With over a year’s worth of planning behind us, we set out for Europe at the very beginning of May along with three other couples. The group was anxiously looking forward to our 10-day cruise aboard Silversea’s Silver Spirit sailing on May 6 from Venice, cruising the Adriatic, Ionian, and Tyrrhenian Seas as well as the Mediterranean with stops at ports in Croatia, Greece and Malta as well as several destinations along the Italian Peninsula before disembarking in Rome. Our plan was to fly to Venice several days ahead of the sailing. Three of the four couples began our journey at the Raleigh Durham Airport (RDU) aboard American Airlines' non-stop flight to London Heathrow, where we planned to connect with a British Airways flight to Venice. Although I consider myself an experienced traveler, I had a bit of a mishap right off the bat. After dropping my wife off at the departures level of Terminal 2, I realized I had left my cell phone charging at home. So, I broke any number of traffic laws rushing back and forth, eventually rendezvousing with everyone in the Admirals Club across from Gate C3 with about an hour to spare before boarding. Whew! We all received a warm send-off there from Dave, my fellow RDU AvGeek and Navigator Program Manager, who stopped by the club to wish us all a warm “bon voyage.”
Boarding was on time and we took our two assigned middle seats in the second row. American operates a B777-200 on the route and this particular aircraft was outfitted with alternating forward and rear facing seats. Luckily, the even numbered rows were forward facing as I’ve never been a fan of flying backwards. There are 37 lie-flat Flagship Business Class seats on this aircraft type. One spans rows 1 through 6 and another, smaller cabin is located aft of the second galley for rows 7 through 10. The seats are nearly 22” wide and the newer style overhead bins offer plenty of space. There are also two table top storage areas within the individual countertops for smaller items such as books or glasses. Amenity kits by Shinola of Detroit were placed on each countertop and while they don’t hold a candle to those distributed by Emirates or Singapore Airlines, the kits contained the basic necessities for long-haul travel, including a dental kit, socks, eyeshades and lip balm. Bose over ear noise cancelling headsets were placed on each countertop and a large, comfortable pillow and thick blanket were placed on each seat. An extra special bonus was having Dottie as our flight attendant. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know her as a volunteer at the Federal Inspection Station at RDU as she routinely works the London flights. Dottie’s a real professional who provided excellent service with a smile. She’s a great asset to American.
Our pilot announced the crossing would take 7 hours and 35 minutes, considerably longer than normal, leading me to guess the tailwinds were much weaker than usual. We pushed back at 6:18 and taxied for departure from Runway 23R with take off at 6:30. About 40 minutes later, drink orders were taken and a glass of the California Mon Frére Cabernet Sauvignon soon arrived along with a ramekin of Warmed Nuts. The appetizer course of Eggplant Caponata with Grilled Artichokes and Feta Cheese was presented next along with a Romaine Salad with Grape Tomatoes, Shaved Red Onion and Toasted Quinoa served with Balsamic Vinaigrette. I had pre-selected the Braised Short Rib with Lobster Mac and Cheese, and Grilled Asparagus with Smoked Tomato Sauce. The piés de resistance of course was the traditional Vanilla Ice Cream Sundae with a choice of Hot Fudge, Butterscotch, Seasonal Berries, Whipped Cream or Chopped Pecans to top it off. I managed to get a few hours of sleep, waking up about 45 minutes before we touched down in London at 7:14 the next morning. That’s when the fun began.
American uses Terminal 3 at Heathrow, but most British Airways flights call Terminal 5 home, including the one we were scheduled to take on that morning to Venice, which departed at 8:25. We followed the purple and white Flight Connections signs down innumerable walkways and moving sidewalks, many of which were inoperable. Once we made it to the shuttle bus, it took another 15 minutes to reach the other terminal. At exactly 8:00 AM, I was first to scan my boarding pass hoping to enter the security screening area, but the turnstile wouldn't budge and the message read, “Please See Representative." We soon learned BA closes flights one half hour prior to departure and so, being five minutes too late, we were denied entry. The airline representative informed us that all flights to Venice were full that day and instructed us to go back downstairs and speak with the American Airlines agent, who we found at a small kiosk in a corner at the bottom of an escalator. There we learned our choices were either to fly to Bologna, get a car and drive the 80 miles to Venice or connect through Frankfurt on Lufthansa German Airlines. We chose the latter and were first offered Business Class seats on either the 10:30 or 11:30 departure. Deciding to “keep the pack together,” we opted for the 10:30 departure, but just like that, only two Business Class seats remained. No matter, four of us flew in Economy. Next up was another bus ride, this time to Terminal 2, where we needed to check in with a Lufthansa agent at the Flight Connections desk to ensure our bags were tagged for the correct flights.
We endured another ten minutes on the Flight Connections bus en route to Terminal 2 and, after receiving our new boarding passes and luggage tags for the Lufthansa flight, we had to wait in the central area of the terminal as gates are not announced until one half hour before boarding begins. Unfortunately, the departures board indicated our flight to Frankfurt would be delayed by 30 minutes. That’s when I thought about going to the Senator Lounge since I have Star Alliance Gold status, but our friends wouldn’t have been able to join us, so we remained in the waiting area. Finally, our gate was announced and boarding followed shortly. We were flying aboard an Airbus A320-200 aircraft and I found myself in 22D, a middle seat towards the rear of the plane. Ugh! Our flying time was only one hour and five minutes and, wouldn’t you know it, on arrival in Frankfurt, we parked on a remote stand and had to take a bus to the main terminal. Lunch was next on the agenda as we had a three hour layover so we grabbed a satisfying bite at Hausmann’s Restaurant. Our second Lufthansa flight was on an Airbus A321-100 and I was assigned another middle seat in Row 32. Fortunately, just the two of us ended up in that row and we had a little more room with the middle seat empty. The one hour and 15 minute journey to Venice did have some positive aspects. We flew directly over the Alps and also enjoyed a wonderful distant view of the Bell Tower in St. Mark’s Square during the descent. It didn’t surprise me to note our arrival on another remote stand at the Venice Marco Polo Airport so, once at the bottom of the stairway, we found ourselves aboard yet another bus traveling to the main terminal at 5:30 that afternoon, some six hours later than expected.
Thankfully, our transportation to the hotel had been pre arranged and the two gentlemen meeting our flight could’t have been more efficient or more pleasant. They insisted on retrieving all our luggage from the baggage belt and we thought we would soon be on our way. But, after all the bags had been off loaded, it became apparent that wouldn’t be the case. Two of the women in our group were missing luggage, including my wife. Our greeters directed us to the Lost Baggage and Property Office on the opposite wall and we waited our turn to file claims and fill out the necessary forms. We learned that one of the missing bags had left London, but was still in Frankfurt. Personnel assured us that it would arrive on the last flight of the evening and be delivered the following day. With that news under our belts, luggage was loaded into the waiting van and the group set off for the pier, where we boarded a hotel shuttle boat to take us directly to the JW Marriott Resort & Spa, our home for the next four nights.
Located on its own private island, the Isola Delle Rose in the Venetian Lagoon, this 5-star luxury resort’s location is certainly a key aspect of the property’s appeal. Far from the madding crowds of the Piazza San Marco, the JW felt quite private and very tranquil which was exactly what we needed after a long day of travel and any number of missteps. But, with our fingers crossed that our missing luggage would soon arrive, we checked in with Roberto, who kindly upgraded us to a Junior Suite with a garden view. After settling in, we met the group for a drink in the Rose Bar Lounge and a casual meal at the Pizzeria Cucina. Sleep came early and easy for us on that evening and I’ll tell you more about the hotel and our stay in Venice in a future post.
Until next time...safe travels.
Wow, what a saga ... still, it has given you lots of insights into "how the other half live" 😉 Hope the next blog has much more cheery news about how much fun you had!