It is 10pm on a day that started at 4:30am. Something- a change in the sound the ship was making, or the fact that we moved clocks back another hour last night, or maybe because we were just so darn excited to be arriving back in the US- had us awake very early. In fact, the Pacific Princess entered Port Everglades shortly after 5am, and by 5:30am we were docked. Also by 5:30am, I had placed a big order from Lands End (40% off everything today only) and Zappos ($30 discount code, expiring December 24) and had the packages shipped to a friend's home to store for me until I return home. I'm not a huge shopper, but it's hard to pass up savings like that (besides, I needed three new swimsuits for Hawaii).
We were in the Panorama Terrace well before sunrise and watched the Royal Princess arrive and dock perpendicular to the Pacific Princess at Pier 2, and, then, as the sun rose, the Island Princess arrived and docked at Pier 21. Also in Port Everglades today: the Holland America Veendam and a Seabourn ship, both small ships. By Port Everglades standards, it was not a busy day. I was texting with Suzan as soon as the Royal arrived, and stayed in touch when they were off their ship and at Starbucks long before we had been cleared by the local authorities. That was not a surprise; the Royal Princess left Port Everglades just 10 days ago, but it had been seven months since the Pacific Princess was in the US. Every crew member had to line up to go through US immigration, and at 8am an announcement was made that the first of the luggage would soon be available in the terminal but that passengers taking their own luggage off, and in transit passengers (those staying on for the next cruise) could begin to disembark. Our Global Entry got us to the front of the immigration line but it was still a bit slow, because some agents were busy checking the crew's paperwork.
Finally, by 8:30am or so we were meeting up with Suzan and Greg in Starbucks. It was so good (!!!) to see them (for the first time since they disembarked the Emerald Princess in January). When we are at home, Suzan and I are in constant touch, but, obviously, first I and then both of us have been out of the country. Still, we picked up where we left off, not missing a beat. They really liked their 20 nights on the Royal Princess, and though they missed a few things from the Emerald Princess, overall they were very impressed.
While we got caught up, I was simultaneously downloading videos on both my iPad and my iPhone and G was checking everything at home using Starbucks' fast WiFi. The Amazon Prime videos we had left home with on October 24 had long expired, and we had watched my iTunes videos ad nauseum (maybe that's not the best choice of words...) during our recent sea days. It was time for some new material. The humidity had been about 133% when we walked off the Pacific Princess, hot and muggy, but while we were at Starbucks, the skies opened up and it rained quite hard. We needed to go to Chase to get cash (desperately) and Publix and decided that I would stay at Starbucks to keep our electronics dry while G would brave the rain. By the time he returned, Suzan and Greg had had to move on (it was hard to say goodbye) and the rain had abated, dropping both the temperature and the humidity. The day was much more pleasant from that point on.
G and I stopped by Walgreens on our way back to the ship. He suffered greatly in Europe, missing his favorite Mountain Dew, and purchased two 12-packs at Walgreens. I added some spray sunscreen and gum and mints and, of course, we needed a bottle of Barefoot Bubbly (it's a tradition!) and we returned to the ship very laden with heavy liquids, including G's favorite flavored coffee creamer. We will be very comfortable for the next two weeks.
Embarkation day lunch on the Pacific Princess offers beef that is essentially a filet mignon, so, of course, G couldn't miss that. We were in the Club Restaurant at 1pm enjoying lunch (salmon for me) and then back in terminal 4 by 2pm using the really good WiFi there to download a few more videos. On board time was 3pm and that's exactly when we reboarded the ship. I did my usual shower routine during muster drill and we were on the Panorama Terrace at 4pm, the time of our scheduled sailaway. Captain D made an announcement that our departure would be pushed back until 5pm due to delays resulting from the ship's USPH and CDC inspections, crew immigration and loading stores, but, in reality, it was closer to 6pm when we sailed.
We listened (it sounded like a Carnival ship) to the Royal Princess' sailaway party and every one of us standing on the Panorama Terrace said "We are so glad we're on the Pacific Princess!" We had heard that there were 500 kids on the current Regal Princess Christmas cruise; in comparison, the Pacific Princess has 5 this cruise. Still, it was immediately obvious that our new passengers are not burdened by the memory of those recent rough sea days. Everyone is excited and upbeat and active. It's one of our favorite parts of B2B cruises; as much as we sorely miss our friends who disembarked today, the energy level on the ship tonight is high and there is a feeling of anticipation in the air.. It will be a very fun cruise!
Sailaway from Port Everglades as viewed by the Port Everglades webcam
We finally went to dinner in the Club Restaurant just before 6pm. We had had the bottle of Barefoot Bubbly ready for nearly two hours waiting for the Pacific Princess to sail but decided in the end to save it for an island sailaway. Dinner was pasta with chicken strips...and flourless chocolate cake, of course. The Welcome Aboard show featured comedian impressionist Scott Smith and he was quite good. We have some great entertainment to look forward to on this cruise (including the return of Mark Preston). We listened to piano entertainer Jere Ring in the Casino Lounge for an hour until the day finally caught up with us. G was asleep the minute he returned to the cabin, and I will be, too, as soon as I publish this post.
As much as we enjoyed the Mediterranean, we are so ready for some beaches. And sun. Smooth seas and warm temps. Azure water. Rum drinks. We are ready for Caribbean cruising!