January 22 Time to set sail
January 21
We left the Gulf in pretty cool, but sunny weather to Ft. Lauderdale and our final night in the US. We drove along the infamous Alligator Alley, but even they were too cold to come out in the open. We saw nary a one. Made it to Ft. Lauderdale where we checked into our hotel and then Bruce drove to the airport to drop off the rental car. Our friend was with us and he was renting for another week at the same rental spot. So as we dropped off, he rented and drove Bruce back to the hotel....which was a huge deal for us. Thank-You Greg! We didn't have to secure an uber or taxi to drive back to the hotel.
Our Travel Agency-Cruise Specialist was planning a BonVoyage cocktail party and dinner at the hotel that night for all of the clients that booked the entire Grand World Voyage. It was wonderful. A hosted bar, a very nice dinner and we caught up with old friends and made some new. Once we checked into the hotel that afternoon....our TA had everything under control. I was impressed and relieved. From baggage to questions to what ever.....they were there. We had a 10:45 am bus to the port the next morning, and I slept well.
January 22...
Sail Day!!!! At last. Of course we woke up early as our 3 pieces of luggage were to be picked up from our hotel room by 8:30am ready to be stowed on the trucks to the port. There must have been at least 200 of us at the hotel with 2 or more bags each, so those guys and trucks were full and busy. We were up at dawn, had a nice room service breakfast and were packed by 7:30. Excited was an understatement. We boarded the bus promptly and arrived to a very crowded port. Since almost everyone on this cruise is either a 4 or 5 star mariner, priority boarding is a moot point. We were checked in and our passports were whisked away. It's easier for the ship to keep them and get the necessary stamps in every country. We might not see them again until Australia, where before, you had to have a face-to-face with customs. We were on-board and in our room by 1pm. We had a nice lunch and then waited for our luggage to be delivered and unpacked. Attended a champagne welcome aboard reception in the afternoon and a cocktail party after dinner. All of our luggage arrived in our room after dinner so we proceeded to unpack 7 suitcases full of clothes and supplies into 3 drawers, and 6 closets. We did it all and managed to store all of the empty cases under the bed and in the closet. We have plenty of storage....and room. Its quite comfortable. I was so glad we had everything, and nothing was lost. The hard working port workers were still loading luggage onto the ship at 8:30pm. If you think about it....1360 passengers X at the minimum of 3 bags each, is a lot of friggin luggage to load and deliver to each room. By that time I was exhausted......Our sail away from Ft Lauderdale was at 9 pm and I was ready for bed.
January 21
We left the Gulf in pretty cool, but sunny weather to Ft. Lauderdale and our final night in the US. We drove along the infamous Alligator Alley, but even they were too cold to come out in the open. We saw nary a one. Made it to Ft. Lauderdale where we checked into our hotel and then Bruce drove to the airport to drop off the rental car. Our friend was with us and he was renting for another week at the same rental spot. So as we dropped off, he rented and drove Bruce back to the hotel....which was a huge deal for us. Thank-You Greg! We didn't have to secure an uber or taxi to drive back to the hotel.
Our Travel Agency-Cruise Specialist was planning a BonVoyage cocktail party and dinner at the hotel that night for all of the clients that booked the entire Grand World Voyage. It was wonderful. A hosted bar, a very nice dinner and we caught up with old friends and made some new. Once we checked into the hotel that afternoon....our TA had everything under control. I was impressed and relieved. From baggage to questions to what ever.....they were there. We had a 10:45 am bus to the port the next morning, and I slept well.
January 22...
Sail Day!!!! At last. Of course we woke up early as our 3 pieces of luggage were to be picked up from our hotel room by 8:30am ready to be stowed on the trucks to the port. There must have been at least 200 of us at the hotel with 2 or more bags each, so those guys and trucks were full and busy. We were up at dawn, had a nice room service breakfast and were packed by 7:30. Excited was an understatement. We boarded the bus promptly and arrived to a very crowded port. Since almost everyone on this cruise is either a 4 or 5 star mariner, priority boarding is a moot point. We were checked in and our passports were whisked away. It's easier for the ship to keep them and get the necessary stamps in every country. We might not see them again until Australia, where before, you had to have a face-to-face with customs. We were on-board and in our room by 1pm. We had a nice lunch and then waited for our luggage to be delivered and unpacked. Attended a champagne welcome aboard reception in the afternoon and a cocktail party after dinner. All of our luggage arrived in our room after dinner so we proceeded to unpack 7 suitcases full of clothes and supplies into 3 drawers, and 6 closets. We did it all and managed to store all of the empty cases under the bed and in the closet. We have plenty of storage....and room. Its quite comfortable. I was so glad we had everything, and nothing was lost. The hard working port workers were still loading luggage onto the ship at 8:30pm. If you think about it....1360 passengers X at the minimum of 3 bags each, is a lot of friggin luggage to load and deliver to each room. By that time I was exhausted......Our sail away from Ft Lauderdale was at 9 pm and I was ready for bed.
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