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March 17, 2025 The journey home

    We had an early start with our alarm blaring at 4:20 a.m.   We had the muffins and oranges that we got from yesterdays breakfast buffet when we arrive just before 10 a.m. when it closed, and were told we could help ourselves to the buffet since we would be leaving too early in the morning for the included breakfast.     The shuttle to the airport arrived just after 5 a.m. We were getting our luggage tags by 5:30 a.m. There already were thousands of people milling around. After baggage drop there was a short train to take to terminal E, then the security line. We found out that people over 75 do not need to remove their shoes for US security.     By 6:30 a.m. we were looking for gate 65 for the 7:25 a.m. flight to Minneapolis. Claire, in the middle seat, listened during the three hour three minute flight to non stop chattering, boarding on drivel, from the window woman passenger. She follows fake news themes like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelens...
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March 16, 2025 Tampa disembark the ship

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     Constellation was docking before 6:30 a.m. Passengers started to disembark in Tampa at Terminal 3 shortly after 7 a.m. The sun had not risen yet, but the sky was cloudy, temperature was 23°C and wind was SSE 18 km/hr. It was a dull day. There is a storm warning for later this afternoon for the Tampa Bay area, but further north there are tornado warnings and storm warning all the way north to Buffalo, New York on Lake Ontario.    Our time to disembark was 9 a.m. since we are staying in Tampa and will fly out early Monday morning. Claire had a mild sore throat in the morning that didn’t cause any problems. There are other storms in Canada and covering many states in the U.S.     We had packed everything last night so it was just our backpacks and computer case to take with us to breakfast in the main dining room on Deck 4 just after 7:15 a.m., we missed the lineup that was 15 minutes later.   After breakfast we climbed to the upper level of the...
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March 15, 2025 Sea Day #5

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    Clocks were set forward one hour overnight. Sea Day #2 of the second cruise en route back to Tampa. On board today is “ Poolest Day Ever ”. There are lots of activities happening around the outdoor pool on Deck 10.     There were clouds again today ringing the horizon which took the sun until after 9 a.m. to clear the clouds. The sea swells were about one meter high. By the afternoon the larger clouds had disappeared and it was hot, close to 30°C on the open decks.     We enjoyed our breakfast with Zegrid in Qsine. We always looked forward to breakfasts with her. She leaves the ship tomorrow too.     The captain’s announcement returned to the sea day routine, hearing it at 9:52 a.m. giving weather information, a southeast wind at 13 km/h, temperature 27°C and distance just 296 nautical miles to Tampa. So far the voyage had covered 1,376 nautical miles.       We climbed to Deck 10 for the Aqua Fun exercise class. There were about...
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March 14, 2025 Cozumel, Mexico

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    Clocks were set forward one hour overnight, since Belize does not observe Daylight Saving time, otherwise Mexico and Belize would have the same time.     The sun was shining with fluffy clouds hovering above the horizon. The forecast shows no chance of rain. Temperature at 8 a.m. was 27°C, wind SE 19 km and humidity 76%, much less humid than yesterday.      We joined Zegrid for breakfast in Qsine this morning as Constellation maneuvered into her berth.    Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas was moored on the other side of the dock. Carnival Liberty was also in port. Our guide, Nacho, said there were four other ships in port using the other pier for cruise ships.    Our excursion today was called Flavors and Traditions of Mexico. We chatted with Kelly and Sasha from Buffalo, New York, who said they and their parents were on the same excursion as us yesterday.     All 18 participants were on board the air conditioned t...
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