I think though that by today, we were both ready mentally and physically to say goodbye to the Carnival Pride. We already had the bulk of our carry on bags pulled together the night before so it was simply a matter of getting dressed and triple checking we'd packed everything. Dad always says I'm the designated double checker after we've packed up. At one point I opened a drawer and thought I'd found some kid's socks that were left behind from a previous cruiser. Turns out they were actually Joni's socks!
Since we'd missed catching our steward Purwanto before he'd cleaned our cabin yesterday, we used one of the envelopes available at guest services to leave a tip for him and a note of thanks propped up against the mirror.
We bid goodbye to balcony cabin #6323 and made our way upstairs to the Lido buffet with our carry on bags. After some searching, we found an open table and took turns grabbing some breakfast. Since we couldn't be on deck 2 near the Piazza Café this morning, Joni cashed in her free coffee at the counter in the buffet. She reported back that the crew member (different than Ms. no chai latte for you) working the counter this morning greeted her by name without ever seeing her card. I joked that they must have her picture up in the back like a Wanted poster.
This was also one of the first cruises I've been on that we didn't arrive officially back at our home port early in the morning. There's always that couple hour wait to get off the ship but usually we're docked by the time we wake up in the morning. Disembarkation calls went very slowly at first because as Leigh explained, the Port of Baltimore only allowed 2 customs agents to be on duty until a certain hour of the morning. There was a gap between calls every so often and Leigh would get on the intercom to explain that there's a backlog and to keep waiting patiently. Shortly after we each got up for a bathroom break to stretch our legs not being able to stand sitting anymore, they finally got more customs agents and started calling large ranges of disembarkation numbers.
Our turn came and who are the last Carnival crew we see before that final ding out - I'sha and Bradley from the fun squad. I'sha asked Joni if the look on her face was happy or sad to be leaving. While the line was long for the path from the ship to the customs area inside the building, it moved at a decent pace. We walked in at such a good time that our small group of 2 was able to go to a customs agent within seconds. It also took that long to get approved and sent on our way. A little bit of a walk across the parking lot where they'd held back the cars waiting to pick up their loved ones was all it took to be back on the road heading home by 11:45AM.
Glad I stayed til the end. Thanks for the write up!
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