we got up around 7 this morning- got ready, got packed and went to breakfast. It was about 85 this morning and we ate outside by the pool. We were wearing our suits so we decided to swim and play until 10 when we would need to head back to our room to change into the clothes we would leave in.
We met our cruise staff at the hotel lobby area and started the check in process here- which later turned out to be a godsend. We left the hotel (100 people just from our hotel alone) at 12:15 or so and it took an hour and 15 minutes to get to the port.
The ship is massive- for those who have never been on it or seen it before that’s all that was being murmured as we pulled up to Port Canaveral. We went through an xray machine, up a set of escalators into a very nice terminal and skipped all the check in lines here. I stopped for less than 5 minutes to get P and A their kids club bracelets (bulky but oh well) and my pager that is linked to them. Again- the line was much longer for new sign ups but I was prepared and had done it online.
We got into the ship within minutes and immediately headed up to deck 9 for the lunch buffet. For a buffet it was amazing! Salmon, shrimp, amazing pastas, steaks, etc. So many choices. We got ate then headed to our stateroom. Tiny tiny tiny! And besides the handful of suites on board we have the nicest room! But that is how cruise ships go, and I was expecting it. P and I are sharing the queen bed and the sofa flips upside down in a weird way to become a twin bed. The living space is small but nice- and the balcony makes it all worth while. We have 2 half bathrooms that are the size of a person each. Lol. Everything is themed lovely- obviously very nautical and there is a large steamer trunk and a very big closet for storage.
After we checked out our room we headed down to the lounge to meet up with some of our friends we had met on a message board. All of our kids instantly hit it off and the grown ups were really great too. Someone to talk to when I get a free moment! We then checked out the massive lobby area.
At 4pm we had the mandatory safety drill- we donned our life jackets from our room, headed down one deck to the lifeboat stations and did the drill, which lasted about 15 minutes or so. A major pain when it’s in the upper 90’s and no wind, but its over quick.
We then decided to walk around and explore a bit- we peeked in the kids clubs, looked at the shops, and some of the restaurants, etc. We ran into some characters in the lobby and I got some cute pics of the kids with them:) At this point I lost my ipod though :( I need to go to guest services tomorrow…
At 5:00 there was the sail away party (yay for a yummy cold drink!). We peeked up there and also listened from our verandah.
Our dinner is early seating at 5:45 so we headed down for that. The service is amazing- on this cruise, the wait staff follows you to the rotational restaurants each night. So you get to experience different gourmet dining venues but keep your staff with you, They took the time to ask questions about us, where we were from, did magic tricks for the kids, colored with Piper while we were waiting, etc. They are amazing, We ate tonight at Animator’s Palate- a restaurant that starts in black and white and “magically” changes to color by the end. It was pretty neat an there was a little show at the end that was great. All food is free, and meals are courses. The kids stuck to kids food, but I got mushroom risotto and a baked potato cheese soup to start and a phyllo wrapped salmon (sooo good) and a apple cobbler for desert (along with a much needed latte).
After dinner we had about 40 minutes to spare before the show of the night so I dropped the kids off in the clubs for a bit, and went back to the room to organize luggage/hang clothes a bit. At 8:30 we headed to the big theater for a Broadway scale live show. It was called the Golden Mickey’s and it highlighted many of the songs in the movies throughout the years. Numbers from Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Toy Story, Lion King, Mulan, Pocahontas, etc. And there was a very cool Tarzan act with this guy (Tarzan) swinging on ropes doing acrobatics. It was very cool.
After the show we came back for a bit to the room, and looked at our navigator to see what else was going on that night. It was 9:30 by this point (kids have normal bedtime of 8, but it’s vacation…). We decided to head up to deck 9 under the stars and watch Enchanted on the big open air movie screen. We sat in deck chairs and even though it was 11:30 when we left, it was still warm out, even with an ocean breeze.
Kids crashed as soon as we got back into the room, and I am currently watching things sway (we are passing through a bit of a storm I think) but it’s calming down.
Tomorrow is our first port! We leave the ship at 9:30 and head to Blue Lagoon Island to play in the sun and sand all day. Then to Nassau in the late afternoon.
No comments:
Post a Comment