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Jan 12 2012
1/12/12 - 1/12/12
Last breakfast on ship
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Up for another sunrise by accident but it was good! Breakfast and then waiting for U.S. customs to clear us for disembarking. Took pictures of our arrival at Ft Lauderdale and the pilot boats arriving. Seagulls arrived also.We disembarked about 9 a.m., went quickly through customs, took a shuttle to the airport which was close by and then a day of flying. I got home about 10 p.m.
Some comments:
It was nice to have my own room on the ship. Joan felt the same. They are small and it is nice to have a get-away when traveling with so many people. There were movies playing on the TV. The TV is very small and it wasn't particularly easy to watch but at least there was some noise. Some of the speakers were taped into the rooms also.
As I've unpacked I'm surprised how many bar receipts I have. Happy hour on the ship was fun, a good break between activities before dinner.
The food was probably the only thing I would change if possible. By the end of the voyage the dinners tasted the same. For breakfast I usually had oatmeal, fresh watermelon and coffee; sometimes some eggs and bacon or pancakes and french toast. For lunch, we had choices of entrees or salad or sandwiches. Many choices and it worked well. For dinner we usually had pasta, meat, always green salad and usually another salad. The smell was usually garlicky. For some reason, dinner wasn't as appealing to me. The food is not like luxury cruise food. There is plenty of it and it is nicely prepared. I'm not sure how to change the dinners to make the better.
I thought I would read more books. As it turns out I got about 1/3 the way through the "Lost City of Z".
Rui, one of our guides, has the recipe for rum punch on the back of his name tag!
The average age on the ship was 55. That includes the students from Moorhouse College in Atlanta, the students from Piedmont and the high school students from three areas on the U.S. We met a person in her 90's, many in their 80's and of course below that. Many single people. Many repeat Enrichment cruise people.
The staff on the ship was incredibly nice. The waiters, the room stewards, the administration -- everyone was so helpful and friendly.
The ship was VERY clean. They work very hard to keep it looking really nice.
I don't think I ever saw a mosquito, despite all the alarm.
I can see why the Amazon is called the "River Sea". What a magnificent river. I feel so lucky to have seen it and traveled on it. Really lucky!
We traveled 6800 miles by ship at speeds up to 30 knots. We visited eight countries. We traveled almost 1,000 miles up the Amazon from the mouth to Manaus, Brazil.
If you have children or grandchildren, consider sending them for a "Semester at Sea".
I've never been on a trip where I did NOT want to come home. Usually by the end of a trip I'm winding down and anxious to see what is going on at home. This trip was different. I truly did not want it to end. I loved almost everything about it.
Posted by Linda K 1/12/12 15:00 Archived in USA
