Today we were up late after getting in late last night. By the time we'd had breakfast it was nearly 10 am and we had to have our bags packed by 11 am for the porters to pick up. But the BIG NEWS was Kim got a text from her twin sister Karrie that they were stuck at the airport in Spain.....there was a French Air Traffic Controllers Strike and their flight to France had been cancelled! So from that point on the rest of the morning she was going back and forth with the Viking rep about what to do. The good news was that the Viking people were working hard, and worked hard all day to make sure they would join us tonight before we set sail at 2 am from Avignon. The bad news was they thought they would miss their new flight; then they caught it, only to arrive in Marrakesh in North Africa to discover their flight might be cancelled AND there were no plugs to charge their phones. But by the time we arrived in Avignon we learned they were on a flight to Marseilles and that Viking reps would be waiting for them. We are hopeful they arrive here by midnight. We talked to the program director, Suzi, and she said there would be wine and food waiting for them. As for us, we were SOOOOO excited to be on board a Viking River Cruise ship again. Our bags arrived as we did and we were immediately escorted to our stateroom and began unpacking. We had no longer finished that than we were summoned for the mandatory emergency drill. And as soon as we returned to our stateroom - about ten minutes later, so much easier on a river cruise - it was time for the nightly briefing. We ordered drinks, listened to the wealth of information....it was unfortunate for the first time cruisers if they had not looked over the information that had been sent prior. One of the couples we'd befriended in Nice (Ed and Deanne) did not have any knowledge of the optional cruises and we had to decide for the first two days by 9 pm tonight. A lot of info in a short period of time, and it's not really cheap. Then we went to dinner with Ed & Deanne and joined a couple from Manchester, England. We all had several glasses of wine and a great dinner while enjoying non-stop conversation. It was a great evening. We didn't get up until a little after nine, rushed to the reception desk to sign up for the optional tours and make sure Karrie & Randy would be taken care of. Kim and I went for a short walk to get some fresh air, then sat in the lounge to listen to the piano player while I uploaded today's journal. A G-R-E-A-T first day of the actual cruise adventure (except for Karrie & Randy's travel issues).
The Trip From Nice To Avignon
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