March 18 - Home Again
The last morning on the ship was very sad. Actually, while we were having our last coffee at the Coffee Connection, Komang noticed that I seemed very quiet and came over to comfort me. I was so touched. Can't say enough about how wonderful the crew is.
We were called to disembark around 10:30 am and it was a wonderful sendoff. Nearly all of the staff and crew were lined up to cheer us all as we walked off. It was a very bittersweet moment and such a nice touch. Our friend Carol captured our departure from her balcony.
Regent shipped our 2 suitcases directly home with the Luggage Forward service. They would have shipped up to 4 if we wanted. There was a representative at the pier to collect the luggage and then we were taken by bus to our day room at the Ritz Carlton. They provided the hotel room and a $100 allowance towards food for the day. It was a lovely room, although a little too high tech for us. The automatic window shades took a bit to figure out. We had a nice (and expensive) lunch, then just relaxed in the room until it was time to leave for the airport. Again, Regent provided a bus for us. We checked in for our flight (had not been cancelled and no problems checking in, so that was all good) and had a long wait. The first flight from Perth to Brisbane, about 4 hours, was in coach class and was pretty uncomfortable. Then a 4 hour layover until our flight to Los Angeles, but we were able to use the lounge that's part of our credit card benefits so it wasn't too uncomfortable. That 13 hour flight was in Premium class, which isn't quite business, but pretty darn close. The seats were wide and reclined pretty far. We were served food and complimentary beverages and given pillows and blankets. I was able to sleep for some of it, but it was still a very long time.
Despite the news reports, we breezed through Immigration and Customs in the normal amount of time, and were at our next gate for the final flight to Redmond in plenty of time. Touched down at home 20 minutes before scheduled to some remaining snow on the sides of the road. We had envisioned that it would be summer when we got back. Sigh ...
Russ picked us up - no welcome home hugging - and we were back into the house before noon. All's well at home. No appliances that died while we were gone, all the plants are still alive and we just had one minor issue with a leaky connection to the toilet that Michael fixed in no time. Anna had done some basic grocery shopping for us, so we were able to eat at home and not worry about shopping just yet. And this morning, after a pretty good night's sleep, I got very good news when I stepped on the scale. After 53 days on the ship, I haven't gained a single pound!
So comes an end to our Grand Adventure. It didn't turn out to be quite what we had hoped for, but it was wonderful nonetheless. We have made some wonderful new friends and had great experiences. Now we are looking forward to moving to Virginia sometime this year and our next cruises.
We were called to disembark around 10:30 am and it was a wonderful sendoff. Nearly all of the staff and crew were lined up to cheer us all as we walked off. It was a very bittersweet moment and such a nice touch. Our friend Carol captured our departure from her balcony.
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| final sendoff |
Regent shipped our 2 suitcases directly home with the Luggage Forward service. They would have shipped up to 4 if we wanted. There was a representative at the pier to collect the luggage and then we were taken by bus to our day room at the Ritz Carlton. They provided the hotel room and a $100 allowance towards food for the day. It was a lovely room, although a little too high tech for us. The automatic window shades took a bit to figure out. We had a nice (and expensive) lunch, then just relaxed in the room until it was time to leave for the airport. Again, Regent provided a bus for us. We checked in for our flight (had not been cancelled and no problems checking in, so that was all good) and had a long wait. The first flight from Perth to Brisbane, about 4 hours, was in coach class and was pretty uncomfortable. Then a 4 hour layover until our flight to Los Angeles, but we were able to use the lounge that's part of our credit card benefits so it wasn't too uncomfortable. That 13 hour flight was in Premium class, which isn't quite business, but pretty darn close. The seats were wide and reclined pretty far. We were served food and complimentary beverages and given pillows and blankets. I was able to sleep for some of it, but it was still a very long time.
Despite the news reports, we breezed through Immigration and Customs in the normal amount of time, and were at our next gate for the final flight to Redmond in plenty of time. Touched down at home 20 minutes before scheduled to some remaining snow on the sides of the road. We had envisioned that it would be summer when we got back. Sigh ...
Russ picked us up - no welcome home hugging - and we were back into the house before noon. All's well at home. No appliances that died while we were gone, all the plants are still alive and we just had one minor issue with a leaky connection to the toilet that Michael fixed in no time. Anna had done some basic grocery shopping for us, so we were able to eat at home and not worry about shopping just yet. And this morning, after a pretty good night's sleep, I got very good news when I stepped on the scale. After 53 days on the ship, I haven't gained a single pound!
So comes an end to our Grand Adventure. It didn't turn out to be quite what we had hoped for, but it was wonderful nonetheless. We have made some wonderful new friends and had great experiences. Now we are looking forward to moving to Virginia sometime this year and our next cruises.
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