miami. So the mother and daughter paid an additional $300 for airfare…in coach. The friend used her frequent flier miles to book her ticket…in first class.
After another few weeks, it was time to book the shore excursions for the days that the ship was going to be in port. The friend wanted to hang out on the beach and do some shopping, the mother and daughter wanted to do some adventures. The mother and daughter booked their shore excursions separately and decided to see what the friend was going to do. Meanwhile, the friend booked their shuttle to and from the ship…at an additional cost of $30.
While the mother and daughter were looking at the website for the cruise they checked out the fares to see how much of a great deal they were getting by booking through their friend. Turns out there was no benefit since the fares the general public got was the same as the fares were the same. Turns out, the only person who got a deal was the friend…who booked her cruise at $175 and paid absolutely nothing to fly there and back in first class. However, if the friend had listened to the mother and daughter and caught a cruise out of Baltimore it would have cost her $700 – the same amount as the mother and daughter…no wonder she was happy with the cruise out of Miami.
The mother and daughter said nothing about it to the friend at this point.
A few weeks later the friend said that they all had to make their airline reservations since the cruise was out of Miami. The mother and daughter started thinking it over and decided to see what was available leaving from the Port of Baltimore since that was only 30 minutes away. Considering the cost of airfare was an additional $300 on top of the cruise price, the mother and daughter started looking into cruises in the $700 range. The friend said that she didn’t like any of the cruises out of Baltimore and that she was happy with the one out of Miami. So the mother and daughter paid an additional $300 for airfare…in coach. The friend used her frequent flier miles to book her ticket…in first class.
After another few weeks, it was time to book the shore excursions for the days that the ship was going to be in port. The friend wanted to hang out on the beach and do some shopping, the mother and daughter wanted to do some adventures. The mother and daughter booked their shore excursions separately and decided to see what the friend was going to do. Meanwhile, the friend booked their shuttle to and from the ship…at an additional cost of $30.
While the mother and daughter were looking at the website for the cruise they checked out the fares to see how much of a great deal they were getting by booking through their friend. Turns out there was no benefit since the fares the general public got was the same as the fares were the same. Turns out, the only person who got a deal was the friend…who booked her cruise at $175 and paid absolutely nothing to fly there and back in first class. However, if the friend had listened to the mother and daughter and caught a cruise out of Baltimore it would have cost her $700 – the same amount as the mother and daughter…no wonder she was happy with the cruise out of Miami.
The mother and daughter said nothing about it to the friend at this point.
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