Drivin' Adair by Bimmer 09: The cruise is over....

Before your last night on the ship-usually by the middle of the cruise,you are asked to pick a time slot when you want to get off. Some people have flights to catch and take an early exit. For us, staying in Ft. Lauderdale for the day, it makes sense to take the last slot which is usually 10 am. Luggage is color coded so it goes off the ship and into the Customs hall as it is needed. By the time we leave there is not much luggage remaining which makes it easier to find. Easy suits us just fine.

We have to quit the room by 8 am so we do and head to the MDR for a leisurely breakfast.

Some photos from that morning in January 2013

Sunrise in Port Everglades, the harbor of Ft. Lauderdale

There was heavy fog when we arrived at 6 a.m but it slowly lifted and added some atmosphere to the photos as it did

The room stewards have 4 hours minimum to get the cabins ready for the new guests. The ship has 9 hours to take on all the food and supplies it will need for the next cruise. The vacuuming of all the public rooms started in the middle of the night. After breakfast the buffet and MDRs set the tables for lunch as 3,000 hungry new passengers will come aboard to start their week cruising the Eastern Caribbean. It's a long busy day for the crew. It's Turnaround Day.

As we are suite passengers we get to wait with our hand luggage in Club Fusion, where there are refreshments, while most of the passengers duffle by in waves on their way off the ship.

When our time comes there is little luggage left so we quickly find our cases and get in line for Customs/ Immigration control. As I am a British Passport holder and most of the passengers are American we go through a shorter line and are soon in a taxi on our way to our home for the day....