The last day of the cruise is a great time to reflect. I’ve discovered a large piece of cardboard covered with foil works best. Find yourself a nice quiet spot on deck 11, oh heck, never mind.
I know our first couple of cruises I began to fret over the last couple of days. I spent so much time moaning about the end of the cruise, I didn’t take time to enjoy it. I also thought a lot about the things we didn’t do, how I was maybe "wasting" the cruise. I know I have mentioned this before, don’t do that! Enjoy each and every day on your cruise, do what makes you happy and satisfied at the time.
I’m convinced there are two types of cruisers. Those who go on their first cruise and have an OK time. The other types go on their first cruise and are dragged off the ship kicking and screaming. These people get home and stare at their refrigerator and stove for several days hoping somehow the food will miraculously jump out of the fridge, into a pan on the stove and cook itself. They stand in front of the linen closet with a blank stare, unable to remember what is used on a mattress. They have a pile of dirty clothing either on the bedroom floor or in the garage. These people are hungry, tired, and dirty. They shuffle around the house in a robe muttering about waffles. For this type of cruiser there is hope. One, and only one thing works, another cruise booking.
Our last day on the cruise was a very different experience. When we disembarked in New Jersey we were meeting a private bus and going into New York City for two days. I’m not sure if this is what kept the "cruise end blues" away or the two future bookings in our file.
Today was a day to finish up things, or try. We both had a couple of library books out. The ship has a very nice library but unfortunately, no librarian, one of those "necessary" cutbacks. This is an area that has changed over the short time we have been cruising. The library no longer has daily "brain teasers" crossword puzzles or trivia game sheets. The books are also in dire need of proper re-shelving. On this last cruise day Wanda and I spent about an hour rearranging a couple of sections.
The talent show was scheduled at 3 in the Celebrity Theater. We had a vocal coach on the cruise who had quite a number of "students" and they were a large part of the show. Once again I was doing something else but Wanda went, said it was very nice and a lot of fun. She was surprised, as the theater was just about full.
We still had trivia, movies "Brokeback Mountain", ice carving demonstrations, lectures and the giant final, "it must go" Jackpot Bingo. Someone is going to go home with over three thousand dollars, or maybe they’ll pay their bar tab. The casino was open and willing to take your money and so were the shops. The final show in the theater was a second showing of "Celebrate The World" Today was the day to pick out your ships photos, learn to give a massage, or enter the final slot tournament. It was also the day to pack and have your bags out in the passageway before midnight. After dinner it was really obvious, we had to get off the ship.
Looking back on this cruise it’s easy to understand why it was so much fun. It was a wonderful adventure shared with good friends. At the time we called it our "trip of a lifetime." I wonder if it’s OK to have two of them? I know Wanda and I would sure like to have at least one more.
It was finally time to disembark. We have truly had some atrocious and frustrating endings to what had been untarnished cruises. For whatever reason our past Celebrity trips had difficulties clearing everyone through customs, getting everyone off the ship, or both. We were looking forward to another miserable morning as well as worrying about the bus that was going to meet us at 9am. We had a group gathering on the bus and going into Manhattan.
Thursday morning Wanda and I went to our assigned area at 8:50am. We saw many of the folks we would be going into town with so it was obvious, the bus would either wait for all of us, or leave all of us sitting on the dock. The ship will not start calling people off until customs is ready but more importantly, not until everyone has paid their bill. We were running late but regular announcements were made, keeping us up to date (or up to hour). Eventually our color and number was called and we were able to leave the ship. When we reached the end of the gangway we were directed a short distance and told to form several lines. It was a bit confusing at first but soon became apparent we were waiting for very large busses. We would board these and be taken to a warehouse, retrieve our luggage and pass through customs.
As I said, these were very large busses, each bus had two doors, so in theory two lines should have been able to board one bus. Of course we were at the head of one line (having just missed a bus) and would have been able to board this next bus if many people didn’t turn into pushy, nasty, me first things when returned to society. So many people pushed their way onto this bus from the back door; the agent held our line up for the next bus. OK, so it would be another 3 minutes. It is times like this I wish I had a "zapper gun." I wouldn’t want to hurt anyone just scramble their molecules and have them materialize in the middle of Idaho, or maybe Montana.
Soon we were on a bus and driven a short distance to a dockside warehouse, retrieving our luggage, then queuing up for customs. There were several agents directing the lines, which moved quickly. There were also several agents checking passports. I think the entire process here took less than 15 minutes. Now we left the building, bags in hand, looking for our ride. Just outside we saw the friends who organized this, they pointed us to the bus, we stowed our stuff, got onboard, ready for our New York adventure.
There were about thirty of us going into Manhattan. One of the gang found a great rate about a year before the cruise. We were staying at a Courtyard Marriott on Third Ave. and (I THINK) 43rd. It was a very nice place in a good location. I had not been in New York since 1964, Wanda never. We would be staying Thursday and Friday with a Jet Blue flight home Saturday morning. We had a few things planned with the group and some things planned on our own. This looked like it was going to be a wonderful end to a wonderful cruise vacation. We had one potential problem, seeing all the traffic we thought we might just spend our two days on the bus.
So brings an end to the transatlantic cruise. We had a terrific time. The cruise, the friends and all the side trips made it very special. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give this twelve-day cruise on Celebrity Constellation a 9.325.
Tomorrow I will post some things about our New York stay. I do hope you have enjoyed this. I realize many things have probably changed over the last three years in the cruising industry. Since this original cruise Celebrity has added it's new Solstice class ships and I understand they are beautiful. Wanda and I have been on a couple of trips, a Mexico cruise on Princess and a Pacific Coastal cruise on Celebrity. I went on a 14 day Alaska cruise with friends in the spring of 2009. Currently we have nothing booked but would like to return to Alaska next year.
I would encourage anyone to try cruising. There is a line that is a great fit out there and it's a wonderful vacation.
Stop back for the end, tomorrow.
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