Carnival Sailabration: Debarkation
Good morning! Today is debarkation day. If I had a flight, I would’ve done platinum priority debarkation. I’m driving home and I don’t have to be anywhere tomorrow so I’m not in a hurry to get off of the ship.
I’m going to enjoy a coffee and breakfast before leaving the ship. It’s colder than expected for mid-March in New Orleans.
Here are the first debarkation announcements I heard with their times.
7:25 – Muster stations A&B that have all of their luggage.
7:45 – Muster stations A-D with all luggage.
7:50 – Muster stations A-F with all luggage.
7:55 – Muster stations A-H with all luggage.
8:05 – All guests with all luggage
I checked out of my room and I’m going to get one final mocha on the cheers package. That’s a guide dog at the front of the line.
It sounds like I just made it for breakfast. The waiter said we needed to get the order in quick because they were going to shut it down soon.
French Toast.
Broken egg sandwich.
After breakfast I found a quiet place to sit in the piano bar.
I wonder if the luggage is really taking this long or if I’m missing announcements. I have seen it take longer to clear luggage when Belize is a port.
That’s my shuttle.
I got everything in my backpack. I just couldn’t get it closed. Well I did leave my antibacterial hand soap behind. There wasn’t much left in the bottle. I am wearing two pair of boxer shorts. I forgot to pack a pair in my suitcase and they weren’t squeezing in that backpack. I definitely should’ve brought my monster backpack since I wasn’t flying this trip.
Finally I asked someone and apparently they did call luggage tags 1-4 and I missed it.
The line is backed up to the door so they won’t let me go yet.
Cruise Director Cam comes over and says hold the line.
Now they let us go.
This lady was in line and left her group to get back on the ship so she could use the bathroom. Now she’s trying to push her way past everyone to get back with her group and it’s a mess. I don’t know why she can’t just text them to wait for her.
That’s one of the American Cruise Line river boats. You see them in New Orleans frequently. Normally I see them by the Riverwalk Mall but NCL Breakaway is parked there today.
Is there anyone in front of me? If there is I can’t see them.
I made it through customs. I can’t walk past that old customs station without thinking about my first cruise when they interrogated me and went through all of my luggage thinking I was smuggling drugs. I of course was not.
There’s my suitcase.
Carnival airport transportation is that big white bus. It was right where you step out of the terminal.
NCL Breakaway.
There’s no Fulton shuttle and there’s a long line for it. I hope they send two! I wasn’t counting on it being low 40’s this time of year so I’m out here in a t-shirt.
It’s here. They had two but the other looked to be dropping off at the NCL port.
That’s the Riverwalk mall right there.
It looks like I’m going to have to wait for the next shuttle. Hopefully not too long. My jacket is in the car. I never needed it in March out of New Orleans.
This will be my ride.
Or not. There was this couple. The girl grabs their suitcases. moves to the front of the line, puts them down in front of the driver and says “We’re on this shuttle.” I didn’t realize it at the time but that move cost me a seat on that shuttle.
I could’ve walked to the garage by now.
Power wash.
I’m finally on the shuttle. That was a 40 minute wait for me to get on a shuttle. This is my 9th time using Fulton garage and I have never had anything like this. It really has me questioning whether or not I would use them next time.
I guess it is just one bad experience out of nine trips. I don’t know what I would do next time.
I don’t plan to go out of New Orleans anytime soon unless they get a newer ship or different ports. Back-to-back 5-day cruises that get me to Progreso twice is something that’s on my RADAR. I’d prefer to do that on Breeze which is out of Galveston. But if that’s too expensive I could end up doing it on Valor out of New Orleans. Other than that It would probably have to be a Panama Canal cruise or a newer ship.
I could always decide to branch out and try NCL Breakaway.
A look at NCL Breakaway from atop the Fulton parking garage.
I am on my way home.
The remaining amount of that $200 gift card I applied to my account was refunded by an e-gift card the morning after debarkation.
Next time we’re going to Alaska via Seattle on Carnival Splendor!
