Florida-Bahamas Cruise 2023 - Day 8 - Debarkation & Cruise Thoughts

 

We're finally home!  As much as I enjoyed being by myself for a week, I missed having RQS by my side and couldn't wait to meet her at Grand Central.  

But first things first....

I didn't much get sleep, and I ended up watching the ship's virtual porthole TV channel as the ship was about to go under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge around 4:30 am.  Although I tried to rest a little more, I was unable to do so and proceeded to get ready for the day.  After showering, making up my face, and getting dressed for the last time while on the ship, I packed up all my gear, double checked that I was leaving nothing in the room, and left my cabin for the last time around 7:00 am. Then, it was off to my last breakfast on the ship, where I was seated next to a couple who drove to the pier from Canada.  (I can only imagine what their drive home will be like.)  We struck up a conversation and found out that they had similar feelings to mine in regard to this cruise.  All too soon, they had to leave, and I finished my breakfast at a leisurely pace.

Unfortunately, I couldn't stall things any longer, and proceeded to an area where I could sit and kill a couple of hours - the main dining room.  Although it was a staging area for people who needed assistance in leaving the ship, I was welcome to hang out there as the buffet area upstairs was already mobbed with people trying to get their last ship board meal.  

Around 9:30-9:45 am, my group number was called, and I finally got off the ship.  Although it was a long walk to the baggage claim area, my suitcase was waiting for me there.  Since we cleared customs while in Miami, there was no reason to stop for an ID check when debarking at Brooklyn.  So I took another long walk with my luggage to the ferry, walking through slow moving people and around vehicles picking up passengers for their rides home.  Unfortunately, I just missed the ferry as it was leaving the dock, and I had to kill an hour before the next ferry came.

Around 10:35 am, the ferry came, and I was off to Grand Central.  I texted RQS to let her know that I'd be in Manhattan by 11:00 am, and would likely be at Grand Central's waiting room by 12:30 pm. Instead of walking to the subway station on Wall Street, I decided to do a shoreline walk to South Ferry.  It was a nice day, and I could use the exercise. So, after 15 minutes or so, I caught a uptown bound train and made it to Grand Central ahead of time. 

As I got to the waiting area, I noticed that the women's room line was out the door.  Winter tourist season had begun, and Grand Central was much busier than usual.  After taking care of business, I picked up a sandwich downstairs and proceed to wait for RQS.  It wasn't a long wait, as we were able to make the 12:23 train to Croton with a few minutes to spare.

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Would I take another cruise on MSC in the future?

I'm just as ambivalent on this as I was before taking the cruise?  MSC is a cruise line for "value oriented" (price conscious) cruisers.  If Carnival is the Walmart of cruise lines, then MSC is aiming to be the Target of cruise lines. Nothing shouted "Don't cruise with us again" or "I can't wait to cruise with you again."  Instead, everything said "I don't care if I cruise with MSC again or not."  Everything seemed to be a notch below that of other lines I've cruised with, save for the glitz in the public areas of the ship.  That was often over the top.

The other day, I watched a cruise Vlogger whose main gig is being a Travel Agent. One of her clients noted that they tried MSC and told her empathically that they would never cruise with MSC again.  Another said, "No, I will never cruise with MSC again," but was attracted to cruise with them twice because of MSC's low prices.  Yet, this travel agent wouldn't be honest with her viewers about this cruise line, trying not to say bad things about them, so that she could collect her fees when booking people on this line.

MSC provides decent value for the money spent for their cruises.  But I wouldn't expect a top notch experience unless one has spent the money to enjoy their Yacht Club experience.  (Like most cruisers, I can't afford that experience.)  It's a line I might cruise on again of the price and itinerary was right.  So far, I haven't seen any future cruises that would get me to take another cruise on this line.

California Vacation 2023 - Debarkation Day

 

RQS and I knew that this would be a long day. However, we didn’t know how long this day would feel to us by the time we got home.

We awoke very early in the morning, and made sure to do our last minute packing before going downstairs for breakfast. RQS wondered why there were no tablecloths on the tables and why we weren’t getting any service. Unfortunately, we went to the wrong dining room, as the easy to reach dining area would be a room used to stage people for leaving the ship. So off we went with our luggage to the back of the ship where breakfast was being served.

Once done with breakfast, it was over to the casino where we were to wait until our debarkation time. When we were called, our group got off the ship and started the long walk to our luggage already in the cruise terminal. Finding our luggage, we passed through customs very quickly, as they are now doing bio-metric screening at this port. And then, it was time to board the bus to the airport.

The two of us checked our bags, and then proceeded to TSA scanning, where RQS’s personal lubricant set off an alarm. She packed an oversized bottle in her carry-on. Ouch! So this item had to be abandoned before we could proceed to the gate. And this is where our long waits began.

One of the bits of advice we heed is to plan to take no flights home scheduled to depart before noon. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 2:20 pm, so we had to kill 3 ½ hours before boarding took place. While we waited at our gate, we heard an announcement. The pilot of another plane to New York was flying his last run, and expected to be made a big fuss over upon arrival in New York. I hope this man has a very happy retirement. But this made us more aware that we were killing time.

Eventually, RQS and I got hungry, and searched for food. Unfortunately food offerings at this terminal were both slim and expensive. But we paid the high price for our food, some of which we brought on the plane with us, as we expected no food service on the flight. This was a fortunate act, as once the plane boarded, the pilot announced that there was a ground stop in New York.. This caused our flight to be delayed for 90 minutes, giving us a Midnight (Eastern) arrival time in New York.

Once the plane took off, we had an uneventful flight. I overheard one passenger talking with a flight attendant, and found out that we could get a snack box and sandwiches when cabin service started. So, I asked the attendant about this and bought a snack box for RQS and a Chicken Sandwich for me.

Landing in New York, it was a long trek to the baggage area. I figure that RQS and I must have walked a mile between our gate and the luggage carousel. Even then, the luggage had yet to be dropped on the carousel for pickup. We still had to wait for another 15 minutes before our checked bags arrived. And then it was off to get our ride home.

Once we left the air conditioned climes in the terminal building, we entered air so thick that one would have to dice it up before breathing it. It was 80+ degrees outside with almost 100% humidity. Yecch! Summoning an Uber, it took a couple of minutes before a driver accepted our summons. But we ended up at RQS’s apartment by 1:30 am - not bad for an overly long day.









PS: We were lucky. RQS heard that NYC area weather related ground stops were still causing flight cancellations after we got home. People on these cancelled flights won't be getting home for a few more days yet. If our flight had been cancelled, I'd have asked to be on a flight to another East Coast city, then take Amtrak home from that city. I feel sorry for those people stuck out West with connections through Chicago to the East Coast - they are getting a double whammy these days. Word to the wise - if your plane is cancelled AND they can book you to a different Major Northeastern US City, consider flying there and taking Amtrak to get home. It's not perfect, but it may keep you from being stuck away from home for an unknown period of time.

Day 10 - A Last Sea Day

 

This was the last day of our cruise. Not only were we sad because the cruise was almost over, but we also knew that we'd be dealing with the problems of the real world upon our arrival.

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We decided to wake up late, as it was the last full day of the cruise. Our first thing to do was to ask for a couple of “attaboy” cards from Guest Services, so that we could extend our thanks to the two crew members (our room steward and a waitress at a restaurant) who went above and beyond the call of duty. Then it was off to breakfast.

After breakfast, we went to the ship's theater for by a presentation from the ship’s captain on how the ship is run, coupled with a Q&A session.. It was nice to hear the audience applaud him for safely getting us to Corner Brook instead of assuming we could port at any of the Canadian ports we were scheduled to use. Afterwards, it was back to our cabin, where we were able to hand our steward his gratuity - and found another towel animal hanging in the room. That was a nice touch that we didn’t expect on the last day of our cruise.

Packing for debarkation is always a pain in the neck, as there are always some things that can easily be forgotten. I also now worry about my bag being misplaced by the baggage handlers, and RQS understood where I was coming from. (And yes, they did misplace this bag the next morning. But I digress.) We were able to get our bags out in the hallway by 11 pm, and then get a little rest before coming into New York Harbor.

Bahamas Cruise - Day 8 (Debarkation)

 

I woke up very early and packed.  Part of me wished I could safely go back to sleep.  But I knew better.  If I had taken the opportunity to go back to sleep at 5:00 am, I'd have missed the above shot, as the ship made its way through New York harbor.

When 7:00 am came, I made my way to the main dining room, and had a leisurely breakfast.  About an hour later, I said goodbye to some of the staff there, and made my way to the atrium to wait.  This was not a day to wear a dress - unless it was treated as a longish tunic.  And that's what I did.  I didn't stand out. Eventually, my luggage tag color was called (there were not many of us), and I made my way off the ship for the last time, and into the ship terminal.

Entering the terminal, I knew that my large bag should be in the "gray" luggage section.  But it wasn't.  This could be a big problem for me!  I had so much stuff that would be impossible to replace at short notice in that bag.  Thankfully, I asked for assistance.  And 20 minutes later, my suitcase was found. Then it was off to customs (where there were only 3 stations servicing our ship's passengers) where I waited on line for another 15 minutes before being free to catch a cab outside.  You'll notice that I hadn't mentioned that I have masculine ID, but was presenting as a female.  I've done this enough times, that it's not a big deal to me or the customs agent.  Hopefully, newcomers to our "tribe" will see this and overcome their fears of traveling in their authentic gender.

The cab ride back to Grand Central was uneventful, save that I noticed that the "clock" wasn't ticking.  I ended up getting charged the same for my ride to Grans Central, as I was charged "on the clock" coming from Grand Central.  (I'll have to ask if there's a flat rate from the cruise ship terminal to certain NYC destinations.)  And I was again lucky - I had 15 minutes to find the train to Croton.  And less than 90 minutes later, I was home....

 

PS:  It seems as if I accidentally grabbed someone else's "App-Hailed" ride.  This explains the flat rate of $20 to go from the Cruise Terminal to Grand Central.

PPS: It was so much nicer at the end of this cruise NOT to be concerned about a former cruise partner's feelings about waking up early on debarkation day.