As usual on the nights before disembarkation, I didn't get much sleep. But I was lucky to be awake enough to capture this view of the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge on our way to port. This was one of those rare days where it was warm enough to go out on the balcony in my jammies (please don't imagine how I look in them) and capture a few more shots like the one below:
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Today's disembarkation ritual went off easier than expected. But first, a little explanation on how luggage gets organized on the pier for collection....
Each cabin is given a set of tags listing an assigned disembarkation group by color and number. Each color designates where the cruiser is going post cruise:
- Silver: To the Airport with cruise line arranged transfers.
- Silver: To the Airport with cruise line arranged pre-flight excursions, with Airport drop-off.
- Blue: Self-Arranged post-cruise travel
Each group disembarks in numerical order, Number 1 being first, and Number 30 being last. We were in Blue 29, with group 30, usually the last of numbers to be called. Although the announcements implied that all groups should be disembarked by 9:30, the paperwork we were given said 10:15. If the paperwork was true, we would miss our 10:00 ferry and have to wait for 75 minutes for the next ferry up the East River.
Knowing that we had a lot of time to kill, we had a very leisurely breakfast at 7:30, making it possible for the room steward to turn the room for the next cruiser as soon as possible. Around 9, we left the main dining area one last time and went to a seating area to wait for our group to be called. This time we got lucky. We were hanging out where all the handicapped passengers wait to be wheeled on shore. So, when we heard that all Blue groups' luggage was on the pier, we walked out with others being wheeled. (Both of us were using our canes this trip, so we technically qualified to get off the ship a little early.) Within 5 minutes, we were off the ship looking for our luggage in a "virgin" storage area, and were out the door and at the ferry dock by 9:20.
There is something very new going on at the Red Hook ferry terminal on cruise days. NYC Ferry was giving away free rides to Wall Street for cruise passengers debarking today. (They plan to continue this for a while, hoping that they can drum up enough passengers to relieve automobile congestion at the cruise terminal, and make this a long term solution to traffic problems near the cruise terminal.) We took one of these rides, then transferred to another ferry taking us to North Williamsburg. Although we may have spent more time in getting home, we spent much less on our return trip's Uber ($44) than on our trip to the terminal ($84). We made it to RQS's place around 11:30 am, and were able to stay relaxed until we got home.
