We took the 10:30am hotel shuttle to the port. Julio (the driver who had picked us up at the airport) was in the lobby but he was not able to be our driver because of a scheduling conflict and he was upset about it but we got one last chance to visit with him. Once the driver (I didn’t catch his name) got us all on the shuttle he warned us that security was tighter than usual at the port (due to it being 9/11) and to be prepared to show identification in case we were stopped and boarded by security when arriving at the port. He was quite relieved when we were waved on through but I expect he had a long day ahead of him.
The luggage transfer from shuttle to porters went very smoothly. While the Hyatt Place may not be the nicest hotel to stay in Ft Lauderdale pre-cruise, it is one of the only (may be THE only) hotels that provides shuttle service to/from airport and cruise terminal in addition to nearby restaurants, shopping and attractions. The hotel is adequate (clean rooms and mostly good service) but that shuttle service made up for any and all deficiencies.
Security and check in also went very smoothly at the cruise terminal and we were aboard the ship a little after 11:00. We each said the requisite “WOW!” as we entered the Royal Promenade but we didn’t dawdle or spend much time ogling as we were anxious to get to our home deck, Central Park, have lunch at the Park Café and wait for our cabins to be ready at 1:00 (besides the fact we were all lugging around our carry-ons). We did, however, take time to stop off at the Cupcake Cupboard and make reservations for the decorating class. Marty is really excited about that. hehe. Finally, we arrive at Central Park. We found a quiet corner to hang out in until the restaurant opened:
We had a nice lunch at Park Café – soup and paninis. By 12:30 or so the café was getting really crowded so we headed back to our quiet corner until the magic hour of 1:00 when our cabins were finally ready. Home sweet home (at least for the next week) at last!
Mom and Dad’s bags arrived first and they laid down for a nap. All of our bags arrived pretty quickly and I was completely unpacked by 2:00. Now I’m on vacation! YAY!
Muster Drill was at 4:15 and you are no longer required to carry that pesky life preserver down with you! They also allow you to stay inside the air-conditioning instead of standing out in the scorching heat and humidity. I’m not sure if that’s just for Oasis or if it is now fleetwide. One nice crew member even got Mom a chair to sit in (I think maybe because she saw me ram Dad’s wheelchair into the back of her ankle when she stopped in front of me as we arrived at our muster station).
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| The new and improved Muster Drill! |
Sail away at 5:00 on the balcony:
Marty being himself (goofy) - the next two pictures taken while we wandered around the Royal Promenade after sail away. Marty thought the music was too loud and then he found a free liquor tasting booth so he didn't care anymore:
That’s about it for set sail day. It was a long day and we all turned in pretty early. Marty and I have a big day ahead in Nassau where we do our excursion to Atlantis Resort.
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