Day 1 - Embarkation

We had stayed in a hotel the prior night and took a cab to the port about Noon time. I was impressed that the porters already had our luggage onto their carts before I was even out of the cab and could give him a good tip. After this we got in line, which looked and seemed long but it moved very quickly and once we were through the metal detectors it was a breeze. We did the self serve check in which had absolutely no lines at all, and despite a snafu with my wifes passport (this was due to the condition of the passport itself causing the reader to have problems), we were on the ship in no time. The whole process from the time the cab pulled up until we were on the ship was about 45-50 minutes. Our stateroom was already ready and it was more spacious than I expected. We were in 7402, which was an interior stateroom right next to the aft elevators. The buffet was being served on the Lido deck, and again the lines were relatively short and the food was good. After the muster drill we were on our way. We ate dinner in the Golden Dining room every night, and we opted for your time dining, which I thought was great. Despite it being anytime dining, the hostess would seat you with the same waiter every night if you so wanted, which we did. We had a great wait staff consisting of I Made (Not made up :) from Indonesia, Jesus from Peru, and Paolo from the Phillipines. They were great all week, and very friendly. The food was excellent all week. The first night I had a chicken dish that was great. Then I got to the Dessert and had a Chocolate Melting Cake that was to die for. That night we went to a teaser show in the Amber Palace which was hosted by Josh the Cruise Director and his team. It was really well done and a good preview of things to come for the week. Josh was awesome. He has a great sense of humor and wants to see you have fun, but he also didn't hog the PA system constantly and allowed the guests to enjoy themselves. In our stateroom we had our first towel animal, a walrus, which me and my wife always enjoyed.

Day 2 - Sea Day Read more