Day 43. 12 December. Ft. Lauderdale - Conclusion

Disembarkation Day is always a discombobulation.  Our natural wake-up-call came at 0520. Sometime during the evening another time change (#5 of the return) was snuck upon us. At 0530 the pilot boat roared along side and dropped off our Pilot. 0545 we were entering the harbor, with two more cruise ships behind us and three in port already. Busy place. 0630 we had backed in to a pier and were secure.

 Last night the passengers had placed their suitcases in the hallway. We had 9. This morning they were all being unloaded and carted into the terminal to be sorted into sections to make it easier to locate our bags. This is a turn-around day meaning the ship will be unloading its cargo (self-loading and unloading) of people during the morning and loading new cargo beginning late morning, then sailing late afternoon. It is also a re-provisioning port. It is also a time for inspection by US Health Officials. It is also a port where all crew must present themselves to Immigration Officials. All this, with the need to clean all cabins and public areas of the ship before the next cargo arrives, creates a well orchestrated frenzy on and off the ship. Along with the dockside activity of fork-lifts, trucks, carts, people and official cars there were the additions of two ambulances and a fire/rescue truck for a couple of our less fortunate cargoes. How many were on ice, I do not know.  At 9 were were supposed to get off so we sat around with friends in the Neptune Lounge and made many more good-byes. Sometimes it gets kind of emotional. From what I have heard, this has been the best Neptune crowd seen on this ship.

 0930 our group was called so we found out way down a few decks and signed out. There were plenty of hugs for us from crew. Ashore we found our 9 bags and placed them together then waited for a porter. When William S- came along we were confronted with a long line for Customs and Immigration. Some terminals have Global Entry but not this particular one.  In awhile we were cleared and William put our bags in the hands of a luggage delivery service we had contracted with and we boarded a shuttle bus for the airport. When we finally arrived at Hollywood Airport (no autographs today, thank-you) we zipped through security and found a nice quiet corner at the airline club to hole up for 4 hours. Our flight to Minneapolis was very fine, thanks to Ann - of Delta. The next leg was a bit testy and with an hour + between flights we easily found our next gate. The incoming plane was late, then they announced a mechanical problem. Not satisfied with that, they decided to complicate the matter by informing us that there was fog at Brainerd and that if they fixed the plane we still may not be able to land in Brainerd. Not to worry, if Brainerd was socked in we would go to Fargo. Anyone want off? Well, the plane was fixed and the Captain announced the fog was not yet to the no-go point so the passengers scrambled aboard, and after sitting around on the tarmac for a bit, hit the sky. About 1/2 hour later we were safely on the ground in Brainerd. Our taxi was waiting and we were back home about 2145.

Final Report

The voyage was 42 days in length and covered 11,584 nautical miles. 

(13,330 statute miles)

Countries and Protectorates:

US

France

Holland

Spain

Morocco

Great Britain

Italy

Portugal

Ports of Call (in order of call)
San Juan, Puerto Rico

Phillipsburg, St Maartin

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

Lanzarote,Gran Canaria

Tangier, Morocco

Almeria, Spain

Valencia, Spain

Barcelona, Spain

Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Civitavecchia, Italy

Naples, Italy

Sorrento, Italy

Messina, Italy

Palermo, Italy

Cartegena, Spain

Gibraltar, British Territory

Cadiz, Spain

Casablanca, Morocco

Ponta Delgada, Azores

Half Moon Cay, Bermuda

Fort Lauderdale, USA