ALL ABOARD!!!

We arrived at 14:40 and were given directions to our stateroom- they are all called staterooms, and ours is the most basic- inside cabin, on third deck, aft portside. At registration they took our Canadian Passports and gave us a "Sea-Pass" card- this is more valuable than gold, and we are warned to keep it on us at all times- it allows entry to your room, and on and off the ship, buys things at 'shops on board", tours off the boat, bingo cards, and drinks, etc, and has info for dining . You don't need money except at the casino, and off ship. People put the account on their credit cards, or give cash to the purser's office, which is what we did. Mom and I each put $300.00 on the Sea-Pass; if it ran out we could put more on it, and if there was some left over, we could collect it the last night.
Our luggage arrived promptly and we spent an hour unpacking. Basil, our cabin steward, came and introduced himself, reminded us of the emergency drill at 4 PM and that we were to wear our life jackets. There was a bottle of champagne on ice, but we were warned that any liquor or pop or water that was in your stateroom and used would be billed, so we emptied the ice out and stored the bottle under the desk. The next day at dinner we were told the bottle came from J$T Tours, and if we had read the card that is what it said. We didn't drink it and save dit for later in the week.
At 4 PM (16:00) we arrived on deck, with everyone else for the lifeboat drill, muster station 1. It was during the drill that we found out there were still people not aboard, becasue this was the inaugral departure from Baltimore's new port and there were many glitches with computers, etc. We were 2 1/2 hours late departing, and were at supper when we sailed away, so we missed that picture opportunity. Took one while still in port though of each of us, as you see above. we also had one taken of us as we arrived.
Dinner was casual, thank heaven's because a lot of luggage was still on the dock at 18:00. they were late into the night distributing it all- I guess we were lucky- another perk of being with a tour group- the main perk was when we arrived at the port and saw at least 1000 people waiting in line, and we were ushered past them all into a special line because we were a tour group, and were very quickly ushered in.
Dinner was fantastic- we got introduced to our waiter- Silvia from Portugal- and our assistant waiter- Rohan from India; they treated us like Royalty, and we had a feast fit for a king (or Queen). Went on deck for a walk( around the deck four times is a mile). The first show at the Palladium theatre was at 8 PM , and was comedian Max Dolcelli, with singers and dancers. We drifted to a lounge to listen to Easy Listening music, and then went to the casino to "donate" money- started with $20.00, ended up with $15.00. Not bad- we were in bed by 12:00, to find the small cot-like beds surprisingly comfortable.
Day 4
A sea day- woke to complete darkness, unsure of the time (no outside source of light, so great for naps!), read the Compass- the newletter left every night with a list of things to do on-board. We showered and off to the dining room for open seating breakfast- sat with 4 people from Maryland, and two from Pensylvania. By coincidence, three of the "couples" were mother and daughter, including us- the other was a pair of retired teachers, man and wife. One mother was a dentist and this was her 18th cruise, and her daughters 8th (she was 11). She treated her whole staff to a cruise every year, and two of the staff came by while we were having breakfast and they had their children with them as well. There were over 200 small children there, and a great sevice to look after them. Large menu choices and the dentist said she always went to the dining room, but the choices were even more in the Windjammer Cafe (on deck 9). After breakfast, we walked to Shops on Board (Deck 6) and looked at the wares- everything from jewellry (gold, silver, diamonds, watches, etc) to pop and chips, and clothing thrown in for good measure. They were pricey, but nice clothes. Found our pictures from departure and from the dining room last night- they have a room there where they display all the pictures- if you don't want one, you put it in the discard box. Otherwise you can leave it there and decide if you want it later.
We attended the Shopping info sessions, where we got handouts of the ports we were attending and I bought the Platinum Passport book- a rip-off. It was $20.00, and had coupons all through for three of the ports of call we were going to, and you went to the store and got a free plastic butterfly, or a free charm bracelet, etc. There were few things that were any good, I wouldn't purchase it again.
Went to Winjammer Cafe- what an experience- any kind of veggies, meat, salads, sandwiches, burgers and fries, desserts- buffet style.
After a leisurely dinner, we attended the Champagne Auction, with the rich folks- sipped on champagne and watched everyone pay thousands for paintings. After that, there was a session on jewellry- what to look for, where, etc.
We just had time to get dolled up for the first formal dinner on board, and had pictures taken by professional photographers - they do that every formal night, and take pictures at dinner as well. Tried Lobster bisque, roast beef dinner, and Cherries Jubilee.
The evening show with Glen Smith (formerly of Toronto, lately of Las Vegas) was great- he played violin, piano, mouth organ, blues, country, rock and roll. Great time. Afterwards we went to Karoke Idol, every night they have a bunch of cruisers get up and the audience picks 4 each night- the last two nights will be semifinals and finals. At 11:30, they had the first of three special buffets at midnight- this is the only one we attended- the Chocolate buffet. Ice sculptures and chocolate in every form imaginable. We took a plate back to our room, and made ourselves half sick eating chocolate, and we only had half of what others were taking. I' ll post those pictures on the next segment.
To be continued.