Day on a Plane

The long dreaded flight was really not so bad at all. Much better, in fact, than overnights to Europe when we had to change planes after a layover in Amsterdam.

MSP wasn't very busy when we arrived shortly after 9:00 a.m. The gate was another matter, packed with fellow travelers to Honolulu. Several families with kids made us wonder about the noise level onboard, but all the babies were perfect and the children were cheerful and well behaved.

My efforts to upgrade to "comfort plus" had been unsuccessful and we were stuffed into two seats on the port side of the Airbus 330-300, an efficient and well equipped plane. The time passed fairly quickly, beginning with welcome hot towels and beverage service. Unlike many, I am quite happy with airline food. This flight, we shared a fruit and cheese plate and turkey sandwich for lunch and, toward the end of the flight, we had flatbread margarita pizza -- it was a little tough but fine.

The descent into Honolulu was quite lovely, as the sun began its descent into the Pacific Ocean. A Norwegian Cruise Line representative gate met us with leis at the baggage check, and apologized for our short wait in the comfortable park-like space outside the airport. The apology was unnecessary as the decompression time was welcome.