Punta Cana and La Romana Embarkation

Did I mention my hatred of CLT Charlotte Airport? We took the shuttle from the hotel and arrive at the airport around 5 am. The place was packed, disorganized and all around nuts. We had to check our bags again and redo our Dominican Republic Migration Form since we arrived a day late.

Horrifically stressful situation because that line took forever and then the TSA line was halfway through the airport. We were sent to the 3rd checkpoint because it’s closer to D gates where our flight was. Got there and were turned away and told to go back to the far side of the airport to checkpoint 1. Barely got through in time. I ran to the gate first and made it just in time for our group to be called. Mom caught up and we boarded. Didn’t get to sit together but we were both next to nice people. Very cold 3 1/2 hour flight but delayed an hour due to refueling.

Arrived in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic at 11:15 am instead of 10:30. Again there was a huge chance we would miss the ship due to time. The airport went on for ages. They had tons of Carnival outfits which were a little creepy. We asked multiple people where to find our driver. But our reservation ride wasn’t there even though Mom reported the previous day’s cancelled flight. So we found another driver, Kelvin, who got us under way around 12:00. But we weren’t sure if the driver understood where we were going. Our boarding time for the ship was between 12:30 and 1 pm. The drive took about an hour and he got us to the right place.

We dropped our bags and got an immigration form to fill out. Turned that in then paid the $20 exit fee for leaving the Dominican Republic. On to embarkation line but were able to use the Sapphire rank to miss most of the wait. Got on board and checked at the muster station. Found a quiet place to wait. Threw up again, ugh…I don’t feel sick but every time I try to eat or drink it comes back up.
Luckily the rooms were ready pretty quick and we got to go into room 9073 a little after 2. It’s a bit smaller but still plenty of room right in the back of the ship.

We tried to eat dinner at one of the sit down restaurants but it tasted pretty awful…they did bring me a cake and sang Happy Birthday. I managed a few bites…hopefully they will send the rest up with room service. Mom’s water for her machine is still Mia. So she’s out searching. She also got the Internet package purchased as a birthday gift from Dad. It’s a huge weight off my shoulders that I don’t have to watch x number of minutes tick away from the free 300. Now I can connect continuously and get messages from the family and upload our adventures.

Tomorrow we go to the British Virgin Islands to the Baths of Virgin Gorda…I hope we can manage it as tired as we are. Sorry for the lack of pictures.Read more