Things in the Sky

Yes, it has taken this many installments to actually get on the ship. I was considering breaking the review into days, but it didn’t work out too well. So, I decided to cover embarkation in one post, and cover other areas in other posts, as I feel the review might “flow” a bit better that way.

To provide some perscpective, this was my fourth cruise on Royal Caribbean, and second on the Liberty.

The day started with breakfast in the hotel, which was fine, and the waitresses working were the same ones that served us a year ago, which was pretty funny. After going up to the room it was time for one of the best parts of the final preparations – putting on the official luggage tags!

Soon, it was time to head down to the lobby and wait for the car service to pick us up. The driver, Lenny, got there a bit early and did a great job. Despite some heavy rain at the hotel and along the way, luckily the weather was nice in Miami. Soon enough, we were near the port, and the ship could be seen from the car, which, for me, provides a feeling of instant relaxation.

We walked into the terminal a few minutes before 10:45, which, granted, but it is very worthwhile (more on that later). After passing an initial check of the passports and cruise documents, it was time for a ride up the escalators. I was prepared for a bit of a wait, as the last two times I sailed out of Miami they weren’t taking people yet. But, much to my surprise, we were ushered to security, for which there was no wait, and also very less painful than the TSA (though the agent had to make sure I wasn’t hiding anything in my folded up newspaper – yes, I do read the Wall Street Journal on vacation, and yes, I am aware I’m a dork).

Then it was time to walk to the check-in line, and luckily we were eligible for priority check-in. First, our status in the Crown & Anchor Society made us eligible, and the fact that we were in a junior suite made this available as well (though the junior suite doesn’t offer many of the other benefits of the higher suites). Nevertheless, it was pretty painless since we had completed check-in online and handed the agent our SetSail Pass. Other than that, we had to fill out a questionaire asking us if we had swine flu, and I’m sure every single passenger answered very honestly.

The agent gave us our SeaPasses (they work as an ID, room key, and credit card), and then we headed into another line to have our pictures taken and our SeaPasses scanned, so they act as a kind of photo ID. Then, we headed into another waiting area, and as we entered we were given priority boarding cards. This whole process (from entering the terminal to getting to the waiting area) took less than 15 minutes (and estimating by my photo timestamps, it may have been closer to 10), which was pretty darn impressive.

SeaPass and boarding card. The hole means that I’m under 21, and I forget what the sticker means.

The wait did take awhile, but it was understandable considering how early we were. But, we did bump into a couple from our CruiseCritic group, and that helped pass the time.

Eventually, those with priority cards were called, and we were on the ship a bit before noon. This is why I love getting to the port early – you’re one of the first people to board, and the ship is empty. It’s essentially adding on another day to the cruise, in my opinion.

It was time to head up from the boarding deck (Deck 4 I believe), and I was happy once again to see an elevator that reminded me what day it was.

Then, it was time to get to the Windjammer Cafe, which, thanks to arriving early, was not mobbed. Yay.

Corn on the cob, roast beef, paella, and roulade. Delicious.

After that, it was time to change into my bathing suit and hit the Flowrider. Last year, I noticed it was open during embarkation and I wanted to take advantage. While it was only open for boogie boarding (I prefer stand-up), I had the thing to myself, which is great considering the wait can get up to a half hour (sometimes longer) while at sea. The person working there, Lydia, was very nice and helped me out throughout the week. (Pictures from said Flowrider are forthcoming.)

Later, it was time for our first CruiseCritic meetup (more on that later). Unfortunately, some heavy rain came in, but it was gone once it was time for sailaway. So, I went to helipad at the front of the ship to watch us sail out. By pure chance, a Delta employee was standing next to me! So, we had a nice chat about Delta, the merger, and the industry as a hole. This was great, especially because we left 30 minutes late.

Anyway, then it was time for gaming lessons on the casino, and then the first dinner!

More parts to come…