Pushing off from the dock
The process of embarkation – passing through the passport check, filling out health forms, checking in and receiving our on-board “keys” – went very quickly and we were aboard the ship in less than 30 minutes after our bus arrived at the dock (at 12:47 pm, to be precise). But the process contained an element of angst, too, as I realized (actually, Jett realized) that I had printed only one boarding pass. Jett, rather accusingly, said “Where is my boarding pass?” My rather weak response was “this is what the printer gave me.” I had a vision, as we were going through the line, approaching the registration desk, of giving the agent my story, getting a cold “what an idiot” stare and then waiting an interminable time while the agent somehow got the second boarding pass printed. I couldn’t do it myself because a cruise dock is not like an airport – there are no self-service kiosks. Still, I wasn’t too worried as I knew that I had completed all of the online pre-departure tasks and that Jett’s status as a registered passenger was securely recorded online. But I didn’t know how much trouble – and recrimination – awaited me when we reached the desk.
As it turned out, there was no trouble and no recrimination. All we needed to produce at the desk was our passports. The trouble, if there was to be any, would have been earlier in the process when we had to show passports and boarding passes to “security.” But again, the cruise dock is not like an airport. The cruise dock security is not TSA; it is a bunch of hired hands who are mostly concerned with passports. Security here did not care about the details of the boarding pass – there was no checking of names or dates or ship; I just waved my one boarding pass in front of him and that was sufficient.
Makes me wonder whether the boarding pass was needed at all.
Bath (2nd shower not visible)
Bed
Once aboard we went straight to our cabin – a “junior suite”. It isn’t the largest cabin we have ever had, but it is quite nice. The king size bed is very comfortable, with 6 pillows. The TV is the largest we have ever had on a cruise – my estimate is 60 inches. And the bathroom has his-and-her sinks and two showers. We will inevitably contend for its use, but it is very large and very nice.
Oh – a balcony with two very comfortable chaises and a table. If the weather cooperates, I will spend a lot of time out there. Watching the ocean slip by.
A couple of nice extras: bathrobes and a powerful set of binoculars. I can sit on the verandah, dressed in a bathrobe and scan the horizon for approaching pirates. Maybe I can be the first to yell “land ho!” when we reac Madeira.
We freshened up a bit, then walked up one flight to the Lido Deck to grab a quick bite from the never-ending buffet and to find the smoking area. Sadly the “smoking lamp” was extinguished as the refueling of the ship was not finished, but Jett wasted no time finding “smoking buddies”, all of whom were jonesing for a smoke. We bided the time chatting with Jack and Carol, two almost-full-timers (they have a condo in Mexico for the winter but travel the US and Canada the rest of the year in their Class C RV). We also, later, met Mary who reminded us both of Kathy Bates. We took to referring to her afterwards as “Molly Brown” as she was very like the Unsinkable person depicted in Titanic. Of course thinking of the Titanic is exactly the wrong thing to do on embarkation day, but it was unavoidable.
Aft deck smoking area
After the required lifeboat drill at 4 pm, we returned to the Lido Deck for the “sailaway party.” On every other cruise this has been an energetic party with dancing and a steel band. No band at this one, just overpriced drinks and lots of people taking photos as we pushed off from the dock. I think we have found the first difference with a transatlantic cruise: more sedate music (chamber music seems to be the big thing, with a blues band being the only “rock” option). I think it is going to be a relatively quiet crossing. Yes, there are a few children on board, but there are absolutely no kids activities. Advice: if you want to cruise with children, steer away from transatlantic itineraries.
It turns out the the one side of the rear deck area is the only smoking area aboard the ship. On other cruises there were typically three: the Lido Deck, one side of the Promenade Deck and a Cigar Bar. Only one area on this ship, which had Jett cursing. And it is outside, so if the weather turns chilly (as I expect it will), she is going to be very unhappy. But that day is not today.
Explorer’s Lounge
While Jett was chatting with her smoking buddies I was sent in search of a cup of cappuccino. I found it at the coffee bar in the back of the Explorer’s Lounge, a fabulously opulent lounge on the top deck, overlooking the bow. It has a fantastic vista, very comfortable chairs for socializing, tables for playing cards or doing jigsaw puzzles, and current real-time displays of location, speed, wave amplitude and temperature. Time, too, which is more complicated than it sounds. We will be going through five time zone changes and onboard the clocks are adjusted at 1 pm. You need to pay attention or you could be late for an afternoon appointment.
Our dinner companions are Jeff and Judy, Bob and Dave. Jeff and Judy are Canadians, as is Dave, but Dave is also Scottish, with dual citizenship. Bob is from Alabama. The dinner conversation was lively and varied and only briefly skirted into politics and religion – topics which I am careful to avoid. The food and service were also very good. The highlight of the meal for me was dessert – banana crisp which was like apple crisp, but with bananas. Delicious.
Dave and Bob are both single and are not a couple. We have not yet determined whether they are gay, widowed, divorced or simply prefer to travel alone. Mary, who I mentioned earlier, was also traveling alone and in her case she volunteered the reason: she and her husband are taking some “alone time” which she is using to reflect on her marriage.
We did not attend the evening entertainment and instead went to bed after lounging a bit on the Lido Deck. It was a lovely evening. When we returned to our cabin we discovered the wide variety of movies that the ship makes available on demand, including many recent ones, such as this year’s Best Picture, La La Land.
So far, so good.
Coffee bar
Lido Cafe dining area