Southern Caribbean: Embarkation Day!

Wednesday, December 01, 2021

Didn’t realize how many people staying in the hotel were cruisers until we came down for their noon shuttle to the ship. The lobby was filled with people and luggage. Luckily, there were two vans outside, and we were all going to the same ship.

Once we arrived at the port, there were a lot of people that welcomed us but the signage directing us to the various checkpoints was lacking, so I felt we wasted time trying to find the correct lines. Hearing any of the announcements was difficult too because of the reverberation in the building. However, unlike other embarkations, we never sat down to wait for our number to be called. We did just keep moving from checkpoint to checkpoint until we found ourselves in our ship’s cabin. And it was a great cabin!

As I mentioned previously, I was worried about the room layout. However, I should not have been worried. I loved the layout.

It felt so very roomy, and the balcony was awesome – so big and had a great cover so plenty of shade and privacy. It was above the lifeboats but unless you were leaning over the balcony, you could not see them. I plan to ask for this room again any time we sail a Pinnacle class ship.

We had a relaxing lunch in the main dining room. We sat with a couple who said they are planning to go on the 2022 Voyage of the Vikings. We are also hoping to do that cruise. Small world. Though the service was a little slow, I think it beats the madhouse of the Lido deck on the first day and the food was very good.

Our next stop was check-in at our muster station which happened to be the World Stage – the main theater. Once we verified that we were on the ship with the safety crew member, we had to go back to the room and watch the safety video. If you don’t watch the video, the television won’t allow you to go to any other channel or feature. Diabolical.

I was pleasantly surprised that our luggage had already arrived. It was easy to get everything stored well before the sail-away. We met our room steward – Agus. His assistant is Farid.

It was a beautiful day for a sail-away. Warm, breezy, and clear blue skies.

Once we were in international waters, the shops and the casino opened. We went to check on Chuck’s casino account. There were many signs welcoming the slot tournament players. Chuck got an invitation, but we decided to book the cruise under a different promotion that offered more benefits. However, when he found out that the casino had given him the free play money that was part of the casino offer, he decided to check about an entry to the tournament.

The tournament directors checked his booking date and found that he had booked the cruise within the promo offer time frame so …. He’s in! They told him he would play his first round that evening. Only 100 people would advance to round two.

I had made dinner reservations for 7:00 in the main dining room. Tonight, it was changed to 6:30 but close enough. We could have cancelled and tried the walk-in option, but no big deal. Since we will not have a set waitstaff on the cruise, I will try and take a picture of their table name plate so I can be sure to give them credit on the satisfaction survey we get at the end of the cruise.

Tonight, Chuck had the corn chowder and the jerk chicken. I had the French onion soup and the Greek Moussaka. Very good.

After dinner, Chuck went to the casino to play in the first round and I went to the Rolling Stone Rock Room to listen to the band. They played some great 60’s and 80’s classic rock. This is the first ship that we have sailed with this venue. We also went to a set of the BB Kings Blues band. We have sailed several ships with this venue. This band was as good as the others we have seen.

After listening to one more set from the Rolling Stone Rock Band, we enjoyed star gazing on our balcony. No towel animal tonight. Not sure there are going to be any on this cruise.

Tomorrow is our first sea day.