Well, the 128th day has arrived and it is time to call it quits. What a trip. We received the final sticker for this entire cruise, and we have logged 37,776 nautical miles, or 32,849 statute miles. We always remark on how much water there is on earth with all of the seas and oceans we have crossed in 4 ½ months. Incredible, actually. And it is time to plant our feet on firm ground once again.
It was still warm and balmy today with temps in the 70's and humidity almost the same. The skies were partly cloudy, but mostly blue as the day wore on. With a wind speed of 12.3 mph and relatively calm seas, it turned out to be a most pleasant day. For an Atlantic crossing, this has to be the best ever. And most of that algae or kelp has disappeared, which made it nice for the boobies that appeared to catch the unsuspecting flying fish. Adding to the drama at sea, a few frigates were flying high early this morning. They lived up to their name of pirates of the sea as they bombed the boobies with fish in their beaks. The frigates are a larger bird and quite capable of being bullies. We will miss this science in action.
So, what's the story on the missing luggage shipping tags? At our "breakfast club" we heard some likely explanations from friends in-the-know. One couple said they knew for a fact that the Neptune suite guests received their pre-printed tags. The rest of the shipping labels were possibly left behind in a San Juan hotel room and missed the ship. Who knows for sure, but that is the latest version. We all agreed that we will be happy when and if they get delivered to our homes. As far as a time frame as to when to expect that delivery, nothing has been mentioned. It sure would be of help if this fiasco was set straight and put into writing. We seem to recall Kimberly said the real tags with the tracking numbers will be attached and we will get an email with those tracking numbers. When, we do not know.
We had to make a stop after our morning walk to the Shops to pick up the guarantee for the Effy tanzanite set we purchased a few days ago. They had promised to send it to our room in 2 days, but that never happened. However, we know their angle for not sending it because that is their way of getting us back in the store in an attempt to sell us more treasures. The salesman had to go through a stack of envelopes to find ours, but we were happy to wait for it. Another job done.
Then it was off to the front desk to once again confirm our post hotel stay and transfers. That part was fine, BUT looking for our Sunday morning flight showed nothing with our confirmation number. Definitely not what we wanted to hear. She asked us to double-check our confirmation number and come back. Something was wrong, but no sense getting upset. Back in our room, we placed a call directly to Michelle, our concierge, who was on a break but did hear from the front desk girl that there was a problem. Michelle worked on it and discovered the girl was looking at American Airlines for our booking, which should have been United. She apologized profusely for the mix-up and sent us an updated confirmation straight to our room. We sure did not need that hiccup, but were relieved that it was resolved. Another job done.
At 10am there was "A City On The Sea" show for the grand finale of the crew farewell. It came with a complimentary glass of the bubbly wine, which packs the World Stage every time. The star of this voyage had to be our Cruise Director, Kimberly, who received the longest and loudest applause ever. She truly earned it with her effervescent personality that seems to be contagious with most everyone onboard. We look forward to seeing her on the 2025 Grand World Voyage as she enjoyed being here as much as we all did.
Lunch in the Lido Market was a seafood symphony which drew a huge crowd from 11:30am to 2pm. We saw lobsters piled high at the salad bar and there was a line forming well before they opened the curtains. Some folks made four trips to bring food to dine outside by the pool. So far, we have not eaten one lunch in the Lido and obviously will not for this trip. Too many memories of the Covid times and rules that should still apply to serving one self remain in our minds.
Many sales were in progress in the Shops area like clearances, sample sales, an Effy raffle, 75% off some watches and a shopper's raffle. Final fireball bingo must "go" at 3pm and over $511,000 Paradise Lotto had a jackpot drawing at 9:30pm. Want to bet no one wins it? But wouldn't that be something to take home?
We finished the rest of the packing leaving only our dinner clothes out. The luggage needs to be put out in the hall by 10pm, earlier than we have always done. There were nights before our final port where we could hear luggage hauled down the hallways even at 2am. Now that we began this process yesterday, there are few bags left to pick up.
Dinner was good with All Time Favorites as the special menu. There was not a Club Orange selection, but a couple of days ago, we asked our waiter and headwaiter Hazel if we could be served the veal chop one last time. She promised to check with the chef, and said if it was still available, we would have it. But before we had a chance to order, the entire kitchen staff including the waiters disappeared. There was going to be a parade through the dining room before any of us were served food. Great idea. Kimberly announced Neil, the head chef, who paraded his crew through both dining rooms with napkins flying and guests clapping. It was a nice send-off for all of us.
Anyway, Yanwar took our orders for starters, but not the entrees since he knew the chops were coming. Good thing we did not eat lunch today as the chops were huge….tasty and cooked perfectly. We added one dessert of Snickers cake with a side of vanilla ice cream to share. It was too good, but probably the last dessert we will have for some time to come. There were many goodbyes with longtime friends and staff, but we will be seeing most of them next year, God-willing.
The final three suitcases went out before 10pm, and we will be all set for tomorrow. Breakfast will be at 6:30am, so it was an early evening for us.
Stay tuned as we will be staying one evening in Ft. Lauderdale and should have time to do a report tomorrow at the hotel. Until then…..sayonara from the Zuiderdam.
Bill & Mary Ann
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