Dan considers it a perfectly planned packing job if his abundance of emergency clothes are still untouched and I consider it perfectly planned if my suitcase is filed with dirty clothes with not a clean thing left to wear. In both regards and so many others, this was another perfect trip. Thanks to Hettie and Ronnie for selecting the cruise and for being fun playmates and to our enjoyable and informative wait staff, cabin steward, concierge, tour leaders, and entertainers! Rain was forecast for most days of the trip, but we did not get sprinkled on once, so the weather was an extra bonus.

This morning we were up at 5:00 and in our rallying location at 6:00 waiting to get the all-clear to disembark, collect our luggage, get tested, and board the correct bus for our transfer to Heathrow. Once we were dropped at the airport (about 9:45) we scrambled inside to get on Wi-Fi to check our email for the results of our covid tests. Phew! With negative tests in hand we checked in, went through security, got comfy in the lounge, and occupied our little selves for four and a half hours before boarding our 4:40 flight home. Hettie and Ronnie’s morning was much the same as ours except their flight home was two hours earlier than ours.

Without the usual headwinds, we landed in Virginia early, just after 7:00 local time, midnight in the UK, after a pleasant flight. Food, a book, and two movies (Cyrano and Encanto) made the time go relatively quickly. With no wait for luggage, beautiful weather, and no traffic issues, we walked in the door at 8:45 and somehow managed to stay awake until 10:00 having been on our feet, so to speak, a full 24 hours.

Sidebar

The only little cloud that loomed over the trip was the need to have a
negative covid test within 24 hours of checking in at the airport for our flight home.
There were announcements most days updating us on the additional guests
who had tested positive (and confined to their rooms) plus the one guest speaker
and two entertainers who were sidelined by negative tests.
Even though we wore our masks in common areas throughout,
we were still a little nervous about getting home.

By far the largest number of fellow cruisers were from the UK. Because
a) the cruise started and ended there and b) all covid restrictions have been lifted in the UK,
the number of people being tested was relatively small.
With the assurance that no quarantine would be awaiting them once off the ship,
few Brits wore masks or worried about partying in large groups late into the evening.