American – CountUp

I’m Going On A Cruise

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. “I’m going on a cruise” – are 5 words I never thought I would say anytime soon. My 24TH and final cruise was back in January 2023 on the Carnival Celebration. It was on the newest and biggest cruise ship I had ever been on, and it was a fantastic Eastern Caribbean cruise. It was the perfect cruise to end on after 31 years. I wrote about it in a 6-part / 6-week series.

And then I bought a home in Sebring a month later, and I moved in to it a month after that – while still owning my longtime 30-year home in Homestead. And then I retired after almost 39 years with the USAF.

A 25TH cruise was definitely not on my docket.

And then I went on a retirement road-trip in April 2024. It lasted 18 days, and I accumulated 2,800+ miles to and from North Texas. On Day 3 of that road-trip I arrived in Natchez Mississippi for the night, and I ventured downhill on steep Silver Street to alongside the mighty Mississippi River. And that’s when I saw a Viking cruise ship docked on the banks of the river. Lots of passengers were enjoying their port-of-call for the day.

Ever since that moment on April 03RD 2024 I was intrigued about Viking cruise ships, river cruising in general, and how much money I would have to spend to get on one of those cruises to continue my retirement goal of seeing the U.S.A. They are not cheap. Nearly every river cruise (whether it’s here in the U.S.A. or abroad) costs more than nearly every ocean cruise.

I continued my research off-and-on throughout 2024 and 2025. After seeing their magazine and televisions ads I began zoning in on the family-owned American Cruise Lines (#ACL) and their 28 ships operating solely along U.S. rivers, lakes, and coastlines. They offer about 50 different itineraries in 35 states.

I eventually booked what I like to call a “starter cruise”. It’s on the Ohio River. It starts in Louisville Kentucky, and it ends in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 8 days later. (I’ve never been to either city.)

Ports-of-call along the way upstream (with 14 locks and dams) include Madison Indiana, Cincinnati Ohio, and Marietta Ohio. (Cincinnati is the only city I’ve visited, as my family lived there for 6 years during the 2010s.)

I got a really good deal on this cruise – with free airfare from Sarasota-Bradenton (#SRQ) to Louisville, and then from Pittsburgh back to #SRQ. Also – the hotel night before the cruise is complimentary, and I got $1,000 in instant savings when I booked in February. It’s still my most expensive (by far) cruise to date, and it’s on the smallest cruise ship. I’ll be 1 of 150 passengers (if sold out).

I’m following several Facebook groups of #ACL cruisers (past, present, and future), and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. And I know that river cruising – just as ocean cruising – is not for everyone. I’m looking forward to this cruise. I have a feeling that it’s going to be a great time onboard and in each of the ports-of-call. I also have a feeling that I may be enticed to book my next cruise with them (for 2027), so I’m already looking at potential itineraries so that I’m ready in the event that I get a really good deal onboard.

This cruise is later this year, and you’ll know that I’ve returned back home from it once I begin an extended series documenting it all here on #TravelThursday. As for next week – it’s an update on miles driven so far in 2026. Let’s keep traveling together.

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. I returned home from North Texas 54 days ago. This is Part 8 of 8 – the conclusion of my recap of my 10-day experience with my family for Thanksgiving and the week after.

After my gate at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (#DFW) changed from B18 to B17 to B14 to B11 in less than 2½ hours – it changed once again – to D2. That’s right – a completely different terminal !

I got the text message from American Airlines (#AA), and others sitting at the gate obviously got the same text message at the same time, as we all reacted pretty much the same way. We were aggravated, but there was no time for aggravation because boarding would begin in just 38 minutes at a gate far away from there. We all got up, gathered our carry-on bags, and walked briskly to the nearest Skylink (automated people mover) station to reach the new terminal and gate. Of course – Gate D2 was perhaps as far away as possible from the Terminal D (Gates 1-22) Skylink station (and pretty much all other “D” gates). We all made it to the new gate, and we all got good exercise doing so. Strangely – a lot of people were already at that gate, and it looked like they had been there for a while. They obviously knew about Gate D2 long before many of us did.

After a brief respite it was time to board the aircraft to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (#SRQ). As with the incoming flight 10 days earlier – the outgoing flight was not quite full, but close to it. There was plenty of space available in the overhead bins, and the middle seat next to mine was vacant. I had a window seat 3 rows from the rear, and I stared out at the sky towards the NNE for much of the flight. Once at cruising altitude I ate a couple of Pop-Tarts, and then I enjoyed the Lotus Biscoff cookies that are handed out on most #AA flights. Additionally – the flight attendants gave us a bag of pretzels. Two complimentary snacks at the same time !

I also enjoyed a cup of black coffee to go with my multiple snacks. Their coffee has always been delicious, but now it appears that they are in the process of switching / upgrading to Lavazza‘s premium coffee blends. That should be available on my next flights later this year.

The flight from #DFW to #SRQ took a normal route ESE across Louisiana and the Gulf straight into Florida – landing more than 10 minutes early. It took a while (longer than normal) to retrieve my baggage at the carousel. (Mine was one of the last bags to appear.)

After that I went to the wrong location to pick-up the shuttle bus to the parking area. I went to the area for hotel shuttles. I blame that on a lack of clear and proper signage. I eventually figured it out on my own due to no available help from anyone who worked at the airport – inside or outside. The shuttle bus driver took me to the secluded parking lot over near the control tower off Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41). There were two vehicles remaining in that temporary overflow parking lot (which was obviously closed for new parking), and mine was obviously one of the two.

The 78-mile drive back home was uneventful – taking me 1-hour and 49-minutes through Sarasota-Bradenton suburbia and into the countryside and up into the hills. I had to deal with a few slow drivers in front of me and a few tailgaters behind me. I arrived home at 7:26 PM on Saturday December 06TH 2025. My 10-day and 6½-hour Thanksgiving trip to and from Wylie Texas was complete. I enjoyed refreshing my memory and writing about it over the next 2½ weeks following my return. (I completed this post on Christmas Eve.) I hope that you enjoyed reading about it over the past couple of months.

As for my next trip to visit family – that may occur in less than 3 months. As for next Thanksgiving – I’ll likely revert back to tradition and fly out 8 days before the holiday (instead of the night before) – and I’ll return back home on the night after the holiday (#BlackFriday). Or maybe I’ll do something completely different and stay home for the Thanksgiving holiday and instead visit my family during the week leading-up to Christmas. I’ll figure it all out in a few months. #StayTuned

How was my driving in 2025 ? I’ll look back at it – next #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.