When planning my trip to Venice, I was happy to find a flight with only one transfer.  The original flight with Delta was from Tampa to Atlanta and then on to Venice.  At Venice I decided to take a private water taxi which my travel agent booked for me.  I have a great travel agent, who is also a good friend.  He helps me with planning most of my trips.  I always book my own air and train travel.  When traveling overseas, my travel agent books all my hotels and transfers to and from the airport.  Of course, the timing of my arrival flight was important for the water taxi to be scheduled.

Excited to be on my way to Venice, I arrived at the Tampa airport three hours early.  As I exited the elevator, I approached the departure screen to see that my flight had been CANCELLED.  I received no email, and the cancellation was not reflected on the Delta app.  As you can imagine, my heart sank.  At the Delta counter, I was told that because the flight was cancelled, they rescheduled me on a different flight that was leaving Tampa at the same time as the original flight.  However, now I had two connections to make – one in Boston and the other in Rome.

The second issue was that in the rescheduling, my seat assignment changed.  I don’t know about you, but especially on long overseas flights, I love the aisle seat.  The aisle seat gives me the freedom to get up whenever I need to without being a bother to anyone.  I don’t mind getting up for someone in the middle seats, but I don’t like being the one to ask because I get up a lot.  I asked about getting an aisle seat and was told that I would have to speak to the agent at the counter at each destination.

Before going on to my third issue, I am happy to report that the seat issue was resolved nicely.  On the flight from Tampa to Boston, I was given the window seat in an Exit row.  I didn’t realize how much leg room you had in these seats.  Once in Boston, I was told the flight to Rome was full and they could not make any changes.  However, after settling in the assigned middle seat and warning my aisle seat partner about my seat dilemma, I asked the flight attendant if she could find me an aisle seat.  “Oh, yes,” she said happily.  “You can have this one!” as she pointed to an aisle seat two rows ahead of me. 

How wonderful and blessed are the little things in life!!!!

Although this new flight was leaving Tampa at the same time as the original flight, it would not be arriving in Venice at the same time.  Instead of 9:30am, the arrival time was one hour later.  That meant the water taxi arrangements needed to be changed.  This would have been difficult to do if I was on my own but because I had the travel agent book this transfer, I made one phone call.  By the time I got to Boston, I received a text from my travel agent with new water taxi arrangements in Venice. 

Tip #1, I would highly recommend using a travel agent for all transfers.  This was a life saver and took a lot of stress off me especially since the original documents stated that the water taxi would wait no more than 60 minutes with no refund.  Because my flight changed, the water taxi staff would have no idea that I was rescheduled to a different flight.  By the way, if you need a travel agent – let me know in the comments below and I will be happy to give you his contact info!!!

The next issue had to do with my portable Wi-Fi system. I really love this gadget and it has given me so much freedom and security when traveling on my own.  However, it is technology, and you never know when technology is going to fail.

When in the Rome airport, while waiting for my flight to Venice, I tried to connect to my portable Wi-Fi system.  I tried everything.  I even changed my password three times. 

My hotel in Venice was located two blocks from the water taxi drop off point.  My original plan was to use the portable Wi-Fi to get to the hotel.  But I couldn’t get it connected. 

I got halfway to my hotel based on the information provided by the water taxi driver.  I then entered the lobby of the first hotel I saw and the woman behind the desk graciously escorted me to the street – which was more like an alley – where my hotel was located.

Because I was arriving in Venice in the morning, my original plans were to drop off my bags at the hotel and get busy touring the city.  Instead, I spent time in the hotel lobby trying to get the portable Wi-Fi working.  Finally, after placing my luggage in my room, I knew I needed a break.  So, I turned off the Airplane Mode on my phone which activated my Travel Pass with Verizon.  This program costs $10/day to use globally.  I was frustrated because I had already paid for a $27 Italy plan and a $20 Austria plan with the Portable Wi-Fi system.  If I couldn’t get the portable Wi-Fi to work, then I would lose the money I spent on the plans and would have to pay $10 for each day I used the Verizon plan.  Considering this was an 18-day trip, I was beyond words!

I was tired, frustrated, and hungry.  I decided to look for a place to eat.  I had a great pizza in a cute little restaurant overlooking one of the many canals.  Walking back to my hotel I treated myself to a pistachio gelato – my favorite!

When I got back to my hotel room, as I started to unpack, I realized that I had the small user manual from the portable Wi-Fi.  I forgot I had put this in my luggage.  The last sentence on the English version of this small manual said, “For more information, please visit travelwifi.com.”  At this point, I was using the hotel Wi-Fi.  Using my phone, I connected to the website noted in the manual and had a 40-minute online chat with a tech rep.  He walked me through the entire process.  By the end of the chat, I was up and running and ready to explore with the Wi-Fi plans previously purchased.

Oh, Happy Day!

Tip #2 – Portable Wi-Fi systems are the best way to use your GPS in new places.  Be sure to have a backup plan in the event there is an issue with the portable Wi-Fi.  Verizon’s plan was a good back up.  I was glad I only needed it for one day!

Tip #3 – Always pack the user manual for your portable Wi-Fi system – because you never know when you will need it!  Click here to see the Portable Wi-Fi system I used along with the battery pack system. 

Tip #4 – If you are staying at a hotel when you travel, be sure to ask the front desk for a paper map, even if you have a portable Wi-Fi system.  Paper maps are also available at tour offices and information centers.  If your Wi-Fi technology fails, at least you can find your way with the paper map.  Although, this would not apply if you were in Venice with lots of alleys, canals, and bridges!

I slept very well my first night in Venice knowing that my Wi-Fi system was fixed. 

I am excited to explore all of Venice and the rest of the places on my itinerary.  Stay Tuned – the adventure is just beginning!

Let me know in the comments below if you need a referral to a good travel agent!  Let me know if you’ve experienced any of the craziness I did on this first day of my trip.  Were your solutions the same or did you come up with something different?  I am always learning and would love to hear what you’ve experienced. 

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