Saturday, August 24, 2024
Ended up getting up at 5:30 again. The air conditioner was loud and woke me up every time it kicked on, but it did have cold air. Our bathroom walk-in shower had a rain shower type of shower head. I am not a fan. I just can’t get the water pressure strong enough. It also did not have a safety bar or bathmat. Have to be cautious.
We had our luggage tagged with the cruise tags and the color dots given to us at the hotel and ready to be picked up. We were instructed to keep the luggage just inside the room. Not wanting a huge breakfast buffet at the hotel (or the big bill), I found a Chik-fil-A that was just a few minutes from the hotel (in the opposite direction of where we walked yesterday).
It was a cool morning but sunny. We ordered at the counter and had planned to eat in their upstairs dining room, but it was closed for cleaning. We could have taken our coffees and chicken biscuits back to the hotel but just decided to eat at the outdoor tables. It was a busy place with people in and out with their orders.
Our luggage was being picked up as we returned to the room. Our instructions said to come down to the lobby area at 10:30 to ensure that our luggage had arrived in the Ballroom. Okay. At 10:30, I did that and found our 3 pieces in the Blue section as promised.
We had already been told that embarkation would be delayed today because of a mandatory Coast Guard inspection of the ship so we knew our arrival was going to be later than usual. All of us assembled in the Ballroom at 11:15 to wait for our busses. One bus came (not ours), and the rest were stuck in traffic (of course).
Once our bus came and the luggage started to be rolled out on carts and loaded, I could see that one of our bags was not with the others. Chuck brought it to the attention of the representative who assured him that all were on. My Apple airtag said otherwise. We insisted it was not and he said he would double-check the hotel ballroom. A few minutes later my airtag locator said the last bag was with me. Wonder if the other people who also had luggage on that last cart knew how close we came to leaving without it.
We got to the terminal about 1:00 and were faced with a very long line. We also had to wait for porters to get our luggage off the bus. (Tip – flash some cash and your luggage will get grabbed by the porters first). Obviously, the inspection was taking far longer than expected. It took another hour for us to get on the ship and there were many people behind us. Not a great start and we weren’t going to be leaving at 3:00.
We had a very small inside cabin for these two trips. Since these cruises were casino-comped, we would make do. We could have taken some upsell offers but because the cruise was full, the offers were not worth the money they wanted (in our opinion).
We left our backpacks in the room, and we went to our muster station to be checked in. Very quick. Just don’t know why people wait until the last minute to get it done. I would be embarrassed if my name had to be called over the loudspeaker.
We went to the Sea View area. None of the sailaway activities had started so I went to the Dining Reservation desk to make our complimentary Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto dinner reservations. I met back up with Chuck and we went back to the room to check on luggage arrival. The bags had been delivered so we got those unpacked while watching the safety video on the TV (your TV won’t work unless you watch the video first). Also got to meet our room stewards – Raja and Joshem – and complete the Canadian customs form.
By the time we got back to the Sea View area, the sailaway activities had started.
Because we had such an early breakfast and didn’t really eat lunch due to the crowded Lido Buffet (HAL has stopped the sit-down embarkation Mariner lunch which is a big disappointment to me), we were ready for an early dinner. We opted for the steak dinner in the Lido. We got there early enough that they would grill your steak to your specifications. Later in the evening, you would have to choose among the ones that were ready. Both of our steaks were excellent.
By the time we finished, the Casino was open. Chuck was supposed to get some free casino play money on this first leg of the cruise but, according to their paperwork, “he wasn’t on the list.” However, according to my paperwork, he most definitely was supposed to be on the list. He got his free play money.
We had some slot fun playing old favorites “Wonder Woman” and “Devil’s Lock” and some new ones “Dancing Drums” and “Fortune Harmony.”
After listening and dancing to three sets of the Rolling Stone Lounge Band, we called it a night.
Tomorrow – Bar Harbor
