We docked in Fort Lauderdale a little before 7:00. The skies were overcast, with occasional lightning flashes in the distance. We watched some dolphins swim by, had breakfast, and listened to various disembarkation groups being called while we waited until our assembly time in the theater.
[Brace yourself, whether or not the cartoon amused you, here comes a real groaner - What do you know they call a boomerang that does not return? A stick.]
This morning, we boomeranged. All the in-transit passengers were thrown off the ship, only to have us return almost immediately.
"Thrown off" is a bit strong. We were required to disembark the ship to clear immigration ashore.
- Yes, we were just passing through Fort Lauderdale.
- Yes, we were not planning to go ashore.
- Yes, we were required to go ashore.
- Yes, it was only because we were required to go ashore that we actually went ashore, where, being ashore, we needed to clear immigration.
- Yes, this was bureaucratic circular logic at its finest.
Beginning at 9:20 AM, our conga line weaved its way out of the assembly area, along a passageway, off the ship, down an escalator, through the immigration checkpoint, and up another escalator, arriving back on the ship 20 minutes later. If only we had been given maracas instead of bland little white cards that said "in-transit passenger."
When we boarded, the ship seemed deserted, except for the crew. Only 10% of the passenger manifest was in transit. This meant the ship would be onboarding approximately 1,800 new passengers.
Pam and I were ensconced in the explorer's lounge on the ship's 11th forward deck. It was a comfortable place to watch what was happening in the port while protected from occasional rain showers.
What a difference in port activity around the cruise terminals. With only two passenger ships in today, there was none of the congestion we encountered when we boarded on a Saturday (and will no doubt encounter when we disembark on a Saturday).
Amazingly, at 11:30, they announced on the ship's PA system that all statements were ready for occupancy. In less than 4.5 hours, about 900 cabins were prepped for their new occupants. Impressive.
There were plenty of things to see. One was a yacht hauler pulling in, and another was this yacht that came in under its own power.
Brief rain showers continued into the afternoon. Pam and I moved out of the forward-facing lounge to an aft-facing cabana, where we continued to relax as most of our fellow passengers scurried around, getting situated and oriented.
Hey, isn't this thing supposed to be in the water?
That's better.
We cleared the seawall and watched rainstorms envelop Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Our daughter Elizabeth, who had just flown into Miami from Texas, reported it was "a wee bit lumpy" on the approach.
After departing Fort Lauderdale, the ship began following the reciprocal course it took to get there, so tomorrow morning, we will again wake up off Half Moon Cay.
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