Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Today is a transition day. Today, I leave Mouse Land and head for the Dolphin Deck. I say goodbye to Mickey and hello to Neptune.
It’s 6:45am and I’m leaving my room at the Coronado Springs resort for the very last time. It’s dark and chilly outside and it would feel better to stay cozy warm inside under the covers but I have things to see and people to do!
I drag my luggage out to the front of the lobby and board the Disney Magical Express that will take me back to the airport.
It’s a quick one hour flight to Ft. Lauderdale. After visiting the baggage carousel I’m out the door where a taxi awaits to take me to Port Canaveral and my home for the next several months, the MS Amsterdam.
As I walk into the front door of the Holland America building at the port I see a Disney-like zig-zag of lanes for people to wait in. I’m relieved to see there’s absolutely nobody in those lanes! It’s just me and the security guy! I produce the requested government issued identification while telling the officer how happy I am to have missed the rush of people waiting to board. He smiles and tells me, “There’s a little bit of a line inside.” I turned the corner and here’s what I saw:
The wait, for me, was just over 90 minutes. Yes, it was like the Animal Kingdom all over again except there weren’t any playful diversions to distract me from my dismal wait. Still, there was nothing I could do about it so I just waited and slowly wormed my way to the front of the line.
Once I arrived at the front desk the check-in was simple and fast. In no time at all I was on board and in my cabin. I have an “ocean view” cabin on deck one of the MS Amsterdam. It’s a bit small, but since I’m not sharing it with anybody it seems nice and cozy to me.
Looking toward the door 
Looking toward the window
The “ocean view” part of the room description did not hold up to my expectations. The window appears to have never been cleaned and also has a streak of rust running down the middle. Not the best for waking up in the morning and seeing whatever marvelous port we’ve docked in.
“Oh, well. I won’t be staying in the room that much anyway,” I tell myself.
Looking around I found several documents: a catalog of shore excursions, a welcome book, and this little card which made me very happy indeed.
Great! Then it’s time to go to the:
And have a:
While waiting for the ship to depart Ft. Lauderdale the crew had organized some entertainment for us. One event was a meet and greet for single and solo voyagers. Well, I’ve wondered for a while if I might meet somebody interesting on this cruise. Here, at a single event, seemed a great way to start. So, I headed to the Ocean Bar (Deck 5) to see all of the lovely ladies who might be inclined to meet a new friend.
When I arrived I saw that there were about 25 people in the group and most of them were women. about 90% women. and I’d guess that 100% of them were at least 75 and several had to be in their eighties. I’m not about to say that these ladies were not lovely, but they were not the ladies I had hoped to see. Oh, well. Once again I’m convinced that I won’t be spending much time in my cabin anyway.
As the ship pulled out of port at about 9:00pm, the ship’s crew threw a big bon voyage party for us with a free open bar! I’ll bet we don’t see that happen again soon! I had a glass of wine or two while I mingled around in the crowd. There was live music there and people were out on the dance floor. Watching these old people dancing reminded me of a recent trip to Wrecked at the Reef in Puerto Peñasco where this old fart took to the dance floor after having imbibed a few too many. Did I look like that? OMG, I’m so embarrassed.
Looking seaward from the port 
The water churns behind us as we leave Ft. Lauderdale
Ultimately, I decided to go outside and enjoy a cigar under the stars. On the way out I took full notice of all the octogenarians out on the dance floor kicking up their heels as the band sang “Staying Alive” by the BeeGees. Oh, the irony.
What will happen tomorrow?
