LFL AT SEA

Tuesday, 9 December 2025
Tucson

We have been at home in Tucson for a week and we are finally getting out from under the unpacking, the laundry, the mail and email, and all the chores that have accumulated during the six weeks we were traveling. It is so nice to be welcomed home by all our friends at Mountain View Retirement Village, many of whom have kept up with our journey by reading the blog.

Our six weeks of travel sailed by very quickly and we hardly feel that we have been away at all. It will take us some time to come down from the glorious cuisine highs of Seabourn to the more sparse and repetitive diet we have here. But at least we don't have to cook and clean for ourselves.

But LFLatSea has a few more comments--and a lot more photos--to share before shutting down for a good rest.

Tuesday, 2 December 2025
Miami to Tucson

Last night after our final dinner in the Restaurant, we bid a thankful farewell to our main servers, Bharat and Michiko. No time for dawdling, we hurry back to our suite to finish packing and put our luggage outside our door by 10pm. After that, there isn't much to do other than worry if everything left will fit in our carry-ons, plop into bed, and hope for a good night's sleep.

This morning, all disembarking passengers must vacate staterooms by 8am. We arise at six and head to the Colonnade for our final breakfast. Klevi is there, as usual, and the three of us have a mutually sad goodbye. Like most crew members, he remains on the Encore for several more months until the end of his present contract. About one-third of passengers will remain as well, continuing their journeys through the Panama Canal eastward to Southeast Asia and beyond.

Unlike on larger ships, where disembarkation is a highly choreographed dance of passengers and crew, the process of leaving the Encore is relaxed and comfortable. No announcements are made, no lines are formed--passengers may depart at their leisure any time between 8 and 9:30am. We have arranged to ride the Seabourn bus to the Miami airport, scheduled to leave at 9:30. Our flight does not leave until after 2pm, so we are in no particular hurry.

Although things go smoothly as we leave the ship, there are a few screw-ups once we descend to the port terminal. We are among the first passengers to exit the ship and there is a wheelchair waiting to take Will down to the baggage claim area. The person pushing the chair helps us get our bags and seats us in the designated area to wait for the bus departure. The gentleman says he will return with the chair when it is time to board the bus--but that is the last time we see him or any other wheelchair pusher for a very long time.

"The first shall be last," as we wait less and less patiently while every piece of luggage and every other passenger disappears from the waiting area. Although a helpful crew member from the Encore frantically calls and calls for a wheelchair, it seems they have all gone for a late breakfast. It gets to be 9:30 and still no wheelchair. The bus is scheduled to leave at 9:30 and some passengers have flights not too long after that time. And we are still waiting, knowing that after a chair finally arrives, we still have to go through customs and immigration before exiting the port.

We finally make the bus without a moment to spare, occupying the last two seats. Things improve when we get to the airport and I won't bore you with the details of our four-hour wait. But our American Airlines first class flight leaves on time at 2:09pm. We arrive at DFW on time as well, where something happens that I have NEVER experienced in all my many travels over many decades: our arrival gate is right next to our departure gate!

The flight from Dallas to Tucson is uneventful and on time. Claudia, our terrific pre-ordered Uber driver, brings us home shortly after 8pm.

After all this uninteresting text, LFLatSea will add one new photo (from the 1,400 now waiting for editing) from each day of the first half of our trip. The next and final blog will have more photos from the second half of the cruise.

Arrival in Istanbul: