More Good News More Bad News

After a lengthy queue at Customs and a speedy transfer, we arrived at St. Martin's Lane Hotel

Though the service was excellent and our room was ideal, the staff put us off for a while about the condition of our belongings.

When the porter brought our bag to us, it was gaping open, shredded at the corners, and held together with tape. I could close the latches with the suitcase empty, but the inside was exposed.

Just the same, nothing was damaged or missing.

We went got an excellent new suitcase on Picadilly and gave our destroyed bag to the porter.

"I'll take it outside," he said, "I need something to kick."

Good News/Bad News

The good news? Our luggage arrived at the hotel today three days ahead of schedule.

The bad news? According to our courteous concierge, the suitcase was "broken beyond repair," though none of the contents were missing!

Stay tuned....

"Backpack to the Future" or "My Pack: A Love Story"

As I previously suggested, my Mom and I elected to send our luggage to London ahead of us.

The prevailing system = total surrender to overworked baggage handlers,
outdated airport systems, understaffed customs areas and overspeculative security.

Hopefully the upcoming system will look more like this

Until then, at least my backpack has the 007-esque Tumi tracer

To Do List...

As cruises resemble all-inclusive vacations, one imagines planning very little in preparation.

I must gather materials for our suitcase,

Arrange for our luggage to be shipped ahead so we can finesse customs,

Purchase tickets for shows,

And figure out where we'll eat on land.