Well, the good news is that we're back in Honolulu, and all is well.  Started off in New York City. Hotel said there was a set $70 cost of the taxi ride to JFK Airport.  Well, when you add the toll charges and tip, it was up to $90.  That in itself was okay.  So we checked in for our 1PM departure time, which was ticketed more than three months ago.  After we picked up our tickets, we went to the excellent Alaska Airline lounge and was beginning a leisurely breakfast when we found out that we needed to board the plane at 11:05, which was less than half an hour away.  We never got any notice for this change.  We came extra early to be safe, and it turned out that we only barely made this flight. Some photos. Bloody Mary and champagne in Alaska Air lounge. Here is about when we learned we had only a few minutes rather than a couple of hours in the lounge.  Our plane. Goodbye Manhattan from air. Then noticed the plane we were on was the  Boeing 737 MAX  9, the one that lost a door i

Didn't do much yesterday, as it was threatening to rain all day.  As  I had two cans of Foster's beer, my big decision was whether to have a MacDonald's burger or Popeye's chicken, both establishments located across the street from the hotel.  Decided on MacDonald's for a quarter pounder with cheese and fries for $12.  Only a five-minute walk.  Began to rain as I arrived back at the Marriott Marquis. Have nice view of Times Square.  It's possible that this might well have been my most enjoyable lunch of this entire trip. As at 3PM this was to be my dinner tonight.  Added a Lay's potato chip bag with a second can. This is a very large can of beer at 25.4 ounces, or 750 ml.  A typical bottle of wine is the same size. Checked out of the Marriott Marquis and there is a $70 taxi price to JFK Airport. Some thoughts on our around the world adventure. Will take 53 days. Honolulu to Tokyo to Singapore to Munich to Copenhagen to Amsterdam by air. Three cruises. 7-day

 The view from the Queen Mary 2 on arrival morning. Checking-in and getting off a cruise ship are always hassles.  Not so bad this time, but why did the ship have to port in Brooklyn, a long ride into town? Manhattan  has the longest running cruise port in the U.S. The Titanic was supposed to dock at Chelsea Piers, now a sports/entertainment complex. In 1935 piers 88, 90, 92 and 94 were added. Piers 92 and 94 were later sold. On your GPS, 88 and 90 are at 711, 12th Avenue, New York, NY. Norwegian Cruise Line uses these two piers the year around. Also seasonally utilized by Carnival, Crystal,  Holland, Princess, Disney, Aida, Costa, Regent Seven Seas and CUNARD. In the early 2000s, additional home ports were added:  Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey and the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Brooklyn, NY. The consensus is that the Queen Mary 2 is docked in Brooklyn because it is too long. You can hardly see him, but my blue-bar pigeon welcomed me to New York. And finally, we are in the USA.