Farewell Florida

Normally as the ship leaves, I’ll stay on Deck 10, watching the Port slip by, but today it really is too cold for that. So, Bob and I walk forward on Deck 9, which is mostly enclosed. I pull up a chair next to the glass and enjoy our departure. There is an opening in the glass which lets just enough breeze through to let me experience some of the feeling of our increasing speed.

A pilot boat is alongside us, guiding the ship out of the channel. I look around and try to spot a few landmarks, primarily the location of various Cape Canaveral webcams I watch throughout the year to get my Disney Cruise Line “fix.” Let’s see, there’s the Canaveral Radisson off in the distance. It has a great web-controllable camera. Its view of the Disney ships in port is partially blocked, but as they are departing, you can turn the camera to follow them. Someone is probably doing that right now! That's cool to think about.

We pass the coast line – there’s another building with a camera on it – and I say goodbye to land for now. The pilot boat stays with us for a short while after we’re past the land, and then drops back and out of sight. We really start picking up speed now that we’re in the open water.

Bob takes his leave, saying that he’s heading back to the Suite. I decide to stay a bit longer.

The ship turns southeast, and I snap a picture looking back up the Port Canaveral waterway. After that, I decide to go explore a bit. I walk down Deck 9 and go into the midship elevators. Let’s see what this deck party in the atrium looks like.

As I descend past Deck 5 and the atrium comes into view through the glass elevator wall, it becomes clear that the deck party looks, um, over. No band, no characters, no crowds. There are some people hanging around the door to Triton’s, waiting for it to open for dinner, but otherwise not much is happening.

I stay on the lift and head back to the Suite on Deck 8.