Just Run Me Over to Newark, Please

It's rather painful to admit what a dum-dum mistake I made on my flight arrangements for my cruise.  I got all wild when I was making the reservation and decided to give up 50,000 of my precious Aadvantage miles in order to fly first class.  Now this in itself was not a mistake.  Nothing makes me feel as luxurious as a first class flight!

I began to look at the flights with one main requirement:  they must include a meal.  For that many miles a snack just wouldn't do.  I knew that Newark, LaGuardia, and JFK airports are not very far apart.  Just like Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, I assumed.  So...I found a perfect pair of flights in and out of LaGuardia.  No problem.  I got my hotel in Newark and called the car service Royal Caribbean recommended to "meet and greet" me and drive me to the hotel.

We have used lots of car services very satisfactorily through the years, but this one didn't work out very well.  There was no driver holding up my name when I got to baggage claim.  I had to pull my two big bags off the carousel myself, then schlep them behind me while I looked for my guy.  Oh...there he was.  The one in the turban!
 

Here we are going through the Holland Tunnel.  He immediately told me pictures are not allowed.  I expected to have authorities waiting for me at the end.

We fought our way slowly and agonizingly through 5:00 traffic and finally arrived at the Hilton, Penn Station, Newark.  This guy just dumped me out to pull my two big bags inside myself.  I had already paid my full bill by phone, but I gave him an extra $10!  I know.  Don't ask me why!

I assumed the ship would have a bus going back to LaGuardia after the cruise.  Wrong.  Only to Newark.  So I called my faithful car company to come get me.  When they started quoting prices to me, I got suspicious and asked just how much they had charged my credit card for the first trip.  It was almost twice as much as I had been quoted!  I don't even know what it all was--except for tolls and 14 minutes of waiting time!  This guy claimed to have waited 14 minutes on me! 

I left the ship planning to take a taxi back to LaGuardia, but the nice young porter who helped me get through customs with the two monster bags, introduced me to LouAnn, my new best friend.  She works for a transportation service, and she told me I could go in a private cab for way less than what the car company had charged me or in a shuttle for $27!  I opted for the shuttle.  And LouAnn was pleased to tell me I had Bob, one of her best drivers.

If Bob was the best, I'm glad I didn't get with the worst.  Bob wouldn't leave until the van was packed sardine-style full.  Then he grabbed the wheel, leaned forward, and floored it.  He had the windows in the front wide open, which was giving my expensive ship hairdo a real challenge!  At one point when Bob wasn't looking, I leaned up and put the passenger front window up.  He immediately had it back down when I wasn't looking!  And thank goodness I had plenty of time before my flight.  We went to JFK first, then took a couple to their home, then to LaGuardia--the arrival level rather than the departure!

All this for two meals.  The first one was very good.  The second was so bad I couldn't even eat it.  Not that I was hungry anyway after 9 days of pigging out.

The car company finally agreed as a "one time courtesy" (as if there would ever be a second time!) to refund most of the overcharge.  I learned a lesson.  It may not be very far from New York to Newark, but it's complicated!