This was embarkation day. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn on Griffin Rd, southwest of the Ft. Lauderdale Airport. It was nice enough, brand new, but the older and supposedly cheaper Springhill Suites in Charlotte was better:
- Nicer room.. or rooms. The Springhill Suites room had a bedroom, a sitting room, a small kitchen, and a nice bathroom, with separate toilet room.
- The Fairfield Inn room was just large enough for 2 queen beds. The bathroom was on the small side, and did not have a separate toilet room.
We went over to the Bass sports store again. Chris returned the swim goggles I got her the day before. She has trouble with mask sizes: they were too big. I got one that covered only the eyes, not the nose and was made for women. She wanted the nose covered and didn’t want to use a nose clip. Anyway, she found a youth size that seemed to work.
We took the shuttle to the port. It cost $16. I thought it was supposed to be free? I guess things have changed. It was bedlam at the hotel. The lobby and sidewalks outside the hotel were completely covered with people and luggage. I guess there were five or more ships leaving today, including that biggest one from the Royal Caribbean line. (In fact, our departure was delayed several hours because we had to wait for the larger ships to depart. That decision was interesting because we just had to proceed directly out from our berth: no turn around or other maneuver required. The others had to at least back out to the center of the port and turn 90 degrees to exit.)
Once at the port, there was no wait at all. I guess that’s the difference between a small ship and a large ship, .
Our room is on deck 6 is near the front stairway, room 6030. It has a window with a partly obstructed view; there is a small red jet craft kind of in the way.
However, it’s not a bother at all and I thing I would stay in this room even if I have the opportunity to upgrade to either an unobstructed view or a balcony. It is very handy to everything. We do have to watch it when opening the door to make sure the person inside is decent. With the arrangement of the mirrors, you can see right in to the bathroom! Some pics:
When we got our ID cards, we discovered we had obtained first seating. We had been rather far down on the wait list. We soon found that all the couple save one had second seating and were on a wait list. It was as if they created a table for us. ??
There were 5 couples at the table, which would make conversation among all difficult anyway. But the real problem is that it was at the back of the dining area, in a corner. The vibration and associated noise was terrible when the ship was at cruising speed. I couldn’t hear much of the conversation. The vibration was uncomfortable and, at times, nauseating. Unfortunately, we enjoyed the group and probably didn’t have an option anyway, since the seating was full.
Our other dining options were the buffet and the fancy eating venues, of which there were two. There is a cover charge of $15 or $20 each at those venues. I can’t see the value in that, compared to the dining room.
The buffet had a limited menu in the evening. It wasn’t a buffet, but sit down. I’ll let you know how it is if we try it. Others have said it isn’t as good as the dining, even though they have table clothes, etc.
Coffee: we learned early on that the coffee in the dining area was not good. The coffee in the buffet was good, as least to Chris’s taste. (I have cream and sugar, so I can tolerate all kinds of coffee except “weak.”) We also learned that the ship sells premium coffee. This is ground coffee like you get at a coffee shop. The price ranges from $1 for 12 ounces plain on up to above $3 for a fancy 16 ounce coffee. A “coffee card” is offered that costs something like $24. You get a little price break with the card.
The cast for the shows is really terrific. They are all young and the dancing is very athletic. We learned that the cast not only does the show, they also run many of the passenger get- togethers, games, etc. Double workload. They just have time to sleep, eat, and exercise. No social life.
We got to know 3 of the cast, Ann(ie), Ryan, and Jade. Here’s a picture of Chris with Jade.
There’s a story behind this. Both Jade and her husband Ryan- I need a picture of him, were in the Regal Princess cast! I recognized her and Chris recognized him. Ha! At the time, I think they were either friends or engaged. Anyway, her parents got on the ship in New Zealand and sailed with us to Sydney. Ryan is from Sydney. They are both very talented.
In the evening, we participated in a scavenger hunt to get stamps in various departments around the ship. At 10 there was a raffle. Chris won a video of the entire cruise! So this blog will be complimented by a “professional” video.
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