Back to Reality

Monday, 20 December

Whether we want reality back or not, it’s here.  It’s 5:00p and we’re home.  The bags are unpacked and a load of laundry is swishing away in the washing machine.  No “call us the minute you get home” emails from the office; no “got to take care of this now chores” vying for my attention.  Time to wrap up our cruise vacation.

We were up at 6:00a, just as Grand Princess came through the breakwater and into Port Everglades.  It was pitch black outside.  Island Princess, the only ship already docked, was lit up like a Christmas tree.  As we maneuvered into our spot at Terminal 2, other ships started streaming in.  First Seabourn’s Sojourn; then P&O’s Azura (on her maiden visit to Fort Lauderdale); and finally, Silversea’s Silver Spirit.  Each ship carefully completed its docking procedures, securely tying-up to its berth before beginning the process of getting the ship cleared and the luggage unloaded.  In the meantime, semis pulled up with provisions for the next cruise; fuel barges positioned themselves to begin refueling the ships for their impending departures.

Clockwise from top left:
Island Princess, Azura, Sojourn, Silver Spirit and Island Princess;
Azura, Silver Spirit, and Island Princess.

As the hubbub of activity progressed, we headed up to the Horizon Court for one last breakfast.  Alas, it was much too chilly to eat at our usual table on the aft deck.  Making short work of our morning meal, we returned to the cabin to collect our carry on bags.

Although we had provided Princess with updated information on our flight plans, we were still assigned to a later debarkation group.  Since that wasn’t going to work for us, we brazenly snuck off the ship at 8:15a.  Even though we had a short wait while the longshoremen finished organizing the luggage into color groups and cleared out the forklifts, the time we saved by not waiting for our group paid off later at the airport.

The airport is very close to Port Everglades, and taxis are plentiful and the fare is reasonable.  There was a relatively long line of passengers waiting for cabs by the time we breezed through Customs.  So, rather than wait around, we shared a shuttle van with several other cruisers.  The fare was a few dollars more, but again, it paid off for us when we arrived at the airport ahead of the crowds.

At the JetBlue counter, we were able to switch from our scheduled 3:00p flight to the 11:25a departure.  Listening carefully to the hints dropped by the counter agent, we saved $80 in change fees by opting to go standby rather than formally changing our tickets.  Normally, this is not a risk I would take, but with 28 seats open 90 minutes before departure, I felt the odds were on our side.

“Canyon Blue” is the name of the plane and it is ready to take us home.

The line to go through security moved fast.  Soon we were at our gate, using a free wi-fi hotspot to check in with family.  Flight 310 pushed back at 11:30a and was in the air 15 minutes later.  The puking dog (blech!!!) in the row ahead of us notwithstanding, the two-hour flight was uneventful.  (What burns me about this unpleasant incident — the dog’s owner didn’t apologize to her fellow-passengers; just kept her eyes downcast, never meeting our eyes!  Believe me, apologies were in order!!!)  We were on the ground at Dulles International before our original flight from Ft Lauderdale got off the ground.  Not bad I say.

Though we hastened the end of our vacation by taking an earlier flight, we bought ourselves time to pick up our held mail from the postal facility, buy groceries to restock the fridge, and have an early dinner.  Even better, we arrived home just in time to receive a Christmas gift delivery … thanks Aunt L.

reality takes the form of snow in the driveway, but a Xmas gift lifts our spirits.

We had a great cruise and really enjoyed ourselves.  The ports that were new to us gave us an opportunity to explore; the ports that we’d visited before gave us an opportunity to just relax.  Our aft corner balcony was heavenly and afforded plenty of opportunities for R&R at sea.

Will we go on another cruise?  Absolutely!  Will it be on Princess?  Not sure; we both feel that we’ve outgrown Princess, and besides, we still prefer Celebrity.  We also want to try some of the cruise lines that have smaller ships in their fleets.  Still, were a unique itinerary or an incredible deal come our way, we wouldn’t say no to another Princess cruise.

Until next time …