MAR 11: Miami - 2nd Time

 

Good morning, Miami!

SIRENA was docked and was offloading passengers before 08:00.

I won! I won! As people were getting ready to disembark, over the PA system came an announcement that "Ray" Norweb had won a $100 shipboard credit. It was one of two awarded to two people who had completed the cruise questionnaire. The bird poop was still working. (If you missed the bird poop story, refer to my February 28th post for an explanation.)

Although we were staying aboard, we could not stay aboard. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) required all passengers to be disembarked and reembarked. 

After gathering in one of the lounges at 09:15, we did a conga-line parade off the ship, down on an elevator, through immigration, up on an elevator, and back aboard. From start to finish, it took 17 minutes and 26 seconds. Cha-cha-cha! 

As mentioned in previous posts, the cruise we signed up for was one three-week rather than two eleven-day ones. Last year, when we deliberately did two consecutive short cruises, the passenger manifest had a 90% turnover at the midpoint. This year, the percentage was 95%. 

This made us even more suspicious about the incomplete Cartagena terminal. Not that many people on a well-subscribed cruise would have canceled due to the new itinerary, so the explanation's mother-goose factor increased to seven. 

New passengers poured aboard throughout the afternoon.

Our departure was almost an exact repeat of the one on March 01, except for some horn-blowing at a tour boat that was too aggressive in showing its passengers how close it could be to a moving cruise ship.

Unlike our last departure, the land had disappeared over the horizon before the sunset, a combination of each day since our previous departure getting a bit longer and the switch to daylight savings time.

We had a nice dinner and listened to music before heading to bed.