We berthed in Fort Lauderdale early this morning, sometime before 7 am. A few passengers disembarked, and apparently 300 joined the cruise. We found out earlier, that up till now, there have only been 800 passengers on board.
Expectations of Fort Lauderdale are not high, having been here many years ago , it still looks like the Gold Coast. The ship berth is in a very industrialised area, not very attractive.
Our adventure for the day is an airboat tour across the everglades, and we are ready to board our buses (only 2 buses) to head out to Sawgrass Recreational Park, about 30 minutes drive from the dock. The joy of being on a smaller boat, is that the size of the shore excursion crowds is manageable, and you don’t queue up forever to get there.
On the bus to the airboats, we are told it is the beginning of the season in Florida, and next weekend, two of the World’s biggest cruise ships (both owned by Royal Caribbean will be in port together, injecting over 12,000 tourists in one hit. How exciting !!! Could you imagine the tour experience for shore excursions.
We arrive at the centre, there is no one else there and within 15 minutes we are on or airboats and out into the everglades. The boat ride is great, we see a few alligators, and turtles and a variety of birdlife.
And a few turtles came to see us
Back on land, they try to pad out the tour with some barely interesting animal displays, but we did get to see a Florida panther, and a few other interesting species, which had been rescued from families who had bought them as pets, and could no longer control them.
I told you it was like the Gold Coast
Florida Panther
Our tour guide operated with Germanic efficiency, despite being a local, which was a shame, as a bit more free time, and less being ordered from one place to another, would have made it a more enjoyable day.
Back on the bus at 12.45 pm, precisely, we headed back to the ship. Well into our journey, we are told that 2 people from the earlier bus have missed the bus and need to be retrieved. Our driver does a u turn and we go to the rescue. Within minutes of arriving back where we came from (and a wasted 15 minutes), we are told they have found their own way back to the ship, so we have wasted at least 30-40 minutes.
But we are used to stuff ups now, so most people take it in their stride. I did remember it at tip time
though.
A small freighter passes in the narrow passage beside our berth
Water Taxi, Florida style
We have lunch on the ship, and are a long way from any civilization, so I decide to use the next few hours sitting in the cruise terminal using their free WiFi, possibly the greatest contribution that Fort Lauderdale made to the day.
Departure from port was delayed by about an hour, but was very interesting, as it is a very cosy fit at the cruise terminal for a boat of our size, let alone one of the mega cruisers expected on the weekend. The whole exercise of getting out of the port holds our attention for over an hour and provides some of the best scenery we have seen today.
Our berth is not far from the entrance in a very narrow channel
Lines cast off, we pass the Coast Guard Station before a hard turn to starboard
Looking back at the wharf where we were berthed
Heading out the entrance
A few flash houses lining the entrance to the harbor
And apartments
Looking South as we leave Fort Lauderdale
Looking North
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