I don’t know how my kids are able to fall asleep before 10:00 and sleep until almost 9:00 in the morning, but they can, and I may hate them for that...
Once everyone was showered and ready we headed downstairs for the complimentary breakfast. Bagels, toast, yogurt, scrambled eggs, steak fries, bacon, grits and oatmeal were some of the foods served. Once fueled for the day, it was time to head to the port.
We went upstairs and did our final packing then headed back down to order a Lyft. The car was there in 2 minutes and it was a short, 7 minute ride to the port.
Prior to the cruise, I purchased a package through Royal Caribbean called “The Key.” The Key includes:
- Priority Embarkation
- Steak House lunch on Embarkation Day
- Unlimited Internet
- Priority Tender Tickets
- Reserved times for Rock Climbing
- And a few other things I can’t remember right now
From the time our Lyft dropped us off until the time we were on the ship...less than 10 minutes. Brilliant!
Rooms weren’t going to be ready until 1:30, so we headed up to the pool deck for our first cocktail of the trip!
Shortly after my parents arrived. They’d taken the shuttle from the hotel so were a bit behind us. We cocktailed it for a bit, then the girls and I headed to the dinning room for our “special” Steak House lunch.
We were promptly seated and received the menu:
And then....the service was sooooo sssslllloooowwww....snails pace slow! I ordered the shrimp cocktail, burger an warm chocolate cake. Like who doesn’t like a good chocolate cake???
We waited forever for the appetizer....
And then we waited some more....and finally...our main course came....
And was a complete disappointment....and then we waited...and waited...and waited...and finally...
And Houston...we have lift off...finally...something supremely wonderful!!!
We finished up lunch and headed back up to my parents, by the pool, on deck 9. It was 1:00, and cabins wouldn’t be ready until 1:30.
I started working on my blog as we enjoyed the peace and quiet of the adult only pool area.
At precisely 1:30 they announced the cabins were ready. We headed to the forward stairs and made our way down to deck 4. Both of our cabins are on deck 4, forward, port side. We each have an ocean view room. Here’s a picture of our cabin:
We will have the bed broken into twins and a bunk will drop down from the ceiling.
Unfortunately, when we arrived, we had no luggage. While luggage was strewn throughout the hallway, none of it belonged to use.
The kids hung in the cabin while I wandered and took a few pictures.
The Centrum:
The casino:
The dinning room:
I headed back to the cabin, and you guessed it...still no luggage. By this time, they’re starting to make announcements for muster. We headed up to our muster station on deck 5, outside on the Promenade deck.
Muster was quick, and when we got back to our cabin at 4:00 our luggage had magically appeared. We made quick work of unpacking. I was pleasantly surprised at how organized we all were and how we were able to make all of it fit!
I made arrangements to meet my parents at the Schooner Bar on deck 6 or trivia at 5:00. I arrived about 10 minutes before the start...and it was standing room only. I mean ridiculous standing room only. Never in my life have I seen a trivia so freaking packed. When mom and dad arrived, a couple left and we were able to snag two chairs. The trivia was meh, and when we corrected someone else’s paper, we realized, nobody was there for trivia, they were all there to drink. Evidenced by 2 correct answers out of 20....the end.
After trivia we met the girls and headed to the Pinnacle, Diamond Plus, Diamond happy hour in the Diamond Lounge on deck 6. We ended up there until dinner at 7:15. Let’s just say my girls really enjoyed the flow of alcohol tonight.
We had “My Time” dinning and I’d reserved a table for the 5 of us for 7:15 each evening. The ship has only one dinning room that is two stores (Decks 4 & 5). Sasha and Christian are our waiters and we enjoyed them immensely. Here’s the menu from tonight:
I started with the Crab Cake had the Battered Fish & Seafood as my entree and finished with the Warm Hazelnut Chocolate Cake. I honestly wasn’t terrible impressed with anything (sans the Chocolate Cake) but it wasn’t as bad as lunch. Plus side, the wait staff was excellent!
We finished dinner around 9 and then it was time for my nightly casino deposit. That didn’t take long, and exhausted, I headed back to the cabin. My parents and the girls all went to the show, I was just too tired. That’s what happens when I go to bed at 10:00.
Up tomorrow: Key West. Let the good times roll!
Thanks for coming along!
