Farewell Manhattan, Hello London

Our cruise officially came to an end at 7:30 a.m. when we hustled off Carnival Venezia as early as possible. We wanted every minute we could get because we had one goal for the day: make our way from Manhattan to London with as little stress as possible.

One lesson we definitely learned? Summer sailings from New York and New Jersey on a Carnival Fun Ship aren’t for us. Between kids running the halls, cabin doors slamming from morning until night, and the overall energy onboard, we were more than ready to trade the ship for solid ground.

We expected disembarkation to be delayed because the previous sailing had disembarked almost an hour late. Instead, we found ourselves standing outside Pier 88, earlier than anticipated and New York greeted us with all the subtlety of a fire alarm.

Our DRVN chauffeur wasn’t due for another 45 minutes, so we stood in the chilly morning air surrounded by semi-trucks, traffic whistles, and dock workers calling instructions across the terminal. After more than a week listening to waves and live music, the city’s soundtrack hit like sensory overload.

Safely dropped off at JFK we spent several hours Daytripping (aka day use rental) at TWA Airport located adjacent to T5. It was a neat fieldtrip back to 1960 during the best of TWAs legacy but we weren’t able to recharge well before our overnight flight.

We were surprised to breeze through security at such a large airport during 4pm. CLEAR finally justified its annual fee, and we settled into the Delta Sky Club for dinner before boarding our six-hour flight to London.

The flight started off uneventfully until our seat’s charging outlet gave up. Normally I’d shrug and move on. Traveling with insulin and a powered cooling case changes the equation.

The flight attendants explained they couldn’t plug medical devices into crew outlets because of airline policy, though they happily kept us supplied with cups of ice. It wasn’t Plan A, but it worked.

Meanwhile, I became the human charging cable. The only way to keep our phones charging was by pressing the plug into the outlet with my foot. Twenty minutes later my leg muscles staged a protest, and I accepted defeat.

Sleep never arrived.

Justin added his own contribution to the adventure by accidentally spilling an entire cup of water into my open carry-on bag. Thankfully my electronics escaped unharmed, but my spare clothes enjoyed an unexpected wash cycle somewhere over the Atlantic.

Then came one of the biggest surprises of the flight. As passengers began leaving the aircraft, I looked around and couldn’t believe the mess.

Trash littered the aisles. Blankets lay scattered across the floor. Even complimentary First Class amenity kits had been tossed aside. I honestly can’t remember the last time I stepped off a plane that looked like that.

Justin also strongly suggested I avoid the lavatory before landing. His exact reasoning is probably best left unwritten. Let’s say I happily waited until Heathrow.

The biggest surprise of the day came after landing. I’d mentally prepared myself for the legendary Heathrow immigration lines. Instead, we scanned our passports at the electronic gates and walked straight through in seconds. Customs was easier than finding coffee.

Next up was the National Express coach to Victoria. The buses were far nicer than I’d expected, with comfortable seats, charging ports, and tray tables. We paid an extra £15 to move to an earlier departure, although finding our mysteriously missing Route 025 bus became a group activity involving several equally confused Americans. Collectively we decided to trust each other more than the departure boards, and somehow we all ended up on the right coach.

An hour later we arrived in London. Our hotel was supposedly a seven-minute walk away. AppleMaps had other plans.

Instead of arriving at the DoubleTree by Hilton London Victoria, we found ourselves wandering in completely the wrong direction before retracing our steps all the way back to Victoria Coach Station and starting over with Google Maps. Round two proved much more successful.

We reached the hotel around 10:30 a.m., only to learn our room wouldn’t be ready until 1:00 p.m. So we waited in the small lobby and fought sleep. Every few minutes one of us would do the classic exhausted head bob before jerking awake again. If anyone in the hotel bar heard a random little snore, we’ll neither confirm nor deny responsibility.

At exactly 1:00 p.m. our room was ready. We collapsed into bed for several glorious hours before venturing back out for dinner at Prezzo inside Victoria Place.

Justin chose the lobster and shrimp ravioli while I ordered the chicken parmigiana. The portions were generous, the service was warm, and the complimentary fried Nutella dough balls somehow tasted even better after nearly twenty-four hours of travel.

We boxed them up for later and happily called it a night.

By the time our heads finally hit the pillows, we’d traveled by cruise ship, car, shuttle, airplane, coach, and foot.

London had already given us plenty of stories before we’d even begun exploring.Read more