Having left the plane we looked for our next flight on the 'Departures' board. There was no sign of it.
Bad memories of Fort Lauderdale started to haunt us. Last time we had had anything to do with that airport we got back home a day late. That could not be an option this time round.
We joined the queue at the 'Connections Queries Desk' to hear a middle-aged couple (could they be cruising from Fort Lauderdale like us?) being told to go somewhere indeterminate to rebook. Shivers started to go down our spines.
There were at least a couple more small groups in front of us in the queue who each seemed to take an age to get sorted and seemed to leave dissatisfied. The time was ticking along and we were thinking that, from start to finish we had just over 2 hours from landing to getting to the stand, getting off the plane, walking endless corridors (Elizabeth did nearly 10,000 steps yesterday (which wasn't bad considering the distance from Worksop to Fort Lauderdale) but we were in a plane for most of the way) getting in through Canadian immigration to leaving Canada again and finding our departure gate. Oh yes, and was there a Starbucks outlet anywhere to be seen along the way? On and off we continued to scour the departures board over our shoulders. There were flights to both Orlando and Miami. Could we get seats there and somehow get back to Fort Lauderdale?Miami isn't that far from Fort Lauderdale so we could always get a cab or a minivan, perhaps? But still it seemed that the new age of stress-free travel was not apparent at Toronto Airport - well not for us anyway!
The fairly humorless lady on the desk (surely an essential requirement for this type of job?) assured us the the flight was indeed going ahead even though it wasn't listed on the departures board and that it would be from Gate F61. Both F and 61 sounded a long way down each of their sequences so we expected to have a long walk. Much to my own surprise I never did look anxiously at my watch at any point during this saga.
We set off from the desk more in hope than solid expectation. Suddenly we saw what we were desperately seeking - yes, that's right, a Starbucks outlet and yes, they did have mugs, well at least two possibly luckless English travellers perhaps stranded miles from home. And, as we walked into Starbucks we glimpsed in the distance gate F61 and there were people there. But were they going to Fort Lauderdale or to one of the many, many destinations across North America and beyond which were listed on the board?
Having not done what the vast majority of Starbucks customers do - have a cup of coffee - (there was no time for that, after all) we moved hesitantly across to Gate F61. The unsmiley lady on the desk was right. It said Fort Lauderdale on the board. It seemed to be the 'geeks' flight as most customers there were plugged into some sort of media at charging desks or had rather trustingly left appliances charging up while they had seemingly gone somewhere else.
Soon a voice over the PA confirmed that this was a flight to Fort Lauderdale, that it wasn't full and that it would be boarding in zones shortly (as pleb class customers we would be bound to be getting on last, we thought).
But we weren't. We were down to be in row 48 and our only fear in this modest-sized plane was that it might be on the tail plane but it turned out to be in the penultimate row at the back. There was no entertainment on board and food and drink were to pay for - and were bound to be limited by this time of day - so a 'no-frills' flight, but we were on board and it would be heading in the right direction!
PS This is the first and last wordy blog post you'll be getting, folks. When you wake up at 4am local time - 9am yours, so we're getting adjusted already - and you don't need to leave the hotel till 11am, there's surely time to do the blog! But there won't be any more days like this, I hope. After all, we're on a cruise. There's sun and warmth to enjoy, free beers to be had in that outdoor bar at the back of the ship, some places to visit, fine dining to be had and some party nights to be enjoyed - if we can keep awake long enough to be able to dance the night away, that is!
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