Bye.. I said BYE!!!

I set my alarm for a very early wake up call... Its the one day you just want to sleep in so that the saddest day ever doesnt really happen. I popped in the shower quickly, and got out in time to see this site.

Anyhow I think my alarm went off at 5am or so, and I went out to see this sad, but beautiful site. Normally there are just a couple people on their balcony's when we pull into port but today seems like almost everyone had the same idea. It was a quiet sad site for sure.

As we pulled into the harbor we passed a NCL ship.... cant remember which one.

The Splendor was ahead of us, they had already made the U-turn and were on their way to docking. Sad day for a bunch of us LOL.

Makes for a great picture though, as sad as it is.

Hello Miami.. it doesnt have the same ring like when we got here 10days ago.

I didnt have my camera set yet and missed the medical ship that was docked infront of the NCL ship.

Sun was slowly rising.

which means our time on ship was getting shorter and shorter.

Coffee came and I finished the last of my Rumchatta. I was worried that bottle would be too much, HA I should know better. No such thing as too much!

Around this time E woke up showered,  and sat on the balcony with me. The boys hopped in the shower next.

I enjoyed the last sunrise of our cruise #sadface

Once we were all dressed we headed up to the Lido to get our last breakfast.

P inhaled a burrito, I didnt even have time to take a picture.

Thats because his friends came by and he wanted to spend the last few moments with them. Funny they all hugged right after this pic and a few tears were shed from a few of them. There is talk now of meeting up somehow if their lives ever pass by each other again. 

My last omelette and banana bread.. which i finally found of course on the last day LOL. It was the greatest piece of bread ever.

Guess I didnt get J's breakfast, just asked him what he had and he looked at me like that was months ago I dont know LOL. Once we all finished we headed back to the room. One last selfie.

After everyone had cleaned up from breakfast we did one last sweep of the room to make sure we got all our stuff packed, Along with a panoramic (why did I not do this in port?) 

Another last selfie in front of our room.

(insert youtube video of Mattie kicking us off the boat!)

Last You Are Here pic.

Then made our way to find somewhere to wait... we had debark #25 or 26, and they had just started. So I had plenty of time to finish the LAST rum runner. 2glasses of  "lemonade" later and I was feeling even sappier. Our friends found us and sat next to us, we talked about our morning while waiting as they had a late debark # also.

Eventually our number was called and we all made our way to customs. Have to say Miami debark has been the easiest. They have your luggage come out on lettered baggage claim belts like at the airport. The boys spotted our stuff in seconds. We waited in line to declare ourselves. Why is it when you go thru customs when you know your not doing anything wrong you still get scared. Meanwhile E was asking the guy how he likes his job as when he gets out of the Marines he would like to do this has passed the test etc bla bla bla, and Im worried the sand in my shoe from walking on the beach is going to be detected LOL.

And like that, we were off #thebestcruiseEVER so the kids stated.

I went to check out the Hub App and this is what it showed me. Even it wanted nothing more to do with us.

So if you were wondering how I did on our bucket list... here's the final standings. 

Ok so the massage I got was from E while talking about booking a massage.

We didnt Parasail as that was to be done in Grand Turk.

Movie under the stars was just bits and pieces for E and I, but the boys caught a few of them.

Didnt win a ship on a stick, but did get a Coin up the @$$ LMAO 

E checked off Book another cruise as he talked to the rebook desk person which I told him that doesnt comeplete it.

We hugged our friends goodbye as they were flying out of Miami, and we caught the Avis shuttle towards the Miami airport. Once there we shoved our luggage into a small SUV. No upgrade as E insisted on doing the kiosk... NO never do that speak with a person be nice and you might get a free upgrade. 

Once we had crammed into the car, we set off on our 3hour tour towards Orlando airport. I found a much cheaper rate leaving there even with having to rent a car and gas. 

Once we were at the Orlando airport we turned in our car, checked in our luggage and had a couple hours to spare still. So we went for one last meal at E's favorite Chili's. Where we all chatted about how awesome of a time we had. Along with the question of when's the next one, get a job boys.

I even tried to pay for our bill with my S & S card... it wasnt as bad as Ocean Drive that's for sure.

When we were done we headed thru security and made our way on our direct flight to LAX. As you can see someone was making up for all the long nights of parting. We hadnt even taken off yet before he was cutting ZZZ's. Hmm wonder who he takes after? 

(insert Video of P snoozing)

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Call Me Gold Member

Woke up before the alarm even went off at 7am... this will be the routine while on vacation. Funny enough I cant do this during the week for work LOL.  Anyhow I jumped into the shower and got ready, then woke up the troops to do the same. 

Ran downstairs to eat a quick breakfast, then came back up to grab our bags and head out! We dropped our rental car at the Downtown Avis/Budget agency. Then got in line for the Free Shuttle to the Port. It was awesome as the family in front of us were from our cruise thread. So we began a round of introductions and since we were the only 2 family's able to fit on the shuttle it wasnt long before we saw her....

 The excitement level got higher in the car, everyone pulled out their phones and cameras to start taking pics. We were at the port by 10:30am, not bad. Had planned/hoped for a 10am arrival. Hubby was worried they wouldnt even let us in since our boarding pass said 1pm. Oh he's so pretty lol.

Shuttle parked and started unloading our crap, we tipped him, then turned around to a porter already getting our stuff tagged. So we tipped him, then headed for the terminal. 

Yes, we all were wearing sweatshirts, it was a chilly, windy morning.

Checked in with our boarding pass, then went thru security no prob, they run your stuff thru an xray machine like at the airport. (No hand checking at least for us this time. In Ft. Lauderdale they hand checked the drinks in our carry on.) Up the escalator we went and into line to officially check in!

10mins later we were standing at the counter getting our sign and sail cards. Which was a fun but still questionable experience. Reason being, this is the 2nd 8day cruise for all 4 of us. I was watching as the boys were handed their Red Cards... then the adorable girl behind the counter handed me a GOLD card... AHHHHHHHH. Uh but why? To which the gal said, cuz your special... umm k. Not going to disagree.. didnt want to say I should be red too, who's gonna pass up on moving up a category if thats in fact what is going on. All I could think of was our travel agent had arranged something??? (Anyone have any ideas why, my card is different as I am still unsure? Haven't talked to my agent yet)

When we were done checking in, we found some seats in the back and camped out for a bit. As I went to go charge my phone at the charging station they had, I noticed a few more people from our cruise thread. Did some more introductions, I think even hugs were given lol. We were just so excited. One gal got everyone bracelets to wear with our cruise date/ship name, so she was passing those out.  

Everyone was checking in on the various media sites, and as different zones were called we would see people pass us and wave hi. We all said to wear beads so that we could spot each other, so that helped. We were zone 6... not bad, but it felt like forever as we got to hear them start from the beginning. But then they finally got to 6 and we cheered... ok I cheered, the boys just grabbed their jackets and backpacks and looked at me like I was crazy.

Had to take the obligatory Bon Voyage pic, looks like 2 of us are happy to get on board, 1's getting there, & don't mind hubby. The Marine Corps has trained him not to smile LOL.

Going thru the photo process was fast, they had 3 backgrounds going (all the same) so before we knew it, we were walking up the gangplank.. well after one last selfie in the terminal.

You will see that pose from P a lot during this trip. 

We then were in the Atrium, taking it all in. Pics dont do it justice, it really is a site. I loved that its a little more contemporary and doesnt have that old Vegas feel like the older ships.

They were passing out Fun times so I grabbed one to start planning our day.

Ship Maps are always awesome.... boys of course had it memorized within a few hours it seemed. E and I still got lost trying to get off the ship on the last day LOL. 

For months now I had been counting down via the Carnival Hub App. Since we were on board now, I decided it was the perfect time to log in. At this point only I logged in, as the guys were all in their own world trying to figure out where to eat lunch. Our cruise thread had agreed when we all got on board to log in so that when we met up at our meet & greet later we all could connect.

When you officially log in on the APP you use your folio #, so it links all your info on it, such as who you are/age/room#/table#/etc. Then it gives you another 4digit# that is yours to give out to friends & family so they can contact you thru the app. It works like sending a text message you enter the persons 4digit # in, and request them to be a contact. Once they say yes, you can send a text msg to them. Now you wont have to remember their # each time, as once they accept your request it then enters their full name into the contacts area on the app. (I should have taken screen shots but forgot in the moment). But truly it is Easy Peasy! Best part it only cost $5 per folio account/person for the whole cruise. No more having to leave post it notes on the mirror in the room. Then going back and forth to check it every now and then to meet up or check on where the kids were.

Next Up: Let the Games Begin

Stepping Up on Ocean Drive

Yes, we have watched all the Step Up movies multiple times. So when we woke up and told the boys we were going to South Beach and onto Ocean Drive, they were actually excited for once. Only due in part to that darn movie lol. Well actually they were a bit miffed, since we woke them up... teenagers. This is what I had to sleep with last night...

Once we were all up and dressed we went down to the lobby where breakfast is included in our stay. Which normally was going for $200, but found a military deal for $150 a night x 2 nights. Every lil bit helps. It was a king bed with sofa sleeper, nothing spectacular.

Didnt take pics of breakfast but it was your normal continental fair, along with they had scrambled eggs, sausage, and make your own waffles. Even though I was on my 2nd day of vacation, I was still fixing breakfast for my crew... chocolate chip waffles anyone? Thankfully they had a great coffee bar with multiple kinds of flavored creamers that kept me happy.

Once we were done we headed out to South Beach, we wanted to get there early so we could leave early. The Music Festival was going on and had heard on the news it gets crazy after dark, so we didnt want to be anywhere near that ... especially with kids. (Sad part was no seeing the Art Deco District all light up at night though, oh well always next time LOL) 

Upon driving towards the freeway we noticed we were just around the corner from the Carnival Corp. Offices. I thought that was neat... no one else in my family did.

We passed the Miami Stadium, then drove by the Port, that got everyone excited to know we would be boarding a ship tmrw!

All of the communities going towards South Beach looked AMAZING. We wanted to check them out but thought that was a bit too stalkerish, so we just did drive by's from the freeway. Oh but that there,.. thats my yacht lol

It was a slow drive into South Beach, it was a Friday so Im sure the tourist were all out by now being that it was about 11am. Eventually we made it to Ocean Drive, and were in aww of the Art Deco District. Boys kept trying to figure out where they stopped traffic in the movie to start dancing.

We drove north on Ocean and just took it in, its a great way to see everything 1st, then eventually found a parking garage. Then walked along the boardwalk checking out hotels on the beach.

We wanted to rent bikes, they had Citi Bikes (citibikemiami.com/) set up around the city but we could never find 4. Thought it would be a great way to get back to the starting point of Ocean, then walk back through it. Instead we hoofed it all the way, checking out stores along the walk that had air conditioning to cool us down. It was a hot one, being from California we are used to the heat, but the humility gets us every time. Poor J was dying, granted he was carrying the backpack full of water. 

I was able to take a few pics to check out the ol skool buildings, Im sure it looks amazing all lite up at night. 

We forgot the selfie stick (yes we have one, its the only way I get in pictures now adays.) So we took pics of the boys, which by now they were on each others last nerves. Then they took one of hubby and I. 

We saw a lot of ... umm interesting sites. Cars were just screaming LOOK AT ME... and we did. My 16yr old, well and for that matter my hubby were enjoying watching a few ladies sunbathe, run or skate by. Oh to be young and have a body again.... lol.

This one was original... and bright.

Who knew General Lee was in South Beach?

Everyone was getting hungry as it was now around 1pm-ish. I had tried to find a Groupon but the boys were all hungry, thirsty, and hot. So we stopped at the next place we saw with food that looked pretty good. (BIG MISTAKE, look for a coupon/groupon etc prior... just saying) Hubby saw a huge Beer-garita go by and said lets get one to share.. ok. He's not a big drinker (I am) so when he said get a drink for him I dont 2nd guess it. My 12yr old J, wanted a strawberry margarita (virgin of course)














One quesadilla, and 3 burgers later we were stuffed. Food was good, drinks hit the spot. Then the bill came and we about died. $204.... $30 service charge, what's that you ask... thats just for dinning on Ocean Drive. No joke we asked about it. We can cross that off our list of things to do once and never do again LOL.


After filling our bellies and emptying our wallet, we hit a few stores on the way back to the car for the usual souvenirs, shirts, coffee mug, thimble for my mom (she lives across the street from us and takes the boys to and from school). Got a few postcards but couldn't find anywhere to mail them... oh well. I'll add them to our scrapbook.

We made it back to the car just in time as it started pouring but didnt last long ....

Nor did the boys, soon as we got in the car the passed out. Really I should be the one passing out since I had the huge Beer-Garita... just goes to show you they cant keep up with their momma! 

As we were leaving we did see these signs all over the place, at 1st we though oh SHNAP Emily you go girl, telling Martin off. Then once I got back to the hotel, realized it was all a great promotional get up. #goodjobsales 

Also back in the room I filled up our rum runners (yes, we are those people too) with Rumchatta and Bacardi. A lil something for me, and for the hubby. Repacked our suitcases, and got the carryon ready for our big day tmrw. I would say that we would be too excited to sleep but thats not correct, 3 of them would have no prob snoring the night away... me I would be both excited and annoyed from the snores LOL. 

I logged into our cruise meet and chatted with everyone, reading what they did for the day or hearing about their flights/drives in. 

Couldn't wait to meet everyone finally after months of getting to know each other we all would meet in less than a few hours!

Eventually I put a pillow over my head and was able to muffle the snores enough to fall fast asleep.

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