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Back to Back Cruises: March-April 2004
Philadelphia, PA

We arrived in Philadelphia to a mixture of snow and rain. We had considered going to the airport checking our bags and taking the SEPTA trains into the historic section of the city, but decided the weather was not good for doing that. We had breakfast and after clearance we disembarked the ship. We found our luggage and got into the security line, but it was not moving. We discovered a man collapsed in line and was attended by EMTs and put in an ambulance. We heard he had suffered a heart attack. Once out of the building we discovered that none of the taxis were big enough to take us with all our luggage. We heard someone asking if anyone needed a ride to the airport. We told him we had 6 bags and he said no problem he had a bus. It turned out to be a luxury bus with all the conveniences including heat, a large screen TV, stereo, cushioned seats, and two bars.
We arrived at the airport about 4 hours early and discovered we could not check in that early. A really nice porter went to talk to the check-in manager and explain our situation. The porter not only got the bags checked, but also returned with our boarding passes.
After three weeks of mostly gourmet and island food, Dale said she would love to have a tuna sandwich & a bowl of clam chawder. Ernie saw a sign in front of one of the lounges that said their special of the day was a tuna sandwich and the soup of the day was clam chowder. We had a very nice meal.
When it was time to board, we discovered it was a very small jet that we had to board from the tarmac. We had to check our carry on luggage outside the plane. Dale was nervous about flying on such a small plane. The flight was one of the best we have taken, the stewardess treated everyone like they were in first class. She gave everyone bottles of water while we waited for take off, snacks and drinks in flight, and warm wash clothes to clean up with afterwards. We arrived at the airport, retrieved our luggage, easily found our dirver, and arrived home safely.

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Last updated:   may 05 2017