With all the preparations done yesterday and with express checkout, it was really easy to leave the hotel. Click on a link in an email, walk out to the car, use the room key to get out of the parking lot, and on my way to the airport. I stopped on the way to fill up the tank. I spent almost a full one, so I guess I could have paid for leaving it non-full. Anyhow, it wasn’t a big deal, and I had (as per usual) a lot of time.
When I arrived at the airport, I didn’t know which terminal I was going to, and didn’t realize there were different drop-offs for each terminal. So when I managed to get off the beltway, I ended up at Terminal B. The instructions on how to return the vehicle were quite simple, except that it didn’t state what to do with the keys, leave them in the car, or hand them off to the staffer you told you had returned the car. Since the keys were in the car when I picked it up, I left them, which turned out to be the correct decision.
I went into the terminal to try and find my way to Terminal C, where JetBlue is flying from. I finally found some signs when I entered the departure floor in the terminal and ended up taking a short train ride to get to C.
It was me and two others on that driverless train. Found the bag drop and was looking for a scale to weigh my bag, just so the one I had brought wasn’t correct, but I was okay! Got my luggage tag, dropped it off, and went into security. No line, but unclear instructions on what to take out of the bag until the very last moment, and those signs were pretty small as well. Anyhow, electronics larger than a cellphone, so the laptop and eReader, got placed in a separate bin. I was happy to see that my backpack with a power bank and lots of cables was let through without further inspection! At 10:30, I had cleared security and headed towards the gates, just 3½ hours before the scheduled take-off. I’m traveling with margins 🙂
Sat down and started reading; this would be a good time as ever. Since I finished the last book at Arlanda, I started a new one, Code of Honor by Marc Cameron (based on the franchise from Tom Clancy). Got some lunch from Chick-fil-A and a cinnamon bun from Cinnabon (I miss them from when they had a shop in Kista Galleria). They had nice seats at the gates. With both sockets, small tables with cupholders between the seats, and every other had QI-charging built in. They also had a couple of large digital walls with underwater video on the inside, and nice walls on the outside.
In an email from Royal Caribbean, they stated that power strips weren’t allowed on the ship. I had seen some comments about that earlier, but didn’t find any official information when I looked. I sent a question to them if they could keep the one I have in quarantine or something, since I only have one converter with me. But, since they didn’t answer quickly enough, I bought a second converter, this one, though only EU->US. We’ll see what happens with the power strip tomorrow.
Since I was in the last boarding group (F), I was a bit nervous that my carry-on backpack wouldn’t get a spot and that they would want to check it, which I didn’t cause I have my laptop in it. However, the last 10 rows of the plane were only about 50% full, so I could even put up my personal item backpack as well. I was even alone on my side of the row. Something I’ve never seen before was a bottle-nolder, next to the pocket for small items. Smart! (Forgot to take a picture though).
We were supposed to take off at 13:55, but I guess some queueing (yay) on the tarmac held us until 14:40. With about 2:20 flight time, we landed at 18:00 local time, but it took some time to get out from row 30. I was a bit confused that I didn’t get cell data when we were waiting to disembark, so when I got into the terminal building, I found wifi and could check it out. The USA plan I had chosen didn’t include the US-territory Puerto Rico, bummer! I’ll have to think about that for the days I’ll be here after the cruise.
I got my checked bag and made my way to the taxi stand. Didn’t wanna try Uber since I only had data at the terminal and wasn’t sure how it would work upon arrival. I showed the staffer the address, and he wrote some sort of receipt stating the price $21. I loaded up the bags and took off for the 15-minute drive. Quite a nice driver, and we compared the weather a bit after he asked where I’m from.
I checked into the hotel, and the receptionist was very welcoming and friendly. The room isn’t quite as fancy as Universal or Disney, but I’m only staying for one night, so it will do. I asked her if she had any recommendations for a quick dinner, and she set me off to Ropa Vieja Grill, just two blocks over. I got a table, and it was lucky that a hotel close by had wifi, because the menu was on Google Drive via QR code. I ordered some penne con pollo, and it was really good. The waitress was very attentive, almost too much, but made sure I had a good meal. It was pretty quick, so I paid, the second time during this trip that I had to use my MasterCard.
Some last preparations, like how to get hold of a cab tomorrow, and attaching the luggage tags to my bags, then off to bed.