Florida-Bahamas Cruise - Day 5 - Miami, FL - 12/13/23
The day started with the knowledge that half of it would be wasted by a CBP (Customs and Border Control) requirement that all passengers disembark the ship, then re embark after returning to US waters before a final stop in the US. What I didn’t know was how poorly this procedure would be in Miami compared to what I’ve experienced in Portland, ME.
But first….
The ship was about 2 hours late coming into Miami. This gave me the time to watch the ship’s virtual portholes on the TV, seeing the port entry while I was getting ready for breakfast. Since I didn’t expect that the dining room would be open as normally scheduled, I decided to get a quick bite at the buffet - and it was mobbed as usual. At least, I was able to get a seat at the back of the ship and watch the ship’s final docking movements.
About an hour later, I went to the theater to await the call for people who would be staying on the ship this port day to temporarily leave the ship. And by 10:30 am, we were leaving the ship. On the way out, we were handed disposable ponchos, as it was raining outside. A few minutes later, I was off the ship trying to figure out how to get to the waiting area at which we’d be spending the next few hours. Neither MSC nor Miami Terminal staff gave any of us any ideas of where to go and where to wait. Luckily, I found the way back into the terminal, and received a ticket with a boarding group number. You’d expect that this number would mean something, but it didn’t. More on that later. Finding an open seat, I struck up a conversation with the fellow next to me. It was nice to be able to have a nice chat with someone after relative social isolation for the past few days. After another hour, I made my way to the restroom, but decided not to relieve myself there. When an attendant has to tell women not to pee on the floor or on the toilet seat, I knew that this was not a place I was willing to get some relief. Instead, I decided to follow the crowd to another waiting area, and wait a little more.
After another 45 minutes or two, someone made an announcement to wait until one’s boarding group was called before moving to board the ship. So I decided to take an open seat and wait for a while. Then, the people who decided to stand in line started moving towards the ship’s embarkation ramp. I asked, what group number are they up to, and I was told groups 3 and 4. It made sense to sit down for a few minutes. A few minutes later, I asked an attendant about boarding groups, and I found out that they didn’t even care. All they were doing was managing the flow of people back onto the ship, taking boarding group tickets at random. So, I figured it best to find someone who looked familiar and join them on the line. (Given the confusion, why not do this?) I finally made it back to the ship around 2:00 pm, hungry enough to deal with an overcrowded buffet again.
Once done with food, I decided to make my one call to RQS this trip. Although it was too noisy for us to chat much, it felt good for us to chat again. (I can’t wait to see her when I return. But that’s another story.) After that, it was back to my cabin to rest for a while. Before I took my nap, I noticed a small puncture on my breast form. Considering that I don’t want it to leak, I figured that I should use medical adhesive tape (3M product - forgot the brand name) that I use to minimize my brow ridges. Hopefully, this was the right idea, or I will need to buy a replacement from the Breast Form Store. And then, I decided to get dressed up in a nice black dress, hosiery, and a pair of flats. The idea behind this is to get a picture of me at my prettiest taken tonight.
Around 7:00 pm, I started to get dressed to impress. No, it was not a gala night. But I wanted to be a little dressy tonight. So I put on a LBD, some earrings, stockings and a pair of flats in order to get some nice pictures taken. From what I can tell, one photographer’s work won’t make the cut. But I expect that one of the pictures taken on the glittery staircase will be a keeper. (Sadly, it wasn't) After my pictures were taken, I went to see the comic, Dave Konig, in the Carousel theater. He had a completely different routine than when he was in the main theater. Again, it took 20 minutes to make me laugh, But not as hard as last night.
Once the comedy show ended, I walked down to the MDR. Although the service was nice, one of the wait staff used the dreaded “S” word until I told him that I was transgender, still using my old legal identification. Once I did this, he used the correct gender pronouns. Like last night, I had a steak (similar cut to last night’s steak) but it wasn’t as good (in part, because it was covered in gravy.) At least, the octopus appetizer and the chocolate cake I had for dessert were as good as I expected from a MDR.
After dinner, I hung out a little listening to music before going to my room to take off the bra, stockings and other decidedly feminine garments I wore tonight. I can’t wait until tomorrow night when I get to wear the LBD that I wore to restaurant week about a month and a half ago….
