Changing Ships in the Middle of our Vacation

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Geo: 26.1228, -80.1505

So I set the alarm for 7:30am but forget to set my clock ahead one hour so I'm up extra early. We don't have much to pack up, just our two backpacks with last minute items. Our three big bags are already gone, having been picked up last night by the crew. We asked for a late departure and were issued "purple 2". Karen texts Queenie and finds she is actually in Ft Lauderdale, apparently having gone to Miami yesterday just to check it out and have dinner with Nickole and her boyfriend. She's taking a hotel shuttle to the port at 11:30.

We head upstairs to the Lido to have our last breakfast aboard the Koningsdam before returning to pick up our knapsacks in our room, making one final check for missed items and moving to Deck 2 to await our departure. At 9:30, or ticket is called and we exit for the last time. I would rather have been called a little later to postpone our departure but that was our number.  In the terminal we find our luggage quickly and line up for customs and immigration. The line snakes its way back and forth many times but moves quickly and we're out in about 20 minutes. We're directed to the taxi area where we get a cab ride to our next ship, the Allure of the Seas. It's right around the corner next to us at the pier, walkable for some but not for us. If you remember, when Karen pushes a wheeled piece of luggage, she might as well be pushing a refrigerator, it just won't move. The cab driver reminds us that it's $10 to the airport or to another ship, that's the minimum. OK.

This trip takes 5 minutes tops but It's worth it. The porters at the Royal Caribbean terminal take our three bags and we move into check-in. It's well organized and we complete this process in ten minutes. We're "Gold" on this ship. Don't get excited. One previous cruise gets you to gold so we're seated in the second to last group. Only brand new cruisers are lower than us so we wait for an hour before the captain clears the ship for boarding. We did get there early due our proximity to the ship and early arrival. Mom has been communicating with Queenie while we've been waiting and she's on her way.

We board the ship. It's crowded already and we make our way with all our junk to the Windjammer restaurant on Deck 16 for a snack and to wait for our stateroom to open at 1pm. Mom calls Queenie and checks every 15 minutes as to her status. Coming at a later time with the initial crowd cleared out, she gets aboard quite easily with no waiting. We wait in the restaurant but she never shows up. Saying she's at the Windjammer entrance, we expect her momentarily but nothing. Finally, she makes her grand entrance.  Where was she?  We'll never know.  Her and Jonathan grab some food and drinks and it's time to check out our rooms. We have adjoining staterooms on Deck 11. They're typical staterooms with nice balconies.

After finally dumping off all of our stuff, we walk around the ship for a while before dinner. It's a huge ship with 5500 passengers, stores, activities and restaurants galore. It also seems very crowded. It was the largest cruise ship until Harmony of the Seas which is one foot longer.  Our captain says they build each ship in the series a foot longer so they can call each one the largest ship as it's built.  

Queenie signs up for an AT&T "<i>All You Can Use</i>" plan for $10/day, opting out of the unlimited WiFi for $70 offered by the ship. She wants to text and maybe call someone. This WiFi I purchased, called Voom, is really good. I can listen to Pandora while checking email all at the same time, including video but, of course, it only works while on the ship and it doesn't allow me to call or text. I'm OK with that. It will work perfectly for sending this blog on my IPad.  At 4:15pm we meet in a group, C2, for our required life boat drill, then back to the room to get changed and ready for dinner. The dress code sign reads "Smart Casual" which means different things to different people.  Our gals are wearing conservative sundresses and we have collared shirts and slacks but it appears even shorts, tank tops and sandals are acceptable. Attire runs the entire range. Tomorrow night is formal night so maybe someone will wear a cut-off tux with flip flops.  This wouldn't fly on other ships but the makeup of guests aboard is younger and more casual than we're used to.  Dinner is shrimp cocktail, prime rib, cod, and various desserts. The kid wants to know if he's old enough to have a shrimp cocktail. Now he knows what they are.

It's now that Scarlett decides to ask Jonathan, "Where's your backpack? You did get it off the airport shuttle?" to which the kid just shrugged his shoulders. Bottom line, a $1000 laptop is now helping some homeless guy in Florida find the closest shelter. After dinner, we walk around a little before going to the water show Oceanaria where people do diving and acrobatic tricks in and above a pool. We have reservations for 9 pm so we get right in. This is where Queenie gets her free text informing her she has spent her first $100 on data. Yep, 4 hours for $100, not including the plan cost. I'll keep my WiFi, thank you. She calls, complains and gets the charges taken off but can only use her plan when she's off the ship. Huh??   It's 10 before we get out and we walk around for a couple of hours, stopping at "Poops n Scoops" (we changed the name from Cups & Scoops just for our entertainment) for an ice cream and later Johnny Rockets for a shake. Yep, more $$$.

We all retire after midnight. Fortunately, tomorrow is a sea day so we can relax. Probably not.

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