Well - the serious countdown has begun for a week ago I made final payment for the full 49 days - so you could say I have now passed the point of no return.
Mixed in with the excitement of getting aspects of this cruise looked after I celebrated my 65 birthday by taking a short 5 day cruise down the Pacific Coast to LA and then immediately hopped a bus to catch the Amtrak train to get back for a birthday party.
Along with final payment I also booked Amtrak and my travel and medical insurance.
While I toyed with the idea of taking a more circuitous Amtrak route to Fort Lauderdale I stayed with the tried and true. Taking the California Zephyr through Salt Lake and Denver in the middle of winter was causing me some worry that a major blizzard could delay my arrival in Fort Lauderdale.
So I am taking my usual route with one minor change - instead of taking the bus to Seattle and catching the Empire Builder on a direct connection I opted to take the Amtrak Cascades which leaves earlier in the morning - partly because I haven't taken that route in years and partly thinking that if we get a snow storm here on the west coast the train is more likely to get to Seattle - it also gives me several hours in Seattle so if the weather is nice I can see some of the sights.
When it came time to book the train the price for the sleeper was cheaper than when I had priced it sometime earlier - like the airlines, Amtrak sleeper prices seem to fluctuate - did find a web site - www.amsnag.net that you can check and see what the prices are for each day - it seems to be kept up to date and it reflected changes that I noted on the Amtrak site.
I will take the Empire Builder to Chicago and then the Capitol Limited to DC - where I will have a layover before taking the Silver Meteor service to Fort Lauderdale - the train station there is half way between Ft Lauderdale and Hollywood so since I am coming from the north will detrain at Fort Lauderdale station and take a taxi to my hotel.
The train ride will be about 4 days and gets me into Fort Lauderdale around supper time - then will have one full day there before boarding the ship.
As for the return from San Francisco - it is pretty straightforward - will have the day to explore as I don't board the bus until late evening that will take me to Emeryville where you catch the Coast Starlight.
My trip and medical insurance is issued by the Royal Bank here in Canada - it is considered one of the better ones - while my extended medical benefits that I have provides good coverage it is only valid for 30 days at one time - so the need for the extra coverage.
Next post I will outline some of my excursions thoughts and pickings.
Cheers
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