Category: Caribbean

Memories of cruises/trips to the Caribbean

Sea Day #3

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

After such a gloomy day yesterday, today opened with a beautiful sunny morning. Even if it had been raining, it would have been a good morning because we got to set our clocks back an hour last night. After we enjoyed our coffee on the balcony, we headed to the Lido for a quick breakfast.

Chuck was registered for a poker tournament after breakfast, so I headed to the gym. The gym is free to use. Some of their exercise classes are an upcharge. I used one of the elliptical machines and their weight machines. Instead of using one of the treadmills, I went to the third floor and walked a mile outside on the Promenade deck. The Zuiderdam has a nice wide Promenade deck. The newer ships have a narrower deck making it a bit harder to walk especially if it gets crowded.

I met up with Chuck at lunch in the Lido. He didn’t win the poker tournament, but he had fun and enjoyed the other players. He plans to enter any future ones they may hold.

After lunch, Chuck decided some pool time would be pleasant. I decided to attend the Floral Arranging demonstration. The ship’s florist, Marlon, was the presenter, of course. He and his team are responsible for all live arrangements – whether they are decorating areas around the ship, a bouquet purchased for your stateroom, or even a corsage to wear for a special occasion. They do it all.

Flower on table in Pinnacle Grill
Corsage I wore for anniversary celebration in 2023

He showed us how to create 3 different arrangements and gave us some good information. Some tips I had heard before such as cutting stems at an angle and not letting leaves get into the vase water. I had not heard that a pinch of sugar in a vase will make the blooms larger and buds expand faster or that a teaspoon of bleach will keep bacteria out of the water.

The afternoon passed quickly and soon it was time for dinner in the main dining room. We shared a table with a couple from New York and a solo traveler from Canada. It was a fun table. Chuck had the Beef Bourguignon, and I had the spaghetti with shrimp.

After dinner, time in the Casino and then to the Rolling Stone Lounge. We were having so much fun in the Lounge that we decided to stay instead of going to the World Stage. We have enjoyed pianist Elliot Finkel on other sailings but felt we would get to see a second show before the end of the cruise.

Eventually, the Band played their last set, and it was time to call it a night.

Tomorrow: Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

Sea Day #2

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Ended up sleeping late so decided to just skip breakfast. Even though it was a gray, overcast day, I was enjoying my coffee and book on the balcony. All of a sudden loud music started playing. I couldn’t tell exactly where it was coming from, but it sounded like it was above us and toward the middle of the ship. At first, it was weird spa-type music and then turned into 70’s music.

Practicing cruise ship balcony etiquette means that you listen to your music with headphones or earbuds. Many people, like me, just want to hear the sound of the ocean and we don’t all like the same type of music. I ended up calling guest services and found out later I was not the only one. The music finally quit at 10:30. I just hoped it would not be a daily thing. So annoying.

We ate lunch in the main dining room today. I had shrimp cocktail and linguini with clams. Chuck had mini chicken tenders and a cheeseburger.

During his daily noon announcement, the Captain discussed Hurricane Oscar and how the ship would be skirting around it. As he was talking, I could see that it had started raining.

Chuck went to the Sea View bar area to visit with some friends he has met in the Casino. I went to the Lido and got a cup of hot tea and a piece of chocolate pie and took them back to the room. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not blowing rain into the balcony so I could read and drink tea out there. Once I finished my book, I took a nap until it was time to get ready for our first dressy night.

We spent some time in the Casino before we went to the main dining room. We saw the couple from Ohio in line ahead of us, and they invited us to sit with them. We had a pleasant conversation. They are staying on the ship until it transitions to Ft. Lauderdale. Chuck had the cod, and I had the beef medallions. We shared and both were delicious. We split a piece of cheesecake for dessert.

Messy plate but good food

We went to the Rolling Stone Lounge for their first set and then to the World Stage for the HAL singers and dancers first show of the cruise: Song & Dance. Chuck and I agreed that they were much better than they were in August.

We then went back to the last set of the Rolling Stone band. Afterwards, we called it a night. Because it was a dressy night, there was a towel animal waiting for us. Some people find them irritating but I like them.

Tomorrow: Sea Day

Bermuda

Monday, October 21, 2024

We’ve been excited for this stop as we understood that the snorkeling was very scenic at some of these northern most reefs in the North Atlantic and many of them are quite large in size. We didn’t get a tour cancellation notice that the weather was going to be a problem so after a room service breakfast, we were ready to head out.

Our HAL tour today was the Coral Reef Snorkel – 3 hours

ABOUT THE EXCURSION: Join this comfortable and stable catamaran trip to the northernmost coral reef in the world.

Relax on deck as the crew provides an informative commentary on the island of Bermuda and its fascinating undersea ecosystem.

After a leisurely cruise, you will find yourself moored in a magical deep blue oasis bordered by a fringing reef. Grab a mask, snorkel, fins and flotation noodle to enjoy this undersea paradise. Immerse yourself in crystal-clear waters and explore this great expanse of pristine reef.

Enjoy a relaxing sail home with a legendary Rum Swizzle. A cash bar is also available.

Notes: The skipper reserves the right to substitute an inshore snorkel location in the event of inclement weather or marine conditions. This tour is intended for confident swimmers. Wear your swimsuit under your clothing; bring a towel, reef-safe/biodegradable sunscreen, light clothing to act as a full cover-up for further protection from the sun, and a hat. Swim/snorkel at your own risk.

We were met on the pier by the tour representatives, and we walked over to the catamaran. There were only 10 of us on the snorkeling tour which should have been our first warning. Typically, a HAL snorkeling tour has many more people.

We sailed for a while, and it was bumpy. One of the crew told us a little about Bermuda. Once we started slowing down, we realized that we were at a protected bay and not out in the more open ocean. Okay. I guess the ocean was too rough and the skipper chose option #2.

Having brought our own gear, Chuck and I were the first off the boat. The water was COLD. I always find the water brisk, but I can usually get used to it after a while because I use a neoprene shirt. I really tried. But with the water kind of hazy, the cloudy conditions, and, did I mention, the water was COLD, I didn’t last very long. Hard to bite down on your snorkel tube when your teeth are chattering.

I sat up front of the catamaran and tried to warm up whenever the sun came out from behind the clouds, but I just kept shivering. It took being wrapped in two beach towels and downing a few Rum Swizzles (national drink of Bermuda) for me to warm back up. The Swizzles were very good. The sail back to the ship had music and was fun. The snorkeling was just very disappointing. We should have just taken an island tour.

After lunch in the Lido, we spent time on the Sea View deck reading. It was windy but the sun had finally come out strong, so it was warmer.

Dinner tonight was in the Canaletto. The waiter remembered us from August and even remembered what wines we ordered. I don’t know how they do it. It was a great dinner in both food and service.

Chuck ordered the meatball appetizer and the braised beef for his main. I ordered the burrata salad and the lamb shank. We split the gelato for dessert.

We spent some time in the casino until it was time for the show in the World Stage. Tonight was a comedian – Flip Shultz. He had some good material, but he spent quite a bit of time interacting with the people in the first row which gets old after a while. His comedy was PG13.

After the show, spent a little more time in the Casino as the Rolling Stone Lounge band had the night off. We soon called it a night.

Tomorrow: Sea Day

Travel Trivia: Bermuda

Bermuda is considered the “Shipwreck Capital of the World.” (Can we say Bermuda Triangle?)

New York is closer to Bermuda (774 miles) than Miami is (1035).

Bermuda is home to pink beaches

St. Peter’s Church in St. George is the oldest still-in-use Anglican church in the Western Hemisphere.

It became a British colony in 1612, the third oldest in the British Empire. It remains a British Overseas Territory, self-governing, with the UK handling defense and foreign affairs.

Sea Day #1

Sunday, October 20, 2024

Found this wonderful note on our bed last night. 😒

Once I finally roused myself up, I was ready for some coffee and a muffin. I was glad to see that the Pinnacle Bar was still serving specialty coffee in the mornings like they did in August. The line for specialty coffee is always shorter here than in the Crow’s Nest. Of course, regular coffee is available 24/7 in the Lido for free.

The morning consisted of a couple of chores – preparing the laundry to send out and getting the snorkel equipment ready to use for tomorrow in Bermuda.

For lunch, we went to the Lido. I went to the special section of “Farewell to Canada.” Since the Zuiderdam had finished its New England / Canada itineraries for 2024 and would be transitioning to Florida in November, they were serving food that is commonly found in Canada as a last hurrah.

The Lido creates these “special sections” at lunch periodically. You just have to watch for them in your daily program. I had the mussels and some blueberry cheesecake. I skipped the poutine. Chuck skipped the whole section and grabbed some sliders.

After lunch, I went to the Cruise Critic meet and greet and Chuck went to play cards. There was a good crowd at the meeting, and it was well organized by some fellow passengers. They even provided door prizes (I didn’t win anything). It was held in the Crow’s Nest. Nice way to put some faces with names that you have seen online for the last few months.

There is a large group of single and solo passengers on this cruise, and they were busy planning excursions, activities, and dinners together after the meeting ended. No reason to be alone even if you’re cruising by yourself.

I then went to the Cruise Director’s talk about Bermuda. She indicated the weather could be very breezy with the possibility of rain. Guess our Plan B will be to tour the town of Hamilton if our snorkeling excursion gets cancelled.

We decided to eat dinner in the main dining room. We were seated with two other couples – one from Florida and the other from Australia. Interesting conversation. I had the chili rellenos and Chuck had the jerk chicken. The service was very slow though and we did not leave the restaurant until 8:30.

We had just enough time to get to the 9:00 show on the World Stage. The performer name was Paul Stepian and his show was called “Music Through the Ages.” He was a flutist from Poland and was a finalist in their national “Poland’s Got Talent” competition. He played a variety of songs and also talked about growing up in Poland. He seemed to especially love theme songs from American movies. We thoroughly enjoyed his show.

I was ready to call it a night. Chuck went to play some more cards. I was surprised to find that the laundry had already been returned.

Tomorrow: Bermuda

Boston Embarkation

Saturday, October 19, 2024

Despite the long day yesterday, we both still had a restless night. Woke up early to a beautiful but chilly morning.

Our tagged bags had to be ready for pick up by 8:00 but they actually weren’t retrieved until about 9:15. Our HAL bus was the first one to arrive at the hotel and we were at the port by 11:00. Our last embarkation here was a mess because of the long lines created by a surprise Coast Guard inspection of the ship. Nobody was allowed on the ship until they had finished their inspection.

Embarkation line in August – Ugh!

Today was a normal embarkation. Once we retrieved our luggage and turned them over to the porters, we made our way through the various checkpoints. The security checkpoint being the slowest. Boston port treats security like an airport security – coats off, belts off, laptop outs, no large liquids (be prepared to dump out your water out of your water bottle and to throw away your bottle if it is a disposable plastic one). I think if they are going to imitate the airport security then they should have at least one TSA precheck line also.

Once we cleared security, we kept walking and didn’t slow down until we made it to our balcony room on the 5th floor toward the aft (back) of the ship. This room was bigger than the one in August as it could sleep 3 people with the addition of a pull-out couch. The balcony was very narrow and was in need of some TLC in regard to paint and rust spot removal. I’m sure at the next dry dock all of those issues will be addressed.

Since we skipped breakfast, we ventured into the Lido buffet for lunch. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t a madhouse. We were able to find a place to sit without too much trouble. I still miss the embarkation lunch in the dining room as it was nice to relax in a quiet environment after a hectic morning.

Once lunch was over, we went back to the room and found that our luggage had been delivered. Was able to unpack everything and store the bags under the bed just in time for the muster drill. We have gotten used to the virtual muster drills where you go to your lifeboat station and get your card scanned and then watch the video on your stateroom TV.

However, today we all had to go to our lifeboat station and line up in rows, get our cards scanned, and listen to the Captain over the loudspeaker explain the procedure. And, we also had to watch the safety information on the TV (it won’t show anything else until you complete this video). The Cruise Director (CD) said it was a Coast Guard rule that all ships had to have a traditional muster periodically. At least it wasn’t sweltering like we’ve experienced in Florida where I’ve seen people collapse from being out in the heat during a traditional muster drill.

We went up to the Sea View deck for the sailaway party. Along with copious amounts of drinks being served, they were also serving appetizers, playing music, and encouraging us to get up and dance. Who can resist Cupid Shuffle?

Shrimp spring roll
Entertainment staff pumping up the crowd

We met a couple from Texas and he and Chuck talked about the UGA vs Texas football game that was going to be played later today. Once we were on the move, I went to the dining reservation area and made our reservations for the specialty restaurants.

I went back to the room to finish some organizing and met our room stewards – Komang and Made. They wanted to be sure everything was satisfactory and if we needed anything special. I asked for ice to be delivered in the evenings. They gave me a card in case I thought of anything else we needed.

We went to the Lido for dinner as they were serving steak and ribs. Again, the lines were short and there were plenty of places to sit.

Once we had finished dinner, the casino was open as we were now far enough out to sea. We were disappointed to see that the Wonder Woman machines were gone. We didn’t care for the replacement machines. However, we were happy to see the Tiger / Dragon machines. They are fun. We also saw a server in the Gallery Bar who remembered us from August.

We went to all three sets of the Rolling Stone Lounge band. It was a different group than the ones we had in August. This group has two female vocalists and one male vocalist/guitarist. They were very good. We sat in a booth with a nice couple from Ohio.

I could soon tell we were well into the Atlantic as the ship’s motion was starting to get to me. Bonine to the rescue.

Once the last set of the Band ended, we called it a night. It has been a good start to the cruise and, icing on the cake, Georgia beat Texas.

Tomorrow: Sea Day #1

Travel Day 2

Friday, October 18, 2024

After a relatively restful night’s sleep, I got up with the alarm. Made a cup of coffee. I always hope the coffee is going to be decent, but it is always just barely drinkable. At least the coffee at the breakfast bar is good as was the food.

We took the 8:35 hotel shuttle back to the airport. The airport was very crowded. Even with TSA-precheck and CLEAR, it took one hour to get to our gate from the time we arrived at the airport. Our flight left on time and was uneventful. I watched the movie Inside Out 2. It was cute. Chuck watched the movie Horizon but was unable to finish it before we landed. Will have to finish it on the flight home.

Once we got to baggage claim at Logan Airport, I started looking for the Holland America (HAL) representative while Chuck was waiting for our luggage to arrive on the carousel. As I was looking around, I happened to notice several pieces of luggage standing outside the baggage claim office. I realized that two of the bags looked like our bags. How? Why? I got Chuck’s attention, and he confirmed that they were our bags. Weird.

I still had not been able to find the representative. He/she is usually in the vicinity of the luggage carousels and can be spotted by their signs and navy jackets. Not today.

I ended up calling the HAL local help line and the person on the phone said the representative was on her way. While waiting, I checked my email and found an email from Delta letting me know that our baggage had flown to Boston on an earlier flight, and we could get them at the baggage claim office.

I would have thought that an important message like that one would have come through the Delta app or by text. Seems like all the other messages Delta sends comes those ways. I’m just glad I happened to spot them so we weren’t waiting and waiting at the carousel for bags that wouldn’t be arriving.

The rep took us to our driver, and we were soon on our way to the same hotel we were at in August – Fairmont Copley Plaza. It is a distinguished hotel and is recognized as one of the Historic Hotels of America. The rooms are small but elegantly appointed. I enjoyed looking at the photos of all the dignitaries and celebrities who have stayed here over the years. There is still construction going on the plaza area just right outside the hotel.

Our room was not ready, so we checked our luggage and walked about a mile to the Cheers bar near the Commons. I had been there before, but Chuck had never been inside. It is a popular stop on the HOHO bus route, and it was very crowded. We were able to squeeze into a couple of spots at the bar near the door. We had a nice conversation with a couple visiting from California.

Once we finished our beer and had taken some fun pictures, we walked back toward the hotel, stopping at the Chick-fil-A for a quick dinner.

Back at the hotel, we got our room keys and then stopped by the HAL hospitality desk for our embarkation instructions and luggage tags.

It wasn’t long before it was lights out for us.

Tomorrow: Embarkation

Travel Day 1

Thursday, October 17, 2024

I would like to say that I slept well last night but, as usual before a travel day, I did not. Too much time reviewing all my To-do lists and What-If lists. Frustrating.

Got up to a cold morning. Pumpkin came on in early, ate, and then went right back out. He didn’t stay out long though. He jumped on the ottoman and promptly fell asleep. I was hoping he would have a nice nap, and we could leave without disturbing him.

Unfortunately, he heard the luggage zippers being zipped and knew that the day was not going to work out for him. He went to the door to be let out but, sorry buddy, you need to stay inside. Once I said “no,” he immediately went to his favorite “I’m mad at you Mom” hiding spot.

Arrived at the shuttle company at 12:30. A van was being loaded. Since our van was supposed to start loading at 12:45, I thought this van would be going to Nashville. When I came out of the restroom, Chuck told me that it was our van. The driver was kind of miffed that he had to rearrange other luggage to get ours in. Oh well. The instructions say to arrive no later than 15 minutes prior to departure time so there was no reason to start packing the van 30 minutes early.

Traffic was heavy but we arrived at the airport at 3:15. Since we weren’t flying out today, I wasn’t concerned. We exited to the ground transportation area and waited about 15 minutes for our hotel shuttle to arrive. We stayed again at our go-to hotel – the Hyatt Airport South. Looked like they had finished the outside renovations they were working on in August. We arrived just in time for their happy hour. There were several guests enjoying the spirits and we had a nice conversation with them.

We were going to eat at the Ruby Tuesday next door, but they were closed due to some water issues. Instead, we walked over to the Sonesta hotel and ate at their restaurant – The Burger Place.

The service was slower than what we had in August, but I believe the waitress was new and she seemed to be trying hard. There weren’t many people in the restaurant, but she had all the tables. Chuck had his usual cheeseburger. I got a cheese quesadilla off of the appetizer menu instead of my usual chicken wings. The food was good.

We watched some new Fall TV shows and called it a night.

Tomorrow: Boston

Perfect Caribbean Escape (Fingers Crossed)

Monday, October 14, 2024

Typically, I never think of the port of Boston and the Caribbean together. The port of Ft. Lauderdale and Caribbean – yes; the port of Miami and Caribbean – yes; Boston and Caribbean – not so much.

So, I was intrigued when I saw this three-week itinerary pop up for Fall. Holland America (HAL) named the itinerary “The Perfect Caribbean Escape.” I thought it was a bold claim, but I was excited to see Bermuda included. We’ve never been to Bermuda and have always wanted to go but it’s not been offered out of Ft. Lauderdale or Miami. So, we signed up.

We are going to sail on the HAL Zuiderdam again. We just disembarked her a little over a month ago after sailing from Boston to Quebec and back to Boston. As I have mentioned before, I like the size of the ship, but I do miss the amenities offered by the larger HAL Pinnacle class ships.

I am looking forward to having a balcony room this time. I hope the weather cooperates enough that we are able to enjoy it to the fullest. Relaxing on the balcony with coffee in the morning or a cocktail in the evening are two of my favorite cruise activities.

We have been to most of these islands except Bermuda and two others – Guadeloupe and Grenada. We have several snorkeling excursions planned. And I’d still like to go to Maho Beach in Sint Maarten to watch the airplanes land, but I can never find a decent tour out there. If there are not too many ships in port, a taxi might be the answer.

I’m sure there will be several ports that we will just opt to stay on the ship and enjoy it while the majority of people are off enjoying the port.

For now, most of the packing is done – primarily shorts, t-shirts, and swimwear but I’ll definitely need something warmer for the 2 days in Boston. Forecast is high of 67 and when we get back to Boston – a high of 53.

Single digit countdown to embarkation!

Carnival B2B: Disembarkation & Traveling Home

Sunday, January 28, 2024

I was up before the alarm and was very happy that my hip felt normal again. We were already docked in Miami. Chuck got up soon after and decided to get some breakfast in the Lido. I was not hungry.

One of the perks of Platinum is expedited disembarkation. We were told to meet on Deck 6 in the main stage at 8:00. Once they verified that all the luggage was set up in the port, we would be allowed to disembark. I knew we would be getting to the airport way earlier than we needed to, but everyone was talking about how crowded the airports and the highways were going to be today due to a large Miami marathon being held. I didn’t want to get stuck in a traffic jam.

We arrived at 7:50 and were told that we didn’t need to sit down in the theater. The luggage was already set up so we could just get in line, and slowly make our way to the exit. We didn’t have any problem locating our luggage in the port area. They had it well organized.

We didn’t meet with Customs as they used the facial recognition system again with people who had passports. There was a second line for people using birth certificates as ID, so I don’t know if they had to have a face-to-face meeting with Customs or not.

Outside of the port, we got in the taxi line and were soon on our way to the airport. The Miami airport is much farther away from the Miami port than the Ft. Lauderdale airport is to the Ft. Lauderdale port. It was a $40 taxi ride.

We tried to use the outside luggage check-in but were told that they couldn’t accept luggage until 4 hours before the flight. We were now 5 hours before the flight. We went inside and got in line for the luggage check-in. They were able to check-in our luggage.

We used the TSA line for security, but Chuck still had to take off his belt because it set the alarm off.

All the seats in our gate were full so we found seats in another gate to wait. The 10:00 flight went off on time. However, after we got back from having a sandwich at the Jimmy John’s subway shop, I noticed that the noon flight at our gate had not left. That didn’t bode well as we were supposed to board beginning at 1:10 for our 2:00 flight.

With the noon flight leaving late that delayed boarding for our flight and having to sit on the tarmac because the air traffic controllers grounded flights going north because we had to wait for some storms in the Orlando area to pass, we didn’t take off until 3:00. I figured we would miss our shuttle pick-up time. However, the pilot said he would fly low and fast and see what he could do. We touched down about 4:45.

Our luggage came out of the chute at 5:09 and we got out of the airport. I was hoping that the shuttle would be a little late as it has been in the past. Nope. I saw that it was already sitting at its parking spot. I told Chuck we had to run as I was afraid it was going to leave right at 5:15. I was carrying both backpacks, and he was pushing both suitcases. I’m sure we were quite a sight.

We got to the shuttle breathless, and the driver asked our names. He checked us off his list, put our luggage in, and we were off. There were already several people on the shuttle. I was so happy I didn’t have to call and arrange a later pick-up. He had two drop-offs before we got to our stop. The traffic flowed smoothly.

I was worried that the car might not start since it had been sitting outside and there had been such a severe cold snap while we were gone. But it started right up, and we were home by 8:00 pm – greeted by a very upset, but well-cared for, cat. I gave him some extra snacks to try and get back in his good graces. It was going to take a lot of snacks.

Final Thoughts –

I was happy to have been in the warm weather when it was so cold here. We had a good time relaxing, despite my ailments. However, we’ve decided that the Carnival Excel class ships are just too big for us. There were times and places, you could just not move around. On Carnival, from now on, we won’t go larger than the Dream class. Glad we tried it. Just not for us.

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

Carnival B2B: Sea Day #6

Saturday, January 27, 2024

I was happy to wake up and not be limping again. The pain had decreased to a twinge which was much easier to deal with.

We enjoyed our last Sea Day brunch. We were able to get a reservation soon after the dining room opened so the service was fast today. I tried the 12 Hour French Toast under House Special. It was okay. Much sweeter than I prefer. Chuck went with his favorite – steak and eggs.

We then went to the Casino as Chuck had discovered one of our favorite machines the night before: All Aboard. I wish we had found them sooner. We played on them for a while and then we went back to the cabin to start the packing process.

We had decided to let our suitcases be delivered to the port area by the crew instead of taking the luggage off ourselves. We made that decision because (1) we did not have an early flight and (2) we had heard it was really hard to get an elevator the morning of disembarkation and I knew I couldn’t carry my large piece of luggage down 4 flights of stairs.

We are used to instructions saying get your luggage tagged and placed outside your door no later than midnight. The Celebration’s instruction deadline was 10:00 pm.

Once we had packed up the majority of our belongings, we still had time to catch some sun from the balcony before it was time for dinner. I got another one of my favorite frozen drinks and brought it back: Miami Vice.

It was soon time to get ready for our last evening. Chuck had received a $50 dining card from the Casino, and we decided to use it at Emeril’s Bistro for dinner.

It is an ala carte menu and reasonably priced so we ended up with more food than we could eat. I took the last meat pie (empanada) back to the room and we offered the remaining creole boiled peel-and-eat prawns to a table of young men who were happy to take them off our hands.

The evening would have been perfect except for two things: (1) we kept having to flag down a waiter to give us more water and (2) the trio of musicians were playing so loudly at the nearby Latitudes Bar that conversation was impossible unless you yelled across the table. The music was so distracting that I forgot to take photos of the food which is a shame because it was all very good with a nice presentation.

Once we got back to the room, we finished packing everything up that we didn’t need for in the morning and got the bags tagged, locked, and placed in the hallway before the 10:00 deadline. We then enjoyed sitting on the balcony looking at the stars until it was time to call it a night.