Amazon & Carnival Explorer Cruise - Debarkation Day and Our Flight Home

Tuesday, March 26

We were up at 7:00 this morning as we were scheduled to leave the ship at 8:00.  We quickly got cleaned up and dressed and had one last breakfast in the Neptune Lounge and then sat and waited for our debarkation priority number to be called.  Just after 8:00, our group was called and we left the ship into the semi-chaos of the port terminal.

The first thing to do was to claim our luggage and we quickly found it, but then had the problem of how we get it to and through customs as we had eight pieces altogether.  We had two large pieces that we will ship home, two medium pieces that we will check at the airport, and two carry-ons each.  I always have several carry-ons because of the camera equipment I carry, plus my laptop computer and I would never chance checking that.

So, I was trying various stacking methods so we could get them to customs when a porter walked up and asked if we needed help.  Indeed we did ,so he loaded everything on his cart and led us on to customs.  Several years ago we had signed up for Global Entry and the Florida cruise port is one of the few that have a Global Entry line.  That speeds things up a lot and after just a few minutes we were through customs, and out of the terminal.

The last few times we have cruised we have used a company called Luggage Forward to ship our two biggest pieces of luggage.  It is a little pricey, but it makes things so much easier; they pick it up from our home and deliver to our room on the ship and when we return they pick it up right outside the terminal and deliver it back to our home a few days later.

When we exited the terminal, the first thing we saw was the Luggage Forward people standing there, so with the help of our porter, we gave our two large bags to them which lightened our load considerably.

Our flight didn’t leave until just before 5:00 PM so we had a lot of time to kill so we signed up for an airport transfer that included a tour.  After getting rid of the two bigger bags we had to make our way to the bus parking area to find our tour and the porter insisted on continuing on with our load of luggage.  He was of course working for tips, but he was very nice and friendly and very helpful, he earned every bit of the generous tip we gave him.

The tour we selected would take us to Everglades National Park for an airboat ride through the everglades and then to hear some talks on some of the animals they have there.  The weather couldn’t have been better as the temperature was very mild and the humidity was quite low.  Before leaving for the Everglades, we had to wait quite a while on the bus for everyone to clear customs as the lines were long (thank goodness for Global Entry), but we were finally on our way.

It was about a 45 minute ride to the park and on the way our guide talked to us about the history of the area and the park, and some interesting facts about the park.  When we got there the first thing we did was get on the air boats for a 45 minute ride through the everglades.

To be honest we didn’t expect much and didn’t even bring our cameras, but we had a great time.  The area is beautiful and we saw quite a few alligators (some of them up close) and lots of birds.  The ride on the air boat was fun and the boat driver was knowledgeable and knew where to go to find the alligators.  I really regretted not bringing my camera and had to use my cell phone to take pictures.

Our airboat driver and guide, she was quite knowledgeable as she had spent most of her life in the Everglades.

 

This was almost to close for comfort and made me a little nervous.

 

After the boat ride, we made our way to the animal exhibits.  The animals are all rescued animals who have been injured or been found young and were unable to survive on their own.  There were alligators, snakes and birds as we expected, but there was also some big cats which are in the area which surprised me.

We saw all the animals and heard the talks about them and then it was time to board the bus and head back to Fort Lauderdale and the airport.  We were dropped off at the Alaska Airlines terminal and went in to check our luggage and then get something to eat, but just like last year, there was no one there to check us in as the check-in is only available two or three hours before the flight.

Without checking our luggage and getting our boarding passes, we couldn’t go through security and to the area where all the restaurants were, so we were forced to sit in the outer terminal and wait.  Val did find a place to buy sandwiches so we didn’t have the meal we wanted to, but at least we weren’t hungry anymore.

Around 2:00 the ticket counters opened up, but the lines were so long we didn’t see any reason to stand in line so we waited until they thinned a bit before checking in.  We finally got our boarding passes, checked our luggage and made our way through security and to the gate area to wait for our flights.  Our Global Entry also gives us Pre Check for the TSA screening so that made things much easier.  It was a bit of a hassle to get, but the Global Entry cards have been well worth it to us.

We had about an hour and a half to kill before our flight so we spent the time reading and taking turns walking around the terminal area.  The time went by quickly and our flight was on time, and we actually boarded on time for a change.  The flight from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale was five hours long, but the flight back to Los Angeles was six hours long.  I don’t know whether it was the prevailing winds or just a slower plane, but time seemed to crawl by.

We finally arrived in Los Angeles and made our way to the luggage claim area where we met Doug and Janis, my brother and his wife, who were there to take us back to their home where we’ll spend the night.  It is so nice of them to do that as they are not close to the airport and have to deal with the LA traffic.  Thank you so much Doug and Janis!

When we got to Doug and Janis’s house, Val and I went straight to bed as we were very tired.  It was only around 9:30, but it was 12:30 AM in Florida and we had gotten up early this morning so we were looking forward to sleep.  As most travel days are, it was a long and tiring day, but everything went very well with no problems or delays so as tiring as it was, it went as well as it could have been.  Tomorrow we drive home.