Short Cruises 101 Part 5

Kevin and I reached our final day at sea and could not believe how amazing our journey had been. Even with changes in port stops, service never waivered. I have to admit, If I had my way I would have added an extra day to our stop in Catalina, we had so much fun on our excursions on the island that I would have preferred returning their to an extra day at sea. One thing that I do remember quite clearly is that time really is important on excursion days, you fill time so easily and don't realize your day is over before you know it. I remember our last day at sea bittersweetly. By that time, Kevin and I had become friends with every ship location of interest knew our way around and really gotten used to our stateroom. We joked and looked with expectation to see what goodies towel pet our steward left for us at turn down service. And oh yes, I took photos of my favorite towel pet. At that point, we were in our groove, relaxed and appreciating all the moments remaining on our time at sea.

What I learned during our last segment:
1) The people who you have dinner with can become friends you keep in touch with.
2) Attend the debarktion seminar, it walks you through what happens the last morning when you leave the ship.
3) The ship is pretty much empty by 9:30 am, so don't party too hard the last night as you will have to be up and about early the next day. Packing after a hard party night really is as hard as it sounds.
4) Be generous to your Maitre'd in your final dinner tip envelope. In their quest to bring good service to us on Carnival they did a little song, joke or other entertaining thing as a group each time we were on board. As corny as it was, it was endearing on the last night. I may have covered my ears as they guys could not sing, but had a smile on my face the whole time.
5) You can leave an extra tip for your Steward. Most people do when special service is rendered.
6) All non-US citizens are required to put out their luggage the night before for customs inspection. Kevin, who is Canadian, had to put his luggage out and we both put together our luggage and left it outside our cabin prior to dinner. The next morning, it was actually pretty nice not having to worry about our stuff. We actually enjoyed a leisurely morning, had breakfast and made our way off the ship. In the end, all we really had to do was check out with our sail and sign card and then proceed to stand in line hand in hand at customs and lastly pick up our luggage at the luggage room.
When all was said and done, I have to admit Kevin and I truly enjoyed our adventure on the ocean and I happily would love to do another cruise in the future exploring other great locations. I hope you enjoyed Short Cruises 101 and look forward to writing on other locations and vacations all over the world. Please feel free to comment on anything you have read.