I Belize in MAGIC! MITSUGIRLY revisits the Western Route. My Novel.
Day 9: Getting off the ship and going home
LAST DAY: Debarkation, delays, delays and more delays...
I set my alarm for 7:30am but I was wide awake at 7am...with feathers in my mouth. (I assume from the pillow). I have no idea what type of demon pillows attacked me but small minuscule white feathers were floating in the air.
I went up to see what the weather was like and yep, we were "parked" already. Boo!
We headed up to the buffet for our last meal around 8am...this is always the meal that I dread. The significance of this meal means I would no longer have someone cooking me a made to order breakfast. I would no longer have a maid coming to clean my suite. I would no longer be able to frolic in the water because I was going home to cold weather and closed pools for the season. I would no longer be able to swim with my own kind (I'm a Pisces therefore I am fish!). It's always a sad day.
I would get the "norm" for breakfast...
Except WHERE ARE MY DANISHES? They didn't have them this morning. How could they? What type of send off is this? I tried the cinnamon danishes but they just didn't compare.
Kendra and family showed up to breakfast right as we were finishing up.
We were in no hurry to get off the ship. Our flights were not until 3:05pm. We hung out here and there. We hung out everywhere.
By 8:30am, they were calling the last of the self-assist people and would start calling by floors after that.
We hung out some more and around 9:30am, they were going around telling everyone to get off the ship at the same time and there was no line.
We headed down to the lobby and found that there was a line wrapping around the atrium bar and out the door.
The line was moving extremely fast and we were at the door, dinging out and off the ship at 9:34am. Wow that was pretty quick.
Kendra was sad as you can tell:
After making it to the terminal, we collected our bags at 9:39am.
Customs was pretty darn easy and the lines were constantly moving.
We were outside by 10am. Not too shabby...not that I cared because I really didn't have anywhere to go quickly.
We went across the street to the shuttle area and found the Cocoa Beach shuttle.
Only the line we were standing in told us that we needed to check in at the desk. We checked in with a guy who told us that shuttle was for local only and ours would be coming shortly. They told us to go over by that shuttle and stand in front of it for the next to arrive.
So we waited and waited and waited.
At one point I went over and spoke with another lady who said all the shuttles coming in were for locals. Honestly, does this make sense? The locals are...well local. It doesn't take them long to get home or to the hotel or where they are going. Those that are not local usually have some place to get to...catching a flight. But, still we wait.
We are going home. We are headed north. We have cold weather. We are in long pants and some had long sleeves with our jackets. IT IS HOT! We were standing out in the middle of the parking lot with the sun beating down on us. We decided to sit down behind one of the traffic barriers for a little bit of shade. There was a family down from us and I kid you not, if any of you have ever seen the show with Honey Boo Boo...this was them. One of the kids decided she would change into her bikini bathing suit right there in the parking lot. #1 she shouldn't have been in a bikini, even at her age #2 In the middle of the parking lot? Really?
And....we wait.
I would check the weather back home and it was a high of 61. Not too shabby I guess.
At one point I received a phone call from Cocoa Beach shuttle. A gentleman said "Hi Kimberly, have you made it out of the terminal yet?" Me "Yes, I've been out of the terminal for over an hour". He said "You need to walk across the street and check in with our staff". Me "Um, I AM across the street and I have already checked in with the staff and I was told to wait where I currently am". I looked over at the check-in desk and I see the guy that we checked in with, you know, the guy that told us to walk over in front of the shuttle that was parked there and wait? Well, I see that he's on the phone. I then notice that his mouth was moving at the same time the gentleman on the phone was talking. I caught on...he was this guy! I said "Um, excuse me sir, but I do believe YOU are the one that we checked in with and YOU are the one that told us to have a seat where we are at and we have been having a seat for over an hour now. Please turn around". He turned around and we waved. Embarrassment was the new look on his face and he immediately walked over and told us our shuttle was on the way.
While getting off the ship and out of the terminal was super easy and quick, the parking lot and pick up was a nightmare. The drivers trying to get around in front of the building and into the lot were sitting in line for over an hour at certain points. It was crazy. He pointed out 3 shuttles currently in line. He said "that, is your shuttle" and it was the third one back.
By 11:14am, we were piling in the shuttle and ready to head to the airport in Orlando. We arrived at the airport at 11:55am and checked our luggage in.
Then the news came at 12:28pm...."SWA Flight 2252 from MCO has changed. New estimated departure is 4:05PM". Geesh. What the heck. I can't imagine why it would be delayed.
Hanging out at the airport...
1:39pm...ding, a message was on my phone "SWA Flight 2252 from MCO has changed. New estimated departure is 4:40PM"
Seriously?
This airport is very neat and pretty with a lot of shopping. It's like a mega mall. It's also VERY crowded and it's very hard to find a seat no matter where you are at.
We decided to grab a bite to eat and attempt to find seats. We found a 2 person table and started collecting chairs from every location we could find for people to sit down to eat.
We would hang out and do next to nothing but yell at B to "stop", "don't do that", "get up off the floor", "people are trying to walk there", "don't throw that". UGH.
Sakari would of course be doing her normal thing...
It was time to catch the monorail and head over to the actual terminal.
Once we arrived at the terminal...ding, another message "SWA Flight 2252 from MCO has changed. New estimated departure is 5:10PM" It's going to be a looooong day!
Kendra decided to go buy some playing cards and candy and we (meaning me, her and the kids) sat down on the floor (because there wasn't any other place to sit) and played go-fish.
​Then she explained how to play screw your neighbor (which we had played at the airport during a delay in the past).
The stakes were high and we were bidding with Kendra's candy.
I think the game was rigged because Kendra won the game and managed to get all of her candy back.
Our plane finally arrived and it was time to board.
The sun was going down and it was getting dark. I had planned on being home before dark and now we would be arriving at home after dark and there would be rain and a temp change. Blah
​We were finally in the air and headed home. There were no explanations as to why our plane was late x3 but I was just glad to be headed home finally.
All these delays and this time all we would receive were some roasted peanuts. Usually you get peanuts and some type of crackers or chips. Nope, not this time.
We did have a little bit of bumpiness along the way and our funny flight attendant came on and said "As a courtesy to other passengers on the plane, please do not shake the plane while we are in flight. Thank you". He was pretty funny and his safety drill reminded me of Dr E's on the ship. It kept your attention and kept you laughing.
FINALLY ARRIVED!
