Wednesday, March 12, is a sea day dedicated to packing and preparing
for our last formal night. It is absolutely amazing how much our belongings
have grown over the past 68 days. On our previous formal night we received a
“pillow gift” of two rolling carryon duffles. On the last voyage we received
similar bags that we filled and placed inside two suitcases that FedEx was
transporting. There was no way that would work this time.
Marion had mentioned at
dinner the other night that she and Ken got free checked baggage because they
purchased their plane tickets with the airline visa card. We had used American
Airlines mile for our tickets, but we did pay the $2.50 per ticket fee using
the Advantage Miles Visa. Sure enough, a careful review of our e-ticket showed
that we were each entitled to two free checked bags. Dilemma resolved. We would
fill the new bags and check them.
Formal night was festive
with a lot of goodbyes to folks we had met during the cruise. We also attended
the final Meet and Mingle for the Cruise Critic members. This was in the Crows
Nest before dinner. It has been very nice to have this social opportunity. We
hope to meet some of these lovely people again on a future cruise.
Thursday, March 13, provided more time to finish packing. It is a
bittersweet day. We wish we could cruise on, but we know that all good things
come to an end. There were many more goodbyes throughout the day. The crew
continues to be cheery and helpful. Tomorrow will be a very busy day for them
as they prepare for a new load of passengers after our disembarkation. I don’t
know how they manage it.
Alice sent me away so
she could finish the packing. I guess my frowning at the volume we are taking
home does get t be a bit much. I went to the Crows Nest to publish my March 11
post. After completing that, I went online to see what American Airlines
required for online check in. It was 11:30 and our flight was scheduled for
12:15 so I knew I was too early to do it. Just wanted to understand it.
What a surprise. The
departure time had been changed to 11:25. I was offered an opportunity to
upgrade our seats to Economy Extra at no charge. The boarding passes showed
that we had Priority Access. We have not been flying a lot recently, and this
took us by surprise.
Alice did a fine job of
finishing the packing. We had a nice farewell dinner with Karol and Carol and
with Marion and Ken. We will be sailing with Marion and Ken on Prinsendam in
2015 on the top of the world itinerary. This will enable us to say we have
cruised as far north and south as Holland America ventures. We look forward to
seeing them again. Karol and Carol have family commitments that will keep them
land bound for a while.
Luggage is in the hall,
and we are settling in for our last sleep on this fabulous cruise.
Friday, March 14, we awoke for an early breakfast. More sad
goodbyes.
Our disembarkation group
was scheduled for 9:00 to 9:15 so we opted to wait in our stateroom until
called. There were some delays that led to a few anxious moments, but we did
leave the ship at 9:35. I found our bags, and Alice found a porter. We were off
to customs and immigration. The lines were moving slowly. But the agent was
very friendly and courteous. She waved us through without inspection. The time
saving was appreciated. We were not over the limit for goods purchased abroad.
Next stop was FedEx to
drop off our 4 shipped bags. Now we got our 4 small bags into a taxi and were
at the airport by 10:10. Boarding was to begin at 10:55. Our Priority Access
got us into a very short line. Only one person was ahead of us. We checked 3
bags and the agent directed us to the security line. After a wait of about 5
minutes we were sent to the priority line where we did not have to take out our
computers or liquids. Nor did we have to remove our shoes. What a breeze. We
have to plan for this in the future. At 10:30 we were at the gate. We saw Bob
and Dee New. They were headed to California via Texas from the gate next to
ours. More goodbyes.
Our boarding began a
little late, but we took off on time. The seats were great and the flight was
smooth. We arrived in Chicago early, and were home by 2:30. Everything looked
great, but there was this smell. No leaks anywhere. Checked the
refrigerator/freezer. OK. Opened the big freezer. Ugh! The top three shelves
were thawed and stinky. The bottom two shelves were still frozen solid. What
happened? If the power had failed the frig would have been foul. If the
compressor had failed everything would have thawed. Maybe it just failed and
had not thawed the bottom of the freezer yet, as warm air rises.
We spent the afternoon
cleaning out the freezer. The service man will be here on Monday.
Our house faces south,
so the yard is on the north side. It was still full of snow. There were only
small patches on the front side of the house. It looks like the snow will
remain for a while.
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