Day 14—Ensenada (New Years Day)
Woke up at 5:30 this morning and went upstairs to have coffee. There was no one around at all—guess they were all sleeping in this morning. Feel a little sad to be leaving the ship, although it will be good to get home, sleep in my own bed (although the beds are very comfortable, it’s still not the same), see my son, and my basset hounds, and, yes, even go back to work.
Packed one bag late morning, then went to the disembarkation meeting at 11:00. During the disembarkation briefing, we were told to put our checked luggage in the hallway outside our staterooms by midnight and were reminded not to pack the clothes that we will be wearing tomorrow. As Eric, the cruise director, said, if you forget and pack your clothes in your suitcase, then you’ll be leaving the ship in your pajamas, and if you don’t wear pajamas, then the only alternative is to wear the shower curtain or the Holland America bathrobe (and I’m sure you’ll get charged for them too) .
When I got back to my room, the luggage tags, customs forms, and survey were in my “mailbox” (there’s a slot outside every stateroom where we get our “mail”). I finished packing, leaving only the clothes for tomorrow, and for the dinner and my toiletries. After dinner, I’ll pack the clothes I’m wearing, put the luggage out, and go to sleep early since my anticipated disembarkation time is 8:30 am. We disembark by color and number and those with confirmed airline reservations get off first. My color and number is “1-Blue.”
We make a stop in Ensenada at 8:00 pm tonight—all non-US ships going from a US port and to a US port have to make an international stop (this is in accordance with the Jones Act—guess I’ll look that one up when I have unlimited Internet time). The all-aboard time is 11:30 pm, so we’ll only be there for 3-1/2 hours. Most people don’t get off and I don’t think I will either.
I’ve been exchanging email addresses with friends I’ve met on the ship and will “friend” a few of the folks including some of the crew who have been absolutely wonderful.
I filled out the survey giving marking everything a “9” which is the highest you can give. I also mentioned several crew by name as providing absolutely outstanding service. I’m going to put together some final thoughts over the next few days and post those as well.
Well, gotta get ready for dinner soon, and want to get this posted. Just wanted to say that I’m glad I came. I’ve had a few sad moments when I thought I should be sharing this experience with My husband (but realize that I’d never get him to go since there is no way he’d want to dress up for dinner). Despite a few sad moments, this was the best thing I could have done. I know that otherwise, this past holiday season would just have been too hard to get through. I know that I’ll still have some weepy moments in my future, but I also know now that they will pass and that, yes, I can still truly enjoy myself (and not just go through the motions of enjoying myself).
Ok, enough of the introspection—I’ll post my final thoughts about the ship itself, the crew, and my impression of Holland America as a whole soon.
Thanks for “sharing” the cruise with me, and most of all, thanks to all my family and friends for being there for me during this past difficult year.
Love you all!
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