FMF Cruise Review, Part 8

This is a follow-up post to part 7.

This is the last post in this series.

Tuesday, January 24

Our last day on vacation was spent at sea.

It was a pretty quiet day for us on the ship. Here's the quick run-down:

• Up at 8:30 am
• Breakfast
• Played ping pong and a few other games
• Lunch
• Hit the pool. It was fun because the boat was pitching, making the swimming pool a wave pool.
• Took a tour of the bridge. This was part of a 25-person tour set up by our concierge. Very interesting. See the pics below for shots of the tour.
• Back to room and packed a bit -- lots to fit into suitcases.
• Ate dinner.
• Handed out tips to our butler, house keeper, and concierge.
• Played shuffleboard on deck and just enjoyed being outside in the warmth knowing we were back to the cold the next day.
• Back to the room -- visited on the balcony.
• Packed, took showers, and headed to bed.

Wednesday, January 25

Today we got off the ship and headed home.

We decided to carry our own luggage off the ship, so we didn't leave it out last night (which most people do on a cruise -- leave luggage packed and in the hallway for handlers to take off for you). We finished packing it up this morning, then headed to breakfast. Thankfully we could go to Cagney's so we didn't have to deal with the mass of people surging all at once at the buffet.

We had priority disembarkation, so after breakfast we simply took our bags down and went through a side line ahead of all the other passengers waiting to be processed. Again, our status certainly had its benefits.

We made it through customs quickly and hit the street shortly thereafter. We called our shuttle driver (who we had talked to earlier in the day) and he came and picked us up. He then drove us from the port of Miami to the Ft. Lauderdale airport.

Now there's an art to picking your return flights after a cruise, and let's just say we aren't artists.

The art lies in knowing when your ship gets into port and picking a flight after that time that gives you enough time to get to the airport comfortably. The problem is that even though the ship is supposed to be in port at 8 am, sometimes it's late. So do you risk that it will be on time and book an earlier flight or do you play it safe and book later? We played it safe and booked later. And the ship was on time.

This is how we found ourselves at the Ft. Lauderdale airport at 10 am. Our flight to Detroit was set to leave at 3 pm. It arrived at 6 pm. Then our flight to Grand Rapids was to leave at 10 pm and get us home at 11 pm. So at 10 am, we were looking at nine hours of sitting in airports waiting for planes.

But there was good news. A flight to Detroit was open at 11 am. And I was willing to pay the change fee to get us on it. However, there was bad news. There wasn't an earlier flight to Grand Rapids that was open other than the one we had at 10 pm. So we could pay $200 for the privilege of sitting in the Detroit airport for eight hours or so. No thanks.

As a side note, remember that we had debated whether to fly from Grand Rapids or drive to Detroit and leave from there. If we had done the latter, we not only would have arrived at the start of the trip on time (remember we missed our connection) but we would also have been home several hours earlier. Hindsight is 20/20.

Not relishing the wait in the airports, I went into the Delta Club and asked if my new Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express allowed me to get in (I thought it did, for a fee). Yes, it did, but it would be $25 per person. If I wanted to use the club both in Ft. Lauderdale and in Detroit, I was looking at $200. Yikes!

I asked how much an ANNUAL membership would be. I fly Delta a lot and thought I could use it both now and throughout the next year. For new members it was $500. Yikes again!

I said thanks and started to walk out when the lady said, "You could use points to pay for it if you have enough." Hmmm, I did have enough. I had been accumulating Delta and Northwest (Delta purchased NW and merged the points) points for years and had never redeemed any. Even though I'm not a frequent traveler and don't use a credit card for points, I had accumulated 110,000 points. I paid with 80,000 points (not a great deal for me compared to what I probably could have done with them) and the family was in the Delta Club soon thereafter.

If you've never been into an airline's club, let me just say that waiting in a club is MUCH better than waiting in the general airport area. It's quieter, more comfortable (much better chairs), there is food and drink available (complimentary), and you have access to their web connection (or can use their computers to access the web.) They also have TVs to watch and magazines to read. It's an oasis in the midst of what can be a traveling storm.

Still, the wait was loooooong, but we finally got boarded and took off. Arriving in Detroit at 6 pm, we then headed to one Delta Club, then another (better) one to wait for our next flight.

We visited, ate, drank, and played cards for a couple hours until our flight's take-off time was approaching. Just as we were talking about when we should head to the gate, Delta announced a delay -- until 11:15 pm. Ugh. Thanks again, Delta. You messed up our connection going and now coming back.

So we hunkered down for another hour and a half, then went to our gate. All was smooth from there on out and we got home after midnight. We caught a cab to our place and unpacked a bit before going to bed, exhausted from a day spent sitting in airports. However, we still did have the warm memories of the Caribbean in mind and were living off the high a bit. It was such a great trip overall and we now can't wait to get back soon. 

As we end this series, enjoy these pictures from our tour of the ship's bridge. (click images to make bigger)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Tyler S.]

I'm looking at going on my first cruise sometime in the coming months with some friends! Got any secret insider tips that newbies NEED to know??

[tom]

How did the tipping breakout look?

[FMF]

tom --

To be honest, I can't remember at this point. But I do recall we erred on the side of being what we felt was generous since they had taken such good care of us.

Tyler S --

Read my entire cruise series plus this post:

http://www.freemoneyfinance.com/2012/02/how-to-save-on-a-cruise.html

[Keith K]

I just got my delta AE gold card yesterday to save on golf bag luggage fees. You may already know but those 80k miles would have been worth $800 if you used the buy with miles option when booking flights. I enjoy your blog, keep up the good work.

Thanks,

Keith

[FMF]

Keith --

I know it was a "bad deal" for me, but I'd rather have spent the points versus the cash (even though the cash was less).

[Mark]

That $800 sounds so "Not FMF"!

I fly extensively (2 trips per month, and over 100,000 miles per year for teh alst 10 years). Having flown around some of the world's worst airports (Africa, Russia to name a few), I find sitting in a US airport quite comfortable and relaxing!

When I get to use the lounge (business class travel or due to frequent flier status), I obviously appreciate it, but I have never been able to justify the expense to myself.

I am comfortable enough in the public area with my iPod, a couple of magazines and perhaps $10 worth of food on a long layover.

One tip - If you want peace and quiet, find a seat at a gate that is not due for a flight for a while.

[Catherine]

Great series!

Good tip about flight scheduling. If you book airfare thru the cruiseline, they will coordinate timing and ensure your ontime arrival to the airport. I've only used the cruiesline's ChoiceAir program for a transatlantic cruise where it worked out to be the cheaper option.

On our last cruise (same week as yours!) we bookended the trip with two nights pre cruise & one night post cruise in Ft. Lauderdale. It was cheaper to fly on those days and we paid for the hotel rooms with points. I'm sure we offset the savings with some fun dining and shopping.... but I'm already plotting the next one.

[FMF]

Mark --

I know! Totally not me...usually. But as you can tell, this whole trip was a bit different. Plus I had my family with me.

BTW, I've used the club once again (for three hours) since then and it's a night and day difference between it and waiting anywhere else in the airport.

[Mark]

@FMF: It's been interesting watching how you tackle some things in a "non-FMF" way - the cruise, buying a new car, and getting cable TV.

Good to see you balancing fun and comfort with frugality.

...But I still wouldn't drop $800 on a lounge membership! :)