Our long journey home began with the alarm going off at 4:15 am. We had to ready to leave ship at 6:00. It was a little after 6:00 when we departed the ship and got on a bus to take us to the Papeete airport. Enroute it came a downpour but stopped as we were getting off bus. I must say Regent did a wonderful job of getting us and our luggage (came by separate truck) to the airport. We checked our luggage with Air Tahiti, went through immigration, did security check, and was in the Air Tahiti Nui business class lounge by 7:25, an hour before our scheduled flight.
We boarded and got settled into our seats, 3C & D. As we drank our glass of champagne the Captain came walking through business class so I stopped him and told him I was a retired American Airlines Captain. He asked if I would like to join him in the cockpit for takeoff. Didn't take me long to hop out of my seat. It was the first time I had been in a cockpit since retiring in 2008. He and his female first officer were very nice to me. They were French and spoke French when they were talking to each other but spoke great English to me. Interesting though is they did their checklists in English. Our plane was an Airbus 340-300 and I was used to Boeing planes. Avionics very similar so I knew what was going on. It is a 4 engine jet and they said their company was trying to buy newer 2 engine jets like Airbus 350 or Boeing 787. Well into our climb to cruising altitude the Captain said I could go back and have some breakfast so I thanked them for their hospitality and left with a big smile on my face.
We found it interesting that the flight attendants change uniforms after takeoff and before starting the breakfast service. We had drinks and fresh fruit followed by choice of an omlet or pancakes. We opted for the omlet. All the food was very hot. After breakfast I put my seat flat and took a 3 hour nap. They woke me up to do a dinner service. Drinks again with nuts, pate as appetizer. We chose the mahi mahi for entree but it was mostly mashed potatoes with fish mashed in it. For dessert there were 3 small dishes of different sweets. The flight was kind of bumpy just like most of our sea days.
We landed and arrived at LAX gate at 6:45 pm. After a long walk we reached immigration area. We have Global Entry priority so used kiosks to clear immigration. Had to pay $100 each couple of years ago but worth it if you fly internationally. Then on to baggage claim. Three of our bags were first to come out. Last bag was 15 minutes later. Loaded everything on carts and off we went to go through customs check. No big deal there. Now we had to change terminals to go to American Airlines. Not bad though as was just in the next building. I checked in with AA as I had requested to use some of my 500 mile certificates to upgrade our seats to first class. Sure enough we were upgraded. We arrived at our gate at 8:00 pm and had to sit for 4 hours. Four hours of listening to Christmas music was about more than I could take!
Our flight departed on time and arrived at gate in DFW 15 minutes early. Our luggage was just coming off the belt when our driver called and said he was just out front of baggage claim. I found a cart on the way to baggage claim so did not have to pay for one. Everything was still going perfect! We arrived home at 6:00 am. Only problem we found was our tv DVR was not working. I tried rebooting it but ended up calling ATT. They said a technician would be here between 8:30 and 12:30. So we went to bed and he showed up at 9:00. After and hour he had it replaced and back to bed I went. We got up at noon. Rebecca is having coffee and reading the paper. I went to get our mail being held at PO. It will take us about 3 days to get all caught up on things around the house after being away for 36 days.
So this ends another of our fantastic journeys. Thank you all for following us and making the work I do on the blogs worth while. We made new friends on this cruise and had the pleasure of seeing many old friends that work on the Regent ships. We will miss them spoiling us every day. Who will make our bed, clean, cook 5 course dinners every day, and make our drinks. Oh, and now we have to remember to pay the check when we go out to dinner. Rebecca and I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a safe and healthy New Year!
We boarded and got settled into our seats, 3C & D. As we drank our glass of champagne the Captain came walking through business class so I stopped him and told him I was a retired American Airlines Captain. He asked if I would like to join him in the cockpit for takeoff. Didn't take me long to hop out of my seat. It was the first time I had been in a cockpit since retiring in 2008. He and his female first officer were very nice to me. They were French and spoke French when they were talking to each other but spoke great English to me. Interesting though is they did their checklists in English. Our plane was an Airbus 340-300 and I was used to Boeing planes. Avionics very similar so I knew what was going on. It is a 4 engine jet and they said their company was trying to buy newer 2 engine jets like Airbus 350 or Boeing 787. Well into our climb to cruising altitude the Captain said I could go back and have some breakfast so I thanked them for their hospitality and left with a big smile on my face.
We found it interesting that the flight attendants change uniforms after takeoff and before starting the breakfast service. We had drinks and fresh fruit followed by choice of an omlet or pancakes. We opted for the omlet. All the food was very hot. After breakfast I put my seat flat and took a 3 hour nap. They woke me up to do a dinner service. Drinks again with nuts, pate as appetizer. We chose the mahi mahi for entree but it was mostly mashed potatoes with fish mashed in it. For dessert there were 3 small dishes of different sweets. The flight was kind of bumpy just like most of our sea days.
We landed and arrived at LAX gate at 6:45 pm. After a long walk we reached immigration area. We have Global Entry priority so used kiosks to clear immigration. Had to pay $100 each couple of years ago but worth it if you fly internationally. Then on to baggage claim. Three of our bags were first to come out. Last bag was 15 minutes later. Loaded everything on carts and off we went to go through customs check. No big deal there. Now we had to change terminals to go to American Airlines. Not bad though as was just in the next building. I checked in with AA as I had requested to use some of my 500 mile certificates to upgrade our seats to first class. Sure enough we were upgraded. We arrived at our gate at 8:00 pm and had to sit for 4 hours. Four hours of listening to Christmas music was about more than I could take!
Our flight departed on time and arrived at gate in DFW 15 minutes early. Our luggage was just coming off the belt when our driver called and said he was just out front of baggage claim. I found a cart on the way to baggage claim so did not have to pay for one. Everything was still going perfect! We arrived home at 6:00 am. Only problem we found was our tv DVR was not working. I tried rebooting it but ended up calling ATT. They said a technician would be here between 8:30 and 12:30. So we went to bed and he showed up at 9:00. After and hour he had it replaced and back to bed I went. We got up at noon. Rebecca is having coffee and reading the paper. I went to get our mail being held at PO. It will take us about 3 days to get all caught up on things around the house after being away for 36 days.
So this ends another of our fantastic journeys. Thank you all for following us and making the work I do on the blogs worth while. We made new friends on this cruise and had the pleasure of seeing many old friends that work on the Regent ships. We will miss them spoiling us every day. Who will make our bed, clean, cook 5 course dinners every day, and make our drinks. Oh, and now we have to remember to pay the check when we go out to dinner. Rebecca and I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a safe and healthy New Year!
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