Day 2, Monday, April 13 – In the morning, we believe that 95% of the guests at the hotel were in the lobby waiting for buses to the ship terminals. There were people and luggage everywhere.
We only met one couple going on the same cruise as we were, although most all were going on some cruise to the Panama Canal or had just returned. Most were only going half way and returning back to where they started.

In this huge room where you checked in. They check your Passport just to get in this room. They have a table in the middle of the room with lemonade, fruit punch and water and a plate of cookies. You check in by deck number and we were on deck 9, the Vista Deck. There, you turn in your paperwork, passport, and sign up for the “on ship charge system” by giving them your credit card. You then each receive your “Sea Pass” card which is you room key and to charge anything you buy on the ship. It is good at the shops, Bingo, extra services and drinks. The only place on board ship that uses cash is the casino.

Then you go upstairs and they check your Passport again and take your picture which goes on file with your “Sea Pass” card number. After that, you walk up the ramp pictured below to board the ship.
I think that when you use your card to buy anything it brings up your picture on their computers so that they know that the card belongs to you and not someone else. We boarded around 11:00 and were able to get right in our outside stateroom. We have a nice big window (about 4’ x 6’) to see out of about 50-60 feet above the water. We walked up 2 decks to 11 for a nice lunch at the sumptuous buffet. The ship is big on sanitation, and every time you walk into the buffet or dining room, someone is there to give you a squirt of waterless hand cleaner.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around on different decks and getting familiar with the ship. Here are a few pictures of our exploration.

We set sail at 5:00 p.m. and our luggage arrived at our Suite about 6:00. Here is a picture taken on our departure from Ft. Lauderdale.
We’re on the “second seating” for dinner and get to eat our dinner at 8:30 in the evening. The dining room is a formal, high class restaurant and each table has a waiter and assistant waiter. There is a 4 or 5 course dinner every night with a different menu each night. The food is great and fortunately, they give you portions that are just the right size, not too much. That way, you still have room for dessert after finishing everything else. After dinner, we listened to some of the music in different clubs and danced a little in one of them before turning in for the night.

Our bed is turned down every night for us when we get back to the stateroom.