I've had a few requests for some stories about my cruise, so I'm going to try to write a few blogs over the next week or so and tell some stories about the cruise.

Today I'll start by telling some exciting news about my flight to Tampa. I got on the plane, sat down dreading the moment I would have to ask the stewardess for a seat belt extender when I decided to try to hook it. Guess What!?! It fit! Granted, I had it pulled all the way to the end and it was still a little snug, but it fit! That is the first time I have ever flown without having to ask for an extender.

When we got to the dock, we did have to stand in a couple of long lines. While I didn't love it, I didn't have too many problems with that. That was great too. When we finally got on the ship, we found our way to our cabin. We had booked the next to the bottom price range of staterooms - inside cabin with a queen bed. When booking the staterooms, on the lowest price range, they would not guarantee that you would not have bunks. Anyhow, we had our cabin assignment, Deck 4 - Main - 4142. When we got to our cabin, we were pleasantly surprised to find that we had been upgraded and even though our view was mostly of lifeboats outside our windows, we had full length door windows in a larger cabin that even had a couch. We were also right about mid ship both in deck level and from front to back. I hear that is good as far as the amount of rocking you feel. After dropping off our stuff, we found our way to the Lido deck (I felt like I was on Love Boat as I heard that so many times on that show years ago!) and hit the buffet. I couldn't believe the number of different things offered at one time. If you have never cruised, you would be amazed. I had pictured a Golden Corral or Ryan's type of buffet with a couple islands of food choices. Instead, it is like 5 or 6 different complete restaurant type sections on all sides of a central area about the size of a building. Walking around the entire area, I saw a whole buffet of Chinese, another where they made Deli type sandwiches, an American food buffet, a large fruit and dessert buffet, and a "Taste of Nations" buffet that changed from day to day. On this first day it was Italian feast. Then outside that area there was another grill area that served things like hotdogs, burgers, chicken strips, and french fries 24 hours a day. I didn't find it the first night, but later found a pizza bar and a salad bar. All of this is in addition to the full service dining room that takes up an entire end of the ship on the 2nd and 3rd decks and 24 hour room service. In the center of deck 2 or 3 there was also a Sushi bar, but I don't do sushi. This is all included in the price of the cruise - no extra charge for any of this food. Very easy to see why most people gain weight on cruises, including me.

The ship was still in port and passengers boarding while we were eating. I was waiting for my sister, brother, and brother-in-law to show up. She called and said they were there but they were starving as they hadn't eated since leaving home at 4:30 AM so they were going to eat. I asked where she was, and they were on the Lido deck too. Of course we had a big joyful reunion as we hadn't seen each other since February.
This photo was taken as we left Tampa.
We watched the ship leave port and then went back to our cabins to unpack. I had my drapes open and it wasn't long before I started feeling queasy. Ruth said it was probably because I had the drapes open and was seeing the water move. Since I had some seasickness patches, I just went ahead and slapped one on to avoid having any further problems.

Later, we toured the ship. It was beautiful. It really is like a big floating hotel. The large lobby Atrium area had glass elevators that went all the way to deck 10 and large curved staircases. That is where they took that picture on the night of the Captain's dinner. There are about 8 different clubs, an arcade for kids, Rodeo Drive (shopping) 3 pools, a spa and beauty salon, and a gym. I never saw the inside of that I'm sorry to admit. There is also a fairly large casino. Of course we had a wonderful dinner in the dining room. We requested late seating so our dinner time was 8:15 every night. (So much for not eating after 7:30, right Sue and Mona?)Since it was my first cruise, I was so impressed with the service and presentation of the food. We had a waiter and his young assistant who waited on us the entire time. They pull your chair out for you and put your napkin on your lap and hand you a menu. I don't remember what I even had that first night, but I do know that the entire time, the only thing I tried in the dining room that I really didn't like was a broccoli soup that had some type of odd spice in it. I even tried escargo one night (but just one.) It was palatable, but I think you must have to develop a taste for that.

After dinner we went to a welcome aboard show that had singers and dancers. It was pretty good, but by that time I was so tired I had trouble keeping my eyes open. We turned in and I slept like a baby!

Part 2 will be about day 2 and I promise, you will not want to miss the story of Fancy and the Captain's reception. My sister and I are still harassing him about that. You will laugh!