Miami, FL, USA
Buongiorno, had a wonderful drug induced sleep last night. Slept all the way to 5 AM. They will come and pick up the luggage beginning in three hours. It is already to go. By 6 everything was done, showering, shaving, getting dressed, and everything else that could be thought of. A kid on Christmas morning is a wonderful feeling.
Today The Cruise begins! The next 132 nights will be spent aboard ship. Ok, with the exception of the couple nights when we’ll ditch the ship and do other things. Not too surprisingly there were a couple of other fellow passengers at the coffee bar at 6:30 when it opened. This hotel doesn’t provide coffee makers in the room. How they ever got five stars is a good question.
A couple laps around the hotel lobby revealed not many people were up. Sitting in the abandoned dining room working on the blog and watching the hotel staff getting the room ready for the breakfast buffet which begins at 8. The shuttle schedule has us leaving for ship at 11:30.
Just as it had gone 7:30, when things really picked up in the dining room, so it was time to head back to the coffee bar and get Mary her coffee, and head back to the room. Sleeping beauty was neither awake nor asleep when the coffee arrived at her bedside. There was a mild acknowledgement of its placement.
The bags were tagged and placed outside the door before it has gone eight, as required. Half past eight saw us heading to the dining room for the breakfast. There are a lot more fellow World Cruise travelers than I thought there would be. So far, they have been a nice group of people. Breakfast was the usual assortment of scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, fresh fruit, yogurt and the like.
After breakfast it was back up to the room. A short little nap. Just as it went eleven, we headed downstairs. Yea, I know they said to wait until your boarding time before going downstairs, but who can wait? Apparently, we weren’t alone. The Wine Room, the dining venue, was full of people. Some waiting for the 11:15 shuttle and some of us for the 11:30.
Shortly they will call the lucky bastards for the 11:15 shuttle. Then, finally, they called the 11:30 group to the shuttle. Shuttle is what they called but but it is a misnomer. It is a bus. A nice bus, but a bus none the less. Boarding was quite efficient and quick. And we were off for the four-mile ride to the ship. Miami traffic would dictate that could be anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. Sure enough, there was a lot of traffic, then a bridge that was closed so a sailboat could get past. Finally, after about twenty minutes we entered the Port of Miami.
The Port of Miami will one day be a very beautiful place. Today is a mass of construction. It is a working port so there are cargo ships, cruise ships and all types of vessels present. The cruise lines have some very nice-looking terminals. We were fortunate in that our bus driver didn’t have a clue where the Mariner was moored. So, we got to drive around and around through the construction before someone spotted the ship. Getting from point A to point B isn’t always the easy. However, an hour later we finally made it.
Apparently, the communication between the departing passengers, those leaving the ship, and the arrival team we complicated. The departing passengers were delayed in getting off, which translates into the arriving passengers not being loaded as quickly and efficiently as they might otherwise have been. There was lots of confusion about priority boarding. People with high Silver Seas status, etc. get to board first. Then Penthouse Suite people like ourselves. Then the common folk. The probably had twenty or more stations for checking people in, but who belonged in which line, or who had to wait, was making tempers a little short. It did get all sorted out eventually.
We managed to get through the line in fairly short order. It wasn’t as smooth a process as it should have been. They also wanted copies of all our Visas. We don’t need visas for five or six weeks, but they wanted them all upfront. Which would be ok, but since there was no advanced knowledge the visas hadn’t been printed yet. The solution was to email the purser the visas once on board. That can be accomplished.
One board we found our muster station, checked in and then went to our suite, 904. One bag had made it already. It is much larger than the description made out. I guess you don’t really realize how compact they can make things. It was a little frightening at first. Where was all the stuff we brought going to go?
The realization that we over packed was becoming as bright as day. Since my bags were here first, I unpacked my things. Neeraj our butler, a nice young man, about 12, in a tuxedo, introduced himself. He told us we could order whatever we wanted for pre dinner appetizers, asked if the bar was properly stocked, and the like. We said it was ok for now.
The more I unpacked and as more things arrived, the more over packed we were. Good thing we will be stopped in SF. We can probably get rid of fifty-precent of what there is. Once I was done unpacking I got out of Mary’s way and headed to the cigar lounge. I met our steward, Charis, on the way. Seemed very nice.
Two gentlemen walked into the cigar lounge and sat with me while I had my cigar. Based on their conversation they weren’t passengers but performers. It will turn out later that one of them was one of the singers for the Commodores. Upon my return it was time to change into the fine duds and heads to the Gala World Cruise Reception in the Observation Lounge where Regent Signature Orchestra Pianist Fabiano was tickling the ivories.
6:30 brought the Gala Dinner in the Compass Rose. We were assigned a table with another couple. They were retired to Florida from Chicago. They had been married sixty years. But they only had six grandchildren. We won. Dinner itself was a bit fancy for my taste. Appetizer, soup/salad, first plate, second plate and dessert. Five courses. The food looked great and it probably tasted the same. Personally, it was way too much food. I stuck with one course- the vegetarian curry. It was very good, but I still could only eat about half of it.
We left the dinner room about 7:45 and headed to the Connoisseur Club so I could have my after-dinner cigar prior to heading to the Constellation Theater to the Commodores at 9.
Yes, a live performance by the Commodores. Young folk won’t remember or recall the Commodores. The commodores were an American funk and soul group whose most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer at the time. He was really good.
They had a number of hit singles several of which, even with my hearing loss, I recognized tonight. Songs like, “Easy”, “Three Times a Lady”. “Brick House”, “Lady (You Bring Me Up)’, and the tribute to Marvin Gaye, “Nightshift”. They were nominated nine times for the Granny Awards and won once. They are in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and Vocal Group Hall of Fame. They put on a great show.
After the show I was ready to head to the ballroom and go dancing to the Regent Signature Orchestra in the Horizon Lounge. Me, Mr. Stay up late at night? You have to be kidding. Mary convinced me that it would be the better part of valor if we just went to bed. First night out and all. I took the cue, and we headed back to our suite.
One more thing before I sign off. I was wrong about how many of the people on this ship would be World Cruisers. It is probably close to 90%, maybe even a more. The announced a number of things just before introducing the Commodores. There is one couple who are on their 37th World Cruise. You heard me right, number 37! There were several people with more than 20 World Cruises.
At first, I was having a little trouble understand it. Now, not so much. If the choice is no family to spend time with, and going off to an assisted living center or going on a World Cruise, it is an easy choice. Based on California assisted living center costs, there isn’t much of a cost difference. And this is way nicer than any assisted living center. Smells better too. The food is probably also much better. Logically it makes sense.
Ok, now it’s time for Buonanotte, Ciao Enrico
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