Moving on with the trip I can never seem to get caught up on. The night before getting off the ship, they gave us two options for how to disembark. We could either put our luggage out the night before and have them take care of it, which would have taken longer. Or we could have taken our luggage ourselves and left the ship earlier. Well, we certainly didn’t trust them with our luggage after all they’d fucked up, and we definitely wanted to get off the damn shit as fast as possible. So that’s just what we did. The sooner we could leave, the sooner I could see my sister for the first time since June 9, 1992.

As our luck would have it, we had trouble finding someone to shuttle us to Enterprise, the people we rented a navy Jeep 4x4 with Pennsylvania plates from, so we hailed a cab. Because we got there a half-hour early we had to stand outside and wait.

Tom was able to get cell reception upon docking and while we stood outside Enterprise waiting, I called Tammy. As I worried she would be, she was practically in tears as she was worried about the lack of contact. Also, she hadn’t slept the night before due to how excited she was to finally hold me in her arms after so long.

So was I! So we fueled up on breakfast at Denny’s and headed up to Stuart where I called her a second time.

We used my cell to navigate our way through her park which is quite a maze compared to ours. The roads are as curvy as yours truly. Where we have narrow yards and wider streets, it’s the other way around with her place. I might actually be a bit uncomfortable riding bikes there as flat as it is. All the roads are lighter in color in Florida, too.

Finally, I spotted her place and recognized it right away from both her pictures as well as satellite images. We pulled up behind an SUV and got out. My sister busted out of her lanai, down the steps, and down the driveway to where I stood. It was one of the most emotional embraces of my life! Tears of joy sting my eyes at the memory of it. We hugged fiercely, sobbing on each other shoulders. Well, more like me on her chest and her on my head, LOL. She still has a good 6 or 7 inches on me.

Movement then caught my attention out of my peripheral vision. Someone tall. A flash of deep auburn-colored hair.

Story to be continued for this writer is now choking to death after swallowing her tea wrong.

Later…

So I get this long rant from Seashell in regards to our trip (I figured she might take it a little too personally being a travel agent and all that), and here is my response to the key highlights of that rant. If she can’t agree to disagree from here on out. I’m not going to argue. I’ll just block her. I’m not going to defend my shitty experiences to a total stranger. I tread carefully when it comes to her, though, because she’s unstable. She’s got a temper and has admitted to seeking revenge on the others and even hacking their computers, so I’m careful what I say to her while trying to remain honest. But like I said, if she doesn’t handle my reply well then there’s nothing to say at all.

“Get off the net, you are on vacation!”

Actually, we wanted the net access for banking purposes. We make a point of checking our accounts twice a day to ensure no unauthorized charges are present. We once found a $200 charge for a gaming site we had nothing to do with and had it promptly removed.

“Those people are from third world countries who make ZERO money from the cruise line except in tips. That was a pure asshole move to take away from those hardworking people.”

Wow, Jamaica and England are third-world countries? The crew came from many different countries from what we saw, and like it or not, our housekeeper didn’t do a good job at all. Trash would be left behind as well as requests going unfulfilled or fulfilled incorrectly. It’s just like when you eat at a restaurant… if you don’t like the service, you don’t leave a tip. :)

Secondly, as far as we always knew, tips aren’t their only source of income. They also get payments from the cruise line that are comparable to minimum wage.

Thirdly, just because you might be from a third-world country doesn’t mean you’re poor. :) Technically, the definition of “third-world” means you didn’t align with the US and EU after the Cold War.

“Seven nights of no cleaning, no cooking, no loud neighbors.”

It was 5 nights and the people above us were very noisy in the evenings slamming, stomping and banging God knows what.

“Just because you had a bad time doesn’t mean everyone else will.”

Never said they would.

“I want to see pics!”

You know where to go for those, don’t you?

“That is NOT Royal Caribbean’s fault. There was a delay due to customs ( blame the government for that) and the port officials did not handle things well.”

Yes, the government and port officials fucked up. BUT… RC DID prove to be very incompetent and disorganized in many ways. Again, I’m speaking from my own personal experience. You know how you said just cuz I had a shitty time doesn’t mean everyone else will? Well, just cuz they got it right for you doesn’t mean they will for everyone else. :) Trust me, they fucked up in many ways, but I’m willing to agree the stem of the delay was probably immigration. Still, RC shouldn’t have waited TWO hours, one paramedic call, and several heatstrokes later to offer water. :) I will say, however, that there were several people who have cruised way more than us who swore this was the first time they experienced such a nightmare.

“I am a travel agent going on 13 years”

Way cool. :) But I don’t get it. You said something about leaving a job in which you had tenure in, and assisting the DA in nailing cyberbullies. Are/were you just Wonder Woman with several jobs, or did you do these things one at a time?

“The heat, the humidity, the sun - you are in the Caribbean. Closer to the equator.”

Yes, I know. Comparing Cozumel with Ft. Lauderdale is like San Diego to San Francisco. Didn’t know about the powdered eggs, though.

“Being miserable about your boarding experience for days. Honey, take your cranky pants off you are on vacation!”

I was sick. No one springs back from a heatstroke in just minutes or even hours. Recovery takes days, sometimes longer. :) I was exhausted, confused and disoriented for about 3 days. Sure would’ve been nice, though, if some food and a good night’s sleep were enough to do the trick.

“But oh my god, I think I have a level of PTSD from people bitching me out for their bad trip.”

LOL, time to switch professions?

“If you call Costco with an attitude, you are going to piss off your TA and not get any help in the future. Please don’t do that.”

We didn’t. In fact, negotiations are in progress as I write, and will blog the results in the end. :)

My dear Rose Louise, I thank god I don’t have a pair of balls lest you be hanging me by them right about now, LOL! Seriously, hun, if you let yourself get upset by other people’s personal experiences, you’ll drive yourself batty. Please don’t take this wrong. I mean absolutely no offense. You know me better than that. :) But if you feel any part of me is “true asshole” or that I’m “making your blood boil” or “lighting a fire under your ass,” perhaps it’s time to stop reading me? Yes? No? Maybe so? :)

I appreciate your input, as always, but I guess some things we’ll just have to agree to disagree on. Different people have different experiences after all, and we’re both entitled to our own opinions. But you took the time to write this and I didn’t mind taking the time to reply. I won’t, however, apologize for my own experiences, reactions or opinions. :) If someone else has a great time with RC… great! :) But if I’m ever asked for my own two cents on them I’m not going to lie. I doubt I’ll ever cruise again, but if I do it won’t be with RC and it will definitely be on a much smaller ship like that AIDAvita. I looked that up and it holds only 1266 passengers.