The Love Boat

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Geo: 23.3947, -78.4052

Breakfast in the hotel was free for diamond members. Then Philip finished downloading papers and graded most of them. We left our room at checkout time, 11 o'clock, but sat in the lobby for a while since check-in at the cruise ship terminal didn't start until 12:30. The concierge told us that there was nothing at the port so we should wait at the hotel. I had prearranged a transfer with Quick and Safe Transportation from the Hilton to Port Everglades for
12:30. They were happy to take us early so we left the hotel closer to 12:10. The port is only about a five-minute drive.

Check-in for the Pacific Princess was underway when we arrived. Not too many people were there so we walked right up to the counter going through the usual check-in and security procedures. Our room was ready when we arrived so we dropped off our hand luggage and went to lunch in the Panorama Buffet.

Phil continued to work on school stuff while we were in port and could use his hot spot for easy Internet access. Once we moved out of the bay and away from the port, he lost the Verizon connection.

Our mini-suite is a nice size. I originally booked a balcony cabin, but took advantage of a discounted price on an upgrade offer a few weeks ago. The location is mid-ship on Deck 8 which is not quite as convenient as the cabin we had on Deck 7 near the stairs and launderette, but worth the trade-off for a much larger space. Ginno came by during the middle of the afternoon to introduce himself. He is on his last cruise for this contract. He'll be going home to the Philippines at the same time we go home in Los Angeles.

We were ready for dinner and decided to look around the ship before eating. One of the places we went to find was the International Café so Phil could pick up his prepaid coffee card. The café was right next to the restaurant, and we saw lots of people going in. We expected our early seating to be at 6:00 as published on the Princess website, but it started at 5:30. The cruise cards say 5:30, but neither of us had looked closely at them. Fortunately, we were nearby and only ten minutes late. We are at a table for eight. Four of the group have been on the ship since it left Los Angeles in January. They made friends with each other on another world cruise in 2015. The other couple just got on the ship today, too, although they are friends with one of the world cruising couples.

Thought for today: I am extremely fortunate to be able to travel the world.

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