Cargill Travel Blog

Arrived at Heathrow T2 at about 2:15am. I’ve had 2 hours sleep, Lisa’s had none.

Outside the terminal like a ghost town. In the terminal there is the occasional person dragging a case around, or asleep in a makeshift camp (if they have been lucky to find a little alcove with an area to lie down), or a loud African constantly on their mobile hands free. It’s funny – you see a little secluded spot and then there’s a pair of feet poking out where someone has camped-out for the night. At one end of the terminal is the cafe, all tables occupied, many with people fast asleep face down on table.

We plonk ourselves near Baggage Drop B, cases turned on side to form a seat each (yep, only seats are in cafe). Screens don’t show a bag drop time for flight LH921 to Frankfurt. By 3:30 the place is coming alive; Africans bolstered in numbers, still talking loudly but now in small groups; noise diluted due to many other people filling the spaces. Baggage drop B showing airline logos on screens above each – Eurowings, Austrian, LOT, but no Lufthansa. I see people using self check in for baggage labels, our instructions said we wouldn’t be able to use these, but I try and it works, hurrah, one job done.

A massive queue (about 150-200 people stretching about 50m) has suddenly formed at Baggage Drop B, and soon staff are urging people for the 6:30 to Brussels to step forward. Our flight is 6:30 but no shout. We’re not in queue, so I ask a staff member if we should be and he says yes join queue, Lufthansa will take bags. In that time there’s been a surge and queue is much shorter. We join, and Lufthansa logo has appeared, and we enter the snaking queue system which is where the original queue was absorbed.

Bags dropped, we head to security, which is closed. Large group forming, got chatting with an agitated Scottish lady on her way to Lisbon whose mates were stuck in another airport due to easyJet cancellations. At 04:20 security opens and a mini-stampede starts. Scan boarding pass, take off mask, then queue, pockets empty, belt off, fill plastic tray, block pusher-in, collect tray, pockets filled, belt on, and boom – we’re through to departures.

Departures: Massive and lovely with seats and charging areas, shops, restaurants. However, literally nothing open except Leon, but 2 cups of tea, sausage & egg muffin, quick chat with Scottish lady again, and we’re good. Head to near gate A26 which Lufthansa email says will be gate. And it is.

We board plane (uneventful apart from noticing loud arseholes we hope to be sitting away from). On board there’s no food just a bottle of water and a chocolate. Lisa sleeps for the first time tonight, bless.
Arrive in Frankfurt early (that’s German efficiency for you), out onto concourse, on bus, nab almost last two seats (apart), arrive at Terminal 1.

2.5 hours to next flight, LH1130. A Lufthansa email tells us it’s gate A50. We follow the signs, but takes us to passport control. We’re confused by this, after a quick scan of options we go with it. Others also appear to have same reaction. Anyway we’re through quickish, and head straight to A50 with over an hour to spare. Arrive and staff are calling for Lufthansa flight to Barcelona, but a quick check and that’s not our flight. We see people running to gate, but we’re cool. We sit, I pay €2 for a coffee from a machine that doesn’t work, write an email complaint about coffee machine. Call for flight goes out, boarding groups 1&2, realise we’re group 2 and push past dickheads for groups 3-5 that block the way. Then onto concourse, head to front of plane because we’re row 9, and settle into our 2 seats which are by themselves because they’re just in front of emergency exit. Sweet.

Lisa sleeps for second time today. It’s all good. She wakes, has a Darjeeling tea and a twix, I have a DJT also and a sandwich. Lisa didn’t like look of sandwich. I like it and I eat it. Bosh.

We land in Barcelona, I help an old American guy locate his carry-on, he says “I owe you one brother” and we leave to get on a bendy bus to terminal. Get in terminal, no passport control (that’s wierd, but good, so that explains why we did it in Frankfurt then, but that’s still wierd). Walk for what seems like forever through El Prat. There’s some time pressure because we days we’d check in at port at 3pm, and our plane was late in (what happened to that German efficiency?) We flash our SpTH forms at infection control, they scan, and then collect baggage.

Out the other side and start looking for Royal Caribbean rep. See everyone but them. Then we spot the logo on a board and see it’s a group of them, hurrah. We register, attach pre-printed luggage labels, RC whisk those away, we have a chat with some nice Brits from Manchester, and follow or guide Orlando to the coach. On the coach, we are all smiles, so happy that we’ve finally made it. Oh and a bit of guilt (sorry kids, wish you were here, love you). Then after a 25min journey we arrive at the terminal, it’s 14:30ish.

More security, plastic trays, belt off, etc. Then a check on Covid test results we did on Friday. We’re through, onto the escalator via a shop (I buy lipbalm, €5 FFS but I need it). We takes selfie by the boat, and cross the threshold. We look around in awe, my mouth agape at the street scene that welcomes us. A bustling street of restaurants, bars, shops, etc. We are shattered, but ecstatic.

Head straight to lifts and find our room on deck 9, keycards perched on door handle. No cases yet but that’s cool, an assistant called Doni knocks on door, gives us his business card and says “just dial my extension of you need me” and within 30mins or so he’s delivering cases to us.

Time is now about 3:30 I think. Captain’s voice comes over a speaker our room and he expresses that people need to check in at their muster points before we can set sail. He sounds official and slightly irked. We head out to check in at our muster point which is where we go in case the ship sinks. To get there we have to go through the casino. People are smoking, inside! It reminds us of Vegas. We check in at the muster point, then we explore.
From the muster point we go in the lift to deck 15, and out into the Spanish sunlight. A calypso band is on a stage overlooking the pool, people drink, kids play, we feel more guilt, and then we get a free ice cream each (we’re so sorry kids).

We mooch, a beer each in Playmakers ($20 FFS, and yes it’s in dollars on board, they’re American), game of connect 4. Lisa wins. We mooch and end up in a Mexican restaurant, help ourselves to a quesadilla. Lisa likes this. Then back to room to unpack more. Time is about 17:30, we’re due to set sail at 18:00.

We see a big boat go past – lots of waving and cheering.
We set sail about 18:30 in the end; the Captain must have been apoplectic at that point. Then head to dinner, in smart casual (app told us it was informal dress). Bought a bottle of Pinot, ate way too much. Lisa had artisan cheese, Southern fried chicken, apple tartin. I had crabcake, Guinness pie, chocolate torte.

Lisa spotted dolphins jumping out of the water and screeched. Half the restaurant ran to see. It was a moment. Dinner dinner and off to bed at 9pm. While the ship started to party, we were done. We decide to order breakfast in bed. Tick pretty much everything on the list. Then nighty night xx