193 miles via FL 864. FL 80, FL 29, FL 78, US 27, FL 70, I-95 and FL 528. Auto miles: 203 (10 extra miles doing errands). Cumulative route miles: 193. Cumulative auto miles: 203.
This was an easy hop, terminating at the cruise parking lot. We then took a shuttle to the port and boarded the Carnival Vista much more efficiently than on our first Vista cruise. We were on board and having lunch by 2pm. Easy peasy.
Then the bad news arrived: the ship has engine problems. We would be able to proceed on the 8-day cruise, but on a completely different itinerary. Rather than going to Aruba and Curacao – two of our favorite cruise destinations – plus Grand Turk and a private island in the Bahamas we would be getting two Bahamas ports (Nassau and Freeport) and two private Bahama islands. Not interesting at all. Carnival offered a full refund to anyone who decided to leave the ship (but with a lot of uncertainty about whether the crew could find the luggage in time to disembark) and a $400 per stateroom credit for anyone staying on board. The cruise is cheap for us so $400 is almost a full refund. And we have nothing better to do so we will swallow our disappointment and sail on. But Marlene’s son and daughter-in-law paid much more so the decision is much more difficult for them.
It is a huge mess – one of the biggest messes we have encountered on our cruises. And who knows… we might get stranded at sea. Stay tuned.
One unexpected bonus: the Norwegian Jade was also in port. I don’t think I have mentioned this yet, but we are planning on being on board the Jade next April for a 25-night cruise from Tampa to Anchorage AK. It is a small ship, as would be expected for a Panama Canal passage. It was interesting seeing it and anticipating that future cruise.