The disembarkation process was more difficult than it should have been, but not as bad as it was on the Vista. We gathered in the theater, without luggage, and waited about 30 minutes before being allowed to leave the ship. But the exit, rather than being on that level or the level below, was 5 levels down (due, apparently, to a malfunction of the main gangway). So we either had to wait a very long time for an elevator or haul the luggage down the steps. We opted for the steps. This was arduous as the suitcases were heavy (in part because they now held the 4 bottles of rum and wine that we had acquired during the cruise). I worked up a sweat by the time we got to shore.
We took the courtesy van to the parking lot, loaded the luggage and began Hop 2 shortly thereafter.
Shortly before leaving on the cruise we decided to cancel our stay in Pigeon Forge and instead spend 3 days in Charleston SC. This saved at least 4 hours of travel time. I knew that Marlene would enjoy Charleston and there was no compelling reason to go to Pigeon Forge. So we changed our planned itinerary.
Hop 2, then, was 441 miles via I-295 (through Tampa), I-75, US 441, US 301, I-10, I-295 (around Jacksonville), I-95 and US 17. Cumulative miles: 590. The trip included refueling and rest stops in Savannah GA. Marlene wanted to visit the Morgan Rae boutique in Savannah which she recalled fondly from a previous trip there. I treated her to two inexpensive dresses.
The roads were fine but the weather was not. It started raining as we were leaving the dress shop and got heavy quickly. It continued to rain for the final 2 hours of the trip. At times the rain was very heavy. We arrived after 6pm and immediately went out to dinner at The Roost, a sports bar near our hotel. We had a light dinner of chicken wings and fries. I had a beer which I felt I needed after hours driving in the rain.
We were disappointed to discover that the room had no refrigerator or microwave. But it did have a coffee maker and was otherwise quite acceptable. We got some ice from the lobby, had a nightcap and went to bed. A long day of driving and some late casino nights on the ship had taken their toll.
I should say a few words about the Carnival Paradise. This is an old ship (it entered service in 1998) and is one of the smallest ships in the Carnival fleet. It was adequate for our purposes, I suppose, but was not special in any way. It was, however, weird in almost every way. Most ships have the casino, shops, lobby and theater on a lower deck – usually deck 3 or 4. On the Paradise the lobby was on deck 7, the theater and shops were on deck 8 and the casino was on deck 9. The lifeboats which are usually on deck 4 or 5 were on deck 11, above the swimming pool. Very strange.