Somehow the time change has screwed up my dates. We have been here for three days, we left home on September first, but today is September fourth, so my Post Titles are all wrong. Oh well, it’s Day One on the boat.
We aren’t new to cruises, but I am always amazed at how things get more streamlined all the time. The first cruise we took, eons ago when the kids were young was nothing but crowds and lines, and finding your muster station was insane…all the passengers had to be there at once. It was pure chaos. It got easier with each subsequent cruise and this one was such a snap. You have to check in online at home and watch a 2 minute video. And that was that.
After the online check-in you pick the time when you want to board, and I picked 1:30 pm so that we would not have to rush in the morning. Then the cruise line sends you umpteen messages telling you to not arrive early or you will be turned away as they do not want masses of people and crowds. They were sort of scary, very stern.
But, because I fear being late, the logistics of getting to the cruise port from our hotel had me stressed (how long will it take? Traffic? Are there enough taxi’s in the city? What happens if we arrive at 2, and not at 1? Do we then have to go to the end of the line-up? A walk of shame?) The fellow at the hotel told me it would take 3 minutes for a taxi to arrive, and another 5 to get to the port. I did not believe him.
I should have. We checked out at 11 and were at the port by 11:12 The thought of waiting over two hours was discouraging, so I asked an NCL rep if there was somewhere to leave our luggage and sit, since we were two hours early. She just smiled and sent us straight through, we showed our ID, got our keycard, dropped our luggage off and were on the ship by 11:25. Of course we headed straight for the buffet to sit and have a (long awaited for) coffee. And guess what? The coffee was just as bad as everywhere else, if not even worse! Seriously, what gives? So we ate cake instead.
We did have to go to our muster station and scan our keycards to prove that we knew where to go in case of a disaster, but that was on the way to the buffet, so that was ok. I instantly forgot how to get there, but luckily no disasters occured.
The whole thing was just so simple. No line-ups. No crowds. Everything was calm and organized. We just breathed a sigh of relief that everything had worked out and were finally here, ready to relax.
They announced that the rooms on our deck were ready earlier than I anticipated, so we headed up there to check our room out and to get a bit organized. My luggage wasn’t there and I was beginning to panic, but they said that often it doesn’t arrive until six pm, which is exacly when mine showed up.We explored the ship to get our bearings and decided to go to Hudson’s for dinner. I had a Greek salad, shrimp scampi and crème brûlée. I won’t post too many pictures of food. Although, actually, yes, yes I will. We had a really great table for two at the window. I don’t do the sharing with strangers dining thing. Sorry to sound uppity, but that’s the way I am. “Ew David, people,”
After dinner Steven wanted to check out the casino. It was really big, bigger than I thought, about 250 slots plus the live tables as well. It’s a good thing that we did check it out because I put $50 in a machine and on my 3rd spin (.88 cent spins) I won some US money. $20, 249.05 to be exact. Winner winner chicken dinner. About $27,000 Canadian. So…ummm…Day One was a success. And because this is not the United States, nothing was held. They cut me a cheque for the full amount.
It was bedtime by now and I just wanted to sit on our balcony and watch the world go by, and count my blessings.
Good size bathroom.
The little snack we had when we first arrived on the ship. We may or may not have had seconds. 😉
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