We were scheduled to disembark the Noordam between 9:30 and 9:45am this morning, but our disembarkation color was actually called at 9:15am. A nice thing about Holland America is that passengers are welcome to stay in their cabins until they disembark, and while we did spend some time in the buffet eating a leisurely breakfast, we were able to keep our carry off luggage in our cabin until we ultimately left the ship. The value of this cannot be overstated; we had an obscene amount of tote bags and beach bags thrown over our arms as we collected our four big suitcases in the terminal and made our way through ICE and out to a taxi. An entire 18-pack of Mountain Dew that had been carried to the Noordam was carried back (really...did anyone think that G was going to be able to drink FOUR of them each day?), but I also had the two Holland America tote bags we had been given stuffed with dirty laundry, with the intention of immediately going to a self-serve laundry once on board the Emerald and doing two loads of wash. With a beach bag once again filled with the contents of our over-the-door shoe rack, my backpack filled with the items I keep in the bathroom and my carryon bag filled with the contents of my nightstand drawers, I may have been a sight but I can tell you that unpacking once on the Emerald was a piece. of. cake.
We once again found a taxi driver who didn't snipe when he found out he had waited in line for an $8 fare (bless him and our driver from ten days ago!), and kind longshoremen who actually removed our Noordam disembarkation luggage tags and stapled on our Emerald embarkation tags. Has everyone been bitten by the holiday spirit? Whatever it is, we certainly benefited from it today.
There were lots of contractors- well more than 100- disembarking the Emerald as we got out of our taxi at 10:15am or so. Apparently the Emerald had arrived back at Pier 2 at Port Everglades late yesterday evening and work had continued on through the night. Our check in was speedy, but when we were directed to the Elite and suite waiting area at Terminal 2, we were told that we would have at least an hour wait before getting on the ship. This was not a huge surprise, but we simply had no where else to wait after disembarking the Noordam.
It was a good time to make a run to Publix to pick up the 100 ounce Cheer detergent we needed to get (well, no, we didn't need 100 ounces of it, but it came in only one size), more Sudafed and another box of Wet Ones hand wipes. G stayed behind with our hand luggage and I left to walk over to Publix. Thankfully, we were at Terminal 2, just a 20-minute walk or so each way. I decided to get a box of Merlot too, just to keep both hands equally weighted on the walk back to the ship. ;-)
When I returned to Terminal 2, no one had yet boarded the ship. We were told that they were having trouble "zeroing out" the ship, meaning ensuring that everyone had passed through ICE, and no one can board until that happens. By shortly after noon, it was finally resolved, and we were stepping back on the Emerald Princess.
Good grief, it was so good to be home!!!
We immediately schlepped our growing number of bags to our cabin, but I stopped along the way to start two loads of laundry. (Why, when we get it for free? We simply couldn't wait until Wednesday evening to get clean clothes back). Our very next stop was the DaVinci Dining Room for embarkation day lunch, and it truly did feel like coming home again as many of the waitstaff stopped by our table to say HI! We heard over and over again the big news: they had gotten 2 whole days off during dry dock, and Princess had provided free transportation to wherever it was they were going (the beach and town). They all seemed rested and happy, and we're so glad they had a bit of down time.
As for changes around the ship...well, it certainly looks clean, inside and out. Our cabin has a second new mattress, and the same old TV now has new programming. I was horrified to see that FOX News was now being shown (wasn't the ship going to tilt to starboard?), until I came across Rachel Maddow and MSNBC while flipping through the channels tonight. It's okay; now it truly IS fair and balanced. Also available: BBC and MSNBC. How will we ever survive without the inane Nancy Grace on HLN and without knowing the weather in Guayaquil and Barquesimento accompanied by obnoxious, loud music guaranteed to awaken you if you happened to fall asleep while watching TV?
;-)
The only other noticeable change is new carpeting- lots and lots of new carpeting, some of it still sporting the loose carpet fibers that accompany a re-carpeting job. I have no doubt that there are a million things I'm not noticing, but in the end the fact that they don't stand out is a good thing. The ship looked good before dry dock and it looks good after. And, just as we noticed no work taking place in the days leading up to December 7th, we're not seeing any now, either (although I'm sure there are still contractors working behind the scenes).
What IS noticeable is that Christmas has arrived on the Emerald Princess with tasteful decorations everywhere, but with no place prettier than in the Piazza. Oh, it is so nice to be able to enjoy them without personally lifting a finger to put them up!! As we came on board, a quartet dressed in 19th century costumes were caroling in the Piazza. They're not the Emerald Princess production show singers, so my guess is that they came on just for a few hours in Fort Lauderdale.
The rest of the afternoon flew by. I ran back to the laundry room to transfer the wash to a dryer while we were still having lunch, and by the time we were finished, so was the laundry. We unpacked our big suitcases and then stepped out on the Terrace Deck to use 3G Internet and make phone calls. I can't tell you how good it was to connect with Mom and friends today! We attended our third and final muster drill of the winter (yay!!) and then popped back outside for an informal Cruise Critic sailaway meet up when we sailed about an hour late today. Sunset was particularly beautiful tonight (I could post 100 photos of it, but I'll spare you most of them), and before we knew it, it was 6pm and time for dinner.
Suttipong and Somphong and our same table for two next to a window. Need I say more?? :-)
We opted out of entertainment tonight. We're worn out! It seems that moving days, even when they go perfectly, are a lot of work.
We're now settled for 80 (or 90 or 100) more days, and I can't tell you how good that feels. The Noordam was nice (and in some ways better than the Emerald), but just as, no matter how good a vacation is, it's always nice to get home, we're home again. And it's very, very nice.
The world may not be great, but life is still good.
We are so blessed.
:-)