Embarkation. This was something we had feared, as our last experience was not the best. We had to wait in very long lines to check-in and board the ship. But, we were hoping our VIP status would change all of that (honestly, we don't know how we got it, but we were glad we had it).
We arrived at the terminal an hour before embarkation was to begin. But, we thought we would be pretty close to the first in line. Turns out, we didn't have to wait. We walked into the terminal and there were two lines (longer) snaking around to the x-ray machines. A person stopped and asked if we needed help and we said that we have VIP boarding passes. VIP, no problem. We were escorted to the front of the roped line, allowed in and were told to put our bags on the x-ray machine (now, this was ahead of all of those who had been waiting in line). So far, so good.
We headed up the escalator's to the check-in area. We looked for the VIP line and discovered it was not a line, but a room. So, we walked in to what I best can describe as a fancy airport lounge. They promptly asked for our names and asked us to have a seat. They would call us when they were ready. We waited no more than 5 minutes. Once our name was called, we handed them our ID's and they handed us our Sign and Sail cards (your lifeline while on the ship) and away we went.
We proceeded to the nearest escalator to have our embarkation photo taken and to board the ship.
The photo is much better than the one we took in San Diego a couple of years ago. We realized what they were doing this time (last time we stood 20 ft. apart from each other and didn't smile). I think it turned out nice.
We boarded the ship only to find out our room was not ready. We were bummed, as we had carried on some of our luggage. But, we decided to explore the ship and take more photos of the Miami skyline.
We had reserved a suite and were excited to see what it looked like. We discovered it had a dressing area with a walk-in closet, a "double-wide" balcony and a whirlpool tub (which neither of us used). Oh, and if you look closely at the bathroom photos, the white box on the wall is a hair dryer. Honestly, the wierdest looking hair dryer I have ever seen.
We proceeded to unpack and wait to be called to our muster station for our life safety drill. Now, Joel will not allow me to share with you his photo of this drill (you should ask him why), but mine is below.
We headed back to our room to prepare for the ship's departure. We opted to sit out on our deck and watch as the other ships left, including the huge Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas.
By the time we left port at 6:00 p.m., it was raining. We couldn't take any more pictures from the Lido deck before leaving, so we opted to have one of the ship photographers take our photo (we had decided that we would have them do this every day). Here are some of the photos they took.
Our cruise had assigned dinner seating and we were anxious to meet those we would be having dinner with throughout our cruise. We had such a positive experience on our last cruise that we were hoping to have the same, if not better, experience this time. We were not disappointed.
Cole and Cecilia are a young couple from New York. She is from Brooklyn and he is from the Bronx. They were great and we really enjoyed getting to know them.
Well, our cruise has begun. We are sailing to our first destination...Ochos Rios, Jamaica.
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