Scene 12

Port of Cancun

Jaime called me later that evening to inform me that the Captain did indeed prefer that we all remain in our cabins, so Ms. Stork and I readied our baggage and turned in for a good night’s sleep.

We felt the ship dock the next morning and the Captain’s voice came over the announcement speakers.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “please remain in your cabins. A member of the crew will be coming to each of you cabins to give you directions. Please follow these directions and we will have you off the ship quickly. Again, thank you for your cooperation.”

Soon there was a knock on our door. Opening it, I found a member of the crew outside. He directed Ms. Stork and I to take our bags and proceed down the hallway.

Ms. Stork and I stepped out into the hallway and walked in the direction indicated. Looking around, I saw that the crewmembers were stopping at each cabin in turn to direct its occupants down the hallway.

Other crewmembers were stationed at various spots to direct the line of people through doors and down stairs as we made our way to the gangway to the dock.

When we reached the end of the gangway, we found port authority employees who consulted a list and directed us to our busses. It turned out that the Kilted Kruise would be put onto three busses then taken to the resort. We loaded our baggage onto the bus and then boarded. Other members quickly filed onto the busses.

The entire evacuation took only about a half hour, so I give the crew credit for performing fairly efficiently. It just takes time to offload that many people.

When our busses were full, a crewmember from the social staff of the ship boarded each bus. Ours was a young man and he quickly addressed us.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “please sit back and enjoy the ride as much as you can. The Casa Maya Resort has graciously provided rooms for you all. The resort is a little over an hour’s drive from here, so you will have a bit of a ride. I am Ruiz and I have been assigned to accompany you to the resort and ensure that you all are taken care of. If you have any questions on the trip, please feel free to ask me. Your driver’s name is Manuel. Please, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride”

Ruiz sat in the small seat in the front of the bus usually occupied by a tour guide. Manuel started the bus and I noticed that the other busses had done the same. Ours was the first bus to pull out and the other two followed us.