5 Day Caribbean Cruise

07/15/07 - 07/21/07

Southwest Airlines - Just Cruises - Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas

Clay & Pat Stahl

Clay, Chris, Michele, Shannon, & Sean Stahl

Bud & Marty Gannon, Jim & Bonnie Gannon,

Ryan & Colin Gannon, Patrick Barnard, Jason Mitchell

United States

Mexico

Bahamas

Sunday 07/15 Flight to Ft. Lauderdale, Dinner & Overnight Hotel Stay

This cruise is in honor of our Granddaughter Shannon's graduation from Shippensburg University in May, the last time she will get a free ride anywhere! We are leaving a day early, so we don't have to get up early and rush. Our limo arrived about 10 minutes early of our requested time of 11:15, so Pat could go to mass. The flight was scheduled for 2 PM, and with it being Sunday, the ride was quick and uneventful, with just enough time for our traditional bottle of Champagne and snacks. The rest of the people came in a car convoy, and used one of the many airport parking services.

This Big Sportsbar For Lunch	Typical Airport Bar, With a Non-Typical 42 Beers on Tap!	Our Plane.   Airport Still Being Built!

We arrived a little before 12 PM with our pre-printed boarding passes, and went through the usual security procedures, not taking too long. We had plenty of time for lunch, and we eyed a French bistro, but they didn't have wine or beer, so we went in the Jet Rock Bar & Grill, pretty good for an airport restaurant with 42 beers on tap! Clay & Chris, Michele, Patrick, Shannon, Jason, and Sean joined us shortly.

Southwest does not assign seats before boarding, there is just a letter (A, B, C) on the boarding pass. A's are first, followed by B's and C's and you just pick a free seat. We don't know how the letters are assigned, maybe first come, first served. Anyway, it was fine, as we sat about 3/4 of the way back, left almost on time and had a smooth flight.

Right After Takeoff, the New Jersey "Country"side		The Usual Wait at Ft. Lauderdale

It only takes a little more than 2 hours in the air, no chance for a meal even if you wanted to buy one. They did pass out little snacks including peanuts(!), and of course we had a couple of wines. After landing, a short shuttle ride brought us to our hotel on 17th St. midway between the touristy, but really nice, Las Olas (the wave) Blvd. and the Port Everglades Cruise Terminal.

We have a dinner reservation for everyone at the Las Olas Cafe, and the two of us decided to take a taxi up a little early, and walk around. Last year when we were here, we had lunch at a nice French restaurant before a boat ride, and a glass of wine at the Grape, a great wine bar after. Of course, we didn't want to repeat anything since it is a wonderful couple of blocks with upscale shops and many fine restaurants. We had a tough time choosing, but finally decided on Mark's with their excellent wine-by-the-glass list. Las Olas Blvd. is a great tourist street and has to have the highest density of fine dining establishments that we have ever seen. It was raining when we left and we soon got a cell phone call that everyone else was in the restaurant(early of course!) and waiting for us.

Pre-Dinner Wine at This Nice Place	Dinner at the Las Olas Cafe	Lots of Wines-By-the-Glass at the Big City Tavern

We had a great meal with some wine and didn't have to mortgage the farm, although they didn't give anything away either! It was a good compromise. We went in the Big City Tavern with Clay & Chris, Michele & Patrick, and Shannon & Jason for an after-dinner drink and then the two of us headed back to the hotel, while the rest took a trolley to the beach.

The sleeping arrangements for the others were somewhat confused, and since we had a door between our room and the Stahl's, Clay said that our granddaughter Michele may use the other bed in our room, but she didn't. They were a lot later than we were of course, and only borrowed some stuff from our unused bed.

Monday 07/16 Shuttle to Cruise Terminal & Ship Boarding

There was a nice continental breakfast at the hotel, and we sat with Marty and Bud, the only others up this early. We are still a long way from the beach, but there is a wide inland waterway a few blocks from the hotel, and Clay took his camera for a walk East on 17th street. It had rained earlier but stopped, and it turned very hot.

Ft. Lauderdale 17th St. Bridge East of Our Hotel	Cruise Terminal From Bridge.   Not Our Ship!	Top, Restaurant, But "Hurricane Impact" Glass?

There are regular shuttles to the cruise terminal, but we had 15 people, so we needed two. We, Bud & Marty and a couple of others went in the first one. The four grandparents got in a line to get processed, while the others on our shuttle waited for those on the second. We were early, about 10 AM for the 2 PM advertised time for boarding, but they always let you on early. After a half hour standing in line at the cruise terminal door, the line started to move and we were promptly ushered to a holding area with seats and waited another 15 minutes or so. We were near the front of the line, and finally went through security with no problems, even with Clay's hips getting no beeping, and the remainder of the processing was very efficient and typically courteous.

We cannot get into our staterooms for an hour or so, and the four of us headed up to the buffet to start the feeding frenzy. Clay went to a close-by bar for a bottle of wine, and then down to the shore excursion desk. We tried to sign up for the shore excursions on line at home, but they cut it off 10 days before departing. There was no one at the desk, and a filled out form was deposited into a slot. We were hoping to get a real person, but we are early and the desk won't open until the regular boarding time. Anyway, an inquiry at the desk later produced an envelope with the tickets requested. The buffet got very crowded by the time the others arrived and they had a table pretty far away.

Head For the Top Deck Main Pool First!	Michele and Patrick	Jason and Shannon the Graduate

The stateroom was real nice with a good balcony view, not as big as the handicapped room that we had on the Alaska trip, but also not like the one behind the lifeboats on the previous March's Caribbean cruise, as we requested the highest deck this time. One small minus was that the water in the bathroom wasn't really cold, it was cool when first turned on, but then it got warmer! There was a bottle of wine for us (the others also received one), a gift from travel agent Karen, that we opened right away.

We don't use the pools on the ships very often, but we did here. It was quite crowded by now and we kept the swim brief. Pat found a chaise by the pool and settled in with a book, while Clay roamed about the ship. There was the mandatory life boat drill, with everyone typically squeezed together on deck, but thankfully in the shade. We sailed at 5 PM and just like our March cruise, headed through the outlet channel by the nice houses with the nice lawns and past the beach into the Atlantic.

We're Off!   There's That Same 17th St. Bridge	Buildings Along the Outlet Channel	Ft. Lauderdale Beach Looking North

Multi-Deck Atrium In the Middle of the Ship	Trying Out Our Balcony (& Wine) Right Away	We Saw the Tami Novak Trio Lots of Times

We have the late dinner seating and went to the show, only one for all guests in between the two dinner seatings, very good for the first nighter, the ships orchestra, singers and dancers and comic Billy Garan. We have fifteen in our group and sit at two tables for dinner, with everyone mixing it up during the 5 nights. Most cruise lines have some kind of a wine package, and we opted for the 5 bottle, middle quality list, saving (the brochure said) $60.

First Night's In-Between Show With the Ship's Orchestra, Singer & Dancers, and Billy Garan & Prop Doing Many Casablanca Impressions

We had an after-dinner drink while listening to the Tami Novak Trio. They played traditional (translation: old stuff) music and Tami had a great stage presence, played a few of our requests, and did a great Patsy Cline. We usually hook on to a favorite group on a cruise, and this time it was the Tami Novak Trio, although the classical Northern Lights Trio was very good also and we caught them a few times early in the day.

Tuesday 07/17 Key West

Key West From the Ship	Pretty Island On the Other Side	Our Ship Gets Real Close, Carnival Left

Famous Duval Street, Quiet Here	Station For the Conch Train Ride	Key West Museum & Dancers Sculpture

The ship was docked when we woke up a little before the scheduled arrival time of 7 AM, and we had breakfast in the dining room. There was time before our Shore Excursion, so we got off the ship and walked down to the head of Duval Street. It was very hot and we went back and met the tour at the pier. Our Shore Excursion is the "Key West Pub Stroll", the same as the one we went on two years ago, except then it was called a Crawl instead of a Stroll, and now it is only 4 bars instead of 5! The free included T shirt now says "Key West, FL" instead of "Key West Pub Crawl", perhaps trying to appear more temperate! We started promptly, set out slowly, stayed in the shade, and the guide waited for a relatively cool spot before giving us the ground rules.

Pub Stroll #1.   Three of the Four Places Were Great, You Could Have Anything.   Here, Pat and Our Guide On the Far Right
#2.   We Were the Oldest People On the Stroll Probably By Two Generations, But It Was a Great Group

The guide was efficient, but didn't say much other than the administrative stuff: where to go, get a ticket for the drink, when to leave, etc. She was nice enough and would answer questions, or have a conversation with you, but the booklet said "Your guide will keep the atmosphere festive with jokes, antics, and stories." The guy we had on this two years ago did that, but there was none of that this time. Two of the bars were included on the tour two years ago, while one was redone (and renamed), and one was completely new to us.

#3. This Was On the Schedule Two Years Ago, With Again a Very Limited Selection.   At Least This Time, We Weren't in the Sun Upstairs!

Why Do You Think They Call It Schooner's Wharf?	Self Serving Maybe, But Probably Accurate!	Cute!   We Went by This Before

After the third bar, the guide asked if anyone liked hot sauce, and there were a few ascents. I don't think the answer would have mattered, we were going to stop in the hot sauce shop anyway. There were samples and the store was nice, but was this substituted for the 5th bar? There was a little walk to the hot sauce shop, and after, a little more back toward the ship on Duval street to the last bar on the tour.

We Spent Some Time In Here.   It's For Sale, Hmmm. Wonder Why		No, I Bought Wasabi Nuts!  They're Still Brutal!!

#4. We Were Here Also Two Years Ago.   It Is Casablanca-Themed As Its Name Implies, And Again the Only One With Entertainment

Clay stopped in while we were in Ricks and we asked the tour guide if the tour was over. Yes it was, so we gave her her gratuity and the three of us went down the block to Margaritaville for a drink before heading back to the ship for the 2 PM sailing.

This Is Our 3rd Time In Key West, Our Second in This Margaritaville

Church on Key West's Duval Street	Pat & Clay & a Well Known Key West Bar	Taxi With a Bike Rack (?) on the Back

We were back on the ship at 1:25, 5 minutes before the super safe "All Aboard" time and more than a half hour before sailing. Key West is a great place and it's a shame not to do a full day, but squeezing ports into a 5 day cruise can be daunting.

This Boat Was Following Us Out. " Is That a ..."	...Yes It Certainly Is a Gun!	The Southwestern (But Not Southernmost) Tip

We went to the Wine Tasting, here called a " Wine Appreciation Hour", in the main dining room! The first thing we noticed is that we only have three glasses, one for white, one for red, and one for champagne. The second thing we noticed is that they said this is not going to be a typical wine tasting in that we are only going to get a mouthful of each wine. Duh, that's the way every wine tasting is, and the pours were sufficient. There were eight, 3 Whites (a French White Burgundy, a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and a German Riesling), 1 White Zinfandel (Sutter Home, but yuk!), 3 reds (a French Beaujolias, a California Merlot, and a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon), and 1 "Champagne" (Martini & Rossi Asti Spumante!) There were two other very nice couples at our table, and there was the usual well-rehearsed talk. It was fine, except we would have liked a separate glass for each wine, so we could overlap the pours and verify the differences that were being pointed out.

Wine Tasting	Michele & Patrick Posing	Captain Introducing the Crew At His Welcome Reception	The Tami Novak Trio, Our Favorite

We had a pre-dinner drink listing to the Tami Novak trio again. At dinner, we asked the photographer to take a group photo as we had wanted to have that done in one of the makeshift studios that pop up all over the ship, but it would have been tough to get all 15 of us together.

Clay/Pat, Bud/Marty, Sean, Clay/Chris, Patrick/Michele, Jason/Shannon, Colin, Jim/Bonnie, Ryan

Again, the show was very good. We all went to all of them, and we thought that they were above average.

The Show Was "Stage to Screen", Broadway Hits That Made It To Hollywood

Little Shop of Horrors	No Caption Needed Here	He Had it Commin'

One more drink with the Tami Novak trio, and we were done for the day.

Wedesday 07/18 Cozumel, Mexico

The Island is Cozumel, but the city is San Miguel (de Cozumel), and is on the West side facing the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula. It is about 12 miles across the Caribbean Sea to the mainland which we can see, but Cancun is about 45 miles North and you can't see that far. There is a pier in the center of town (and a ferry to Playa del Carmen on the mainland), but today there was a ship already there (the cruise director wouldn't name the line, but said it "begins with 'C' and ends with 'arnival'", catty?) and we had to continue on to the International Pier three miles South of the town.

Cozumel.   We were hoping That We Would Dock At The Pier Closer To Town, But We Kept Going To The International Pier!

We Turned Around Before Docking!	The Town Is 3 Miles Away, But There Is The Usual Stuff At The End Of The Pier

It Got Horribly Overcrowded Quickly, With All Shore Excursions Gathered At the Same Time		We Are Finally Off To Our Cooking Class

We went ashore a little early and looked around the shops amid a large crush of others, and it was very hot. By the time to report for our Shore Excursion, the waiting area was packed. Ours is the "Mexican Cuisine Workshop & Tasting", and we found the guide holding the sign among all the others. He pointed to a place and said to wait for him there! We waited for quite a while, meeting all the other family except Bud & Marty, similarly waiting for their "Adventure Park, Zip Line, & Snorkel Combo."

Finally, our guide told us to follow him, and immediately changed his sign to the "Deluxe Beach Break", and led us to a bus. We figured it out, our bus is going to both places! We went out of town for a few miles and everyone got off, but the 10 people that were doing the Cooking Class were met by Chef Luis, and taken to a corner of a huge pavilion, while the Beach Breakers were on their own for the water stuff at the same place.

Clay & Luis, the Head Chef	Each Couple Shared a Grill	Moises, the Assistant

We donned aprons and toques, and were introduced to the assistant chef Moises, and the most important guy Javier, or Gordo as the chefs call him! Javier is a gofer and more importantly the bartender, and kept everyone supplied with drinks, Cervesa for Clay, Margarita for Pat, but they would make anything requested. It went pretty well with us preparing three courses, appetizer, entree, and dessert. Of course, with the continuous supply of free drinks, it got everyone in a friendly mood real fast, and actually made one of the guys a little too loose and he went to sleep at the table! We prepared everything (with lots of guidance) and cooked somewhat, but the appetizers and entrees were collected and given the final heating in the kitchen. Whew, because they told us to cook the fish until it got white around the edges, and we did, but of course it obviously wasn't really done yet.

There Were 10 Of Us All together, One Had a Culinary Institute Backpack!		Our Table And Bartender Javier

We were in a small corner of the pavilion, set up to host these classes, and every now and then, one of the Beach Breakers wandered in, but was quickly shooed away. There was a heavy thunderstorm during the class, but we were well sheltered, and there were a lot of people in the water and on the beach including many on wave runners a good distance out. The rain didn't last long and by the time we were done, the sun was out again.

A Great Meal With Red & White Wine	Our Desserts, They Were Real Big On Presentation, Which Was Easy To Do!

After the class was over, we still had over an hour to do the beach things, or whatever you wanted, the same as the Beach Breakers, and still with the open bar! There were a few shops for Pat, and Clay wandered around for some more photos before loading up the bus and heading back.

A Big Beach and a Big Pavilion, They've Done This Before		It Only Works If You Stand Right In Front Of It

A Nice Beach and All Kinds of Water Activities		On The Bus Back To the Cruise Terminal

We were hoping the bus could drop us off in town, but our activity was South of the cruise terminal, and the town is North, so after the bus dropped us off at the cruise terminal, we had to take a taxi to town. It is a typical cruise port with all the usual jewelry stores on the main street and Pat inquired about Ebel watches with no luck. The side streets, although still somewhat touristy, were much more interesting.

The Main Street Near the Water Has the Fancy & Expensive Shops Typical of Cruise Ports		The Pedestrian Side Streets Are More Mexican

Church of Iglsia de San Miguel (Saint Michael), the Patron Saint of Cozumel		A Drink Here, Far From The Main Street

Now You Know This Is a Cruise Port!	Strange, But Efficient	License Plate & You Better Smoke 'em Here!

We are paranoid about missing the ship when it is not within walking distance, so we took the taxi back about an hour early. On the ship again, we took advantage of our "Welcome Back Party" invitation, having been on a Royal Caribbean cruise before, twice actually. One previous cruise makes you a Gold member and get you invited to this thing, as will any number less than 5, and there are a more levels above that which gets you this and many more perks. We'll never get there as we choose a cruise based on the ports, and there is no cruise line that we either favor, or rule out. They give a gift to the one that has the most cruises on Royal Caribbean, in this case a couple with 91(!), we thought they were kidding. She got a bottle of Champagne, he got a bucket of Heinekins! It was also somewhat of a commercial, with the Captain discussing new ship tonnage, with one in the works that will carry over 6000 guests, double the size of this one that we think is large. You do get a discount if you sign up for another cruise here, and later we went to the Guest Relations Desk, but they had nothing that interested us.

Nice!   This Guy's All Over.   He Wouldn't Mind!	Welcome Back Party: Champagne, Hors d'Oeuvres, and a Brief Commercial

Most Nights, the Staff Paraded Around ...	... Here Enjoyed By Some Of the Gannons, Bud, Marty, Bonnie, and Jimmy

We listened to the Northern Lights Trio, a Violin, a Spanish(!) Guitar, and a Base Guitar. As they were packing up on a previous day, we asked if they were coming back, and the violinist said no, but to check the Daily Planner! She was right, we should have! We liked them, but they were always on early, and we only saw them a couple of times.

The show was "The Original Drifters", although the members of many 1950's era (or any) bands changed frequently. But with one of the originals and a son of one of the originals, they could have called themselves "The Original Drifter"! Still, they were pretty good, the old stuff well received by the mostly mature audience.

The Original Drifters.   Can You Pick Out Who Is the Most Original?		Audience Invited On Stage

Thursday 07/19 Caribbean Sea.

No ports today, so there was no pressure to get going, but we still had breakfast at the buffet, rather in the main dining room. The buffet is quicker and the food is just as good, but in the dining room you usually meet some nice people. We attended a cooking demonstration in the Centrum hosted by the Executive Chef, Andreas O. Hollerer, 2 vegetable carvers, one working chef, and two volunteers from the audience. Each volunteer helped prepare one of the two dishes, "Linguine Treasures of the Sea" and "Grilled Hickory Salmon on Bacardi Chili Lime Sauce." It took place on a landing halfway up the main stairway and it was difficult to see what was going on. We think a different locale could have been found that would give the spectators a much better view.

The Cooking Demonstration With An Emphasis On The Vegetable Carving.   Photos Were Taken by Walking Up the Stairs

Lunch was interesting with a young couple, the girl a music teacher, and a family with a somewhat domineering mother, two daughters, and a son who all were musicians, with the son between high school and a college scholarship. The two girls left to attend a mother-suggested ship event while there were very interesting discussions between the son and the girl. The son was especially interesting, however you couldn't overlook his dress shirt and slacks, the best dressed person on the cruise that we ever saw this early in the day!

Pat went on a backstage tour given by the ship's singers and dancers. She met with two of the ship's performers who explained the props and costumes and how they changed outfits so quickly. They told us about where each performer must stand and move according to his/her number in the show. Slow singers sing slow songs and upbeat singers sing fast songs and, even if a slow singer can sing a fast song better than someone else, it just doesn't happen; they must stay within their assignments. The normal contract is four months with the capability of renewing or requesting another ship. After that talk, they went backstage and saw the dressing areas (not at all glamorous) and the many props they use for the shows. The performer explained how they keep a balance in their lives with all the moving around. It was a surprise to hear that, physically, most performers do not last beyond age 30. It was very interesting and made viewing the shows more enjoyable.

We hosted a party for everyone in our room with some drinks and a few plates of room service stuff. Everyone came and a great time seemed to be had by all.

An Afternoon Party In Our Stateroom With All 15

We had a before dinner drink while listening to the Northern Lights Trio, and then went to another great show, "Can't Stop the Rock", a tribute to great movie music. The choice of music genré was a little too recent, but as usual everything was very well done.

The Northern Lights Trio, Cocktail Hour Only	Another Great Stage Show

The three teenagers were at our table tonight, and the highlight was having Colin add a record number of packets of sugar to his coke. Of course the conversation included a discussion of the 80 or so well-chaperoned 15 year old Argentinean girls that we have flitting about the ship. Apparently the 15 year plateau in Argentina calls for a big celebration, and these girls were doing theirs on this cruise. Our boys wouldn't say much, but in today's society, the E-mail address has replaced the telephone number as a sought-after conquest and there were a few successes there!

Clay's Two Soups At Once	Colin's Sugar Packets	Pirate Kids Were Marauding	The Argentinean 15 Year Old Party Girls

After dinner, we again went to hear the Tami Novak Trio. Clay ordered a Sam Adams beer, and shortly the waiter came back with the admonition that they were out of it, expecting him to order something else! Much to the waiter's chagrin, Clay took his card and had no trouble procuring one at another bar. When he got back, there was a Sam Adams waiting! Clay corked the second one (luckily having a spare wine cork in his pocket), and he took it back to the stateroom, put it in the refrigerator, and enjoyed it the next day! The next time we saw that waiter, Clay got drinks from the bar himself. Jerk!

Friday 07/20 Coco Cay, Bahamas

This port is Royal Caribbean's private island and we are anchored just offshore and will be tendered. We don't care for this that much and we have been here twice before on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity cruises. It is on the way back to Florida and much better than a day at sea! There have been additional shore excursions added each time, mostly of the water activity kind, although most people just use the beach. It is very nice for that and hotter than blazes all three times we've been there. Well, it is the Caribbean after all!

Don't Have To Wait Long For a Tender	A Great Place For Sunbathing and the Water Stuff   Every Time We've Been Here, It's Been Horribly Hot

We waited until the initial crush of people went ashore, although there was still a 20 minute wait in line. The "Cocoa Reef Glass Bottom Boat" new this time was our selection, but it wasn't until 1 PM, and we arrived ashore about 10 AM. We were still ahead of most of the crowd and found a couple of chaises with a little shade, but it was still very hot. We both took a swim, Pat perused the Straw Market shops, and we took a slow walk around the beach and found the pier for the later boat ride.

We commandeered a picnic table just before noon and had the usual provided ordinary lunch. Doug Odell and his cousin, whom we met on the Key West Pub Stroll sat with us, as did some other members of his family. The only beers available at the bars were ordinary, and Doug had a Corona Light in a long plastic carafe. At least that was a small improvement, so we asked where he got it. There was a golf cart roaming around with the driver pouring the beer from the bottle into the carafe to keep glass off the beach, and it was a little trouble tracking him down!

We've Been Here Twice Before, This Shore Excursion Is New This Time.   The "Glass Bottom" Wasn't So Great, But It Was A Nice Ride

We boarded the boat at the appointed time and sat around the inside upper level, and it was air-conditioned! There was a brief discussion of what we were going to see, and the use of the lower level with the windows. The bottom was not all glass, but each side of the bottom had rectangular windows giving a pretty good view of the sea floor. Everyone could not fit down at the windows at once, and after we got going, people took turns looking at the bottom. When we got to the reef, we expected a lot of fish, but it was very disappointing, and although it did give a good view, it was mostly of plants! Well, at least there was a bar with Kalick, the Bahamian beer!

Actually, The Entire Bottom Is Not Glass, There Are Rectangular Windows On Each Side, But We Expected To See More Fish

It was still a nice ride and we spent some time outside with great views, quite nice as long as you were on the shady side! After the reef, we stopped near the shore on the far side of the island and they gave us bread to throw to attract the fish, and there were plenty of them, and also seagulls! The ride was nice, but the glass bottom activity was very disappointing

Far Side Of the Island.   Chunks of Bread To Attract Barracudas, (and Seagulls!)   Over The Side Of Course, Not Through the Glass Bottom

The Other Side of the Island To Feed the Fish	The Younger People Are Doing Wave Runners and Parasailing

After the ride, we headed for the tender back and Clay sat on the top in the sun, while Pat went below. The top got back on the ship first, to get them out of the hot sun? It is mid afternoon and we went to see the Northern Lights Trio again. The "Champagne Bar" was close, there was a little better wine selection than at the other bars, and we got a bottle here and finished it during the show in the theater.

Port Side, Top Passenger Deck, Very Nice	Northern Lights Trio "Cocktail Music" Again	2 Other Tami Novak Trio Fans We Saw Often

"Farewell Showtime" Show Featured Levent, a Comic Magician, And Others.   We Didn't Stay For "Cruise In Review" Candid Passenger Shots

We had a different baggage tag color than the others, so we got matched at the courtesy desk. Clay went back to the Champagne Bar and took a bottle of wine to dinner. Ordering wine was very difficult as far as timing goes, the waiters want to serve you the food and the wine arrival may be after a course or two. After Dinner, we caught the Tami Novak Trio one last time. After they went on break, Clay packed it in and Pat stayed for another set with the two ladies that were always there. Tami appreciated our attendance and gave Pat one of her CDs!

Saturday 07/21 Disembarking & Flight To Phila

The ship arrived back in Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale) just as the sun was rising, and we backed into the same berth that we left from 5 days earlier. We were out of our stateroom before the recommended time and in the recommended lounge for an hour or so before we were called. Here they gave estimated times of departure for everyone, and we missed that by about a half hour, and it was a typical process, slow at first, and speeded up toward the end. We were anxious when we couldn't find one of our two bags and looked through the proper color tags until almost all were gone. Finally, Clay (our son) found it on the other side of the adjacent color.

Back Where We Started In Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale) In the Early Morning		Shannon, The Reason For the Trip

We had vouchers for the transfer to the airport, and had to wait for a second bus to get all of us on, including being interrupted by a pushy porter! The driver was very humorous with a little patter about Ft. Lauderdale during the short ride to the airport. Checking in was no problem, except we were placed on another flight as the flight that we thought we were on longer existed. The others received E-mails prior to the trip about the change and we may have missed ours with all the confusion from the previous Alaska trip. This flight will not depart for another half hour, and so there was plenty of time for lunch. Jason has some deal with his employer and was able to get business class for himself and Shannon.

The flight was uneventful, with a snack and a couple of wines. Our limo driver called Pat's cell phone while we were waiting for the luggage and the Saturday afternoon ride was as smooth as you are going to get on I95. We were home about 5 PM, a great but too short trip!

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Created: 08/02/07 Changed: 11/20/09

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