Day One - Port Tampa

Sunday, March 31, 2019

 Despite yesterday’s excitement of having no water, and this morning’s adventure with the clogged bathroom sink, I was packed and ready to go precisely at eleven a.m., a mere minutes before Dan and Diana came to pick me up!

The trip to Port Tampa was flawless and Dan dropped us off right by the baggage pick-up point.  Fun fact – the car in front of us had a license plate that read “ALINA”.  I thought Connie’s granddaughter was the only person in the world with that name!!

We hadn’t gone very far before we ran into Maureen, Robin, Ma, and Paulette!  They were waiting at the valet stand, so we went ahead with the boarding procedure.  Compared to a lot of other cruises (okay, so I haven’t done that many cruises, but still…) this was really easy!  We had our room key/ID cards in just a few minutes and were on the ship!

We texted Tobi and she was already in her cabin!  We went up to check out our new home away from home and it is quite nice.  Not only do we have a balcony (so glad we upgraded!) but there is also a sofa and a desk area.  The two twin beds are pushed together to make one king;  but Diana calls housekeeping and they will separate them for us, since, as Diana told the lady, we aren’t a couple!

It’s easy to spot Tobi and Dean’s room, since Tobi’s scooter is parked outside!  Apparently someone will pick it up each night and make sure it is charged for the next day.

When everyone is settled in we go up to deck 8 to have lunch.  It’s a cruise.  There is a ton of food to choose from.  The bigger trick was finding a table for eight and at one point we actually had TWO of them!  Eventually everyone found a lunch to their liking and chowed down.  I had a bowl of fruit and two sushi trays, each with three pieces of sushi on them.  Turns out it’s delicious with mango chutney!!

After lunch we did some exploring, including the free tasting of Sheridan’s coffee layered liqueur, and then it’s time for the mandatory Passenger Emergency Muster Drill.  If you don’t get scanned as having attended, you’re not allowed to stay on the ship!  Lots of people in a small space.  But it’s outdoors and there’s a beautiful breeze, so it’s fine.  The worst part was how very loud the emergency signals were!

After the drill we returned to our cabin, where we found our luggage waiting for us.  There are lots of drawers and closets so it’s easy to stash or hang everything we’ve brought.

At four o’clock there is the Bon Voyage Sailaway with drink specials as we depart Tampa.  The choices are rum punch or margaritas!  I meet a lady named Michelle who is a “tax widow”, as her husband is a CPA and it’s crunch time for everyone’s income taxes.

Time for more exploring!  It always takes a while to get the lay of the land, so to speak, on a new ship and there are some false starts;  but that’s the fun of it, right?

Port Tampa is home to some lovely murals!

Fun little waterfall between a hot tub and wading pool.

Dinner is at 5:30, because that was better than 7:45, the other choice!  It’s a bit tricky to get into the two-level restaurant!  You can’t just go down deck four to enter.  You have to go up to deck five and through some sort of dimension shift in order to find the entrance on deck four!!  Amazingly enough, we all arrive there at the same time and are pretty quickly shown to our eight-top.  Tobi and Dean have brought a bottle of their favorite Red Hawk from Oregon.  Robin and I split a bottle of McPherson shiraz from Australia, which is a bit dry and quite lovely.  There is enough left to have with tomorrow’s dinner! 

This sculpture is in the center of the atrium on decks 4 and 5.

Ceiling in the dining room.

Each landing has different decor.

Eventually our waiter comes to take our orders.  I have the scallop apple-remoulade appetizer and the pan-fried cod with cous cous, onion compote, broccoli and lobster sauce.  All the choices looked wonderful and it’s really hard to make up my mind!

Worse yet is dessert!  I wind up sharing a crème brulee and chocolate caramel tart with Tobi.  Paulette orders three desserts!  And she can’t weigh a hundred pounds!!  She does leave some of each one, though.

During dinner we pass under the Sunshine Skyway.  The windows are all salt-crusted, so I pretend it’s a special effect!

After dinner people split up, some go shopping, since we’re out in international waters now;  some hit the casino.  We go looking for the free ship charm which was supposed to be available at 6:30.  Of course we’re an hour or so late, so that doesn’t work out.  But we see what it looks like, and it’s okay to miss out on it!

I wind up on my own and entertain myself taking pictures of all the interesting décor.  I’m taking a shot of the Stroopwafels for Stu when a lady says she would have brought me some from Holland!  We chat and she tells me that you are supposed to let it sit on top of your coffee or tea until the honey softens!

There is a string quartet that plays every night in the Explorer’s Lounge.  They are called Adagio and are very talented.  There are lots of other activities available, including trivia, poker, mass, and a different movie every day.  Today’s is “The Old Man and the Gun”.

The sales girl in the expensive jewelry section says she loves my hair and that I should stay on the ship for the second week, and then go to Europe with them!

There’s Motown music at 9:00 so I go looking for the Crow’s Nest on deck 9.  I guess I’m on the wrong end of the ship, because I get to see the area where the kids are all stashed by their parents!  Looks like fun!  Not Motown, though.

I come down and find Dean and his cigar.  He points me in the right direction and sure enough I follow the music and find the gang, except for Tobi, who’s done for the night.  It doesn’t take long before we’re all done, too.  It’s been a long day, even though it’s only about 9:30!!  Somehow the first day is always crazy and a bit stressful, but fun, too, and a good night’s sleep will make tomorrow wonderful.  The internet on the ship is pretty expensive, although there is a free intranet, so you can “text your buddie, which would be helpful if we could get it to work!  And there are lots of interesting amenities like a library and a fully-stocked game room.  And there are outdoor sports like shuffleboard and volleyball.  And of course there is a pool (or maybe more than one?) and hot tubs and a spa.

Our Key West excursion leaves at 11:30, so there should be lots of time in the morning for yoga and breakfast before disembarking.  And now to sleep!