March 29, 2024

Despite Careful Planning: The Unexpected Happens

“Be Prepared for a Change in Plans.”

Whether you plan a trip yourself or have a professional plan it for you, be prepared that something will happen that is “not planned.” Despite careful efforts to assure a trip goes smoothly, there is usually some “glitch” over which you have absolutely no control. You probably have favorite tales of the “unexpected” on your vacations. Below are some of our unique or maybe not so unique travel “glitches.”

Our home for over 30 hours
Our home for over 30 hours

A 30-Hour Flight to China
To overcome the exhausting flights from Tampa, FL to Shanghai, China and jet lag for our China trip, we fly to Los Angeles a day early. After a relaxing day in L.A and a good night’s sleep we are set for the 14-hour flight to Shanghai. All goes well at the L.A. Airport and our flight departs on time. The 14-hour route goes over Alaska and then across the Pacific Ocean to China. Just under 7 hours into the flight, the Captain announces there is an ill passenger. We are returning to Los Angeles! Now, 300 plus passengers  are in a quandary.  It’s a 7-hour return flight to Los Angeles. The Captain nor crew give ANY explanation about the plans for us once the plane returns to L.A.  Back at the Los Angeles Airport, we deplane into a secure area. Finally, a staff member explains that the plane is being serviced, refueled, and a new crew is arriving to take us to Shanghai. Soon we are back on board for our 14-hour flight to Shanghai. Despite careful planning the 14-hour flight turns into 30 hours. Thankfully, the tour company gets us on track for our tour.
Factors outside our control are going to occur when traveling. The best we can do is stay calm and attempt to make the most of a bad situation. Getting upset doesn’t accomplish anything but raise your blood pressure and that of those around you.

Viking River Cruise
Viking River Cruise

A Viking River Cruise –The Romantic Danube: 3 Ships in 7 Days
River cruises tout the advantage of seeing countries from their ships while staying in the same stateroom for the entire cruise. A major negative of bus tours is going from hotel to hotel each night. We are excited about the 8-day Viking Romantic Danube River Cruise from Budapest, Hungary to Nuremberg, Germany in mid-November.  Once onboard we learn that due to low water, we will only spend the night on this ship. After the bus tour of Budapest the next day, the bus will be transport us to Vienna, Austria. Then we will board another ship for the night. NO unpacking! In fact 3 nights of our River Cruise are on 3 different ships. So for 3 of 7 nights we neither unpack and all transportation is by by bus. Thankfully, each ship is identical so staterooms are exactly the same including the cabin number. There are benefits to this situation. When busing us to other ports, Viking treats us to upscale local restaurants in the cities. This creates a more unique and diverse dining experience than returning for lunch each day to the same ship. Additionally, we enjoyed some scenery and sights from the bus that we would not have seen from the River. The crew and Viking really work at making up for this inconvenience.
Be prepared! Mother Nature easily dominates what can and cannot be done on a river cruise.

Sienna with a smiling face
Sienna with a smiling face

Where’s our rental car?
While in Italy’s Tuscany for a week, its a day of exploring  Sienna.  Another couple warned us of getting a hefty parking ticket in Sienna, so we research best places to park for our day-trip. Per Rick Steve’s Europe Guide, parking at the Soccer Field is suggested. In Siena, we locate the Soccer field and park easily along with other visitors. We enjoy a fantastic day in Sienna and great shopping bargains on Italian Leather shoes. Before our hour plus return trip to our rental apartment, we stop in a hotel for a bathroom stop. From the hotel balcony we view a garden, just past it is the Soccer Field, where we parked. ALL CARS ARE GONE! Thankfully, the hotel manager is very helpful. He provides a letter explaining our situation to take to the Police Station, which close by. After paying the Parking Violation fine of 28.70 Euro, it’s a long taxi ride with a 20 Euro fee  to the towing compound.  The towing fee is 135 Euros! We learn later that a soccer game that evening was the reason the cars were towed. Now, when we wear our bargain Italian Leather shoes, we chuckle that they were not such bargain after adding the costs for the car being towed.
• Always check parking signage and hours of parking or any special events!

Gastrointestinal Outbreak on Viking River Cruise
As mentioned previously we change ships 3 times on our Viking River Cruise on the Danube River. While it is hard to pinpoint where, how, or why, after the first few days, we hear of passengers being sick with gastrointestinal issues. Each day more passengers are ill with the 24-hour bug.  Before the cruise is over at least 60% of the passengers are sick. Despite our personal efforts and Vikings, we each contract this 24-hour bug. It is a doozy, totally wiping us out for the full day. Two things to be grateful for are first we have the “bug” separate days and second we are over it before our return flight to the States. Looking back on the River cruise, it seems changing ships 3 times – each time with a new crew probably comprised the passengers and the crew. Additionally, the sharing of various snack items, bread items, etc. at the tables where each passenger picks them with their hands instead of being waitstaff serving creates an environment for spreading a virus. On another cruise, the crew carefully hand items individually with tongs to each passenger.
Be very careful on cruises and tours with personal hygiene, handwashing, sharing foods, and how foods are portioned and served. Even with constant reminders by the crew as we left and returned to the ship, to the bus, to and from dining to use hand sanitizers, gastrointestinal germs are still out there and can catch any of us.
• Each passenger needs to take personal responsibility and care to be sure to stay cautious and safe in group settings.

Beware of Kind Venetians
Arriving by train in Venice, Italy, we attempt to find the boat shuttle to get to our hotel. It is hectic as we depart the train, Venice is totally fogged in and everyone is scurrying. I am dragging my luggage to cross a bridge when a man smiles and takes my suitcase across the bridge. Wow, I’m thrilled someone is helping me. Once over the bridge, the man puts out his hand saying “5 Euros.” I’m perplexed as is Richard. Just then the Police arrive, I explain the man is asking for payment. The police tell us to go ahead, as they take the man aside, scolding him.
• There is nothing FREE in tourist areas.

Venice in the fog
Venice in the fog

Foggy Venice, Italy We Miss Connecting Flights
On our entire visit to Venice, Italy the city is shrouded in a dense fog. Boarding the boat on the Grand Canal to the airport, the fog is so thick that only boats with radar are allowed on the Canal. Our predictions come true, as due to the fog, flights are delayed. While our flight does take off late afternoon to Rome, we miss our connecting flight to Budapest, Hungary. Thankfully, we had planned two nights in Budapest before our Viking River Cruise, so we have a cushion of an extra day before the cruise. Alitalia Airlines makes this a positive! The airline provides complimentary transportation and hotel accommodations, plus dinner and breakfast passes. Despite this inconvenience due to a weather delay, the Alitalia Airlines took all the stress out of this situation. The next day we make the connecting flight to Budapest. Grazie to Alitalia Airlines!
Weather delays should be expected when flying. We have no control over the weather.
Note: On our return flight to the states, we had another instance where we missed the connecting flight due to a major snowstorm in Detroit, MI. There was NO help from anyone at the airport for accommodations or transportation. It was a mad house of passengers trying to call hotels for a room for the night and a ride to the hotel. Basically it was just “too bad so sad.” Passengers were on their own and no sympathy from anyone at the airport or hotels.

Everyone has their story about a trip that had a bizarre flight delay, mixed up accommodations, missing flights and more. Needless to say these are just some of the craziness we have had in our travels. In the scheme of challenges with travel these were just inconveniences. We still make the most of our trips and travels, while “glitches” add to our travel tales.  We must prepare for the unexpected.