A Sunshine Kinda Day

We awoke very early this morning, after a few hours of sleep, at the Aloft Hotel – BWI for a 7am flight. We took their shuttle (that runs every ½ hour) to the airport at 5am. Once again, Pre-Check was my friend. 2 people ahead of me in the security line and I could leave all my stuff in my carry-on, my shoes stayed on my feet and only had to pass through a metal detector.

The goodness continued as I had an almond pretzel from Auntie Anne’s and an Orange Smoothie from the smoothie place. Breakfast doesn’t get much better than this!

Boarding was smooth and I ended up having a great seatmate and we ended up chatting for the entire flight! It even made me forgot about the child that screamed for the first hour of the flight! Our luggage was on the belt in about 10 minutes and we were out the door to catch our shuttle to the port. We used Coltran Shuttle. The cost was $20 per person each way. The driver was so nice. He carries a stapler because most people forget those dumb luggage tags have to be either stapled or taped on the handle of your luggage. He did all of that before we even left the port.

Now the port was an entirely different story. A complete clusterf@#k. There were 3 ships in port and we had to wait about 30 minutes in the van because the people directing the traffic were so inept. UGH But after that the good mojo continued as I have priority boarding and was directed to a completely non-chaotic, quiet area to get checked-in for the cruise.  Then a stroll past all the other folks waiting to be called and we were on the Sunshine !!! 

First up—food. I must say I was impressed. I’ve not ever been on this ship but I liked how they had the buffet set up in smaller stations. It seems like there were not as many long lines. I immediately made a beeline for the Stir Fry place. I found it tucked away at the front of the ship near the Havana Bar. Most people had not yet discovered this place but it’s one of my favorites. I had stir fry chicken and shrimp with fresh vegetables and cellophane noodles in a black bean sauce. OMG Food Nirvana!

Kolton and Betzi went for the Guy’s Burgers and fries. They said they were delicious. Then we had to have a cone of soft-serve ice cream. My stateroom was ready when we boarded so we put all our carry-on stuff in my cabin and set off to explore the ship a bit. Then it was nap time until the muster drill.

After the muster drill, I came back to the cabin and my luggage had arrived. I packed everything away. The cabin does have an ample amount of storage. It’s decorated in a more updated color scheme and the art work is different. The bathroom is a bit different than other ships I’ve sailed on. The shower is much larger than the typical ones and therefore, none of that nasty shower curtain cling if you attempt to shave your legs in there. Very nice. Overall, a very comfortable room.

I chose Deck 9 this cruise—which is the Lido deck. We have 2 forward, inside cabins. It’s too early to decide if this was a good choice. I’ll let you know. The main reason I chose this location is that it is 2 decks below the Serenity Area on this ship and directly below the Spa-so no noise above us in the evenings. And we thought we wanted to be close to Serenity. This ship has a 3 level, adults only Serenity area, with its own pool and waterfall, hot tubs and a big bar. It is in the very front of the ship and offers some nice views.

The ship also has “Dive-In Movies” on the Lido deck in the evening. A family movie early and a more adult feature later—around 10. The screen they have is gorgeous. During the day it plays videos of underwater scenery that is so crisp and clear, I’m sure the movies will be gorgeous as well.

I am just back from dinner. We chose late seating at 8:15. It’s a tab bit late but on port days, we won’t have to rush back to the ship to make a 5:15 dinner. They have anytime dining on this ship too but I prefer a set time.  Dinner was good however, I almost choked to death on a piece of grapefruit in my salad. Really. I think they were getting ready to Heimlich me when I started coughing. Not really the type of attention one wants to draw to ones self—but that’s life.

Lack of sleep and a long day of travel today has wiped this gypsy out and I’m going to call it a night at 10:45. Tomorrow is a sea day and they are also having the Sea Day Brunch, which is always quite good.

The ship is rockin’ and rollin’ right now. The ship information on the TV says that we are moving at 17.5 knots and there is quite a bit of motion as the winds are 50+ kts and gusting. But it’s just going to rock me to sleep.

I will try and add some pictures tomorrow. 

Ta-ta from somewhere off the coast of Florida!