The Ship of Time

Being pros at ship boarding, my traveling compadre and myself arraigned for a noon hotel checkout, had a leisurely breakfast, and a nice stroll along the river walk. We even got to see Florida East Coast railroad in action crossing a draw bridge.

Florida East Coast

 

When we brought our bags down and asked the hotel valet to arraign for a cab, he hooked us up with a shared van insted, saving us a couple of dollars that were then spent on the baggage porters at the dock who can tag your bag while simultaneously holding out a hand for a tip.

It was quite a long wait to board, as the ship had just returned from dry dock and lacked a Coast Guard inspection. We waited in the cavernous baggage area of the Port Everglades with just about everyone else that was coming along. Someone from the cruise company sensing mutiny among the passengers arranged for drinking water, coffee and some pastries to be brought in. A feeding frenzy ensued among the passengers, and I was glad to get just a drink of water once the masses had picked over the bounty.

Around 2:30 the ship was ready to board, and we shuffled up the gangway to find our cabin and to enjoy the champagne   that our room steward poured for us.

It didn’t take long for our first medical evacuation to take place.  Unlike last time where a helicopter was used this time the   ship diverted to near Bermuda and the pilot rescue boat met us to make the exchange.  

Rescue Boat

The Atlantic crossing has been relatively smooth, with only one night with moderate seas, not enough to miss a meal.

Sailing east we have lost 1 hour almost every day, and for some reasons the powers that be insist on making the change every morning at 11:00 a.m. It’s quite a bizarre time for a time change, and a most difficult first world problem, on the ship of time