R&R on the Rhine - Memphis to Amsterdam

A tale of a cruise on the Rhine River:
R&R on the Rhine - Memphis to Amsterdam
R&R on the Rhine - Viking Bestla
R&R on the Rhine - Amsterdam
R&R on the Rhine - Kinderdijk
R&R on the Rhine - Cologne
R&R on the Rhine - Marksburg Castle
R&R on the Rhine - Upper Rhine Valley
R&R on the Rhine - Rudesheim
R&R on the Rhine - Heidelberg Castle
R&R on the Rhine - Heidelberg and Speyer
R&R on the Rhine - Strasbourg
R&R on the Rhine - Black Forest
R&R on the Rhine - Colmar
R&R on the Rhine - Zurich Day 1
R&R on the Rhine - Zurich Day 2
R&R on the Rhine - Zurich to Memphis

This spring I was fortunate enough to be able to take a Rhine River cruise with a group of friends.  Since they all live in another city and I'd be traveling seperately from them anyway, I used frequent flyer miles to book myself business class flights on United, Lufthansa and US Airways.  That meant I got a lie-flat seat for my trip to Amsterdam (our port of embarkation) and an older-style recliner seat on Lufthansa on the way back.

The flight to Houston was on a 1-cabin regional jet but that was the last time in economy on this trip.  I arrived in Houston and went to the international terminal and to the United Club to wait for my overnight flight. 

I was pretty disappointed in the club.  Almost nothing in the way of food save some carrots & celery with dip and crackers and cheese.  The club was quite crowded though I did find some high-top tables available and, I thought, that was great because they had plugs right by the tables.  Sadly, the tables were empty because the plugs didn't work.  After finishing my snack and water I moved to the business area of the lounge where I at least found an empty desk where I could make one last check of my email and recharge my phone.

I don't recall hearing any flight announcements the whole time I was in the lounge and certainly there was nobody coming around to notify folks when it was time to head to the gate.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised but it was disappointing.  But I kept an eye on the clock and eventually made my way to the gate.

I timed it very well and only had a brief wait before boarding began. In short order my ticket and passport were checked and I was on my way.

The crew was terrific and the horror stories I'd heard about longhaul crews for US-based airlines was completely off the mark as far as everyone I dealt with on this trip.  While I'm sure the bag of chocolates I brought them didn't hurt, they were super nice to everyone, at least that I saw.
I had a pillow and blanket waiting for me at my seat when I arrived and an amenity kit tucked beside the seat.  I was hoping for pajamas but I guess I'll have to wait for a first class flight for that!

Though it was early, dinner was served shortly after takeoff so that we could get as much sleep as possible before we arrived.  I had a nice dinner of short ribs and got to top it off with a design-your-own ice cream sundae.  That's one of my favorite desserts in the air or on the ground.

I managed roughly four hours of sleep, which wasn't great but far better than I'd have done in economy.  I awoke about 45 minutes before the breakfast service started so I had time to pull myself together before the lights came on.

Walking from the plane to Customs I spotted an ATM and pulled out my trusty Charles Schwab card to extract some Euros from the machine.  When you have one of these cards you pay no ATM fees anywhere in the world and the associated checking account is interest-bearing, free and even has electronic bill pay.  Quite the deal in my book.

Because I'd made a pit stop on the way to Customs there was a bit of a line when I arrived at Immigration.  But I was through in probably 20-30 minutes and still arrived at the baggage carousel before my luggage did.

Then it was off to find my ride to the ship...which was a tale in itself.