DAY-35: The Cruise Ends - Arrival Home at St. Pete Beach
DAY-35: The Cruise Ends - Arrival Home at St. Pete Beach
Day – 35: Monday, March 23, 2020
Starting Location: M.S. Marina at Sea in the Caribbean
Interim Location: Port Miami, FL
Ending Location: Home, St. Pete Beach, FL
As we awoke this morning the ship was just offshore of south Florida
and by 6:45 we were in the ship channel passing through the barrier islands toward the Port of Miami. At this early hour the city was still illuminated making for a good view.
By 7:20 we were moored,
the cruise was over except for the debarkation.
The gang way is so close!
For the next 3 hours or so the ship's crew did whatever was necessary with the port authorities to make ready for passenger debarkation. Around 11 AM the first groups were called.
By then we had vacated the staterooms so that they could be prepared for who knows what. Like our fellow passengers we meandered around the ship awaiting our call for departure. We hung out in one of the larger lounge areas chatting with a number of folks we had met along the way; some from the U.S. others from Australia, Europe and Canada. The wait seem long but finally around noon "BINGO" our baggage and departure combination Brown-5 was called and we headed to the gangway.
The immigration and customs process was well orchestrated, there were minimal lines with little if any wait time. For the most part we never came within close proximity of anyone until we reached the passport check point. The agent (EXPOSURE #1) there had no facial protection, screen or mask and we were standing within a couple of feet of each other face-to-face. That was not what I had expected with all we had heard about maintaining personal space. Anyway that passed and we arrived in the luggage area where we engaged a baggage handler (EXPOSURE #2) to take our checked luggage to the awaiting bus that we would take to the airport. Again the baggage handling created a close contact environment but there was little else that could be done. From baggage we boarded a bus, this time only with low risk fellow cruisers and the bus driver (EXPOSURE #3).
The ride to the airport took about 20 minutes and we were let off away from the main terminal, nothing unusual here, it's the location all tour buses unload both passengers and baggage. From here we were responsible for moving our own bags so with two baggage carts we were off to find the rental cars.
From past experience with the Miami airport we expected a long walk through heavily crowded concourses but only the long walk part existed today. The place was devoid of people.
It took us about 15 minutes to walk through he terminal, and board the tram to the rental car center. In that 15 minutes we probably encountered no more that 6-8 people; with the wide open terminal there was no issue regarding space. The tram had only one other person on board so again no issue with spacing.
We arrived at the Enterprise Car Rental location around 1:30. This would be the closest contact with people we would experience at the airport. By time we had the car we had encountered one rest room worker (EXPOSURE #4) and three Enterprise employees all at relatively close range (EXPOSURES #5, 6 & 7). The garage was loaded with vehicles so we decided to try out a Ford Explorer.
After the paperwork was completed we gave the touch points of the cars a once over with our own sanitizer that we had with us; really we were trusting that the car companies were doing as advertised, serious car sanitizing between any usage.
In the end we drove away around 2 PM, similar to the time we had planned, and were on the roads of Miami.
Once out of the city we decided to stop for drinks and snacks and exited at a local shopping area; the place was deserted, just what we had been hearing but until now not experiencing. We finally stopped and picked up some drinks and chips (EXPOSURE #8) and then continued on our trip with no other stops.
We crossed Alligator Alley on I-75 and headed north by Naples, Fort Myers and Sarasota before taking the exit toward home. We arrived in St. Pete Beach and home at about 6:45.
We didn't wait to unpack the car, carrying bits and bags up on the first trip and then making a couple more trips for the final pieces all the while minimizing the necessity of touching anything, key systems, elevator buttons, door handles, etc.
By 8 PM we were settled in and ready to kick back for the evening. Tomorrow would be another day; the day we get back into our beach routine, of course a routine changed by the restrictions and precautions imposed for virus prevention and avoidance.
The trip was over, we had been away for 34 days had traveled over 18,000 miles walking, in cars and buses, on boats and ships and even on trains. Now we must wonder when if ever we'll see the deck of a cruise ship again.
Interim Location: Port Miami, FL
Ending Location: Home, St. Pete Beach, FL
By 7:20 we were moored,
Boaters were out early this morning.
The gang way is so close!
For the next 3 hours or so the ship's crew did whatever was necessary with the port authorities to make ready for passenger debarkation. Around 11 AM the first groups were called.
By then we had vacated the staterooms so that they could be prepared for who knows what. Like our fellow passengers we meandered around the ship awaiting our call for departure. We hung out in one of the larger lounge areas chatting with a number of folks we had met along the way; some from the U.S. others from Australia, Europe and Canada. The wait seem long but finally around noon "BINGO" our baggage and departure combination Brown-5 was called and we headed to the gangway.
The immigration and customs process was well orchestrated, there were minimal lines with little if any wait time. For the most part we never came within close proximity of anyone until we reached the passport check point. The agent (EXPOSURE #1) there had no facial protection, screen or mask and we were standing within a couple of feet of each other face-to-face. That was not what I had expected with all we had heard about maintaining personal space. Anyway that passed and we arrived in the luggage area where we engaged a baggage handler (EXPOSURE #2) to take our checked luggage to the awaiting bus that we would take to the airport. Again the baggage handling created a close contact environment but there was little else that could be done. From baggage we boarded a bus, this time only with low risk fellow cruisers and the bus driver (EXPOSURE #3).
The ride to the airport took about 20 minutes and we were let off away from the main terminal, nothing unusual here, it's the location all tour buses unload both passengers and baggage. From here we were responsible for moving our own bags so with two baggage carts we were off to find the rental cars.
From past experience with the Miami airport we expected a long walk through heavily crowded concourses but only the long walk part existed today. The place was devoid of people.
We arrived at the Enterprise Car Rental location around 1:30. This would be the closest contact with people we would experience at the airport. By time we had the car we had encountered one rest room worker (EXPOSURE #4) and three Enterprise employees all at relatively close range (EXPOSURES #5, 6 & 7). The garage was loaded with vehicles so we decided to try out a Ford Explorer.
In the end we drove away around 2 PM, similar to the time we had planned, and were on the roads of Miami.
Once out of the city we decided to stop for drinks and snacks and exited at a local shopping area; the place was deserted, just what we had been hearing but until now not experiencing. We finally stopped and picked up some drinks and chips (EXPOSURE #8) and then continued on our trip with no other stops.
We crossed Alligator Alley on I-75 and headed north by Naples, Fort Myers and Sarasota before taking the exit toward home. We arrived in St. Pete Beach and home at about 6:45.
We didn't wait to unpack the car, carrying bits and bags up on the first trip and then making a couple more trips for the final pieces all the while minimizing the necessity of touching anything, key systems, elevator buttons, door handles, etc.
By 8 PM we were settled in and ready to kick back for the evening. Tomorrow would be another day; the day we get back into our beach routine, of course a routine changed by the restrictions and precautions imposed for virus prevention and avoidance.
The trip was over, we had been away for 34 days had traveled over 18,000 miles walking, in cars and buses, on boats and ships and even on trains. Now we must wonder when if ever we'll see the deck of a cruise ship again.
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