Another stop in Ft. Lauderdale, means another cruise is soon to start. We've been asked if we are tired of the b2b cruises, and we have to say, no we are not. Since the itinerary changes every cruise, the only repeat island on a 21 day cruise is Half Moon Cay. And how bad is that? Returning to Ft. Lauderdale means we can easily find the things we need that were too heavy to pack. Once you leave the USA, it is difficult to find exactly what you need, like favorite toothpastes, lotions, or over-the-counter meds. Even simple snacks such as potato chips or crackers tend to taste different in foreign countries.
We went to breakfast in Club Orange around 6:45am. Few folks were there, but that changed the later it got. Many had their hand carry-ons or small wheeled suitcases, ready to go when their color tags were called. The nice thing about having such a low number of guests, is that the debarkation was easy. As for us, we once again chose to go off around 9am, and not go with the group of 200 that were in transit. The passport photo ID worked perfectly for both of us this morning, even though we still had to pack our passports with us.
Compared to the last time we were here, it was warm and mostly sunny. No flooding rain with strong winds either. This time we took a right turn on 17th St. and walked to the center of the bridge . And this time the bridge traffic was stopped and the roadway was lifted. It's kind of exciting to see how this worked. We are sure that it is an annoyance for the locals, who have to stop and wait it out. Expecting to see a huge sailboat go under, we only saw a fairly small sailboat with a mast that easily cleared the bridge. Many small craft were going back and forth too. There is a nice bench at the center point, so one of us enjoyed the break while the bridge was doing its thing.
Back down the way we came, the next stop was at the Renaissance. People were just checking out, and appeared to be going in busses to the terminals. Other ships in port today were the Viking Orion at pier 4, and the N. Statendam at pier 26. The Vision of the Seas – RCI, had docked at pier 18, and appeared to have no guests. The monster ship, Wonder of the Seas, also RCI, was docked at pier 21. It is their newest vessel, and tops out at 236,857 gross tons. She holds up to 7,000 passengers (full berths). Oddly enough, it appeared to be empty of guests, and the cruise terminal appeared to be empty of people, buses, and taxis as well. There has to be a story there.
We continued our walk to Ace Hardware for batteries, Total Wine to just look around, and TJMaxx, also to look around. Publix was our target store, so we shopped for a few items that we needed. It was a long walk back, and we can certainly tell you, no other guests did this as far as we know. Perhaps there were a few crew members in town, but we know they used to have a free shuttle for them. Will have to ask our morning waiter if this is still the case. (We did inquire and the crew has access to a shuttle for a small fee.)
Arriving back to the terminal, we showed our in transit cards, and were allowed to go straight to the xray line. The only thing set off was with me, which I assume is my new knee replacement. The security people never take that statement as fact, as they always do the pat down and wand test. And as always, I was good to go.
Got back to the room by 1pm, and had the usual suspects left for us on the start of a new trip. Bruschetta, mini desserts of chocolate, caramel, and lemon meringue treats were left for us. Our President's Club perks were there with 17 Cokes and a beautiful bouquet of dark pink roses. A bottle of sparkling wine was on ice. And lastly, shipboard credit had been tacked on to our account.
For some reason, we never made it to lunch. It was much more comfortable watching the sail away from the veranda. We were passing through the opening of Port Everglades but 4:30pm or so. With today being a Wednesday, we did not expect any fanfare. The locals still came out to wave us onward, and the beachful of locals also waved as we went by. The Captain answered their send-away with three very long blasts of the ship's horn. We call him Captain Hornblower.
We did see a few birds on the buoys, but that was it. No dolphins, but we did see the Island Princess at anchor offshore. We wonder if they were being used for the Covid positive people? Neither of the RCI ships left after we did. Later on, we did bring up the live webcam of the Wonder of the Seas. They said they may be leaving at 5pm, although by 6pm, they still had not moved. It sure looked pretty with all of the lights they had on at nighttime.
Deciding the dinner menu was not an exciting one, we chose to make reservations in the Tamarind. Normally, the first day of the cruise has the lowest number of specialty diners in those restaurants. Perhaps they will fill up tomorrow, because it will be the first gala night. We ordered spring rolls, Thai salad, and the vegetarian soup. I had a rice cracker the size of a salad plate, and Bill had shrimp crackers. The three dips were good, but take some getting used to for the hot spices. Asking for more of the sweet and sour dip, our waitress brought another little ramekin. Both of us ordered the wasabi-covered beef tenderloin….very tender and tasty. Sides were shared bowls of brown rice and sautee'd mushrooms. Saving a tiny bit of room for dessert, we had the lemony cheesecake with a side of creamy vanilla ice cream. The combination was right on.
Going down to deck three, then across that deck to the front elevators helped us to avoid the noise from the BB King's All-stars. At least there are no heavy glass doors to open on this deck.
All in all, it was a good, but exhausting day, and we are happy to be continuing onward.
Bill & Mary Ann
Thursday, February 24, 2022
Report #68 Fort Lauderdale, Florida Wednesday-February 23, 2022 Partly Cloudy With Sun 80 Degrees
