Bahamas Trip Report: Day 3

On Monday morning I woke up at my hotel by the port and got ready to get on the ship.  I walked to the restaurant next door and got breakfast before waiting for my taxi driver to show up.  He ended up being early so we headed to port ahead of schedule. The drive only took about five or ten minutes, so I didn't have to wait long for my first glance at the ship.

A very hastily taken picture from the moving taxi, sorry it's so blurry!

I was very impressed by the whole embarkation process at Port Canaveral.  It only took a quick minute to get a spot at the curb for the taxi to drop me off and there was a porter waiting right there ready to take my suitcase.  I walked into the terminal and was directed to get in the line for people staying in suites (one of the perks of being in a Junior Suite).  There was one couple ahead of me so I got called up to the counter in a few short minutes.  After checking in I was ushered into the sitting area for suite guests.  Almost as soon as I sat down we were able to get up and get in line for the ship.  I set foot on the ship about 20 minutes after arriving at the port, which was a million times quicker than my only other embarkation experience at Port Everglades!

Barely anyone was on the ship when I got on so I took the opportunity to take a bunch of pictures right away before there were too many people around.

A look at the Centrum in the very center of the ship. This was where a lot of activities took place like the 70's disco party and some karaoke on our last night!

A view of the open decks around the Centrum. The R Bar was a popular place every night and can be seen on the right side of the picture.

This is the adult-only Solarium. It's nice that it's covered but I didn't end up spending as much time here as I thought I would. I usually gravitated to the main pools where the fun activities were taking place.

The pool deck

Another view of the pool deck, home of the International Belly Flop Competition and the World's Sexiest Man Competition!

I barely spent any time at the shops. I only stopped in on the last day so I could pick up a postcard and a pen.

At about 1:30 the rooms were ready so I went to go check out my cabin.  I had looked up pictures online before leaving for the cruise, so I had an idea of what to expect but was still anxious to see it in person.  The room did not disappoint, especially the balcony!

Junior Suite 7172

Lots of storage and a nice vanity to get ready at each day.

Even more storage in the bathroom.

My favorite place to relax or watch the stars.

Plenty of space!

The muster drill was right on schedule and pretty painless.  I had planned on watching the sail away from the top deck but it started raining and I decided I would watch it from my covered balcony instead.

Just starting to move...

Getting further away now. See the dark clouds overhead?

I got my suitcase shortly after sail away, so I unpacked and then got dressed for dinner.  It wasn't time for dinner yet so I went to the casino for a few minutes.  I wasn't  doing really well on the slots, so I stopped and went to the dining room.  I asked if they could seat me at a table by myself and they said I would have to wait until 7:45, which was two hours later!  So I ended up sitting at a table of people who didn't know each other. Everyone was nice and dinner was fast, so it ended up not being a big deal.  When I left I made sure to get a reservation for the next night at a table for one. It was nice meeting the people at dinner but not as relaxing as I had hoped!

After dinner I went to the welcome aboard show and then went back to the casino for a little bit. I started to get tired so I went back to my room and showered.  I packed my bag for my beach day the next day and then ordered a room service snack before going to bed.  I went to sleep pretty early in hopes of being rested up for a busy next day.

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Coming up tomorrow…a port day at CocoCay, Bahamas!