Check-in

 December 28, 2024

Marge (Linda's mom), Doug (Linda's cousin), Linda, myself and Sue

The Saturday before Christmas we were invited to Dean and Linda Tjaden's (the boys' mother) for a pre-Christmas dinner with them and the boys' families.  This is a yearly event for them but since we are normally gone south this time of year, it was a first for us.  We had a great time and was very appreciative of the invite.  


Two of my three boys live in Des Moines, and they called a couple days before this and invited us down there to spend Christmas.  This worked out well for us as we had some serious clothes shopping to do for evening dining aboard ship.  We drove down and enjoyed celebrating Christmas with the boys and their families.  The day after Christmas was spent shopping before driving back to Charles City.  So, between JCPenney, T. J. Maxx and Goodwill, we scored a new suit, sport coat, shirts and pants for me and several dresses for Sue.  

Today, I received an email from Cunard stating that since it is now 21 days before sailing date, we could go online and do our check-in process.  We logged on to our "My Cunard" website that is unique to our particular stateroom and were able to download and print our Boarding Passes and Baggage Tags. They also required us to supply information for the charge cards we would be using during the cruise.  They did the usual $1 charge to make sure it worked.  Sue had no trouble with hers, but mine was declined.  Since I had been hacked recently and had to change accounts, they have tightened up my protection.  Since the charge came from the UK, they declined it.  It wasn't long before I got an alert message on my phone asking if the $1 charge was legitimate or not.  After I answered Yes, I tried again, and it went through.

A company called Luggage Forward offers a service to have our bags picked up here at the house and transported to the ship.  This would save having to lug them around the airports and to and from our motel in Brooklyn.  Plus, not having to pay the checked baggage fee.  It cost about $169 each for under 50 pounds and $189 for up to 75 pounds.  We decided it would be worth the cost.  We are close to being ready!

January 4, 2025

Well, we survived the New Year, watched the ball drop in New York from bed!  Not very exciting, but also not a good time to be out on amateur night celebrating even if we had felt like it.

It has been really cold here in northern Iowa, down to single digits overnight.  We have gotten fairly thin-skinned by skipping northern winters the last 15 plus years by going south to Arizona and Florida but mainly to South Texas Rio Grande Valley.  We are anxious to board the Queen Anne and head south again.


We received our shipping labels from Luggage Forward with instructions to have them ready for pick up on January 8.  I think mine is ready and weighs 46 pounds, just under the 50lb limit. 

Sue is still working on hers but I'm sure it will be close to the max.  They provided a list of things not allowed:


  • Medication, OTC, prescription, or vitamins 
  • Food (Includes coffee beans and spices)
  • Alcohol (including perfume and hand sanitizer)
  • Tobacco
  • Pressurized containers (includes sunscreen) 
  • Valuables or currency
  • Electronics (excludes cables and converters) 
  • Lithium based, or Alkaline batteries (includes tracking devices and range finders)

We will still have a carry-on to take on the airplane, and if Sue doesn't pare down her items, we may have to check a bag as well!  Good Grief! We are only going to be gone four months! 

More to follow.





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