Pirates of the Caribbean 2023 - The Conclusion

When we booked the flights, it was cheaper to stay one additional night in Miami than fly out in the day our cruise returned to port, so we had one night in Miami again and stayed at the Hilton Blue Lagoon near the airport.

The next morning, we all woke up at about 4:00 AM to get ready and catch the 5:00 AM shuttle from the hotel to the airport. It was a good thing we did as it was a PACKED shuttle. 

At the Miami Airport, lines were long and the TSA was fully loaded. As we neared the corner to enter the back-and-forth standards, a TSA agent came by Mike and said to go down to Door 27 where there was another TSA station and NO WAITING. After a bit of a confused glance at Jaden, Mike lead the whole line down to the TSA near Door 27.  He was right, there was no line and we all got through without incident (except for Sandy who forgot to check her contact solution in her suitcase and got flagged). 

After security, we found a spot to sit and some breakfast.  Subway for the kids and a bagel shop for the parents.

While waiting, Mike walked around the airport and read some articles on narcissistic behavior while checking out the planes.

Mike liked what this cover story had to say and almost bought this for the flight.

Everyone got cozy and settled in for the return trip.

Luggage was collected and we made it to the parking complex (thank you Sara for parking it so well).  We all can't wait to get home. It is so nice to be back in Wisconsin! 

Farewell until next time! 

Get Off the Boat

Well, as smoothly as the loading went, the unloading was a bit more hectic.  We let the kids sleep until 7am before heading to breakfast. As we wrapped up our meal, we went back to the room and rapidly prepared for our Muster Station to be called.  

We didn't want to mess around with Customs so we left Sandy's bottle behind. 😞 

Once they released us from the holding area on level 5, we walked off the same corridors we used to enter.

This is the only 'customs' photo I got because the situation was hectic & fast. They used facial recognition software to see if you were who you say you were. It worked for Mike, Jaden, & Caleb, but Sandy got stuck. Luckily, we were able to get her passport back to her and she made it through. 

Once outside, we used Lyft & Uber to secure  a ride to the hotel. Mike ran both apps to increase the chances of actually getting a ride. (There were several boats in Port so it was WILD!) We walked from Terminal D to Terminal E and met our Lyft driver. She had the Nissan Altima ice cold! 

Once we got to the hotel (Hilton Airport Blue Lagoon) and started camping out and resumed our EuchWe can't check in until 4pm so we got about five hours to burn. 

Jersey Mike’s for lunch. 

Debarkation Morning

We got to Miami before sunrise and it looks beautiful from the balcony of our room!

And That's a Wrap

We made the most of our last night on the Carnival Horizon by having playing games and hanging out. 

Miami in the morning.