Day 2 (Embarkation!): February 24, 2019
The day we'd been waiting on for 18 months had finally arrived! I walked (well ran like a scared crab really) across the highway to McDonald's to get us all some breakfast before we called a Lyft to take us to the port at about 1130. The Lyft was about $10 cheaper than taking the hotel shuttle. No wait time into the port or checking in for the cruise but our boarding number was I think 8. I can't remember what time I had but it was the earliest available when I checked in.
It was fun walking around the terminal area, meeting new people and meeting in person faces I'd chatted online with for months. I got my first hug from Captain Mickey and I felt over the moon. Finally, our number came up and we got our boarding photo.
You may notice I'm wearing the same jumper from the day before. That's because I couldn't find my Minnie Mouse dress anywhere. (Still haven't found it!) Dede is Disbounding as Goofy and Deniz as Pluto. We of course headed straight to Cabanas because I love peel and eat shrimp!
My first plates of the cruise. I was complaining before I left that
DCL doesn't do Asian very well but I enjoyed these lo-mien noodles very much. I try to eat a salad at least once a day at home and on vacation.
Dede's first plate. She knew I wouldn't be able to eat all the shrimp I got because it happens every cruise.
And Deniz's. Very bland looking but this is her favorite soup, the potato leek soup is her absolute favorite. I'll have to make it for her soon. Here's a link to the recipe I use.
http://www.magicalrecipes.net/rose-and-crown-dining-room-potato-and-leek-soup-recipe/
As usual we were very happy after lunch. We headed to our Facebook meet and great and picked up our purple Mickey's to go on our lanyards. There were so many of us we completely took over the Promenade lounge and then some! The girls were eager to check into their club and I had a champagne tasting so we went our separate ways.
I've never done a tasting so it was nice that I got to do several on this trip. I was worried about doing one on embarkation day but it helped me to relax and get into the cruising spirit! For those that were debating a few weeks ago Moet is pronounced with a hard "T" Mo-et. Like Mo et the beef.
I learned so much about champagne and highly recommend this tasting. I loved the Marie Pommery Rose and the Veuve Cliquot Rich which is served over ice. There was no champagne cocktail but I can experiment with those at home. My favorite being the mimosa which I thought I would be enjoying throughout the cruise.
Headed to our room (6583) a bit giddy to meet the girls and it's a good thing I did because for our last two cruises we'd been in Animator's Palette for the drill and I'd simply assumed that to be the case for this cruise to since our room was in the same general area. But nope it was out on deck four and I wasn't very happy about that. By the time left for drill only one or two small pieces of luggage had arrived and one had a slip that said something had been confiscated. What on earth could I have packed that would be taken away? Then I made out the chicken scratch...wines. OH NO! My champagne! I forgot to put it in my carry on bag after having it in the checked luggage for the plane. Remember this is the first time we've flown for the cruise and I'm not used to switching things around. But I held out hope that I might still get it back before we left.
Soon enough the alarm went off and I grumpily left for the drill. As you know drill can be such a nightmare as the have to call the same people over and over to actually show up but this time everyone must have been on the ball because we weren't there five minutes before it was started and then quickly over. Assembly Station K at the ready! Deniz ran off to find a spot at the Sail-A-Wave party while Defne and I went to Guest Services to ask after my champagne. They were very nice but I started crying. Something has to go wrong every cruise and this was my low point which as bad things go was really not so bad. I'm just a big Eeyore.
We thought the Sail-A-Wave was cute and high energy but it got a lot of hate from our FB group. I didn't hear anyone on the ship really talk about it one way or the other but the best part for me is that there was plenty of room. We were right there on the deck in the center able to watch the enter thing and not being shoved around or worried about being in the way of a little one. At one point Jo (director of adult activities I think) said, "Who's ready to not go to work for the next two weeks!" Everyone cheered and hollered. Then she said, "I know you're not going to work for two weeks lady with the purple hair!"
Back to the room to unpack and put up some decorations. We had to pick up 2018 stuff and change the date.
Deniz was in charge of that.
(more later, I've exceeded my photo limit)