My alarm was set for 4am, but I awoke shortly before it was set to go off, so I shut it off, and got up. I checked Delta’s website for the status of our flights. Everything looked good. I took a quick shower, and finished packing those last minute items. Everything on my check list was checked. I loaded the bags in the car. For security, I hooked up timers to a couple lights to come on in the evenings.
At 5:15am, we left for the airport. We got to the airport around 6am. We parked our car in the economy lot which they recently moved off airport, and caught a shuttle to the terminal. The shuttle driver always asks what airline, drops us off in front of it. It is courteous, but the Rochester airport is so small, if doesn’t make much of a difference. There was no one in line, so we breezed through check in. We grabbed a quick breakfast at McDonalds, and headed to our gate.
Our first flight left on time at 8am, and took us to Atlanta. Our flight arrived in terminal D, and our connecting flight left from terminal T. The terminals there are A, B, C, D, E, and T. T? Where did they get T? The only thing I can think is that T stands for ticketing. Anyway, our connecting flight left on time also, and we arrived in Ft Lauderdale around 1pm.
We found the Carnival people in the baggage claim carrying little signs. They checked our papers, and told us to get our bags, and meet in a specific spot. I went over and waited for our bags. The first bag came off shortly. We waited and waited for the second bag, and I was starting to worry that it didn’t make it. But it finally appeared on the belt.
We headed back over and waited with some other people, and headed some pleasant conversations. Soon the lady took us out to the bus. We left our luggage on the curb, and boarded the bus. The bus driver loaded our bags, and soon we left. We drove through the airport, and we were looking forward to going to the ship. Soon we arrived…back at the spot we had just left. Apparently they wanted to pick up another passenger. So they loaded the passenger, and then we were on our way again. We could see the ship from miles away.
Since we were among some of the last passengers to arrive, the check-in lines were almost non-existent, and we breezed through check in.
Then we were on the ship. We took our stuff to our cabin, and dumped it off. Our cabin which was on deck 4 had French doors that open. Our view was obscured by a life boat, but we could still see some water and sky. The fresh air was nice.
My niece Christin and her friend Sara were staying in the next cabin. I went over and banged on the door, and luckily they were there. It was nice seeing them again. My wife Helen, the two girls and I headed over to my brother’s cabin which was up a couple decks. We banged on the door, and my brother yelled they were getting dressed. We waited, banged, and still he said they were getting dressed. After about 5 or 10 minutes, we gave up. Helen and I headed up to the Lido deck to get some food since we really hadn’t eaten much since the McDonalds breakfast. We explored the offerings, and then settled on some roast beef, chicken and pasta stuff. We didn’t eat too much as dinner would be in a couple hours at 5:45pm.
My brother Jay, and his girlfriend Suzie showed up at our cabin, and it was good to see them. We discussed excursions for a bit, but then we started getting announcements for the muster drill, so they headed back to their cabin.
They had a muster drill where we put on the life vests, and headed down to muster station C. This didn’t take too long, but they have to do it before we sail. Now the ship was ready to sail, so we returned the vests to our cabin, headed up to watch us leave port. It was windy, so we found a spot where we could watch while not getting wind blasted. This is always fascinating.
Then we explored the ship for a bit, then headed back to our cabin to get ready for dinner. The first night was very casual as many people were still waiting for their luggage.
Around 5:45, Helen and I headed down for dinner, which was not too far from our cabin. We were taken to our table, and we waited for my Brother and group. We waited and waited. But they never showed up. Helen and I speculated reasons why they hadn’t shown up. We thought the most likely was that their bags hadn’t arrived, and he thought they couldn’t come to dinner in shorts.
Dinner was excellent! I started with a mushroom soup followed by a heart of romaine salad. The main entree was a New York steak with peppercorn sauce. Yum! Helen and I shared a couple desserts that were also great. One had basil ice cream. I didn’t even know they made basil ice cream. It was good.
Christin and Sara showed up and said that their group had lost track of time. They planned on going to the second seating. They didn’t realize these seatings were set, and they ended up eating on the Lido deck.
Helen and I spent some more time exploring, and then gambling in the casino. I wasn’t doing well so I left. Helen on the other hand won some money. I explored some more, and got a slice of pizza on the Lido deck.
We made arrangements with my brother and group to meet up for the first night show. They had singing and dancing. A comedian guy came out, but at this time I was starting to fall asleep. Following the show, we headed back to our cabins, and went to bed.

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Posted by RJ in Travel on April 10th, 2006 |