Carnival Radiance -- March 2022 (Debarkation Day)

Our quick little getaway to cap off spring break is over! We returned to an overcast, cold, rainy, and blustery Long Beach. Brrr! 

Debarkation instructions were printed out and posted at each stateroom the day before. It was the usual-- everyone out of cabins by 8:30, and all off the ship by 9:30. One change: instead of being called by deck, we were called out by muster station. 

I was up before 7:00am and we first headed down to the Pixels Gallery to pick up our Dreams Studio photos and USB stick. There was a bit of a line, and only one employee working, so it took a little while. From there, we headed up to the Lido deck for one last quick buffet breakfast with Jed and Paea. After striking out on eggs/salmon benedict the last 2 mornings, I decided to play it safe with scrambled eggs this time. A good choice, it turned out, because Allan's eggs benedict were fully cooked! 

It was not long after 7:00am that the CD started calling off Muster Stations A and B (presumably, the lower decks). Around 7:30, I think he realized he forgot to prioritize self-checkout folks, because he chimed in that between 7:30-8:00am, those who did not check their bags (were hauling everything off the ship with them) would be allowed off during that timeframe, no matter what deck they were on. Theoretically we could've gone then, but we'd just sat down to breakfast when he announced it! 

So we sat around enjoying breakfast, knowing we had till 8:30 to get out of our cabins. At 8:00, Ryan called out Muster Stations C and D (which encompassed all of us-- Allan and I were C, Jed and Paea were D), so we finished our food and headed back down to our cabins to grab luggage and head out. 

After getting lost a few times and being blocked by the MDRs, we exited the ship around 8:15am. Interestingly, there was not really a long line to get OFF the ship in Deck 3 onto the gangway. The last 2 times I cruised, that line was super long-- snaking all the way around past staterooms on Deck 3! This time, we practically walked off the ship immediately. 

Made our way  across the gangway and into the Spruce Goose dome-- back down the long ramps and then through customs, which involved a simple face scan. Far out! The lines were long but they moved relatively quickly and efficiently. 

By the time we got into the car and started to head out, it was 8:45. Picked up Ruby on the way, and were back home well before 11:00am! 

This would be a fun little tradition-- go on a cruise or some other quick getaway before the start of the quarter. One last bit of relaxation before getting back to teaching a new crop of students, for Paea and Allan! :-D