Jetblue

Cruise Day 8 – Going Home

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Today was the last day of the cruise. That basically means we wake up, get to port, and then leave the ship. Because we flew out of Orlando, and we rented a car on the way in, we had to find other transportation back to the airport. We ended up spending the money and getting bus service back to Orlando. It turns out that was a fantastic idea. Our flight was not until later in the afternoon, because we rushed last year to get on an earlier flight. The boat wasn’t late like it was last year, so we got out and cleared customs relatively fast. The downside of that meant we had to spend several hours in the airport in Orlando. I would rather have done that anyway then be worried about rushing to catch a flight.

The flight home was generally uneventful. We caught a cab easy enough and were home in our new apartment. We came home to the same set of boxes waiting for us to be unpacked that we left. I secretly wished that helper elves had unpacked everything while we’re gone. They didn’t.

When checking my voice mail when I got off the plane I got a message from my new boss. Apparently while I was away there was a reorganization and I moved to a different manager. I knew it was coming, but wasn’t sure when. It was weird to know that I have to meet my new manager on the phone first thing the day I get back from my honeymoon!

I want to note that all of the blog posts about the honeymoon or written after-the-fact. Actually I finally got around to writing them sometime in August. I postdated everything since I like to know for me when things actually happened, and not just talk about them past tense. MC will talk about how she won’t go on a cruise for a while, and had a not so great time because of the weather and the rough sea conditions. That part wasn’t the greatest, but overall it was a vacation and I enjoyed it.

Off On Our Honeymoon

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Today MC and I flew to Orlando Florida for our honeymoon. Our cruise is not until tomorrow but we wanted to get to Florida early in case there was bad weather. We took JetBlue from LaGuardia to Orlando and we really didn’t have any issues. The security line was long other than that it was a pretty uneventful flight. I’m not complaining, trust me I’m just stating the facts.

We got a rental car and drove the short distance to our hotel. Since it was the 1st night of our honeymoon I want to stay somewhere nice so we booked a room at the Waldorf Astoria in Orlando. I realize it was actually on the Disney properties. We drove past finds all the walk in the Disney World and got a huge complex of hotels.

We were hoping for room upgrade from AMEX and since it was our honeymoon. Alas that didn’t happen but the room we did get was still pretty fantastic. We did also get chocolate covered strawberries and champagne as a welcome gift. I gotta say AMEX treats us right.

By the time we were ready to eat dinner there was only like one or 2 options. the fancy steakhouse seemed a little too fancy for our tastes that night. We ended up and peacock Alley which is the hotel lounge. I had a drink or two and we had appetizers and hung out for a little while before we went to bed. It was good to just relax after a long day of traveling.

Finally Home

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The trip home today was uneventful compared to yesterday. I didn’t wait for the shuttle buses that Jetblue was going to provide since I didn’t want to get stuck in a huge crowd so I grabbed a cab to the airport on my own dime. That choose was worth it. I got my ticket in 5 minutes, and was glad I got a head start on the customs line that was pretty long. We got out of the Bahamas without any other incident. We landed in NY a few hours before the storm started. I was thankful to be home even though I enjoyed my vacations.

Looking back on the incidents of yesterday I can say obviously no one likes being stranded. Jetblue did the right thing by putting us all up for the night, but overall the entire process was horrible. There was very little to no communication about what was going on. It looked like Jetblue staff wasn’t communicating to each other because no one had the entire picture of what was going on. In the end things worked out but during the entire situation it was frustrating not know what was going on. So they get mixed grade overall.

Groundhog Day

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My return trip home was not as uneventful as the other legs of my trip this week. Actually so far it has been a disaster. I got to the airport over two hours in advance like the resort and the airline suggested. I got through customs and security pretty quick, even if security had me take my belt off and swapped my entire bag. The lines werent horrible. Then I sat. There was no free wifi like the Jetblue site suggested there was and I couldn’t get the pay WIFI point to take any of my credit cards.

This is where the fun began. My flight got delayed. At first just an hour. Then that hour past and a flight that was supposed to leave at 2:10 got moved to 6PM. They claimed that they needed a part from NY that they had to fly in. This would have been ok if there was a place to eat (I don’t count a skeevy cafeteria that only looked like it had fried chicken and rice) and the fact that they are doing construction in the small terminal. That mean drilling and other loud banging sounds all day. Top off the no WIFI, power outlets, and the terminal was packed. it was not pleasant. Then we hear the flight was canceled. There would be no flight until tomorrow morning.

Thankfully they put us up at a decent hotel. Unfortunately getting to the hotel was not fun. First we had to wait on line to get travel vouchers. Then we had to wait for luggage while the bus drivers waited to take us to the hotel. For about an hour no one knew what was going on. Then the luggage shows up and we have to claim it, then put it on a van for the hotel. Thankfully I got a seat on one of the first bus’s. Then it was waiting at the hotel for a room. Thankfully again I walk fast and actually got to the head of the line for rooms. I have been in this situation before and kinda knew what to do. After a wait for my luggage to show up I headed to dinner.

There was a decent steakhouse in the hotel so I went there and had a nice filet. Half of it was paid for by Jetblue. On the plus side at the restaurant there was an acapella group from stanford that held a small performance for the guests. It was pretty good and something nice to break up the crazy day.

My luck didn’t hold out and I walked out of dinner without my Kindle. I didn’t realize it until I was back at my room. I ran back to the restaurant and thankfully the waiter found it and held onto it. That would have been really bad if that was lost too.

I took a quick shower and am getting ready for bed now since I need to be up at 4:30AM to catch my flight. Apparently Jetblue is flying out a plane for us and we can leave tomorrow morning. I am not happy about the events of today, but in context it could have been (and still may become) much worse. Right now I am worried that we may be delayed again and have problems getting into NYC since a storm is supposed to be on its way. We shall see what happens. Right now I am thankful I have an extra change of clothes for tomorrow.

No one likes being stranded. Jetblue did the right thing by putting us all up for the night, but overall the entire process was horrible. There was very little to no communication about what was going on. It looked like Jetblue staff wasn’t communicating to each other because no one had the entire picture of what was going on. In the end things worked out but during the entire situation it was frustrating not know what was going on.

Off To The Bahamas

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Today I was off to the Bahamas. I thought long and hard about this trip but in the end I decided to head out on vacation by myself for a few days. I didn’t really want to but timing, funding, and other issues prevented anyone I wanted to travel with from being able to actually going. SInce I hadn’t had a real going away to a resort vacation in years (around 4) I figured what the heck. So here I am sitting at Atlantis in the Bahamas.

The flight down was ok. There was a slight delay due to a flat tire. That made us lose an hour. The seat was nice. I am glad I paid a bit extra for the extra leg room. I would do that again if given the chance. I don’t like the charge, but the space is nice.

I just got back from a deep tissue massage and dinner. Man the massage hurt. I seriously needed it but I have never done a deep tissue one before. You really get beaten up.

For dinner I hit the steakhouse. The food was really good, but really over priced. I was a bit saddened that they only had 12 year old scotch. For a fancy place you should carry better stuff. I stuck with Jack and Coke instead. Can’t go wrong with Jack.

Tomorrow I look forward to doing pretty much nothing. The joys of vacation. In fact I am doing so little that these posts will most likely get post dated since they wont make it online until after I get back!

Vegas Baby, Again!

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I am off to one of my favorate spots right now, Las Vegas. I am on my way to Cisco Networkers. I personally can’t stand conventions but because of what I do and my personal interests Networks is not like other conventions. I had a great time last year so I am going back. This year Jayson is coming with me, and we are meeting our friend Joe there. Right now I am on my Jetblue flight out there. I like jetblue. They have yet to do something to piss me off. I have my 36 channels of TV with nothing on, so I write a bit.

We will get to Vegas and check into the hotel and then meet up with Joe and Karen for dinner. By the time we land we will be able to go straight to the hotel. I don’t know if I will gamble much, but I will try do it a little. I want to work on my tan a bit tomorrow. I am going to Vegas for work, but the reason I am heading out a bit early is to get some recreation in also!

Right now we are over Missouri and I have already set my watch to Vegas time. I am going to sit back and relax a bit.

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I’m Back Home

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I got home late last night, actually by the time I got to my apartment it was today. The flight home was uneventful. Jetblue is still aces in my book. I listened to music on my Powerbook for about 30 minutes and spent the rest of the flight watching the History & Sci-Fi channels. Mind numbing TV to calm the masses on long flights, hmm why didn’t anyone else think of that? Man it worked. I got ticked off every time the interrupted the TV to make an announcement. Who cares if we hit some chop, or a wing fell off, etc. I want to get back to my modern marvel’s, and this week in history!

I got to the airport early enough to catch some food. I like a flight when everything goes according to plan, and you have time to relax and not rush. I even caught a cab with less than 5 minutes wait to and from the airport. Why can’t all travel be like this.

I even unpacked already. That is a feat for me, since I normally leave the luggage sitting around for days (weeks) before I put it away and do laundry. I am so proud of myself!