This will be a very unusual back to back cruise. I am cruising alone on Cruise #1 while Ellen stays home to take care of some important things. Ellen will join me in Miami on December 20 for Cruise #2. That was the best solution and really the only good option that would make sure that everyone is taken care of and that everything gets done. The first cruise will be the first time I have cruised alone in over 120 voyages.
December
8, 2024 – Travel Day
My flight today – UA1857 – departs at a reasonable time at 10:50 AM which meant that I didn’t have to get up early. But I still got up early (about 5:15 AM) which has been my MO since we moved to our lakeside condo. Even without the new digs, I have generally gotten up early in the morning.
I checked my phone to make sure that the flight was on
time. It was, but I also got an notification
from United that my seat had been changed.
I bought Economy Plus seat 10A (window) for an absurd charge and the
airline thought reasonable to move me to the middle seat in that row (equipment
change was the reason stated). That
wouldn’t do, so I called United and while going through the phone options, I
was told that I could communicate with United through text (my preferred mode
of communication). They sent me a link
to access the “chat line” and I got on.
I first encountered a bot, which sent me in an infinite loop so I typed
in “live chat” and was told that someone would soon be on line with me.
To my amazement, someone did enter the chat. I explained the issue and the agent said they
had to check my rickets and information.
They came back on in a few minutes and asked me to confirm by full name
and DOB. I sent that along and in a few
minutes, the agent said that they had moved me to the window seat one row up (I
tried to do that myself on the UA app but they asked for $83 for the seat
(laughable since I already paid for the original upgraded seat). Well, the move to 9A, which I confirmed
before I terminated the chat, did not cost me anything. You would think that UA could have done that
without my having to contact them. But,
it all worked out in the end – I also checked to make sure that 9A had an
actual window since some airlines have a “windowless” window seat on their
planes. According to seat guru, 9A had a
window.
It was so early that I had breakfast (the usual) before the Sun came
up. I double checked a few things just
in case. The American Taxi ride was
scheduled for 8:00 AM, which I set up to get me to the airport in plenty of
time to check my bag (free with this reservation), make my way through TSA
Pre-Check, and to my gate with was Terminal 1 C34.
The cab arrived a little early at 7:53 AM and I was on my
way to ORD at 8:00 AM. He went a totally
different way – cross town to the US94 then to US190W and to O’Hare. The ride took exactly 30 minutes. Would have taken a bit longer during the week
but we had no traffic and my driver did not exceed the speed limit the entire
ride. He dropped me at Terminal 1 and I got my bag tag and paper boarding pass at a
kiosk. I took my bag to the drop and, in
just a minute, was on my way to Pre-Check.
Going through security was fast and I got to C34 at 8:50 AM. The previous plane (going to Aruba) was still
at the gate. We don’t board until 10:10
AM (it is now 9:26 AM). The gate just
cleared so our plane will be arriving soon.
My plane – a B737-900ER – did not taxi up to the gate but instead was towed.
No passengers got off that plane so I concluded that our actual plane ran into some issues and this plane was subbed in at the last minute. After the aircraft was cleaned we boarded. My seat, 9A, was a good window seat.
After taking out my lunch, I put my backpack in the overhead compartment and settled in. I was happy to discover that, unlike some previous United Flights, this seat did have good legroom (still too expensive compared to the fare).
The other passengers in my row were two young guys and the guy next to me spilled over into my territory so I couldn’t operate the entertainment screen. A flight attendant offered one of the guys a seat across the aisle but he turned it down – guess they really wanted to sit together.
The United Airlines app now comes with Flight Aware Tracking. I checked out the flight plan, which was pretty direct. I also noted that there was no weather between ORD and MIA.
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The flaps and slats were set in take off position (I still check but not as religiously as I used to years ago).
The plane pushed on time and took off pretty much on time making that hard bank (to reduce ground noise) before leveling off.
The flight was mostly smooth except for some CAT about half way through but it lasted only a few minutes. When we started our initial descent into MIA, I went to check that my seat belt was tight, I realized that I did not have my belt on for the whole flight. I didn’t need to visit the facilities at all for the three hour flight so I didn’t notice the belt. The flight attendants who usually go through the plane checking for seat belts also didn’t catch it. Another contributing factor was that when we boarded my belt was shoved into the crease in the seat and I didn’t see it and simply forgot about it. Still no excuse – SAFETY FIRST – and I am totally into wearing the belt the whole flight. Hasn't happened until now and it won’t happen again.
We were ahead of schedule and the plane flew over the western coast of Florida before turning east tor Miami.
We were on final approach crossing over the Everglades and some salt evaporation ponds. I also tracked the plane’s shadow on the ground on approach.
We were just about to touch down when the plane banked to the right (at a pretty low altitude – less than 1000 feet) and spooled up the engines and started climbing – a go-around at very low altitude. The plane climbed for a few minutes while circling back to MIA. The pilot came on and said that we were too close to the plane in front of us and we were ordered to go-around to put safe separation between aircraft.
We landed without incident about five minutes later and
were at the gate still earlier than the initial arrival time. From Gate H15, I
made my way to Baggage Claim – quite a trek.
My new bag came out quickly and I called the hotel to check on the
shuttle. I had a direct line to the hotel and they said that the shuttle picks
up at gates 8 and 15 on level up at Departures.
I was at Gate 21 so I opted to go to the closest pick up spot – Gate
15. I checked again with the hotel and
they said the shuttle would be there in 45 minutes. I found a place to sit and it was warm
outside so the wait was not too bad. The
shuttle actually arrived in about 20 minutes and after a 10 minute ride, we
were at the hotel.
I am staying at the Comfort Suites Airport North in Miami Springs (on Minola Dr.) It seemed like a nice hotel and the folks at check in were nice. I was assigned Room 205 and was told it was a quiet room. Breakfast was 6 – 10 AM and Checkout was 11 AM. I found the room – not too close to the elevators and overlooking the parking lot. The room is large with two queen sized beds and a large bathroom. It’s not really a suite but it does have a safe, a work area, and a TV that could use some additional brightness (dark picture). It also comes with an annoying compressor noise that comes on every minute or so and then goes off – I’m guessing that it’s the air conditioner next door.
I checked out the restaurants nearby and they were expensive and not that appetizing. I decided to order in from old friend Pizza Hut. I ordered on line – a personal pan pizza, some pasta alfredo and a Sprite type soda (no diet available). It was still expensive with the $5 delivery charge and driver’s tip (the whole thing came to under $30). Pizza Hut does the same thing as Dominoes. They tell you when the pizza is cooking and when it’s on its way; The order came right on time and it was still hot. I liked the personal pan but the Penne Alfredo was a stinker. The Breadsticks, which come all together in a loaf, were good but too big a portion. Next time, just a personal pan.
I spent the evening watching football.
Lights out at 10:45 PM.
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