A quick shower when we wake and Bernie takes two loads of
clothes to the laundry. Yes Princess
gives us free laundry services but there is something about throwing it all in
a washing machine (we bring our own detergent) and getting everything
washed/ironed/folded for the next leg.
We are once again moving cabins but we are literally just
moving from 411 to 105. Yes we are all
the way forward.
Originally we were to
be in the same cabin we had on the first leg but when we saw that it had two
upper berths folded up into the side walls.
To save our heads and shoulders we knew we needed to see if we could
move cabins for the fourth leg. I
contacted our travel agent 20 days ago to see about moving and 105 was
open. It is not a inside sideways that
we would of preferred but it is a quiet regular inside and that works out fine
for us.
We move our suitcases and clothes on the hangars very
quickly. Yes Princess will move us if we
need them to but we can move it and we don’t have to be anywhere and since they
are so busy we gladly move it ourselves.
The new cabin is not completely ready so we just put the
bags in the closet and head ashore just prior to the in transit meet time of
9:30.
I haven’t mentioned that today is Sunday and boy is Port
Everglades ever busy!!! The Regal is at Pier
2, and the Crown Princess is at Pier 1. Also Allure, two Holland America ships, and a Celebrity ship. CRAZY.
Of course with this many ship in port it impacts the whole
city. It is busy, taxis are busy, custom
agents are spread thin and it is really not something we enjoy.
Normally we stay on board and just do in transit but we have
things to do ashore.
We get in the queue for customs and it is long but moving
and before it snakes back and forth we are able to go into the Global Entry
line and we are thru within 2 minutes.
Once at the pier side we were going to take a taxi but the
queues were very long and then we saw the port shuttle, which is complimentary. This is here to move people who parked at
Pier 2 which we left from. We get on and
then get off at Pier 2 and just walk in from there.
It is very hot and humid (there was a quick shower first
thing this am).
We walk to Publix and stock up on a few items (toothpaste,
shampoo, cough drops for a crew member, and another essential oil for the
cabin).
We tried to get our nails done but they don’t open till
later today and when we do stop in later they are busy and ask us to come back
in an hour but that won’t work for us.
For lunch we went to the Boatyard and enjoyed a lovely drink
and meal. We needed this bit of peace as
the whole day just felt crazy.
Now what to do? We
are just outside Wallgreens and another couple from our ship need to get back
to pier 21 too. Yes you could walk as there are sidewalks but it is a long
distance and would take about a half hour at least.
Bernie flags down a taxi and he pulls into Wallgreens and
picks all four of us up. I noticed that
the taxi had not turned on the meter and mentioned it to him, he said he had
(but he clearly had not). I know there
is a sign on the back seat saying if the meter is not on call this number and
get the ride for free so we knew we were covered.
When he arrives at Pier 21 he says it is $9 which is what I
would expect so we gladly pay. He then
says it is an added $10 and we say why and he says because I picked you up at Port
Everglads (it is a minimal fee of $10 if picked up at the pier or airport) but I
said you picked us at Wallgreens and last I looked the ships don’t dock at Wallgreens.
We stood our ground and paid him and left.
And they wonder why we don’t like taxis and embrace Uber. Note most times it is not an issue with taxis
and most are fair.
