Chris Owen Has Just Posted the Following:



As I write this we are on our way to Venice, Italy.# First stop, Chicago.# I know, wrong direction.# We go from Orlando to Chicago then on to Madrid and finally end up in Venice for the inaugural sailing of the Carnival Magic some 19 hours later.# No matter how you do it, flying from Orlando to Italy takes some time.# Over the years, we have learned a few tricks to make that time go a bit faster and make for an enjoyable travel experience.

The way air travel seems to be going these days, there are fewer non-stop flights for long distances so learning how to handle connections moves up higher on the priority list.# Today we will be on three different flights, each with some time between them that I would rather have than not have.# I say that because given the choice, I would rather have more time between flights than less, just as a buffer in case one runs late.# Somewhere, written in stone it says: Chris does not miss flights.# On top of that, I like to travel and spending some time, even if just a few hours, at some airport I have never been to or one have before and like I consider a win.



So point one: A lot of comfort in travel depends on how we look at it.



We could moan about the long travel day we have ahead of us or simply sit back and enjoy the ride.## In 19 hours I can write a lot, Lisa can read a lot and if things don’t go just as planned we realize that too is part of traveling.# Backed by that cushion of time, we don’t worry about running behind and enjoy traveling.

That the new Carnival Magic is waiting for us at the end of the road is a bonus at this point.## A bonus we look forward to but just one part of our journey.

Our American Airlines flight took off right on time, soaring to 38,000 feet in a matter of minutes.# On this trip I’m trying out a new app for my iPhone, Window Seat, which is supposed to show us what we are flying over every step of the way.# #I don’t like it so far.

Now granted, I have not used this one before but right off the bat, starting it up is awkward.# Instructions call for the user to enter the airport and flight right before# taking off for the best accuracy.# The problem with that is the flight crew has asked us to turn everything electronic off so we can take off.# So here I am trying to get this thing started between walks of flight attendants up and down the isle without them seeing.# Next time I will bring a small mirror to# hold out in the isle and see when they are sneaking up on me, like those convicts do on the prison block.

Oh yes, btw, I am in First Class and they just came around with nice warm hand towels to freshen ourselves with.

I did manage to start Window Seat when nobody was looking and gave a preliminary sigh of relief, thinking I would accurately be able to point out things below as we passed.## That sense of relief was short-lived though as we sat on the end of the runway for ten minutes or so, totally screwing up where Window Seat said we were.# Either that or the pilot has no idea where we are and tells us something he thinks we want to hear, knowing somehow that we don’t know any better.# By the time we got up in the air and I could sneak a peek, Window Seat had us out of Florida.# I knew better, recognizing our neighborhood below.# So far, Window Seat needs work.

Oh, a nice nut cup from our hostess, and warm nuts at that.# Coffee with cream and my choice from the sweetener menu was my order, delivered in maybe 30 seconds later, in a lovely china cup.# I do hope they have similar amenities for Lisa back in coach.# More on the separation later.



But now we are up in the air, the MacBook is fired up and the noise-cancelling headphones plugged in. Mozart’s Symphony #40 in G Minor should do nicely for starters.# On this two hour and some change flight I’ll save the DVD’s I brought along for later (the next leg is 9 hours) and enjoy the relatively short flight.

So point two:# Come prepared

I have backup power for everything.# That was probably one of the biggest lessons I learned the hard way last year when we went to Alaska on our #FollowMeAtSea twitter press trip sponsored by Princess Cruises.

Mophie Juice powerpacks for iPhone are a must-have accessory that can recharge a phone from empty in a matter of minutes.# I bought two, tripling the life of my phone without some place to plug it in for a charge.# One of them as already broken so I’m looking for another source but having that extra power is mandatory when you write and tweet for a living.# They also make you extremely popular with others who write and tweet for a living when they run out of power and have no backup.

The noise-cancelling headphones mentioned earlier are probably more of a nice-to-have than a required item but boy can they belt out the tunes.# Grandma on her way to Chicago to visit the grandkids probably has no idea I am listening to AC/DC between friendly chats about nothingness. #We have had these Sony MDR-series headphones for years, bought them for the flight back from London after a transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2 that brought us back home via Ireland.

I tried, I really tried, to bring Lisa the cute bag of Pita chips and little thing of cheese that came with them on my way to the bathroom but gave them to some lady who kinda looked like Lisa with her head squashed against the window asleep.# Make that the “old” Lisa, 90 pounds ago, and if I didn’t feel bad (I did, I tortured myself about it for weeks) about her being in coach while I was in First Class before, I sure do now.# When we get to Chicago I have got to get her upgraded.



Other stuff to have for while in flight? #We’ll get to that later.

In Chicago, we get there about 3 hours before our next flight leaves.# The plan is to make a beeline to the Iberia Airlines ticket counter and get another seat in First Class.# I know they have room, I checked flights this morning, right before we got to the airport.# But this first leg is one of those “serviced by” flights with American Airlines hardware and no Iberia Airlines ticket counter in Orlando so I have to wait until we get to Chicago to try.## This is another part of# “Be prepared”, a skill that has served me and every other Boy Scout well since childhood.

Lisa is back there because Carnival paid my airfare as a member of the press.# Lisa was invited along at no cost to us, except the airfare.# I won’t say we are cheap, just thrifty, and the $2000 up-charge to bring her into First Class at the time of booking was crazy-high.# The initial plan was that I would just switch seats with her.# Then I got to playing around with seat assignments (just the old travel agent in me, I can’t help myself) and were able to position her on most legs in a seat with no one by her.# That made the plan for me to skip First Class and go sit with her and/or trade seats with whoever was next to her.# Yes, way too many options.

There are several ways that upgrade conversation can go

  • First Class is full now – bad
  • It will cost you a bazillion dollars to do it- bad
  • It will cost you a reasonable fee to do it- good
  • They buy my sob story, custom-designed for whoever will end up receiving it, and move her up there with me, no charge- best
We’ll see.









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