All aboard

We woke up this morning to an overcast day in Florida. We got dressed and went over to The Deck for breakfast. The restaurant is located on A1A, across the street from the beach. Since it was very windy, we had breakfast inside and therefore couldn’t enjoy the view.

After breakfast, we went back to the hotel and packed up the car. We stopped at Publix which is a local grocery store to pick up some Coke and water for our cruise. It was a quick fifteen minute drive to the Port Everglades cruise terminal.

The first thing I noticed as we approached the cruise terminal was how enormous it was. There was a board flashing the name of each cruise ship and which terminal it was docked at. I noticed that our ship, the Nieuw Amsterdam, was docked at number 26. That’s how big this place is. The Hertz shuttle dropped us off first. It was a very organized process. You drop your bags with the porters outside and then proceed into the terminal, and I would say that within half an hour, we were inside our stateroom (7094).

When we originally booked the cruise with Holland America ($676 CAD), we booked a VH guarantee room. That means that you are guaranteed a room at least at that level but there is a chance that you will be upgraded. There are four VH rooms on the ship. I read on Cruise Critic that nine times out of ten you will get upgraded so we took our chances by booking the room. About two weeks before our trip, we received an email saying we were assigned a VA stateroom. Yippee.

We dropped our carry-on luggage and proceeded to the Lido Restaurant to enjoy our first of many meals. The buffet had lots of choices including Thai, pasta, made to order sandwiches, salad bar and hot entrees including Pan Seared Salmon Fillet and Puerto Rican Grilled Pork. It was very difficult deciding what to have.

We finished lunch and then began wandering the ship, getting a feel for where everything is. This ship was built in 2009, and everything is pristine. The Christmas decorations are outstanding. We found some beautiful cabanas on the 10th floor, that overlook the Lido pool on the 9th floor. The cabanas had two loungers plus a table and chairs. You can either rent them by the day or for the entire cruise. We were getting tired so we went back to the room for a little quiet time. Very soon our luggage arrived and we unpacked and made ourselves at home.

Before dinner, all guests had to attend the life boat drill. All I can say is that the people who arrive late for the drill, should not be getting a spot on the lifeboat in the event of an emergency.

Tonight we had dinner in the Manhattan Dining Room. Starters were Chicken and Callaloo soup and Ceasar Salad. Entrees were Seared Cobia Fish Fillet with Cilantro-Tomato Salsa and Roasted Chicken with Sausage Cornbread Stuffing. To finish the meal, dessert was Balsamic Strawberries and Brownie Hot Fudge Sundae.

We had a quick stroll through the shops before heading back to the room to relax for the evening. Tomorrow is an “at sea” day so we need to rest up for a full day of rest & relaxation.