Had to share this….cruise critic

This is quoted from a man that kinda summed up yesterday of what happened in Fort Lauderdale.  I found it on cruise critic

"Fort Lauderdale - Best of Times, Worst of Times

I know we all offer our prayers and sympathies to the victims of yesterday's insanity at Fort Lauderdale Airport. A fellow cruiser, ticketed to sail on HA's Nieuw Amsterdam was among those whose lives were stolen from them.

Such is the worst of times. You leave home, board a commercial flight for a routine trip and, without warning, your world is upside down.

Godspeed.

Them there is the antithesis. The unstoppable human spirit. From the gallantry of our Police and other emergency personnel to the airport staff; all of whom heard the call of duty and did humanity proud by responding thinking only of those they were charged with protecting.

May Almighty God bless them all.

Most of us who read and contribute to this forum do so in a free and open exchnage of perspectives. A salute to the crew. A brickbat to the company for one reason or another.

May we always enjoy the freedom to do that.

Yesterday, the cruise industry endured a logistical challenge. They met it head-on and overcame.

We had just dropped our son and his lady at Port Everglades when all hell broke loose at FLL. Our drive out of the terminal was serenaded with the unstopping wail of sirens. The sky in the technicolor of red and blue strobe lights. Highways turned into virtual speedways as emergency vehicles floored their motors to get to where they were needed.

In the background, two vessels were moored. Caribbean Princess and Nieuw Amsterdam. Both with a remaining three hours till anchors aweigh.

As we drove onto I-595, I remarked to my wife that many passengers would probably miss their sailings. She concurred.

Our son kept us posted. First, CP's shove-off was pushed back to 6pm. 6 became 7. 7 became 9. True cast-off was roughly 9:20pm.

CP's Captain kept everyone on the ship timely advised. By this juncture, the FLL incident was known to all on the ship. Prayers and silent reflection were everywhere.

The Captain said, at about 4:25, that more than 100 passengers had yet to board. Planes were being rerouted to Miami, West Palm Beach, Tampa and outside of Florida. I can only imagine what was going on at Air Traffic Control.

And this is where the excellence of the cruise lines and the port authorities kicked in. Strategies were mapped out, buses were hired. Cruise line personnel hit the ground running. Travel agents burned after-hours oil answering questions from stranded travelers and their worried families.

Somehow, they made it work. Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel arranged police escorts for buses carrying intendeing passengers whose flights had been diverted. The Florida Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies and airline people giving priority to incoming cruise passengers.

It is what we do when adversity hits. It is the spirit that resides deep in all of us that does what has to be done - there is no instruction manual. Somehow, some way - - we just do it and move ahead. We shed our tears as we walk. We gather to deal with our frustration and grief.

And we give a loud and well-deserved BRAVO to those many anonymous faces who worked their bottoms off to help the sun break through the clouds.

For the role the cruise industry played in giving its paying customers comfort, please join with me in saying:  Well done"

So this I think is well said and I need to share this with you all.  Tomorrow Bob and I will be traveling to Ft Lauderdale to board the Konsingdam  hope all goes well.

Cherish The Moments, Love Deeply, Dream Big