I went to Florida a day before I was scheduled to leave for my cruise. I wanted to spend time with one of my favorite cousins Lisa plus, I didn’t want the hustle and bustle of rushing to the port (remember this statement) right after flying in.
Our first plane ride together
On Saturday night we had an awesome dinner at Grand Luxe Café by the Saw Grass Mall and of course I ordered my favorite, the Cedar Planked BBQ Salmon and I even got Lisa’s husband Anthony to try it and he definitely liked it.
Finally it’s the morning of our cruise!! I did what I normally do first thing in the morning and checked my phone. I opened an email from Carnival that said if you have flexible travel plans arrive at the port between 2 and 3:30pm. That was perfect since Lisa and Anthony had to go to church that morning anyway. Once they got home, Nelson and Anthony went back on the street to run a few errands then we were off to Ft. Lauderdale port.
As we were driving to the port, Lisa kept pointing out that she has never left for a cruise from the Ft. Lauderdale port. She even ran down a list of people she has taken to meet the ship and not one of them left from there either. I heard her talking the whole time but I wasn’t really paying attention to what she was saying. I was too excited, flirting, and playing googly eyes with Nelson after not seeing him for a while. Not once did I think to check the paperwork in my purse.
We pulled up to port security and the officer asked what ship we were here for. I piped up from the back seat, “Carnival Valor”. He replied, “Carnival Freedom”. Without batting an eye, I repeated,”No Carnival Valor”. I was getting annoyed at this point and basically gave the officer the check your paperwork look when I should have been checking mine. After the officer reviewed his clipboard he confirmed that the Carnival Valor was NOT leaving from Ft. Lauderdale. I finally checked my green folder and I was suppose to be at the Port of Miami!
At this point it’s after 3:10 and I’m in a total panic. I call the emergency Carnival hotline and they said the latest I could get to port and still make it on is 3:45 but here’s the kicker… the port of Miami is 40-45 mins away. I’m freaking out and almost burst in to tears at the thought of ruining Nelson’s vacation not to mention how embarrassed I am. Thank God Lisa married Anthony who must have been a Nascar driver in his former life because he got us there safely and with time to spare. Nelson thought getting there late was the best thing ever since there were no lines and getting through was a cinch. I beg to differ… I never want that type of stress and worry again.
After getting over the shock and fear of almost messing up my vacation I was able to take it all in and look forward to my 7 days of R and R!
The first full day of our ocean voyage was spent on the sea. We spent the day on the adults only Serenity deck soaking up the sun while reading and napping.
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