And Then It Was Over

When last I wrote, Tommy and I were enjoying the most incredibly wonderful trip “around the world”. Sadly, due to the spread of the coronavirus and ensuing worldwide pandemic, we were not allowed to make even a third of our trip.

Friday, March 13 Tommy and I went to The Horizons Lounge for cocktails and dancing as was our custom most every evening. We were not the best dancers by any stretch of the imagination but we were perhaps the most consistent. Our friends Sally and Jesse from Iowa were also enjoying their customary four or five dances when we all decided it had surely been at least four hours since we had eaten (Jesse admitted he had never met a meal he didn’t like) so we bid the band farewell and reconvened in The Terrace Cafe. We had just begun our meal when an announcement came over the PA system. While I don’t remember the exact words, the jest of it was very short and not so sweet. We were told that the cruise was ending in Rio where we would dock at 8 am the next morning. Furthermore, if Oceania had not arranged your flight and they had not arranged ours it would be necessary to make your own arrangements from Rio and by the way you must be off the ship by 9 am Sunday the 15th. Suddenly I had little appetite for those lobster tails and Caesar salad which sat in front of me. Internet service was definitely the most lacking service on the ship, aside from surly George whose job was to man the specialty restaurant reservations desk. If that guy even tried to smile I’m certain his face would have cracked and fallen off. I digress. You can imagine the strain on the at best inadequate internet with some 640 passengers trying to get on line at once. The following 38 or so hours were basically spent in a frenzy.

Reason did prevail for a few hours on Saturday morning. We had scheduled an excursion in Rio, Highlights of Rio, where we docked at 8 am on Saturday. As this was no doubt to be our only trip to Rio, we went on our excursion even though it significantly reduced our “Abandon Ship” prep time. Good decision. Christ the Redeemer is a sight to behold! An engineering feat! Not to mention the cog railway that takes you up that mountain at a 45 degree angle through a lush, dense forest. After the trip up to the statue, we also had a few minutes to drive by the expansive, beautiful white sand beaches filled with umbrellas and scantily clad bodies then we were returned to the ship. On the excursion with us were our shipboard next door neighbors, Bob and Patti from Vancouver Island. We asked them to join us at Waves Cafe for lunch. They accepted but first excused themselves to run by their cabin for a minute. We chose a table for four, I ordered a burger and iced tea, Tommy a hot dog, fries and a chocolate shake. We burst out laughing when Bob and Patti came in with a chilled bottle of champagne and four glasses. Bob popped the bottle open (cork bounced off the ceiling) poured us all a glass and we toasted friendships and safe travels. While we were enjoying our rather unique combination of food and drink as well as our last bit of time with our shipboard friends, a very attractive young (by Oceania standards) woman approached our table and excused herself to say, “I just have to say, I admire your style! May I take a picture?” She was one of the entertainers for the cruise from Buenos Aires to Cape Town. Her home is Nashville about 10 miles from the path of the recent killer tornado. After she resumed her meal, we arranged for a glass to be sent to her and then the 5 of us toasted health and safe travels.

Then it was back to the madness of trying to get a flight. Only means of communication which worked at all was What’s App. Thru this Brenda and Donia were able to contact Susie who booked us on the non-stop flight from Rio to Houston departing 8:55 pm, March 15th with a connection to Austin Monday morning. Problem was that I could not confirm this flight. Every time I tried I got “This flight cannot be confirmed. Problem with this flight.” Several hours were spent Saturday night with me running between the 9th level computer techie, the room where my phone was being charged, and the assistant conceirge’s desk where I finally prevailed upon the poor guy to help me. It was toward the end of 10 hour day for him and he was continually being interrupted by other frantic passengers but he successfully booked us a flight – that nonstop United flight to Houston. Then I needed to retreive our passports, go back to 9 and book the flight. Piece of cake, right? Imagine my dismay when I pulled it up and noticed the flight was for April 15th. At this point, I lost it. Returning to my room after having the poor little guy cancel that which he had just booked, I called my dear friends Bill and Brenda on What’s App. They worked thru the maze and finally learned that we were paid and booked on our desired flight but would have to check in with our passport numbers at the airport. Throughout this madness, the Brazilian government had decreed that Luggage Forwarding services could not be utilized. The order came over the PA system that all bags must be packed and outside our cabin before midnight. Tommy accomplished this task. Manhandling these 5 fifty pound bags plus 3 carry-ons was an accomplishment in and of itself. Some of you may remember that one of our bags was “damaged” in the shipment to San Francisco. It was held together with brightly colored duct tape for our return. Porters were available from ship to bus then bus to check-in in Rio. No such luck in Houston or Austin. In Houston, the carts are free. Austin charges $5.

Oh, I’ve failed to mention that the ship graciously relented and allowed us to stay on board until almost four Sunday afternoon.

Here’s a tip we picked up on our return that you might find handy if this madness is ever over and one can travel again: Remove your mask at Customs.