Day 1
We got to port early, I was worried that we would not find parking at the port because google maps stated that the area had limited parking. They are usually correct when they state warnings as such, to my surprise the parking was completely empty, so that’s a good thing. Like I said, we usually park on other lots, but since I needed to catch a flight right after the cruise, we decided to pay more and have the convenience of having the car available immediately after I get off the ship. The cost was $20 per day, for a total of $80.
Check-in was easy as usual. They started boarding at 11:27, but they wasted time playing some games asking people to find items. There was a lady screaming her lungs out, and actually she ended up pissing off one of the passengers. It was actually pretty funny, the guy was so mad, and she just told him it’s my job. But yeah, it gave us a good laugh there. So the people who got the items that she asked for first got priority boarding. It was a total of 3 families. She asked for things like microbacterial soap, bathing suit, and forgot the third one.
Here she is screaming her lungs out!!!
We had group 3 and boarded soon after.
I think we boarded the ship around 11:50 am, which is really not too bad. But if they did less games, maybe it would have been a little faster.
Considering the last time I sailed on this ship was so long ago, I still remembered some things about it. The ship itself feels cozy, and you can get to know the entire ship quite quickly. I particularly like the smell once you board the ship, that ocean smell blended with steel, lol. I don’t know how to describe it, but you know what I am talking about.
As soon as you board you have some crew with Cuban music on the promenade deck, for some reason I failed to take a picture of them.
We wandered around, as I got to know my surroundings. I had done very little research about this ship, but the 2 places I knew about was the spa and the kids area. It was something that I wanted to get pictures of.
So we just headed towards the spa.
The spa is on deck 11, the same deck as the pools. You just have to go FWD and make a right. The area is relatively small, actually the smallest spa I have seen on a ship, then again this is the smallest cruise I have sailed on (Discounting Bimini express, which technically was a ferry).
Overall the area is nicely decorated, and well taken care off. We asked if we could walk in and check it out. They told us we could, and they just briefly offered us a “Special” they had going on that day.
After that we crossed the hall to the port side and checked out the gym area. It’s a small gym, but everything you need seemed to be there.
It also had a great view!
We then went to the outrigger lounge which is FWD on deck 11. It has a great view with an outside area. I also had memories from there from our first cruise, we went there and got a really nice view of Nassau.
Anyway, on the way there, they have a bunch of articles of when the ship used to be in Hawaii.
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