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Janet
Lifeboat Training Today got off to a leisurely start. We slept in and then had a nice breakfast in the hotel. The shuttle to the port did not leave until 12:30, so we had plenty of time to repack the suitcases and explore around the hotel area. The temperature here in Florida is in the mid-80s and slightly overcast, but nothing chilly or rainy like it had been back in St Louis. But then we were off to Port Canaveral and ready to start the cruise.
The hotel provided a 12:30 shuttle service to Port Everglades and that got us to the ship by 1:00 with a minimum of effort. The luggage was off-loaded from the bus onto a container for the ship and they were eventually delivered to our cabin – no effort on our part. However, something delayed the actual boarding for at least an hour, so we sat (the unlucky one had to stand) around until 2:00 pm. But after that we got on board, found our cabin, and headed off to the Horizon Restaurant for a late lunch (only 2 plates of food since dinner was scheduled at 5:30).
We explored awhile and then had the mandatory lifeboat drill. Our “muster station” is in the main theater, so it was convenient to our cabin and comfortable. Since the ship had major redesign/refurbishment they have to pass an “incline test” before they can sail. Apparently it is best to do this while the passengers are tucked away safely in their beds at night. This has caused the sailing time to be delayed until 8:00 tomorrow morning. However that is not expected to delay our arrival in the Azores several days from now (guess they will just spin the propeller a little faster). Also it will not delay the time zone change from occurring at 2:00 am tomorrow morning - yes tomorrow is the first of several 23 hour days and we won’t have even left port yet.
Dinner was excellent and we both had the prime rib dinner. There were plenty of accompaniments before and after, so we were thoroughly stuffed (won’t be the last time that happens – maybe not even the last time before we sail. Then we went to the Princess Theater and saw the Welcome Aboard show which was a song/dance act, had a short comedy act, and interspersed was a lot of information about the ship’s activities, provided by the Cruise Director. And now it is back to the cabin and starting to plan tomorrow’s agenda.
One of the factoids shared during the Welcome Show was that they had just completed $98M of enhancements to the ship during the past month. It seems that not everything got finished (there are still some finishing touches being installed in a few places). However, one of the problems remaining is that the internet server is not currently working, but it is expected to be fixed by tomorrow morning. So when you get this note, you will know they have it working again. Good night for today.
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