JFK…

August 20 in England ⋅ 🌙 66 °F

There is something strange about the last morning of a long trip. After 15 nights aboard Valiant Lady, we were finally leaving the ship and heading home. After weeks of airports, hotels, ports, buses, trains and ship corridors, the adventure was winding down.

We had scheduled an 8:45 a.m. disembarkation so we could catch Virgin Voyages’ 10:00 a.m. coach to Heathrow. For the first time ever, Justin agreed to leave our luggage out the night before for the crew to collect. Given what happened next, I was especially grateful.

The bridge from the ship to the terminal was steep. Ridiculously steep. Getting through with a wheelchair turned into a two-attendant operation and a major struggle. Watching them maneuver through the space made me wonder how many passengers face the same problem and whether there is a better way to handle that transition.

Despite the early start, we did not make our way completely off the ship until around 9:45. Then came the luggage pickup, the terminal and finally the coach.

Once we were settled on the bus, the morning became much easier. The two-hour ride to Heathrow cost us about $90, but after weeks of moving from one place to another, paying for a nonstop, door-to-door transfer felt worth every penny. For once, neither of us had to figure out trains, taxis, luggage or connections. We could sit back and watch England pass by.

Our only complaint was that the charging ports on the coach did not work for us. After relying on our phones for boarding passes, directions, reservations and everything else during this trip, arriving at the airport with fully charged phones would have been nice.

Heathrow itself felt like a study in contrasts. Customs was remarkably easy compared with what I remember from traveling internationally 20 years ago. The process has changed so much that what once felt like a major ordeal now barely registered as part of the journey.

The airport, though, felt tired. The duty-free shopping area and food options were impressive, but once we moved toward the gates, the hallways and seating areas felt decidedly less polished. We were also surprised there was no Amex lounge available in the Virgin Atlantic and Delta terminal.

With several hours to kill before our 4:00 p.m. flight to JFK, we settled into the Centurion Lounge instead.

This was one of those travel experiences where expectations mattered. The lounge gave us somewhere to sit, which turned out to be useful because finding a comfortable seat in the terminal was difficult. Beyond that, neither of us thought the experience justified the £35 guest fee Justin paid.

The lounge was small and crowded, and finding a working electrical outlet became its own little scavenger hunt. Food choices were limited, although I did find two unexpected highlights near the tea counter: biscuits and pastel de nata. Both were delicious. The coffee machines did their job, too.

The bathrooms were another story. The ladies’ room had only three stalls, and the sink water came out almost frighteningly hot. There was a warning posted nearby about the temperature, so at least we had been warned.

Still, after spending the morning getting off the ship and across London, having a place to sit for a few hours was enough.

While we were still waiting to board our flight to JFK, we received the notification we were hoping not to see: our connecting flight to Columbus had been canceled because of weather.

Fortunately, the time difference worked in our favor. Instead of arriving in New York late at night and then scrambling to find somewhere to sleep, we had several hours to figure out a plan while we were still in London.

We briefly considered returning to the TWA Hotel, which we had stayed at during the beginning of this trip. There is something appealing about being able to walk directly from the airport terminal to your hotel, especially after a long travel day. But the price pushed us toward another option, so we booked a nearby Hilton instead. The rate was more reasonable, and the hotel advertised an airport shuttle.

There was, of course, a catch.

The shuttle did not pick up directly at our terminal. We needed to get ourselves to the Federal Circle AirTrain stop first.

By the time we landed at JFK, collected our luggage and made our way through customs, we were done. Locating the Airtrain to wait around in the rain for a hotel shuttle sounded dreadful.

So we gave up on the shuttle and ordered an Uber. $32 and 3 miles later, we were at our hotel. Not the accommodations we were expecting but the bed was comfy and clean.

We were close to home. We just needed one more night to get there.Read more