December 1,2023 Nassau Bahamas

I woke as we were sailing into our last port and was rewarded with some lovely views.

This sunrise looks like a sunset
The view from our balcony…looking East
Looking West
Arriving, we found these two waiting for us
As we were having breakfast, this beauty pulled in.
Wait, wait…we are not done yet… here comes Carnival…now we have a party.
Timmy created this for me using his cruise mapper app.

We were entertained for almost an hour watching families disembark the Disney ship…so many people…so many children. After a while, the noise from the Disney loud speakers got to us, so we decamped the balcony.

We decided not to join the thousands of other cruise ship passengers in Nassau and chose instead to get a start on packing 🥲

Final lunch in Marketplace … all my faves…beet salad, sweet potato fries, a salt stick and some bubbles
Ricardo and Rahul

We grabbed some ice cream from Scoops, stopped by the Bistro for cappuccino, then resumed packing. I spent some time in the gym, Tim might have napped and next thing we knew it was time to meet Pamela and Tom for dinner.

Leaving port.
Final sunset…
…every sunset is a wonder…
…this one was bittersweet…
Not quite the last mirror selfie
Oh my goodness…can you see the look on Timmy’s face??? He is so done with these mirror pics
🩵🩵

As soon as we sat down, I asked Tim to take a photo of me and Pam …I didn’t want a repeat of the other evening when I was so excited to see her that I forgot to memorialize the happy event. Thank goodness Tom and Timmy like each other, because I don’t think we said three words to our husbands all evening. Dining with Pamela was a highlight of the cruise. We had so much fun catching up …I cannot tell you how wonderful it was. During our time working together, Pamela and I shared many, many happy moments …she was the absolute best colleague…we were like two peas in a pod, so compatible, so in sync … her sweetness softened my sharp edges… we shared a love for our students, the College we worked for and our monthly poker group. To say we shared a delightful reunion is an understatement. 🩵🩵🩵

Both Pam and I ordered the mushroom appetizer
Southwestern corn fritter for Tim…he loves his fritters
Tom, Zayne and Timmy
Some kind of Curry dish for me (and Pamela)
Pheasant with Potato Williams for Tim …Potato Williams is a thing…look it up…
My face hurt from smiling and laughing…all night long🩵
Can’t have too many pics
Having Elvis serve us was the cherry on top♥️
Look up pure happiness in the Crystal dictionary and you will find this photo
So that’s John Peter with Elvis…he’s from South Africa, new to Crystal and a treasure
I guess Timmy felt we didn’t have enough photos…I love this one because it captures a special moment in time.
These sorbets are too creamy to be sorbets…
Key Lime for the win

After dinner we sat in the Cove enjoying Leandro on the piano, laughing and reminiscing some more…finally departing to finish up packing before the 11:00 pm deadline.

December 2, 2023 sailing into Miami.
Final breakfast …coffee, English muffin, croissants
…and the last mirror selfie. “C’mom dearest, please don’t be a frowny-face”
🩵🩵

So perfectly fitting, as our driver pulled away from the curve…we spotted Pam and Tom♥️.

Our return to Serenity was all that we hoped it would be. Nineteen days passed so quickly and so wonderfully. Timmy caught a big fish, we snorkeled, we dined on amazing cuisine, drank special wines, made new friends, reunited with Pamela and Tom, enjoyed outstanding entertainment and experienced the best crew at sea.
We arrived back in Sarasota just after 1:00 pm …I think the cats were happy to see us, hard to tell. 🩵