Travel to / Arrival In Portugal
Welcome To Lisbon, Portugal
This afternoon (Saturday November 16th) Kim and I departed from Fort Lauderdale International aboard a Delta flight bound for New York at 3:30 pm. The scheduled itinerary was for us to land at JFK International; have a layover of about 3 1/2 hours and then fly to Lisbon arriving here at 8:30 am local time. All SEEMED to be going according to plan as we arrived nearly right on the money in New York. Kim and I had a light dinner at the airport and then through the wonder of the Internet and technology I watched the Florida Panthers hockey game and the ABC College Football game on my phone in high definition.
We boarded our flight a little late and taxied towards the runway. Abruptly the plane stopped and after a few minutes the captain announced that a brake light was not working and maintenance was on the way. After about fifteen minutes we began to roll again and we were told we were 4th in line for takeoff. But no more than three minutes later again we stopped. Another announcement told us the same light was on and it would not be a "quick" fix so we were returning to the gate. At the gate we were told it was an "anti-skid" brake mechanism and with wet runways in Lisbon anticipated the crew did not feel it was safe to fly without this system being fully operational. We were told it would be about 15 minutes or if it was worse than anticipated we'd get off and fly out on a waiting jet two gates down. Twenty minutes later we were told to disembark. It was not about 11 pm and we were told the anticipated takeoff would be at 12:30 pm.
Well it wasn't until well after 1:00 am that we actually took off. And then an hour into the flight we were served a full dinner! Shortly there after Kim and I both slept for several hours. We landed in Lisbon at about 1 pm - rather than the schedule 8:30 am time frame. We cleared customs quickly and got our luggage and were immediately met by the Viking reception crew. About fifteen minutes later were onboard a small shuttle to the hotel and twenty minutes later we arrived at the Tivoli.
As Kim and I remarked to our great friends Dennis & Mary when we met them in the lobby, the delay was somewhat "welcomed" because they had arrived on time at 10:30 and had been sitting here waiting for their rooms ever since. About an hour passed and then we got into our rooms. Interestingly we are in Room 111 which is on the THIRD floor! In Europe the ground level is "0" and the next level is the "Mezzanine." Interesting.
Our TV greeted us personally and we began our evening with a 6 pm meeting with the Viking Program Director from our ship, Sophie. The meeting was a good overview of what would be happening both in Lisbon and once the cruise started. And she recommended some local restaurants. But it was raining so we had dinner on the top floor of the hotel with a third couple and enjoyed "Crab Cake Burgers & Fries." Delicious.
It was a great first day.
It was a great first day.
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