Embarkation Day
We leisurely awoke this morning with 1 plan: to get Brandi a pair of shoes that matched a new dress she had just purchsed.
Flashback: July 2 5pm. Brandi tries on a dress that needs some Mootsies Tootsies. She doesn’t have time to get them before we board the plane. She calls a DSW in Seattle. They have them. She puts them on 24hr hold.
Flashback to the present. Brandi and I look at the public transit map for Seattle. Looks like it would take 1.5 hours to get to DSW and .5 hours to get back. Yeah...I don’t do buses.
Oh yeah! Brandi also needs a handheld mirror for flippin up her hair.
We looked in our iPhones to find the nearest pharmacy in order to purchase the mirror near the hotel. We walked to the nearest one, which was about a mile away only to find it closed. On the way there, we passed an Enterprise Rent A Car and inquired about renting a car for the day. It was too expensive, so we stuck with the taxi idea.
Anyway, we got to the pharmacy and noticed that it was closed for the July 4th weekend and saw a cab waiting around.
We commissioned the cab to take us to Best Buy for binoculars and DSW for Brandi’s shoes. To make a long story short. Those binoculars and shoes cost us the normal price, plus 70 in cab fare. I will say this...Brandi looks SMOKIN’ in that dress that matches those shoes!
Oh yes...BONUS! While were in the parking lot for Best Buy, we spotted an Ulta...and they had little handlheld mirrors! YAY!
The cab driver was really cool. He didn’t charge us any waiting time! All right! Because we were a little ahead of schedule, we had the cab driver take us to the World Famous Pike Place Market. Hooray for tourists like us!
We arrived and it is one of the coolest places ever. The dudes at the the fish place LOVE their job. While we were there, Shpuck texted me some taunts. He was on the ship already! We were told that we wouldn’t be able to get on the ship until 1pm and it was only 11ish! Anyway, we purchased a bag of dried Washington Apple ships and headed back to the hotel which was a little under a mile away.
We checked out of the room and grabbed a cab to the port. Ok...so while I was getting out pf the cab, I bumped my face...yes my face...on the door of the taxi. I now have a bruise under my right eye. You may see it in some photos.
The embarkation proceedure was very easy. There were hardly any people in line and we got right up onto the ship.
As some of you know, there are a lot of us that were going on this cruise...Shpuck, Aubrey, many of their family and friends and Brandi and I. There are 14 of us in total. We met up with them in the Windjammer Cafe for lunch. They had been there for a while already, but were happy to stay little longer and chat with us while we grabbed lunch.
After lunch, which was fantastic by the way. The desserts are scrumptious. Yummy yummy.
Well...we all went to our rooms to see if our luggage was there. It wasn’t yet. So I was bored. I wanted to explore. I called Shpuck, who was napping, and made him get up so we could walk around and look at our home for the next 7 days. He wasn’t thrilled, but he obliged.
One thing we discovered was that this ship was backwards compared to the Mariner, Navigator and Independence. The Windjammer is in the front on the Rhapsody while the fitness spa is aft. Backwards. This has led to some unplanned ship exploring.
Time: 3:00pm. I needed to go back to the room and wake Brandi to do the mandatory safety drill. I got to the room and Brandi was in NO MOOD to wake up. In fact...we were supposed to BE at the drill at 3:15. Brandi was still waking up. We were a tad late. She will maintain that we were right on time. We disagree in this area. Either way...the drill was a success and then it was on to the pool area to meet up with everyone else.
Why go to the pool? Because it’s a party! There was a raffle and drinks and dancing and tables set up representing the photo people and the spa people and the tux rental people, etc. It was fun. Good band too...Souled Out. Jammin’!
After the pool party, we made our way up to the Relaxation Room in the spa for the raffle. Aubrey won a scalp massage! YAY AUBREY! After the raffle, the room emptied, but we stayed. The room is at the rear of the ship and has lots of windows and plants. We took the oportunity to sit around and talk for a while. It was truly relaxing.
Well...enough of that. On to the signature rock wall...it wasn’t open for climbing, but it was open to get your name on the waiver list so you can just walk up anytime. We all added our names to the list, got our SeaPass punched and then walked towards the Solarium, the adult swimming pool area.
It was WINDY! Walking around outside was difficult, but it wasn’t too cold yet.
We hung out in the Salrium for a while, had some foodstuffs, and then headed to our rooms. The Solarium is completely enclosed...kinda like a greenhouse. It was pretty comfortable as people were getting thrown around the outer decks.
When we got back to the rooms, the luggage was there! We unpacked and went to the Welcome Aboard show. Very fun comedian. Our cruise director, Keith something, is boring. There is nothing special about him. We have been told by Royal Caribbean staff that Brandi and I are spoiled when it comes to cruise directors...We’ve had the best (Ken Rush) and one of the goofiest and memorable (Graham Seymore).
This guy is just...there. In fact the Head of the Entertainment staff, Bingo Boy, is much finnier than the cruise director.
After the show, we went to dinner. It’s now about 8:30ish. We have the late seating. It was the only seating where all 14 of us could sit together.
10:15. Time for trivia! We didn’t win...yet.
Sleepy Time. It was a long day.
Supplemental: Things we’ve noticed or learned on this cruise so far. The ship isn’t full. 2400 passenger capacity. 2100 actual passengers. Makes for a lot of elbow room and privacy on the ship. Trivia, and the Schooner Bar in general, is VERY popular. on previous cruises. Trivia was an afterthought. Not this time. The Schooner Bar is almost ALWAYS packed. Trivia is standing room only. Every evening is Kamikaze Karaoke with Derek. He’s very funny. More on him later. This is an older crowd. It doesn’t look there are many poolside games, even when it was warm in Seattle. Things like the Sexy Legs contest, horse racing and belly flop contest have been replaced with the scrapbooking seminar and “Learn how to dance the Samba.” Bingo is more popular as well.
See you all tomorrow!
-J&B
We leisurely awoke this morning with 1 plan: to get Brandi a pair of shoes that matched a new dress she had just purchsed.
Flashback: July 2 5pm. Brandi tries on a dress that needs some Mootsies Tootsies. She doesn’t have time to get them before we board the plane. She calls a DSW in Seattle. They have them. She puts them on 24hr hold.
Flashback to the present. Brandi and I look at the public transit map for Seattle. Looks like it would take 1.5 hours to get to DSW and .5 hours to get back. Yeah...I don’t do buses.
Oh yeah! Brandi also needs a handheld mirror for flippin up her hair.
We looked in our iPhones to find the nearest pharmacy in order to purchase the mirror near the hotel. We walked to the nearest one, which was about a mile away only to find it closed. On the way there, we passed an Enterprise Rent A Car and inquired about renting a car for the day. It was too expensive, so we stuck with the taxi idea.
Anyway, we got to the pharmacy and noticed that it was closed for the July 4th weekend and saw a cab waiting around.
We commissioned the cab to take us to Best Buy for binoculars and DSW for Brandi’s shoes. To make a long story short. Those binoculars and shoes cost us the normal price, plus 70 in cab fare. I will say this...Brandi looks SMOKIN’ in that dress that matches those shoes!
Oh yes...BONUS! While were in the parking lot for Best Buy, we spotted an Ulta...and they had little handlheld mirrors! YAY!
The cab driver was really cool. He didn’t charge us any waiting time! All right! Because we were a little ahead of schedule, we had the cab driver take us to the World Famous Pike Place Market. Hooray for tourists like us!
We arrived and it is one of the coolest places ever. The dudes at the the fish place LOVE their job. While we were there, Shpuck texted me some taunts. He was on the ship already! We were told that we wouldn’t be able to get on the ship until 1pm and it was only 11ish! Anyway, we purchased a bag of dried Washington Apple ships and headed back to the hotel which was a little under a mile away.
We checked out of the room and grabbed a cab to the port. Ok...so while I was getting out pf the cab, I bumped my face...yes my face...on the door of the taxi. I now have a bruise under my right eye. You may see it in some photos.
The embarkation proceedure was very easy. There were hardly any people in line and we got right up onto the ship.
As some of you know, there are a lot of us that were going on this cruise...Shpuck, Aubrey, many of their family and friends and Brandi and I. There are 14 of us in total. We met up with them in the Windjammer Cafe for lunch. They had been there for a while already, but were happy to stay little longer and chat with us while we grabbed lunch.
After lunch, which was fantastic by the way. The desserts are scrumptious. Yummy yummy.
Well...we all went to our rooms to see if our luggage was there. It wasn’t yet. So I was bored. I wanted to explore. I called Shpuck, who was napping, and made him get up so we could walk around and look at our home for the next 7 days. He wasn’t thrilled, but he obliged.
One thing we discovered was that this ship was backwards compared to the Mariner, Navigator and Independence. The Windjammer is in the front on the Rhapsody while the fitness spa is aft. Backwards. This has led to some unplanned ship exploring.
Time: 3:00pm. I needed to go back to the room and wake Brandi to do the mandatory safety drill. I got to the room and Brandi was in NO MOOD to wake up. In fact...we were supposed to BE at the drill at 3:15. Brandi was still waking up. We were a tad late. She will maintain that we were right on time. We disagree in this area. Either way...the drill was a success and then it was on to the pool area to meet up with everyone else.
Why go to the pool? Because it’s a party! There was a raffle and drinks and dancing and tables set up representing the photo people and the spa people and the tux rental people, etc. It was fun. Good band too...Souled Out. Jammin’!
After the pool party, we made our way up to the Relaxation Room in the spa for the raffle. Aubrey won a scalp massage! YAY AUBREY! After the raffle, the room emptied, but we stayed. The room is at the rear of the ship and has lots of windows and plants. We took the oportunity to sit around and talk for a while. It was truly relaxing.
Well...enough of that. On to the signature rock wall...it wasn’t open for climbing, but it was open to get your name on the waiver list so you can just walk up anytime. We all added our names to the list, got our SeaPass punched and then walked towards the Solarium, the adult swimming pool area.
It was WINDY! Walking around outside was difficult, but it wasn’t too cold yet.
We hung out in the Salrium for a while, had some foodstuffs, and then headed to our rooms. The Solarium is completely enclosed...kinda like a greenhouse. It was pretty comfortable as people were getting thrown around the outer decks.
When we got back to the rooms, the luggage was there! We unpacked and went to the Welcome Aboard show. Very fun comedian. Our cruise director, Keith something, is boring. There is nothing special about him. We have been told by Royal Caribbean staff that Brandi and I are spoiled when it comes to cruise directors...We’ve had the best (Ken Rush) and one of the goofiest and memorable (Graham Seymore).
This guy is just...there. In fact the Head of the Entertainment staff, Bingo Boy, is much finnier than the cruise director.
After the show, we went to dinner. It’s now about 8:30ish. We have the late seating. It was the only seating where all 14 of us could sit together.
10:15. Time for trivia! We didn’t win...yet.
Sleepy Time. It was a long day.
Supplemental: Things we’ve noticed or learned on this cruise so far. The ship isn’t full. 2400 passenger capacity. 2100 actual passengers. Makes for a lot of elbow room and privacy on the ship. Trivia, and the Schooner Bar in general, is VERY popular. on previous cruises. Trivia was an afterthought. Not this time. The Schooner Bar is almost ALWAYS packed. Trivia is standing room only. Every evening is Kamikaze Karaoke with Derek. He’s very funny. More on him later. This is an older crowd. It doesn’t look there are many poolside games, even when it was warm in Seattle. Things like the Sexy Legs contest, horse racing and belly flop contest have been replaced with the scrapbooking seminar and “Learn how to dance the Samba.” Bingo is more popular as well.
See you all tomorrow!
-J&B