Debarkation Day

An English proverb says, "All good things must come to an end." That is true when it comes to a vacation. It is NOT true when it comes to the love I share with Les!

(Cruise Elegant Night)

We didn't take many pictures on our final day, so I'm re-posting some of my favorites of us.

We were up bright and early on our Debarkation Day. We were group 14, which meant we would be leaving the ship in the second wave at 6:45 a.m. Our checked luggage was picked up the night before, so we just had our carry on bags. And maybe a few extra bags under our eyes!



We had breakfast on the Lido deck one last time and waited for the call for our group. We then said goodbye to room


and our wonderful stateroom stewards!

We boarded a bus headed to the Barcelona Airport. Our flight was scheduled for 11:20 a.m., so we had plenty of time. Our "plenty" of time turned into an extra three hours as our flight was delayed and delayed and delayed...

(Inside the Colosseum)

We finally took off at about 2:00 p.m. with an estimated arrival in New York of 4:00 p.m. Only problem ~ we had a connecting flight that was scheduled to leave New York at 5:00! When we arrived in New York we had less than an hour to catch our connecting flight. Doable in normal circumstances, NOT happening when arriving from an international destination!

(Laughter on the Gondola Ride)

We deplaned and had to go through passport check. Then we had to show our Customs Declaration form. Then we had to pick up our luggage and go back to the ticketing counter! Shew! By then it was about 4:20 and the ticketing agent said, "Sorry, you're gonna miss that flight." Deeeeep breaths...

(On our balcony)

There was another flight available at 7:00 p.m. and we were able to get seats on it. But the fun wasn't over yet. Oh no! We had to go back through security and then wait (and wait) for a shuttle bus to another terminal ~ JFK Delta and TSA employees get an F on helpfulness and friendliness that day. We got a lot of "I don't knows" and "just go over theres." Airline employees as a whole do not handle the situation well when a lot of people miss their flights and those we talked to on that particular day... well... Okay, rant over...

(Early morning in Venice)

Our flight from New York was uneventful, I know because I didn't sleep more than about 20 minutes the entire time! As I said on my first post after we returned, 28 hours after we got up in Barcelona, we were finally home! It was a trip we will never forget and even with the frustrations that are travel, it was a wonderful, fantastic, marvelous time! And I'm glad that I not only share the memories with Les, I get to keep sharing my life with him.


All our pictures are finally posted! Go HERE.