We both slept late this morning. When I finally went to get coffee from the Cafe, I found an invite from the Casino in our mailbox telling us we had qualified for a comp and to come to the Casino to claim it.
We dropped by there before going to lunch and found that the Casino would give us a dinner at the specialty restaurant – Rudy’s Sel de Mer. We had them make us a reservation for tomorrow night. We then continued on to the Lido buffet.
HAL has staff stationed at both ends of the Lido buffet encouraging people to wash their hands at the sinks and use the hand sanitizer. Sad that people aren’t doing it automatically. There are no self-service areas in the Lido at all. Even the dessert cabinets are locked – the horror. Makes it tougher on the staff having to hand people everything but should help to cut down on the transmission of the virus.
After lunch, Chuck opted to visit with people in the Sea View area. I went to the Cruise Director’s lecture on the history of the Panama Canal. He did a very good job on the informative presentation, and I especially liked the historical video portions of the presentation that showed people actually working on the Canal.
I found Chuck in the Sea View area and we enjoyed the warm breeze and good conversations until it was time to get ready for the evening.
We went to the main dining room for dinner. Chuck had the salmon and I had the carne asada. Both were excellent.
The remainder of the evening consisted of listening to two sets of the Rolling Stone Lounge band, two sets of the BB King band, Casino time and watching the main stage show – Class Act. We’ve seen it before but really liked it. The Rotterdam singers and dancers performed it very well.
After the show, Chuck went to play cards and I called it a night. When I got back to the cabin I found a note I did like – the clocks will move back an hour tonight.
Today is a long port day – 8:00 am – 10:30 pm. We’ve taken the island tour, rode Segways to the Lighthouse, snorkeled, and explored the downtown area – all during the day time. Today’s stop would be the first time we have ever done an evening excursion here.
But first – My day started out as usual with a trip to the Grand Dutch Cafe. I encountered many staff wiping down handrails, elevator buttons, counters, etc. The staff is taking the norovirus seriously. I hope the guests do too.
Once I placed my order at the register and handed her my keycard, the barista said. “Happy Birthday!” Since I didn’t believe she was clairvoyant, I had to assume that the notation popped up with my photo when she scanned the keycard. I smiled and said thank you.
I decided to treat myself and ordered one of their giant raisin buns to go with my latte.
I finally got a raisin bun – a day later
When I received my order, it was not a delicious raisin bun – it was a sad-looking bran muffin. I thought about pointing out the error but then thought about my age and decided she was right – I need the bran muffin. Sigh.
When I got back to the cabin, our disembarkation paperwork had arrived. We still have 8 more days to go, and they are already preparing us to leave. My special day was not going so well.
Chuck and I spent the morning on the balcony reading and harbor watching.
View from the balcony
We had lunch in the Lido and then went swimming. Every time I handed over my keycard, I was wished a very enthusiastic “Happy Birthday.” Always made me smile.
When I came back to the cabin to get ready for our evening excursion, I found a nice treat from the Captain and his crew. A chocolate cupcake beats a bran muffin any day.
I also found two of these insulated cups. I thought they were also from the Captain but it turned out they were from the Casino as part of participating in the Ultimate Game Cruise. Didn’t matter – one of them is mine so I’m counting it as a birthday gift.
Our HAL excursion this evening was titled appropriately – Aruba Sunset Sail – 5:00 pm (2 hours)
ABOUT THE EXCURSION: A friendly crew picks you up at the cruise harbor in a custom-built catamaran.
Sail past Aruba’s famous beaches, along the island’s south coast and up the gorgeous west coast, taking in the spectacular Caribbean sunset. Experience the joy of sailing and take advantage of the many perfect picture opportunities as you glide over clear, turquoise waters past famous Aruba’s Palm Beach.
The crew will keep you comfortable and entertained during the two-hour trip and will return you to the cruise terminal at the end of your idyllic adventure.
Notes: An open bar (except beer) and snacks are included.
I put on my sundress, fastened my Birthday Queen Sash, and placed the tiara on my head. I felt like Amy did on The Big Bang Theory. I was ready for my celebration.
There were a lot of people waiting for this excursion, so I was relieved that two catamarans pulled up to the dock. The dock personnel divided us into two groups and directed us to the appropriate catamaran. Each catamaran was operated by Pelican Adventures. If you are in Aruba and want a sunset cruise, I would recommend this company.
We sailed up the coast for one hour. The first mate told us about Aruba. The other crew member served as bartender serving soft drinks, fruit juices, and mixed drinks. They had a choice of alcohol but mostly rum.
The Captain turned the catamaran around and the crew started serving some appetizers – small empanadas, Dutch bitterballen, cheese, and olives. The bar was still open. Then it was time for the show – the setting sun. It was windy but we were fortunate that it was not an overcast day. The sunset was gorgeous.
Once the sun dipped below the horizon, the crew cranked up the music and we sailed our way back to the ship. The last thing the crew did was to have the birthday girl stand up and they initiated a round of applause and well wishes.
After a pizza at the deli, some casino time, a set of the BB King band, and attending another show by the comedian (wasn’t an improvement over the first show), we came back to the cabin to watch the 11:00 sailaway from the balcony.
I was surprised to see the number of people from the apartment complex across the dock using their flashlights to wave good-bye to us. I used my phone flashlight and waved back.
After that, it was time to take off the tiara and call it a night. It was a very good birthday.
I could feel that the waves had picked up as soon as I got up. I tried to go out onto the balcony and had a hard time opening the door. I knew that meant it was very windy too. I took a Bonine tablet just to be on the safe side.
When I walked to the Grand Dutch Cafe, I noticed they had the doors roped off to the promenade with signs telling people not to go outside. There are always a lot of people who like to walk laps around the ship on the promenade. Not today.
I also noticed when I got to the GDC that all the creamers and sugars had been taken off the counter and if you wanted any, the server behind the counter would put it in your coffee for you.
Since I know that not having these condiments on the self-serve counter slows down the overall service and it is not the norm, I knew that they were putting in health protocols. It either meant the ship had a number of cases of COVID or a number of cases of NORO – enough cases of either one that it triggered these protocols. Sigh.
When asked about the change, the servers would just smile and say – “we’re happy to be helping our guests.” Good non-answer. Sigh.
Once I finished my latte, I decided to go to the Coffee Chat hosted by the Cruise Director Jayme. Chuck opted to stay in and continue enjoying his coffee and reading.
Jayme was interviewing members of the ship’s Food and Beverage Management Team today. It was an interesting presentation about who they were and what they did. The F&B department is the second largest on the ship – employs 485 people. Housekeeping is the largest.
I noticed that Jayme was not allowing anyone in the audience to hold the microphone when they asked a question. He held it for them. I took it as another sign extra-health protocols are in place.
After the presentation, Chuck and I went to the Sea Day brunch. No salt and pepper shakers on the tables. Sigh– strike 3. I had a Cuban sandwich, and Chuck tried the biscuits and gravy again. The last time he had it, he said the biscuits were too hard and the gravy thin. He got the same result this time.
I enjoyed my sandwich and fries. We also enjoyed the dessert – Hummingbird Cake. It is a spiced pineapple-banana cake with cream cheese icing topped with pecans. I only had crumbs on the fork before I remembered I wanted to take a photo. Below is one from Google –
During the Captain’s daily noon announcements, he confirmed that a number of guests and crew had reported to the ship’s medical office for “gastrointestinal distress.” Okay – so now we know it is the Norovirus.
He said we would see extra health precautions around the ship and that we could help if we would be extra vigilant in washing our hands often. Embarrassing that the Captain would have to tell adults to wash their hands but that is where we are.
At 2:00, Chuck went to the Casino, and I went to the Future Cruise presentation to see if any interesting itineraries would pop up. We had already received a flyer about the 2026-2027 Legendary Voyages HAL was offering. We have a deposit on the Alaska Legendary Voyage in 2026. I didn’t see any cruises I wasn’t already aware of so there is no need to make an appointment with him this cruise.
We went to another specialty restaurant for dinner tonight – the Pinnacle Grill. We both had the crab cakes and split the candied bacon. I had the yellow tail snapper. Chuck had the ribeye. For dessert, I had the key lime pie and Chuck had the chocolate cobbler which tasted like a chocolate lava cake.
After the meal, we went to one set of the Rolling Stone Lounge band and then went to the main stage to watch Doc Dixon – comedian/magician. We really enjoyed his show.
After the show, I went to the last set of the BB King band and Chuck went to the casino to play some cards.
Chuck was taking advantage of a sea day by sleeping in. I poured his coffee into his Yeti cup as I knew it would stay hot for a long time. After I finished my latte, I went to the gym.
By the time I finished my workout, Chuck was awake and ready to go to the pool. I was surprised we were able to find lounge chairs in the Sea View area. There have already been several announcements about not saving a lounge chair with a towel and usually a sandal or a book, and then leaving it for hours at a time.
If you see a lounge chair that has been unoccupied for 30 minutes (and you are sure the person saving it is not in the pool), you can ask one of the Sea View staff to remove the belongings and use the chair. I have seen more than one altercation about loungers on past cruises. Hopefully, no problems on this one.
I am happy to report that we had a very relaxing day at the pool. The day passed quickly, and it was soon time to get ready for the first dressy night of the cruise.
When we came back to the cabin, we found that the laundry had been returned. HAL’s laundry service is efficient and effective. We use it every cruise.
We went to the main dining room for dinner. We were seated at a table for six and had a very pleasant conversation with the other two couples. Chuck had the prosciutto appetizer and the cracked pepper tenderloin dinner. I had the shrimp cocktail appetizer and the yellow fin sole dinner. We skipped dessert.
After dinner, we decided not to go to the main stage show by the HAL singers and dancers – Hey, Mr. DJ! We’ve seen it before. Chuck wanted to go to the Casino. His name was called for one of the drawings, and he won some casino “free play” money.
I went to the BB King lounge and listened to two sets of their band. They are an okay band. I have liked other BB King bands from other ships better. The lead singer of this one spends a lot of time talking to the audience between songs.
When I got back to the room, I was happy to find a towel animal and chocolates. I was not happy to find a note telling us to set our clocks forward tonight.
When you have a HAL cruise in the Caribbean, you are more than likely going to stop at least once at Carnival Corporation’s Private Island – Half Moon Cay (HMC). It is usually the first port or the last port of the voyage. On this cruise, it is the first port.
We haven’t gone ashore to HMC in quite a few years. We decided to go today and walk the nature trails that we remembered from past visits. We assumed that the trail would go the length of the island which we had never walked before.
After enjoying a large coffee for Chuck and a large vanilla latte for me from the Grand Dutch Cafe, we went to the main dining room for breakfast.
We both decided to order the Express Breakfast – two eggs, choice of meat, and either French Toast or Pancakes. I ordered the one with a pancake. I should have researched my choice before I ordered. It was not one pancake but 3 pancakes – 3 big pancakes on a separate plate from the eggs and bacon. I don’t like to waste food, so I was mortified at the amount. I did the best I could with them.
Once back in the cabin, I got a bag of laundry ready to send out.
Then we went to the stairway that led to the tendering area. Since we are long-time HAL cruisers, we were allowed to go to the tender boat without a ticket. We only had to show our keycard to Security. Otherwise, we would have gone to the BB King Lounge to get a ticket and wait for the number to be called for boarding.
HMC uses a large two-deck open air boat to ferry people from the ship to the island. Much nicer than having to ride in the lifeboats which we have done numerous times at other tender ports.
Carnival Corporation is building a pier at the other end of the island. It will allow larger Carnival ships to come at the island. Tendering 6000 people is just not really feasible. The tentative opening date is early 2026. From what I could see, there were some pylons in the water, a lot of dirt/sand piled up on the island, and some cranes and machinery that did not seem to be in use. I think an opening date of early 2026 is an ambitious goal.
Once we arrived at the island, most people headed directly to the beach which I think is the nicest one I have ever seen. I looked for the signage directing people to the nature trail but could not find it. We headed off on the only path we saw. We soon found the resident chickens.
Chicks in hot pursuit of Mom
The path took us past the volleyball area and the basketball court directly to the food pavilion where they were setting up for the bar-b-que lunch. I was baffled as I knew we had walked a nice trail at other times.
We decided to head back to the ship and on the way, I did see the nature trail sign pointing back toward the pavilion. We turned around and went back past the pavilion and finally saw a small directional sign that said nature trail. I was happy to finally find it.
We really should have just gone back to the ship. The lush blooming plants that I remembered were now just scrub bushes. There were no informational signs that described the plants and the island history. Most importantly, there was no shade on the path.
Flowering bushes few and far between
I just have to assume that the storms over the years decimated the vegetation and have not been replaced. I guess they are just concentrating their efforts on the beach area which is not surprising since the beach is definitely the destination for most, if not all, of the passengers.
After taking a photo of the ship from the island, we did head back to the tender area and were soon back on the ship.
Still full from breakfast, we skipped lunch and went to the Sea View area for some pool time. I ordered one of their mocktails – Ginger Mango Splash. I think it is my new favorite poolside drink. I love mango and the ginger gave it a kick. We spent a relaxing afternoon in the sun and pool.
The afternoon passed quickly, and it was soon time to get ready for our dinner reservation at the Italian specialty restaurant – Canaletto. I looked at the special of the day – Espanole of Fresh Fish. I had to look up what “Espanole” meant – just a way of cooking. The fresh fish of the day was mahi mahi which I like, so I ordered it. If it had been grouper, I would have passed. Chuck ordered osso bucco. They gave him an extra-large portion.
Next, Chuck went to the Casino, and I went to the Game of Love Show. There were 3 couples competing. Each couple were married 50+ years. Lots of arguing about the answers given – “No dear, you are not remembering it correctly.” They all got a prize.
We went to the 9:00 show of the comedian Rory Gardiner. He talked a lot about raising kids. Since his audience mainly consisted of people who had kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids – he struggled with his routine. Maybe he’ll find his footing at the next show in a few days.
Chuck went back to the Casino to play cards and hope that his name would be called for the drawings. I went to listen to the last set of the Rolling Stone Lounge band. I got a cookie from the Grand Dutch Cafe and took it back to the room for later. It was not as good as the ones from the Lido. Think I will stick with their Dutch apple pie.
So Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning. If you believe in the groundhog weather prognosticator, we have six more weeks of Winter. I really don’t think South Floridians care what the rodent predicted – it’s 80 degrees this morning in Ft Lauderdale.
Didn’t sleep great last night but I usually don’t in hotels. The free hotel breakfast was decent – serving both hot and cold food choices. I was very pleased with the taste of the all-important coffee. There were a number of guests taking advantage of the meal and seemed happy with it (except the one toddler who showed his distaste for the fruit loops by dumping his bowl on the floor). There’s always a food critic in every crowd.
At 10:45 we went to the lobby to get an Uber to the port. There were six cruise ships in port today. It took about 15 minutes for our Uber to arrive. I knew the traffic to the port would be heavy. It was. Once we got within a mile of the port, we crawled along at a snail’s pace.
However, by the time we reached the gate, we were ready with our passports to show and to answer “No” to their inevitable question “Are you carrying any firearms?”
There are several gated entrances into the port and the informational signage is good, but it never ceases to amaze me to look over at cars at the gates where people are obviously searching for their passports and holding up the queue. Read the signs people, Read.
I also wondered what would happen if someone in the car answered “Yes, I am fully armed.” Nothing good I imagine.
As soon as the Uber driver let us out at our terminal, porters were out in force ready to take our luggage and the tips. Once they had our luggage loaded on the carts, I looked in dismay at the embarkation line that stretched down the sidewalk and around the corner. Started walking toward it when I finally spotted the priority line. It was much shorter. Yay for being a long-time HAL cruiser!
Everything was going smoothly until I reached the point where they scan your passport and match it with your photo in their file. Chuck’s scanner immediately dinged success! My scanner stayed silent and flashed red. My passport and file photo didn’t match. ??? It matched in October but not now? What? – I have a few more wrinkles and I’m now unrecognizable? Rude. They took another photo of me and the passport scanner gave its ding of approval.
Finally on the ship but people were crowding the middle set of elevators that you see when you step onto the ship from the gangway. We walked down the hallway to the back of the ship and took those elevators. No waiting. There is also a bank of elevators in the front of the ship. I bet there wasn’t waiting for those elevators either.
We were assigned cabin 6158. It was not the one we chose. This one had a connecting door to the cabin next door. I’m not a fan of this type of cabin unless I know the person in the other cabin.
If you have a very noisy person in the cabin next door, the conversations, music, TV, etc. will seep through the door area as you lose that part of an insulated wall.
On one Carnival cruise, we heard a guy fight with his girlfriend back home every night over the phone. Each night, he would end the conversation with “It’s over! Go to Hell!” Next night – same thing. Always wondered what happened to them when he got back home.
The cabin that we chose could sleep 3 and the fine print in the ship contract does say that HAL has the right to move you to a comparable or better cabin if you don’t have the maximum number of people in the cabin and they need it for some family that does. We were moved to the same category cabin just down the hall from the one we chose. I could argue until I was blue in the face that getting a connecting room is not comparable, but I would just end up blue in the face and still be in the connecting cabin. I’m just hoping for the best.
We are primarily on this cruise because Chuck got invited to be a participant in this “Ultimate Gaming Cruise.” Since the cruise also coincided with my birthday, we decided to go for it. We were greeted in our room with a bottle of champagne, special lanyards, an invitation to the opening party, and a list of the special activities the casino would be hosting for the 12 days. We were also happy to note that two people we met on an earlier cruise would also be on this cruise.
I was very glad to hear that we were not going to have the traditional muster drill of standing shoulder to shoulder at the lifeboats – especially in the heat and humidity. Every ship has to do one of those types of drills periodically but today was not the day.
After we had our key cards scanned at our muster station and watched the safety video, we decided to avoid the Lido for lunch and just go to the NY Deli and Pizza area one deck above the Lido deck. Good choice. Neither the bar nor the deli area was busy, and we had our sandwiches and beverages quickly. Chuck was even recognized by one of the bar staff who remembered him from an earlier cruise.
After we ate, I went to the dining kiosk and made our specialty restaurant reservations. We then went back to the cabin to see if the luggage had arrived. Nope. No worries – we unpacked the carry-on and the backpacks.
At 3:00, we went to the sailaway party. It was fun with music, food, and beverages. Afterwards, we went back to the cabin to see if the luggage had arrived. Nope. Hmmm. We’ve usually gotten our luggage by sailaway. But I know the ship is sailing full so trying not to worry.
At 4:00, we went to the Casino party with our friends from the previous cruise. It was fun with food, beverages, introductions to the casino staff, and giveaways (our name was not called). Afterwards, we trekked back to the cabin to see if the luggage had arrived. Yay! – my piece of luggage had arrived. Boo! Chuck’s luggage was still missing in action. We got my bag unpacked and stored under the bed.
We played some slots before the Casino became very crowded. Once it did become packed with players (I did mention that this was an Ultimate Gaming Cruise – we weren’t the only ones invited. 😊), we went to the Lido for their “Welcome Aboard” steak dinner.
We typically choose the Lido on the first night as the main dining room always seems disorganized on the first night. I was happy to see the Lido was offering mussels along with the steaks. Chuck also got a steak but did a “hard pass” on the mussels. Just more for me.
We then went to the first set of the band in the Rolling Stone Rock Lounge. They are very good musicians but are more of a show band than a dance band. Maybe we will have better luck with the BB King band.
Once the set was over, Chuck was eager to play cards. I stopped by the Grand Dutch Cafe and got a piece of Dutch apple pie for me and a Bossche Bol (giant chocolate creme puff) for Chuck. I took them both back to the cabin. Yay! His suitcase had arrived. Whew! Once I got it unpacked, I was ready to listen to the waves from the balcony, eat my dessert, and call it a night.
Pumpkin was sleeping peacefully in his cat condo until he heard the bags rolling across the floor at 7:45 a.m. He knew then that it was going to be a bad day for the kitty. His trained staff was leaving. He glared at us from under the bed as we said our good-byes. I take great pains to be sure that the cat sitter has everything he needs to take good care of Pumpkin, including detailed instructions, but I get no credit from Pumpkin – only complete disdain. Sigh.
We battled patchy, dense fog as we drove to the shuttle office. I was happy that there was little traffic. The shuttle left promptly at 9:00. The driver had to deal with more dense fog and had to make one stop along the way to pick up two passengers. We made it to the airport at 11:15. We dropped off our big bags at the curb-side check-in.
Using CLEAR and TSA-precheck, we were at the front of the security line quickly. Usually either Chuck or I have one of our carry-ons go through the “naughty” line. This time, we both had a bag. His backpack and my roll-on were both flagged. However, neither bag was opened when it reached the TSA person. He just handed them to us. Okay. On we go to the gate.
Once we got to our gate, we decided to have a Wendy’s lunch. Note – the airport Wendy’s does not offer the special “Biggie Bag” menu option. The fries were cold too. Pitiful. Dave would have been disappointed in that franchise.
We were supposed to board at 1:15 and leave at 2:00. Our plane was at the gate. At 12:30, we got notified that we were missing our flight crew. The flight crew that was on our plane had ended their shift and were leaving. Our flight would be getting a crew coming from Boston. That plane had not yet landed. Since having a flight crew is pretty important, we settled in to wait. They arrived at our gate at 2:00 to cheers from the waiting crowd. We were soon allowed to board, and we finally took off at a little after 3:00.
Chuck started a movie but I just listened to music and kept reading my book. I hate starting a movie on flights that are less than 3 hours. I didn’t see any series I wanted to watch either.
Once we landed and got our luggage, an Uber Comfort took us to the Hyatt Place Plantation. I thought I had messed up by choosing Comfort over XL when I saw the Tesla that pulled up. I didn’t think it was going to be big enough for the luggage. However, the driver was able to get the big bags in the trunk but the carry-on, he had to put in his front seat. The ride was very nice but I need to stick to Uber XL when we have luggage.
This Hyatt Place is not the one I normally choose in Ft. Lauderdale, but it was much less expensive than the Dania Beach one this time. I was even able to use Hyatt points. The accommodations were fine but there are very little food choices within walking distance from this location. We ended up at a KFC down the block. It was surprisingly good. The Colonel would have been proud.
Once we were back to the hotel, we got our bags tagged for tomorrow and settled in for some TV time. No hurry to get up as we don’t plan to leave the hotel until check-out time at 11:00.
So when is a good time for a water line to break in your yard?
Never. Never is the correct answer.
And it is definitely not at 4:50 p.m. on a Friday evening before you leave for a 12-day cruise.
I had finished putting a load of laundry into the dryer. I walked into the kitchen to rinse some dishes before loading the dishwasher. Turn the hot water handle. No water. Turn the cold water handle. No water. The clothes I had put in the dryer had been wet. What gives?
I tried each faucet in the house. No water. Maybe some work is being done in the area. I text a couple of our neighbors – “Do you have water?” Both responses – “Yes”. Oh no. It’s just us.
Chuck is playing a video game- blissfully unaware of our situation and the panic that is building up inside me. I’m about to spoil that bliss big time.
After he gets over the initial shock of what I am saying to him, he goes outside to find a big pool of water bubbling up near an outdoor faucet in the front of the house.
We are fortunate to have very good neighbors.
One of the neighbors who I sent a text came over to help. He and Chuck got the water turned off at the street and started digging around the spigot area. I started making a mental list of things to do to cancel the cruise since there was no way a plumbing company was going to come out on a Friday evening in the dark and we couldn’t leave the house with no water.
But before I could make the first call, our neighbor said “don’t cancel your cruise. I’m going to be in town next week. Either I can fix it myself this weekend or, if it looks like too big of a job, I can get the plumbing company out here on Monday.”
As I said, we have very good neighbors.
He let us fill a big bucket with water for flushing. I had a gallon of distilled water for handwashing. I had a pitcher of filtered water for the coffee maker. I had bottled water for drinking and to leave for the cat sitter to give Pumpkin until the water was turned back on.
So after all the drama of the evening had died down, I took a deep breath and rechecked my packing lists. I think we are good to go.
Needless to say, 2024 was full of challenges for us. However, ever the optimist, we believe that 2025 is going to be better. So until we are told otherwise, we are going to continue to travel as much as possible.
We will start this year with a 12-day partial Panama Canal cruise. It is a very similar route to the one we took in 2018 – coincidentally – the first one we took after a serious health scare that year. The full-transit from Ft. Lauderdale to Seattle that we tried to take in 2024 was cancelled before it got started.
One difference this year from 2018 is that we are sailing on the Holland America (HAL) Rotterdam VII, the newest Pinnacle Class ship. Because of its size, we will be using the newer, larger canal locks that were completed in 2016. I was fascinated going through the old locks in 2018. It’ll be interesting to compare the different experiences.
We are also looking forward to some warm weather. The many days of below-freezing temperatures here have gotten on our last nerve. I promise I won’t even complain about the humidity wreaking havoc on my hair if we can just get some warmth.
No snorkeling this trip but we do have three tours scheduled – one in Aruba, one in Colombia, and one in Costa Rica. Fingers crossed that the weather is nice for each one of them.
So now is the time to finish packing our bags, gather our documents, and make our way to Florida for the first adventure of the new year.
The ship moved the clocks back last night so we would match Boston’s eastern standard time. I woke up at 6:00 before the alarm. I felt the ship moving and realized that wasn’t right. We should have already been docked. I went out on the balcony and could see we were getting close, but we were definitely going to be delayed disembarking even with the extra hour we had gained.
Chuck and I went to the Lido for breakfast. It was very busy as expected. The Cruise Director came on the intercom to tell us what we already knew – high winds had slowed down our approach to the pier but, unlike a cargo ship in front of us, we would be docking soon. That cargo ship had to turn back and would have to wait for the winds to die down.
We finally did dock but then had to wait for the Customs and Border Patrol to come on board to clear the ship. The Cruise Director kept having to come on the intercom and ask people not to crowd the gangway area but to wait either in the staterooms or a public area like the Rolling Stone Lounge. Then, she started calling for guests who had to go have a face-to-face meeting with the CBP.
Finally, about 8:30 (an hour later than normal), she announced that CBP had finished their inspection, and the ship was cleared to start the disembarkation process beginning with those guests who needed no help with their luggage nor needed wheel-chair assistance. Those guests are called “self-assist group.”
We were scheduled to be called at 8:30 but I knew it would be at least 45 minutes after the self-assist people were called before we would be. The port has to get the luggage out and set up by the color and number codes in order for passengers to retrieve them.
Our flight was due to start boarding at 11:30 with takeoff at noon. I wasn’t sure how many other ships were in port today. In August, we were in port with several other ships and taxis were hard to come by. I was doing my deep breathing exercises and thinking about a Plan B if we missed the flight.
I was surprised when they announced at 9:00 that our group could disembark. We should have been able to leave the ship and walk right through the terminal to the luggage pick-up area. However, we were stopped in the terminal because all the luggage had not been delivered for our group. I could see the forklifts full of luggage moving back and forth from the terminal to the ship. The port people were not happy that the ship was disembarking people before the assigned luggage areas were ready.
About 9:30, we were allowed to go to our luggage area where we found our three pieces. I saw the taxi line starting to get long so Chuck got us a porter and the porter whisked us through the CBP facial recognition system and out to the cab area. He was able to grab us a taxi quickly (I think the cabbies give priority to the porters) and we were headed to the airport.
The airport is not that far away but there is still a lot of road closures because of construction so it took about 20 minutes.
We checked our two big bags at the outside Delta kiosk and found the TSA pre-check line inside. At security, I got stopped for a random hand-swabbing. Did they really think I may have handled explosives? We found our gate and I had time to buy a bottle of water. I gate-checked one of our carry-ons so we could have more legroom without a bag underneath the seat in front of us.
The flight was full and took off on-time. I watched Deadpool and Wolverine. I thought it was good but not as funny as the first two Deadpool movies. Chuck finished Horizon that he had started on the flight to Boston and was disappointed with the ending. Maybe the next installment of Horizon will be better.
We retrieved our luggage in Atlanta by 3:10. I was shocked to see the 3:00 shuttle was still there when we got to the ground transportation area. We had reservations for the 4:00 shuttle but he had 2 seats left on his shuttle by letting Chuck sit up front in the seat next to the driver.
The traffic was heavy as usual but at least it kept moving and we didn’t have to take any detours like we did the last time coming back from the airport. We were back at the shuttle office by 5:30.
We were back home by 6:30 met, of course, by a displeased Pumpkin who looked like he had gained weight while we were gone. I think he conned our sitter into giving him more of his special snacks than is normally allowed. He is good at acting pitiful.
All in all, I would not call this cruise the “Perfect” Caribbean Escape like it was advertised but it was “Very Good” and I’m glad that we went. It’s time now to prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas activities.
