Cruise Day 1
04 May
The day dawned sunny and lovely. I
went for a nice walk around before breakfast, enjoying the warm
sunshine. Headed back to the hotel for some breakfast before the bus
came to whisk me off to my cruise ship. I ordered a nice meal
(scrambled egg, bacon, fresh fruit and coffee), and sat, sipping my
coffee while I waited for my food. And waited. And waited. They
eventually realized that they had forgotten my order, and brought me me
breakfast- piping hot, with a side of abject apology, just the way I
like it. LOL! They were really upset, but I told them it was fine; it came in
time for me to eat and still have time before the bus arrived.
The bus was on time, and the driver was
a personable, chatty philosopher/comedian named Mr. Brown. Between
his pithy comments on life and his funny monologues, it made the bus
ride a very entertaining passage of time. Arriving at the port, we
were deposited at the proper building at the Miami port authority
(each ship has its own building), passed off our luggage to the
porters, and prepared for the embarking process. I had purchased
something called “Faster To The Fun”, which, essentially, bought
me royalty ... I mean VIP status. That means I got to bypass the
other 2000 peasants and get processed in the VIP line. I got off the
bus at 1:05 and was munching a Guy's burger on the Lido deck at 1:20.
I like being a member of the hoi polloi!!!
My travel companion, Cathie, was due to
land at Ft Lauderdale at 2pm. Since sailing is set for 4:00, we were
worried that it was cutting things a bit too tight, but the Carnival
flight people assured us that she had lots of time. I had to stop
waiting for her in the main lobby at 3:30 when they announced that we
needed to get ready for the muster (mandatory safety/lifeboat drill).
As it turns out, Cathie arrived at 3:45, just as they were calling
for the muster. That is cutting it a bit too close for comfort!
We left on time. It's always fun
sliding past the huge Miami mansions with yachts the size of my house
sitting at the giant docks. Time for ice cream (soft serve ice cream
stations abound!) and explore. The ship's theme is “artists”.
The theatre is the Toulousse Latrec, the main dining rooms are the
Renoir and the Monet, etc. The lobby is lovely, and there is crazy
art style lighting everywhere. Found the actual art gallery and
signed up for the auction. Found the Taste Bar and sampled spicy
pumpkin and avocado soup, and pulled pork with green chili. Mmmmm!
(They serve samples from all the main menus.)
We found our assigned table in the
dining room, and met our dining companions, a husband and wife and
mother-in-law from Nebraska, and a lesbian couple from Puerto Rico.
(Carnival is wonderfully LGBT friendly. I noticed several same sex
couples in the first couple of hours.)
After supper we went to the theatre for
the welcome show, and the live music- dance production called Latin
Nights. Wonderful music, dance and stage sets. Such high energy fun – was
completely re-energized! I love live music productions, and these
ships have live music everywhere.
Back to the room, finished unpacking,
and went to sleep in the teeniest bed ever. It's a small room, with
twin beds, a desk and a small bathroom – which is okay, since I am not planning to
spend much time here. But every time I roll over, my arm hits the
wall or the night table. :) No worries... I be cruisin'!
Kitty update : Emily and Tyler report
that all is well on the cat front. Dexter is behaving and showering
them with affection. I hope they don't get lulled ....
Food : Lunch : Guy's cheeseburger
Supper : shrimp cocktail, broiled
salmon and asparagus, black forest cake
oh sounds like so much fun, except the tiny bed of course. I didn't realize you'd be assigned tables and have to eat with strangers. Interesting.
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