Cruise Day 7-8: At Sea--- On our way back to Puerto Rico; Getting off the Ship and Going home

On our last full day on the ship, we were at sea on our way back to Puerto Rico.  We had some excitement in the morning.  They announced that a tropical storm that had not yet reached hurricane stage yet was headed for Puerto Rico and the Port in San Juan was closed for safety reasons.  Since we were coming from the south and the storm was coming from the north east of Puerto Rico we were able to continue going north in anticipation that the Port would open and we could arrive in San Juan the next morning.  We were actually hoping that the port would stay closed.  That would mean that we would have an additional day at sea and the next cruise would start a day late.  They allowed everyone to have free internet access in case they wanted to make other travel arrangements in the event we would not be in Puerto Rico the next morning.  There were long lines and I think at least a third of the ship made other flight arrangements.  I tried to check out our options, but could never get through, so we decided to just wing it.

The captain continued full speed ahead, hoping the port would be open and we would be on schedule.  Later that night we found out that the storm was not as bad as expected and he port would be open and we would arrive on time.  I was glad that we did not make any other return travel arrangements like a lot of the others.

In the afternoon, we had a tour of the galley.  It was cool to see where all of the food was prepared.  John was tempted to raid the food but we held him back.

 Preparations for dinner:

 The mashed potatoes are really good and they make a lot of them.

 We talked to the chef that gave the tour.

 At dinner that night, all of the chefs walked through.  We applauded them for the incredible food they made for us all week. 

After that the waiters sang for us.  They should stick to being waiters.  They were not very good at singing.

This is our waiter, Melroy from India, behind Mom and Becky, and our assistant waiter, Cesar from Peru, next to John.  Of all the cruises we have been on, these two are probably the best waiter and assistant waiter we have ever had.

The next day we started our last morning on the ship with breakfast in the Windjammer as usual.  Once off the ship, we found our bags and then had to wait in line to go through customs.

Once we were through customs, we found a lot of taxis available for rides to the airport.

At the airport, we grabbed our luggage and made it through the airport bureaucracy.  

After that, all we had to do was wait for our plane home.

It was a very enjoyable cruise.  I'm glad we went.