Fort Lauderdale - Here We Come

We're up early this morning so that we can make a 4:30am drive to SFO. From there, we'll catch a non-stop Virgin America flight to Fort Lauderdale. This is the first time we've flown VA and we decided to upgrade to VA's "Main Cabin Select" seats. These seats have a bit more leg room and include access to first class check-in, priority seating and complementary  coach "meals" and drinks.


The drive to the airport was traffic free and in the comfort of a new Mercedes Benz

C300 (the last car I rented was a Toyota Yaris). The local Hertz counter wanted to move this car to SFO and offered the car to me for an additional $10. Not bad, use of a 2015 C300 with 800 miles on the odometer for $50. Why use a rental? With a longer trip, we try to avoid high long-term parking fees and the airport shuttle for two costs almost as much as a rental car.

Once in Florida, we have a one-night stay before starting a trip that will include two transatlantic cruises, a car drive through the UK and UK rail travel.

Packing for this trip has been a challenge. We need a greater range of clothes for the cruises but also need to pack very nimbly for car and rail travel. Our solution to this challenge was to arrange a short-term locker rental in Southampton. We will leave a large 30 inch duffel and rolling suit luggage in the locker upon arrival and pick them up on our way to our return cruise to New York. We have two 22 inch backpack/travel luggage that will accompany us through the UK.

Our trip over the pond will be on the Royal Princess. This ship carries about 3,600 passengers and 1,360 crew members. With a length of about 3.5 football fields, about 80 percent of the 1,780 cabins have private balconies. This is the largest cruise ship in which we've traveled and we had some trepidation about the travel experience with 3,600 people spread over 17 floors. Embarkation and disembarkation can be challenging as it is, but dealing with large crowds on the dock seems a bit overwhelming. On the other hand, the cruise lines have been sailing with these large ships for some time and should have the process down by now. 

We'll continue to post as we move along on our trip.