Sometime during the sail along the Beagle Channel, the ship switched to electric engine power only. THAT was creepy; the sudden total lack of sound and vibration woke me up. We were still traveling at about 10 knots, totally silently.
We docked in Ushuaia a bit after midnight; I was woken up again by the light from the Viking ship beside us and the noise from the dock (I’d gone to sleep with my door open). Breakfast was offered starting at 6am in Aune. We’d been assigned to the first bus, which started loading at about 7:45a. It felt strange to scan our cards and step off the ship for the last time.
We were given more free time in Ushuaia before heading to the airport. We had to be back on the bus by 9:40a. Almost nothing was open in town, so we just walked to the other Ushuaia sign. It was surprisingly warm, in the 50s.
Once we got to the airport, we had to get our bags from the huge stack in the lobby, then check in at the JetSMART counter. There were only 2 agents handling 4 busloads of ~40 people each, so we were very glad to be on the first bus as the line got longer and longer. We gave them our bags, received our boarding passes, and headed to the gate. There was one big waiting area for all four gates upstairs. Since at least 5 Antarctic expedition ships had docked that morning and everyone was sending flights north, the area filled up quickly.
We pushed back from the gate just 11 minutes late even though boarding had started more than 30 minutes late – everyone was READY to go. Takeoff was fun; we back taxied to the very end of the runway (the taxiway didn’t go all the way there) to get every available inch. Just after 1p, we were up, up, and away from Ushuaia.
The flight wasn’t too bad; they served a limited menu of drinks and a nice little meal box with a sandwich, veggie sticks, a roll with spreadable cheese, and a dulce de leche dessert. I think that was all because we were a charter; it looked like even the drinks cost money on a normal flight.
When we arrived in Buenos Aires, we had to collect our bags and walk from Terminal C to Terminal A. (You may wonder where Terminal B is; it’s closed.) Upon entering the terminal, it took a minute to figure out where American Airlines was. We were surprised to see that it was completely unstaffed until 6p (it was 5:20p). There was a MASSIVE line through the whole terminal entrance of people waiting for 6p. We went to the end of the line, but happened to learn by chance that there was a separate line for priority passengers (which we were with business class seats; thanks Dad!) A couple guys confronted us for ‘cutting’ the line because it was completely not obvious that there were two lines. However, once those conversations happened, a lot more people realized they should have been in the priority line, so all’s well that ends well. It would have made a lot more sense if they had opened the rope lines and let people line up not in the middle of the airport. But even once the counters were open, there were SOOO many people.
Waiting for American to open and getting checked in took up some of our long wait at EZE. We also had to get through security and immigration. It was close to 7p by the time we got to the Admiral’s Club lounge. They had yummy empanadas and some other items that became dinner. The lounge was overflowing as the departure times for all the overnight flights approached; the space was surprisingly small for a lounge. But it was nice when they put NFL RedZone on one of the TVs.
Boarding the plane was also a bit chaotic, as everyone was crowded around waiting before the groups were called. We had to get our bags inspected (again) to be sure we weren’t bringing any liquids onboard the plane, including things bought in the airport. Finally we could sink into our seats on the Boeing 777-300ER that would take us back to the US. The business class seats on this plane were a bit different from the 777-200, with screens that folded away and more space around your legs. The bed was so much more comfortable with the extra room and fewer dips and gaps between the cushions. After takeoff and an awesome view of a red moon rising, I ended the night with another ice cream sundae.
We arrived in Miami 30 minutes early. This was our first test of having Global Entry for getting through customs. Passport control was a breeze (there wasn’t really a line even if you didn’t have global entry), but getting our checked bags took FOREVER. We then had to drop them off again and go through TSA screening again, which was also very slow. There’s gotta be a better way to do this, I just haven’t figured out how yet…
The Admiral’s Club lounge at MIA (D15 side) was very nice. A bit bright for so early, but tons of nice seating with outlets, a good breakfast spread, and nice views. The time went by surprisingly fast and at last we could board our final flight of the journey.
The flight to DCA was very smooth; we had views of Kennedy Space Center and Charleston, SC (among other places) along the way. The flight attendants were incredibly friendly, no cases of the Mondays there. We landed a half hour early, which no one complained about. We were at last home after a wonderful adventure.