3/8/24 

We had to wake up early today because our breakfast for departure was at 6:45 in Royal Palace. We were so busy yesterday we didn’t have time to pack so we have to carry all our luggage through the ship. Lucas was exhausted and we had to wake him up. If we were not leaving today we probably could have all slept in!  

I enjoyed watching the ship get into the port at Fort Lauderdale. There was another cruise ship behind us coming in also. The sunrise was beautiful. I will say our cabin smelled like gas fumes a lot while we were getting into port. I wonder if that is because we are at the back of the ship? 

After breakfast we finished the puppy detective thing. Then we really didn’t know what to do and didn’t know how long it would take to get off the ship so we got in line to leave. 

Disembarking the ship took no time. We got a cab to the airport and we were so early we couldn’t check our bags yet! A man told us we could take our bags outside to the American Airlines desk and get them checked there so we did that. Lucas was good in the airport, despite the long wait. It’s really hard to tell what is better, flying out the day your cruise gets back to port or staying another night. Last time we stayed an extra night. I think if we do it this way again we would plan better to not have so much time at the airport. We had lunch in the airport and then we took off for home. Lucas slept the entire 3 hour flight! Our cab ride home was crazy long because it was a Friday around 5 pm and it was raining….It is also nice to have your own car from the airport but Lucas did great and we did save money by taking a cab. We can’t wait to go on our next adventure!