Christmas in Miami and New Year's at sea

declansdad said:

...This is the convertible sofa

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Looks like my college bed. Not very comfortable.

So this brings us to the end of the cruise.


We were back in Miami and docked around 7 am. In fact I think we were well into the channel by the time I realized where we were.


We were pretty much packed so it was just a matter of getting ready for the day and heading up to the Lido Deck for some breakfast. It wasn’t very busy and they started calling self-assist while we were eating. They soon called the early groups and FTTF (I think that put is in group 1 or 2) so we headed down and waited only a couple of minutes to hear that final ding from the security machine. While we were in line they did turn some people back because they hadn’t called their number yet.


Finding our one checked bag was pretty easy, probably the best luggage setup of any of the ports we have been in. All the luggage was on an airport-style carousel and each carousels had certain numbers assigned. Took maybe 5 minutes for us to see our bag. Customs was pretty easy and we were quickly outside lining up for a cab.


We weren’t flying out that day so we were off to pick up a rental at Budget, about a $12 cab ride. We did notice on the fare card that the gratuity was included in the fare, we didn’t see that in the cab ride to the port. Picked up the car without a problem and we were off on our drive to Hollywood via South Beach and the AIA.


We spent the morning looking around South Beach and driving up the coast to the hotel. Our flight home was early the next morning, SouthWest this time, and we were back in Portland, Maine by 11:30. Couple of stops in Maine and back home in Canada later that evening and a great welcome from a couple of cats.


So to wrap this up, we had a fantastic time. We really enjoyed the Carnival Glory and her crew. Can’t think of anything bad to say about the cruise part of the trip at all. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. There are also some more pictures of the trip in the link (photobucket link)found in my signature if you are interested in seeing more.


Thanks for reading everyone.


Some pics from the South Beach area




















The rest of these pictures were taken by my son from the backseat of the car as we were driving to the hotel.




















Once again, thanks for reading along and allowing me to relive the trip.

declansdad said:

Yup, they fill an old tin bucket full of beer and give a a couple of ladles to scoop it out.

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holy crap!

declansdad said:

Watching the drunks, seeing how people were dressed (or not dressed) and one couple who felt the pool was their own private hotel room.

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So... better than TV.

declansdad said:

I was disappointed the two male leads hogged the center area of the photo.

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Totally understandable. Your wife seems less disappointed, though.

declansdad said:

Once again, thanks for reading along and allowing me to relive the trip.

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Looks like it was a lot of fun! Glad you had a great time.

declansdad said:

they started calling self-assist while we were eating.

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What's that?

declansdad said:

Took maybe 5 minutes for us to see our bag.

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Not bad.

declansdad said:

We did notice on the fare card that the gratuity was included in the fare

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I've never seen that in a cab.

declansdad said:

Thanks for reading everyone.

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Thanks for the report!

declansdad said:

The rest of these pictures were taken by my son from the backseat of the car as we were driving to the hotel.

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declansdad said:

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Gee, I wonder why he took those pictures....

pkondz said:

So... better than TV.

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Better than a lot of sitcoms.

Captain_Oblivious said:

Totally understandable. Your wife seems less disappointed, though.

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She did, didn't she; although, I think they may have been happier with me than her.




Not that there is anything wrong with that.

pkondz said:

What's that?

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That's the term they use for people who don't have any checked luggage. They disembark passengers in the same order as the luggage is taken off the ship, if you have no checked bags you can get off with or before the first group.

pkondz said:

I've never seen that in a cab.

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I've never seen that either.

pkondz said:

Thanks for the report!

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Thanks for reading

pkondz said:

Gee, I wonder why he took those pictures....

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Those were just a couple of the rich people cars we saw on that drive.

declansdad said:

She did, didn't she; although, I think they may have been happier with me than her.




Not that there is anything wrong with that.

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declansdad said:

So this brings us to the end of the cruise...

Thanks for reading everyone.

Once again, thanks for reading along and allowing me to relive the trip.

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My old stomping grounds where I spent my teenage years. One of the crazy things we did not do was climb the water tower.

Thanks for bringing us along, it looked like a great trip. Just sorry we couldn't meet up.

declansdad said:

That's the term they use for people who don't have any checked luggage. They disembark passengers in the same order as the luggage is taken off the ship, if you have no checked bags you can get off with or before the first group.

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There are people who go on a cruise without checked bags??

cj9200 said:

My old stomping grounds where I spent my teenage years. One of the crazy things we did not do was climb the water tower.

Thanks for bringing us along, it looked like a great trip. Just sorry we couldn't meet up.

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We had a great trip and really enjoyed your neck of the woods CJ. We will have to get back down there sometime, maybe when Norm moves his trailer down.

pkondz said:

There are people who go on a cruise without checked bags??

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Sure, we only had one checked bag between the three of us and we really could have just pulled that off the ship with the carry-ons if we wanted to. We try to make sure we travel with just the carry-ons whenever we can but it is bit harder on the cruise. Need some nice shoes and dress-up clothes on many cruises.

Thanks for the TR. It's the first non-Disney cruise report I've read. Nice to get a different perspective.

Terra Nova guy said:

Thanks for the TR. It's the first non-Disney cruise report I've read. Nice to get a different perspective.

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Carnival is a pretty good line, we've cruised with them 3 times and never had a problem. The reputation they have is over-blown.

We did cruise on the Disney Dream a few years ago and that was pretty cool too.