Day 2 - Embarkation

Our driver picked us up at  10:15 to drive us to Port Canaveral.  We had a 1:30 embarkation time so we decided to drop off our bags and meet our friends at a nearby restaurant.  The line to park or get dropped off was very long but our driver worked his way to the front.  We dropped the bags and started walking.  Our friends saw us and picked me up and Joe decided to walk with Chris.  We were so happy to see our friends.  We went to Rudy’s and had a very nice lunch.  It was relaxing to wait there and we enjoyed the oysters, shrimp and fried clams.  We enjoyed catching up with Joe, Ammie and Erin as well as meeting Erin’s friend.  The excitement was building for our upcoming adventure.  

We crammed into the car so they wouldn’t have to make two trips to the port.  The line was still pretty long but it moved quickly.  It seemed like we would never find a space in the garage but we did  and their were still spaces ahead of us.  We proceeded to check in and got in line only about 15 minutes ahead of our time.  

Check in was a pretty crowded and long.  I started to worry if I made a bad choice. We split up from our friends because they had to run back to the car.   The funny thing is they went into a different queue and met up with us.  We all used Verifly and the process was so quick.  My complaint is there should be a separate line for those with the green check mark as I watched many have to show all their paperwork.  I thought their would be another check in after the security check but it was straight on to the ship.  We went right to our muster station and enjoyed the new, painless way to muster which is a benefit of Covid.  I hope they all stay this easy.  

Our room keys were outside the cabin door.  I liked this difference as well.  We are staying in three Havana inside cabins.  Our bags had arrived so we unpacked.  Joe and Ammie did not have theirs yet so they went to the Havana area for a cocktail.  This is an area exclusive for Havana cabins.  We met up with them very quickly thanks to packing cubes which have made travel so much better.  We had a cocktail and enjoyed some conversation with fellow guests.  

We decided to explore the ship.  We started with deck 8 where our cabins are and went to decks 7 and 6.  Upon seeing the Fortune Teller bar, we had to cozy up for another beverage.  The drinks were so much fun we never explored any further.  We sampled a good chunk of the menu between the four of us.  I started with the Crystal Ball which has such a cool presentation as well as a great flavor.  The bartender Jason was entertaining and we loved watching him create the various drinks.  It was so much fun we never knew we left Port Canaveral.  If the fabulous drinks weren’t enough, a chef from Emeril’s arrived with a cart of oysters for purchase.  He had three different styles, a mignonette,  Bloody Mary and avocado.  My husband bought one of each style for all of us.  The mignonette was phenomenal and the oysters were so fresh.  Any doubts I had at the terminal were fading fast.  

We had late seating for dinner at 7:45 so we went back to get ready for dinner.  Dinner was very nice.  I had the shrimp cocktail, calamari and mixed green salad to start.  My main entree was the sweet and sour shrimp.  My husband and Joe ordered short rib and Ammie tried the salmon.  We all enjoyed the meal.  For dessert, I chose the fruit plate while everyone else had tiramisu.  

After dinner, we went to the Piano Bar to have a drink and listen to some music.  Ammie was tired so she returned to the cabin and we went to the late comedy show with DJ Cooch.  It was an ok show not the best but definitely not the worst.  This was an excellent first day and I am excited for the week.  We never even made it past deck eight today which is crazy but hey I have a week to get there.