2022-06-30 Today was the last day of our cruise and tomorrow morning we have to be out of our room and in the lobby to leave by 5:30 a.m.! This means we really need to get there 30 minutes early so that everyone that gets there later than us can pile in front of us and pile their suitcases in front of us and act like they were there first. It's okay it is what it is :-) mainly because we want to be on the first shuttle that heads to London. It's a 90 minute drive and although our plane doesn't leave until 3:40 tomorrow afternoon, we just feel safer sitting in London in the airport for several hours than we do rushing to get there. We'll be back in New Orleans by 7:30 Friday night Central time! Kelly's coming to pick us up and I can't wait to see her and then get home and see the rest of my family :-)!
We're through packing, or just about anyway. I ended up buying another suitcase. I'm coming home one suitcase more. Except for the candy that I bought for the grandkids, I probably could have gotten everything into one suitcase,... but then there is that pesky thing called a weight limit. It would have fit, but the question is, was it under 50 lb? I bought a lot of little things, but I did buy a couple of big things and I had them shipped home. Hopefully they're there by the time I get home.
Just like it is on the last night of any cruise, we had to get pictures. Kezia, our lovely hostess at dinner, who took care of us and made sure that we had the right table and the right servers at night. Edwin, Martin, and Sanjib, our wonderful servers from both the first and the second leg. After the second night, Edwin figured out what I wanted and that it would be the same every night, and when I sat down he had it waiting for me. I've never had a server that had us down and out in an hour but he did. Martin and Sanjib were also so friendly, and together, the three of them were the perfect team.
Then of course, there's our dear friends Chuck and Vivian. Lots of tears, lots of hugging, and a promise that we will definitely have to take a cruise together again! Chuck has been a little sore in his back, and in fact had to go to the infirmary today to have them check it. So he's been a little tender and not up and around so much, so we had to go visit him in his room. Of course we had to get some goodbye pictures and he had to get a goodbye kiss from us :-) never fear though, it was his wife that took the picture, so it was all up and above board haha! They will be on for three more cruises after this, leaving at the end of July. To think, we met them on a cruise in 2016. They were a part of that big 21-day cruise that we did on the Dream to San Juan and back. This is where we met Michael and Diana, Patty and Barry, Rick and Dee Dee, and many others, but particularly those who we have cruised with since and have remained friends with. In fact Michael and Diana have another cruise lined up with us on Jubilee next year, so in the scheme of things, this was probably one of the best and most important cruises that we did, to make so many good friends on that one cruise. We'll definitely have to cruise with Chuck and Vivian again... we had a blast and I love them so much!
All I lack now is a picture of Kaung, our room steward. We loved him and what a great personality. Always had a smile, and so helpful! It's wonderful to see people that take pride in their job, and we were so fortunate to run across so many who did on this cruise. We didn't meet quite as many crew as we usually do, but the ones that we did meet, we got very close to, and these are some of the ones. I hope to be able to stay in touch with them.
Finally you see a picture, a progression of our map from the time we left Copenhagen last night, until right now where we are. We're getting very, very close to Dover which is southeast of London, on the water (obviously). We are headed home. It's been fun, I've had a blast, and now I'm ready to come home! Obviously Kay is more than ready also. She's got a long road ahead of her, getting Mike well again. Shortly after she returns home, he will be having surgery on the coast for 4 blockages. This is a pretty big deal, and he has finally started accepting it and getting himself mentally ready, I think. He's got a great support system at home and the greatest one is on her way home to him. Keep him in your prayers over the next few weeks, lots of life changes for him but I know he can do it! 💕
I'll be home tomorrow! Tomorrow will be my last blog entry for several months probably :-)