Our last port of call was New York City. During the night the ships clocks (and ours) were set 1 hour back to be on the same time as New York. Our pilot boarded at about 3:30 AM and we made our way to port. We sailed to the south side of Long Island and passed under the Verrezano-Narrows Bridge as we entered the Harbor at 4:30 AM. The rails were lined with passengers as we made our way pass the Statue of Liberty, a warm and welcoming light in the darkness. I thought of my grandmother coming to this harbor as a young woman. Yes, it can bring a little tingle of tears to your eyes.
I returned to my room as the ship found her berth in the New York harbor. Clothes and the main suitcase had been packed last night and the luggage gathered by the staff to help with staging our disembarkation. My traveling companions had an 8 AM call to disembark; mine was at 11 AM. I walked around the ship and took a few more photos before I went to the Club Fusion lounge to wait for my group to be called.
We walked down the gangplank and in to the passenger terminal. Luggage was staged under "Yellow 8" and I quickly found my suitcase. We were divided in to US and Non-US citizens and passed through the checkpoint. I hadn't selected a NYC tour, so my destination was the bus that would take me to La Guardia Airport. My last tour photos were from the bus window and through an interesting part of town, with morning rush hour traffic (does traffic ever slow in NYC?).
My editorial comment: we have passed judgement on towns and cities and their harbor areas. This view of New York City from the bus window showed a rough side of the city. There wasn't trash laying around, but the graffiti was heavy and buildings were in disrepair. I did see construction and rebuilding, and a beautiful cityscape across the water. One could not exit the ship and walk to a cute town street for souvenirs. After seeing the photos, I am sorry that I did not take the NYC bus tour offered by Princess. I wanted to spend more time at the 9-11 Memorial Museum but the tour looked like it was just a drive-by.
By the way, I do get a certain sense of relief to be home. The flight home was delayed, but I made my connection in Minneapolis by four minutes and was home safe and sound. Luggage? The next day. As the trip comes to an end, I know that I greatly enjoyed spending time with my mother and aunt and seeing new sights, sharing laughter and new adventures. Reliving the travels through the blogposts and photos keeps the memories of what was seen fresh in my mind and allows me to live them over and over.
I was flying Delta Airlines back to Phoenix via Minneapolis. The terminal was old on the outside but in the renovation process on the inside. Through security and to the C Gate section. I asked someone if there was food and they simply said to order it and they would bring it to me. What??? I walked further and saw that there were a lot of tables set up and very few basic sitting chairs. Very interesting. You take a seat (high chair or low chair), order on the iPad and the food is brought to you. You can sit there until your flight is called. I had a late lunch pizza and then treated myself to coffee and a piece of pie (spotted at the next table). Their food sales have probably increased.
I snapped a few iPhone photos to make it easier to explain this setup.
The End...of this travel section...with enthusiasm for continued travels and adventures.
Total distance sailed Southampton to New York
4506 nautical miles, 5185 statute miles
In command: Commodore Giuseppe Romano
Commodore Giuseppe Romano was born in Meta Do Sorrento, a small seaside town in the Bay of Naples. In 1970, he graduated from the Merchant Marine School and started his career at sea serving on various types of cargo ships - also spending two years in the Italian Navy.
In 1976, Commodore Romano joined Princess Cruises as a young 2nd Officer. His first senior appointment was as Staff Captain of Sky Princess in 1984. In 1990, he was promoted to Captain and since then has commanded most of the Princess vessels, cruising all around the world. He was promoted to the rank of Commodore in February 2008.
He enjoys fishing and camping with his wife Sabina, a native of Cleveland, Ohio and their two sons, Luca and Marco.
