4/27/14 Day One
Today was our first day of the cruise on the Royal Princess.
This ship was christened in June, 2013 by The Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine,
of Prince William fame. We have been excited about going on this cruise for
approximately 7 months.
The check in went pretty quickly as we waited in a preferred
cruiser line. They got us through within about 30 minutes and there we were,
standing in front of the photographer for the expected start of the cruise
photo. And then we were embarking on our very favorite part of every cruise,
which is walking up the gangplank which leads up to the cruise ship, and
setting foot on our home away from home for the very first time.
Walking on was
exciting until we tried to get to the elevators which had lines
packed about 5 people deep. We eventually got up to our
floor, number 15 and found our room. We were able to go right in which is good
because often cruisers have to wait till the rooms are ready. We dropped our
carry on bags off at the room and marveled at what a wonderful room it is. As
soon as I saw it, I turned around and kissed Chuck with a happy heart. The room
is beautiful, similar to other Princess ships we have been on but improved. The
color scheme is gold with blue and gold pillows. There are two sections to the
room which is separated by a curtain. The bedroom area is first when you walk
into the room, and beyond it is the sitting area. The couch is longer and wider
than in most of the ships we have been on. Chuck is looking forward to taking
some nice long naps on it. There is a desk across the room from it and it is
much longer than in previous rooms we have cruised in. I can’t wait to sit at
it and write all about our cruise on my computer! Another wonderful thing about
this room is the fact that the two TVs in here are huge wide screen TVs. One is
in front of the bed, and the other is in the sitting area in front of the
couch. They have about 100 free movies on the ship, some of which are pretty
good so we can’t wait to watch them. Most are new, but there are some pretty
funny classics on here such as right now as I type this we are watching 9 to 5.
That was definitely Chuck’s choice as I have seen it many times before but it
is funny to watch again when everyone looks so much younger! The only complaint
Chuck had is that the balcony is small. We had read this online, but it’s even
smaller than we expected. I don’t care but Chuck is disappointed.
After seeing our amazing room, we met our room steward
Enrique who is from Mexico and he brought us our complimentary glass of champagne which the cruise
line provides. We then went to the required safety drill which was at the
Princess Theater. This theater looks like something from Star Trek. It’s quite
modern and very silver. After the safety drill we went to the sail away party.
This was the most boring sail away party we have ever been to, hardly anyone
was there, but we still had a good time waving goodbye to all the people on the
shore, some from their homes and some on the beach. We toasted to a great
cruise with Heinekens and found 2 chaise lounges and watched the water go by as
we saw the Fort Lauderdale shoreline disappear into the horizon.
After a nap and Chuck worked out, we decided to go to dinner
at the Horizon Court buffet. We love the new Horizon Court on this ship because
at lunch you have a choice of the Horizon Court Bistro, which is sandwiches,
soups and salads, or the full buffet area. And in the middle of both is a
dessert aisle. We were quite happy with our decision to go there for dinner
because it was not crowded at all and we had our choice of delicious food. The
cream of mushroom soup, Louisiana crab cakes and mashed potatoes were my
favorites. For dessert I had a delicious flourless chocolate cake with some
kind of cream on top. I really need to learn how to make flourless chocolate
cake because every time we have it on a cruise, it is absolutely delicious.
After dinner we walked around the ship for a bit, caught the
last 30 minutes of the movie under the stars which was “Last Vegas” and then
went to a variety show which showcased the Royal Princess dancers and an
illusionist.
When we arrived back at the room, our Princess Patter, the
daily cruise newsletter,
was waiting for us with all the details of tomorrow’s
entertainment and activities aboard ship. It looks like it’s going to be a
great cruise!
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