The End of the Cruise

Our last full day on the ship was spent at sea. It was nice to be able to sleep in & relax, but we were all a little sad that our trip was coming to an end. 

Our last little towel animal

I don't remember what exactly we did on our last day, but nothing too crazy. I think we just hung out, played some shuffleboard (for real), and went to some of the activities that were going on around the ship. Oh, and Tyler & Josh took full advantage of the pizza bar one last time.
That night Josh & I had reservations for one of the specialty restaurants on the ship. We had made all of those reservations before we got on board, before we knew what the other food on the ship would be like. We could have cancelled the reservation, but we had to do it more than 24 hours in advance, and by the time we got back from Cozumel and got showered, it was too late to do it. We still could have not gone, but they would have charged us the full price per person if we hadn't gone. It was an Italian place and it was okay, but not great. We would've preferred to eat in the main "casual" dining room. Now we know that the next time we go on a cruise, we should check out all the free dining rooms before paying extra for a specialty one.

After dinner we met up with Tyler & Armyn and went to some of the shows and then did some last-minute exploring. 

Josh & I in front of one of the big Christmas trees on the ship

Tyler & Armyn

Cool blue tree

The next day was Sunday and the day we had to get off the ship. We finished our last minute packing and then went and got some breakfast at the buffet (I think it was the only thing open). After breakfast we said goodbye to the ship and went through customs. When we were done with that, we called the same guy who had driven us to the port from our hotel and had him take us to the airport. The ship is supposed to dock at 8 am, but we didn't want to risk missing our flight, and ships aren't always on time, so we booked a later flight that didn't leave until 2 or 3 pm. There was an 11 am flight that we actually would have had plenty of time to make and we thought about trying to get on that one, but we would have had to pay the difference in the ticket prices, and it wasn't worth it. My brother & his family were living in Florida at the time and were actually fairly close to Tampa that weekend. I knew we had a long wait, so they met us at the airport so we could hang out for a bit. We had originally planned on all of us (Tyler & Armyn included) going to the beach, but then my sister-in-law didn't know the beaches near there and didn't know if there would be showers there so we could clean off before our flight, so we decided to skip the beach and go to a park instead. Then, when we got to the airport, they told us we couldn't check our bags more than 4 hours before the flight  so we had to keep our bags with us. Because of that, there wasn't enough room in my brother's car for all 8 of us plus all of our bags, so Tyler & Armyn stayed at the airport. 

It was really nice being able to see my brother & his family, even though it was way too short.

Josh, me, Ethan, Emily, Dave & Mary

After we were able to hang out for a little bit, they took us back to the airport. We checked our bags and went to hang out near our gate. There was a Chile's there (the airport version with a smaller menu & faster service) that we thought about eating at, but we didn't think we'd have enough time. We bought some other food that was, of course, outrageously expensive, and waited for our flight. Tyler & Armyn joined us later (they had been wandering somewhere else) for a little bit before our flight left. They had a later flight and had to wait a bit more. 

The flights were fine, just kind of boring and a bit long. We only had one layover, so it wasn't too bad. We got into Salt Lake at about 10 PM local time. There was a little bit of snow on the ground at the airport, but as we drove further south to pick up our kids, the snow on the ground increased dramatically. The kids were asleep when we picked them up and I don't think they really knew what was going on. When we got home and put them to bed, though, I gave Sofia a hug and she kind of woke up and said, "Mommy!" in a very sleepy but excited voice. It was so sweet!

It was so nice to be back with our kids & home in our bed, but it was a little sad to not be on vacation anymore and to come home to snow.  I definitely would love to do another cruise some day, hopefully sooner than later. I would also like to take my kids on one, too, but I don't think that will be any time soon. The next time I go on a cruise, I would like to spend a little bit more and go on a slightly nicer one. I would love to go on one for my 30th birthday, which is in 2 1/2 years, so hopefully we can make that work!