We’re over 7 years into our nomadic lifestyle, and still learning – sometimes the hard way.

But first, some cruise end-notes:

This was our third cruise with Holland America, after Alaska last August and Hawaii/Mexico in January, both on HAL’s slightly larger (2700 passengers) and newer Koningsdam. We enjoyed this latest Panama Canal itinerary, especially the fact that it began in Vancouver, where we could simply walk off public transit, roll our suitcases a couple of blocks to the cruise port, and board the ship. No flights required.

We both liked the smaller size of the Eurodam (2100 passengers max), and the fact that it still had most of the amenities of the larger ship – especially our favourite specialty restaurant, Tamarind. I especially liked the ship’s decor, which while more “traditional” felt brighter than the Koningsdam.

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The glass elevators on each side of the ship added to that feeling of brightness, since they allowed natural light into the midship area on each deck level.

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The very traditional leather-seated theatre felt elegant, and the deck 3 Ocean Bar was a favourite spot for its comfortable chairs, quiet vibe, and afternoon live music.

Unfortunately, the ship was really showing the wear and tear that verifies it is due for refurbishing. Most noticeably, leather chairs had arms worn bare in the Italian restaurant and the lounges, and several windows in public spaces like the Crows Nest had lost their seal and were impossible to see through – which was a shame since that’s the prime indoor viewing spot. A couple of windows in the buffet seating area were cracked, and on the day that it rained the hallways and public areas were suddenly full of buckets below leaking ceilings. Several cabins – ours included – had no mini-fridges because there were no replacements for malfunctioning ones. Our bathroom faucet leaked – and was never fixed, despite notifying them on day 1 of 21- so we had to wrap a facecloth around its base to prevent a flooded counter. The cabin’s HVAC system was incredibly loud, and blew straight down onto our bed.

Thinking about the food, the buffet was our one big disappointment. Breakfasts were good, although after the first hour or so (of a 3-1/2 hour meal window) each day’s allotment fresh berries was used up and not replenished, which speaks to the level of economizing the company is doing. Things like salmon for omelettes at breakfast were available IF you knew to ask for them. The buffet’s lunch and dinner offerings – and especially desserts, which are usually a highlight for vacationers, were lacklustre. The “special” dessert at every single lunch for 21 days was identical: warm berry cobbler. Twice on the cruise there was a special “Cake Me Away” event; the cakes were decorated with the skill you’d find in any good grocery store, and the difficulty that servers had cutting them spoke to the fact that they were not fully thawed. Too bad – it could have been a real signature event. There’s very little actual self-serve (a welcome holdover after the pandemic), but the servers at the buffet often just slopped items onto plates. Twice I had to specifically ask a server not to put a saucy item right on top of another completely different food. Who wants their Szechuan shrimp on top of their Thai rice-wrapper spring roll?

The main dining room lived up to our previous HAL experiences, with a decent selection of dishes, attractively plated. Once I found out that the secret to getting properly medium rare meat was to order “rare”, I was happier with my dinners.

We really missed the Dutch Café that is a feature of the larger ships (but not as good as the International Café on Princess), since there was only one place (the Crows Nest) to get specialty coffee on board between 10 a.m. and 9:45/10:00 p.m.

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As on our last two HAL cruises, we also noted the wide discrepancy between the size and quality of drinks between the various bars on board. There’s really no consistency at all.

A big plus this time, though, was the efficiency with which excursions were organized. The process was light years beyond what we experienced in Alaska and Hawaii.

Bottom line: HAL has moved solidly behind Princess for us in the realm of mid-priced cruising.

AND NOW, FINALLY, LUGGAGE LESSONS

While we had no flights on our outgoing voyage, we needed to fly back to Vancouver after disembarking in Fort Lauderdale. After recent disappointments on Air Canada and Westjet flights, and a great experience using Porter to and from Toronto in July, we booked Porter again.

They’ve partnered with Air Transat for some of their itineraries, and that’s what we initially booked because we could fly within hours of getting of the ship. Unfortunately, while Porter offers its “Reserve” class (extra leg room, meals, free baggage) on its own planes, that’s not available on legs where Air Transat is the carrier – even when you pay the Reserve airfare! Once we realized that, we opted to stay overnight in Fort Lauderdale, eat at our favourite deli (Toojays), and fly out the next afternoon on Porter jets, via a short connection in Ottawa.

As is typical for us on a cruise, we don’t travel 100% carryon. This trip we had one 25” roller bag and one European-sized carryon, both of which were at their full weight allowance since we had no plans to buy souvenirs. No physical home = no stuff, right? We each had one additional “personal item”: Ted’s camera/tech bag, and my shoulder bag (where we carry documents, spare glasses, and medication).

But then we went to a chocolate-making demonstration in Mexico, and toured a wonderful coffee plantation in Guatemala. The end result of those two excursions was almost 6 pounds of coffee and chocolate.

And here comes the lesson.

We SHOULD have simply bought an inexpensive small suitcase or duffel bag and checked it. After all, we had a baggage allowance of one checked bag each.

Instead, I overloaded our carryon to more than allowable carryon weight, and checked it along with our bigger bag. Toothbrushes, comb, extra underwear, EVERYTHING now checked. Fortunately, I’d pulled our jackets out at the last minute, thinking we might want them if the plane was cold.

If our luggage had made the same connection in Ottawa that we did, that wouldn’t have been a problem.

But it didn’t. When we reached the baggage claim area in Vancouver, our Airtags indicated this:

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So, what’s the process?

The last time we had delayed luggage was way back in 2015, when our Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt Germany from Toronto was delayed by almost hours, and we just made it onto our connecting flight to Bremen but our luggage – totally predictably – didn’t. At the Bremen airport, we checked in at the lost luggage desk where a very helpful, and almost perfectly German/English bilingual, clerk walked us through filling out the required forms (which were available in several languages!). We headed on to my cousin’s home, and another cousin’s 50th wedding anniversary celebration, and our luggage was waiting for us when we’d finished celebrating, less than 10 hours later.

I expected a similar process, so headed to the nearest lost luggage desk. There a young woman was leaning back in her chair, feet up on the counter, watching something on her phone. She must have seen me approaching from the baggage carousel though, because as I reached the counter she looked up, said “I’m Flair, not Porter” and went back to her phone. Clearly, she was not going to give me any hints as to where to find the Porter desk.

I remember thinking that neither my best friend or I, who worked for many happy years as school secretaries, would ever have remotely considered being that unhelpful.

Fortunately, Vancouver is not a huge airport, so by walking the perimeter of the baggage claim area I found the Porter desk.

There, a young man was leaning against the wall, totally engrossed in his own phone.

ME: “Excuse me. Our luggage has been delayed in Ottawa. Can you help me?”

YM(Young Man, pointing to wall beside him): “QR Code”

ME: “So I just scan the code?” (Thank goodness I speak English and have a smartphone, I’m thinking. Also, isn’t it your job to help me?)

YM: “Yeah. If it doesn’t work, tell me.”

ME (trying really hard not to roll my eyes) “Thank you so much”

I stood at the counter for the next ten minutes, our boarding passes and luggage receipts in front of me, filling out the online form. Just before hitting “send” I thought I’d do a quick double-check.

ME: “Excuse me. Is it okay that I’ve reported both pieces of luggage using the same passenger name?”

YM: “Should work.”

Okay then.

Back to Ted, still standing all alone beside the baggage carousel, which had one equally lonely looking suitcase going around and around. Not ours, of course.

With no other options, just before 10:30 p.m. we climbed into an UBER for the hour’s drive that got us back to our VRBO accommodation around midnight last night.

This morning we imposed on our daughter-in-law (it’s raining, of course) for a lift to and from their place to retrieve our stored suitcases, which will give us a change of clothes until our luggage gets back from its travels. So far today we’ve watched it go from Ottawa to Toronto to over Lake Superior to somewhere in Minnesota to Northwood North Dakota to Nashua Montana…

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… and as I write this it’s just south of Beaverton Montana. It should reach YVR at 3:25 p.m. After that, Porter will get it to us somehow – maybe it’ll get an UBER of its own!

So, what have we learned?

1. Always keep at least one carryon with us, containing a couple of days’ worth of things both of us need, even if it means buying an extra piece of checked luggage for souvenirs and later donating that piece of luggage to someone.
2. Try not to check luggage on any flights involving a connection. Even for long connections. Even if it’s a hassle carrying it around an airport.
3. If we need checked luggage, and can’t get a direct flight, book individual flights and plan to explore the connecting cities for a couple of days. It might even get us to see someplace we’d not otherwise visit.
4. Never let our Airtag batteries die!

Once we’ve got everything back, it will be time to re-sort and re-pack for our upcoming world cruise. The original plan was for two 25” roller bags, which will get shipped (an included perk on the cruise) and two carry-ons, to be checked to leave us hands-free.

We won’t be checking those carryons after all. Our connection in the very busy Atlanta airport is only 1-1/4 hours. It’s not worth the risk that they won’t make it onto our final flight.