Back Home from the Cruise

Saturday — December 12

The cruise is over and we’re home. We’ve been busy since pulling into the driveway — our bags are unpacked, things are put away. I’ve already started a load of laundry and there’s another pile to go. Mui's gone grocery shopping. In other words, the post-cruise routine is well underway.

It was still pitch dark when we woke up this morning. Very few people were out and about when we went down to the Palm Springs Café for breakfast. We watched the lights on shore go by as we ate our meal. Slowly, people started to stream in; everyone was dressed for the cold winter day. All too soon the Cruise Maryland terminal was in sight and it was time to vacate CC1200, our home away from home for the past 12 days.

When we returned to the cabin to collect our carry-on bags, we stepped out on the veranda to see just how much snow there was on the ground. None! Great; we wouldn’t have to dig the car out in order to drive home. On the dock, the pace was already picking up — the covered gangway was being swung in place; luggage was being off-loaded from the ship; pallet upon pallet of provisions were being placed at the ready for the next cruise.

Rank — in this case, being Captain’s Club Select members — has its privileges. One of those privileges is early debarkation. The letter we had received from Celebrity called for us to be in the Celebrity Theater at 7:45a. It turns out that there was quite a bit of delay and our group wasn’t called to the gangway until 8:30a. No biggie; I read my book while Mui chatted with some fellow passengers. The time certainly passed quickly.

Once the announcement was made that we could disembark, things moved quickly. We made our way through Immigration without too much delay; found our bags in the right pile in the claim area; handed our customs form to the agent near the exit; and hauled everything off to the car. By 9:00a, we were on the freeway; by 10:00a, we were home.

Celebrity Mercury is visible from the freeway in Baltimore.
(photo courtesy of CruiseCritic poster, Radio)

Winter cruising out of Baltimore is an incredible convenience for us, especially since we don’t mind if there’s some cold weather at the beginning and the end of the cruise. We had a very nice break from the winter blahs and we’re tempted to book the same cruise for next year. That said, we’ll have to wait and see if we can fit it into our 2010 vacation schedule.