God Bless Texas
June 6, 2024
Disembarkation Day
It's so good to be home... We are tired!
Morning
The dreaded alarm went off at 6:45AM and our phone had finally switched back over to EST after having been in CST when we docked in Cozumel for 2 days. We got ready for our day and then made our way to the Main Dining Room for breakfast. I love the slower pace of breakfasts on disembarkation morning. I think I just don't want to get off the ship so I just try and drag it out as much as I can; but either way, I love having our last breakfast in the MDR. The service was slow, as expected, but the food was not near as good as I remember from the Adventure- February 2023 or the Allure- Summer 2023.
The Main Dining Room Breakfast Menu
Breakfast Burrito - 3.5
This was AMAZING last time but somewhat disappointing this time!
Eggs Benedict- Chris 4.0
This is always a winner for Chris!
After breakfast we went back to our room to ensure we had everything. We used the "luggage assistance" program and left our suitcases outside our stateroom the night before and only had backpacks and 1 carry-on bag. Since our flight was so late, we tried to stall in our stateroom but the crewmembers knocked on our door 2 times asking us to exit. We ended up leaving our stateroom at 8:45AM and we got off the Independence of the Seas right at 9AM.
A view of Terminal V (the Virgin terminal) near Terminal G. Maybe one day we can cruise on this ADULTS ONLY cruise line! The terminal looks "legit".
The Royal Caribbean headquarters at the Port Miami!
Going through the terminal at Miami was a breeze- literally. The facial recognition software for those passengers with passports made the Customs nightmare a thing of the past. TIP- I would HIGHLY recommend everyone get a passport if you travel frequently; if for no other reason but the ease of the embarkation and disembarkation process. The luggage was on an airport style turntable, which was unique, but we were able to find our luggage easily and were outside getting at Uber by 9:07AM.
A view of Port Miami Terminal G - June 2024.
In our hurry to get on this shuttle, this is the ONLY picture that I took. But this group had 3 shuttles and were right outside Terminal G. (I would assume they offered shuttles at every Terminal)
As we were getting the Uber, Chris noticed a transportation service offering $10 trip to MIA airport. We got on the bus and within 20 minutes it was full of people and we were on our way. We were the first group of people to be dropped off at the MIA airport around 10AM. This service, with tip, was only $27 and the Uber we had pulled up was priced at $34 (before tip). It is a shared shuttle transportation service but if saving money is important to you, this may be a good option.
Once at the airport, we rearranged some of our suitcases to ensure our carry-on bag had the regulated items for our flight. Then we got in the security line. TIP- The MIA airport is notorious for having a VERY long security line and this proved true for us as well. We were in line around 10:15AM on a Thursday and we had to wait about 35 minutes to get through the line and the AC seemed to not be working so it was pretty miserable.
Once through security, we made our way through this MASSIVE airport to find our gate and hopefully a restaurant or place to sit for an extended period of time. We found a Cuban Cafeteria near our gate and we ended up getting another Cuban sandwich and staying here for about 3 hours. TIP- The Miami airport is TERRIBLE with phone chargers. The restaurant we were at DID NOT have plug ins and each gate only had 1 large tower than housed about 6-8 charging ports. We used our phone batteries waiting for the flight so we stepped on to the plane with less than 50% batteries. Be sure to bring battery packs if possible for this airport.
The Cuban Sandwich- This was not near as good as the "local favorite" from our 1st day in Miami!
OMG- I am SO TIRED and so uncomfortable. I just want to get home, this flying home is for the birds!
Afternoon
Our plane was delayed in getting in but we were able to board the plane quickly and departed just 7 minutes later than planned. The flight was boring and we did not have any issues. Chris and I both had an aisle seat which was nice but my row had 2 ladies (and myself) all of "husky" size. We were shoulder to shoulder the whole flight and packed in like cattle- but the flight was easy and no crying babies, diaper changes or iPad baring the whole flight like the previous two California trips- Carnival Radiance- February 2024 and Los Angeles- April 2024.
Evening
We landed around 6:30PM Central time and IAH was crowded with summer travelers. It took about 45 minutes to get our luggage then we had to wait for the Parking Spot shuttle to get us to our car. We were in our car at 7:45PM and on our way to get Rockefeller from our dog sitter. Around 8:20PM we were in our neighborhood with our precious Rocky in hand and unloading the car.
This cruise was a great cruise and we loved sailing from Miami; however, we did not like having to wait to fly home from our cruise. We both really love having a cruise port just 80 miles from our home and within 2 hours of being off the ship, we are home and laundry is started. The long afternoon in the airport really did me in and I am not sure if it was "worth it" for our travel style. Maybe we are just spoiled with Galveston.
However, in the end- we saved OVER $200 with this cruise compared to a 5 night cruise out of Galveston. This was booked somewhat "last minute" and summer prices are ALWAYS high but to think that we paid for flights, hotel (2 nights), food and activities in Miami and STILL saved $200, is baffling to me. The cruise industry really knows that Galveston brings in the money and they are working this port, really well. With the addition of a BRAND NEW SHIP of the Carnival Jubilee as well as Mega Ships like Harmony of the Seas home ported in Galveston is raising the prices as well.
We are going to continue to cruise wherever the best VALUE and overall experience is for our family. I personally LOVE Royal Caribbean but I also really like Carnival and all they offer, especially the loyalty perks! It really doesn't matter to us- we just LOVE CRUISING!
Up Next
We have Alaska Booked for Natalie's 16th Birthday and Luke's 13th Birthday in May 2025. We are also hoping to throw Harmony of the Seas in the mix for our February 2025 Spring Break but waiting for Band schedules to drop in August/ September.
Thank you so much for following along! I hope I have been able to help some of y'all plan a cruise or just enjoy ours!
God is Good... ALL THE TIME!
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas- March 2019
The Norwegian Breakaway- November 2018
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas- 2018
Carnival Legend- ALASKA- 2016
