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Cruise Day is always a favorite day!
We arise early and find it is raining! Not a downpour but enough of a drizzle to be noticeable.
Nice that the breakfast area on the roof of the hotel has glass windows they are able to close. There is no one sitting outside this morning! Breakfast is basically the same as yesterday. It will be nice to be on the ship where there is "real" American coffee!
The hotel calls for a taxi to take us to the Termini to catch the train. Now this is when the real adventure begins for this trip! We arrive at the station and take haul our bags through to track 27. We immediately meet this nice couple who are also on the cruise. Gary goes to the concession stand to buy water. As he is standing in line, the board announces a change of tracks. He didn't get it and we wished he had!
The train is scheduled now to leave in 10 minutes on track 23. Normally this might not be bad except to get from where we are to track 23 requires you either go a long ways back toward
the mid station, cross over and then back up to the train OR take the stairs down and back up! Remember we have 2 bags each and one weighs at least 49 pounds! The elevator must be somewhere but who knows. Everyone is running to catch the train. I am thinking I will never get my bags down when this wonderful man we had just met took my big bag down and then back up! Thank you God!
Nice trip with a great view of the country. Numerous stops. We have more getting on that are going on the cruise. We met a newlywed couple from Colorado, family with friends all from the Netherlands. I am beginning to get a little uneasy about what is going to happen at the train station when we get there. I read where there are a few stairs you have to take.
We arrive and our Colorado/Netherland cruise companions help us get our luggage off the train. If I thought the Termini was fun, this is uh, well it wasn't fun! The stairs leaving the tracks are very narrow, barely wide enough for one person and very steep. I was thinking I
could just push the bad and it would bounce to the bottom when one of the Netherland guys took my bag. Thank you God! Through the station and what we find but ANOTHER set of stairs, not narrow but steep! These guys are so nice, they carry BOTH of my bags up the stairs. God is the Best!
Now we have to walk probably close to 1/2 mile pulling our bags. Glad we only had 2 bags! Finally at the port and of course MORE stairs! The stairs were really nothing compared to how people acted about getting on the bus! You would think this was the last bus to the ship terminal! Really, the people are aggressive as they push their bags onto the bottom of the bus. Gary was putting luggage on and I got on the bus but he couldn't get it all on so took the one off. I tried to get off the bus and they were not going to let me. They did though! Nuff said!
We did get our luggage on a bus and we were on it also! We arrived at the port and checked our bags for such an
easy process. This process was fast and no opportunity to tip. We then go to the check in area and must fill out the "I am well form." Off to the counter and so easy since our Emerald and/or suite would put us in the fast lane. We are on the ship shortly and head to the Windjammer for lunch.
This will be the only day we eat lunch in the Windjammer buffet. They have honey stung chicken breast on this day and we do have it as a tradition! We enjoy our lunch and the rooms are now open so we head there. This is a very nice Junior Suite, large, nice balcony with 2 chairs a table and lounger, walk in closet, nice amenities in the bath with a full tub. Bags arrive, we go to the 70's show and go to the late dinner where we snagged a table for 2.
Sail away was fun and soon the sun set on our first day as we went out to sea.
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