Sailing!

Saturday

Up early and discovered the luggage had arrived overnight. YAY - no cruising in my jammies!

Quick breakfast and then on the bus to the Port. It was still heavy, grey, and windy. Warm of course, but no sun. We passed the RC Oasis on the way to our ship. What a monster ship – holds 6000 passengers. Ours (the Carnival Freedom) is a smaller ship, with 3000 passengers and that is about as many people as I want to be on a ship with. 

Embarkation was a bit of a mess- they were using the older port building (the Oasis needed the new one all to herself), and people had to be lined up outside. It was still drizzly, but nothing major (although you wouldn't know it by the way some people were grumbling. I thought one blonde- traveling with her posse- was going to explode. She was really making a fuss.) Yes, it was poorly planned, and there should have been officials outside making sure things were orderly, but people - you're on vacation! Chill a bit- it's not like they're going to give your room to someone else. There was some kind of rebellion, and the formerly orderly line suddenly surged forward and collapsed into a mob. (An hour later, inside, blondie was still complaining! Glad she is not in my travel party. She reminded Leslie and I of the older couple on the shuttle from the airport who were angry about the weather, and when we pulled into the Marriot Courtyard, he muttered that the hotel mustn't be very good because there weren't any expensive cars in the parking lot. Ugh!)   Anyway, it took about 2 hours to process 3000 passengers and get us all on board, which I thought was pretty good. As the comedian said later that evening, as soon as we were all aboard, we all rushed the buffet like starving refuges!  Ahhhhh.... the food! It's everywhere – a deli, a fast food place, sushi, Indian, fish and chips,  Mongolian Wok, etc., etc. And free soft serve ice cream stations- everywhere. That's in addition to the formal diningrooms, of course. This is a dangerous place for a foodie like me. I'll be taking the stairs as much as possible during this cruise so I can still fit in my clothes by the end! 

 

My friend Cathie flew in from Toronto, and met us on the ship around 2:30. We explored the ship while waiting to set sail. There was a small incident with Cathie, a recalcitrant hammock, and a hard deck. Ow! (I am sorry for laughing, Cathie, but at least I wasn't fast enough to take a picture! ) The rain held off long enough to stay on the deck for the departure, but it was windy and grey. Still, it was nice- especially when sailing past the amazing mansions along the beachfront. After a nice nap (the rocking of the ship just knocks me out!), we headed off to the Chic restaurant for a lovely supper. (Cream of sun ripened tomato soup, sweet and sour shrimp with noodles, and crème brulee. Mmmmm!) Then off to the Victoriana theatre for the welcome show – I love live music, singing, and dance. To have a show every evening is a real treat. Long day.... bed by 12:30, rocked to sleep by 12:31... 

Sunday will be a relaxing sea day.  Perfect!