We got off the ship by 8:30a and were through US Immigration by 9:00. We were very excited to see our friends Robert Marshall and Kurt Meister who live in Ft. Lauderdale (and NYC). We met them on our Galapagos trip in 2022 and have since met in Skaneateles a couple of times. Today we would get to see their FL digs and have a short visit before our all-aboard time of 3pm.

But first we needed to ship some items home so we stopped by the local Fed Ex store to pick up some boxes. We had rolled our treasures off of the ship in suitcases so we took everything to their beautiful condo and while Robert, Kurt and I worked on plans for our next trip together (Jordan and Egypt in Oct. ’24), Marshall went to work with bubble wrap, filling and taping three medium boxes headed to Ohio.

We enjoyed a lovely breakfast and mimosas and the gorgeous view from their high vantage point. We caught up, laughed and reminisced. Our time together was too short.

Back onboard, we were greeted with many new passengers. We were told that 1100 had departed in FLL, with 600 original World Cruisers continuing on to LA. Today the Island boarded 1600 new passengers for a 2-week trip through the Panama Canal. So, we are full, full, full! There was a nice sail away party and we enjoyed it with friends Lisa and Ron Callaway.

Next stop in 3 days: Cartagena, Columbia