October 25, 1991: A Stop in Nassau, Bahamas
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Friday night we cruised from Nassau back to Fort Lauderdale- a short trip that our captain took most of the night and early morning to do.

This last segment was a short one, so as the captain has done before, he cruised slowly and made come circles out in the Atlantic. He didn't want to arrive in Fort Lauderdale at two or three in the morning as he could have done, since there would be few services available for departing passengers. But that is true of all cruises: they arrange to dock in any port around seven in the morning.

We actually docked in Fort Lauderdale a bit earlier than that, since the line wants to offload the passengers as quickly as possible to give the crew enough time to prepare for the next group of passengers to begin boarding at three or so in the afternoon. I can only imagine this is a hectic time. That is one reason why passengers are asked to vacate their rooms early, and wait in the various lounges until their debarkation sequence is called. That way, the housekeeping staff can get a head start on cleaning all the cabins.

Grant and I got up fairly early and packed all our things, then went to the dining room for breakfast. After that, we both went up on deck to watch the arrival in Ft. Lauderdale. I only took a few pictures today. The first two were taken as we came into Lake Mabel.

Entering the Everglades Inlet Up ahead is the main harbor area with one of the large Princess cruise ships already docked. I was sad that the cruise was coming to an end, but was anxious to get home and relax with Grant.

Approaching Out Dock in Fort Lauderdale Our ship will be going around to the far side of the point that you can see ahead, to dock at the same place from which we left. The day was already getting warm.

After watching the docking procedures for a while, we had to go down to the Portofino deck and await the disembarkation procedures. That was the only exasperating part of the cruise. We had to wait for what seemed to be an interminable time for our baggage tag color to be called, so that we could proceed through customs and off the ship.

Me Waiting in the Portofino Lounge

Grant in the Portofino Lounge

Finally, about 11AM, our color was called and we disembarked. The customs check was perfunctory. I left everyone to watch the luggage, while I went and arranged for a rental car. I had to get on the rental car bus to the lot at the airport, get the car, and then return to the ship to pick everyone up. We all went back to the condo. Patty and Don had a flight back to Chicago that evening, so I took them to the airport as Grant wanted to stay in the condo and rest. Then I returned to the condo, and Ty and Scott came over to welcome us back. We spent part of the evening chatting, and then Ty and Scott went home and Grant and I retired. All in all, the cruise was a wonderful experience, and I hope we will be able to do it again.

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	October 25, 1991: A Stop in Nassau, Bahamas
	Return to the Caribbean Cruise Index