WorldTravelReynolds

Is it goodbye? Or just maybe see ya later! I prefer the latter option. Goodbyes are just too hard and too sad! But I do have a funny story so read to the end!

We woke up this morning to the music of Cococay! It’s something they have streamed through the cabins that plays when the gangway is down and ready for everyone to head out. A cute lively little tune.

We took our time and had a leisurely breakfast. The nice part was we had friends save us a lounge chair on the island! We didn’t use ours much though. Way too hot. Another friend had saved some chairs in the shade so we jumped at the opportunity to borrow theirs for a while. We are just not sun worshippers. The entire trip I only wore my swimsuit once and that was at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. Chuck enjoyed a couple of times in the ships hot tub trying to appease his hip to no avail.

Once we arrived, the water show started with two guys on water-sport vehicles giving a great show. The first one was doing back flips with his seadoo. The most flips was 10 in a row! It was very impressive! The second guy was on a flyboard. This is where you are standing on a board and are propelled by water jets coming from your feet. It was pretty awesome and a great show from both of them. We saw the show twice before leaving the island mid afternoon.

After lunch the heat was just too much so we had a couple of ice cream cones to cool off and then headed back to the ship.

We relaxed a little and then finished our packing. All our bags and suitcases had to be outside tonight. We packed a total of 11 suitcases and 2 backpacks! We can’t believe it but it all fit. Woohoo! Imagine packing up your whole house to move. Not near as big, but tons of stuff on the walls, under the bed, in the closets, drawers, on the floor and bathroom. Although we did purchase a suitcase in Denmark, we also had to buy two of Royal Caribbeans duffle bags which cost so much less than that suitcase. Those will be good for future travel so they’ll be put to good use after this cruise. All of my souvenirs, magnets and Christmas ornaments were in two suitcases and then some. We bought (or as Chuck will quickly say, Lea Ann bought) too much! I’m ok with taking the blame. I wanted something from every country. We may never see those places again. I also wanted something for my kiddos and grandkids.

We had so much luggage in the room that Chuck was stacking them on the bed, in the bathroom and closet until finished.

So, our luggage was put out by 8 pm. Finished! Finally! It was a miracle indeed. I wasn’t too anxious over the 11 suitcases when I found out that the couple with the most had 35 bags! They only brought 22! 😳 The husband said his wife went on a 9 month shopping spree! 😂

When the sun set and the stars came out, we had a beautiful fireworks display in front of the ship. Royal blocked it off for World cruisers only so we could have a front row seat. It was a nice thing to do so we are happy they did that! oh and guess what? More champagne! 😵‍💫

After the show was dinner at the buffet. An extraordinary meal filled with steak, lobster, crab and other great seafood. We also had a beautiful cake!

Remember cruises when ice sculptures were on the midnight buffet when traveling years ago? We had a beautiful ice sculpture of Royal Caribbeans logo. It’s was great to see this again.

Our final show was an ACappella group that we’ve seen before and they were great! They helped us keep our spirits up all evening until the end. The entire crew parades around the theater to say goodbye. Lots more hugs and so many tears. It was a hard evening.

We slept on our amazing mattress for the last time and got up early to meet friends for breakfast and leave the ship. It was an easier process than I would have imagined since this was also immigration and customs. We haven’t seen the US since Hawaii back in February! The worst part was waiting on our luggage. Two hours to get it all collected.

Chuck and Mark went to pick up the SUVs. Mark picked up a mommy van. We started out with a BMW X5 because that’s what we drove down in at the beginning of the cruise. Well Chuck was convinced everything wouldn’t fit so he upgraded to a tank! An Expedition. It did really well and we were pleased it all fit!

A nice drive home and we unloaded all the luggage then picked up a pizza for dinner since no food in the house.

Early the next day we returned the rental car and bought a truck. It’s a Honda Ridgeline. We love it! And Scott seems to be loving my Mustang convertible we sold him before we left.

So here’s that funny story you needed to wait for. Was unpacking and kept looking for items we had, such as chocolates I bought around the world, some souvenirs and some clothes. I looked at the suitcases and counted them again and again. Then it dawned on me. Where is the oversized, big purple, 78 lb suitcase, that you can’t miss? After panicking and finally finding someone at Royal to talk to, it was found. Such a relief but you’re not going to believe this.

Remember when I said we had luggage tucked away in different places? That bad boy was on the ship, in our cabin, in the closet!!!!! 😂 We could not believe we did that! We always check everywhere to make sure we don’t leave anything on a cruise. We also left our toiletries in the bathroom so I can understand missing those. But a big huge purple suitcase? I think we were just so tired and the process of leaving and saying more goodbyes we just didn’t think. But so grateful Royal came through for us and found it and shipped it. It cost a little too much but it was our fault so I’m just thankful they found it.

On my final post, I’ll talk about all the statistics and stuff about the history we made, etc. you’ll want to see that one.

We are happy to be home but will miss our new friends and family so much. We will definitely keep in touch with many either on social media, text or phone but as much as we all love cruising I’m sure we will see many along the way!

May God bless you always.

Chuck and Lea Ann