Shadowmeboy's 2022 Encore Christmas and New Year's Southern Caribbean Cruise Adventure

[shadowmeboy]

After dinner, we headed to Choir of Man!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cast of Kinky Boots was in the audience for the show. Choir of Man did a send off to them at the end.

 

We headed to bed. Our final sleep onboard the Encore.

Edited April 24, 2023 by shadowmeboy

[shadowmeboy]

Day 12 - Disembarkation Day

January 3rd, 2023

Location: Miami, Florida, United States of America

 

 

Guess what arrived at 6 am? That's right Almond Croissants!

 

 

 

The line was short at Customer Service at this moment.

 

 

 

 

 

Overnight the tree went away

 

 

The Gingerbread display also went bye-bye

 

 

 

Time to Savor the final breakfast in Savor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fruit Salad and Cottage Cheese

 

 

Yogurt Parfait

 

 

French Toast with Bacon and Ham

 

 

 

Eggs to order with bacon, ham, and hashbrowns.

 

 

The view from our balcony this final morning.

 

 

 

 

 

We headed out of the room to hang in the Observation lounge until they forced us to get off.

[shadowmeboy]

 

We were meeting Jason and Family up here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, they said last call for disembarkation. We made our way down to head out.

 

 

 

 

The Coast Guard was onboard running a drill with the crew.

 

 

 

 

 

We cleared US Customs and Border Protection.

 

 

Time to leave the ship.

 

 

 

Goodbye Encore

 

 

 

 

 

[shadowmeboy]

 

 

We were flying out of Fort Lauderdale the next morning, so we caught an uber to our hotel for the night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shadowmeboy]

 

We arrived at the hotel. Glo Hotel in Fort Lauderdale

 

 

 

 

So I got stuck in the elevator for a few minutes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed to dinner at Denny's, so we could get to bed early.

 

 

 

 

It was time for Linner. We skipped Lunch and it was early for dinner.

 

 

Mozzarella Sticks

 

 

I got a burger

 

 

Susan got chicken fried steak

[seemoreroyals]

Thank you for your comprehensive Encore review.  We will be on Encore for the first time in December.  There is so much in there we are going to have to go back and read it again.   

 

Until your post today we were planning on flying into Miami.  Noticed that you are flying out of Ft. Lauderdale.  Googled it and it is only 29 miles away from the Miami cruise terminal.  If you do not mind me asking, approx how much did it cost to uber from MCT to Ft. Laud airport?  

 

Airfare to and from where we live to Miami is higher than I thought.

[shadowmeboy]

January 4th, 2023

Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

 

4:51 am EST/1:51 am PST

 

 

Time to head to the airport

 

 

 

Waiting for the Uber

 

 

Time to check the bags to Seattle

 

 

Sad balloon

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heading to Security (5:40 am EST/2:40 am PST)

 

 

Heading to our gate - Gate C6

 

 

 

There is our 737-900!

 

 

[shadowmeboy]

Time to board the board the airplane (7:00 am EST/4:00 am PST)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The United flight next to us headed out, then it was our turn!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Free from the tug!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to take off from 10L!

 

 

See the southwest flight at the end of the runway?

 

 

 

Its go time! (7:47 am EST/4:47 am PST)

[shadowmeboy]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up and away we go!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See the airplane?

 

 

 

[shadowmeboy]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

North Palm Beach County General Aviation Airport

 

 

 

Saint Lucie Inlet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shadowmeboy]

 

Port Canaveral 

 

 

 

Edgewater, FL (8:15 am EST/5:15 am PST)

 

Here is the video of the Fort Lauderdale Takeoff

 

[shadowmeboy]

They held off on food until we got through some turbulence over the South.

 

 

 

 

 

We are up near Indianapolis by this time (9:45 am EST/6:45 am PST) Looking down on Terra Haute, Indiana

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally breakfast got served! (10:00 am EST/7:00 am PST) We had Dutch baby pancakes with bacon and fruit. It was really good!

 

 

 

We finally hit the snow over the Dakotas

 

 

 

Somewhere over North Dakota

 

 

Just into Montana (11:46 am EST/8:46 am PST)

 

 

 

 

Just East of Great Falls, MT

 

 

 

 

 

Missouri River near Great Falls, MT

 

 

 

 

 

The Great Plains meeting the Rocky Mountains

 

 

Edited April 24, 2023 by shadowmeboy

[shadowmeboy]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally we got back over Washington (12:55 pm EST/9:55 am PST) Looking down on Spokane Valley

 

 

 

 

Spokane International Airport (GEG)

 

 

Fairchild Air Force Base - The strait line at the top of the base is US 2 and the diagonal line is the BNSF Columbia River Subdivision

 

 

 

Reardan, WA on US 2

 

 

The fog layer over Eastern and Central Washington

 

 

Cascade Mountains!

 

 

 

 

 

[shadowmeboy]

 

Spada Lake - Snohomish County, WA

 

 

 

Mt. Baker in the distance

 

 

Everett and Whidbey Island

 

 

Sultan, WA

 

 

Monroe, WA

 

 

 

 

Monroe, US 2, WA 522, and the Skykomish River

 

 

Snohomish and Everett

 

 

Maltby, WA

 

 

Whidbey Island

 

 

WA 522 and Interstate 405

 

 

Kenmore

 

 

 

Edmonds-Kingston Washington State Ferry Route

 

 

Ballard and the Ballard Locks

[shadowmeboy]

 

Interbay and Puget Sound

 

 

Lake Union, Fremont, and Queen Ann Hill - Seattle

 

 

Queen Anne and Magnolia

 

 

 

Seattle Center and Uptown

 

 

 

Downtown Seattle

 

 

Elliot Bay

 

 

Colman Dock and the waterfront

 

 

West Seattle and Alki

 

 

 

Lumen Field - Home of the Seahawks

 

 

T-Mobile Park - Home of the Mariners

 

 

Harbor Island and the BNSF Stacy Yard

 

 

 

Union Pacific's Argo Yard

 

 

Duwamish River

 

 

 

 

 

[shadowmeboy]

 

We made it! 

 

 

On the ground in Seattle (1:40 pm EST/10:40 am PST)

 

 

South Satellite - S Concourse

 

 

 

Concourse B

 

 

 

 

 

Central Terminal

 

 

 

Concourse C

 

 

 

Coming around Concourse N

 

 

 

Finally at the gate! (1:45 pm EST/10:45 am PST)

 

 

Here is the landing video for the flight!

[shadowmeboy]

 

In the terminal!

 

 

 

 

 

Heading down to the tram to head to the main terminal

 

 

Tram ride!

 

 

We collected our bags and made our way to the shuttle pickup.

 

 

On the shuttle to pick up the car

 

 

Back at the car! (2:30 pm EST/11:30 am PST)

 

So my ring broke while we were on the cruise and we had to drop it off at Kay Jewelers in the Seattle area before heading out. I finally picked it up on 4/12, the first time I was able to get back over to the Seattle area.

 

 

WA Highway 900

 

 

 

 

We stopped at Jack in the Box in Issaquah for some lunch before heading over the pass.

 

[shadowmeboy]

 

Interstate 90

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

US 97 over Blewitt Pass

 

 

US 2/US 97 interchange

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made it to Wenatchee! (6:37 pm EST/3:37 pm PST)

 

 

We had to do some grocery shopping and hit Costco. We did all that as quickly as we could as we had been up 17 hours at this point.

 

 

 

 

We finally made it to our hometown! (10:13 pm EST/7:13 pm PST)

 

 

I had to shovel my way into the house, we had 3 inches of new snow. We had over two feet in the yard.

 

 

We got everything into the house by 10:30 pm EST/7:30 pm PST. Total time from leaving the room at the hotel in Fort Lauderdale to getting everything in the house: 17 hours and 45 minutes. No wonder we were tired. 

 

We did go back to work the next day!

[shadowmeboy]

We had an amazing trip. We enjoyed our time on the Encore. Please ask any questions you may have and I will try to answer them the best I can!

 

Here are a few videos that got done after I got past where they were in the review:

 

 

Cocoa Beach!

 

 

 

New Smyrna Beach!

 

 

Stateroom Tour!

 

There will be more coming shortly!

[shadowmeboy]

2 hours ago, seemoreroyals said:

Thank you for your comprehensive Encore review.  We will be on Encore for the first time in December.  There is so much in there we are going to have to go back and read it again.   

 

Until your post today we were planning on flying into Miami.  Noticed that you are flying out of Ft. Lauderdale.  Googled it and it is only 29 miles away from the Miami cruise terminal.  If you do not mind me asking, approx how much did it cost to uber from MCT to Ft. Laud airport?  

 

Airfare to and from where we live to Miami is higher than I thought.

 

The 22 mile trip cost us 67.13 not including tip from the port to the hotel. We did an UberXL, so we had enough room for all our crap.

[shadowmeboy]

On 4/21/2023 at 10:06 PM, QuattroRomeo said:

Do you have a photo of your updated travel wall?

 

I will take one when I get home.

[shadowmeboy]

On 4/21/2023 at 10:06 PM, QuattroRomeo said:

Do you have a photo of your updated travel wall?

 

I literally just took this!

Edited April 25, 2023 by shadowmeboy

[QuattroRomeo]

What a fun display! I even recognize a few items from this trip! Thanks for sharing it.

[shadowmeboy]

16 hours ago, QuattroRomeo said:

What a fun display! I even recognize a few items from this trip! Thanks for sharing it.

 

Gladly! I enjoy it and remembering the memories and locations each items holds.

[drumming cruisers]

On 3/28/2023 at 9:59 PM, shadowmeboy said:

We settled in for a long dark flight to Orlando. I was able to let my parents know when we were expected to land and also where were as we flew due to Alaska Airlines having free text and messaging.

 

 

This photo is a little blurry, but its Mission Ridge. Mission Ridge is a ski area just South of Wenatchee.

 

Service got slowed down to turbulence over the Rockies. Thus I started watching Below Deck with my phone on the free inflight entertainment options.

 

 

Susan and I got the fruit and cheese plate for our food service. We both did not care for the hot entrée offered, and we made sure to eat "dinner" in the lounge before we left.

 

 

 

At the end of an episode, I looked out and saw this. This is Alliance, Nebraska. We stopped here for lunch on our 2020 road trip. It is also home to a big BNSF yard. The really bright lights at the top of the town, is the BNSF yard.

 

 

Wichita, Kansas

Interesting note: The 737 I was flying in originated in Wichita at Spirit Aerospace and then was transported by BNSF train to Renton, WA for final assembly.

 

 

 

Bentonville, Arkansas - home of Walmart

 

 

Little Rock, Arkansas

 

 

Later in the flight we got mixed nuts and ice cream. Susan is taking a photo of the Ice Cream in this shot! 

 

 

Here is her posing with said ice cream!

 

 

Starkville, Mississippi

 

 

Selma, Alabama

 

 

Dothan, Alabama

 

 

Gainesville, Florida

 

 

Icon Park in Orlando area - the dark area with the lights inside is a Lockheed Martin plant.

 

 

Florida Highway 528

 

 

SeaWorld Orlando

 

 

Orlando area on final approach

 

 

On the ground in Orlando, waiting on the gate crew to bring us into the gate. We sat looking at the gate for over 15 minutes.

 

 

Orlando Landing video

 

 

Hi! Love your reviews. You going to do one for your latest cruise to AK?