Last night, I put my large suitcase out for delivery to the pier upon the ship's return to LA. This morning, I woke up unnaturally early (4:30 am PDT) and couldn't justify going back to sleep. So I decided to shower early, finish packing for my return trip home, and go to the buffet before the crowds arrived. And this proved to be a wise move, as I was able to eat in peace AND return to my cabin to relax before Debarkation.
Disembarkation on the Discovery Princess is a reasonably well organized affair. A night or two before the end of the cruise, room stewards supply cruisers with luggage tags to be used for Disembarkation. Different colored tags are associated with groups of travelers. For example, I was given Cream tags, associated with people with paid airport transfers. Others had Brown tags, associated with people who had scheduled bus tours with airport transfers afterward. As expected by the cruise line, I left the assigned gathering spot (the Princess Theater) at 8:20 am, and made it off the ship by 8:30 am.
Once inside the LA cruise terminal, it's a long walk to retrieve one's bags. I figure that I must have walked a mile from the time I started my walk from the Princess Theater to the place my large suitcase was placed in the terminal. From there, it was a short, quick walk to US Customs, where they matched my face against the photo ID I provided before the cruise. And then, it was another long walk to the bus for my airport transfer. Along the way, a fellow stopped me to ask which airline I was flying on, and he made sure each of my two bags were tagged with the correct terminal number at the airport. So, by the time I got on the bus, my bags were ready to be returned to me when I reached Delta's terminal.
When I got to the airport, I retrieved my bags and proceeded to check in my bag. With a little help from an attendant, my bag made it to check-in, and I made it to the TSA security checkpoint. And that's where the "Fun" occurred. Although I presented the first person with my legal ID (male, with Mario's name), when I reached the scanners, someone pressed the female button - and my genital area was flagged for inspection. So I ended up getting a pat down by the first officer available - a female. She was totally professional, and I was on my way into the secure zone in less than 5 minutes.
My flight home was uneventful, save that I didn't hear which luggage carousel would be used for this flight's bags. So I was very glad that I had Delta's app on my phone - and found that my bag would come out on Carousel #12. One problem - Where was Carousel #12? I asked someone who told me that it was off to the side from Carousels #10 & #11. Once I got there, I found my bag without problem, and began the long walk to the Uber stand.
For those unfamiliar with JFK airport, it is located in the middle of Jamaica Bay. This means that it is usually uncomfortably humid. Even with 75 degree weather, I was uncomfortable wearing leggings and a short sleeved dress. After I reached the Uber stand, I summoned a car, and he was looking for me within 2 minutes. Within 30 minutes, I was at RQS's house and ready to get some sleep.
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