Day of Cruise

Philly to Port Liberty

Left home at about 7:45 AM and headed up the NJ turnpike to I-95 N towards NY. Following the car's GPS, got off at the Bayonne exit. After a short drive with just a few turns, arrived at the terminal at around 10 AM. After dropping off our one large bag, parked inside the main parking garage right next to the terminal. It was just a very short walk to the terminal with our two wheeled carry on bags. Check in was the easiest of all cruises we've ever taken! Check in, from start to finish, took only about 15 minutes. Since it was still rather early, we sat in chairs till it was announced we could board. Boarding started at about 10:45. Everything was so organized! One row of seats was called at a time. Therefore, there was no pushing, shoving, or bumping into others. Naturally, everyone made a bee line towards the Windjammer for a bite to eat so the elevators were rather crowded. That’s just the nature of Day 1. Muster drill was at 3:30 and just as soon as it ended, the lines were cast off and away we went. I have to mention that the skyline of NYC was awesome and seeing the Statue of Liberty was breathtaking. It was way cool passing under the VN Bridge! Lots of applause after we “barely” made it safely through. My wife and I started to explore the ship but it was set up a lot differently than every other Royal ship we've sailed on. The Allure was like that when we first sailed her but we got to be good friends after a few days. As time goes on, we will have seen a great deal of what this ship offers but by then, it will be time to end our vacation. Read more