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Cruise Ship Repositioning
About 4 years ago Royal Caribbean started operating out of Colon, Panama. They operate for the six month 'cruise season' and then have what in the industry is called a 'repositioning cruise' to its next operating home, usually one of the U.S. ports. Then in the Spring reposition the ship back in Panama.
They have to cut the price to the bone for these repositionings, I think primarily because most people are not interested in not returning to the place they left from. For the first two years these repositionings aligned with my normal Spring/Fall return to visit friends and family in the U.S. So I jumped on the repositionings and not only enjoyed the cruises but could rationalize that it was saving me money because I only had to buy one round-trip airline ticket a year (If I ignore my bar bill on-board the ship?). Now however I can't use that rationalization because they keep changed the 'cruise season' - the late Sept cruise to Panama has now slipped to late Nov.
But I became good friends with a guy who also takes these cruises - a retired British Airways executive who travels a lot. Although he lives in Miami, he spends several months a year in David and plans to retire here. He and I have taken several of these repositioning trips, so I flew up to Miami to make the Thanksgiving repositioning departure back to Colon.
However I rationalized even further, deciding it was not 'cost effective' to go all the way to Miami just to make a three day run back to Panama. So I went early and took a 3-day trip with Norwegian Cruise Line with a couple of stops in the Bahamas. Add a second cruise and 3 days expenses in Miami = cost effective - right? Ha!
Off I Go!
My itinerary called for me to depart David on the first local flight on Thursday morning (15 Nov). I had made arrangements for my favorite cab driver at Panama City's regional airport to then take me across town to the international airport. My flight to Miami would arrive about 5PM and that would give me about a 24-hour pad - since my cruise did not depart Miami until 5PM Friday.
Airport at David. As you can see I try to avoid what I call 'crunch' travel schedules where any little glitch or significant delayed blows up the schedule.
The David airport is supposedly going to start operating international flights directly out of here early next year. I say 'supposedly' because no airlines have committed to such plans. That may be because the airport is still in its renovation and expansion phase - changes required to convert it from a regional to an international airport. When my taxi pulled up we discovered that the drive in front of the terminal was closed up. So I had to drag my luggage about 100 feet up a slight incline to the terminal. A minor inconvenience? Except when its raining! Great start, Grrrr....
After making my way through security (God you would think this local flight was going to fly directly over both the Vatican and the White House). Shoes off, belt off, watch off (watch?), etc., etc....
About the only good part at this point is that now there is only a short wait to board the aircraft. I arrive at the airport and hour before flight departure - and I was the first arrival. The airline clerks were just turning on the computers and the security gates where not even open. (Panamanians 'know the drill'. Many of them don't even arrive at the airport until about departure time.)
Then when we walked out the door to walk to the aircraft (Yes, walk - no departure 'tunnels' extending to the aircraft door), I see that the aircraft is sitting on the empty parking ramp clear down at the other end of the terminal building - AGAIN?? Don't ask, I don't know and couldn't figure it out.
The flights to Panama City are much more pleasant now that Air Panama has replaced their small two engine turboprops with the twin engine jets - the Fokker 70. Very comfortable, both in internal space and ride. And very fast – it seems the pilot starts letting down for landing as soon as he gets us to cruising altitude.
Panama City's Tocumen International Airport
Willie, my cab driver, was waiting for me when I arrive - in fact he had walked out to the arrival gate in case I needed an assistance. And the 40 minute ride to Tocumen International was uneventful in light traffic on the freeway. (You may find it interesting that the 40 minute ride in Panama City cost $25. A 15 minute ride in Miami from my hotel to the port was $40 including the tip.)
Having a couple of hours to waste in Tocumen airport is not fun. There is practically nothing to do unless you want to shop. But don't celebrate that option until you realize
that practically all the shopping venues are high-end duty-free shops pushing designer-type products. Look at the photo - all the shops you can see in this corridor are duty free shops - both floors. Plus this photo only shows about half the aisle - and this is just one of four such corridors. There are not even any news stands, and I have only found two small restaurants in the airport. But at least they have added a couple of fast food walk-up stands since the last time I went through there.
The real 'fun' leaving the airport is the security hassle. Trust me, unless you have been through the 'security drill' in this part of the world - you ain't seen nothing. You have to pass through the full-blown check to get from the airport lobby (where the ticketing and baggage turn-in occurs) into the departure area.
By "full-blown" I mean document checks; then pass through the carry-on baggage scanners (take computer out of bag; empty pockets and take off watch; hats, jackets, shoes and belts off; and walk through the x-ray machine) And if you beep, you get - free of charge - a pat down.
Then the 'real kicker'! You and everyone in the departure area have already passed through the security check, and that includes all the airport and shop employes. As your departure time nears, airline employees arrive to open up your specific departure gate area (the entrances have been cordoned off till now). But before they open up the departure gate area security people arrive and set up the security equipment - YES. security equipment - everything except the walk-through X-ray stand. And we do an exact repeat of the previous security check except, since there is no X-ray walk-through, everyone gets a complete pat-down (not the 'wand treatment' - a physical pat-down). And to top it off, after your section of the aircraft is called, as you enter the loading tunnel, immigration officers double check (triple check?) everyone's passport.
Thank goodness the American Airlines flight was on time, not full and 3 1/2 hours later we landed in Miami. Phew, what a day!
Welcome to Miami
I had made reservations at the Fairfield Inn @ Airport based primarily on its proximity to the airport, along with photos and reviews. It was also reasonably priced, at least for the Miami airport area. It does not have a bar or a restaurant (the complimentary breakfast is served in a lounge type of area), so I asked the desk clerk where was a good place to have a drink and watch the football game, preferably a sports bar (NFL Thursday night). She directed me to a place just around the corner and it wasn't until I got there that I discovered that it was the Airport Marriott - or more precisely a Marriott complex also including a Residence Inn and a Marriott Courtyard (I discovered the next day that, although the Fairfield Inn is not in the adjoining Marriott complex, it is also a Marriott property).
As I walked up the long driveway I was pretty certain the Sports Book was not in the Airport Marriott, but I could get directions. Sure enough I needed to go through the hotel, outside around the pool and into the Courtyard. But since I was standing right next to the beautiful lobby bar, decided I needed a drink.
Bienvenidos a los Estados Unidos. No matter how prepared you THINK you are to return to the States, I think living in Panama spoils you. Every trip back to the U.S. I have to suffer a form of Culture Shock all over again.
Coming from Panama where a mixed drink is $1.50 and a taxi ride to practically anywhere in town is the same - I had not mentally shifted gears and I guess I wasn't ready for a drink in the lobby bar. They didn't have Seagram’s 7 so I 'settled' for Canadian Club. When I declined a refill, the bartender handed me my tab. The drink cost me $10.50 with the tax. I just stared at it for a moment, and thank goodness looked carefully at it so did not say, "I only had one". Gulp!
I made it to the sports bar (finally) and my tab for 2 drinks, a plate of nachos and tip was $40. Phew! Later as I walked back to my hotel. I felt like I had just fallen off the 'turnip truck'. Duh!
Spanish in Miami. One of the things I find very interesting (never having spent any time in Miami) is that I heard more Spanish spoken in Miami than in Panama. I am serious, in the 3 days I spent there, I am not aware of a single person that I came across that did not speak Spanish. And it was obvious that for the majority of them it was their native language. And no I was not out cruising around in the barrios someplace. The area I was in near the airport was very upscale with big hotels and fancy restaurants. Ironically it was only after I boarded the cruise ship, where the overwhelming majority of the crew members are from foreign countries, that I began to hear English spoken again. I began to wonder if a person who moved to Miami who did not speak Spanish would have trouble find a job. ???
A 3-day Look At The Bahamas On Norwegian
About noon on Friday (16 Nov) I boarded the Norwegian Sky for a three day adventure
to the Bahamas (OK, three days is a mini-adventure). The itinerary called for us to spend Saturday tied-up off the coast of a small Norwegian private island to enjoy a day on the beach complete with a BBQ, bands, water sports, etc. And Nassau was on the schedule for Sunday, before returning to Miami on Sunday. Sounded like a good time!
After having sailed quite a bit with Royal Caribbean, I tend to compare all other lines to what I have experienced and expect out of RCCL. My first pleasant surprise from Norwegian was that there boarding process was very efficient – definitely in the same class as RCCL. (On Carnival boarding is such a long drawn out hassle I began to wonder if the boarding fiasco was one of the seven days of the cruise.)
Norwegian's 'welcome process' is even better than RCCL. No they did not have a reception on the pool deck with a free drink-of-the-day, but every bar on the ship was open (not one) and all the restaurants were as well (not just two). And many of the staff were stationed around the ship in the native costumes of their respective countries. In addition, many of them had musical instruments and where singing and dancing. Yes, "Welcome Aboard."
When I got up and started moving around Saturday morning I realized that we were anchored. "Must be at the island", I thought. So I stepped out on my balcony only to find that it was raining and a fog blanketed the area. There was nothing in sight. About an hour later I heard a boat approaching, and sure enough a shuttle boat was pulling up. The rain had stop and I could see the island. No longer hidden by the lifting fog, the island was less than 100 yards off the starboard side.
However there was a rolling surf ( looked like about four feet) and I watched the people who boarded first turn green while waiting for the boat to fill up. An hour later things had not improved much, so I pulled out my Kindle and made new plans for the day. I also decided that time spent on small islands in the middle of nowhere should probably be set aside for ship wreck survivors.
Since I had been to Nassau before, I had a plan for what I wanted to do. I decided it
would be best to take the cruise line's bus over to the huge Atlantis Hotel and Casino where I had spent a wonderful day before (although it was years ago). And yes, I could catch a cab out on the street, but that meant I would have to wade through about half the population of the town to get to the street – all selling touristy junk of some variety – and all selling at varying levels of aggressiveness. No thanks.
I was advised that the bus was just for the passengers who had purchased the 'Day-Pass' at the Atlantis – price $79. "What does the $79 get me?" Well, a ride over and back, a beach chair, a beach towel, and a buffet lunch. I went back to my cab idea!
However the next morning I discovered that we were tied up and the far end of the pier (from town). I had spent the last three days limping around after having dropped my fully loaded suitcase on my right foot. For some reason that long walk just to get off the pier ( which looked like ¼ mile) did not seem so inviting. I suddenly remembered that I had not finished that book I had started. Back to the Kindle. BTW, it started raining right after noon.
One of the reasons I was really looking forward to sailing with Norwegian was the fact that the SKY has three specialty restaurants – a Steakhouse, Italian and French. (For
those of you who haven't sailed, the specialty restaurants on Royal Caribbean [my only previous experience] are very upscale, a gourmet touch, only a small charge [$15-30] – a real pampering). Since steak in the part of the world I live in is inedible, I did not hesitate - I picked The Steak House for the very first night. The room and the ambiance were nice, the service impeccable, and the 'main course warm-up' (spinach salad and lobster bisque) outstanding. I ordered the fillet, not because it is my favorite cut, because I longed for a tender piece of beef. It was delivered – a piece of beauty – and totally inedible. Needed a power tool to cut it. Ouch!
I decided to give them a second chance and tried the French Bistro the next night. To rate it 'so-so' is stretching it. Let's just say I canceled my reservation in Antonio' Italian for the next night. Probably just as well, the duck dish in the main dining room Sunday night was excellent..
I also decided on this adventure that I am not a fan of balcony cabins – at least not the ones on the SKY. First of all the cabin is very small – very small. I the balcony is of little use. It is uncomfortable to sit out there when the ship is underway – windy! And when you are tied up in port, you are usually not in your cabin. Or as was my case, when you are tied up your cabin is on the wrong side of the ship. You have a wonderful view of endless miles of ocean rather than a view of the city.
Back To Miami
Yes, we did make it back to Miami on Monday morning. And all-in-all it was a very fun experience. I will sail with Norwegian again at some time in the future.
To top off the weekend, when I got back to my hotel they let me check-in early. In fact they let me check in several hours early. I guess they got tired of me sitting in the lobby sobbing. Home Sweet Home.
To Be Continued
Part Two Coming On Friday (more or less)
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