The first day of a cruise for those of us that are in-transit can be challenging. All of us need to pass through the US Customs and Border Protection to be processed, then allowed to re-board. Now this sounds fairly simple, however, If you choose this route, it may take a few hours before the group is allowed back on the ship. And you lose your chance to leave the ship after you are back. Barb went with the group of over 100 in-transit guests, and they were held up in the terminal for almost 3 hours.
Once again, we chose to leave the ship around 9am. It was required to take our passports, our stateroom cards, and the in-transit cards, and also wearing the special masks. This time we had an electronic facial recognition, and did not have to have our passports scanned. Knowing we had to stay off for a few hours, we headed slowly towards town.
Needless to say, it was a long walk since the ship was docked at Pier 26 again. Pier 2 would have been so much closer, but we believe the Noordam was there. Other ships in port were RCI's Rhapsody, Celebrity's Reflections, and the Nieuw Amsterdam. This ship recently had two consecutive cruises cancelled due to a group that had chartered the entire ship, then changed their minds. What happens in this case, we have no idea. Perhaps the ship goes off of the coast and floats until the next cruise begins.
Having time to kill, we walked halfway up the bridge to get some photos. The forecast for today was possible rain showers, so we had to pack umbrellas. Turned out, we never used them. Isn't that always the way? Temperatures remained low in the high 60's with a good breeze blowing. First stop was at the Renaissance Hotel checking out their breakfast menu for future info. Then we went to Walgreens to check out what they had. Seems that some of their shelves were empty, like we had heard on the news. There was a small boutique on the way, where we had purchased some good buys on formal wear a few years ago. Having time, we went inside to see if there were any bargains. Of course, there was a white blouse suitable for everyday wear. While we were in there, both of the sales ladies asked about our ship and the Covid situation there. We explained about the testing and the wearing of masks, and some crew that were infected. They had heard the same type of stories regarding other major cruise lines.
Continuing up the street, we went to Ace Hardware to look for a small wall thermometer. Publix had the rest of the things we needed. Then it was time for lunch at Duffy's. We shared a burger, fries, and salad. Our waitress was doing fine, until she got a phone call from school concerning her young son. He felt ill, and his mom was totally shaken. Naturally, you think the worst, and she had to make a plan to pick him up. She had forgotten to apply our $10 birthday bonus to our bill. Knowing it will stay there forever, we said don't worry, we'll use it next time. She had enough on her mind, worried that her kid had Covid. We wished her well.
Our final stop was at Walgreens for some chips, then made the long walk back, once again slowly. On our last visit, we had discovered a shortcut, that probably saved us a 30 minute round trip walk. Instead of following the sidewalk, we cut through the parking lot across from pier 26. There were no gates to block our way.
With our in-transit cards in hand, we breezed through security. And one nice thing was we did not have to repeat the muster check-in. One time when first boarding was sufficient for the entire time.
Coming back to our room, we found that the "gift" fairy had made a visit. Compliments of the Mariner Society, we had a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers, as well as a bottle of "sparkling" wine on ice. No more Veuve Clicqout, our President's Club perk had been downgraded to a bottle of Brut Domaine Ste. Michelle. Since we are not into the wines and champagnes, it makes little difference to us. Also on our coffee table were two trays of bruschetta and truffles. And once again, we received a letter from the President of HAL, Gus Antorcha, regarding the guests requirements for the Covid-19 protocols. Nothing new here, except for wearing the better KN95 masks onboard he ship. We did ask our room steward for two more masks, and he delivered them yesterday.
Did we mention that we have a new captain? He is Captain Eric Barhorst, and by checking Know Your Officers on the TV, we discovered he appears quite young. Turned out he is also an avid horn-blower while we left Port Everglades. An official letter arrived to explain the replacement of Martinique with Saint George's Grenada on Tuesday, January 18th from 7am to 4pm. The following stop at Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis was changed from 8am to 5pm to 11am to 8pm. Neither change will affect us, but it did for those who booked shore excursions. The guests will have their tours credited back, and still have time to re-book new ones.
Both of us were so exhausted from the busy morning, we decided not to attend the Mariner's welcome reception at 4pm. Well, maybe not both of us were so tired, as photos were worked on. We knew Barb would be there, but for us, it was easier to stay on the veranda to watch the sail away. If they served as many mimosas as they did last time, we would never make it to dinner.
It was actually chilly as we left the harbor. Many of the locals came outside to wave us goodbye, and there was just as much horn-blowing from both the condos and the ship as there was the first time. Searching for the elusive dolphins, we only saw some terns that were successfully catching fish along the way.
There was another surprise at dinnertime in the dining room. Our nice waiters, Nur and Oka, had been moved to a different area. We learned that this was done every two weeks or so. Did we all like this change? Absolutely not, and we asked our head waiter, Fredy, why they did this. His answer was this was their new policy. Both of our waiters had become quite familiar with our likes and dislikes, so we asked if they could make an exception and send them back to us. Fredy said he would take care of it. Nur did appear, and seemed happy we had requested him to come back. However, Oka said he and Nur were "divorced" and they no longer were a team. Nur took over from there, and now we hope he will be back tomorrow night and every night. Presty, who is assigned to the dining room, came by for an extended chat. He should be here as dining room manager for at least two months, when his contract is over. Once again, we were among the last to leave.
It appears that the band that played in the Rolling Stone Rock Room are all gone now, due to Covid. No other band took their place that we can see. Sadly, one couple that we know, were also gone. They were supposed to be on for the next 11 days, but Barb saw them leaving, telling her that they tested positive for the Covid. Not sure what they had to do regarding quarantining, but we shall investigate that.
The menu for tonight sure seemed the same as the first day of every cruise we have done here. The chicken was the best. There seemed to be more activity on the ship as we headed back to our room. This is a good thing.
Bill & Mary Ann
Thursday, January 13, 2022
Report #26 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Wednesday - January 12, 2022 Mostly cloudy & 72 degrees
