Friday &
Saturday, March 13-14
Our last sea day…one
that could win the award for the laziest day…ever. In the morning it was the dreaded
job of packing. After bumping into each other repeatedly, Bob could sense my
frustration and left to go jog on the outdoor track. With TWO large bags, a
rolling carry-on AND my backpack, finding space for all of my stuff wasn’t too
much of a problem.
By the time Bob returned, the majority of the packing
task was completed and I was ready to eat. On sea days, brunch was offered in
the Platinum Dining Room and that was where we headed. I was totally surprised
when Bob (the healthy eater) ordered “Funny French Toast!” It comes coated in
your choice of cereal and he chose Honey Nut Cheerios. I didn’t have my camera,
but here is a photo that I found online…
The French toast
looked sickening sweet, but he liked it! I opted for poached eggs…something I
like, but do NOT like to prepare.
A man and his
adult son were seated next to us and we had such an enjoyable conversation that
we ended up lingering long after we were finished eating! (We just happened to
end up in line next to them at dinner that night and got to meet the rest of
the family as well!)
The
rest of the day was spent sitting in the shade on the upper deck watching the
ocean go by. Not wanting to lose our prime spot, we grabbed lunch and sat in
our lounge chairs while we ate. What bums we were! Oh...and we even snuck in a
nap!
After
our last meal in the dining room, we saw the show “Epic Rock.” Out of all of the Playlist Productions during
the cruise, this was the only one that we could really say we enjoyed…lots of
energy and fun. Following the show, the performers…and cruise director, Dr. E,
went to the atrium to meet and mingle with the guests.
Saturday
morning I was up early. The ship was sailing back into Miami and I was anxious
to check in for our flight on Southwest. With no advance seat assignments on
Southwest, the earlier you check in, the earlier you can board and choose your
seat. Being too cheap to pay for internet on the ship, I waited until I had
cell service in Miami and could check in with the app on my iPhone. To get a
decent signal on my phone I had to go up to the Lido deck…and realized it was
still dark outside!
We
had requested early debarkation and were given Zone 2 luggage tags, just as J
& K had the week before. But…before the numbered zones were called to get
off the ship, we had to wait for all of the passengers who had opted for “self-debarkation”
and were handling their own bags. Not a choice for us when we had such a
massive amount of luggage. Getting ON a cruise ship is so much more fun than getting OFF.
Eventually
we made it off the ship and luck was with us…our shuttle was waiting right
outside the terminal. But…then the driver circled the port area for a half hour
picking up passengers from the other ships docked in Miami. Eventually the van
was at capacity and we left for Ft. Lauderdale.
On
the way to the airport, the traffic in the opposite lane came to a dead
standstill due to an accident. Cars were backed up for miles and it made me
realize the danger of flying into one city and cruising out of another. Had
that accident been in our lane most likely we would have missed our flight. A
lesson to remember for the future.
I
would like to say that our flight home was totally uneventful…but that would be a lie. As we were approaching
Minneapolis, the pilot announced that the flaps on the wings were not working
and in his words…”we are just going to fly around for awhile and see if we can
troubleshoot the problem.” As the plane flew further and further past Minneapolis, you could feel the tension building in the plane.
Eventually
the airport came into view and the pilot announced that we were going to “give
it a try.” The landing was a little hard and the braking seemed extreme, but we
made it down OK! The whole plane erupted into a cheer!
We were home!
