What's the worst start to a vacation you have had?

[NYCgrrl]

Driving to Cape Cod with our 6 y/older and then 3 month old newborn for a monthlong vacation.
Newbie was using cloth diapers at the time but decided to switch to disposables for the duration. Stopped at a rest station to change his diaper. Oh dear Lord above his butt was fire engine red and he was obviously allergic to Pampers! Fortunately had a few cloth diapers with us and lined the disposable with one. Decided we’d buy some birdseye cotton or already made cloth diapers at a 5&10 cent store on the Cape.
Not one store still carried them nor a fabric store so every day my Mom and I took turns washing out the ones we had.
That baby mooned us a lot that trip.

 

[loves to dive]

We have had a number of them but my top two:

Scheduled dive trip on a liveaboard in Belize leaving in 2 days. Weather forecast decided snow in Atlanta the next day. We had not packed yet. I was at work when hubby called to tell me we had to find something out of Atlanta that day. I scrambled and found a flight from Atl to Dallas to Belize but it would be an overnight in Dallas. We could not reschedule the live aboard and like a cruise if you miss it you miss it. Got the flight booked and rushed home. We had about 4 hours to get to the airport from Athens to board the flight. I told hubby what to grab and he threw it all in the truck. I was in the back seat packing while he drove to the airport, one a good day you can make it in 2 hours on a bad 4. We made it in a hour and half. Got to Dallas with no hotel reservation. This was back before you could book anything over the internet with your phone. I called my office and had my co-worker look up hotels from the office and she found one in the airport. I called and got up a reservation. We arrived in Belize about 3 hours before time to board. Hubby did manage to get all the proper dive gear and thankfully since it was a live aboard we only needed a few bathing suits and t-shirts.

On a dive trip to Bonaire with a group, on the first dive of the first day. It was a shore dive and while walking in there was a lot of coral and rocks. I stubbed my big toe on a coral/rock and broke it. Finished the dive in pain and thought I just had a bad stub. Went to the grocery store with hubby, walking and standing and back to the room. It was obvious it was not good. Thankfully there was a doctor in the group. He came to the room and looked at it and said, yep, probably broke. Showed hubby how to tape it and what I should do to keep the swelling down a tad. Hubby had to go back to the store for tape and loads of OTC pain meds. I did every dive on the trip, 3 a day including one shore dive (where you walk in) and two boat dives (jump in ouch) every day except one. Hurt like heck but darn it, we paid for the trip and I love to dive so a broken toe wasn't stopping me. I even carried my own gear every day except one.

Bonus - 3 days before a trip to Little Cayman (dive trip) I sprained my ankle. Wasn't cancelling the trip, my adult son was coming with us and it was his first international dive trip. Hubby and son took turns wrapping it as tight as they could every day and I hobbled around as best I could in the airport leaning on my son. The only trip I've not carried my own gear since my son felt sorry for me and carried it. Our room was upstairs with no elevator. Good times.

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

In New York City about to get on a cruise when my husband - who came a couple of days to NY after me - realized he didn't pack his Passport. He suggests I just "go on the cruise without him" or perhaps he can fly home, get his passport, and then meet me at one of the ports....

We head to the cruise terminal to explore our options and fortunately he had his Global Entry card on him which was allowable for entry in to Canada so I didn't have to go on the cruise alone (which I was not going to do). But it was still a hassle at every port until a supervisor came to agree the Global Entry card was acceptable...

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Arriving at Disney for our 2 week vacation,,finding out 3 hours after arriving parks are closing in 3 days.

correct we arrived on friday afternoon,,,friday night Disney announced closure

We were there for that too. But we were eating at a Disney restaurant Thursday evening when a waiter told our group the “rumor” about the parks closing down. Fortunately we didn’t lose any time, we left on Tuesday. But I’ve never seen a resort so empty as it was when we were leaving - including on our very first trip, which was ten days after 9/11.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I was diagnosed with breast cancer days before our first Disney cruise. We still went as our kids were having their 6th birthday on the ship and we didn’t want to disappoint them. It was hard to stay focused as I kept having moments of dread. When we got home DH told me to book another one for when my treatment was over. That was a great idea, it gave me a distraction that year (and it’s also how I wound up here!) When we crossed the threshold onto the ship the following year, we both cried. But it turned out to be a really fun cruise!

This past January we were at Disney when I got results of the mammogram I’d had just before leaving. (I have a general rule not to have tests right before a trip but it would’ve been six month to reschedule and that was too long, so I had it anyway.) Sure enough, there was an abnormality, which, in retrospect, I knew wasn’t good. So that put a damper on the trip for me, though we still managed to have a good time. (Yes, have been in treatment again all this year - hopefully will make it down again soon if nothing else goes wrong like the hospitalization I had recently. Ugh.)

This wasn’t me but it was my son and his girlfriend at the time. He’d splurged on one night at the Grand Floridian as a special night for her before they joined us elsewhere. Unfortunately she left her wallet on the Magical Express bus on the way there so they spent the entire night trying to get it back, she was understandably freaked out (even calling her parents who were going to drive down to FL to come get her as she was worried she couldn’t fly home with no license, etc.) Turned out to be a very expensive ‘headache’ as they never really got to relax and enjoy their stay there, girlfriend was too upset. The front desk, to their credit, did turn out to be very helpful and she did manage to get her wallet back the next day, fully intact.

 

[pooh2001]

In past trips we had - DH got sick - stayed in bed all day, better the next day - DW took DS & DD to MK all day to give DH time to rest.
We went once in June - never again - DS, age 14, refused to drink water - said he was fine - a teen thing - he threw up in AK on the bridge - DS refused to go to medical - we went back to the hotel for A/C and for DS to hydrate

DW and DD never got sick - I guess we hydrate and wash our hands more

Bottom line use hand sanitizer, wash hands with soap - does not matter if warm or cold water, get rest, drink fluids