I had never cruised before. But I work in ecommerce for a travel agency, so I was lucky enough to be selected to go to the Liberty of the Seas Pre-Inaugural cruise on May 14 - 16 out of Miami, Florida.
Dummy! I flew in on the red-eye from Seattle, Washington directly to Miami, Florida. I arrived in MIA at 7:00 am, but the transfers weren't going to be running until 11 am. So I decided to take a taxi to the dock instead of waiting at the airport. We went across a bridge right in front of the Liberty, and her sheer size took my breath away. I was dropped off in front of the terminal, and went inside. I made it past the first security checkpoint with the invitation I had received from RCCL, and told to wait in the waiting area outside the baggage x-ray machines. And wait, I did! While the glass art in the waiting room is pretty, it can only be examined for so long. I was in the waiting room from 8:00 until about 11:00... which I want to point out was my own fault for getting there so early. The invitation said 11:00 am. A coffee or snack cart would've been very welcome in that waiting room, though... and I know I for one would've been willing to pay any price for a coffee at that time!
Lines At 11:00 everyone started to line up to get through the x-ray machines. This was a pretty quick and painless process, and everyone was lined up again to get SeaPass cards (stateroom assignments and keys). The gentleman who assisted me had a kind smile and processed me quickly and efficiently. I received my assignment and card, and went to stand in another line. While all the lines may sound tedious, I'd say the atmosphere in the terminal was one of excitement... it was anything but tedious! We were finally allowed to go up the ramp to scan out cards and have pictures taken. The machine in the line I was in went down, so it took a little while longer to process using one machine for two lines, but it didn't damper anyone's enthusiasm.