Travel from the Triangle

Freedom of the Seas Cruise: Debarkation (Day 5)

Written by Cat

Oh So Early

Getting off the ship is a day that starts early for passengers and crew alike. The fun is over and so is any hope of sleeping in.

We didn’t have a flight to catch since we drove to Port Canaveral so we weren’t in a hurry to get off the ship. Debarkation day morning can be a bit noisy in the hallways with many people moving around. So, I got up around 8:00AM to get ready, finish gathering our belongings, and leave our cabin so it could be cleaned for the next cruise guests.

The Last Breakfast

We headed up to the Windjammer Café for one final buffet breakfast just before it closed around 8:30AM. The first and last days in the buffet are always interesting, people are eating much less leisurely and there is lots of luggage around, unlike during the cruise.

Breezy Departure

Our luggage tag number was 17 and scheduled to be called for debarkation around 8:30-8:45AM. But, we were moving slowly so our group got off later around 9:00AM. You can’t get off before your number is called but you can get off after it is called.

Customs was a breeze. They barely glanced at our Declarations Form and passports. Love it when it is this simple and easy.

Found My Luggage But Where’s Your Duffle Bag?

Next, we began the lovely luggage carousel search for our belongings. This is setup just like an airport. My suitcase and K’s were already circulating so we found them fairly quickly.

However, my brothers duffle bag did not show up in a timely manner. After waiting and searching for a while and noticing luggage tag numbers, we knew it should be already out. We weren’t sure if it was handled differently being a duffle bag versus a suitcase but that didn’t really make much sense.

Walking around the terminal, I began searching for luggage sitting on the floor. After a previous cruise that is where we mysteriously found our suitcase. Perhaps someone thought it was theirs and didn’t put it back on the carousel. I did not find his duffle bag on the floor but I found the equivalent of lost and found luggage or luggage with no tags location.

Sitting on the “no luggage tags” table was my brothers duffle bag. Apparently, the way he attached the tag around both handles, the tag had gotten ripped off while being transported from our cabin to the carousel. But, all is well that ends well now that we all had been reunited with our luggage.

Florida is Warm Year Round – Wrong!

Stepping outside was a shock, it was cold! Like approximately 40 degrees F cold. After the balmy Caribbean weather of the last few days, this was a shock even for Floridians.

Thankfully our shuttle arrived shortly after we stepped outside. As we handed the driver our shuttle tickets and moaned about the temperature, he told us it had been above 80 degrees F just one day before. Can we go back to Labadee, please?!