Jennifer's Pixie Vacations

10/07/2024

2024 Orlando trip - day 7 - Today's weather called for rain all day and the forecast was pretty accurate. The rain was mostly a steady drizzle. I was picked up by Steve from Quick Transportation at 7:30. He made to Universal just before 8:00. The security line entering looked pretty long but moved extremely quickly. Got into Universal Studios before 8:30. Goal today was to see all the shows but they didn't start until 10. I rode Minons and Jimmy Fallon - mostly to stay out of the rain. It was nice that neither ride was interrupted this time by ride operators admonishing stupid people. The first 2 shows I saw I had never seen before - the Horror Make up Show and the Bourne Stuntacular. Both were good. It was close to noon so I stopped in Springfield and had a hot dog at the Krusty Burger. The curly fries are good. Next was the Animal Actors on Location. Which I had seen and is always a lot of fun. This is the first time I've seen so many of the animals not doing exactly as they were suppose to. 2 dogs ran up into the audience and the opening dog took about 12 times to complete his trick. He was given a big hand when he finally made it. Then I saw another new one The Dreamworks Imagination Celebration. It was singing and dancing with Shrek, Donkey, Po and a couple of trolls. It was cute. Next would have been the parade which was cancelled due to the rain. And I went to Diagon Alley for their shows which yes were cancelled due to rain. I wandered the shops here and went down Knockturn Alley which I hadn't done in years. I optimistically headed to the Blues Brothers show and yes it was cancelled. Decided I was wet and was pretty much done with the park. Went to find a restaurant to get a appetizer & soda and sit out of the rain. It was about 3:45 and the first 2 places I went to had a 40 minute wait. Ended up with quesadillas at Margaretville. Decided try a Voodoo Doughnut and pick up one to take back. Thee was a long line there. I got on the Universal app. Placed a mobile order. Came back in 5 minutes. Bypassed the line and picked up my order. Headed back to the parking lot and waited for Steve to pick me up. He was 15 minutes early and got back to the resort before 6:00. Took a long hot shower and was finally warm. Decided dinner would be at the food court to avoid getting wet again and make it an early evening. Tomorrow - flying home!

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10/06/2024

2024 Orlando trip - Day 6 - Up really today for a 7:00 pick up from Quick Transportation. Private driver picked me up outside the lobby and dropped me off at Universal. Driver was very nice, arrive early and let me know I could text him if I wanted an earlier pick up. I scheduled pick up for 8:30. I bought the Unlimited Express Pass for today and the plan was to use that to get all the rides in at both parks today. Tomorrow I'll go without it and do the shows. Arrived at 7:30 and went to the ticket booth to pick up the Express pass and my park ticket. Universal Studios was listed as opening at 8:00. They started letting guests in at 7:50. Headed right to Diagon Alley and the Race from Gringotts Harry Potter ride. Afterwards, I left Diagon Alley and started off to the right hitting each ride in order. Transformers was down when I went there but it was back up after I did Jimmy Fallon. Somehow I never got the 3D glasses for Transformers and rode it without. Was very weird. When I got to Minions it was having technical difficulties. I did the new Villain-Con ride that replaced Shrek. It was a big video game. You stood on a moving sidewalk with a blaster to shoot at videos as you moved by them. Very different. Minions was still down so I moved on. I made it back to Diagon Alley about 11:30 and had lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. Then I took the Hogwarts over to Islands of Adventure to ride those attractions starting in Hogsmeade. I did not get wet at all on the Jurassic River ride. Kong shut down during the next to last scene before moving to the last scene. At the end, they did offer everyone a redo. Made to Spiderman and it was down. Happened last time I was at Universal. Was really hot at this point. Texted and moved my pick up time to 5:30. Decided to ride the River Barge and get soaked and would not want to eat dinner at City Walk when wet. Then rode the River Barge ride and got soaked. Getting soaked never felt so good. Had a churro & Coke Zero. Saw the Marvel heros and got a picture of Rouge & Storm. Spiderman still wasn't up so I headed to Suess Landing. Rode the rides there and finally was able to ride Spider-Man. Walked out of Islands of Adventure and back to Universal and was able to ride Minons. Was done with both parks at 4:00. Walked some of the City Walk shops including one that was an Epic Universe preview store with merchandise and a whole miniature model of Epic Universe. Was then picked up by a new driver Steve who was old enough to be my grandfather and apparently didn't believe in driving over 50 mph. Finally, made it back to the resort. Changed into clean, dry clothes and caught the 7:00 bus to Disney Springs. Had dinner at one of my favorites - The Earl of Sandwich. Walked through all the Disney marketplace stores not finding what I was looking for. Decided that was enough of the zoo. The line for the Lego store was a mile long. Was back at the resort by 9:30. Went to the food court to get some sprinkle cookies they had the other night and they were sold out. Maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow - back to Universal.

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10/05/2024

2024 Orlando Mother Daughter trip day 5. Slept in slightly later this morning. Went down to catch the 8:10 bus to the Magic Kingdom at 8:00 and a bus was there. Arrived at the Magic Kingdom and decided to take the walking path to the Grand Floridian. It was sunny and not quite super hot yet. Had 45 minutes before our 1900 Park Fare reservation. Toured around the Grand Floridian looking in the shops and the restaurants. Mom hadn't been there before. Was seated on time for the buffet breakfast. The Wish card we received was signed by Aladdin, Mirabella, Tiana, and Cinderella. Tiana did not appear. The other 3 did along with Snow White. The characters walked around for autographs and pictures and then they did a Wish ceremony with Jimmy Cricket as the announcer. Food was good. Afterwards, we took the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom. Then mom headed back to the buses. She flew home today. I headed into the Magic Kingdom. I did Small World first as mom did not want to do it with me. Then it was the Haunted Mansion, Country Bears Jamboree, a stop at the Christmas store and Philamagic. Decided to hop over to Epcot and hit Soarin again. Did a little shopping and then took the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios. It was stopped for about 10 minutes on the way. Watched the Mickey's Vacation Fun cartoon to get out of the sun. Then had a churro and some water before the Frozen Sing-a-long. Watched Muppetvision and then took 2 trips on Star Tours. The first one was all Resistance scenes from the newest movies and the 2nd trip was all rebel alliance scenes from the original movies. Checked in for my dinner at Sci-Fi Drive In. Was seated over 30 minutes past my reservation time. Food was good, service was not. Left there and found a quiet corner to call Disney for a client emergency. Disney hold times were long and after getting the first cast member I had to hold for guest services both times. Took close to 2 hours but issues with all fixed. I wandered the shops a little trying to decide if I wanted to stay for the 9:30 Fantasmic show. My plan was to see the 8:00 show before calling it a night. Decided to head back to the resort since I have a very early bus to Universal pick up in the morning. Some sleep would be good idea. Tomorrow - Universal.

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10/04/2024

2024 Orlando Mother Daughter trip Day 4 - Up early and out to catch the first bus of the day to Animal Kingdom. Was in the park and in line for Avatar right around 7:50. I don't know what time Animal Kingdom starts letting guests in. It continues to be before I arrive. The Avatar wait said 25 minutes and that was pretty close to accurate. Afterwards started to use our Lightning Lanes. First the Safari. Animals were pretty active. The lion was roaring his head off. Had a stork that wouldn't get out of the road and a giraffe that crossed in front of us. Then saw he Lion King show before heading to Kali River Rapids. I hadn't done it in years. This one was my mother's suggestion. And we got drenched. Started drying off on the walk to the bus where we hopped over to Epcot. Had made a last minute reservation for lunch at San Angel Inn. Did the Mexico boat ride before eating. Food was really good. I had never eaten there. Mom had suggested Mexican since she doesn't get it often as my father isn't a fan. Afterwards, started walking to America for the Voices of Liberty. And it started raining. Hard. Made it to Germany and stopped and bought ponchos. Finished the walk to America and it just rained harder. Saw the Voices of Liberty show. They are so good but only did 4 songs. It was still downpouring as we headed out. Had intentions to use our Lightning Lane for Soarin but were getting pretty wet and didn't want to deal with taking off the ponchos. Headed to the bus and just about the time we got back to the resort it stopped raining. Took a hot shower and changed and wrung out the wet clothes. Rested and had a little snack. Took the 6:45 bus to the Magic Kingdom to get on the Fort Wilderness bus for the Hoop-De-Do R***e. Mom hadn't seen it in years and its my favorite show here. Arrived with plenty of time to spare. Wandered the gift shop and mom got wine at Crockett's Tavern. Show was fantastically fun as always and the food was good. The night stayed beautiful as we left by boat back to the Magic Kingdom and bussed to the resort. Made it back at 11:30 in time for bed. Tomorrow - 1900 Park Fare.

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10/03/2024

2024 - Orlando Mother Daughter trip - Day 3 - Early up again with a quick grab and go breakfast. Made it out for the 7:38 bus to the Magic Kingdom but the line for the bus was extremely long. That bus didn't take even half the line. However, 5 minutes later a long double stretch bus came and took everyone else. Made it into the Magic Kingdom and over to the Fantasyland rope drop by 8:20. By the time, we walked by Mine Train, it was already well backed up. Headed over to Peter Pan and were on in less than 20 minutes. Walked up and rode Little Mermaid and then saw Mickey's Philamagic. Then used Lightning lane for Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain. Tried to see Country Bears Jamboree but it was down. Did Tikki room and Hall of Presidents. Ran into a short Adventure parade featuring quite a few characters. Had not seen this one before. Then headed to Tomorrowland for lunch at the Starlight Cafe. Saw the line and used mobile order. When I picked up the order for 2 meals, there was a third on the tray. I told the server that there was an extra meal on the tray and he said just take it. After lunch, we did Carousal of Progress and People Mover. It was quite time for our Buzz Lightyear Lightning Lane so we did the Monsters Laugh Floor beforehand. It was about 2:00 and our Tiana LL wasn't until after 5. So my mother suggested we head to Animal Kingdom since she saw a 5 minute wait time for Avatar Flight of Passage. Everything at AK seemed to be listed a 5 minutes. So we headed out to the buses and just missed one to AK and had to wait 20 minutes for the next one. By the time we got to Avatar the wait was at 25 minutes. Still not bad and always fun. We did the Lightning Lane for Navi River Journey which I had scheduled while on the bus. Picked up some waters and took the bus back to the Magic Kingdom. Arrived right at 5:00 and entered during the Flag Ceremony on Main Street which I had never seen. They said the Pledge, then played the Star Spangled Banner as they lower the flag and then sang God Bless America. The band then played a medley of patriotic tunes. Then stopped at Country Bears Jamboree which has been entirely refurbished - new costumes and new songs. It was quite good. Then did our Tiana lightning lane. Its the same ride as Splash Mountain with new theming. I'll miss Zip-a-dee-do-dah. Had the pizza flatbreads at Pinocchio's for dinner. Headed out to the buses with the intention of going to Hollywood Studios for the 8:00 Fantasmic show that didn't try the night before due to the rain. Checked the app since the storm clouds were coming and it listed only a 9:30 show. And it looked like more rain. Decided then to switch to our resort bus and call it a day. Tomorrow - Animal Kingdom - to start!

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10/02/2024

2024 - Orlando Mother Daughter trip day 2 - Alarm off at 6:30 this morning. Got ready and had a quick breakfast at the food court. Made it on the first bus to Hollywood Studios at 7:37. They let resort guests into the park at about 8:15 - 15 minutes before the early morning hours started. Headed to Star Wars Rise of the Resistance but it had a delayed opening, no one knew when and they were not letting guests line up. So went to Smugglers Run which was a walk on and then to Toy Story Mania also a walk on. Slinky Dog Dash was already at 35 minutes and I didn't feel like waiting in the sun. Checked the app after Toy Story and Rise was up and at a 30 minute wait. Headed over there. The line moved well and it was really about a 20 minute wait. Then our Lightning Lane for Mickey and Minnie's railroad was ready and had Star Tours right after. Had lunch at the ABC Commissary. I like the grilled ham and cheese off the kids menu and it was enough. The day was hot! After lunch, used the next Lightning Lane for the Frozen sing-a-long. Really needed air conditioned things. Decided to then hop over to the Magic Kingdom. Storms were predicted for the evening so cancelled the Fantasmic dining at 50s Prime Time. Was able to pick up a reservation for Space 220 lounge. At the Magic Kingdom, arrived in time to grab a bench to watch the Festival of Fantasy Parade. The it was lightning lanes for Pirates of the Caribbean and Big Thunder Mountain. Jumped on the train and rode it to Main Street with the intent to go to Tomorrowland. Saw the crowds lined up waiting to get in for the Halloween party - it was about 3:30. Decided it was better to leave and took the monorail over to Epcot. Storm clouds were gathering. Made to to Figment. After riding it, Figment was there. I don't think I've ever seen Figment out before. At this time, it was pouring with lots of very loud thunder. Took the 10 steps over to the Pixar Film festival. By the time we waited for the next show and saw it, the rain had stopped. Rode Nemo before heading to Space 220 lounge for dinner. The short rib sliders hit the spot for dinner. Decided the 8 miles walking today was enough and headed out as it began to drizzle. Took it as a definite sign that it was time to end our day. Was on the bus back to the resort at 7:57. Time for a hot shower and early bedtime. Tomorrow - back to the Magic Kingdom.

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10/01/2024

Orlando Mother Daughter trip 2024 - Day 1 - Day started off early. Dropped Danny at his office as he had to drive to Rock Falls. Then drove to my parent's house where their favorite transportation service picked my mom & me up to head to the airport. All good and 30 minutes later was at the gate. Flight uneventful though somehow are seats got separated. Landed and luggage was already out when we got to baggage claim. Was picked up by my favorite Orlando transportation service. Checked into All-Star Sports and our room was ready. Unpacked, changed clothes - it is hot here and then headed out to Epcot. Walked into Epcot close to 2:30. Was able to get a virtual que for Guardians of the Galaxy - group 155 estimate of 7:30. Went to Living with the Land and used our first Lightning Lane. Wasn't needed but I needed to scan it out so I could then book Soarin. After the ride, grabbed some water and a snack at Sunshine Seasons. When we were done, the Lightning Lane for Soarin was ready and we rode. Then walked to Journey of Water - the new Moana walk through exhibit. It is a really pretty and fun area for the kids. Was able to cool down a little. Next it was the Spaceship Earth Lightning Lane. Again not really needed but there aren't a lot of choices here. Then we walked over to France. Mom had a Food & Wine cocktail while we waited for our Remy window to open. Rode Remy and then had dinner at Chef's de France. Our reservation was for 6 but they seated us at 5:30. I had the Macaroni which was really good but enough to feed 4 people. Afterwards, walked up to America for the 6:30 showing of the American Adventure. While waiting for Guardians, we walked the main store. Nothing really hit me as had to have. Our group was called at 7:35 and rode Guardians. I have done it several times. My mother had not and she won't be doing it again. Then we staked out a spot to watch the new night time show Luminous the Journey of Us. It was quite good and just the right length. Headed to the buses. First one filled up and left and the next one was right there. Back to the resort at 10:00 and time to call it a night..

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07/28/2024

July 2024 - Amsterdam & British Isle Cruise - Day 14 - Last sea day. Had to turn the clocks back overnight so slept in until 8:30 - which felt like 7:30 so just a little slow moving. Went up to Windjammer for breakfast. Ate outside and enjoyed the view and my book for awhile. Then went and got a good spot for the Parade of Nations. The crew marches around the Centrum with the flag of their country. They converge on the stage of the Centrum and each country is introduced and how many crew members from that country are announced. Some countries do a short native dance when it is their turn. There were 54 countries represented on the ship from the total 846 crew members. Next up was a seminar on the Northern Lights given by the children's author, scientist from Wisconsin. Had lunch in the Main Dining room. Nothing great on the menu so had the kids grilled cheese with the mozzarella sticks and salad. The afternoon's main show was the Love & Marriage game show which is always funny. This cruise director made a great host too. Then sadly it was time to pack. It took time to reorganize, pack up and hope the big suitcase was still under 50 lbs. Still had time to head back up to the Solarium to each the sun and view one more time. Dinner was the Bon Vonage menu. Had the Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing and corn meal. After dinner, listened to the piano singer who had one more Sweet Caroline rendition in him. The Headliner show was a ventriloquist from the UK. The Royal singers and dancers then did a last farewell number. Tomorrow - flying home!

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07/27/2024

July 2024 - Amsterdam & British Isle Cruise - Day 13 - Last port of the trip Holyhead, Wales. Our excursion wasn't as early so we ate breakfast in the main dining room before the meet up time. This is a tendering port. Tenders were running a little slow. The sea was pretty choppy and the tender boat rocking so it took time to load everyone on safely. Made it over and it was onto the coach bus to take us to Beaumaris castle. It was about a 40 minute drive from the port. Beaumaris castle was built by Edward the 1st back in the 1280s. It still had part of the moat to walk over to get onto the castle grounds. It is ruins but huge with a lot of passageways still in tact. Hard to fathom so much of it left after 700 plus years. We had time to walk around the little village and shops in the area. Wales must be extremely dog friendly. There were dogs also touring the castle grounds and in the shops. There were several signs advertising dogs welcome and offering doggy ice-cream. Back on the bus we took another way back to the pier. Went through the town with the longest name - Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. It was named this in the 1880s as a tourist gimmick. The roads throughout Wales were very narrow. Very glad not to be driving. We were back on the ship for lunch in Windjammer. There was afternoon trivia and I spent some time reading at the Safari Club. Dinner was the Royal Menu. The grilled shrimp were good and I tried the Baked Alaska. After dinner, the gameshow was Finish that Lyric which is always fun. The Headliner show was the Barricade Boys - a vocal quartet of men - not boys - from the UK. They had sung in the Les Misérables movie. They sang a wide range from Les Mis, to MoTown, to Jersey Boys to Queen. They were really good. Tomorrow we lose an hour for our last day at sea.

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07/27/2024

Beaumaris Castle.

07/26/2024

July 2024 - Amsterdam & British Isle Cruise - Day 12 - Liverpool - Early excursion meeting time at 7:45 this morning. Went to Windjammer for breakfast since I didn't trust the Main dining room to be quick enough. Tour was Walk in the Steps of the Beatles. Loaded onto the motor coach and our first stop was at the statue of the Beatles. Basically a picture opp here. Then we drove to Matthew Street where the Cavern pub is - place where the Beatles played before they were famous. Also saw the Hard Days Night Beatles themed hotel. On the bus the tour guide gave some great commentary. He also played the first number one record Wales ever had - How Much is that Doggy in the Window. Next up was the The Beatles Story. Basically a museum that tells their story complete with audio guide. Next we drove down Penny Lane and got off at the famous intersection. The guide pointed out all the references in the song to us. Then we drove to Strawberry Fields which had a visitor's center and gardens. It was back on the bus for a drive to John's childhood home and then Paul's. After a short city tour on the bus, we choose to get off in the city and walk around some on our own. Saw quite a few old buildings and statues. The Queen Victoria one is most impressive. The oldest Anglican church is here also. Walked back to the port and made it onboard to grab lunch in Windjammer. Afterwards, I headed to the Schooner Bar where several different trivia games took place. Dinner was a Taste of the UK. The fish and chips in Ireland was much better. Listened to the piano bar singer after dinner. He did a nice rendition of Danny Boy. The headliner show as the cruise director singing the hits of Tom Jones. He was surprisingly quite good and better than some of the other acts. Tomorrow - Wales.

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07/26/2024

Liverpool

07/25/2024

July 2024 - Amsterdam & British Isle Cruise - Day 11 - Same routine this morning. Another early breakfast in the dining room before our early shore excursion. This time it was the Titanic Trail in Belfast. Boarded the bus who took us to what they call the Titanic Quarter. We walked alongside the shipyard where the Titanic was built. There are storyboards all along he way telling of how it was built and other facts. Also there were a few Game of Thrones artworks. It was filmed in the area. We walked through the Titanic Hotel which had rooms outfitted like the Titanic was. Then we were on our own in the Titanic Museum and given headsets. Afterwards, back on the bus and were given a bus tour around Belfast. I got off the bus at the City Hall with a couple from Atlanta. We went to The Bridge House which is a chain of pubs. They like to eat at as many of them as they can find. Had the traditional Fish & Chips which were quite good. And for the first time on the trip found Pepsi Zero! After lunch, the husband headed back to the ship and thanked me for staying with his wife who wanted to walk around. We walked back to the City Hall and went inside to explore. It was pretty much a big museum about the history of Belfast. On the way out, we saw a wedding party taking pictures. The bride wore a white dress with embordered flowers down the front and a green veil. A crabby old woman sweeping kept yelling at everyone - "No photos of the wedding party." Found it odd that she seemed to be the only one who cared and if you didn't want your picture taken why would you be doing this in the middle of a public place? Walked around the outside which was filled with statues including a Titanic memorial and a war memorial. Across the street, was the bus stop which offered a shuttle back to the port for 5 pounds. Got on and was back to the ship in 15 minutes. Once on board, I went to the special late afternoon headliner show featuring an Irish quartet and dancers. They were spectacular. Went back to the room and read before getting ready for dinner. All aboard time was 5:30 and sail time was 6:00. About 5;45 we started hearing names being called over the loudspeaker. Sounded like 12 people weren't back on board yet. The gangway was right out our window. At 6:00 we saw a family of 3 laughing get back on board. A few minutes later, 2 more showed up and about 6:15 a lone lady hurried on. More announcements were made. We went to dinner. 2 more people got on after 6:30. Still appeared to be missing 2 guests when we finally set sail shortly after 7:00. Dinner was tomato soup and shrimp scampi. The evening's headliner show was the Royal singers and dancers in West End to Broadway which was them doing a bunch of unrelated Broadway numbers. Tomorrow - Liverpool!

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07/25/2024

Irish dancers joined us on the ship

07/24/2024

July 2024 - Amsterdam & British Isle Cruise - Day 10 - Early up day as our excursion was group 1 to get off the ship. Typical breakfast in the Main Dining room and then headed to the Coral Theater for the excursion meet up. It was Edinburgh castle and city tour. We were docked in the Port of Glasgow. It was almost a 2 hour bus trip to Edinburgh. The guide did commentary for around 30 minutes and then the bus driver turned on the radio -which played American music. Arrived at the Edinburgh castle and we were given tickets and sent to explore on our own. I got the guided audio tour. Those are nice to have an idea of what you are looking at. The castle is immense with some areas more well preserved than others. The Scottish crown jewels were a highlight. There was even a dog commentary for dogs who served with various important military figures. Had about 2 and half hours here. Then it was back on the bus for a ride around the town with highlights being pointed out along the way. Again the new section of the city was built in the 1800s. We were let off again to have lunch on our own with time to explore and shop. We had lunch at the Society. I had a warm roll with sausage and cheese. It was quite good. Then walked around, taking pictures and wandered some shops before having to get back on the bus. Had a little commentary on the way out of the city and then back to the radio. Arrived back at the port 30 minutes before the all aboard time. Rested, read and changed for dinner. Dinner was a Taste of the USA. I had baked potato soup, braised short rib and apple cobbler. After dinner, I listened to the piano bar singer before heading to the headliner show. Tonight was The Philips brothers - a juggling duo from France. After the show, I walked up to the upper deck and grabbed a pizza snack before heading to bed. It was still quite nice out. Tomorrow - Northern Ireland.

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07/24/2024

Edinburgh castle

11/06/2023

Pixie Con 2023- Oasis of the Seas - Day 6 - Up very early today. Had a 9:40 flight and was a little worried about making it on time. Packed up and went to Windjammer as it opened at 6;00. Had a quick last breakfast. Took my luggage, went down to get in the disembarkation line. Was in line at 6:34. At 6:50, the ship was cleared and we were able to leave the ship. Walked through Customs. Instead of looking at your passport, they take you picture and then let you go through. Headed directly to the taxi line. Had to wait a few minutes for more to come. Was dropped off at the airport at 7:35. Took me a few minutes to find the TSA precheck line. The regular security line was listed at 28 minutes. The precheck line took 5 minutes. Then had to hike back across the airport to get to the right gate. Arrived at the gate at 7:55 - a whole hour before boarding would start. Boarded on time and in a fast and orderly fashion. Easy and quiet flight. Arrived 25 minutes early. Luggage came out fast. R.J. and Oliva picked me up and was back home at 1:30. Came home to some happy cats!