Thursday, 30 Nov 2023 – We just embarked on our first “long” cruise since abruptly due to the Covid outbreak.
We relocated from Bettendorf to Sioux Falls, SD, in May 2021, with the assistance of our kids in Sioux Falls and Seattle. The move would have been much more difficult, and next to impossible without their help. Anyway, we had such a bad winter in Sioux Falls last year, that we decided to get away for a little while this year. We would have preferred January or February, but we liked the itinerary on this cruise. We’ve previously sailed around South America a couple of times, but this time, we’ll be sailing to Antarctica, one of the few places that we haven’t visited. Although we will not actually be going ashore, the ship will be sailing so close to the shore that we should be able to see the Antarctic penguins on the beaches!
We started our drive from our house in Sioux Falls to Saint Paul, MN, at about 6:30 PM on Thursday, 30 Nov 2023, several hours later than planned. In Saint Paul, we stayed at the Best Western Plus Como Park Hotel. The hotel was built inside a historic train repair shop. Train tracks are still visible along the entrance corridor. We chose this hotel because it is located only a six-minute drive from the home of our granddaughter, Kirsten and her husband, Artem. (Although we had planned to stay overnight with them, they were ill with Covid.)
Friday, 1 Dec 2023 – We awoke early and drove to Kirsten’s house, where we would be parking our vehicle during our cruise. From there, we took an Uber to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport. We had booked a wheelchair for Sally, so after we checked our luggage, we were whisked through security, after which we boarded an airport golf cart, which took us to the gate for our flight to Miami, FL. Sally mostly tried napping during the four-hour flight, while Jesse watched a couple of episodes of the White Lotus.
Upon arrival in Miami, Sally was transported by wheelchair to luggage claims, while Jesse strolled along behind them. He didn’t try hurrying this time, after his falling mishap at the Airport in Miami on our trip home from Buenos Aires on 16 Mar 2020. (It took over a year for the swelling in his right leg, foot, and ankle to go down enough for him to wear anything other than sandals!) So, the wheelchair attendant had to stop and wait for him to catch up a few times.
We took an Uber to the Best Western Premier Miami International Airport Hotel & Suites Coral Gables, arriving at about 2:00 PM. Check-in time was 3:00 PM, so there were no rooms available when we arrived; however, we were finally checked in at about 2:30 PM. During check-in, we arranged for shuttle transportation to our ship on 3 Dec 2023, for $12.00 per person, which we considered a really good deal. The hotel was very nice, but we were disappointed that no complimentary breakfast was included; however, there was a very nice restaurant in the lobby which provided breakfast and dinner.
Saturday, 2 Dec 2023 – We didn’t venture out of the hotel during our stay. We mostly lounged and watched movies on TV. We really missed our DVR to pause, rewind, and fast-forward through commercials! There was an IHOP restaurant a few blocks away and a Cuban restaurant on the next corner, but we opted to enjoy our meals at the hotel restaurant. Our waitress for most of the meals was Keily, from Cuba. Her name is pronounced like our granddaughter’s name, Kayli, but spelled differently. She was very nice, so we gave her really good tips!
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