Saturday was our last day…a sea day. The schedule went pretty much as it did on our first sea day…breakfast in the dining room and then some sun time around the adult pool at the back of the ship. There was a difference though…on Monday we were anticipating the whole week still ahead of us. On Saturday there was this nagging feeling that the cruise would soon be over and we would be back to real life.
I had barely been in the shops on the ship so on Saturday afternoon Erica and I both checked out the $10 Bijoux Terner shop and the two of us each bought a couple of watches. It felt like we were buying a special souvenir of our cruise until we saw all of the same watches in a shop at the Tampa airport. Oh well…we both like our watches and you can’t complain about the price!
The Farewell Party was held at 4:30 that afternoon. There were lots of free drinks and Fun Freddie even showed up. But…the lounge was fairly empty…especially compared to the crowds that we used to show up at the Captain’s party.
From the Farewell party we headed to the sushi bar. Tea time was also held on the last sea day but in order to get the packing done and get to the Farewell Party we didn’t make it.
My one goal for the week was to get a nice family photo done. I couldn’t convince anyone to pose for the professional photos during the week and the only other attempt we had made was outside. It was very windy and everyone’s hair was going wild...there was no way we could get a decent picture that time.
I insisted that we make one last attempt so after the kids were done with their sushi we tried. At first we tried setting the camera on a table and using the timer…but it was too low and the camera angle was weird. Eventually we had the lady from the Future Cruise Certificate counter take a couple and they turned out better. The kids all gave Zach a hard time for this photo because he insisted on sitting in the chair (they said he looked like he was trying to be the king)…but I like it! In a weird sort of way it portrays some of our family dynamics!
At dinner Erica celebrated her birthday. Bob got to the dining room a little early so he was able to let Ken Byrne (the maître ‘d) know to announce it as he did his nightly speech. There was a little more napkin waving that night and then it was time to say our good-byes to Mario and German. Mario told us how much he enjoyed being our waiter and I truly believe he meant it.
After dinner we went outside to enjoy one last sunset. What a beautiful way to end our week!
That night was the Legends Show featuring ship guests portraying various singers…Britney Spears, James Brown, Elton John, Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, Elvis Presley, Madonna, Garth Brooks, Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin. Outside of the gal who was “Aretha” (who was excellent!) the others were at best just OK and not particularly memorable. Back in 2005 when we cruised on the Victory the passenger talent show was designed to be more like American Idol…I think I enjoyed it more.
We left the Follies lounge through the upper level so that we could go directly back to our cabin on the Deck 4. Matt took this photo of our family right outside the lounge.
The next morning we had breakfast in the main dining room and listened as they repeatedly called the names of non-U.S. passengers who had failed to show up to go through customs. Until the non-U.S. citizens had been processed, no one else was allowed off the ship. Over and over they kept calling names and cabin numbers but I guess these folks just wanted to take their good sweet time about getting off the ship.
Once debarkation did begin it seemed to go fairly quickly. We found our luggage, went through customs and then walked across the street to the parking garage where we were to meet the Holiday Inn Express Rocky Point shuttle that was to be our ride back to the airport. When we called we were told it would take 20 minutes and it was exactly that when the van arrived.
During the time we were waiting another shuttle driver tried to convince us to go with him (can’t remember the name of the shuttle company right now) by telling us that he was the “back up” shuttle for the hotel. We told him the shuttle was on the way and we would wait. Once he knew that we weren’t going to go with him, then he became rude telling us that we weren’t allowed to stand where we were. He insisted he was “in charge” and we had to listen to him. The boys called him on his bluff and we stayed put.
I’ll spare you the details of the rest of the day which consisted of a lot of sitting in the airport and then a 3 hour drive back home from Minneapolis once our flight landed.
Reality hit quick once we were home. I started my first day of school the very next morning and we began the 2 week countdown to Tim and Erica’s wedding! So much to do and such a short time left!
They were married on September 4th in a beautiful ceremony on an absolutely gorgeous day. In SW Minnesota a day without wind is rare and to have a calm day with 72 degree temps was more than we could have ask for! What a blessing to be able to share this day with all of our friends and family!
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