Puerto Rico and Southern Caribbean Cruise - Day 10 - Final Thoughts
Disembarkation, Travel Home, and Final Thoughts
We needed to be at breakfast by 8:15 AM so Roger and I woke up around 7:15. I looked out the window and we were docked back in San Juan. Sigh. I showered and we finished packing up our things and woke up Emmaline so we could get some breakfast. She was very hard to wake and in a very very bad mood. I didn't blame her but I really did need her to get out of the bed so we could get moving.
Finally I got her up and dragged her to Tiana's Place where we sadly said goodbye to our serving team and table mates, exchanging contact information with the latter. We were some of the last people to filter out of Tiana's and by the time we had used the bathrooms and said our final goodbyes at 9:30, they were starting their calls of "GET OFF THE SHIP RIGHT NOW FOR REAL!!" So we got.
We found our luggage, made our way easily through customs and found end of the long long taxi line. A guy came up to us in the taxi line and asked how many people we had. I told him three and he said he would take us in a shared van to the airport right then for $25. Sold. We got into the van and Emmaline was happy to see our table mates there! She got to ride to the airport with her friend, which was nice.
At the airport, our baggage had to go through a special USDA screening first before we could proceed to the checkin counter. We checked the bags and went to the gate, plenty early for our flight at noon. Our flight to Fort Lauderdale was uneventful and we grabbed some food during our layover. Unfortunately our flight from Fort Lauderdale was delayed an hour. Thankfully all our baggage made it and we were tired and sad to be off the ship, but also ready to fall into our own beds. So bittersweet. For some reason, this felt like the most difficult departure from the ship we've experienced, maybe because we were going directly to the airport. In the Mediterranean we were staying in Rome for a few days and seeing Dru. In Alaska we were spending the day exploring Vancouver and staying the night there. We had other activities to look forward to. This day we had...nothing. It was a harsh trip back to reality.
Overall, it was a really great vacation. To start, we had a lot of fun in Puerto Rico and I definitely want to go back there. It would be great to actually go inside one (or more) of the forts there and there were other things in the rainforest we didn't do, like hike some of the longer trails and pathways. I would also like to visit one of the bioluminescent bays (we were unable to do so because there was a full moon while we were there and it's not so visible during the full moon). There are also some other museums and cultural things we could have seen in old San Juan that would be fun. Puerto Rico definitely impressed me with it's beauty and culture, and the people were very welcoming and friendly to tourists. Though, in a conversation I had with the taxi driver on the way to the port, they feel like the US has abandoned the people there, especially in the aftermath of the hurricane. But I also got the feeling his sentiments were the same prior to the storm. He said that they have problems with education and poverty and things are hard for for the people there.
For our port stops, I think we had a nice mix of nature, adventure and culture, which is a balance I strive for. We aren't necessarily lay-out-on-the-beach-all-day people. Some might question why you might take a cruise to the Caribbean and not do beachy stuff. I would like to think the answer is evident in the excursions we took. Though we did spend a grand total of 1.5 hours on the beach, so we got some beach in there. Overall, I think my favorite things were the ATVs in Curacao and island tour of St. Kitts, even with the long delay and slightly too long day in St. Kitts. I enjoyed our sightseeing in Aruba and the catamaran in Tortola, though I would have been happy with a half day snorkeling in Tortola. Though, doing a bunch of freestyle swimming in the ocean was pretty fun, I have to say. (I'm that weirdo who goes on vacation and one of the favorite activities I do is a workout.)
I think we will definitely return to PR and another Southern Caribbean itinerary is on our radar, though with completely different port stops. Onward to new adventures!
Finally I got her up and dragged her to Tiana's Place where we sadly said goodbye to our serving team and table mates, exchanging contact information with the latter. We were some of the last people to filter out of Tiana's and by the time we had used the bathrooms and said our final goodbyes at 9:30, they were starting their calls of "GET OFF THE SHIP RIGHT NOW FOR REAL!!" So we got.
We found our luggage, made our way easily through customs and found end of the long long taxi line. A guy came up to us in the taxi line and asked how many people we had. I told him three and he said he would take us in a shared van to the airport right then for $25. Sold. We got into the van and Emmaline was happy to see our table mates there! She got to ride to the airport with her friend, which was nice.
At the airport, our baggage had to go through a special USDA screening first before we could proceed to the checkin counter. We checked the bags and went to the gate, plenty early for our flight at noon. Our flight to Fort Lauderdale was uneventful and we grabbed some food during our layover. Unfortunately our flight from Fort Lauderdale was delayed an hour. Thankfully all our baggage made it and we were tired and sad to be off the ship, but also ready to fall into our own beds. So bittersweet. For some reason, this felt like the most difficult departure from the ship we've experienced, maybe because we were going directly to the airport. In the Mediterranean we were staying in Rome for a few days and seeing Dru. In Alaska we were spending the day exploring Vancouver and staying the night there. We had other activities to look forward to. This day we had...nothing. It was a harsh trip back to reality.
Overall, it was a really great vacation. To start, we had a lot of fun in Puerto Rico and I definitely want to go back there. It would be great to actually go inside one (or more) of the forts there and there were other things in the rainforest we didn't do, like hike some of the longer trails and pathways. I would also like to visit one of the bioluminescent bays (we were unable to do so because there was a full moon while we were there and it's not so visible during the full moon). There are also some other museums and cultural things we could have seen in old San Juan that would be fun. Puerto Rico definitely impressed me with it's beauty and culture, and the people were very welcoming and friendly to tourists. Though, in a conversation I had with the taxi driver on the way to the port, they feel like the US has abandoned the people there, especially in the aftermath of the hurricane. But I also got the feeling his sentiments were the same prior to the storm. He said that they have problems with education and poverty and things are hard for for the people there.
For our port stops, I think we had a nice mix of nature, adventure and culture, which is a balance I strive for. We aren't necessarily lay-out-on-the-beach-all-day people. Some might question why you might take a cruise to the Caribbean and not do beachy stuff. I would like to think the answer is evident in the excursions we took. Though we did spend a grand total of 1.5 hours on the beach, so we got some beach in there. Overall, I think my favorite things were the ATVs in Curacao and island tour of St. Kitts, even with the long delay and slightly too long day in St. Kitts. I enjoyed our sightseeing in Aruba and the catamaran in Tortola, though I would have been happy with a half day snorkeling in Tortola. Though, doing a bunch of freestyle swimming in the ocean was pretty fun, I have to say. (I'm that weirdo who goes on vacation and one of the favorite activities I do is a workout.)
I think we will definitely return to PR and another Southern Caribbean itinerary is on our radar, though with completely different port stops. Onward to new adventures!
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